Disclaimer: I do NOT own Goblin Slayer.

Author's note: Hello, hello, hello! Sorry for the late update, but life has been rough in the past month. Both grandfathers at the hospital, University exams, part-time job. You know the drill, life keeps on throwing stuff your way.

Anyhow, I have some exciting news too? You know how I asked if I should write another fic?! Well, I decided yes, I definitely should. And I decided that High School DxD crossover with Testament of the New Sister Devil is the fic! So, guys, the first chapter is already posted on my profile, so feel free to check it out! It's called The Twins! Updates for this should still be around one month for this fic, so I hope the new stuff won't interfere with my updates. I will try to update more frequently, but it gets harder and harder every time…

My replies:

emoryjmorrill, aGoldenLion, TheGreatBubbaJ, Arios, Predator king, B123, daniel2610994, Ratchetx7, Guest, Dr krillin, Arthas Potter, Mewtwo-TheLoneShadow, X: Thanks for the praise!

Dracus6: Uhmm… I never said that will happen.

derethl2: Thanks for pointing out the typo! And… well… the DxD and testament fic is up, so enjoy!

AngelicWisdom: Well, you'll get both HEA and Priestess in this chapter.

holyscythe: Hero and her friends will be in the harem. As for the woman to be rescued… you'll see

Mo Eazy: This hotpsrings are like this because… I forgot they had to wash beforehand. But hey, it's medieval period. Maybe they had some like this.

As for Hero, she will appear again. And as for HEA, there is more right in this chapter.

Isaac LB: Some things just get stuck in your mind.

Akuma Heika: Then go and enjoy! It is up!

LeozinPS: Of course. Every one of Goblin Slayer's girls will get a lemon.

DimensionalReapers: I have to say, I am not familiar with that detail, so this is changed from the cannon I suppose.

Drowndone: Thanks for the praise. Well, if you are interested, the new fic is up!

Evowizard25: Well, I saw your review on The Twins fic, so I am glad you are getting into my other story. Thanks for the praise and see ya at the next chapter.

Xerzo LotCN: Yeah, that's a shame.

He has a proloned lifespan, but only about 50 years or so. Nothing drastic, so the problém with HEA still stands.

I think a lot of people are intersted who is the first girl. Unofrtunately, you'll have to wait to find out.

Well, the fic is up, so you can read that!

Kerlongsj Ever Orlejov: Ow, you'll see when they meet. I already have their meeting planned out.

He got some development, but I honestly I don't find Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest as interesting as Goblin Slayer interacting with Spearman and Heavy Swordsman. I may need to think of something to make these two interesting a little more.

I imagine, in Goblin Slayer's mind, he isn't opening up. He just answers HEA questions. Actually, the story comes from the mixup I got from anime and my own interpretation. I did not read the novels, though I keep in touch how they are progressing.

Of course he doesn't want them along. When Goblin Slayer sees a woman now, he sees only more troubles. No need to add more to the list…

Maybe it will be that long… who knows? Maybe I will update more frequently… though I wouldn¨t count on that.

Zealot24: I do not know how to reply to your wild reviews, but hey. For what it's worth, I am glad you enjoyed it.

Guest: Who doesn't like lemons?

DainBramagedMoFo: Glad to have another new reviewer on the story! As for the girls, there will be some non-human ones, but I do not plan to go overborad with that.

guyNumber23: Poor, poor Goblin Slayer. Trying to calm down dehydrated thirsty girls for him. "trying to seduce a rock" – I have never read more appropriate description of Goblin Slayer and his harem in my entire life.

Well, the first girl that will get into his pants will be… a girl.

Guest: Earth Mother and Supreme Goddess are indeed different goddesses even in this fic. I imagine them as Mother/Daughter gods. As for Sword Maiden's blindness, here she is indeed blind. Goblins burned her eyes, which will play a role in the story later on.

Guest: Sometimes I struggle with writing more, since there is not much time on my hands. I considered giving Goblin Slayer blood related abilities, like making blood crystal like claws out os his own body and as such. But so far, I stayed away from that idea.

Well, I think you want too much from Goblin Slayer when you ask him making a move on the girls. He is too clueless and confused right now.

I do not intend to abandon this fic.

Thanks for the praise!

I thank you No-Named-Dude for going through the chapter! Now onto the chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 18: Scouting Water Town

Another morning rose over Water Town as seagulls cawed around the magnificent Temple of Law. Large arched double windows on the upper floors let the early morning sun's rays hit the sleeping people inside. This window also doubled as a door, allowing the inhabitants to have access to the balcony that overlooked the sea. On the other side of the temple, the balconies overlooked white Water Town.

In this room, a certain man had begun waking up when someone quietly knocked on the door. Last night was yet another crazy night. As of late, these crazy days seemed to be popping up one after another, with not a single break in between them. Well, at least he would not have to deal with Hero and her party for today. They should still be tending to Sword Saint.

