Dream Life Chapter 26.1: “Snowy Night”

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　It is December 25.

　It has been snowing for the past two days, and the outside is a silver world.

　In my old world, people would be excited about a white Christmas, but of course, there is no Christmas in this world.

　Even so, until yesterday, there was a somewhat soothing year-end atmosphere in the air as people prepared to welcome the coming New Year.

　In fact, even now, preparations are underway in the mansion to welcome the New Year.

　Molly, the head maid, her daughter Tricia, and Jean, the newlywed, are baking cookies and other baked goods.

　Mother and Claire, Sharon’s mother, are chatting and knitting in front of the fireplace.

　Nicholas’ wife, Kate, and Polly, Mel’s mother, are making a big pot of soup and preparing drinks for us.

　Dan, Mel, and Sharon are reading by the fireplace.

　But the atmosphere was different this day.

　Grandfather, Father, the Head Squire Walt, and Liddy are not there. Instead, Claire, Kate, and the others who are usually absent, as well as Mel and my friends, were at the mansion.

　It all started with Guy’s news that there was something strange in the forest.

　Guy, a former adventurer, and some hunters who had been patrolling the forest yesterday had found what appeared to be goblin-like footprints.

　According to his report, dozens of them could be approaching the village. My grandfather and father decided to take down the monsters and have been in the forest with the village patrol since this morning.

　Turning back the clock one day.

　It is 2:00 p.m. on December 24.

　Guy, who seems to have returned from his patrol, comes to see my grandfather. He always has a bright smile on his face, but this time his expression was not as bright as usual. He was followed by other squires, including Nicholas, who had a stern expression on his face, and they all went into my grandfather’s room.

　My brother Rod and I followed them into my grandfather’s room.

　Guy stood in front of my grandfather and father and reported on the anomalies he found on his patrol.

“The Woodford River in the East Woods…A small river that flows into Black Pond Lake… We found goblin-like footprints nearby. It appears that a newly independent pack is on the move and could be approaching the village.” (Guy)

　My father’s face contorts slightly at Guy’s report.

　My grandfather’s face does not change at all as he asks Guy, “How many?”

“I would say somewhere between thirty and forty individuals.” (Guy)

　Grandfather nodded to Guy and ordered his followers to prepare to subjugate the goblin pack.

“Tomorrow morning, I and Matt will lead fifty men each to the subjugation. Hector, tell the village patrol to be on the lookout tonight. Hector, tell the vigilantes to be on the lookout tonight. Walt, you’re in charge in my absence. Hector and Enos, you stay with Matt. Guy, you take the hunters and scout the area…” (Govan)

　At my grandfather’s command, everyone moved swiftly.

　I was impressed with the way all of them moved.

(My grandfather’s people are real warriors, aren’t they? Even Nicholas looks completely different than usual. He has a warrior’s face…) (Zack)

　I notice that Liddy is talking to my grandfather about something.

“…I’ll help you too. It’s quite the hassle if you face this number of goblins. Isn’t that right, Govie?” (Liddy)

　He looked like he was about to say something, but then smiled and said, “All right. Lydia, follow me,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

　Liddy nodded and went to her room to get ready.

　I felt helpless as I was left alone.

(As expected, I had no choice but to be protected in this body. Still, when I see my family heading off to fight for their lives, I feel frustrated at my helplessness. At least, if I were a little bigger…) (Zack)

　It is said that it has been three years since a group of monsters approached this village.

　The reason for this is that we had taken precautions to ensure that no dangerous monsters would settle within five kilometers of the village by conducting periodic subjugations.

　According to Guy, the goblins this time may have been from a group that grew to populous deep in the forest from the east, and migrated to the west, after breaking up the pack.

　Although he did not know the details, he said that the goblins may have birthed more than usual this year due to the good weather. Guy’s theory was that the goblins had probably split up as food supplies dwindled with the onset of winter.

　Goblins themselves are a staple of fantasy, but I have yet to see one. In fact, I have never seen any demons in this world.

　That’s how peaceful this village is.

　According to my father, goblins are humanoid creatures between 130 and 140 centimeters tall, with short limbs, protruding bellies, small horns on their foreheads, and ugly bluish-blackish green skin.

