## Chapter 369 – Troll Song
“You mean you didn’t find the troll?”
Since the quest duration has been extended a bit, I need to report to the village chief, the client. After telling him about what we did today and the progress of the search, the chief expressed his disappointment.
“Hmm, that’s truly unfortunate. And unsettling… I’m truly afraid if they attack again today.”
“It would be better if they attacked. That would be simpler. Oh, by the way, that hunchback friend of yours in the village?”
“You mean Pasper? What happened?”
I informed the chief that the hunchback had entered the forest. I meant for him to manage the hunchback within the village until the troll was defeated, as it was dangerous.
It would be troublesome for everyone if there were casualties.
“That bastard, I mean, that friend, is playing in the forest. It’ll be troublesome for us if he dies, so please warn him not to go into the forest. He’s an idiot and doesn’t understand words.”
“That rascal is slacking off…! I understand. I’ll warn him.”
For a moment, the chief’s face twisted like a demon, but I ignored it. As I was about to leave, Winia asked the chief.
“Chief, has there been a troll attack like this before?”
Winia explained that trolls rarely settled in one place and continuously attacked a village. She seemed concerned about that and asked.
“Troll attacks, as far as I remember, there’s never been one.”
“What about other incidents?”
“In these turbulent times, there are incidents galore… Ah. Come to think of it, around this time last year, a young man from the village who was working alone went missing.”
“Missing?”
“Yes. However, the body was never found. It could be that he simply left the village, but we moved on because there was no evidence of death. But I think he was probably kidnapped by a monster. Like an owlbear. It’s a monster that can be found nearby.”
It’s not a big deal.
It’s quite common for someone to disappear without a trace. It could be the work of a monster, or they could simply be tired of rural village life.
“Hmm. Well, I understand.”
Winia nodded.
We went outside.
From now on, we’ll have to stay up all night outside the village and be on guard against the troll. The troll attacks that have been going on for days are unlikely to stop overnight.
It’s a quest we received from the Adventurer’s Guild, so we have to complete it responsibly.
But why can’t I see these troll bastards?
Could it be that they smelled us and hesitated?
“Winia. Do trolls have a good sense of smell?”
“No. They’re not monsters with a particularly developed sense of smell. Why?”
“I was wondering if they ran away because of the smell of outsiders like us.”
“I don’t think trolls can distinguish between villagers and us.”
“Is that so.”
Anyway, we borrowed shovels and materials from a farmhouse and decided to make a place to spend the night in a suitable spot facing the forest.
ㅡThwack!
I immediately plunged the shovel into the ground.
“Oh, Blackie, you’re good at digging.”
Even though I look like this, I only dug in the army. I can make a trench with my eyes closed. It was already dark because it was night, but Winia turned on the lantern, so there was no problem with working.
“Katt. Should I help?”
“No, I can do it quickly.”
Let’s make use of that experience.
With a shovel, there’s nothing to worry about. No, rather, my stamina and strength have improved since then, and I’ve also gained a new energy source called mana.
“Ah, this is a trench.”
Before long, I completed a splendid trench.
By making walls and a roof with the branches and borrowed straw, it seemed like we could spend the night warmly.
“It’s so comfortable.”
It’s satisfactory for something I made after a long time.
“Okay, let’s go inside.”
Straw was also laid on the floor of the trench. I went in and sat down first, and then Winia and Cloudie came in one by one.
“It’s better than I thought? Blackie, you have this talent?”
“Katt, awesome.”
“There’s nothing better than this for spending a day.”
If I carried a shovel around with me, I would have always made it like this, but I didn’t carry it around, so I didn’t have a chance to show it off.
I even borrowed a steel shovel, so I could show off my skills 100%.
“Then let’s take turns sleeping and keeping watch.”
So we took turns sleeping and keeping watch inside the trench. It would be troublesome if the troll appeared at night and crossed the village’s wooden fence. It was a bit cold, but it wasn’t too difficult because we had a lantern and made it so we could lie down.
Surprisingly, despite our efforts, the troll didn’t attack during the night.
“Shit.”
The night passed so peacefully.
If I had known this would happen, I would have just gone to the inn in the village and slept, damn it.
“Ah, shit. Blackie, I’m so tired.”
“Me too, damn it.”
Winia, who complained as soon as she opened her eyes, went outside the trench. I’m tired too. But I can’t rest.
There’s no rest until we catch the troll.
“Should we go to the village first? I want to wash my face and eat something warm.”
