I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 16: Loot and the Journey Home

The sun rose as the morning mist dissipated. 

Gauss stood before the village signpost at the entrance.

He had come to see Hayley and the others off.

Inside the village's only horse-drawn carriage, Bell and Mia lay resting while Hayley placed cooling towels on their feverish foreheads.

Hayley had no intention of returning to Grayrock Town with her injured companions.

Though Grayrock Town was a major hub for adventurers, its medical facilities paled in comparison to larger cities.

Moreover, the journey back to Grayrock Town from Birch Village wasn't short. It made more sense to head toward the nearest forest city - Barry - which also happened to be the trio's hometown.

In Barry, they could receive proper treatment.

"Honorable adventurer, we should depart soon," called the villager serving as carriage driver from the front.

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" Gauss glanced at the carriage interior.

"Don't worry," Hayley reassured him, her earlier enthusiasm replaced by exhaustion. "Once we reach the main road to Barry, there'll be plenty of travelers. No danger." Despite her weariness, she managed a strained smile at Gauss's concern. "Besides, you need to handle the mission paperwork here, right? We'll leave everything in your hands!" She blinked, her gaze lingering on Gauss with newfound curiosity.

Her impression of Gauss had transformed dramatically. Were it not for her companions' urgent need for medical care, she would have loved to question him further.

During their first meeting, she had dismissed Gauss as just another poor, low-ranking adventurer and had instinctively wanted to refuse his request to join their party.

After brief interactions, she revised her assessment - viewing him as a bottom-tier apprentice mage who'd somehow learned magic but lacked family support, unlikely to become a true professional without resources.

Now, she couldn't comprehend Gauss at all. Even with her limited experience, she recognized his extraordinary nature...

"Gauss, if you ever come to Barry, look for me at the Golden Beak Trading Company in the western district. Bell, Mia and I will properly host you then."

"I'll visit if I get the chance," Gauss nodded, though he expected to remain around Grayrock Town for the foreseeable future.

"Then I'll be going." Hayley waved. "Next time we meet, you might have become someone truly remarkable."

"Safe travels!"

Gauss waved back, standing motionless as he watched the carriage disappear down the dirt road, the chestnut-haired girl vanishing at the horizon.

In less than three days, their party had disbanded.

None could say whether they'd meet again.

Unlike his previous life with phones and internet, ordinary people in this era lacked close connections - a farewell might well be permanent.

The morning breeze ruffled Gauss's soft hair as he turned back toward the village.

He didn't share any deep bond with the trio, merely considering them worthwhile friends. After all, they'd only known each other for days - insufficient time to develop stronger ties.

Yet he couldn't help feeling sentimental.

Gauss decided to stay another day, much to the villagers' delight.

Common folk in this world held simple reverence for mages. Perhaps compared to other professions' skills, magic appeared more mysterious and spectacular. Ordinary people could witness the destruction wrought by swords, but not the flow of invisible magical power.

Humans naturally fear the unknown, and magic represented precisely that kind of awe-inspiring, mysterious force.

However, Gauss hadn't remained to bask in villagers' admiration or enjoy their hospitality.

His reasons were twofold: allowing his body to fully recover, and collecting battlefield spoils.

He needed to harvest goblin left ears as mission proof, obtain the village chief's signature on the commission documents, and gather various weapons scattered across the battleground.

Alone, he returned to last night's combat zone.

The blood had completely dried, and the stench had grown even more pungent after overnight fermentation.

Suppressing nausea, he searched the clearing before the cave.

Stone and wooden weapons weren't worth collecting - they fetched poor prices and took up space.

But every piece of iron had value, even severely damaged ones could be sold to blacksmiths for coin.

Besides two short swords and four daggers, the most valuable find was the large cleaver wielded by the massive goblin.

The only disappointment was the severely damaged leather armor - torn to pieces that rendered it worthless.

While carefully gathering items, Gauss made an exciting discovery.

Around the massive goblin's neck hung a rough, peanut-sized stone emitting faint green light. Though he didn't yet know what it was, the comfortable energy pulsing within marked it as something special.

Perhaps this stone had caused the goblin's abnormal growth.

After collecting outdoor spoils, Gauss turned his attention to the cave.

Torch in hand, he entered.

Despite daylight, the cave remained poorly lit.

"Cough."

Slimy green moss covered the walls, and the cave reeked of feces and urine - these primitive green creatures clearly lacked hygiene habits.

"Squeak—"

Occasional rats scurried past his feet.

The natural cavern had been transformed into a filthy den by the goblins, its foul air undoubtedly teeming with bacteria and viruses.

Only the promise of loot could have compelled him to enter.

Carefully stepping over a pile of excrement, Gauss reached the cavern's deepest chamber.

This enlarged space contained scattered animal bones swarming with flies, rats and maggots.

A stone pot stood at the center, its fire extinguished, containing a congealed, unidentifiable sludge.

Apparently, the goblins had been holding a "feast" when interrupted last night - perhaps celebrating their capture of two human women.

Instead, their celebration had become a funeral.

Among the scattered debris, Gauss noticed a goblin corpse hanging from the wall.

Slightly larger than average but dwarfed by the massive goblin, it appeared to have died recently, with relatively few maggots.

"What happened here?" Gauss examined it with his torch.

From his knowledge, goblins rarely killed their own kind, especially under a strong leader's rule - though conflicts between different groups did occur.

Suddenly, Gauss slapped his forehead as realization struck.

This likely explained the mission's incorrect intelligence.

The massive goblin was probably an outsider who'd killed the original leader (who commanded 7-8 goblins) and merged the groups, swelling their numbers to about twenty.

This also explained why the goblins' previous village raids had been minor, yet last night's attack was so fierce.

Understanding dawned on Gauss's face, followed by frustrated gritted teeth and a long sigh.

What terrible luck.

Without this unexpected development, eight ordinary goblins would have been no match for their party.

Last night's battle wouldn't have been so brutal.

He could only hope Bell and Mia would recover fully.

Though if his theory was correct, the Adventurers Guild couldn't be blamed - still, he'd learned his lesson.

From now on, he'd verify all mission intelligence himself.

Returning to the village laden with loot of uncertain value, Gauss rested overnight before setting out for Grayrock Town.

There, he'd sell his spoils and hopefully acquire proper equipment.

As a mage without even a wand, his current state was frankly embarrassing.

Moreover, he wanted information - to understand how professionals differed from amateurs, and how one became a true professional.