I’m Completely Useless, Aren’t I…

Passing through the Hero Gate, Kikori advanced into the forest.

Even if it was not suited for defense, the mere reassurance of having a shield slightly emboldened Kikori’s steps.

He moved deeper into the forest… and eventually spotted a goblin facing the other way.

“…Alright.”

Using trees as cover, he slowly approached the goblin.

He raised his axe, careful not to be noticed… careful not to be noticed.

And at the very moment he lifted the axe—

Kikori realized something.

But when he realized it, it was already too late. A sharp pain struck his side.

He’d been stabbed. With what?

“Gihihihihi!”

‘A goblin…!? Don’t tell me—an ambush!?’

The goblin that had looked like it “hadn’t noticed him at all” turned around and raised its club.

Bang. A crushing blow to the head nearly knocked Kikori unconscious.

It had been intentional. Not noticing him—it had all been an act.

But the pain from the knife being pulled free forcibly dragged his consciousness back.

Pretending to be an oblivious fool, it had lured him in.

And the real fool who hadn’t noticed any of that… was him.

“Gh—f… aaaaaah!”

He swung his axe—but the desperate, wild swing missed entirely and buried itself into a tree.

And it wouldn’t come out.

The goblin’s knife slashed his arm.

His face was smashed by the goblin’s club. The axe slipped from his hand.

“Gihihi!”

“Gihahahahaha!”

I’m going to die. I’m being killed. Even if he tried to run, his reeling consciousness had already robbed him of any sense of direction.

All he had left in his hands was the round shield—something he didn’t even know would be useful.

“Come to think of it… this shield…”

This shield. How had they described it when they recommended it to him?

Was this a deathbed hallucination? He found himself thinking something like that.

Right—this shield wasn’t meant for defense.

He was struck again. And again. The goblin with the knife was grinning.

It was used to killing people. It knew exactly how much it took to kill.

This kind of torment was probably the privilege of the decoy.

‘Ah… I remember now. This shield—this shield is—’

Clang. With a loud sound, the arm of the goblin holding the club was knocked upward.

Momentum sent the club flying from its hand, rolling away.

And then—

The round shield slammed straight into the goblin’s face.

“Ga—buh…!”

Even if it was small, there was no way to come out unharmed after being struck in the face with a solid mass of iron.

Blood sprayed from its nose as it smashed its head into a tree, and the club-wielding goblin collapsed limply to the ground.

“Gi…? GIIIIII!”

Momentarily stunned, the other goblin quickly grasped what had happened.

Holding its knife straight out, it charged at Kikori—

Only for the blade to be deflected off the surface of the round shield… leaving its torso wide open to a shield bash.

“Geh—fuh… gobuh!”

The instant it staggered, Kikori followed up with a crushing blow to its face.

He straddled the fallen goblin and slammed the round shield down onto its face again and again.

Once he confirmed the goblin had stopped moving, he picked up the knife lying nearby and delivered the finishing blow.

“Right. This is a shield for deflecting and striking. Haha… I’m completely useless, aren’t I…”

He was already on the brink of death. If he didn’t return and buy a potion now, he might die here.

Even so, he took the magic stones from the goblins, retrieved his axe… and carried off the club and the knife he’d wanted.

That was all of Kikori’s gains for the day.