The next day, I woke up early as always, feeling like I was forgetting something..

But this time, I had to keep quiet since the elf children are still sleeping..

And quite soundly at that..

After I informed the innkeeper that I'm going out for a bit, I left the inn..

I went outside the city and trained once more as always..

After another refreshing session, I started to walk back to the city..

When I looked towards the direction of the rising sun, I suddenly noticed a malignant aura in the opposite direction..

It was just over the west horizon..

When I enhanced my sense, I could see..

What seemed to be..

An army, a huge one..

I got surprised a bit, and automatically observed the situation..

They numbered about a thousand..

The army seems to be entirely composed of [Goblin] variants..

Such as, [Goblin Knights], [Goblin Mages], [Goblin Archers], [Hobgoblin Raiders], but mostly [Goblins]..

Oh, and there's another one, a goblin bigger than all of them..

Right in the center of their formation..

A [Goblin King], huh?

I used to meet those sometimes in my training days, at first, I had trouble with their giant bodies and proportional strength, and the fact that I can't get to him easy because the subordinates would block my way..

Then, after a few tries, I managed to kill one..

After that, I got scolded by Master, but not for fighting a stronger opponent, mind you..

But for taking so long against a small fry..

Naturally, I complained about its enormous strength back then..

But, he would not listen to anything I said because he said that I was making excuses..

Instead, he taught me one of the ways to take advantage of an opponent's size and strength against itself..

But I couldn't do it properly since I was still a kid back then with an undeveloped body..

And so, after much reflection and deliberation, I incorporated the skills Master taught me into something I've learned back on earth, Judo..

I learned judo in hopes to make friends with other students by exchanging techniques..

But it only made it worse..

Since after I fought everyone, they were too afraid of me..

So much that, they skipped going to judo lessons altogether..

As a result, my instructor told me that I should quit, since his business was going to fail..

My dark history, out of many..

Well, after I did that, I started to beat [Goblin Kings] whenever I met them and didn't get a single scratch..

Oops, I was too busy thinking about my training days, they seem to be coming closer to the vicinity of the town..

Well, since it's been a while, let's try it shall we?

I thought to myself while stretching my arms in a circular motion, moving towards the [Goblin Army]..

A few minutes later, I am now walking back to the city..

It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be..

Once I swooped in, in a straight line while piercing everything in sight..

Then I made it to the [Goblin King] and grabbed his gigantic body and pinned him to the ground..

Then, when I chopped the [Goblin King's] head off, they were in chaos..

After their leader was dead, they scattered off to who knows where..

(sigh) Did my body get too fast? That guy could barely react to my movements..

Well, on the bright side, even after all that blood sprayed into the air, I didn't get any speck of it on my clothes..

I guess a more developed body is good for something..

So I tried to catch all of them, but most got away..

I then proceeded to put the leader's corpse in my storage and walked back to the city leaving the bloody massacre behind, I would have liked to cremate them since it would attract beasts, but sadly, I couldn't use [Fire Magic]..

I still regret not being able to use magic in a fantasy world..

I didn't know what to do with all the information about magic spells in my head from reading light novels..

But, there's nothing I can do about it..

I go through the gates and go back to my room at the inn and greet the elf children..

"Good Morning, Anna-chan, Lute-kun.."

I say in a bright tone towards the two who are sleepily rubbing their eyes..

"Fue~ Good Morning, Onii.."

"*Yawn* Good Morning, Niichan.."

So cute, is this what it's like to have little siblings?

"Now, get dressed, and let's go downstairs and eat breakfast.."

""Yes""

I turn for the door and let them change..

After that, we went to the first floor and had breakfast..

Today's menu was some bread, soup and an egg-sausage combo with vegetables..

Their eyes lit up at the sight of a luxurious breakfast like it was the first time they saw it..

After we said grace, they started to shovel down food down their throats..

I don't know about their god though..

Since they were chanting something before the meal..

If I remember correctly, it was Avaceris, the Nature Goddess which rules over the Elven Continent..

Was that supposed to be a prayer to her?

Oh, now's not the time for that..

"Anna-chan, Lute-kun, eat your meal slowly, it's not going away you know?"

After I said that, they stopped eating and then swallowed in unison..

Is this a gag show or something?

But after, Anna-chan had a slightly displeased face..

"Onii, if it's hard to call us that, I don't mind if you call me Anna, if you want.."

Her voice slightly trails off at the end, and why is she looking away..

"Oh, me too, like Ann-neechan said, call me Lute, niichan!"

The energetic little boy dives in almost instantly and shouts in a voice heard by the other customers..