As his brain began functioning after a long night of sleep, Sword Maiden, naked as the day she was brought to this world, was basically lying on top of him, with the blanket covering only the lower parts of their bodies. She had one leg over his legs, one arm around his chest, head snuggled into his neck, and those soft marshmallow breasts pressed against his left side. Looking at her, she appeared to be at peace, with a soft smile on her face, and letting out a gentle and quiet snore.

His right hand held her arm wrapped around his chest, but somehow, the other hand decided to be a little naughty in his sleep, as his left hand held her soft butt. Goblin Slayer looked towards the ceiling above him and sighed.

The other girls at least had some lines they were not ready to cross yet. Sword Maiden on the other hand… didn't seem to have any lines. Or at least that was what her mask of the teasing archbishop gave off. Goblin Slayer knew that the vulnerable girl beneath was quite different.

Goblin Slayer gently repositioned Sword Maiden's leg and arm so he could get up, choosing not to stare at her beautiful body as the morning problems did not need to become even bigger and harder problems to deal with. She moaned slightly but did not wake up when he sat beside her in his trunks. It seemed like she shivered in fear for a moment at the loss of his touch.

Anyhow, it was nice to sleep through the night like a normal human again. Last night, as he was going to his and Sword Maiden's room, he met Dwarf Shaman, coming back from his nightly activities in the town's brothel. They talked a little, and when Goblin Slayer said that it was difficult to sleep at night, Dwarf Shaman offered to cast Stupor on him. Goblin Slayer agreed and that was how he fell asleep. And to be honest, it was a great thing to have at hand. Next time he would have to get some of that stupor powder from an alchemist and use it so he could sleep at night. There was the downside of your head hurting a bit after waking up, but with his newly enhanced body, it wasn't that much of an issue. Also, it is much cheaper than the regular sleeping powder, potions or pills.

Sword Maiden must have snuggled up to him when he was asleep. Such a spacious bed occupied only in the middle by two intertwined bodies. She was not subtle at all, even a dense guy like him could clearly see that.

A light knocking on the door brought Goblin Slayer back to the real world. "G-G-Goblin Slayer-san?" Priestess whispered behind the door. Her voice was so quiet even Goblin Slayer's enhanced ears had a hard time picking the whisper up.

"Yeah?" Goblin Slayer answered, keeping his voice down to not awake Sword Maiden next to him.

"M-M-M-May I talk t-to you o-o-outside?" Priestess whispered from the other side of the door.

"Something is not right. Again." Goblin Slayer thought. Priestess was normally an adorable ball of nervousness, but the stuttering now was much more prevalent than in their previous conversations.

"Yeah." Goblin Slayer answered Priestess. He got up from his bed, covered Sword Maiden in the blanket up to her neck, armored up, before leaving the room, with the naked archbishop still sleeping inside.

Outside of the room, a trembling Priestess waited, dressed in her usual robes with Kuma by her side. She was shivering, clearly being terrified of something. Goblin Slayer waited for her to speak, but she was avoiding his eyes and clearly wasn't ready to speak a word.

"If you are not feeling alright, you can stay here. It's just scouting of an area." Goblin Slayer said to the nervous Priestess, thinking she was not feeling well because of the upcoming quest. Looking at her, Goblin Slayer also noticed the bags under her eyes and how tired she looked. Gods know how long she had waited behind Sword Maiden's door. "Seems like whatever she wanted to tell me, must be important." He thought.

"I-I-I-It's n-n-not t-t-that, G-Goblin Slayer-san." Priestess nervously mumbled.

After several seconds of silence, Priestess's face lit up when she recalled something, and she began looking for something in her robes. She pulled a small piece of paper out of her robes. With her shivering hands, she tried to read the contents of the paper.

"G-g-g-goblin Sl-a-ayer san. E-e-ever s-s-since y-y-ou s-s-saved m-m-me, I a-admired y-y-you. E-e-even w-when y-you think t-that you are not worth much, I disagree. I want you to know you mean a whole lot more to me than you can possibly imagine. You are kind, in your own unique way, taking me under your wing when I had nowhere to go. You are reliable, always delivering on what you say. And also… quite handsome" A blushing Priestess slowly stopped stuttering as she eased into reading the paper. Her stuttering voice was exchanged with a gentleness she was known for.

"You saved so many people. So many… I can't help but believe you are as much of a hero as Hero herself." Goblin Slayer, closely listening to her every word saw her eyes getting watery. "You are the hero to the forgotten people. You are my hero. My mentor. And…" Priestess looked up from her letter, to see Goblin Slayer in his helmet looking at her. "the man I fell in love with." Priestess with tears in her eyes and reddened cheeks confessed, somehow not stuttering through it.

"I know I should have said it earlier, but… I was afraid. And now… I think this may be my last chance to do so, so… here it is. I love you, Goblin Slayer-san." Priestess confessed looking at Goblin Slayer with tears in her eyes, unintentionally crumbling the paper in her hands.

