Star Rail: Starting with a Lyre, Living off Busking

"Let me see... The requester is an adventurer?"

March 7th leaned in closer to the details of the commission, reading it carefully.

"—Due to unforeseen circumstances, they got separated from their teammates and are now asking us to rescue their companions from a goblin cave?"

Her brows furrowed as she noticed the commission's posting date—it had been over a week since it was issued.

Mimiya, who had also caught this detail, shook her head, a grim expression on her face.

"I hate to sound heartless, but we should probably skip this one."

"Huh? Why?" Fina asked, her tone tinged with concern.

"Even if it's been a week, there's a chance those adventurers are still alive!"

"No," Mimiya said bluntly, crossing her arms. "If they're still alive, they probably don't want us to save them anymore. They'd want us to give them peace instead…"

The room fell silent as Mimiya sighed and continued, her voice laced with frustration.

"Goblins… What can I say? If the ones taken are women, there's a slim chance they might still be alive. But for men? No way. They're killed right away. In other words, this commission was doomed from the start."

"Exactly," Zaryus chimed in, his tone measured but grim. "Based on the timeline, the male teammate likely died the day he went missing. As for the two women… It's hard to say. There's a chance they survived, but goblins are known to grow bored of their captives and eat them afterward."

As Zaryus finished speaking, he cast a glance at the group. The weight of his words darkened their expressions, especially March 7th's, whose demeanor grew noticeably somber.

Venti, however, remained impassive, his gaze fixed on the commission as if contemplating something deeper.

After a tense moment of silence, March 7th suddenly stood up.

Grabbing the commission with an air of resolve, she stormed toward the guild's reception desk. The receptionist, startled by the sound of her footsteps, turned to face her—only to freeze at the sight of March 7th's angry expression.

When March 7th slapped the paper down onto the desk with a loud thwack, the receptionist flinched, her heart skipping a beat. As her gaze shifted to the commission, the bold letters spelling out "Goblin Subjugation" made her voice tremble.

"Um… Miss March 7th? Are you planning to take on this commission?"

March 7th and her team were no ordinary adventurers—they were personally recommended by the guild branch leader. Even the renowned Sir Gray had hinted that this group had the potential to become the next generation of heroes. Their ascension to Gold-tier was considered a matter of time, and being associated with such a team was a rare honor.

"That's right! I'm taking it—and the sooner, the better!"

March 7th's urgency left the receptionist flustered as she hastily took the commission paper to begin the registration process.

However, much like Mimiya and Zaryus, the receptionist hesitated after skimming through the mission details.

"Miss March 7th… While it's admirable for commissions to be treated equally, I must advise caution. A task like this—where success is so unlikely—could blemish your otherwise stellar record."

"You're trying to talk me out of it too?!" March 7th exclaimed, her cheeks puffed up in frustration as she glared at the receptionist.

"N-No! That's not what I meant!" The receptionist's voice wavered as she tried to explain. "I'm simply suggesting… You have such an impressive track record already. There's no need to risk it on a mission that might ultimately fail."

"That's not a blemish! There are people waiting for us to rescue them!"

March 7th's voice was filled with urgency and conviction. Words weren't her strong suit, but her sincerity shone through.

"Instead of wasting time trying to convince me otherwise, hurry up and register it—or better yet, I'll handle the paperwork when we're back! I'm leaving now!"

"—Wait! Miss March 7th!"

The receptionist could only watch in stunned silence as March 7th grabbed the commission and dashed out the door.

Venti chuckled softly and followed her with an easy stride. Dan Heng, ever composed, set his cup down, wiped the corner of his mouth, and left without a word.

Stelle gave an apologetic smile to Mimiya and Zaryus, grabbing her bat before running after them.

"…They just left? Couldn't they at least finish their meal first?" Mimiya muttered, bewildered.

Zaryus lowered his head, a faint blush of shame coloring his cheeks.

"It seems our hearts are too narrow to comprehend Lady March's boundless compassion…"

"Hmph! You two really were too dense this time!" Fina huffed, crossing her arms.

Fina pouted as she glared at Zaryus and Mimiya, then quickly grabbed her staff and scurried after Stelle, her footsteps echoing softly as she hurried to catch up.

Left behind, Mimiya and Zaryus exchanged uneasy glances before sighing and rising from their seats. They approached the reception desk to complete the necessary paperwork for the commission, though a shared thought lingered in both their minds.

Perhaps this temporary partnership would fall apart, just as their disagreement on this mission had divided them.

They knew full well that March 7th and her team weren't petty or spiteful, yet the realization of how callous their own words had been made them wince.

When did I become so indifferent to the lives of others? Mimiya thought absentmindedly, her guilt palpable.

Zaryus, holding the task certificate handed over by the receptionist, broke the silence.

"Apologies can wait. For now, we'd best catch up with the others."

---

Elsewhere, Fina had lost sight of her companions. Or rather, she had simply fallen behind.

Her small face clouded with worry as she glanced around the street, her steps faltering. A wave of uncertainty washed over her, and the comforting sense of security she felt around March 7th was gone.

The inexperienced cleric lowered her head, her heart heavy with an unfamiliar bitterness. When Mimiya and Zaryus finally found her, they immediately made their way to the nearest station, spurred on by Mimiya's knowledge of the goblin cave's location.

Meanwhile, high above the streets, four figures soared through the night sky, carried by wings of wind.

Impatient as ever, March 7th had prompted Venti to use the Wind Glider, a tool he had once lent to Bronya. Their airborne progress was swift and guided effortlessly by the wind, leaving no chance of getting lost.

By the time Mimiya and Zaryus secured a usable carriage, the fliers had already covered half the distance.

