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“I am sorry for all of the trouble I have caused! From now on, I will strive to become a great Adventurer!”

 

The Adventurers went silent for a moment. Then they erupted into applause and cheering. With this, Penrose was likely to be able to become a good Adventurer one day. The little shit would be gone, and a different G rank Adventurer would be born.

As Penrose stood there bashfully, I placed a hand on his head and stood next to him.

 

“We should get going then.”

“Going? But where?”

“Where? To kill some goblins of course.”

“You are really going to go with me!?”

“Why not. We’re already prepared.”

“Yes! Thank you, Asagi!”

 

He had become honest at the turn of a hat. Really, children were such strange little creatures. I watched Penrose as he ran off to get his gear. And I smiled in a way that I rarely did.

 

□　　　□　　　□　　　□

 

Penrose became a temporary addition to our party. And we accepted the goblin hunting request, with me as the party leader. The guild worker behind the counter looked astonished at the sight of Penrose, but a few of the others seemed to have heard about what had happened, and they smiled with good humor.

 

“Please leave it to us.”

“Very well. We would not normally allow a G Ranker to do it, but since you two will be with him, I will allow it. Please give me your status cards.”

 

We took out our status cards and placed them on the tray. The cards were inserted into the machine to record the quest information. This was done to all three cards before they were returned to us on the tray. I accepted them and confirmed that it had been recorded. Yes, perfect.

 

“Now you have accepted the quest. There are many goblins in the forest to the west of the town. Please be careful.”

“Thank you. We’ll be off then.”

“Yes, may you have luck and protection on your adventure.”

 

With those parting words said, I said my thanks and walked away. We moved to a corner to discuss our plan of attack.

 

“Now, we’re going to kill some goblins. They’re small fry, but they can be strong as well. You’ll die if you let your guard down. Do you understand? Penrose.”

“Yes. I have trained for this day. I won’t make a mess of it.”

“We’ll start by attacking lone goblins. And when you’re used to it, we’ll attack a pack of them.”

“Understood!”

 

The brief meeting was over in a minute. Well, there wasn’t really a lot to discuss when it came to goblins…

 

“But one thing. Penrose, from what I can see, your weapon is a one-handed sword.”

 

Daniela said as she looked at the sword strapped to Penrose’s waist.

 

“Is that not too long for you?”

 

It was. I had noticed it myself. The blade of his sword was a little longer than was usual. Longer than the Glampanzer even.

 

“Ah, this was specially ordered. My reach is not as long as an adult, and so the blade needs to make up for it.”

“I see. But can you really handle it? A long sword will pull you when you swing.”

“I have trained to be able to deal with that. It was difficult at first, but I can handle it now. Don’t worry about me.”

“If you say so. We shall do something if necessary. Well, Asagi will.”

“Me? I guess I will then.”

 

I looked at them to ask if there was anything else, but they shook their heads. Then there was nothing to do but set out. Our path lay to the west. A forest. Today’s target was goblins.

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

 

He was enthusiastic at least. Daniela and I might have to help a little to prevent his excitement from getting the best of him, but goblins weren’t much of a foe, to begin with.

We bought something to eat for lunch at a street stall before leaving through the west gate. Several people who recognized Penrose looked at us with astonishment, but he didn’t seem to mind and kept walking. Perhaps he meant to show that he had changed through his actions from now on. At the end of the day, he seemed to be pretty serious. He said he’d been training, so maybe he was just the type to confront things that benefited him with everything that he had.

In that case, we could help him grow in the right direction.

Perhaps Presence Detection would be a good place to start?

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