While Goblin Slayer was talking with High Elf Ranger and Hero down at the beach, Priestess was in her room, with a lit candle, paper, and ink on her table, trying to put her feelings on paper and confess to Goblin Slayer. Seeing High Elf Ranger getting dangerously interested in Goblin Slayer, and Sword Maiden seducing him without any hint of shame, Priestess knew that Female Paladin was right. She had to act NOW. So, picking up every ounce of courage she had, she decided to write what was on her mind during the night, and as soon as the sun would appear on the horizon, she would wait behind Sword Maiden's doors. But… she was starting to feel the effects of staying up all night while writing her love letter, and was starting to get sleepy, so she tried to wake up Goblin Slayer by gentle knocking, knowing full well he would hear it with his enhanced ears while Sword Maiden would not.

Meanwhile in Goblin Slayer's mind. "What. The. Actual. Fuck." Goblin Slayer thought. Was there like some sort of law that when a single girl was interested in you, somehow, magically, you'd become an irresistible man to every girl in the area? Like a light to moths?

And just look at that adorable face! What was he supposed to do right now? He did not want her to cry. Even Kuma knew she was crying because of him and was biting his boot to protect his mistress.

Priestess suddenly jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I thought I would lose you. When I saw you so beaten up… I thought I would never be able to tell you how I really feel. I am so glad you are still alive. I don't know what I would do in the world without you. You are my first true friend and love. I want you to know that…" And suddenly, the dam holding in all the bottled-up fears and feelings of Priestess burst as she began weeping into Goblin Slayer's chest.

Already having dealt with this situation with Cow Girl and kinda with Guild Girl, Goblin Slayer considered himself something of an already knowledgeable person on calming down girls. So, he hugged Priestess back, rubbing her back, as she was letting out all her emotions. Even Kuma near his leg looked confused at the turn of events, not knowing is he should continue biting his boot or not.

Calming Priestess down is one thing but answering her was another problem entirely. What was he supposed to tell her? He was sick of guessing what would make another person happy. "What would make you happy?" Goblin Slayer asked, his voice monotone.

The priestess looked up, seeing Goblin Slayer looking at her. Priestess blushed and buried her head in his chest plate even more. "This." she closed her eyes atop of his breastplate. Goblin Slayer sighed.

"What do you want me to do?" Goblin Slayer rephrased his question.

"Hold me." Priestess quietly said, losing herself in her own little world.

On the other hand, Goblin Slayer was getting frustrated with these one-word responses… was this how others felt when he gave his one-word answers to people's questions?

Anyhow, her breathing returned to a steady rhythm, and she was enjoying the safety of Goblin Slayer's arms.

"I think you should stay here while we go scout the sewers and caves of Water Town." Goblin Slayer said.

Her bright blue eyes opened, looking up at Goblin Slayer. "Why?" she asked, looking hurt.

Goblin Slayer pulled his hands from her waist up, cupped her head, and rubbed his armored thumb under her eyes. "You seem tired. How long have you waited for me to wake up?" Goblin Slayer asked.

Priestess blushed and averted her eyes from Goblin Slayer. "A while." Priestess mumbled.

Seeing the bags under her eyes, Goblin Slayer had decided. "You will stay here. You are too tired to join us today." Goblin Slayer stated. "Get some sleep."

"A-are you sure? I can still help." Priestess asked hopefully.

Though her puppy eyes would be effective another time, this time Goblin Slayer was unyielding. "I am, yeah. I planned the scouting for the whole day, and you would definitely fall behind in your current state as we progress." Goblin Slayer said, rubbing the bags under her eyes once again, resulting in another blush from Priestess. "Get some sleep, and when we're done here, in Water Town, I will talk to you about your confession." Goblin Slayer stated, again, his voice monotone without any hint of emotions.

Wide-eyed, Priestess with a slightly opened mouth said "Y-you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah. From what I've seen, unresolved or unaddressed love confessions do more harm in the long run than the resolved ones." Goblin Slayer said. "And I have a lot of questions." He added.

Priestess gulped nervously and looked down, not being able to face Goblin Slayer's helmet on his head. Seeing little Kuma on the floor, she found some solace in those bear black eyes, and picked him up, untangling herself from the hug of Goblin Slayer. "I'll wait then…" Priestess quietly said, petting Kuma.

"I'll walk you back to your room. I need to meet with the others in the meeting room regardless." Goblin Slayer said, looking at Priestess as she cradled the small bear with a gentle smile on her face. For a second, in front of Goblin Slayer's eyes flashed an image with a red-eyed baby instead of a bear cub in her arms. However, Goblin Slayer quickly shook it off. "Let's go." he said, wondering why he even imagined that.

"Hai…" Priestess quietly said, walking beside Goblin Slayer, still not able to look at his face. And so, in an awkward silence, the two made their way into the small meeting room where Goblin Slayer met his other three friends, with Priestess disappearing into her room.

Priestess behind closed doors, simply smiled. She was quite happy with how it turned out. She was expecting an outright rejection, but it appeared that Goblin Slayer had indeed yet to choose a girl. Although Guild Girl was currently in the lead, with the prearranged date she had with Goblin Slayer, the battle was far from over.

