"Kikikikikiki!"

The Goblins around me cackled while I scrambled for my sword.

"F-Fuck off!"

The Goblin's nose let out a crunch under the weight of my foot. The kick sent it flying backwards towards the other Goblins.

"Arthur! Damn-"

"Zel! Find the Shaman! I'll distract- Get off of me! I'll hold them off!"

I yelled out while I threw off one of the Goblins that latched onto my back. It tried to stab me a few times with a knife, but thankfully it only scratched my armor.

With another punch, another Goblin fell over with a loud thud as I made a dash for my sword. One of the bastards tried to kick it away but a kick from me and the Goblin was soon sprawled on the ground with white eyes and a foaming mouth.

I think I hit him in...

Just the thought made me wince.

"Sorry. But it's me or you..."

I grabbed my sword from the ground before diving to the right to avoid the spears being chucked at me by some very angry Goblins.

"Zel! I think the Shaman is just ahead of us!"

She nodded before shoving a few Goblins. 

"You sur-"

Before she could finish, I wrapped my arms around her before diving to the ground. A black ball of nauseating poison flew ahead of us, singing the very air around it as it passed overhead.

"Ki! Kilri! Kekekekeke! Ooaman! Ooaman juki juki!"

A large Goblin walked forward, carrying some sort of staff made with skulls and tattered cloth. He looked at the two of us with his yellow eyes, particularly at Zel. It licked its lip as it pointed at the Knight beneath me.

"Ehy Oaman pi ki su!"

The two of us immediately got up to avoid the Goblins as they tried to dogpile on us.

"Arthur! You handle the distraction, I'll go around him."

"Got it."

The Goblin Shaman immediately started chanting in that language of theirs while the two of us fought off the few Goblins that tried to stop us.

The archers that were hiding in the trees finally stopped firing at us thanks to Maria's efforts while a few knives flew by me from time to time, hitting Goblins that tried to catch me off guard. Everything was going pretty well, Zel and I are now just a few feet away from the defenseless Shaman in the midst of casting his spell.

The Shaman looked pretty annoyed at his lackies after a few of them fled into the forest. I immediately charged at him, closing the gap with Dash while a handful of Goblins tried to block my path. Zel was already around him, ready to thrust her sword forward while I distracted him.

"Keeeee! Kukukukuku!"

His laugh caught me by surprise as he grinned at me. His yellow eyes gleamed with evil satisfaction as I pounced on him.

"Wait! Arthur!" 

Olivia's voice rang in my head as I looked directly at the black ball in the Goblin's hand. The next thing I know, I could feel something slowly sapping away my strength as the Shaman brought its hand closer.

"Shi-"

"Oh. You're.... back."

The snarky attitude in that voice made me open my eyes immediately.

"W-Wait.... Why am I here?!"

"You got hit by the spell 'Wither' and got stabbed by a bunch of Goblins."

Illyria was wearing shorts and a tanktop that was pretty tight-fitting for her while she typed away on her computer.

It would've looked pretty lewd and suggestive if she wasn't as flat as a cutting board. She looked like my sister an hour before an essay is due. 

But that didn't matter. 

I need to get back quickly, that's what's important right now.

"You look pretty haggard."

"You look dead."

She coldly snapped back at me while she continued typing.

"Your teammates took care of the Goblins after you died. The Goblin Shaman died seconds later after his spell hit you thanks to that Knight's efforts."

That's a relief.

"Ahhh.... To think that my second life-"

"-is not yet over."

A heavy sigh left her lips as she stood up begrudgingly.

Oh right, I could basically come back to life thanks to her.

"Hey, do you have any idea what happens when someone is reincarnated a third time?"

"No. I'm guessing that-"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"-that a fuck ton of paperwork appears on my fucking desk! You fucking idiot! How could you die to a bunch of lowly Goblins?!"

Her finger pressed against my forehead while she slammed the desk repeatedly.

"Do you know how much work it is just to revive someone?! It's gonna take me a week just to get through all of this! Be fucking grateful that I'm even reviving you!"

"Okay! Okay! Just revive me already!"

Illyria rubbed her temples together before snapping her fingers loudly.

"Hold on, it'll take a second."

A portal appeared in front of us, radiating the same light that appears whenever Olivia casts her spells. 

It showed the four girls huddling around my body while Olivia desperately healed my corpse. Nothing really happened except that the wounds closed up and left no scars. I was about to jump through when Illyria stopped me.

"W-What are you doing? My body's right over there!"

"Tch, damn idiot. Just be fucking patient! Your soul is not yet properly linked up with the body, it needs to be tethered properly and for that..."

Illyria pointed at Olivia, who was  now casting a much more powerful spell than her heals.

"It needs the spell Revive. Look and be thankful for that Archpriest of yours."

Light engulfed both my body and Illyria's hands while Zel continued her prayers. I felt a gentle tug pull at me while the light glowed even brighter. Illyria smiled as she watched Olivia pour even more mana into the spell.

"You can go now. And you should appreciate the people in your party more, you know? It takes some serious spell just to pull off a spell like that."

I was genuinely surprised when Illyria showed me a gentle smile. It really suited her as a Goddess.

"S-Sure. I'll be off now..."

"Oh, and you better thank that Archpriest of mine!"

Her voice was drowned out as I felt a push behind me. The Goddess smirked as I tumbled forward into the portal before everything went dark.

----------------------------------------

"...Arthur!"

"Wake up!"

Their distant voices brought me back to my senses. I could feel someone nudging me and the tight vice of someone crushing my right hand. I opened my eyes slowly, the bright light filling my vision as I looked around me.

God, I wanted to sleep. My body hurts all over.

"I'm awake! I'm -Woah!"

Zel jumped on me and wrapped her arms around me while she sobbed onto my shoulder. 

