Ep. 57 The Goblins Den Part 3

Smiths Pov

My gaze drifted back to Kai, who stood quietly cleaning my sword with a scrap of cloth. His face betrayed no pride, no excitement—just the focused concentration of someone performing a necessary task. Something told me there was more to his fighting prowess than luck, and I made a mental note to keep a closer eye on him during our return journey.

"Cut off one ear each so we can confirm the job at the guild and then lets head back," I announced, suddenly aware of how the afternoon light had begun to fade. "Goblins rarely travel alone this far from their caves. There might be more in the area."

We all split up to collect our "trophies" from the goblin corpses—a grim but necessary part of proving our kills to the Guild. As I methodically worked, snippets of conversation drifted through the clearing.

"Oh my gosh, you're so cool, Maya! How are you that strong at only twelve?" Lilia's enthusiastic voice carried across the battlefield.

Glancing up, I saw Maya's confident demeanor crumble under Lilia's admiration. Her face flushed as Lilia pressed closer, awaiting an answer with sparkling eyes.

"U-uh, I-I don't know," Maya stammered, suddenly looking every bit her young age.

Their conversation faded as they moved beyond my immediate hearing, but I could still see Lilia crowding Maya, her hands animated as she continued her barrage of questions. Maya's discomfort was evident even from a distance. Despite her magical prowess in battle, social situations seemed to be her weakness.

"Lilia, enough bothering Maya," I called out. "Start cutting ears—we need to get out of here."

Lilia's head snapped toward me, her expression morphing into an exaggerated pout that made her look years younger than her actual age. "Fine, whatever," she huffed childishly, stomping away to another goblin corpse.

I watched her retreating form with a mixture of exasperation and fondness. Lilia could definitely be overbearing at times—I knew that better than anyone—but she had a genuinely good heart and always meant well. In all the years I'd known her, I'd never seen a trace of genuine malice in her actions. That pure-hearted sincerity was one of the many reasons I... fell in love with her.

Maybe after this job, I'll finally work up the courage to say something, I thought, allowing myself a moment of vulnerability now that the immediate danger had passed.

I giggled softly to myself. Who am I kidding? I'd been telling myself the same thing after every job for the past two years. Always finding reasons to delay, always convincing myself the timing wasn't right.

Shaking my head at my own cowardice, I returned my attention to the goblin corpse before me, carefully slicing off an ear and dropping it into my collection sack. The gruesome work was almost complete, and soon we could begin our journey back to town.

Just a few more minutes, and then a hot meal, a warm bath, and maybe—just maybe—I'd finally tell Lilia how I felt.

I had nearly finished with this goblin when a scream shattered the relative quiet of the forest—a sound so piercing and terrified that birds erupted from the treetops in panicked flight. The scream was followed by my name, voiced in desperate terror.

"SMITH!"

It was Lilia's voice.

I spun around from my crouched position, muscles tensing to sprint in her direction. But as I rose to my feet and completed my turn, something impossible happened—Lilia's body was already airborne, having been struck with such tremendous force that she'd been launched across the clearing.

Time seemed to slow as she flew past me, no more than three feet to my left. My mind barely processed the sight of her body hurtling through the air, her limbs limp, her face a mask of shock and pain. But my ears—my ears captured with perfect clarity the sickening sound she made when she collided with the massive oak tree behind me.

I stood frozen, my body refusing to obey the desperate commands from my brain. Slowly, as though moving through molasses, I creaked my head around to look, terrified of what I might see.

The sight before me shattered something fundamental inside my chest. Lilia—vibrant, kind-hearted Lilia—was slumped against the tree trunk, her small frame crumpled like discarded parchment. Blood from the back of her head had splattered against the rough bark in a grotesque halo. She didn't move. Didn't scream. Didn't cry.

She just lay there, propped against the ancient tree, eyes closed, face deathly pale.

In that moment, I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't speak. I could only stare at the broken body of the woman I loved, the woman I'd never told how I felt, the woman who might now never hear those words.