High Elf Ranger, Dwarf Shaman, Lizard Priest, and Goblin Slayer all stood on a small platform surrounded by water, with an entrance in the wall leading into the sewers of Water Town.

"Time to put that sword of yours to good use, Beard Cutter." Dwarf Shaman turned to Goblin Slayer.

Goblin Slayer pulled out the new sword from his sheath, the silver sword gleaming in the daylight. The rest of Goblin Slayer's teammates admired the silver blade since they haven't had a good look at it yet.

"Ignite!" Goblin Slayer said, running his marked hand along the blade, igniting the sword in a white/yellow flame, admiring it for a few seconds.

"You look like Heaven's Warrior, sir Goblin Slayer." Lizard Priest commented with a smile.

"Change that dirty armor of yours into shining white armor, and you'll look like a warrior angel." Dwarf Shaman laughed, resulting in a displeased groan from Goblin Slayer, which was unusual. He often did not mind the jabs being directed at him.

"Have you nothing to add, Long Ears?" laughing Dwarf Shaman asked High Elf Ranger.

And as everyone turned to look at High Elf Ranger, they noticed that she wasn't even paying attention to them. She was facing in the opposite direction, looking out towards the sea.

"Long Ears?" Dwarf Shaman asked again, and High Elf Ranger kept looking at the shiny blue waters. It wasn't until Dwarf Shaman poked her side that she finally snapped out of her thoughts.

"Are you with us, Long Ears?" Dwarf Shaman asked unsurely.

High Elf Ranger looked at Goblin Slayer, standing there with a flaming sword in his hand, looking back at her. "Yeah. I'm good." High Elf ranger said.

"Oooooukey. Let us head inside then." Dwarf Shaman said skeptically.

And thus, Goblin Slayer's party without the presence of Priestess, entered the sewers of Water Town, with Goblin Slayer's sword lighting the way.

The maze they were in was called the sewers of Water Town. Water Town itself was a fairly large place, with hundreds of buildings. And with lots of buildings, came a lot of sewage. The easiest way would be to direct every single canal into the sea and be done with it.

The first building built in this place was the Temple of Law, and thanks to that, throwing sewage directly to the sea was strictly forbidden by the temple. The idea behind this sewage system was to direct it into the forest behind the town, acting as a compost-like substance for the plant life there. And thanks to this idea, the sewers were much larger than regular ones, covering not only the town but part of the forest behind it.

Goblin Slayer noticed how his enhanced body began picking up various sounds which he would otherwise be unable to hear. Bats, rats, spiders… he heard them all. Some louder, some quieter, but all present in the sewer system of Water Town.

Slowly but surely, Goblin Slayer's party reached the area of the sewers where they had buried the Gate Mirror without any interruptions. And just as Goblin Slayer predicted long ago, Sword Maiden's swamp lizard was using it as a bed.

"What a magnificent beast…" Dwarf Shaman commented when he saw Sword Maiden's summon in the white light of Goblin Slayer's silver flame.

"Indeed." Lizard Priest said as High Elf Ranger remained quiet.

On the block of concrete, a 9-meter long albino alligator lay resting, seemingly calm and unbothered by the presence of Goblin Slayer's party. Goblin Slayer's red eyes met the alligator's own crimson ones, in an intense staring contest. Goblin Slayer wondered if having a sword in hand was going to cause trouble for them in this situation. Fortunately for him, Sword Maiden's summon closed its eyes, shifting slightly, getting into a sleeping position, clearly giving away the alligator had no intention of engaging in a fight.

"Seems like Sword Maiden tamed it more." Goblin Slayer thought. After all, last time they were here, they were running from the white swamp beast.

With the threat of being an alligator snack fading away, Goblin Slayer looked around the place with his red eyes. Seems like the swamp lizard was living a peaceful life in here, with no one to disturb him. No goblin bones to indicate the alligators appetite for goblins were present. It was evident that goblins were not in this area, unless the albino alligator stopped eating goblins. Even goblin odor was not present in the sewers.

Though that begs the question. How does the swamp lizard feed itself?

His guess would be that Sword Maiden would come here now and then to feed her summon, otherwise Goblin Slayer had no idea how it could survive here, without eating goblins. Maybe this beast enjoys rat and bat meat…

"Swamp Lizard seems alright. So, what now?" High Elf Ranger asked, the change in tone of her speech apparent to Goblin Slayer. Her voice was calmer, with the angry undertone she usually had now being replaced with a more deeply suppressed one.

"We will walk around a little more in the sewers. Then, we will visit the beach caves in Water Town." Goblin Slayer stated to which his party agreed.

The trio of adventurers continued to walk through the putrid smelling maze, looking for any signs of goblin activity. Scratches on the ground and walls, droplets of blood, any whiff of goblin odor in the air, but no matter how much of the sewers they went through, they did not find anything. Half a day they spent there, covering more or less every place they could, but it seemed there was indeed nothing, as Goblin Slayer suspected. So, they set out for the next place of interest, the beach caves.

