Chapter 20: Goldfish Poop
Since I’d accepted the goblin group’s challenge, I stayed at a hotel for the night, had breakfast at the market, and then headed for the east gate.
Good grief, there were so many onlookers. Instead of wasting time watching a boring fight, they should just go earn some money. But apparently, no one wanted to miss the spectacle.
〈Hey, the Gentle Breeze has arrived!〉
〈He paid dearly for that fight — if he runs, he can kiss adventuring goodbye.〉
〈Think the Goblin Rampage bunch will show?〉
〈They’re locals. Even if they suck as adventurers, they can’t back out now.〉
〈They’re the ones who picked this fight anyway.〉
I lined up at the side gate to pass through quickly, and those men followed right behind me.
Looks like the eastern plains will be crowded today. Hopefully, nothing troublesome breaks out.
〈Wait, that guy’s just a Bronze rank?〉
〈Then no wonder he’s not scared of a few goblins.〉
〈Looks like he’s only been an adventurer for a year or two.〉
〈Oh, the goblin gang’s here!〉
〈Didn’t run, huh? As expected of Rosenne’s man.〉
〈Guess he’s ready to lose gracefully.〉
〈Hey, don’t jinx it — I bet on the goblins as a long shot.〉
〈That’s not a long shot, idiot.〉
〈Why not?〉
〈The guy’s fought alongside Strongarm before. There’s no contest, so no one bet against him.〉
〈Well, maybe weirdos like you did.〉
Wow, what a reputation I have.
Still, if Strongarm’s crew takes on work from a marquis’s house, they must be the real deal.
Once we passed through the gate, I started strolling down Blange Road — with a whole swarm of “goldfish poop” tagging along behind me.
“Hey, Gentle Breeze, how far are you planning to go?”
“We’ve got work too, so finish this quick, will you?”
“I’m just here to mess with them a bit — not much to see, honestly. Also, I have a name, it’s Leon. Please stop calling me Gentle Breeze.”
“Got it, got it. Gentle Breeze Leon, right?”
…There’s no dealing with idiots.
Once we were out of sight of the city gate, I stepped onto the plains and waited for the goblin rampage.
Even behind the goblin rampage gang, a crowd of adventurers had gathered to spectate.
What a bunch of loafers. I guess my little act at the guild cafeteria spread the rumors pretty far.
Between the audience and the goblins’ over-the-top energy, there was no backing out now.
“Didn’t think you’d actually show up.”
“You’ll regret mocking us.”
“You think a weak breeze like you can beat us? This isn’t the guild’s training ground!”
I wasn’t in the mood to listen, so I wrapped the front man in a light [Whirlwind!] and gave him a little spin.
〈Hyeeeh— wha— wh-what the—〉
“What the hell did you do?!”
“What do you mean ‘what’? You’re the ones who came here to fight. Stop doing stand-up comedy and draw your swords already.”
〈Ohh, so that’s the Gentle Breeze’s magic.〉
〈He’s spinning a whole man around!〉
〈The ones who mocked him are the ones getting mocked now!〉
“Tch! If we all rush him at once, a kid like that’s easy prey!”
“He can’t chant if we keep him busy! Let’s go!”
“Don’t hold back!”
No need to wait for them. I fired off a chain of [Whirlwind!] spells without hesitation.
The first guy I’d spun was bleeding from the nose, so I dispelled the wind — and he collapsed, vomiting on the spot.
The others, caught in five simultaneous whirlwinds, screamed,
〈Hyaaa— h-help—!〉
〈My eyes! Everything’s spinning—!〉
After twenty or thirty spins, I dispelled the magic. None of them could stand straight; even the ones still on their feet tripped and fell, earning laughter and pointing fingers from the onlookers.
〈Looks like a whirlwind spell, but he’s casting it repeatedly without chanting.〉
〈We were completely fooled by that “Gentle Breeze” nickname.〉
〈Still, it’s just wind magic — not that deadly.〉
〈Maybe so, but he’s clearly skilled.〉
〈If he hunts solo, his detection and defense must be top-notch.〉
〈Ah, they’re all sitting down.〉
〈Even puked, how pathetic. They’re useless for the rest of the day.〉
〈If he’d gone serious, they’d be dead already.〉
〈At this rate, even one goblin could finish them off.〉
They could talk all they wanted — I wasn’t interested. I left them there and headed toward the forest.
“Uh, why are you all still following me?”
“Ah, don’t mind us.”
“We’re planning to hunt in this area too.”
“We heard lots of bird calls near that forest up ahead.”
“Good for you. But if you don’t keep your distance, you’ll end up dizzy and flat on your backs like those goblin rampage.”
“H-hey, don’t say scary stuff like that! We’re not trying to get in your way…”
“Having this many people tailing me makes detection and sensing a pain, you know.”
If words don’t work, I’ll teach them by example.
Ignoring them, I walked ahead — though my rear defense was wide open with them behind me.
