???????? Volume 8

Enri Emmott's day began early. She had to start preparing breakfast before

the sun was even up. That was partly because she wasn't quite as used to the

work as her deceased mother, so she took longer. The other part of it was that

she had to make a huge amount of food.

Cooking for Nemu, herself, and the nineteen goblins who had sworn

allegiance to Enri—twenty-one people, plus two more for a total of twentythree—meant she was beyond busy; her situation was more aptly described as

a battle. Enri could still hardly believe that the mountain of ingredients

towering before her would vanish after a single meal.

"Well, it is six times larger than before, after all."

Taking a deep breath, she rolled up her sleeves, ready to begin.

She quietly chopped the vegetables, then switched knives and sliced the

meat. The order of what needed to be handled when was already decided.

Enri had never been a very good cook, so her efficient preparation of so

much in such a short time was a perfect illustration of what humans were

capable of under pressure.

The sound of Enri's cooking woke up her little sister, who wandered into

the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning, Enri. I'll help."

"Morning, Nemu. I'm fine here, so please do what I asked for yesterday."

Nemu made a pouty face for a moment but ended up obeying with no

complaints, offering a single "okayyy" before shuffling away.

Enri stopped for a moment.

Pain shot through her heart.

Her ten-year-old sister used to be a lively girl who had no qualms about

trying to get her way, but ever since the attack, her childlike innocence had

faded, and she did exactly what Enri told her without so much as a peep.

She'd become such a good girl it was depressing.

Their parents' warm smiles flickered across Enri's mind. It had been

several months since the attack, but the emotional scars hadn't completely

healed.

If it had been some sort of illness that claimed their lives, then at least she

would have had time to prepare herself. Maybe the pain wouldn't have

lingered so long had it been a freak accident or natural disaster that was

nobody's fault, but the deaths of her parents were different. There was plenty

of blame to lay.

Enri squeezed her eyes shut. In front of the others, she did her best not to

let any weakness show, but when there was no one around, her loneliness

gouged at the scars in her heart.

"Yeah…"

Behind her eyelids, she saw their kind parents. Even when she opened her

eyes, they were still there. Touching memories filled her mind.

Spurred by the dark spiral of emotions inside her—hatred for the people

who killed their parents—she swung the carving knife with a mighty heave.

Its momentum carved a clean slice through the meat.

She furrowed her brow at the dent she'd inadvertently made in the cutting

board. I should know better. If the knife gets chipped, it'll be hard to fix.

Sorry, Mom.

This was the knife she had mournfully inherited from her mother. She

apologized for treating it carelessly and put a lid on the hole in her heart.

As she was running her finger along the edge of the blade to make sure it

wasn't chipped, the door next to her opened.

The one who entered wasn't human, as evidenced by his small stature. It

was a type of subhuman known as a goblin.

"Good morning, boss lady. It's my turn today… Is something wrong?"

The goblin bowed politely and looked at Enri's hands with concern.

The goblin conducted himself as a subordinate, even though she was just a

village girl, because she was the one who had summoned him.

After the attack, when the villagers had been discussing how they should

probably have lookouts, Enri suddenly remembered the item she had

received, and when she used it, those goblins appeared. The villagers were

shocked and frightened of the monsters, but when she explained that they

were summoned with an item the village's savior, Sir Ainz Ooal Gown, had

given her, they seemed to relax a little. It went without saying that the

villagers trusted Ainz Ooal Gown. They were incredibly grateful to him, after

all. The work the goblins had accomplished since then completely dispelled

the villagers' remaining doubts.

"Good morning, Kaijari. I was being a little too aggressive with the

knife…"

Kaijari was one of the goblins who had been summoned. His worried

face, furrowed brow and all, seemed like it would be more appropriate on a

man-eating bear whose hibernation had been interrupted. "That won't do.

Please be more careful. There's nobody with blacksmithing skills in this

village, ya know. We can't repair our gear, either."

"Oh, that's right…"

Kaijari tried to be more cheerful, saying, "Well, we'll figure something

out eventually," and set about helping to cook breakfast.

