Would You Like a Goblin Subjugation With That?

"Would you like a goblin subjugation with that? If you accept now, you can add a boar subjugation too."

After accepting the rabbit commission (for six of them), I heard a line that reminded me of a certain fast food exchange.

Incidentally, this is apparently common with subjugation commissions, but it's possible to accept the commission after you've already done the subjugation. Since the commission is completed by submitting proof of subjugation, it doesn't really matter whether you accept it before or after. The only advantages to accepting beforehand are that you don't have to pay the toll when leaving through the gate and you don't have to worry about the commission being withdrawn before you can claim it.

So this was their recommendation, apparently.

Goblins are pests that destroy farmland and apparently target the fields outside the north gate. There are fields inside the gates too, but since land is expensive, they inevitably have to make fields outside as well. Since only goblins and boars (apparently a type of wild pig) cause problems for the fields, having adventurers casually hunt them is sufficient, and it's considerably cheaper than the cost of the land.

Boars don't appear often, but the meat is supposedly delicious, so they'll buy them for around one to two silver coins depending on the size. The proof of subjugation is the snout, but that's also apparently the tastiest part.

Meanwhile, goblin corpses make excellent fertilizer when chopped up and spread across fields, so after taking the right ear as proof of subjugation, you just leave the body near a field… Won't they turn into undead? Is that really okay?

Goblin and boar subjugation are standing F-Rank commissions. For goblins, bringing in five right ears nets you thirty copper coins anytime.

For boars, it's ten copper coins for the snout, or you can keep the snout and get one copper coin. If you choose to keep it, they'll cut it into three pieces right there and return it. (The three-way split is to prevent double-dipping on subjugation rewards. They don't just cut it in two because apparently snouts sometimes get split clean in half when you actually kill them.)

Boars sound delicious in two ways. I have [Storage], so transporting them won't be a problem either.

Anyway, we're heading west this time, but let's actively hunt any goblins or boars we spot along the way. Ichika seemed fired up about the boars… or so I thought, but not as much as expected. I wonder why.

"I hunted them like crazy back when I was an adventurer… there probably aren't many left now because of… yeah, never mind. But I can vouch for the taste."

Looks like she'd already finished being motivated about them.

 

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So we headed out the west gate for rabbit hunting.

I was hoping for great things from Niku-sensei, but I also wanted to see how the newcomer Ichika performed.

After all, she's a former C-Rank adventurer. She must be pretty capable. Especially when delicious food is on the line.

Since going barehanded seemed like too much, I lent her my sword.

"Oh, thanks. Well, I can handle rabbits barehanded, yeah? If ya damage the fur, the buyback price drops. So it's common sense to take 'em down without hurtin' 'em as much as possible."

"Hmm? But then you can't drain the blood."

"Drain the blood? What's that?"

… Huh, she doesn't know about draining blood?

"See, if you drain the blood, the meat won't smell gamey. The flavor improves too. Most of the gamey smell in meat comes from the blood."

"Ooh! Didn't know that. Ya don't know common sense but yer knowledgeable, huh. I see, no gamey smell… yeah, that'd make all kinds of meat tastier… hehehe."

Ichika was already drooling while thinking about meat she hadn't even seen yet. Seriously, what an appetite demon.

"So, how do ya drain the blood?"

"Right, it'll be faster if you just see it… Niku, go hunt one."

"Yes."

Niku trotted off into the forest. Thirty seconds later, she came back with a rabbit. Its neck had been magnificently severed in a single stroke.

When I held it up by its feet, blood gushed out and formed a pool at my feet.

"Like this, if you cut the neck and hang it upside down, the blood just pours out. Keep it hanging until the blood stops flowing. That's it… Easy, right?"

"Sure is… But wait, Niku-senpai's this tiny and she can hunt like normal. Getting a rabbit in thirty seconds is crazy skilled, were ya a hunter before becomin' a slave? How'd ya even find where the rabbit was in the forest?"

"? It's easy though? I can tell by the smell."

"Right, Niku-senpai's a beastkin. Got it… No, but still, with those skinny little arms…"

She went on like that, but next was Ichika's turn.

I wanted to see what she could actually do, so I left Niku in charge of draining the rabbit's blood and followed behind Ichika.

She pushed through the forest, occasionally stopping to listen carefully.

After about five minutes, she suddenly gripped the sword in a reverse hold and swung it vertically in a quick stroke that skimmed close to the ground.

"Alright, that should do it? Oh, look at all that blood comin' out."

She casually lifted the headless rabbit by its feet. As expected of a former C-Rank, she'd finished it cleanly in one strike.

"Yeah, you're plenty strong. Beheading it in one hit… You're quite the skilled fighter."

"That's right, I was a scout after all. A dagger would really be better… or ideally a kitchen knife. I used one for birds and stuff, so I can use a bow too."

Kitchen knife, huh. I'll try making one when we get back.

"I can cook too, so really, I'm such a bargain. Did ya know? My original selling price was fifteen gold coins. I mean reeeally, why am I goin' for just fifty silver, I barely even bit that thing off and they made such a fuss."

"First time I've heard your original price, but that's definitely because of the biting, don't you think?"

Even now, hearing about it made me wince.

"Still, I wonder if goblins would taste better with the blood drained? They were reeeally nasty, so I don't have high hopes."

"You ate one…?"

