(Goblin Slayer x Fem!OC) Metamorphosis

Nostalgia Part 5

Supper was an awkward part of the day. Cow Girl's uncle bombarded Em with questions about where she lived, who her parents were, and what her relationship with Cow Girl and Goblin Slayer was. Em sat there at the table, trying to enjoy the meal as best she could without feeling guilty for coming to the farm. "Your mother passed away but what about your father?" Cow Girl's Uncle asked.

"I don't know him," Em said. "My mother rarely spoke of him. My only option was to find shelter in Frontier Town."

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "Who did you live with?"

She understood why he was giving her the third degree as she was a stranger in his own home but the number of questions the man asked her seemed a bit ridiculous. "I had a Mentor who took me in." She was chosen, out of all the children in the orphanage to be adopted by her. Em never understood why.

He raised an eyebrow at that answer. "Who is your Mentor?"

"Uncle," Cow Girl said, glaring at him in annoyance. "We should let her eat." Cow Girl's Uncle nodded, and they all resumed eating. Goblin Slayer did not take his helmet off even to eat. He simply lifted the bottom of it and ate his food that way. Was he that worried about goblins? He's peculiar. Had he always been like that? Em thought as she tried to finish the meal as best, she could.

When dinner finished, Em went outside for a bit. She wondered how far their old village was from the farm. That village I saw the other day – the run-down one – was that the same one? She thought to herself, horrified. Trying to remember any of it made her head hurt worse than before. Em leaned against a tree, as the wind started picking up. It was all frustrating. She heard footsteps behind her and jumped, but relaxed when it was Goblin Slayer.

She wanted to ask what happened exactly but the way he avoided the question before made her rethink it. "How are you feeling?" he asked, in his usual deep yet monotone voice.

"Better," Em said. "The village we... stayed in, it's destroyed?"

Goblin Slayer stood still for a moment before he said, "Yes. It is."

"It... was the same one you found me at the other day?"

"Yes."

So that's confirmed, she thought. "Can you... take me there?"

"There's nothing left."

"Yes... but – it might help."

"Tomorrow," Goblin Slayer said. "It's getting dark. Goblins always come out in the dark." He showed her to the shed, where he usually slept. There was one bed inside, but he urged her to take it.

"What about you? Won't you be cold?"

"I don't need it."

She nodded, taking the bed. He never took his armor off, or even his helmet. How could he possibly feel comfortable wearing all that and fall asleep? He seems used to it. She wondered how long he hunted goblins for.

"You have experience in fighting goblins?"

"Yes. For about five years."

She opened her eyes. Priestess asked Goblin Slayer that question after that first goblin quest disaster. She forgot about that. But what did he do before those five years between surviving the village massacre and when he became an adventurer? Em looked over to Goblin Slayer, who lay against a wall near the bed. He wasn't moving much – most likely asleep.

Em closed her eyes, hoping she'd get better sleep than she had for nearly a week.

*

Groggily opening her eyes in the early morning, Em put on her regular clothes. She guessed Goblin Slayer woke up before she did. She slept well as the headache she had was gone and sleeping on something other than cold ground with a blanket was more than enough. She ate breakfast Cow Girl made for them. Her Uncle was off somewhere in town that day running a few errands. Finally, a real breakfast and not scavenging for food. She thought she would have to resort to stealing at one point.