During the quest, High Elf Ranger hadn't voiced any of her thoughts. Goblin Slayer had noticed this. High Elf Ranger began acting differently from her usual loudmouth self. For what reason he was unsure of, but he had a hunch that the talk they had last night may be the reason for this change in behavior.

Usually, High Elf Ranger walked with her head held high, confident, and with pride. Now though, she was looking at the floor, saddened, as they were walking out of the sewers. It was weird seeing Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman having a small talk behind him, with High Elf Ranger not intruding the conversation.

Walking along the beaches of Water Town, Goblin Slayer's mind started to become restless. Something about this change in High Elf Ranger's behavior just didn't sit well with him. He didn't like it one bit. As much as he hated it when she hurt his ears with her yelling, he was missing it somewhat now. This quiet sulked down elf just was not the loud-mouthed green haired elven archer he knew.

"What is happening, High Elf Ranger." Goblin Slayer looked back at the elf over his shoulder.

"Huh?" she looked up with surprised lime eyes.

"You are not yourself." Goblin Slayer commented, garnering the attention of the remaining two members of their party.

High Elf Ranger was stunned for a second, before flashing Goblin Slayer a sad smile. "Just a lot of things on my mind lately. Nothing to worry about." she said.

Now not only Goblin Slayer, but even Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman registered in their minds that something was wrong with High Elf Ranger. Where was the over defensive yelling?

"…" Goblin Slayer remained silent, his teammates not saying a word. A minute later, when Dwarf Shaman began piecing things together, he smiled knowingly. It seemed like the things he told her about had reached her.

In an awkward silence, the party reached one of the beach caves. The party had spent hours in the caves, looking for any clues with Goblin Slayer's sword providing light in the darkness. They went through 5 beach caves, some short, some long, but all without a single trace of a goblin. Looking under rocks, inspecting every scratch on the walls, looking for any tattered clothes, trying to find any sign of goblin odor in the air with their noses, they tried everything.

The first two caves were nothing special, just a bunch of rocks and nothing to look for. Though the first one was much longer than the second one, making their job needlessly tedious.

The fun began in the third cave, wherein the end they encountered a large spider inside. Goblin Slayer and High Elf Ranger gave a heads up when they heard the spider with their enhanced ears, and Dwarf Shaman used his Rock Blast as soon as they saw the arachnid. The spider had no chance against the giant rock that was thrown his way, smashing it instantly, with a blood puddle being formed underneath the spider. Goblin Slayer then quickly suggested the next cave, as the smell of the spider's blood and guts began to intensify in his nose.

At the fourth cave, Goblin Slayer began questioning this goblin quest more and more. He had a similar feeling like he had with the vampire encounter. Someone very smart was behind this, and truth be told, he had no idea how to deal with anything other than goblins. Nothing against his teammates, but they were not the best when it came to coming up with ideas on the fly against strong opponents. So, when they finally do encounter this mastermind, it may again fall on his shoulders to come up with a quick decent plan.

Goblin Slayer sighed. "That's a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders. And they seem to stack up more and more ever since I've met them." he thought, looking at his teammates, as they stood in the dark empty cave on the beach.

"So, Beard Cutter, do you plan on doing anything else this evening?" Dwarf Shaman asked when they reached the end of the last beach cave they found, with nothing in sight. They began slowly walking back to the Temple of Law.

"Hmm…" Goblin Slayer thought, his fire sword illuminating the cave.

There was indeed some time to spare for the day, and it seemed like a waste not to do anything productive. It wasn't until Goblin Slayer's party walked through the streets of Water Town, when Goblin Slayer saw the quiet High Elf from the corner of his eye in the back, he got an idea.

"High Elf Ranger, will you have dinner with me?" Goblin Slayer asked.

And just like that, everyone stopped walking and jaws were comically dropping to the floor one by one. All three of his teammates were utterly speechless, including the blushing High Elf Ranger.

Goblin Slayer on the other hand had no idea why they were so shocked. Didn't they notice how High Elf Ranger was behaving differently? Someone had to talk to her about it, and since Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest were not interested, it fell on him to do it. Not to mention, she began acting strangely after the talk they had at the beach, so it may well have been his fault in the first place. Was it really that weird to help a friend? He thought this was what friends do.

"W-well, Scaly. I think we should go." Dazed Dwarf Shaman suggested, pointing towards the Temple of Law with his thumb.

"Y-yeah." Equally astonished Lizard Priest answered . Even Lizard Priest knew this was the kind of thing humans did when trying to court someone.

And just like that, Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman left the blushing elf and confused human/vampire alone, in the middle of the street. Goblin Slayer waved his other two friends off, still waiting for High Elf Ranger's answer.

"W-w-w-why are y-y-ou asking me t-t-to go f-f-for dinner?!" High Elf Ranger stuttered out, trying to sound angry but it was only making her sound even more embarrassed.