"Right before I became a slave, I was workin' in an underground arena in the Imperial Capital to pay off my debts… well, since yer my Goshujin-sama I'll tell ya, they had me do this 'Bizarre Eater' spectacle there… Basically fightin' live monsters under various conditions, and eatin' 'em was part of the set. Goblins and such, I ate everything but the bones… Goblin milt was… that was really bad…"

"Tahaha…" Ichika laughed, looking embarrassed.

So there are underground arenas too, huh.

This world's entertainment facilities are interesting, but this one just reeks of crime.

We returned to where Niku was with the rabbit.

"Ah, welcome back, Goshujin-sama."

Around Niku, who was standing there holding the rabbit, lay five goblin corpses. All five had their necks cleanly severed.

Lured by the smell of blood, they'd attacked when they saw what looked like a small child standing there, only to have the tables completely turned on them. That's probably what happened.

"Oh…"

"Ah, I knew it. I had a feelin' they were around…"

I hadn't noticed at all.

"Instant kills, huh. Niku-senpai, how'd ya take 'em down?"

"They surrounded me, so, like, I held the rabbit in one hand, and with my other hand, went whoosh."

Demonstrating the motion, Niku held the rabbit in her left hand and the Golem Blade in her right, then spun around on her left foot like a ballet dancer.

The height of the blade's sweep was exactly at goblin neck level.

Even with the assistance from the Cloth Golem, I definitely never taught her movements like that.

… Maybe unlike mine, where it assists with movement, hers just reinforces muscle strength while she moves on her own?

"… That ain't F-Rank movement. What kinda trainin' have ya done?"

"… Who knows?"

Anyway, the goblin subjugation commission got completed ahead of schedule.

I quickly cut off the right ears as proof of subjugation.

"Alright, I'm leaving the remaining four rabbits to you two."

"Huh, yer not comin', Goshujin-sama?"

"… I'm not good with swords… The customer wants delicious meat, so the correct choice here is for me to focus on blood-draining duty."

"Is that so? From the way ya walk, ya looked pretty well-trained though."

Ah, that's the Cloth Golem's assistance.

Hm? I'm not doing anything on this commission? A meal you didn't work for is the best!

… Ah, but being on blood-draining duty means I am working, huh…

 

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"Meat."

Finding a rabbit, the next instant its head went flying.

Niku was demonstrating physical capabilities that even Ichika, a former C-Rank adventurer, found slightly difficult to keep up with.

"… Also, Niku-senpai, is that sword maybe a magic sword?"

"I don't know. Goshujin-sama gave it to me."

When she quickly flicked the sword in her hand, the blood flew off cleanly. There wasn't even any need to use [Purify], proof that the sword was excellent, and also proof that her swordsmanship cut cleanly enough to achieve it.

Niku readied her sword again and searched for rabbits. Ichika was carrying the meat, that is, the already-subjugated rabbits.

Niku was superior at tracking prey. Even with the smell of blood saturating the air, she could pick out the scent of rabbits. Ichika was starting to think this had to be some kind of skill.

"Still though, Niku-senpai's been trained in all sorts of things despite being a 'Niku', huh."

"? What do you mean?"

"Eh? No, 'Niku' is… ah. Ohhh. I get it."

That's when Ichika realized. Could it be that their Goshujin-sama was calling her 'Niku' without knowing that it meant 'sex slave'?

And she herself had promised their Goshujin-sama to "tell him about common sense when I notice things." If that was the case, she should probably teach him about this. Slaves couldn't break promises with their masters, even verbal ones.

"… Ah. So 'Niku' means…"

Ichika explained, somewhat vaguely, what 'Niku' actually meant.

Despite being vague, the meaning definitely got through to Niku.

Niku, with her hazy memories of the acts she'd performed, understood, "ah, so that's what it was," as if it were someone else's business.

Then she thought for a moment.

While thinking, she beheaded another rabbit she'd spotted. One more piece of meat added.

"Let's keep this a secret from Goshujin-sama."

"… Oh?"

Ichika raised an eyebrow, asking what she meant.

Niku answered while searching for rabbits.

"This name is the first one Goshujin-sama gave me. It's precious. If who I am now doesn't match the name, I'll just match myself to the name from here on. That's not a problem. So keeping it secret is fine."

It felt somehow off, but Ichika swallowed her words when she saw Niku's bewitching smile.

That face reminded her of a beastkin adventurer she'd once known.

Beastkin had an instinct to treasure names given by their parents. That's what he'd said. In fact, he'd been proud of his name for being connected to the hero, and he'd constantly worked to live up to it.

Taking pride in your name, refusing to shame it. Even after becoming a slave and outwardly discarding their original name, beastkin absolutely never bent on this point. Even if it looked like they'd cast the name away on the surface.

But Niku's face right now held determination equal to his. At the same time, she seemed to feel joy.

If you put it into words, it would be something like 'exactly what I wanted.'

… To Ichika, it didn't look like a child's expression at all.

"But this is a problem, y'know, I promised Goshujin-sama. Niku-senpai heard it too, right? 'Teach me common sense.' … We slaves can't break even verbal promises, what should I do?"

Niku tilted her head and answered.

"Ichika, you taught common sense. You haven't broken the promise."

"… Ya didn't specify that the one to teach was Goshujin-sama, huh. Heh, quite the schemer, aren't ya, Niku-senpai."

"Keep it secret from Goshujin-sama, okay? If you don't, I'll get angry, okay?"

From what she could see, Niku's slave collar seemed to tighten slightly.

But Niku just smiled as she lopped off the final rabbit's head.