I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 308: The Powerful Outsider Crushes the Local Tyrant

"What's happening?"Aria heard the commotion and came to the balcony railing to look down below.

She saw a handsome man in formal attire breaking through the servers' blockade, entering the hall square, and rushing toward the Blue Lake Hall entrance as if trying to crash the banquet.

However, before he could reach the door.

A large foot suddenly kicked out from the shadows.

It struck his abdomen with perfect precision.

"Thud!"

Instantly, the man who had broken into the square was sent flying backward.

He crashed onto the ground, rolled twice, and was finally pinned down by servers who rushed over.

"I told you not to force your way in, why make things difficult for yourself?"

The server shook his head helplessly.

"Let me go! Let me in."

"I know Miss Hera!"

"Please, go get Miss Hera for me, we're in love with each other."

The man had been kicked flying, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

But he seemed unconcerned about his injuries, coughing while pleading with the servers.

"This is an important banquet venue with distinguished guests, do you think you can just barge in whenever you want?"

The guard who kicked him snorted coldly.

"Drag him out, don't disrupt the event order." After speaking, he instructed the other servers.

Hearing he was about to be expelled, the man who had gone through so much trouble to break in turned even paler, his originally fair complexion becoming deathly white.

As he was being dragged out, he struggled with all his might, like a crazily writhing maggot held down by everyone, shouting hoarsely.

"Hera!!!"

"Hera!!!!"

"I beg you, come out and see me!"

Gauss and the others on the balcony exchanged glances at this scene.

What did this mean?

"Quite the romantic..." Gauss didn't know how to evaluate this, shaking his head.

Of course, he couldn't understand people who were "so deeply devoted to love." Whether in his previous life or his current one, he had always prioritized "career" above all else.

When it came to love, he felt it was nice if fate brought it, but not regrettable if it didn't.

It was seasoning, not a necessity.

"Could they be star-crossed lovers torn apart by the girl's father?" Aria couldn't help but feel soft-hearted and speculate. "He's kind of pitiful..."

Although she hadn't had time to read romantic novels recently, memories from what she'd read before suddenly flooded back.

Due to differences in family background, mutually loving couples being forcibly separated was a classic plot even in this world.

And art draws from reality.

Gauss and his group weren't the only ones watching this drama;many guests were already in the courtyard sobering up and couldn't help but look over when they heard the commotion.

Suddenly, the struggling man spotted a lady in a light green dress not far from the entrance and became even more agitated.

Several servers couldn't hold him down as he violently broke free with his hands.

Exploding with powerful strength like a trapped beast, he widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the lady in the light green dress.

"Hera! Come away with me! Tell them we're in love!"

This roar pierced through the musical instruments playing in the banquet hall inside the distant building, clearly spreading across half the square. All the onlookers' eyes simultaneously focused on the lady called "Hera."

The lady named Hera was currently standing with several other elegantly dressed gentlewomen, originally trying to hide behind the crowd, but she hadn't expected his eyesight to be so sharp.

For a moment, her expression turned somewhat awkward, tinged with an inexplicable sense of shame.

Gauss, standing on the second-floor balcony, glanced downward and slightly frowned. If he remembered correctly, this person had also...

Never mind, it's none of my business.

Seeing she couldn't avoid it, Hera had to step forward.

Facing the man's burning gaze, her face instead quietly turned cold.

"Gentlemen, I don't know this person, please escort him out." She said calmly.

These words struck the man like thunder, instantly making his pupils dilate.

"You truly deny our past feelings?"

The man suddenly took out a soft, exquisite handkerchief from his chest, clearly an item used by upper-class women, with a prominent merchant guild emblem clearly embroidered in the center.

Hera's face darkened;she hadn't expected him to still carry this status-symbol item with him.

He had clearly come prepared.

Her lips parted slightly as anger rose in her chest.

"You shameless scoundrel, how dare you still come looking for me. If my people hadn't discovered it back then, how many other women were you planning to secretly support with my money?"

"Now that the money's spent, you're clinging to me again?"

Her face flushed red, whether from anger or shame.

She lifted her fair leg, her heel viciously kicking the man's body.

The slender heels drew blood after just a few strikes.

Only after venting her anger several times did she seem to release the pent-up resentment in her heart.

She turned around, no longer paying attention to the man's deep affectionate gaze.

"Get lost, I've already fallen for Lord Gauss."

"Gauss... hehe, what exactly makes him better than me?" The man suddenly laughed bitterly.

On the balcony, Gauss who had been leaning on the railing quietly watching the drama suddenly stiffened.

What were these two doing?

Why drag him into this for no reason.

