I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 41
041 Goblins Sighted
He carried a load on his jige, with a small knife and a hatchet tucked into his belt. If he encountered goblins on the mountain path, he wouldn’t have a second to waste taking off the jige. He would have to slash the shoulder straps with the knife and engage immediately. The small knife was for that very purpose.
Usually, the chirping of mountain birds would have been a comforting sound, but today it felt only ominous. Riji pressed close to him, looking anxious. Juhwan held Dorothy with one arm and took Riji’s hand with the other. In the cold air, her body heat felt exceptionally warm.
The soft crunch of footsteps on the earth echoed around them. Even Dorothy, who was always noisy, remained silent now.
Perhaps only now, after the heat of the battle had passed, was she truly realizing how terrifying this day had been.
It was only after walking for a long time and spotting the village’s outer wall in the distance that he finally felt a sense of relief.
The back gate leading from the mountain was open. The sun hadn’t set yet, but the light would soon disappear behind the peaks. Night would fall quickly. He had heard the gate was usually closed at this hour; he wondered why it was open.
Suppressing his unease, Juhwan closed the gate behind them. It had been an exhausting day for everyone. Dorothy was already nodding off in his arms.
Tucking the child inside his clothes to keep her warm, Juhwan entered the village with Riji. Though the village walls were crumbling in places, he felt truly safe once they were inside.
It wasn’t a crowded place to begin with, but the outskirts seemed particularly deserted today. They walked a long way toward the center of the village before finally spotting another person.
The villagers who noticed Juhwan and Riji wore expressions of slight bewilderment. They didn’t approach. Instead, they watched from a distance, whispering among themselves.
“….”
It was strange. The atmosphere was too suspicious to be dismissed as mere wariness toward outsiders. It didn’t seem like their gazes were fixed solely on the luggage on his back, either.
Because of that, his already sensitive nerves grew sharp. Juhwan subtly brushed his clothes aside so he could draw his hatchet at any moment.
Riji, quick to catch on, reached out. As Juhwan pulled the drowsy child from his coat, Dorothy reached her arms toward Riji.
Though she ate and slept well, Dorothy was still very thin and small. She was small enough to fit perfectly in Riji’s embrace.
Riji supported the child’s bottom with one hand and followed closely by Juhwan’s side. The rabbit ears tucked into Dorothy’s front pocket twitched between Riji and the child.
As they neared the village center, the number of people grew. It wasn’t as crowded as during a market day, but there was a significant gathering. Their reactions were much the same—surprised and awkward. They wore the kind of faces people make when they feel guilty or uneasy.
Juhwan’s gaze turned toward the square at the center of the village.
A short distance away, the Village Chief and a few villagers were arguing with men dressed in unfamiliar attire.
Even to Juhwan, who knew little of this world, the men’s clothing was clearly different from that of commoners. They carried weapons like bows and swords, and their boots looked expensive. They had a rough aura about them—reminiscent of low-level thugs back on Earth.
Several thick leather and cloth rucksacks lay on the ground beside them. Iron pots and other items dangled from the bags. They didn’t look like they had just arrived; rather, they looked like they were preparing to leave.
Was the village atmosphere strange because of these people? Juhwan scanned the villagers again, checking for any other strangers. As far as he could see, there were only these men.
‘Five of them.’
They weren’t hunters. Hunters would have worn lighter clothing for better movement. Their weapons wouldn’t have been like those, either. One of them even carried a mace.
‘Are they adventurers?’
Since there were goblins in this world, there had to be adventurers.
From what he could overhear, they seemed to be arguing over food. The adventurers were demanding better food and treatment, while the villagers seemed distressed.
As Juhwan approached, the Village Chief and the villagers stopped their arguing and went silent.
The adventurers’ gazes also turned toward Juhwan. They looked him up and down, their eyes scanning him from head to toe.
The Village Chief cleared his throat a few times before questioning Juhwan.
“What brings you here? And with such a large load?”
Before coming here, Juhwan had learned the word for goblins used in this world. Riji had known it. Juhwan spoke while keeping an eye on the adventurers.
“Goblins appeared. Fifty of them.”
“What?”
The Village Chief, the villagers, and even the adventurers were all shocked. The Village Chief shouted in a flustered voice.
“What kind of nonsense is that! Fifty?”
Juhwan looked at the faces of the gathered people one by one. Everyone was panicked. But it didn’t seem like they were shocked by the word ‘goblin.’ Rather…
Whispers broke out everywhere.
There was more talk about the number than the word ‘goblin.’ He heard the number ‘ten’ being mentioned here and there.
One of the adventurers, his face flushing with anger, spoke up.
“You lied to us! We heard clearly. There were ten.”
“No, it’s the truth. We didn’t lie. Gus said there were ten.”
He couldn’t tell if it was the Village Chief or the villager beside him who had responded to the adventurer’s accusation. Or perhaps they had both said something to that effect.
Words, images, and information began to swirl in Juhwan’s mind all at once.
‘These bastards, they knew.’
The villagers’ reactions and the words he overheard began to piece together in his head.
The villagers knew they were on the mountain. It wasn’t just a vague awareness of monsters existing there. They even knew the number—even if they were wrong.
Everyone—every single person in this village—knew, yet only Juhwan and Riji had been kept in the dark.
Despite knowing they were on that mountain and that anyone living there would be in danger, no one had given them even a single warning.
[Gus said there were ten.]
The words spilling from their mouths flashed in his mind like warning lights.
Even Gus, the person he had felt closest to and most grateful for in this village, had known. He knew there were goblins on the mountain, and he even knew the count.
And he had lied to these people.
If Gus knew the goblins were there, and if he had scouted enough to give a number, he must have known the true scale of the threat. There was no way he didn’t know there were more than ten.
