Oh, Iyer! Iyerpol! – Chapter 10

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Nikolai Tobias.

A knight of the Phailure family, the rulers of Tillasden.

Despite her young age, she valued a rigid mindset and old traditions, and she never showed any undignified behavior in front of the soldiers, as she strived to be a model knight.

Laughing loudly, yawning, dozing off.

Nikolai never displayed such behavior.

Not even surprise.

Always composed, exemplary, and acting for her lord – that was the ideal image of a knight she envisioned.

However, what unfolded before her eyes now was a sight enough to shatter even her self-control.

“Lady Nikolai! Lady Nikolai!”

“…”

A soldier next to Nikolai, who was staring upwards with wide eyes, called out to her.

The soldier had never seen Nikolai surprised.

But now, her expression clearly held astonishment.

“…Is that the ‘it’ that was reported?”

“It seems so. It matches the description in the report.”

“Ha.”

Nikolai’s eyes were still fixed on ‘it.’

A chilling wind seemed to pierce her body.

Her sharp senses were frantically ringing alarm bells of danger.

Hanging precariously from the middle of a high cliff, a natural monument, was a massive ‘it.’

About twice the size of a human.

Its protruding belly and sharp fangs hinted at its nature.

But Nikolai swore she had never seen anything so enormous in her life.

It was a goblin.

But at the same time, it wasn’t an ordinary goblin.

Twice the size of a human, four or five times the size of a normal goblin.

Thick arms, a developed jaw.

She had read about this creature in literature.

Goblin King.

The ruler of a goblin tribe, a being that had become the king of goblins.

A monster far larger, stronger, and more vicious than ordinary goblins.

Indeed, the creature hanging ludicrously from the cliff was a being born to be king of the goblins.

And this Goblin King… was hanging by its neck, lynched off of the cliff.

Like a hanged prisoner.

“This is… one of the monster kings.”

Each monster species had at least one individual bearing the title of King.

Among them, of course, was the Goblin King, the king of the goblins.

As far as she knew, the previously discovered Goblin King had been located very far from Tillasden.

It also had a much older and tougher appearance.

‘This is a Goblin King that hasn’t been alive for long.’

It was said that the one who would become king was determined at birth for monsters.

This one had clearly been born not long ago and had set out to establish its own tribe. Nikolai could tell.

To think she would see a dead monster king in her lifetime.

And hanged like a criminal, no less.

It was no wonder Nikolai was astonished.

“…Begin the investigation.”

Under her command, the investigation of the Goblin King’s corpse began.

The body was too heavy to pull up, so they had no choice but to cut the rope that was holding the Goblin King by its neck from the top of the cliff.

Thud!

With a loud crash, the Goblin King’s corpse plummeted to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Nikolai descended to the bottom of the cliff and examined the Goblin King’s corpse closely.

“There are no signs of struggle…”

No cuts from blades, no bruises.

Normally, a corpse that had been in battle would show such signs.

But the only unusual things about the Goblin King’s corpse were the area around its neck, its lower body soiled with excrement, and its protruding tongue.

Then, Nikolai’s gaze fixed on the Goblin King’s foot.

‘Is this… a trap?’

Nikolai’s gaze shifted back to the top of the cliff.

In her mind, she reconstructed the scene the Goblin King must have experienced just before its death.

Goblin King footprints were imprinted on the forest floor above the cliff.

It must have been running furiously, chasing something.

Judging by the frantic footprints, the King must have been enraged.

Whoever was confronting the Goblin King lured it to the edge of the cliff, and the pre-set trap sprung on the Goblin King.

The Goblin King’s body flew over the cliff, and as gravity took hold, the thick, sturdy rope around its neck snapped its neck, killing it instantly before it could even resist.

The Goblin King had clearly been hunted.

“Who is it?”

Nikolai muttered, staring at the cold corpse of the Goblin King.

Hunting a monster like the Goblin King was no easy feat.