　They wield simple clubs but are basically not much of a fighter, and even new recruits can fight with them fairly evenly or better. The goblin’s greatest characteristic is its fertility, which, depending on conditions, can swell to dozens of times its size in a few months.

　In rare cases, goblins use swords or bows instead of clubs. Some are even said to be able to use magic. The most dangerous is when the leader of the pack has developed intelligence, which can lead to them learning how to use traps.

(Just like in a game or fantasy novel setting. I’d like to see them once.)

　December 25, 7:00 in the morning.

　Fully equipped, Grandfather and the rest leave the mansion.

　Grandfather and the rest wore metal armor and had their own weapons on hand.

　Grandfather is equipped with his favorite bastard sword, plate armor, and a small buckler in his left hand. Father next to him is also dressed in the same equipment as Grandfather.

　Hector’s armor is all leather, except for his breastplate, and he has a longbow as tall as he is slung over his shoulder and a short one-handed sword hanging at his waist.

　Nicholas is quite heavily armed. He wears a breastplate, gauntlets, cuisses, and greaves, a kite shield, and a rather wide long sword.

　Guy, as a former adventurer, is clad in leather armor and equipped with a short, easy-to-handle compound bow and long sword.

　Walt, the usually acts as a butler, is clad in chainmail called a hauberk. Holding his favorite spear, he looks exactly like a squire accompanying a knight.

　Each of them was wearing a cloak with the Lockhart family crest stitched on it, which depicted a lion holding a sword, and they prepared themselves with swift and steady movements.

　I couldn’t help but admire their appearance.

(Honestly, I think it’s cool. It’s like a scene out of a movie. …brother has a look of complete adoration on his face. Well, maybe I look the same…) (Zack)

　Then Liddy appears, dressed in well-worn leather armor and holding a small compound bow in her hand.

　I couldn’t help but walk up to her and call out.

“Take care, Liddy. Don’t take it easy. Don’t take any chances…” (Zack)

　She saw my frantic attempts to warn her, she just smiled and said, “You’re a worrier. Don’t worry, they’re just goblins.”

　Certainly, when she was on a party with my grandfather, she would have had to deal with bigger ones. Still, I was worried.

　Perhaps it was showing on my face. She knelt down in front of me, hugged me tightly, and whispered in my ear.

“It’s okay. I’ll be back soon. When I come back, I’ll need a reward. Ufufu…” (Liddy)

　I felt a little embarrassed that I was worrying too much and just muttered as I look down, “Okay. So make sure you come back safe and sound,”

　Everyone except Walt goes out of the gate.

　The rest of us had no choice but to watch over their backs as they marched through the snow.

　The time passed by slowly.

　Just in case, Mel and Sharon had come to the house with their mothers.

　Walt had gone to Gordon’s house to take charge of the remaining village patrol. The house was guarded by ten young men dispatched by the village patrol.

　At first, Walt had intended to gather the villagers at Castle Hill. But Grandfather had thought the idea unnecessary. Then, Grandfather instructed him to use Gordon’s house in the center of the village as his base of operations.

　Still, Walt was worried about Mother, who was pregnant, so he sent ten patrol members to reinforce security. He should now be patrolling the village with the rest of the village patrol.

　Mel and the others, not really understanding the situation, are happily frolicking in the compound.

　My brother and Mel’s brother Sim, who understands the situation, are holding wooden swords for training and look somewhat worried. However, when it came to talking about the appearance of their grandfathers, they forgot their concerns and were both excited about who and what was cool about them.

　Having nothing to do and not being as excited as the other kids, I was sitting idly beside my mother.

　Suddenly, my mother asked, “Are you worried about everyone?”

“Well, yes. There is the snow and they don’t know how many they’re dealing with…” (Zack)

　She gave me a small smile and pulled me into a hug.

“It’s okay. Those people are very strong… I was always worried about them when I first came here. In the past, this used to happen more often…” (Tanya)

　My mother herself was a commoner and city girl, that had never been exposed to the threat of monsters. So she was frightened by the frequent appearance of monsters at the time she came here. At that time, there were frequent subjugation campaigns to defeat them like this one, and the worst was when a pack of more than fifty orcs came close by.

“…that time we could hear the orcs howling right here on Castle Hill. More than ten people from the village died then. I heard that father-in-law did pretty well, but still… Also, that’s when Guy came to serve us.” (Tanya)

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