"I want to talk with you about something." Goblin Slayer stated, monotonously like always.

High Elf Ranger couldn't even keep eye contact with Goblin Slayer and turned around... How was one supposed to react to that? Did he even know what he had just asked her? "Will you have dinner with me" is the line used to invite girls out on a date! Like, the most common one!

"W-w-what do you want to talk about?" High Elf Ranger stuttered out, the red color in her cheeks spreading to her pointy ears.

"You and me." Goblin Slayer answered.

High Elf Ranger widened her eyes, even more, steam escaping from her ears. The noble elf grabbed her two braids framing her face, hiding her blushing face from Goblin Slayer. "W-w-what are you doing! Y-y-you can't just ask an unmarried girl out to a dinner like that out of nowhere!" High Elf stuttered out, hiding behind her green hair.

Now it was Goblin Slayer's turn to be confused. "You don't want to go?" Goblin Slayer asked uncertainly. And what did the fact that she was not married have to do with anything. Maybe… there was some social concept that he missed, and had asked something inappropriate. Again. "I really need to read something."

"I-" High Elf Ranger was ready to scream at Goblin Slayer. "I… would like… that." High Elf Ranger admitted, in an unusual and embarrassed quiet tone. "B-b-but this doesn't mean anything!" she yelled out, uncovering her blushing face again, bringing the old High Elf Ranger back.

Confused, Goblin Slayer began regretting his invitation. He just wanted to get to the root of her sunken attitude, but it would seem like elven moods really were a fickle thing. What was he supposed to do with that? He just wanted to help his… friend.

"Let's go then…" he said and High elf Ranger followed him into the city.

The whole time Goblin Slayer and his party were looking for goblins, the mysterious cloaked figure was watching from afar, studying his every move, waiting for a perfect time to attack Goblin Slayer. "As soon as you take the helmet down, you are done for." The figure smiled, brushing his brown gloved fingers against the blade of a sharp knife.

"There is no way around this… I am definitely on a date… with Orcbolg." High Elf Ranger thought, looking at her dinner plate which consisted of fish and cooked vegetables. She had never felt so… anxious in her entire life. Legs closely together, stiffened hands grabbing her knees, head looking down with a visible blush on her face.

It didn't help, that Goblin Slayer took off his helmet for dinner, putting it on the side of the table, revealing the handsome face everyone in the Guild drooled over.

"And here is your plate, young man." an elven waitress said, putting down a dish with steak and potatoes in front of Goblin Slayer, with a beaming smile. "Enjoy your meal." she added. Goblin Slayer wordlessly thanked the waitress with a small bow of his head.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, looking directly at her.

High Elf Ranger did not have enough courage to lift her head and look at his face. And why was she so nervous anyway?! It was not like he knew that this was the exact definition of a date. And if he did, he was playing this clueless game damn well.

"N-n-n-nothing. Just… D-D-Did you even read what this restaurant is called?!" High Elf Ranger answered his question, stuttering her own.

"I did, but it was in elvish. And I do not speak elvish." Goblin Slayer answered.

Sometimes, High Elf Ranger could not believe how he could miss obvious things. Even if he could not understand the elven tongue, just the look of this place should hint at the fact, this was not a place where you take your friends. Especially the ones with the opposite sex.

This restaurant was right next to the bridge that connected the Temple of Law to the rest of Water Town. It was basically built into the cliffside, in such a way that above this restaurant was built houses. You go down a stone staircase, engraved into the cliffside, with glass railings, and just when you were about halfway under the bridge, a smaller restaurant greeted you.

You eat in a cave, overlooking the sea and the Temple of law. But this was not like those dirty caves, oh no. This one was well kept, with wooden tables placed even near the end of the engraved cavern. And Goblin Slayer and High Elf Ranger were at one of these tables. The sun setting in the distance, with a candle and a rose on their table, alongside the smell of freshly cooked food from further in the cave, gave this place a romantic atmosphere. How could Goblin Slayer not pick up that this place was for couples?!

Quite easily actually. This was the closest restaurant to the Temple of Law. Why go needlessly any further?

It was a little awkward being here in their adventure gear, especially Goblin Slayer in his cheap armor, but the elven owners gladly let them in as soon as they saw who Goblin Slayer brought with him.

"What's with me that you wanted to talk about?!" High Elven Ranger asked, finally looking up. This was so awkward!

"You are not yourself, so I thought talking it through somewhere private would help." Goblin Slayer said, beginning to eat his steak

"Who told you that?" a surprised High Elf Ranger asked. She highly doubted he came up with this idea on his own. Or the fact he would notice she was not as loud as she usually was.

"What exactly? That you are not yourself or that I should discuss this with you somewhere private?" Goblin Slayer asked, continuing to eat his potatoes and steak.

"Both." High Elf Ranger replied, finally easing herself in her chair, relaxing her stiffened hands, and parting her legs slightly.

"First, I noticed it myself. Second, I just guessed." Goblin Slayer said. To be honest, Goblin Slayer himself found it easier to talk about feelings and stuff when no one interrupted them.