To which they show various gentle smiles..

Such cute kids..

"Alright, well then, let's take care of each other from now on, okay? Anna, Lute.."

They both beam a cheerful smile at my words..

Somehow they got really attached to me..

Well, they are still kids after all..

And it is exactly that reason..

Why I can't free them yet..

Yesterday, I was planning to free them after buying them..

But soon after, I noticed that if I freed them now, they would only end up back at the "Slave Trader's Guild", live on the streets and alleys, starving everyday, or worse, run out of the city and get killed by demonic beasts..

Since they were just kids, and added to that, elves, in a land filled with humans..

I think they won't treat their race as kindly as the demi-humans..

Since there was a war going on between them even until now..

Now, I know this would just look like I'm feeding my ego, but still, Master always taught me that..

When I start something, I better damn well finish it..

So what I took from that in this situation is this..

I should find a way to get them back home to the Elven Continent if an opportunity arises..

And until then, I will take care of them and train them to get stronger until they don't need me anymore..

Just like how Master trained me..

Well, not exactly how he trained me, but you get the idea..

Since I know that the guilt will eat away at me if I just irresponsibly threw them away..

Well, you can call it self-satisfaction if you want..

The point is, I want to help them..

And they might help me, in regards to information about this world..

I can't expect them to know much about it since they're kids but still..

They were caught up in that war for a reason..

Maybe I can get a clue about the hero this way, if I'm lucky..

Oh man, did I just really think about luck right now..

I think I might have just raised a flag right there..

After we finished eating. I asked the two if they want to buy some equipment..

And I know that they're still under-aged but I want to give them at least something to protect themselves with..

So we walked around the business district and found a blacksmith shop with the sign, "Gemini City Blacksmith"

We entered and found an empty shop filled with swords, armor, plate mails. spears, bows, and staves..

"Um, Is anyone here?"

I shout towards the counter..

Then suddenly, I hear a gruff voice..

"Yeah, yeah, welcome to my workshop, the name's Rodrick, how can I help you?"

A giant man came out from the back door of the counter..

He seemed to be 2 or more meters tall, had bulging muscles, a brown beard dirtied with black ash, and narrow slit eyes with a satisfied expression, looking at me and the children..

"Elves, huh?"

He said that in a confirming tone, but I detected no malice from it or him..

He seems to be a good person who doesn't judge people by their looks..

"Ah, nice to meet you Rodrick-san, I'm Orion and this is Anna, and Lute.."

I introduce myself and the children to the blacksmith..

"Fumu, so, what are you looking for today, you seem like a swordsman yourself.."

He can tell, as expected from one who makes weapons for a living..

"Ah, no, I wanted these kids to pick out a new weapon for protection.."

"Is that so, well, it's fine, it's been dangerous nowadays.."

I'm glad he's understanding..

I tell them to pick out whatever they want..

It seemed to have taken a while, since Lute seemed to have tried every weapon in the store before choosing..

What he picked out of all weapons was a strange weapon called a [Composite Bow], a bow shaped in an x-shape..

When I asked Rodrick-san, he thought Lute was weird too, since that weapon was difficult to use because it is a combination of two different elemental bows, which are hard to use together or simultaneously..

Rodrick-san called it useless, since it won't even sell..

He said he got that from a travelling man with a hood, and the man sold it to him, saying it was a magical weapon..

Turns out, he thought he was ripped off because you couldn't even use the bow properly when tested..

But when he tried to find the man, he was gone..

It was a strange story, but I still listened to it till the end..

While Lute chose the bow, Anna seemed to have liked a long staff with various [Elemental Stones] embedded in it..

It was taller than Anna but she looked like a genuine mage, so I approved of it..

I found out that Rodrick-san makes custom weapons and armor, so I told him..

"Rodrick-san, could you make me a custom-sword out of this.."

I said to him with an absentminded expression while placing one [Mithril Ore] from my storage onto the counter..

His eyes seem to have blown out of their sockets when he saw it..

"Th-thi-this, is a [Mithril Ore] isn't it... Where did you get such a thing?"

He stuttered while asking..

I replied to him saying "I found it somewhere"

I was met with cold eyes..

Was that a wrong answer?

"Well, it's fine if you don't want to tell me, but this can't be found normally around here, it's a legendary ore that we blacksmiths dream of handling, so please, let me make something out of it.."

He bows to me with an earnest demeanor..

How would he react if I told them that I had more of that and other legendary-class ore in my storage..

Hmm..

Nope, let's not tell him after all, it could make him faint..

"Okay, can you make me a sword out of it then?"