“You read my mind, Sis. Let’s go quickly, Blackie.”
We rubbed our eyes and returned to the village.
ㅡKkeueuaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!
When we entered the village, we heard a piercing scream, so we quickly ran over. Could it be that the troll has appeared?
“Kkeueuaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“No, it’s that bastard.”
The one screaming was none other than Jake. He was lying in the middle of the village, rolling his eyes back, twisting his body, and having a seizure.
“Ah, adventurers! It’s nothing. Jake suddenly had a seizure…”
“…It’s nothing to me.”
I had my hopes up for nothing, damn it.
We went to the hall that the chief had shown us yesterday, paid 3 coppers, and bought stew. It didn’t taste very good, but it was freshly boiled and hot, so I was somewhat satisfied.
“Blackie. I’m going to wash my face for a bit. Sis, come with me.”
“Okay. Katt, will you be here?”
“Yeah. I’ll be here, so go ahead.”
We’ll take a short break in the village and then go back to searching. We decided to take an hour break each. Winia and Cloudie went to the inn, and I just sat in the hall and rested.
“That damn troll bastard.”
I hope he shows up soon.
They said there were seven victims, but we haven’t seen a single one since we arrived. When I went to catch the Cockatrice in the past, I found it relatively quickly, so damn it.
After dozing off for a short time, they returned, and we set off towards the forest again.
“Blackie, today we’re going to search across the stream.”
“Alright.”
“Hmph, I hope we find it today.”
The entrance to the forest was already the place we saw yesterday, so we quickly passed through it while looking around. There was no place where the troll could hide.
It was the moment we passed the entrance.
“No, I told that bastard not to come, but he’s here again.”
The hunchback was sitting in front of us again, playing in the dirt. I quickly ran over and grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him up.
I even personally educated him not to get eaten, but he came back to die again.
“Ugh, ugh! Ah, it hurts!”
“You son of a bitch! I told you not to come into the forest! I told you you’d get eaten by a troll, you shi… Huh?”
Looking at his face, his eyes were swollen as if he had been beaten up badly.
I was wondering why I hadn’t touched his face yesterday, even though I had been hitting his back all the time, but then I remembered that I had asked the chief to tell him something last night.
It seems the chief beat him up pretty badly.
I thought it was a kind village, but it’s just a normal otherworld village.
“Ah, it hurts! Le, let me go!”
“I’ll let you go, so get out of here and go back to the village! I told you you’d become troll food, you son of a bitch!”
That doesn’t mean I have any reason to care about him. Who would take responsibility if he died here? If I put in a request from the village and someone died, my reward might be reduced.
That is absolutely unacceptable.
“Don’t stay here, go home, you bastard! If you come to the forest again, you’ll die!”
“Kkeueuk!”
As soon as I kicked him in the ass, he screamed like a pig, grabbed his sack, and ran away in a hurry.
“What the hell is he doing?”
Winia looked puzzled at the sight.
“He’s just a stupid bastard. I told him not to come, but he keeps coming back. He must have come early in the morning if he came in faster than us, but he didn’t die.”
Even if I try to save him with persuasion accompanied by violence, there’s nothing I can do if he comes to die. He doesn’t understand, but I’ve done as much as I can.
“He didn’t die, could it be that the troll has already run away?”
Cloudie’s words were quite insightful.
“Hmm.”
Perhaps, as she said, the troll, full of human flesh, came to his senses and ran away. If that’s the case, it’s as good as fucked.
It’s a waste of time, and the quest is a failure.
Now is not the time to worry about whether that hunchback bastard will die or not.
“That can’t be. Blackie! Sis! Run!”
We immediately ran to the stream. Perhaps because there were no people around, the troll’s traces were still there.
ㅡSwish.
The stream was quite wide, so it seemed like our feet would get wet if we crossed it.
Looking at it roughly, there’s no way to cross without getting wet.
“Shall we cross then?”
Cloudie was about to step forward.
“Stop.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t let my women get wet. Winia. Get on my back. Cloudie, hug me.”
Transporting two women at the same time.
I can do it now.
“Oh my, Katt.”
“Our Blackie is saying such pretty things?”
Hearing that, the two women smiled brightly and clung to me without even hesitating. I handed the backpack to Winia and took a stance in front of the stream.
“Okay, get on!”
“Kyaat!”
“Kyaat!”
Winia clung to my back, and Cloudie hugged me. It’s so heavy. The two women weigh over 100 kilos combined, so it was really heavy.
