After that, Cystie and I went after the fleeing goblins. Following the goblins' footprints led us straight to their lair. Since Cystie had turned out to be a mage with a penchant for friendly fire, I decided to charge in on my own this time. I didn’t do much actual slashing so much as I punched, kicked, and bludgeoned my way to victory, but I didn’t let that bother me. Fighting goblins that were so much shorter than me made it a pain to hit them with my short sword. I felt like a dumb jock, but this was simply the most efficient fighting style. Initially, we had let the goblins escape, but in the end, we were able to efficiently take them down. We cut off the goblins’ ears to serve as proof of our victory, then searched the forest for any remaining goblins until the sun went down. “You’re really something, Duke. You split the goblins in two with your short sword, and you can kick them around like they’re soccer balls. I guess you were telling the truth when you said you came through the Demon Forest.” “Well, I have plenty of power and defense.” Cystie looked away embarrassed, when I mentioned defense, probably remembering her friendly fire incident. I didn’t mean it as a jab, though. “Hey, are you all right? I can use a healing spell if you need me to. I can’t heal you like a priestess at the temple, but I can at least bandage you up.” Yeah, healing magic would be essential for someone like you who's prone to friendly fire. So there are temple priestesses in this world, huh? I guess it's that typical setting, isnt it? They have some divine power and are able to use amazing healing and purification spells. And of course they’re all really beautiful, too. As I was thinking that, Cystie began muttering an incantation and approached me, her hands glowing with a jade like color. “Stop it! I'm fine! Take that disgusting magic away from me!” I shouted reflexivly. I broke out in goosebumps, and a shiver ran down my spine, as that green light came close to me. It was even stronger than the disgust I felt when I approached the lake in the Demon Forest. Cystie gave me a puzzled look when I hastily refused her healing spell. “What’s wrong? It’s just a simple healing spell. You’re not an undead, so you don’t need to be afraid. I can't missfire something like this.” Oh, I see. As an undead Dullahan, if I receive a healing spell, it would cause damage to me! What a cliché setting. “My armor is specially made, so it's resistant to attacks and spells to some extent. So I don't need a healing spell. I appreciate the sentiment, though!” On the way back to the village, we went through that exchange two more times. As soon as we returned to the village, I reported to the elderly village chief that we had destroyed a goblin nest. The old man was surprised to hear that there had been a goblin nest in the first place, but he calmed down when I told him that we had destroyed it and searched the area to make sure no goblins had escaped. I gave him fourteen goblin ears as proof of our victory, and he seemed very satisfied. As promised, the old man gave me the helmet and said I could take any other equipment I wanted, but I didn’t need any of it, and I didn’t want to change out of my armor, so I politely declined. To make up for the fact that I hadn’t taken any of the extra equipment, the old man gave me some money. I got silver and copper coins that combined to a total of 20.000 Kurts. Apparently, in this world, they didn’t use yen; they used Kurts. Cystie mentioned that for a rural village, they were paying quite well, keeping in mind that I also got the helmet. I didn’t know anything about the economy or the cost of living in this world, but judging from the atmosphere of the village, the people here seemed to be doing all right. In other worlds, there was often corruption among the nobility and royalty, and many villagers suffered from epidemics and famine. I was really glad that wasn’t the case here. Such gloomy worlds where pretty depressing. There were monsters around that threatened humanity, but adventurers hunted them down and sold their parts, thus contributing to the local economy. Monster materials could be used to make weapons, armor, clothes, and food, among other things. It was impressive how tenacious humans were. After I finished my report, so I went to the old village chief’s house.

Cystie, on the other hand, was staying at the house of a village girl she’d made friends with. I would have preferred to stay there, too. As soon as I entered the house, a plump old lady showed me to a room. The chief’s house was a little nicer than the others, with a parlor, a large storage room, and a spare room for guests. Normally, merchants, people from other villages, peddlers, injured people, and adventurers would stay here. The room was simple, but it was furnished with a bed, a chair and table, a shelf, and a rug. It was a proper living space, but still better than a cold, rocky cave. I was relieved to be in a safe place where I could relax, so I flopped onto the bed and let out a sigh. “Ahhh, I can finally calm down a bit,” I mumbled. My body must have been quite heavy, as the bed creaked loudly to the point I got worried it might break. It atleast seemed to be sturdy enough, but every time I moved it let out a squeaking noise... Maybe it was because I used to be human, but I felt more at ease just lying here like this. The quality of the mattress wasn’t great, but beggars can't be choosers. Just having a safe place to rest was enough for now. I had been lazing about on the bed for a while when the sound of clinking dishes reminded me of a problem. Food, of course. While I was able to hide the fact I was Dullahan by wearing this helmet, I couldn’t actually eat anything. I didn’t even have a mouth, for starters. Where was I supposed to put the food? I didn’t need to eat to survive, but that didn’t change the fact that refusing to eat at all was suspicious. Why wasn’t I taking off my helmet, even though I was inside? Why wasn’t I taking off my armor? I could atleast act like my body was covered in terrible wounds and didn’t want anyone to see them, to explain those type of questions. Normally, people wouldn’t pry into such delicate matters of someone they had just met. But if I sat down at the table and someone asked me if I was going to eat, there would be no way to wriggle out of that kind of situation. “I have a