18 The Leader and the Led

We hid in a different ruin that was less than ten meters away from the ruin the three goblins were in. From inside, we can see the two sides of the wall the spear user is on and the rear corner of the wall where Sasha should be right now. She had been moving there for quite some time, which was quite reasonable, since she had just learned the basics of her job as a thief not too long ago.

"Eek!"

Before any of us could react to the shout that was likely from Sasha, the girl in question poked her head out from behind the back wall briefly, giving a thumbs up and a smile before pulling her head back the second after.

"Depending on the situation, we're going to have to change our plans on the fly," Kiyotaka informed. "Be prepared."

Moguzo and I accepted his words in silence.

The spear user clearly heard that. The sword wielder and the hobgoblin seemed to notice it, too, jumping om their feet for starters. The leader shouted something to the spear user. It was probably telling him to check what it was.

Sure enough, the spear user walked out of the ruins, moving to the side of the wall that was within our line of sight to start.

The other two goblins, on the other hand, stood guard vigilantly inside the ruins.

There was only one window-like thing in the ruins, precisely on the wall where it was in our view. The room is large enough for them to use it to their advantage. But I personally would think twice about staying there.

"I'll set off."

With movements you wouldn't expect from someone who was heavily armored, he slithered from one ruin to another.

He couldn't simply go straight for the spear user, who was now traveling slowly and cautiously, as the open area would cause him to undoubtedly be discovered.

He took a path that was probably about half the same as Sasha's, with the rest being his own initiative, all better than Sasha's.

'Was he a prodigy?'

I've come across people like him on a few occasions.

"Wuh...?"

Moguzo let out a weird groan.

"What?"

Confused for a moment, I too quickly realized what had startled him.

On the roof of the ruins that Kiyotaka was currently heading towards was Sasha's head with a dagger in her mouth trying to raise herself up there. What was she thinking? Was she trying to catch them off guard with a surprise attack?

"Get---" I dismissed my attempt right away.

Yelling at her would only make the situation worse.

As I was agonizing over what to do, Kiyotaka was already a measly meter or two away from the spear user. He did a leg sweep without so much as a word and went for its neck, decapitating it in one smooth motion. That was so smooth that I doubt my eyes on how clean that was.

'He's a trainee... Right?'

It couldn't have been more than a month since they came to Grimgar. Yet, he did something on par--- no--- better than the veterans. What kind of life he found himself in before coming to Grimgar, honestly?

"O Light, O Lumiaris---" the man didn't give me a thought.

He drew a hexagram mark with the tip of his sword, walking towards the collapsed front wall whilst keeping his distance when he did. Needless to say, it caught the attention of the two remaining goblins. They could see it clearly from between what was once a window, after all. The sword user in particular seemed to panic and kicked the hobgoblin, forcing him to walk out with a large axe in his hand. Whether coincidental or not, "---bestow the light of protection on my blade." Kiyotaka finished his Saber spell as they came face to face in front of the wall of ruins.

A blinding light emanated from his blade. In addition to serving as a means to sharpen the blade by an unknown degree, the spell was bright enough to distract the opponent should they get too close.

Kiyotaka took advantage of that to use his most fundamental skill, Punishment. Putting up his round shield to partially cover his body, he raised his sword high, swinging it at the hobgoblin.

'He's aiming for the weapon, is he?'

That was probably the right decision.

The hobgoblin's equipment barely gave it an opening to attack. Even if it did, it would require the right timing to launch its attack. It would be a different case if he had a sharp and tough sword, but he didn't, and that left him with limited options. I figured that what made the most sense for him was to gradually break down its defenses and then kill it with a single strike once the timing was right.

"Moguzo!"

"Right!"

With wide strides, he charged into battle. I hurriedly stood up and followed behind him.

The sword wielder noticed us immediately upon that. The look on his face suggested that he had regained some of his composure.

'Sadly for you, though.'

Sasha thought that it was the perfect time to attack. She jumped off the roof straight at him. The difference in their weight knocked the goblin down in an instant.

'I hope she didn't break her legs with that jump.'

With both hands, Sasha plunged her dagger wildly but accurately. The goblin was given no time to think before his body went limp at long last.

"Thanks!"

Then finally came that roar. It was almost certainly the War Cry skill following Rage Blow. Kiyotaka had stepped out of the way at some point, and thanks to that, Moguzo's explosive power bisected the stunned hobgoblin with no problem.

That decides the end of the battle.

"That sure is fast," I muttered without being asked.

"You think?" Kiyotaka apparently heard that.

I dropped my head slightly, embarrassed. "...I do."

"You can give us any suggestions to improve our performance further, you know. We're still trainees, after all."

"I'll try."

"Urgh," Sasha groaned. She seemed to be having trouble standing up.

"W-What's wrong, Sasha-san?" Moguzo moved to her side to help.

"I think I broke my legs..." she scrunched up her face. "I guess I didn't think much of my action just now. Sorry, but can you heal me, Merry?"

"Stay still," I moved towards her with an unchanged face. "I'll heal it right away."

With "O Light, may Lumiaris' divine protection be upon you, Cure." and the corresponding hexagram drawing, I healed both her legs in succession.

"Thanks."

"No need. It's my job as a priest."

"Why are you so stiff? You can just accept it silently."

I sighed. "I'm not that sort of person, sadly."

"Ah..."

I turned to face Kiyotaka. He was staring off in a direction. Following his gaze, I found a group of four people running. Not directly in our direction, but certainly passing by us.

"Is that Haruhiro-kun's group?" Moguzo raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Looks like it."

I had no idea who they were referring to. They might be their close acquaintances, as in their generation. Either way, it didn't necessarily mean I didn't know all of them. I recognized at least one familiar face in the group.

'That sleepy-eyed priest...'

Not often, but he sure liked hanging out at Tuare's Inn, especially at night.

With him was a curly dread knight, a bridled-haired hunter, and another woman dressed as a mage.

"Where's Kikkawa?" Sasha narrowed her eyes.

"Kiyotaka!"

The sleepy-eyed priest came to realize our presence. With his exclamation as a start, the others noticed us as well. They changed their course and headed for us instead.

"Should we run?" I looked at Kiyotaka.

"No," he answered immediately. "Not yet."

They looked like they were running from something, and if that something was extremely dangerous, we would only get into trouble that might never be recovered from.

"Shihoru! Yume! What's happening?!" Sasha called out to the two hunter and mage girls from the group with an anxious voice.

"Kikkun is in trouble!" The hunter replied.

The mage seemed to have little stamina. She couldn't answer anything given that she was out of breath the second she arrived.

"Please," the priest pleaded. "Save Kikkawa."

"Haruhiro..." Kiyotaka seemed to think for a moment. "Tell me briefly what happened. I don't know what I should do if you don't explain it properly."

To put it simply, they miscalculated.

They tried to fight a group of six goblin members, which was quite large in Old City, and were outmatched by them. They intended to escape but unexpected reinforcements came to the enemy's aid. Without this Kikkawa of whom they spoke 'sacrificing himself' to let them escape, they wouldn't be here now.

"I-I can perform a Spinning Kowtow if you want to!"

'What is this curly talking about?'

"Clearly," between her ragged breaths, the mage girl tried to say something. "He doesn't need such worthless things coming out from you, Ranta-kun. And specifically from you."

"At least I did something other than crying!"

"Urk." The mage couldn't reply back.

"Enough, both of you!" The priest, Haruhiro, scolded them.

Despite his appearance that gave the impression of being the led rather than the leader, he performed the actions of the contrary quite well.

"Back to the topic at hand," Haruhiro turned his attention back to Kiyotaka. "What's your decision?"