"You're alive, thank the Gods!"

Her voice was soft and scared and her hands clung tightly at my sides.

"Y-Yeah... Don't worry about it."

She pulled away from her embrace before wiping away the tears from her face. She wiped away the wet spot on my shoulder as well before helping me get back up on my feet.

I was about to rub my neck when Olivia suddenly took hold of my shoulders and started shaking me violently. I thought my head's gonna roll off my shoulders while she continued to shake me.

"You dummy! Dummy! Dummy! W-What were you thinking?! Do you know how hard it is to cast Revive?! Do you know how worried sick we were for you?! Zel was begging for your for-"

Zel covered the Archpriest's mouth before pulling her off of me. I was about to stop her when Zel turned towards me.

"Arthur, I'd like to ask for your forgiveness!"

She knelt down on one knee and lowered her head.

"I-It was due to my irresponsibility and weakness that led to this! Forgive me for failing on my duty as the leader to protect you!"

Everyone stared at the girl who's usually so calm and stoic. Even I was surprised by Zel's sudden actions that I found myself dumbfounded and at a lost on what to say and how to even say it.

"Z-Zel, please stand up... It's alright."

The Knight immediately looked up at me and quickly stood up.

"I-If you want, I can repay you with my body so plea-"

"Woah! Woah, woah, woah, woah! There's no fucking need for any of that! Anyway, like I said, it's alright! Just treat me to a meal and a drink later."

Zel sighed in relief as I turned around to look for my sword. 

An evil part of me told me that I should've accepted that offer, but the thought of taking advantage over someone's feelings just sickened me. I may be the kind of guy to sneak in glances at my classmates' panties from time to time but-

"Here. Your sword, I looked after it while you were.... down."

Jin handed me the sword, which was surprisingly free of dirt and blood.

"Maria cleaned it up for you and I held onto it."

"Speaking of Maria, where is she?"

I looked around, trying to find the Archmage to thank her. I found her slumped against a tree with her eyes closed with the baskets of herbs and berries lying beside her.

"She used up a lot of her mana today, so she won't be getting up until any time soon."

Jin's voice was shaky, but it was pretty clear that she was trying to hide it. She's definitely worried about her.

"H-Hey... Are you sure you're fine?"

That was, surprising. She sounded pretty concerned for me.

"Of course. Who wouldn't be after being yelled at by that damn Goddess."

I chuckled to myself while I strapped the sword to my waist.

"G-Guess you're tougher than I thought!"

"Hey, stop trying to sound tough. I could tell by your voice that you're cry-Iiieeeh!"

I clutched my knee in pain while Jin stormed off towards Maria.

"S-Shut up! Idiot! Help me carry Maria if you're feelin' damn fine!"

"I was feeling fine right before you fucking kicked my damn knee!"

I could hear Zel sighing in the background while Olivia calmed her down. Jin picked up the baskets, which was surprisngly untouched save for a few holes and scorches. Jin was muttering something while picking them up all up while I did my best to carry Maria on my back.

She was pretty heavy and it was hard to focus on the path with something pressing against my back as well as how my hands keep slipping down her legs, but I think I'll manage. I didn't want to try anything funny since I could feel Jin's cold glare down the length of my back.

Or maybe that was just Maria breathing on my nape, who knows?

"Here's your compensation, Arthur."

Zel gave me a large bag of coins while I was busy scarfing down the delicious stew in front of me.

"Hmm? Oh, thanks! Man, this stew's delicious!"

I continued to finish the large bowl of tomato soup while Zel drank her ale. I took a large swig of my ale before soaking up the remainder of the stew with my bread..

Zel and Jin watched in silence as I finished my third plate. The only people here are just the three of us since Olivia decided to recuperate in her Church while we dropped off Maria at the inn she was staying at. For the entire time, Zel seemed oddly nervous around me while Jin just had that disappointed look.

I kept asking them if there's something wrong but they kept saying it was nothing and that I should just eat up.

Suspicious, sure, but still! I finally have some cash on hand and I could finally sleep in a bed tonight! A nice, soft bed!

"I still can't believe that they only paid us this much after what just happened."

Jin muttered out while she jingled the large pouch in her hand. Zel frowned and nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid I'd have to agree with you there, Jin. But the Guild says that since we haven't taken care of the entirety of the Goblins, they would only pay the bounty for the Shaman as well as an added compensation fee for the damage."

Zel sighed while Jin just clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Well, I'm just happy to be alive and to finally have some cash on me."

"I feel sorry for you, to be honest."

Jin looked at me while she took out a few silver coins and tossed them to me.

"G-Go get yourself a drink... You must've had it rough."

"Hey, stop looking at me like that. I'm not like some impov- Nevermind. Anyway, where's the nearest inn? I want to sleep on a bed for once."

I was excited at the thought, but after hearing the two mutter smething about me, I just let out a sigh and stood up.

"Stop. I'm not like a person who's been sleeping in the woods for the last few years. I just miss the feeling of soft sheets under me, okay?"

The two just noded while giving me teary-eyed and pitying looks.

"O-Okay, we understand. Well, I do hope you finally find a place to rest comfortably instead of a bench in the park."

"I said- Nevermind."

"W-Wait, he's been sleeping outside this entire time?! This poor-"

"I only slept outside last night, okay?!"

I let out a sigh before leaving some coins on the table.

"Anyways, I'm off to go find some inn to sleep at. Treat yourselves to some drinks."

I walked off with a slight frown on my face while the two bid me goodbye. I could still feel their sad stares at the back of my head while I walked towards the front door.

"I don't look like a damn hobo..."

I muttered to myself as I took a discreet whiff of my shirt.

"But I do smell like one."

The streets tonight are pretty packed, but I think I could spot the place I was looking for.

I think the public baths are this way.