Farewell to the hero! chapter 31

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“Were you keeping watch in my place?” Kaindel finally spoke after a long silence.

His green eyes, glowing faintly in the moon’s halo, fixated on me.

I nodded, almost entranced.

“Yeah, you were sleeping too well.”

“Thanks to you, I slept soundly for the first time in a while.”

“I’m glad.”

Seeing Kaindel, who had been tense since we left the village, now so relaxed brought a smile to my face.

Suddenly, I thought about showing the rabbit to Kaindel.

“Kaindel, look here…”

I extended my hand absentmindedly, but the warmth of the rabbit that had been there just moments ago was gone.

My eyes widened.

Uh, uh.

Foolish sounds escaped my open mouth.

Once I regained my senses, I quickly withdrew my flailing hand from the empty air.

The confusion that had filled me quickly turned into a sigh.

Off in the distance, I spotted the rabbit hopping away.

It seemed it had fled the moment Kaindel arrived.

“Ah.”

Just as I was swallowing my disappointment over the rabbit running away before I could even get to know it, Kaindel, who had been glancing at Daniel beside me, narrowed his eyes slightly.

He tilted his chin downward, as if beckoning me to come closer.

“It’s time to switch. Come here.”

After leaving Daniel, who said he’d sleep once the mice he sent out returned, I headed back to the campsite with Kaindel.

Unlike Ruen, who was snoring loudly, Owen slept in a perfectly still, upright position.

Sehir’s spot was empty, suggesting he was on watch for the next shift.

The spot Kaindel and I had been sitting on earlier was now covered with blankets.

It had been bare ground before, but it seemed Kaindel had laid them out while I was gone.

There were only two blankets, not enough for both of us to comfortably lie down, but I pretended not to notice.

“It’s still a long time before dawn, so get some good sleep.”

“You too.”

“Yeah.”

I closed my eyes, feeling the firm arm wrapped around my waist.

The faint scent of Kaindel lingered around my nose, and I liked it.

He didn’t seem like the type to wear perfume, so how did he smell so nice?

Pondering this to myself, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep when hurried footsteps and muffled voices stirred me awake.

“…over here…”

“For now…”

My foggy mind gradually cleared, and my senses returned all at once.

The foul stench in the air made me wrinkle my nose.

The smell was awful, like rotting food. Unable to bear it, I started breathing through my mouth.

While I gasped for air, the quiet conversation of others nearby became clearer.

“They’re coming in groups of three from the northwest. Can you hit them, Sehir? If not, I’ll take care of it.”

“Yeah, I can handle that much.”

“Even if Sehir misses, Ruen, this isn’t a fight for you. Please save your berserking for the right time and place.”

“Shut up.”

“Both of you, cut it out. The goblins’ core is in the right chest, right?”

“Yes. It’s located a hand’s width away from the right arm. It’s about the size of a finger joint. Other weak points include the shins and the nape of the neck.”

“Got it.”

The voices of the others, save for Kaindel, blended together in a chaotic mix.

After spending weeks together, I could guess who was speaking just by their tone.

Ruen and Owen were bickering again, while Sehir and Daniel discussed goblins.

…Goblins?

My eyelids flew open. I waited for my vision to clear and quickly scanned the area.

Thick fog, which hadn’t been there when I’d fallen asleep, now surrounded us.

It was so dense that I could barely make out the hair color of those nearby.

The rotten stench I’d smelled earlier was coming from the fog.

I tried to check the time by looking up, but the fog had hidden both the sun and moon.

With no other clues, I could only assume it was before dawn since goblins typically roamed at night.

There had been no sign of goblins when Daniel and I were on watch earlier.

But now, goblins?

Someone touched my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“You’re awake.”

The sudden contact made me freeze.

I turned my head stiffly, like a broken doll, and saw Kaindel sitting beside me with a smile.

Jeez.

I thought it was a goblin and nearly jumped out of my skin.

I patted my thumping heart and gave Kaindel a gentle nudge.

“What’s going on?”

“Shh.”

Everyone was keeping their voices low, so I followed suit and whispered my question, making sure only Kaindel could hear.

But instead of answering, Kaindel pressed a finger to his lips.

Smiling as if to assure me to stay quiet, he suddenly focused his gaze on the distance.

His sharp eyes seemed to pierce through the fog.

Whoosh!

Just as I followed his line of sight, the sound of an arrow being loosed echoed through the air.

Initially, it was a single shot, but soon the sound split, as if several arrows had been fired at once.

A heavy thud followed, signaling the arrows had struck their target.

Squeeek-!

A cry, similar to that of a pig, pierced the air.

But it wasn’t quite a pig’s squeal, more like a raspier, harsher version.

The unpleasant sound made my stomach churn, but I held back the nausea.

As I unconsciously scrunched up my face, Kaindel gently smoothed the furrowed skin between my brows. His touch gradually calmed me.

Squeeek, squeeek.

The cries, loud and numerous, came sporadically.

Listening to them, Sehir sighed.

“Damn, I missed the core.”

“Well, at least you hit its forehead.”

“If it’s the forehead, I’ll need to aim lower.”

The bowstring was drawn taut again.

The string remained tight for a few seconds, as if Sehir was adjusting his aim.

To help him focus, even Ruen fell silent.

The goblins’ shrill cries ebbed and flowed as they died down and then started again.

And then, in one brief moment of silence, Sehir fired another arrow.

Whoosh!

The sharp sound of the arrow tearing through the air repeated itself.

This time, the sound of impact was just as dull as before.

“…”

However, this time, the cries of the goblins couldn’t be heard.

The pungent scent of blood filled the void.

I must’ve hit the core.

I heaved a sigh of relief, calming the tension that had been throbbing in my chest.

I had been worried about encountering the goblins unprepared, but I could now relax a little.

Kaindel, too, seemed more at ease, his expression visibly calmer.

As I watched him regain a bit of composure, I broke the silence.

“Are you okay staying here?”

“As you probably saw just now, Sehir is better than me at fighting goblins. Goblins carry weapons, so if you get too close, it gets exhausting.”

“Oh.”

Kaindel chuckled softly as he mimicked my rounded lips with his thumb.

Then, wiping away the sleep from the corner of my eye, he added, “Besides, in a situation like this where visibility is limited, it’s better if I don’t step up first. I can’t rely on Ruen’s eyes to fight.”

“It was clear just a moment ago.”

“Yeah, the fog appeared out of nowhere.”

“That’s strange. There was no mention of fog in the information I received.”

As I absentmindedly picked at a hangnail, Kaindel chided me, “You can’t expect to know everything.”

“But still…”

“And there’s always the element of surprise, Isa.”

I clenched my fist, leaving the hangnail alone.

Just as Kaindel suggested, it was highly likely that this fog was one of those surprises.

What bothered me, though, was the timing—the fog appeared just as the goblins attacked.

Events that should have been unrelated lined up too perfectly.

The information I gathered from the tavern had no mention of fog.

So the only options left were that this fog was either a natural phenomenon or something deliberately created.