“Thomas-kun? …… Rebecca ……?”

Louise jumped lightly over the receptionist’s counter and rushed towards Thomas, who was carrying Rebecca on his back. In addition to the fact that only two of the four Windbreakers had returned, Thomas said, “We’re in a lot of trouble”. There must have been some kind of accident.

“…… Louise-san, don’t worry about Rebecca’s injuries. But she’s mentally overwhelmed …… She was unable to walk from the midway, so I forcefully carried her on my back.”

Thomas whispered and set Rebecca down against the wall, leaning back against it as he did the same, catching his breath. Thomas himself didn’t seem to have any significant injuries, but his face showed a hint of frustration, as if the accident and carrying a single person on his back had drained his strength.

“Louise-san. I’ll go to the temple and get Mia-kun.”

Souya quickly made his way to the entrance of the guild and ran outside. At that time, a girl carrying a cane, which was her goal, came running towards him from the path on the temple side. Her expression showed a hint of impatience, and she seemed to be in a great hurry.

“Mia-kun. You’re just in time …… I’m not sure if this is possible, but did you find out about the situation through divine revelation?”

“Souya-san. I forgot something …… Did you see a pouch on my seat?  

“…… It’s a good thing you’re so careless. Do you still have spare magic power? It’s an emergency.”

“–Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela, grant your people the miracle of healing. [Cure Wounds].”

The healing light from Mia’s Cleric’s Staff enveloped the wound on Rebecca’s forehead. The wound closed up nicely without leaving a mark.

“It went well. Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela. Thank you for the miracle of healing.”

“………… Mia.”

“Rebecca-san, you need to rest for now.”

In a shaky voice, Rebecca looked like she wanted to say something, but Mia smiled at her and helped her.

“…… Thomas-kun. I’m sorry to ask you this when you’re tired, but can you explain the situation? I’m pretty sure the goblins had a commander.”

“Yes. The one who leads the goblins is nothing ordinary. I don’t know what it is, but …… The entrance to the fort had a huge crest on it. Bud said it was a dark priest, a dark priestess.”

Louise began to check the situation with Thomas. I’m pretty sure Bud was one of the Windbreakers, the shaved head monk who spoke with a grave tone.

“A Dark Priest? I’ve never heard of a goblin having faith ……”

“Louise-san. The commander of the goblins is not necessarily the same goblin tribe.”

“…… No way. Someone who is not a goblin is ordering the kidnapping of the villagers?”

“Yes. The method to command goblins …… The point is, you only need to be powerful enough to bring the goblins to their knees and speak the goblin language. If that Dark Priest can fulfill both of those requirements, he can become a commander.”

Souya thought back to a time when he had fought a Dark Elf who led the goblins, and he told Louise what he thought.

“Well, that’s a possibility …… It’s was my fault.”

“It’s hard to assume that much when you’ve heard the request …… Thomas-kun, did you and your team rush into the fort knowing that there was an unexpected Dark Priest?”

“…… Yeah. Rebecca insisted that we should turn back once we got there. But Randy and Bud argued that we should take on the Dark Priest. I …… was neutral. But for once, I should have denied them.”

Thomas muttered to himself and scratched his hair. It was likely that Bud, who had a religious rivalry with the Dark Priest, would insist on taking him down.

“Bud said that the Dark Priest are evil and could not be left behind. He said ……. Randy wanted to get the kidnapped villagers back, but he was more concerned with the percentage of the request accomplished than anything else. He was so focused on being 100 percent that he might not have been able to keep his cool. “

Louise held her head in her hands when she heard this. It seemed that her fears about their adventure going too well had come true in a bad way.

“After entering the fort, we killed the goblins quite well. I think we slaughtered about twenty of them. …… And then, on the way to the chapel at the back of the fort, Rebecca was suddenly delirious, as if someone had cast a spell on her …… The scar on her forehead is from a blow she took then.”

“There is a dark art called Disorder that is used by Dark Priests, so that may be what Rebecca-kun received. It’s also possible that it’s magic or spirit arts.”

Souya assumed that it was a magical attack by the Dark Priest. And if he had to deal with Randy and the Bud who was left in the fort and they were subdued, he must have a lot of power.

“Randy instructed me to retreat with Rebecca, and Bud didn’t disagree. I walked out of the fort, leaving the two of them behind …… Then, no matter how long I waited, they never returned from the fort.”

Thomas finished, took out the canteen on his hip, drank some water and nodded.

“That’s all I can tell you …… If you have any questions, just ask. I’ll tell you what I can.”