So I turned, wrapped the first five in [Whirlwind!], and spun them dizzy. When they started wobbling, I released them.
Then I created a huge [Whirlwind!] about three meters wide and let it drift slowly between me and the spectators.
〈Hey!〉
〈You’ve gotta be kidding!〉
〈Run!〉
〈If that thing catches us, we’re dead!〉
The gawkers scattered in all directions. I didn’t chase — I had no intention of killing anyone — and continued toward the forest.
“Holy crap, that thing could kill us easily!”
“He doesn’t seem to want us dead, but… did we piss him off?”
“Who was the idiot that started calling him ‘Gentle Breeze,’ huh?”
“Lindy, what now?”
“Let’s stick around just for today. You saw it too right? whether it’s chantless or shortened, he’s casting magic in rapid succession.”
“Yeah, being able to chain-cast like that’s amazing. And he’s so fast with each spell.”
“That last whirlwind was seriously powerful.”
“Even if he refuses to teach us, we might still learn something — maybe how to cast Shield or Lance faster.”
“Alright, let’s go. We’ll keep a bit of distance so we don’t mess with his detection.”
“Most of the others already gave up watching, so maybe he’ll calm down a bit.”
“What’s he doing now?”
“Wait, it’s too far — I can’t tell.”
“Looks like… he’s kicking at the grass?”
“That kid mainly hunts birds, right? I’ve heard that horned rabbits, hedgehogs, jumping mice, and even runner birds hide in those grass thickets.”
“Yeah, and there are bush snakes around too. Sometimes even red chickens build nests out there.”
“But he’s not even holding a weapon — not a stick or a knife. Is he hunting just with that wind magic of his?”
“Oh—something just flew out! …Wait, it fell.”
“So he really is catching birds with wind magic.”
“He can hit birds in midair?”
“If I hadn’t seen that whirlwind earlier, I wouldn’t believe it.”
“I believe it now.”
“Hey, looks like he’s setting up camp, but… he’s not building a hut or anything.”
“He just pulled out a camping bed and chair over there and started relaxing.”
“Maybe we should use this chance to ask him something while we’re at it.”
“What about the other group?”
“Who knows? Their goals seem different from ours anyway.”
“We’ve never hunted in the same area or even talked to them. Doesn’t matter what they’re planning — let’s go.”
“Hey, those guys are heading toward Gentle Breeze.”
“Move it! If they get to him first, we’ll lose a potential asset.”
“We’ll offer him 30% of the earnings — he won’t refuse that.”
“You sure that’ll be worth it?”
“The stuff he brings to the guild is mostly birds and small game, but it’s appraised at over a million dara. Compared to our take, that’s insane. If we combine his earnings with ours, each of us could easily pocket two or three hundred thousand dara.”
“Then we’d better stay polite and butter him up so he doesn’t get offended.”
“Hurry! Let’s get to him before those guys do and strike a deal.”
By the time I’d picked a campsite before sunset, about a dozen men — who’d been following from roughly fifty meters back — started approaching.
They seemed to be two separate parties, and the ones hurrying ahead gave off a strong “trouble incoming” vibe.
“Gentle Breeze, are you really camping here?”
“No defense hut or anything — careless, don’t you think? You should join our party.”
“We’ve got a thorn-hut for defense and take turns keeping watch. It’s safer that way.”
“We’re the Black Whirlwind — kind of famous around Rosenne. You’ll make more money with us.”
“Your share of the profits will be…”
“If this is a recruitment pitch, I’ll have to decline. As you can see, I manage just fine on my own.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. We stuck with you all day, didn’t we?”
“What, 30% of the profit isn’t enough for you?”
“We even gave up a full day’s earnings to come meet you.”
“And how much do you make in a day, exactly? Today I hunted five runner birds, two green birds, four red chickens, and four chikki-chikki birds. Even if you earned more, once it’s split among your group, it’s hardly worth the effort. You should head back to town before dark.”
“Hey, we’re trying to be nice here—”
“You might want to stop talking. Did you forget what happened to those goblin rampage this morning? That was near the city, so I held back. Out here, there are no witnesses — and I won’t hold back this time.”
Some of them gripped their swords or adjusted their spears, glaring at me.
Since the other group was still nearby, I’d let them live but it was best to make sure they gave up on any funny ideas.
“Take three more steps forward, and you’ll understand why I can camp safely out here.”
They all looked confused, but one guy’s friend pushed him forward.
Halfway through his third step, he suddenly stopped, blocked by something invisible.
“What the…?”
“What’s wrong, Bill?”
“I don’t know. Something’s in front of me — I can’t move any closer.”
“What are you talking about?”
As another man tried to pass by “Bill,” he let out a grunt — 〈Ugh!〉 — and turned pale, pressing a hand against the dome-shaped barrier.
I didn’t feel like dealing with their commotion, so I formed a [Whirlwind!] twice my usual size right behind them.
That was enough to make them mutter under their breath and back off quietly.