policy against eating other people’s food…” That would would simply be rude. It would make me seem like some kind of clean freak or like I was worried about being poisoned or something. “I can’t eat it because of religious reasons…” That one might work, but it wouldn’t explain why I wouldn’t eat anything at all. The best option might be to say I couldn’t show my face to others for religious reasons, so I’d have to eat alone. While that sounded like some kind of taboo typical for women, there were countless religions in this world, so it could work. In case of emergencies, I could say I had an injury on my face and didn’t want to show it to others. I’d eat alone and use that as an excuse. It might make people worry a bit, but it was the best I could do. Well, I was only staying for one night here, so it shouldn’t be a problem. “Duke-san, are you hungry? Would you like some dinner?” the old woman called out as she knocked on the door. I hurriedly sat up and answered, “No, I ate something in the forest earlier, so I’m all right, thanks.” This should be enough to convince her. Even Cystie had said she was hungry and eaten some kind of dried bread and wild fruit she picked off a tree along the way. “Are you sure? You’re not holding back, are you? You’re a big boy, Duke-san, so you need to eat lots.” “I’ll take some bread then. I’ll eat it later.” “Alright then,” the old woman replied, seemingly satisfied, and left. As expected of a rural old lady, she was pushy even when dealing with someone she had just met. I didn’t need the bread, but I might give it to Cystie or some birds tomorrow. Afterward, the old man came to check on me, worried that I wasn’t feeling well, but I brushed him off and lay down in the bed. Living with humans had taught me a lot about this world, but it had also shown me how difficult it would be to live alongside them. As dawn broke and the sky began to lighten, I left the house. The door creaked as I opened it, and the fresh morning air caressed my armor. The chilly morning wind felt refreshing. Even as a dullahan, I could still feel things like that. It was a little duller than when I’d had human skin, but not so much that it was a problem. After doing a big stretch for no particular reason, I started walking.

There didn’t seem to be any lighting in the village, so most people went to bed early and got up at the break of dawn. However, the old man’s house had a magic tool that glowed when magical energy was channeled into it. I was familiar with a similar level of convenience using electric tools, but it was still a little bit surprising. When I tried it, the device lit up, suggesting that I did indeed possess magical energy. I wondered if that meant I could use magic too, but I was told that everyone in this world had some magical energy, even if it was just enough to use magical devices. Using magic like Cystie did apparently required a significant amount of magical energy and was quite difficult. My hope to be able to use some simple spells was shattered right away. I’d heard that in the royal city, people used a lot of magic tools, even to light their lamps at night. Hmm, a typical fantasy method, I suppose. As I wandered around aimlessly, the villagers began to emerge from their houses. Some carried buckets to go draw water from the well, while others carried farming tools and headed for the fields. Everyone from the children to the adults seemed full of energy and ready to start their day. Judging from the villagers’ clothes, their food, and their buildings, the level of civilization in this world seemed to be about the same as that of medieval Europe. Thanks to the abundance of magic tools in the royal city, life there was probably a bit more convenient. After I had walked around the village for a while, I finally spotted Cystie. As always, her ponytail and sky-blue eyes were striking, and she looked a little sleepy as she rubbed her eyes, but her steps were sure and steady as she approached me. “Good morning, Duke,” she said in a clear, ringing voice. The sleepy girl who had been rubbing her eyes a moment ago disappeared, and in her place now stood the dignified image of a mage. Well, a mage who couldn’t even launch a fireball in a straight line. She looked beautiful and seemed competent, but in reality, she was quite disappointing. “…Good morning, Cystie.” “You’re thinking something terrible, aren’t you? I can feel pity coming from you… Am I just imagining that?” “All right, Cystie. Today we’re going to the royal city, right? We’re going to catch a merchant’s wagon and be on our way.” “Hey! Don’t change the subject so blatantly! Look at me when you answer!” Cystie protested, her ponytail swaying energetically in the morning light. I ignored her and headed for the plaza where the merchant’s wagon was waiting. As we arrived, I saw people who looked like merchants busily loading their wares onto a wagon. The old man and woman were talking with one of the merchants. Indeed, the old man had arranged for us to ride along with a merchant who had come to Poda Village. We wouldn’t pay any fare, but in exchange, we would have to fight any monsters that appeared along the way, though that was a small price to pay. “Ah, there they are. These are the two who cleared out that goblin lair in record time yesterday.” With these words the old man introduced us to the merchant. To be fair, I was the one who had cleared out basically the whole lair. Cystie had only managed to take down one of the goblins, and that was only because she’d accidentally sent a fireball flying in the right direction. She claimed she’d hit it on purpose, but I remained skeptical. “Huh, they do look like they know what they’re doing. The burly fellow is all armored up like a vanguard, and the girl with the blue hair looks like a powerful mage at first glance.” Pfff, Cystie's a powerful mage, huh? “I can hear you, Duke. Just you wait. You have no idea what I’m capable of!” Cystie whispered to me while her face twitched a little. Did I say that out loud? “What do you mean, "just you wait"? Are you gonna hit me in the back with a spell again?” “That’s not what I meant!” “Anyway, I’m counting on the two of you if any monsters appear. Please don’t fight among yourselves, all right? This will not turn into a problem, right, Village Chief?” "...Well, they atleast seem to have some skill," the old man replied hesitantly.