Gus had lied even to these villagers. Gus’s recent actions flashed through Juhwan’s mind in rapid succession.
What had Gus’s expression been like when he examined the tracks of the beasts? Hadn’t he looked as if he were searching for something more?
Gus had been incredibly meticulous about cleaning up the remains after a kill. Even far from any human habitation, he had carefully erased all traces.
He had claimed it was because of predators, and yes, perhaps that was part of it, but in reality, wasn’t it because of the goblins?
Had he been worried that the scent of entrails would draw them to expand their territory?
Suddenly, the image of the goblin that had attacked him came to mind. It had been strangely emaciated. That was definitely not a natural state. He had been unsure at the time, but now he was certain.
Gus had done something.
“….”
He had to leave this place right now. This was like the snares and traps Gus had taught him about. It was the process of camouflaging the surroundings so the prey wouldn’t feel any suspicion while slowly herding them into a single spot. That was exactly how it felt.
The moment he realized this, Juhwan turned to Riji.
“Where is the carriage?”
Riji answered immediately.
“That way! It’s over there.”
She seemed to have realized something was wrong as well. Juhwan headed in the direction Riji pointed. He walked quickly, his heart pounding with an ominous rhythm.
The flustered Village Chief and a few village men blocked his path.
Juhwan immediately drew his hatchet. Simultaneously, he delivered a front kick to the chest of the Village Chief who stood directly in his way.
Crack. Through his thick boots, he felt the dull sensation of bone breaking. The Village Chief screamed and collapsed onto the ground.
There were a few wooden chairs nearby. Juhwan swung his hatchet, smashing two of them to pieces before glaring at the crowd.
“Don’t block me. I’ll kill you.”
Seeing the razor-sharp blade of the hatchet, the villagers gasped and shrank back.
Juhwan kept walking, his eyes fixed on the people.
Terrified by Juhwan’s fierce demeanor, the villagers scrambled out of his way. A path opened up before him like the Red Sea.
The adventurers spat out curses behind his back, but Juhwan didn’t pay them any mind. There was no time. He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but he had to get out of this village immediately.
The carriage was behind the Village Chief’s house. It was larger than he expected. It had no fancy decorations, but it was a sturdy carriage made of thick wood.
The roof was rounded, and there was a small window with wooden shutters on the side.
A small L-shaped wooden roof was fixed over the driver’s seat, likely to keep out rain or snow. There was a somewhat large gap between the driver’s seat and the main body of the carriage.
The entrance at the back was a thick wooden door.
This would be enough to withstand a goblin attack.
For some reason, the harness for connecting the horses to the carriage was laid out neatly on the ground. It seemed it was meant to be assembled in this order.
Juhwan opened the carriage door and practically threw his luggage inside.
There was already a lot of stuff inside, but he didn’t have time to look.
While Riji helped Dorothy into the carriage, Juhwan headed for a nearby building.
It seemed to serve as both a stable and a barn. There were two horses, and straw was piled on the opposite side. Inside the building, whose door was slightly ajar, goats and chickens wandered around freely.
He remembered reading somewhere that horses were skittish animals. Juhwan was careful not to startle them as he led both horses outside.
The long wooden pole that connected the horses to the carriage had iron rings and leather straps. When he struggled to figure out how to connect them, Riji stepped in to help.
He had heard that in her home village, several households shared horses. She must have learned how to harness them then.
Just as they were finishing the harness, the Village Chief’s wife ran toward the carriage with a man who appeared to be her son. Neither of them looked angry; rather, the wife was the one screaming in a rage. The son seemed to be trying to stop her.
The Village Chief’s wife wailed and shouted. “That carriage is ours! My things, my food, it’s all mine!” That was likely what she meant. Words choked with sobs poured out of her mouth, making them hard to understand.
He didn’t hit women. He never had.
But this woman…
The Village Chief’s wife ignored Juhwan and lunged at Riji, trying to grab her hair.
Juhwan shielded his wife and raised an arm. He struck the woman’s cheek with the back of his left hand. Her heavy body was pushed back, and she landed hard on her backside.
The son, glancing fearfully at Juhwan’s hand and hatchet, tried to pull his mother away. “Mother, let’s go, stop it.” Despite his pleas, she wailed and refused to move. Lacking the courage to face Juhwan, she directed a stream of curses at Riji instead.
There was no time to deal with them. Juhwan lifted Riji into the carriage and shut the door.
He climbed into the driver’s seat and shook the reins. Because of his inexperience, the two horses moved in different directions. He couldn’t quite get the steering right. Still, as the horses began to walk, the carriage rattled forward, leaving that spot and heading toward the village center.
A few people shouted at Juhwan and followed the carriage, but none of them had the courage to attack. The Village Chief was still sprawled on the ground.
It was just as they were passing the spot where the adventurers were. In the distance, he saw Gus. He was near the entrance. Gus seemed to spot Juhwan.
Juhwan’s heart hammered with a dark premonition.
Gus extended his arm and shook out a small pouch. Was it powder? It was hard to see. Whatever it was, the amount was small, and Gus turned away almost immediately.
A scream pierced the air from behind. Juhwan whipped his head around. Smoke was rising from the direction of the village fence in the distance. Someone had started a fire. Judging by the direction, it was on the outskirts, likely the fence itself.
Juhwan turned back. He had to escape. He had to get to the entrance.
But the moment he raised the reins to urge the horses faster, he saw several goblins charging from the direction of the village entrance.
A woman’s blood-curdling scream echoed from somewhere. It wasn’t nearby. It was likely coming from the direction he had entered—near the back gate of the outer wall.
‘I’ve fallen into a trap.’
His heart sank. Like a beast, he had walked right into the snare Gus had set.
