I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 343: Winter in Grayrock Town

Opening the envelope, he unfolded the letter inside.The handwriting inside wasn't particularly neat. Due to the writer's urgency, the strokes were somewhat messy, and there were even several typos. However, it didn't hinder comprehension.

"Teacher Gauss, by the time you read this letter, I should have already left this country.

Please don't worry about me.

According to Mom, the people who came today seem to be relatives from my maternal grandmother's family. They are taking us back home.

To a very distant place.

The sirs said it's called the Roland Kingdom.

I really don't want to go. I wanted to wait for you to return, Teacher, and continue learning magic from you.

I've already learned the cantrips you taught me, and I've read several of those books.

But Mom said we have to go; I can't be left alone in the village.

Teacher, do you think we can still meet again?

But please rest assured, even if I go to another place, I will definitely practice hard. I will become very, very strong, and then I will go find you.

Thinking of you, Rhine."

The letter wasn't long.

So she went to the Roland Kingdom?

Gauss refolded the read letter and put it away carefully, but his thoughts quietly drifted far away.

The Roland Kingdom's geographical location was northwest of the Kingdom of Carlos where they were.

It was quite far from Goat Village.

For the vast majority of ordinary people, travel in this world was far less convenient than in Gauss's previous life. So unless one happened to be near the border, leaving the country was a goal most people could never achieve in their lifetime.

Not just ordinary people; even for adventurers, without special reasons, they wouldn't easily leave their own country to venture into foreign lands.

He could easily imagine the confusion in the heart of a little girl who had never left her village since birth upon hearing she had to leave her hometown for another kingdom.

"Ah..."

Gauss couldn't help but sigh.

Regarding Rhine being taken away, he still found it difficult to calm down for a moment.

He also didn't know whether this was a blessing or a curse for her.

A family capable of organizing cross-border investigations and completing a family search must possess considerable influence and resources.

For Rhine, who came from a humble background but possessed exceptional magical talent, returning to such a family likely meant access to better educational resources, a more superior cultivation environment, and broader connections.

From this perspective, it was undoubtedly a stroke of luck from fate.

However, Gauss also deeply understood the complexity and undercurrents of the aristocratic world.

Power, interests, bloodlines, inheritance...

These factors intertwined, often making familial affection less pure.

As a "lost" bloodline suddenly returning, would Rhine get entangled in internal family strife? Would her magical talent be carefully nurtured, or would it be viewed as some kind of resource?

All of this was unknown.

And, why did they only take her family away now?

...

Gauss shook his head.

The event had already happened and was half a year in the past.

The only thing he could do now was hope that returning to the family would have a positive impact on Rhine.

Gauss indeed wasn't currently suited to leave the relatively familiar Kingdom of Carlos for an unfamiliar kingdom to search for Rhine.

Firstly, the journey was truly distant; secondly, he was far from being completely safe yet, knowing the Dragon Worshipers were probably still keeping an eye on him as a special target in the shadows; thirdly, while his current strength was considerable, it still wouldn't be enough to face a powerful, influential great noble. This meant that even if he traversed thousands of mountains and rivers to find Rhine now, with insufficient strength, he couldn't influence anything.

He could only wait until returning to town and ask someone to gather information about the distant Roland Kingdom.

If the timing was right in the future and he was strong enough, he would embark on a journey to check on Rhine's situation.

"How is it? Where did little Rhine go?" Aria asked, seeing his worried expression.

"Her family was taken to the Roland Kingdom."

"The Roland Kingdom, that's really far away." Albenia rubbed the back of her head. The giant-blood tribe she came from, though remote, was still within the Kingdom of Carlos.

Among those present, probably except for Serlandul, the half-snake person from an island, none had likely left the Kingdom of Carlos.

"When we get a bit stronger, let's go find little Rhine." Aria clapped her hands, encouraging.

"Mm."

"That day won't be too far off." Serlandul looked at Gauss.

This wasn't confidence, but rather being filled with confidence in Gauss.

After all, when he first met the captain, the captain had just reached level 2. Now, he was already a level 6 professional.

And in terms of combat power, it was actually even more exaggerated.

Since the main target of this trip, Rhine, wasn't in the village, Gauss and the others didn't linger long. After leaving a few skill books, they mounted Hephaestus and left Goat Village, flying towards Grayrock Town.

Pea-sized snowflakes fluttered down profusely, quietly melting as they flew near the Red Drake, Hephaestus.

"I'm tired."

The one saying this was none other than Hephaestus, flapping its wings as it flew through the heavy snow. It was using Draconic Language, making sounds only Gauss could understand.