"Hehehe..." Aria, who had been watching the drama like Gauss, suddenly heard Gauss's name and looked at him with a mischievous grin.

"Not watching anymore, it's boring."

Gauss left the railing.

He had thought they were some deeply devoted couple, but it turned out to be typical noble circle chaos - a pretty boy taking money from his wealthy patron to secretly support other mistresses.

And he had even been inexplicably mentioned.

He resolved to stay far away from women from wealthy, powerful families in the future.

Remembering the quiet, refined manner the green-dress lady had when she came to toast in the banquet hall earlier, he couldn't help but shiver.

Boys need to protect themselves when out in the world.

After this interlude, the banquet continued.

Just with some additional gossip.

And many women were searching throughout the hall for the vanished Gauss.

But with Gauss intentionally avoiding them, how could these ordinary people possibly find him.

It wasn't until just before the banquet ended that Gauss leisurely appeared in the hall, exchanged a few words with the town mayor, local guild head, and several other dignitaries, then quickly left Blue Lake Hall.

Others immediately chased after him, wanting to invite him to ride in their carriages.

But in the brief moment it took them to leave the hall and enter the courtyard, the empty courtyard showed no trace of Gauss's figure.

In the pitch-black night, cool breezes blew.

Gauss and his teammates floated a short distance before landing on the ground.

Occasionally casting spells in town was fine as long as they weren't caught.

"Not coming anymore, I'm absolutely not attending such events in the future." Gauss shook his head.

It was supposed to be a victory celebration, but it was actually a large-scale social matchmaking event.

He had become the banquet's sweet pastry that everyone wanted a bite of.

Yet he didn't feel any of the ladies there would make good wives.

The next day.

Some recreational competitions that professionals could register for were gradually unfolding on Blue Lake.

But Gauss had no interest in participating.

These recreational events were truly just for entertainment, with mediocre rewards.

The most important hunting competition's crown had already been taken by him, and that was enough.

No need to show off too much.

With yesterday's banquet lesson fresh in mind, Gauss didn't plan to cause more trouble in Lakeside Town.

He was already preparing to leave.

Coincidentally, before yesterday's banquet ended, he had discussed reward collection matters with the mayor and local guild head.

He needed to go to Fisherman's Song Town.

As the largest and most economically prosperous of the five towns, the bulk of each festival's rewards were sponsored by Fisherman's Song Town.

And the location of each Lake God's Blessing was also at the junction of the upstream Tarna River and Blue Lake.

This was an unavoidable journey.

Under many people's watchful eyes, Gauss's group quickly passed through Lakeside Town and entered the wilderness.

Breathing fresh air again, a relaxed smile appeared on Gauss's face.

Indeed, compared to clinking glasses at banquets, the wilderness wind and the earth beneath his feet made him feel more at ease.

He realized this more profoundly now.

Fisherman's Song Town and Lakeside Town were almost north and south respectively, located at opposite ends of Blue Lake, making their distance the farthest among the five Blue Lake towns.

Reaching Fisherman's Song Town wasn't a matter of a single day and night.

Although Gauss had a dragon, Hephaestus's current stamina wasn't enough to carry five people across such a long distance in one flight to their destination.

They could only fly intermittently, while killing some monsters discovered along the way.

"Take off!"

As the Red Drake flapped its wings and rose, the wilderness below gradually shrank.

It vigorously beat its wings, flying toward Fisherman's Song Town.

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Gauss and the others jumped down from the dragon's back.

In the distance, the outline of a port town was faintly visible.

That was Gauss's destination for this trip, Fisherman's Song Town.

Actually, if they had hurried, it wouldn't have taken three days, but Gauss would occasionally use his Eagle Eye Monocle to observe the environment below while in the air, and whenever he found slightly larger monster tribes, he would go down to clear them out, requiring subsequent rest, which slightly delayed their time.

But even so, it was still somewhat faster than normal land travel by mount.

This was the inherent advantage of flying mounts.

Incidentally, during these three days, Gauss found time amidst busyness to teach Hephaestus the pronunciation of several other basic elemental syllables.

They were electricity, wind, and water.

Except for the last one, water, which Hephaestus hadn't mastered smoothly, it had already learned the other two.

Gauss felt the day when it could begin learning simple cantrips was getting closer.

He planned to teach a few more basic syllables to expand its knowledge base, then start teaching the cantrip Fire Bolt.

Because it had Red Dragon blood flowing in its veins, its control over fire was gradually showing talent.

Although it had just learned to use Draconic Language to summon natural flames, its flame intensity was already stronger than Gauss's.

Clearly, its bloodline provided considerable bonuses to fire elements.

Now, even without opening its mouth for flame breath, using Draconic Language to summon natural flames was enough to give most low-level monsters a hard time.