When they landed, the night had deepened, and the cave described in the commission lay before them. Beside the entrance stood a crude totem made of beast bones—a clear sign of goblin shamans.

The week-long delay had allowed the small band of goblins to expand into a formidable threat.

Stepping into the cave, the darkness pressed down like a living force. Faint, unsettling sounds echoed from its depths, as if unseen eyes were watching from the shadows.

The goblins were stirring, their nocturnal nature making them more active with the fall of night.

Finally, March 7th began to cool down, casting an apologetic glance at her companions.

"Sorry… I got a little carried away earlier…"

"—No worries. You running off on impulse is nothing new," Dan Heng replied, his tone calm as he peered into the cave's depths.

"Let's deal with this quickly, then head back to apologize to the others."

"They'll understand," Stelle said, patting March 7th on the head. Her gesture earned an embarrassed giggle from the archer.

When March turned to Venti, she noticed him tilting his head, as if he were listening intently.

"Huh? Did you hear something?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm, this tunnel… there's something else in here," Venti replied, his smile laced with intrigue.

"If we don't pick up the pace, someone else might beat us to it."

"What?! Someone else is here?" March 7th exclaimed, gripping her bow tightly, her expression turning serious.

"Then we'd better move. We can sort things out later—let's go!"

---

As they ventured deeper into the cave, the group came upon a corpse slumped against the wall.

The body, now partially decomposed, was missing chunks of flesh, exposing stark white bones. Judging by the decay, it had been dead for some time—likely the missing male adventurer mentioned in the commission.

Though disheartened by the sight, March 7th pressed forward with renewed determination.

Not long after, they encountered signs of a battle: scattered goblin corpses littered the ground.

Each one had been killed with precision, a single strike ending its life. The wounds were clean and deliberate, betraying an intimate knowledge of goblin anatomy—perhaps even better than the goblins themselves.

"The trail continues ahead. We're getting close," March 7th said, following the blood droplets leading deeper into the cave.

But before they could find the mysterious slayer, they stumbled into a large group of goblins.

Armed with crude wooden clubs and dung-tipped knives, the goblins' goat-like eyes glinted with depraved intent. Some sniffed the air, their grotesque noses twitching as they caught the scent of the women in the group.

A few pointed at Venti, their guttural shrieks filled with confusion and curiosity. Others stared at March 7th and Stelle's exposed legs, drooling as they ogled the pale skin.

"Ew, I don't even need a translator to know what they're thinking," March 7th muttered, shivering in disgust.

Stelle stifled a laugh, clearly amused that the goblins had mistaken Venti's gender.

Dan Heng, ever serious, took the lead, holding his spear in a defensive stance. The tight confines of the cave limited his movements, but he fended off the advancing goblins with precision. The rest of the group took care of stragglers and any sneaky attempts at ambush.

"This is why goblins are better off dead," Venti sighed, plucking a string on his lyre to summon the Favonius Warbow. He had learned his lesson with the Skyward Harp—its excessive power had nearly caused structural collapses before.

The ensuing skirmish was brief and one-sided. Most of the goblins couldn't even get past Dan Heng's defenses, while March 7th and Venti picked off those attempting long-range attacks. Stelle swiftly dispatched any trying to flank them.

As the remaining goblins fled into the darkness, pained screams echoed back from the shadows.

March 7th instinctively raised her bow, ready to fire, but before she could release an arrow, a goblin was kicked out of the shadows. Its bloated stomach burst on impact, spilling its entrails onto the cave floor.

The creature writhed, attempting to crawl away, but a thrown dagger embedded itself in its skull, ending its misery.

The goblin's blood pooled across the floor, trailing toward March 7th's boots. She snapped out of her daze and immediately called out.

"Who's there?!"

She drew her bow, her expression tense. If this person had chosen to remain hidden, she hadn't noticed them at all—a humbling realization that quickly erased any pride she had felt earlier.

Before she could act further, Dan Heng gently lowered her bow.

"Relax, March. Don't be hasty."

He turned on a light, illuminating the figure in the shadows.

It was an adventurer clad in battered armor. From the silver tag hanging around his neck, they could tell he was a Silver-ranked adventurer.

The man didn't speak, his focus seemingly fixed on the goblins. Only Venti caught the faintest murmur: "Eighteenth."

Retrieving the dagger from the goblin's skull, the man finally looked up at them.

For a brief moment, it felt as if they were staring at a vengeful specter. From beneath his helmet, a glint of red light flickered like a predator's gaze.

When he spoke, his voice was low, rough, and tinged with a metallic echo from his helmet.

"Rookies? No… not quite."

He glanced at their unblemished porcelain tags before shifting his gaze to the goblin corpses scattered around them.

The precise, lethal strikes were unmistakable. Whoever these adventurers were, they had managed to dispatch a goblin horde without a single injury—and without letting the creatures get close enough to leave a mark.

Such efficiency wasn't easy to achieve, even for a seasoned Silver-ranked adventurer.

The man paused, his hesitation betraying his uncertainty about their intentions. It seemed likely they, too, had accepted a goblin-slaying commission.

As the silence grew heavy, another set of footsteps echoed from the darkness.

A blonde priestess in a white robe emerged, her green eyes wide with surprise. She gasped at the sight of the group, then quickly ducked behind the armored man, peeking out cautiously.

"Um… Goblin Slayer, sir? What's going on here?"

"—Commission overlap," the man said, breaking the silence with a succinct explanation.

---

Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? got locked by webnovel (probably reported...?) so I'll have it up on the sribble hub later today with the new updates :p same username on there btw ughh should i repost on here?