The corner of Gauss's mouth lifted slightly.

Wasn't this progress?

Hephaestus was starting to talk.

Although currently it could only express a few simple short sentences and phrases, similar to "want eat," "I tired," "want sleep," "right," "wrong"—like a child just learning to speak—but as long as the first step was taken, the subsequent progress would only get faster and faster.

He sensed Hephaestus's physical condition. It was somewhat fatigued but far from exhausted.

He knew this was just the guy's laziness acting up again.

"Keep it up, Hephaestus. We're almost there."

"When we reach the destination, I'll give you a feast. I'll personally go to the market to pick the plumpest cattle and sheep for you."

"I tired. Wrong."

"Want eat. Right."

Upon hearing this, Hephaestus perked up significantly, replying to Gauss with its limited vocabulary. The flapping of its wings became powerful again.

As for arriving at Grayrock Town soon, Gauss wasn't deceiving Hephaestus this time.

Although he had indeed used this trick several times on the road, this time it was true.

His gaze looked into the distance below the clouds, where a small outline was appearing at the edge of his vision.

"Finally back! Grayrock Town!!"

...

Switching from Hephaestus to ordinary mounts, the group slowly made their way along the road towards Grayrock Town.

The closer they got to the town, Gauss even felt a sense of nervousness akin to "apprehension when nearing home."

"Ah..."

He shook his head with a smile, a hundred emotions mingling in his heart.

It hadn't even been a full year since he left, yet it felt like so, so much time had passed.

Perhaps it was because he had experienced too many things in the past year?

He and Aria turned to look at each other, both reading the shared sentiment in each other's eyes.

Grayrock Town wasn't the hometown for all members present, but for Gauss and Aria, this ordinary adventurer town held unique significance.

Especially for Gauss; saying Grayrock Town was his hometown in this world was completely accurate.

After all, the first time he opened his eyes and greeted this new world was in Sophia's inn room.

Back then, his pockets were emptier than his face. Apart from Sophia, the people he was truly connected to in this world could be counted on one hand.

And now, he glanced at the companions beside him.

"Lord Gauss, shall we go in?"

Albenia looked at Gauss, who had suddenly stopped, and asked, puzzled.

"Alright."

Albenia, Serlandul, and Shadow had no other arrangements, so they remained with the team for the year-end period, following Gauss back to his "beginner village," Grayrock Town.

The soldiers guarding the city gate seemed to have been replaced by a new batch.

When Gauss and the others returned, one soldier just blinked, shocked by the high levels of the group, then let them pass after inspection.

After they left, the soldiers began whispering among themselves.

Someone exclaimed, seemingly recognizing Gauss and the others' identities.

But that was later. Gauss's group entered the town's main street.

There weren't many pedestrians on the main street.

Snow fell on the stone-paved road sprinkled with coarse rock salt, quickly turning into damp patches, making the entire road look exceptionally wet.

"We're back."

"This is your hometown, Lord Gauss?" Albenia turned her head to look around, thinking it seemed a bit ordinary.

Not much different from Gold-Silver Town, though the houses and roads were slightly better maintained.

"Yes. This is where I started on the adventurer path. So much time has passed in a blink, yet the streets haven't changed much upon returning." Gauss sighed with emotion.

Hearing this, Aria secretly smiled, then gave him a sideways glance.

In less than a year, not just Grayrock Town, but the vast majority of villages and towns wouldn't show obvious changes.

"Let's head to my place first."

Gauss invited.

Both he and Aria owned property in the town, and they were very close to each other.

The rooms should be enough. If not, they could just buy a few more houses in town. For the team members, property in Grayrock Town was practically as cheap as cabbage.

Walking on the street.

Because the group had the blessing of wind and snow, allowing them to ward off the cold, their clothing was relatively thin, making them stand out conspicuously on the street.

Moreover, this team consisted of either people with extremely high looks like Gauss, Aria, and Shadow, or people with obvious differences in appearance or build from ordinary folks, like the giant-blooded Albenia and the half-snake person Serlandul. They themselves were a special sight walking down the road.

The town's residents naturally instinctively focused their gazes on them, whispering about their identities.

Those returning to the town during this period were often locals from the town.

"Who are they?"

"They look somewhat familiar... Let me think."

"I think I've seen them too."

"She's so tall, that woman."

Amidst the low whispers, Gauss didn't look at a map. Relying solely on his memory, he quickly navigated through streets and alleys.

Finally, he arrived before a familiar street.

"Sophia's Inn."

He took a deep breath.