It required considerable time and effort to understand its behavior patterns and then set a trap based on that knowledge, luring the Goblin King into it.

It was easy to say, but putting it into practice was near impossible.

This was a feat only someone incredibly skilled could accomplish.

“But why didn’t they report it? They would have received a substantial reward.”

“…”

Even though it was a goblin, it was still a monster king.

If they had announced their kill, they would have received high honors and a large reward from the Phailure family.

But why did the hunter who killed the Goblin King leave it like this without reporting it?

Nikolai furrowed her brow, sensing the hunter’s intentions.

“This is a warning.”

“A warning, ma’am?”

“Yes. A warning to the monsters.”

Recently, goblin sightings had been increasing even in Tillasden.

This area was no exception.

The reason for displaying the King’s corpse so prominently on the cliff… was a warning to the monsters that had started inhabiting the area.

What would the monsters think when they saw the lynched body of a Goblin King, one of the apex predators?

They would surely feel fear.

Fear of the existence above them, the one who hunted an apex predator.

The one who hunted the Goblin King deliberately “displayed” its corpse for this purpose.

Like displaying the head of an enemy general in past wars to demoralize the enemy troops…

“A madman.”

“A human sending a warning to monsters… That’s certainly unusual.”

“If I were a goblin, I would have run away with my tail between my legs.”

The soldiers around her responded with disgusted expressions.

Although her expression remained unchanged, Nikolai felt the same.

“Are there any people living nearby? They might have heard the commotion in the mountains.”

“No, ma’am. There are no villages marked on the map.”

“Is that so…?”

Nikolai pondered.

Without witnesses, it would be impossible to determine the exact time of the incident or identify the suspect.

Whether this person came from Tillasden or from outside, whether they were male or female, and so on.

Without any evidence, an investigation was impossible.

But it seemed the heavens hadn’t abandoned Nikolai.

“Ah!”

Nikolai and the soldiers turned their heads at someone’s exclamation.

A small boy was pointing at them with wide eyes.

There were no villages marked on the map, though?

Nikolai’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s the knights!”

Excited by the sight of Nikolai and the soldiers, the boy ran towards them and stared at them with curiosity.

Nikolai wanted to grab the boy and question him immediately, but she restrained herself.

She gestured to a soldier, who nodded and approached the boy, kneeling down to meet his eye level.

Then, with a friendly smile, he asked,

“Hello there, little one. What brings you here?”

“I came to see the giant goblin!”

A glint appeared in Nikolai’s eyes.

As expected, this child hadn’t come here by chance.

He knew the Goblin King’s corpse was here.

The soldier continued his questioning.

“Really? Then you must know how long this strange goblin has been here, right?”

“Of course! Since we defeated the goblins last time!”

‘Defeated… the goblins…?’

As far as she remembered, the lord’s army of Tillasden hadn’t mobilized to subjugate a goblin tribe recently.

They hadn’t received such a request either.

If the lord’s army hadn’t done it, then someone else had carried out a large-scale subjugation.

The atmosphere around Nikolai and the soldiers turned cold as the conversation veered into illegal territory.

Unaware of their hostility, the boy hummed a tune as he walked towards where the Goblin King’s corpse lay.

A common, childish tune drifted into their ears.

“The blind swordsman Iyer, defeated a hundred goblins, they say. The proud heroes of the village, struck down the Goblin King, they say.”

“!”

Nikolai’s wide eyes met the soldier’s.

The soldiers’ eyes also widened at the unexpected name of the suspect.

Nikolai gathered the soldiers around her and whispered,

“Has anyone heard that name?”

“I-it’s a fairly well-known name in Tillasden.”

“In Tillasden?”

“Yes. He’s an adventurer in Tillasden, known among the citizens as the ‘Blind Swordsman Iyerpol.’ He’s an adventurer who wears a black cloth over his eyes because he can’t see. Iyer is a nickname for the Blind Swordsman Iyerpol.”

