51: Chapter 51 Mission Handover

A minor earthquake occurred in the Water City. Many shops suffered small losses, and the number of believers in the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess, who governs the earth, suddenly surged—likely mostly opportunists. After all, this continent does not force people to believe in only one main god.

The underground waterways looked as if they had been swept by a powerful typhoon; rubble, Goblin corpses, and broken walls were strewn along both sides of the water flow, which was nearly blocked by debris.

Mia was looking down, adjusting the stockings she had just put on her legs, and Tuaner was helping—plucking off the wolf fur stuck to them.

Goblin Slayer was looking down at the three scrolls Mia had just given him, seemingly lost in thought.

"They aren't as powerful as the one given to the Beholder earlier; they're the same as the ones used to blow up the Goblin Hero. The damage doesn't distinguish between friend or foe, so you need to set an ambush in advance," Mia said, looking at Goblin Slayer with ease, her slow, Charming voice serving as the most pleasant instruction manual. "By the way, to detonate them, just tear the corresponding detonator scroll directly. Don't learn from that little dummy Tuaner."

"Okay!" Goblin Slayer carefully placed the scrolls into his pouch and patted it, as if performing some sort of ritual.

The Elf Girl had tears in her eyes. "I almost died! Ahh!!" The feeling of fear and excitement intertwined was truly hard to describe.

Ryan took out his flask, took a swig, and tossed it to the Dwarf Taoist. "Thanks. If not for your magic, I might have become the next legend—a fully armed Paladin charging a Beholder only to be disintegrated into meat chunks, becoming a story to be told alongside the knight who fought the Ogre."

The Dwarf Taoist also took a sip. "We Dwarves are very loyal to our friends. You, Ryan, are already an important partner of mine—the kind I'd trust with my life. Hahahaha..."

"Great, one of them's drunk already." Tuaner wiped the wolf fur from her hands onto the Dwarf Taoist's back and then stealthily crept back toward the previous altar.

The Lizardman Monk pulled out a few wolf fangs from his bag—the ones Ryan had given him earlier, which had been knocked out by the Ogre—and also fell into deep thought.

"Let's go, let's take a look at our opponent." Mia stood up, her elegant red Blood Rose Abbess Robes outlining her sexy, undulating curves. The Sinful Girdle accent made her outer robe fit even tighter, giving her an added touch of wild beauty. Her long fingers, clad in Abyss Banquet Gloves, rested on Goblin Slayer's leather-and-chainmail gauntlets; with a slight pull, she hauled him up from where he sat by the waterway bank.

Thus, the two of them walked one after the other into the hall of the ancient altar. The Magic Mirror that Tuaner had been making things difficult for was now shattered into pieces, having completely lost its magical power. Scattered around were the corpses of Goblins that had tried to guard the portal.

In the center of the hall lay a jellyfish-like Beholder. The massive eye in the center of its body had lost its luster and begun to turn cloudy, and the smaller eyes on the tentacles around its body were all charred black from the explosion. It was clearly dead through and through.

Goblin Slayer poked the Beholder's eye a few times with his short sword. Finding it very resilient, he turned to look at Mia with an inquiring gaze.

"We might have a hard battle ahead of us later. If you don't mind, this trophy goes to me. I'll have Ryan settle the reward with you later."

"Fine." Goblin Slayer's concise reply had almost become his calling card. "The following..."

"...battle doesn't need your involvement." Mia tilted her head slightly in thought and smiled at Goblin Slayer.

"Then, the scrolls..." Goblin Slayer spoke hesitantly.

"I can't give you any more. We have to rely on them to save our lives from your pursuer." Mia also took a rare cue from Tuaner and teased Goblin Slayer.

"In a while, I'll go back to the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess first and then come find you. I'll wait for you outside the Temple of Law." Mia patted Goblin Slayer's shoulder armor and turned gracefully. Barefoot in her stockings, she walked nimbly along the waterway floor, followed by Tuaner running toward her, and Ryan, who strode to keep up while carrying the Beholder's corpse and smoking his pipe.

The Elf Girl watched their retreating backs and murmured to herself, "They aren't bad people. Even though they are of the Demon Race, they don't have that malicious stench on them."

The Dwarf Taoist twirled his beard. "Well, doesn't the Human Race also have criminals and murderous maniacs?"

"This humble monk is also a Lizardman, but I am also striving to do good deeds. Are Miss Mia and the others not the same as us?" The Lizardman Monk flicked his tongue; he seemed unable to understand the Sword Maiden's hostility toward Mia's group.

"Let's go, back to hand over the task. When the time comes, we'll collect their share together and pass it to her." Goblin Slayer sheathed his newly maintained short sword.

Mia's group did not encounter an ambush from the Swamp Dragon as expected and returned safely to the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess.

"Hey, old man! I brought you a gift!" Ryan shouted loudly as soon as he entered the temple gates.

"Isn't this the 'Hope of the Paladins' who was made to cry by a casual punch of mine?" The Old Priest stopped pretending. Shedding his trembling appearance, he loomed over Ryan like a prehistoric giant bear, casting a shadow over him.

"You managed to kill this thing? What the devil? Uh, Earth Mother Goddess, please forgive my language." The Old Priest blew at his beard in annoyance. "You succeeded in hunting this with those two, right? Monsters with such heavy demonic energy aren't very common nowadays."

The Old Priest placed the Beholder's corpse on the altar and began to pray; this was a believer hunting a monster for the glory of the Mother Goddess.

The prayer was soon answered. A beam of intense light shone down, and the entire Temple of the Mother Goddess was bathed in holy light...

The tremors in the Water City gradually subsided, but the people's faith was subtly shifting.

In two days, the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess went from having only a few scattered patients to having its threshold nearly broken by the crowds.

New believers crowded the hall, mostly small merchants who had lost property in the earthquake. They held cheap offerings in their hands, but what flickered in their eyes was profit rather than Piety. After all, on this continent, faith might just be a form of submission to the power of various main gods.

Mia stood by a high window on the second floor of the temple, her bare feet stepping on the soft woven carpet. Looking down at the surging crowd below, a sad, bitter smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

"So-called believers... are nothing more than a group of people who want to gain benefits."

She turned her head to look at Tuaner, who was organizing scrolls, and Ryan, who was leaning against the wall. Black Goblin blood still remained on the Paladin's armor, but he didn't care at all, simply gulping down cheap liquor in silence.

"You're the only one who dares to drink in the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess! Do you want to taste this old man's 'Life-Ending Punch'?? Hmm? Yes! I'm talking to you! You bastard in the corner, come down here, I promise I won't beat you to death!" The Old Priest had caught the scent of the alcohol in Ryan's hand from downstairs.

"I found this in your room! If you keep shouting, I'll ruin your reputation as a 'kindly Old Priest'!" Ryan wasn't afraid of the Old Priest's threats at all.

Mia and Tuaner had long grown used to this morning routine that was not father and son, yet more like father and son than anything. They glanced at each other and both giggled. However, the wall opposite the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess was already covered with bounty posters from the Temple of Law for the three of them—Mia's group...