“Katt, are you okay? Can you handle it?”
“Of course.”
My legs seemed to be shaking, but I’m okay with this much. I gathered all the strength stored in the wrinkles of my balls and stepped into the stream.
ㅡSwoosh.
The water reaches my knees.
“Ehehe, Blackie is so nice!”
I crossed the stream. It was so heavy, and it was painful that Winia and Cloudie were hugging me so tightly, but I managed to reach the destination somehow.
As soon as I arrived, I mustered all my strength and put them down.
“Kua!”
“Katt, you worked hard. Thank you?”
“Blackie did well!”
It was hard, but I felt better because the women, who were very happy, praised me. Because I’m macho Kim Katt.
Winia’s chest has its pros and cons.
“Ugh, damn it. It’s so hard. Anyway, let’s go.”
I started again with Winia in the lead.
“Hmm, there are a lot of traces left here too. It’s certain that there was a troll. I think it probably moved yesterday too.”
After searching for a while, Winia said confidently.
As expected of a mage, she quickly figures out the truth even with only fragmentary information. Honestly, I don’t know even if I look at it, and Cloudie seems to only know about the desert, so she doesn’t know about the forest.
Under Winia’s lead, we started marching again.
As we were doing that, we were able to find a fairly noticeable trace.
“Goblin corpse? It’s a fucking mess.”
What we found was blood splattered everywhere and the remains of a goblin that had been brutally destroyed. Winia examined it and came to a conclusion.
“It looks like the troll ate it. There’s probably a goblin cave nearby. If we’re lucky, the troll might be in that cave.”
“Talking about eating makes me hungry.”
We took out jerky and chewed on it while looking for the goblin’s cave. If we’re lucky, as Winia said, the troll who stole the nest might be taking a nap there.
“Isn’t that it?”
Using my experience as an adventurer, I scanned the surroundings and found something like a cave on that ridge.
“The smell of blood… It’s certain.”
Cloudie, who smelled it, drew her curved sword.
I also drew my sword, and Winia raised her staff. We slowly approached the cave.
The entrance to the cave was about 1.6m, and not only the entrance but also the surrounding area was splattered with red blood, and pieces of bone and green flesh were scattered everywhere.
The goblins were killed by the troll.
Winia cast a light magic, and I and Cloudie slowly entered with our blades forward.
Of course, there was no troll.
“It’s a dud.”
Inside, there was nothing left except the miserable remains of the goblin family that had been fucked up. A terrible smell mixed with the strong smell of blood and rot wafted through the air.
This troll bastard seems to have a pretty rough eating habit.
The splattered blood and flesh showed how brutally the goblins became a meal.
“Could it be that the troll didn’t come to the village yesterday because it was eating goblins?”
“I think so, Sis.”
Well, it’s a terrible sight, but there wasn’t a single person in this place who cared about such trivial things. There was nothing to take, so we immediately went outside. We took a short break and resumed the chase.
It has been proven that the troll is still in this area.
Fortunately, it didn’t run away far.
We searched for a long time again, but in the end, we had no choice but to return without any particular gain today. I carried them across the stream again and returned to the village.
“Ugh, it’s annoying! Why doesn’t the troll show up when it’s a troll!”
Winia burst out in annoyance. Cloudie clung to Winia, telling her to calm down, but that only made her more angry.
“Blackie, let’s just go to the inn and sleep today. I’m too tired.”
“Okay, let’s do that. We can run out if something happens.”
We decided to do that, reported today’s work to the chief, and then returned to the inn. It was already night. I’m quite tired.
“Katt, I’m going to wash now. Can you keep watch?”
“Of course.”
When I came to the inn and put down my luggage, the world was already dark. Winia and Cloudie naturally took off their clothes and went to the well.
I was admiring them washing.
ㅡKyaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!
ㅡA troll has appeared!!!!!!!!!!
ㅡUwaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!
No, damn it.
“Ah! Katt!”
“Blackie!”
I immediately drew my sword and ran towards the sound.
“Get dressed and come! I’ll go first!”
“Okay!”
Why the hell doesn’t it show its face when I’m looking for it, but it shows up when I’m trying to rest!
I can’t accept this kind of random luck.
We are people who value time, so we tried to shorten the time by actively searching and hunting rather than waiting for an attack, but it’s screwing with us like this…!
“I won’t forgive the bastards who tear my heart apart!!!”