“Go on.”

The invisible swordsman Iyer, who subjugated the goblins.

The Blind Swordsman Iyerpol, an adventurer in Tillasden.

They were clearly the same person.

“He was originally a famous adventurer specializing in monster subjugation, but for some reason, he hasn’t been taking on those kinds of requests recently. I heard he’s only accepting requests that are more like volunteer work, which is why he’s quite popular among the citizens of Tillasden…”

“A monster subjugation specialist.”

“When he was mainly doing monster subjugation, he was a companion of ‘Wagner of the Greatsword.'”

“Wagner? The Wagner I know?”

“Yes. I heard he played an important role as a scout in Wagner’s party. But he left the party after he stopped taking monster subjugation requests. Because of that, Wagner’s party struggled for a while due to Iyerpol’s absence.”

Since the soldiers were also from Tillasden, they were well-versed in the city’s rumors.

Naturally, they also knew the stories of famous adventurers.

‘Wagner of the Greatsword’ was an adventurer Nikolai, as a knight, also knew well.

He was the leader of an adventurer party often commissioned by the Phailure family when the lord’s army couldn’t handle a task or when a situation was difficult to deal with.

Wagner was a highly skilled and respected adventurer, recognized even by the lord.

To think he was Wagner’s partner.

Nikolai hummed the tune the boy had been singing.

“The blind swordsman Iyer, defeated a hundred goblins, they say… The proud heroes of the village, struck down the Goblin King, they say…”

Nikolai’s gaze shifted to the Goblin King’s corpse.

The boy was excitedly poking at it.

Looking at the Goblin King, who had died a futile death with a look of rage on its face, she muttered,

“Someone who can’t see… did this…?”

A chilling wind rustled the trees in the forest, causing her short hair to flutter.

After staring at the boy and the goblin corpse for a long while, Nikolai finally spoke.

“You two over there.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Follow this child and find the location of his village. You may question the villagers.”

“Understood! Where are you going, Lady Nikolai?”

Nikolai turned without answering the soldier’s question.

The chilling wind seemed to urge her forward.

“We’re returning to Tillasden to investigate this ‘Iyer.'”

A powerful beat resonated in Nikolai’s chest.

Iyer, skilled enough to hunt a Goblin King.

Her heart pounded with excitement at the prospect of encountering a powerful individual she hadn’t known before.

They didn’t know yet.

That the man they were looking for wasn’t in Tillasden right now.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Two days had passed since we left Tillasden for Las Pallas.

I was starting to regret the favor I had done for Jonah and Foreman.

Why?

The reason was as follows:

‘Food expenses, my money. Lodging expenses, my money. Anything that needed to be paid for, my money…’

Money was draining away at an alarming rate.

Covering the food and lodging expenses for three people was noticeably shrinking my funds with each passing day, even after withdrawing money from the bank.

On top of that, the carriage was old, and the wheel axle broke down along the way.

I ended up having to pay for the repairs, and that money came out of my pocket too.

Good heavens, what was happening?

My gaze shifted to Jonah, sitting across from me.

She seemed to have gotten used to the bumpy ride in the carriage’s cargo bed, which I thought would be unbearable, and she was now dozing off.

That wasn’t the point.

My gaze fell on her clothes.

She wasn’t wearing the luxurious clothes she had on when we first met, but ordinary, commoner’s clothes and a robe.

I had bought those for her too.

There was a sucker paying for food, lodging, and even clothing?

Ding ding ding!

That sucker was me.

‘…Be patient, Iyerpol. This is a valuable investment. Building a connection with the trading company owner’s daughter is worth this much effort, right?’

These past few days had made me realize that being a benefactor wasn’t easy.

Especially for a young man in his twenties who had just started saving money.

I could only hope that the name “Iyer” wouldn’t fade from Jonah’s memory as a fleeting encounter…

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