Examining the half-open shop front.

During his absence, Sophia's Inn seemed to have expanded again. The neighboring shopfront had been "swallowed up" by the female proprietor Gauss was familiar with.

"Sister Sophia's business is getting bigger and bigger." Aria also observed the changes to the inn.

The inn was quite lively now, with the sounds of conversation from people eating coming from inside.

"Perfect, we haven't had lunch yet."

Gauss led the others over the threshold and into the shop.

...

Sophia lowered her head, checking the account books. But if someone observed her expression at this moment, they would find her somewhat distracted.

She was silently counting the dates in her heart.

The end of the year was approaching soon.

If Gauss and the others were to return to Grayrock Town, it should be around these days at the latest.

Since winter began, she had been thinking about this, but hadn't waited for that adventurer team's return.

Regarding her inn growing larger and business getting better, she wasn't completely clueless.

She knew this had little to do, if not nothing at all, with her own management skills. It was definitely related to Gauss.

Not only did the patrol guards frequently patrol this street, they also regularly patronized this shop, which was named an inn but was gradually transforming into a tavern/restaurant.

Of course, this patronage wasn't about eating for free. In fact, those soldiers were quite polite—so polite it was as if patronizing the shop was an administrative order from above. Even if she offered to treat them, the soldiers would often pay for their meals and drinks in full.

This made the shop's order exceptionally good, which in turn promoted better business.

Suddenly, the somewhat absent-minded Sophia heard a few footsteps approaching from outside the shop, along with the server at the door greeting, "Welcome."

She subconsciously looked up.

Then her gaze suddenly froze.

"Gauss... you're back?"

Her eyes first stopped on the leading Gauss, looking him up and down, before she seemed to remember something and stood up to walk towards the group.

Compared to their last meeting, Gauss had changed significantly again.

It even made her feel the saying "a boy changes greatly as he grows up."

He was very tall. Despite the heavy snow falling outside, there wasn't a single trace of snow on his clothes, as if they were glowing, looking quite handsome.

It gave her a feeling of familiarity mixed with strangeness.

"I'm back, Sister Sophia." Gauss responded with a smile.

He looked around at the inn's layout, relaxing as if he had returned home.

"By the way, Sophia, let me introduce my new teammates."

"This is Shadow. This is Albenia."

"I won't introduce Aria and Serlandul to you; they've been here before."

"Shadow, Albenia, this is Sister Sophia, who helped and supported me when I was almost unable to afford food."

Gauss quickly completed the introductions.

Hearing that the woman before them had helped Gauss, both Shadow and Albenia proactively shook Sophia's hand.

"Don't make it sound so serious. I didn't help you that much." Sophia waved her hand somewhat embarrassedly.

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Then I'll go prepare lunch for you." Sophia hurriedly walked towards the kitchen.

Actually, now that the inn had grown, there were several cooks in the kitchen. But since Gauss and the others had finally returned, she naturally intended to cook personally.

Her movements were too quick, leaving Gauss, who wanted to tell her to rest, no time to speak.

"Sister Sophia is still so enthusiastic." Aria sighed with emotion.

The other dining guests in the shop now unanimously looked up at this adventurer team that clearly looked "terrifyingly strong."

"Gulp—"

Someone couldn't help but swallow saliva.

"Could they be..."

"Shh, let's eat."

"Right, eat."

The appearance of Gauss and the others greatly increased the pressure on many customers who vaguely realized something. Their movements became awkward, hands not hands, feet not feet.

Gauss nodded at the customers who looked over as a greeting, then found an empty seat and sat down.

His gaze turned towards the kitchen, but his thoughts couldn't help drifting a bit further.

Although he said the changes on the streets weren't big when entering the town, he also needed to realize that the town's defensive forces seemed to have increased significantly.

Considering Grayrock Town's special geographical location on the front line bordering the Emerald Forest, had the situation become more tense during his absence?

The Emerald Forest...

This place where he first ventured into the periphery, killing his first Goblin—once very dangerous to him—but now, he could view it with relative composure.

Actually, during his time outside, he had also kept up with the situation around the Emerald Forest through newspapers.

It was said that adventurers who entered the inner forest had seen its sky-obscuring shadow above the forest. That Green Dragon Queen, who had been sleeping in her lair, seemed to have shown signs of activity again.

It was just unknown whether that was simply her stretching and moving after a long slumber, or if there were other purposes.

If it was the latter, then it likely indicated that the peaceful situation established by the past treaty was about to undergo some changes in circumstances. When that happened, the border between the forest and the kingdom would gradually become more dangerous.