Putting away the tired Hephaestus, letting it sleep well in the Living Bag.

Gauss and the others mounted their steeds and rode along the gentle slope toward the prosperous town nestled at the confluence of the Tarna River and Blue Lake.

Unlike Lakeside Town's tranquil, beautiful environment, Fisherman's Song Town's first impression was busy and crowded.

Massive wooden and stone structure piers extended from the shore into the broad waters.

The piers were forested with masts, mooring various sizes of boats.

The buildings within the town were also taller, with many houses constructed from sturdy stone and dark wood to resist the moisture and waves washing ashore from the waterfront.

The streets were filled with endless streams of people and various pack animals carrying full loads of goods.

"No wonder... Mayor Ansel said most past hunting competition champions usually came from Fisherman's Song Town."

Actually, if not for an anomaly like him appearing, this hunting competition's champion would have been Fisherman's Song Town's sure possession.

No wonder Fisherman's Song Town was willing to provide the bulk of funding - ultimately, it was just producing and consuming within itself.

This place gathered the most adventurers and merchants;holding such a grand event could bring considerable economic benefits to the town.

"By the way, that Her... Her..." Aria suddenly remembered something.

"Herbert." Gauss finished for her.

"Yes, him, the original first place. He seems to be from this Fisherman's Song Town, I heard he's even the mayor's son." Aria patted her forehead. "Should we be careful? He's practically a local bully."

"His results were canceled, what if he takes his anger out on us and secretly causes trouble behind our backs?"

"Probably not, right?" Gauss thought. "Besides, the Adventurers Guild is watching, they won't let them act recklessly."

"But let's still be careful."

Although he felt normal people wouldn't blame them - after all, he hadn't done anything to him - but while one shouldn't harbor harmful intentions, one must remain vigilant against others' potential harm, so Gauss decided to heighten his alertness.

They would collect the reward and leave Fisherman's Song Town, continuing their original "rural education journey," while making a final sprint toward the 10,000 total monster kills.

Not long after Gauss entered the city gate.

A team of soldiers in uniform formal attire stood ready ahead.

"Warmly welcome Lord Gauss to Fisherman's Song Town!"

"Applaud!!"

Thunderous applause instantly erupted from both sides of the street.

They're... this enthusiastic?

Gauss, who had prepared for potential covert targeting, was somewhat surprised.

...

In a small manor outside Fisherman's Song Town.

A man wearing shiny silver light armor violently pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Enough, I've been confined here for several days already, I want to return to town."

He spoke toward outside the courtyard.

"No, the master ordered. Without his command, you cannot leave the courtyard."

An elderly voice came from the distance.

"What if I insist on leaving?"

"The master said if you step out of this courtyard, he will sever relations with you henceforth, and will not provide any resource assistance for all your future training."

The old man's voice made the man's steps immediately stiffen.

His face shifted uncertainly, changing repeatedly, but ultimately he didn't take that step out.

He slammed the courtyard gate shut heavily.

He knew that although his father usually spoiled him, once he truly decided something, he wouldn't indulge his whims.

When he was young, he knew his sister was sick and should avoid contact with dogs, but he still cried and made a scene, demanding his father buy him a pet puppy. Later, his father did buy one, but strangled the puppy right in front of him.

From then on, he knew that once his father became serious, it was best not to go against his wishes.

That he could become a level 5 professional at this age was partly due to his personal efforts, but more importantly because his family's management of Fisherman's Song Town provided him with continuous resources.

"Damn it!"

"It was all supposed to be mine!"

The sound of a fist heavily pounding on a table came from within the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, an old man expressionlessly looked at the courtyard wall, as if he could see the man inside raging helplessly.

Even he could understand Herbert's petty thoughts, let alone the shrewd old master.

He was simply calculating the time, guessing that adventurer named Gauss was coming to Fisherman's Song Town to collect the reward.

But... that was no ordinary level 5 professional.

Thinking of the sir's repeated warnings, and the guild sending people recently to caution them while providing limited information about Gauss, he as the old steward who had followed the master all along naturally understood the seriousness perfectly.

How could a local snake compare to a powerful dragon descending from the sky?

The gap between them was greater than that between humans and dogs.

In this world, the Adventurers Guild was one of the most terrifyingly powerful organizations, and a potential rising star like Gauss who received the guild's special attention was not someone they could afford to provoke.

Being disqualified and losing face wasn't some catastrophic event;offending that young man named Gauss and having conflicts with him would bring truly endless future troubles.

The old man murmured expressionlessly in a soft voice.

"My young master Herbert... just stay in the courtyard and reflect properly."

"You need to understand that there will always be people in this world before whom you must bow your head."