"Oh, leave it to me, I'll make it to the best of my abilities!"

He seems so pumped up, well I only asked for a sword since traveling around without a weapon would look weird..

So I need it for appearances sake..

Although I can't talk much about appearances..

"Ah, well, how much will it cost?"

"Ah, no, if you let me work with this precious ore, I will only sell it to you if I am proud of it, only then, will we talk about the price..Oh, and if I fail, I will reimburse you, so don't worry.."

Eh, he has a chance of failing?

Even though he's a professional blacksmith?

Well, it's fine, it was just a whim after all..

"Sure, now, let's pay for the weapons.."

I payed for the children's weapons and leather breastplates and guards included..

After we finished what we came here for, we left the blacksmith who said it would be ready in a week or so..

"Well, now that you have weapons, we'll go to the adventurers' guild to take a quest!"

""Yes!""

They seem excited..

After a few minutes, we made it to the guild..

When we entered, there were various people moving in and out and talking to one another inside..

There seemed to be something big going on, but I didn't want to get involved and moved to the request board..

I picked out a quest catered for [Rank F] adventurers, [The Goblin Subjugation]..

The details were that it was a repeatable quest, kill 3 [Goblins] and bring their ears as proof of subjugation..

The rewards were 1 silver coin per goblin..

It seemed reasonable, and it would be a good chance to hunt down the remains of the [Goblin Army]..

It was a win-win situation, so I took it and went towards the counter..

"Yo, Ella-san, what's going on? why do you look so nervous?"

"Ah, Orion-san, you haven't heard? There are- oh, who are these children?"

Ella-san seemed tense and she was about to tell me something but her eyes got stolen by the kids..

They hid behind me when she looked at them..

Stop drooling, Ella-san..

The kids are afraid, you know?

"Ah, Ella-san, this is Anna and Lute, my new companions.."

"Is that so? Are you taking care of these kids? They seem so cute.."

"Ah, yes I agree, but even if that was so, it is not relevant to my question, you were saying something?"

I try to steer the conversation forward and Ella-san seemed to have snapped out of her delusion and started talking..

"Yes, where was I, that's right, there was something troubling in the adventurer's reports.."

"Troubling, how so?"

I ask, slightly perplexed..

"Well, according to some parties, they seemed to have seen a gathering of [Goblins] near the forests and grasslands.."

"So?"

"But when they started to subjugate them, they started multiplying exponentially, and soon outnumbered them.."

I listen to it with slightly more interest than before..

"They had to retreat since they saw that they were no match for the waves of [Goblins] and they reported it here.."

"And what is the pressing problem about the multiplying of [Goblins]?"

I still don't get the point..

"Well, after that, numerous parties gathered together to subjugate them, but it ended in failure, since there were not just [Goblins], but many different variants as well, and the one who was leading them all into forming an army was a terrible foe, something that needs the imperial army to subjugate, a [Goblin King].."

"..."

I stare blankly..

As my interest left like the wind..

"Why aren't you reacting, the army lead by a [Goblin King] is heading to town, you know? That's why were so busy right now, it's a troubling situation.."

I see Ella-san pacing back and forth behind the counter trying to find a way out of her dilemma..

Yosh, let's speak up..

"Ah, you don't need to worry about that, Ella-san.."

"Eh? Why shouldn't I be worried?"

"Well, because.."

I take out the [Goblin King]'s corpse with the head out of storage and onto the floor..

"I already killed it.."

"Eh?"

Ella-san released a stupid voice looking at the gigantic figure of the [Goblin King]..

After a few seconds, the whole guild gets silent and stares are all over me and the corpse..

And finally, Ella-san speaks up..

"You can use [Item Box] Orion-san? Wait, that's not the point! Is that really the [Goblin King]?"

"Yes, you can check it to make sure, so please stop worrying.."

"Ah-ah, impossible, a lone adventurer subjugating a [Goblin King] by himself is unheard of.."

Oops, Ella-san seemed to be struggling with her emotions right now, so let's get out of here while we can..

"Oh, and this, I want to take this quest, well then, I'm off! Let's go, Anna, Lute.."

I say hastily as I place the request paper on the counter and grab the children's hands, leaving the stunned Ella-san and the other adventurers while walking a little faster than normal towards the exit..

"See you later!"

I say as I close the door from the outside and walk towards the gates with the children in tow..

.........

A few minutes later, a loud shout made in unison saying "Ehhhh?" in a surprised and baffled tone was heard throughout the city coming from the [Adventurers' Guild] that day, but the one who was the cause, was oblivious to this fact...