"Since when do you pay attention to other's feelings?" High Elf Ranger asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting her head. High Elf Ranger was genuinely curious since Goblin Slayer is… well, Goblin Slayer.

"I always did. But I am not very good at judging how people feel." Goblin Slayer said, monotone, taking another bite of his steak.

High Elf Ranger was surprised once again. The more she made Goblin Slayer open up, the more she found out, that he was actually a decent person. It was just the event that happened to him scarred him mentally to the point people see him as an idiot.

"However, that's not why we are here. What is going on with you?" Goblin Slayer asked, now pausing in his eating, staring directly into High Elf Ranger's lime eyes with his ruby ones. Just like with Cow Girl, having those bloody red eyes staring into your soul was intimidating to her. Something about his neutral expression and lightly squinted blood eyes brought out a scary side of Goblin Slayer.

"I… Nothing's wrong with me." High Elf Ranger deflected the statement defensively.

"Clearly there is, otherwise, you would be yelling at me right now." Goblin Slayer replied, staring at her.

"What is so wrong with me not yelling?! Don't you all prefer me not yelling anyway?!" High Elf Ranger frowned at Goblin Slayer but did not yell.

"I don't mind either way, though sometimes you hurting my ears annoys me." Goblin Slayer really didn't mind, as he finds all human interactions exhausting, both the yelling, and non-yelling ones. To be honest, you could yell at him all you want, just don't be persistent. Throw some insults, go away, and you two would be on better terms than he was with the persistent, yet good-hearted Hero.

High Elf Ranger was shocked yet again. Nearly everyone she knew hated her explosive nature. And she expected it to be the same way with Goblin Slayer too. Especially Goblin Slayer, since this man liked things quiet.

"You not yelling is not an issue. You seem to space out a lot, and I worry this will show in our upcoming battle with the goblins and their leader." Goblin Slayer stated, already halfway through his plate.

"I will do my job. Do not worry." High Elf Ranger replied, crossing her arms, looking away from Goblin Slayer.

"That's what every adventurer says before choking in a battle, causing his entire team along with himself to get killed." Goblin Slayer stated. "I suspect it has something to do with our talk yesterday. And if it is, forget about it." Goblin Slayer continued, finishing his plate of food, putting the knife and the fork at the side of the plate.

Just like with Dwarf Shaman, Goblin Slayer thinks she might cause their deaths if she doesn't pull herself together… Seems like choking in battle was more plausible and common than she realized….

And that "Forget about it" Yeah, right. How could she forget such a real-life retelling of a horror story? That night, the simple crush she was developing for Goblin Slayer was growing into something more. And today's talk just fueled those feelings.

Not to mention her constant views about how horrible goblins were. She knew the usual, but the fact there were dozens, if not hundreds of people with a nearly identical story to Goblin Slayer's put a worm inside her head. When will this suffering of the smallfolk end?

"I… I have just been thinking about goblins more, and what they are capable of." High Elf Ranger responded, telling the half-truth about her change in behavior.

Now it was Goblin Slayer who was surprised. High Elf Ranger was always about the adventure and nothing more. Yeah, when she saw that elf in that dungeon, she became quite upset. But she never really thought too much about the encounter afterwards. It just added another creature to her hate list.

"Don't think about them too much, or you will end up like me." Goblin Slayer warned her.

"Would… Would that be so bad?" High Elf Ranger asked.

"For the peasants? No. For your own happiness? Yes." Goblin Slayer said. Then, Goblin Slayer looked at the plate in front of High Elf Ranger. "Your food is gonna get cold." Goblin Slayer stated.

"Huh?" High Elf Ranger blinked a couple of times. When she looked down, she could not believe that she had forgotten about her food! She really was not herself…

When High Elf Ranger was finally going to eat her fish and vegetables, her eyes and ears perked up when she heard a knife being drawn from a pouch in front of her. Drawing a knife from a pouch? In a restaurant? She quickly raised her head up and saw a small hooded figure, in a dark green cloak ready to stab a small knife into Goblin Slayer's neck, standing right behind him.

"ORBOLG! LOOK OUT!" High Elf Ranger screamed out, sweeping the plate, candle, rose and Goblin Slayer's helmet of the table, ready to jump over the table to tackle Goblin Slayer out of the knife's way.

Fortunately for her, Goblin Slayer noticed the same sound of a knife being pulled out with his own enhanced ears. In the blink of an eye, Goblin Slayer turned around, stopping the knife with his armored hand right before it could stab his neck. In that heat of a moment, Goblin Slayer did not think, and threw the smaller figure over his shoulder onto the table and stabbed the neck of the figure with the knife he ate with just a few moments earlier. A loud gasp was heard as the cloaked figure dropped the knife on the cave floor under the table.

Burying the knife deep into this person's throat, Goblin Slayer held the hooded person on the table, as the person struggled to catch a breath. Goblin Slayer yanked the hood off the assailant, with the knife running through the neck part of the hood.

Goblin Slayer recognized this person immediately. "The Rhea Adventurer…" Goblin Slayer thought. The same Rhea that was demoted by Guild Girl…

"A- What-How-You-Not-Heard-Me." Rhea Adventurer gasped in terror, coughing up his blood, grabbing his own neck in desperation.

Goblin Slayer watched with a neutral expression as the Rhea in front of him was living his last moments, all the while High Elf Ranger was still looking at Goblin Slayer, wide-eyed, from the fact that someone would try to attack Goblin Slayer out of the blue like that. And at a restaurant, nonetheless.

The duo at the table did not even notice the banshee-like shriek of an elven waitress. Every person in the restaurant was running up the stone stairs, screaming in terror, calling for guards.

Goblin Slayer watched as the last gasp of breath escaped Rhea's lips, before limply lying on the table. Why would this guy try to kill him? He was just an observer in the promotional exam. He didn't even do anything at that time. He just sat there, bored out of his mind, thinking about goblins.

"Are you alright, Orcbolg?" High Elf Ranger asked, quietly, hoping nothing happened to Goblin Slayer.

"Yeah." Goblin Slayer said, breathlessly, having his eyes glued on the Rhea who attacked him.

High Elf Ranger sighed in relief. Afterward, she looked down at the dead rhea, as the last person in the restaurant ran away. "Who is he?" High Elf Ranger asked, no one in particular. However, to her surprise, Goblin Slayer answered.

"An adventurer who was demoted by Guild Girl." Goblin Slayer replied, not averting his eyes from the rhea.

High Elf Ranger raised an eyebrow. "You actually know him?!" she asked.

"Yeah. Though I do not know why he would attack me." Goblin Slayer said.

Goblin Slayer's nose began picking up a familiar scent from the dead rhea. Whiffing some more, Goblin Slayer took the cloak of the rhea and put it in front of his nose.

"What are you doing?" High Elf Ranger asked baffled by his behavior. Though by now, she should have been used to it.

Goblin Slayer ignored High Elf Ranger, sniffing the cloak more and more. Shortly after, he dropped the cloak.

"Don't you smell it?" Goblin Slayer asked.

High Elf Ranger tilted her head in confusion. But now that Goblin Slayer mentioned it, she noticed the foreign smell the rhea emitted. When she inclined her head towards rhea's cloak and took one sniff, her eyes widened. "Goblins?" she said unsurely, sniffing some more just to make sure she was correct.

"And something else." Goblin Slayer urged High Elf Ranger to figure out another clue. High Elf Ranger took another whiff of the air surrounding the dead rhea. This took a little longer to figure out, but she picked up another scent.

"Sewage?!" High Elf Ranger raised her voice.

Goblin Slayer was as baffled as High Elf Ranger. They went through the sewers already, taking all the paths they saw on the city sewer map, but nowhere had they picked up a goblin scent nor sounds.

"H… How is that possible?" High Elf Ranger asked, slightly on edge from the discovery.

"He may have just passed the sewers on his way here…" Goblin Slayer mused, playing out one of the possibilities. Though in his opinion, this was no accident. The rhea is the only person in Water Town that reeked of goblins and had wanted to kill him, the Goblin Slayer. That was either an incredibly unlikely coincidence, or all of this was connected.

"Do you really think that?" High Elf Ranger asked, with concern in her eyes, as both stood by the table with the dead rhea staining the white sheet underneath with blood.

"No. I think someone sent him from the sewers to take care of me. We may possess a threat to the plans of the mastermind." Goblin Slayer said. There was the possibility this rhea is the mastermind, but… he seems to dumb for that, so Goblin Slayer doubts that.

High Elf Ranger herself thought about the attack and the reasons behind it. "You were right. Someone is definitely behind this. But… the sewers? We were there already." High Elf Ranger said.

"We were…" Goblin Slayer said, pausing for a moment. "It is still possible that we missed something. There may be some magic walls we missed. Maybe another mirror, hidden from non-magic eyes. We will need to return there and inspect the sewers more, this time with something to reveal the usage of magic." Goblin Slayer stated, quickly coming up with a new plan.

"Yeah. That sounds reasonable…" High Elf Ranger said.

The duo quietly watched the body of rhea for a few seconds, until their sensitive ears picked up the clinging of armors, running down the restaurant stone stairs. The guards of the city surrounded their table in seconds, pointing their spears at High Elf Ranger and Goblin Slayer.

"Don't. MOVE." One of the guards said when Goblin Slayer turned to the guards.

"This will take a while to explain…" Goblin Slayer thought.

Author's note: Finally done!

So it was the rhea from before! Don't know how surprising that is, but here you go.

Priestess finally confessed to, so now only two remain, with Sword Maiden not really needing to confess since it is quite obvious to everyone else. Though don't worry Sword Maiden fans, she will get her confession scene with GS too.

HEA is finally developing so that's nice. Anyway, I am tired and don't have much to say. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter!

That's all from me. Leave a review and see ya in the next chapter!