He took smoldering embers out of a pot he'd brought and lit the oven with

a practiced hand. His skill was clear from the way the tiny flame rapidly grew

into a roaring fire.

But he can't cook… I wonder why.

The goblins couldn't make even simple dishes themselves. At first, she

thought it was because their diet consisted of raw meat and vegetables, but it

turned out they preferred cooked food. Of course, they would still eat

something whether it was prepared or not, but…

Maybe summoned creatures can't cook? Well, I'm just a village girl, so

how am I supposed to know? Having reached that conclusion, she

concentrated on her work. Luckily, the knife hadn't chipped.

Before long, the two were done cooking.

There was a lot more food on the table compared to when her mother had

been cooking for the family.

For one thing, there was meat. Of course back then, her family had

received a share of meat the rangers sometimes brought back, but it wasn't

nearly as much as they had now. The increase was due to the village

operating across a larger swathe of territory these days.

The surrounding Tove Woodlands provided them with the bounties of the

forest: firewood, edible fruits and vegetables, animal meat and skins, as well

as all sorts of herbs.

One could call it a mountain of riches, but monsters lived in the forest as

well. Since the villagers didn't want to risk leading them back to their homes,

they hadn't really been able to lay a hand on any of the resources up until

now. Back in those days, the best they managed had been sending in

specialists with experience and confidence in their hunting skills to steal

some of the riches outside the Wise King of the Forest's territory. But now,

after the appearance of the goblins and the absence of the Wise King of the

Forest, the situation had changed quite a lot.

The villagers were now able to enter the forest and freely harvest the

bounties of nature. The efforts of their new, powerful friends were

magnificent, giving them access to meat that had been so difficult to obtain

before. Fresh fruits and vegetables also showed up with more regularity on

their tables. The village's diet improved dramatically.

And since the goblins were understood to be serving under Enri, her house

had the first pick of any game they hunted.

A ranger who had joined the village recently also contributed to the

improvement of their food situation.

She used to be an adventurer in E-Rantel. Ever since she moved to the

village, she had been working with the rangers and improving as a hunter.

Since she used to be a warrior, she was great with a bow and could take down

large prey. That also increased the frequency that meat was available.

The better nutrition naturally affected Enri's body.

She flexed her arm for a moment.

It made quite a respectable bulge.

Ngh, I feel like I'm getting bigger and bigger lately…

The goblins probably meant to praise her by saying things like, "Yer

putting on muscle lately," "Let's power up some more," "Yer getting some

good definition there," "Aim for that six-pack," "Lookin' sharp," but as a

woman it was a bit—or perhaps quite—complicated.

I haven't bulked up as much as the goblins hope I will but…I'd really

rather not…

Envisioning the ultimate form of herself that the goblins were hoping for,

she quickly chased the image out of her mind as she began plating food on

the table. This was another pain.

There wouldn't be a fuss over slightly unequal portions, but whether there

was meat in someone's soup or not could turn into a huge problem. She

confirmed that every bowl contained the same amount and ratio of

ingredients as she went along.

Soon, right about the time the sweat started rolling down her forehead, she

was finished preparing breakfast.

"Okay, we have to get the other goblins and Nfi."

"Yeah, that's right."

"I'll go call them!"

When she turned around, Nemu was standing there, eyes sparkling.

"Did you finish everything I asked you to do?" Enri nodded when she saw

her sister nod. "You did? Then go get Nfi and—"

"No, I'll go get the goblins!"

Nemu interrupted her older sister with a sudden shout, but Enri didn't

have any objections. When Kaijari bobbed his head at her, it must have been

in thanks.

"Okay, thanks. Then I guess I'll go get Nfi."

"That's a good idea! I'll go with ya, boss lady."

No one would be left in the house, but that wasn't an issue. Enri had never

heard of any burglaries in the village.

Enri took Kaijari with her and set out after Nemu.

A breeze carrying the scents of the meadow blew over her as she walked

in the morning sunlight. As she deeply breathed in the fresh air, she saw

Kaijari was doing the same. She smiled in spite of herself, and when Kaijari

noticed, his face twisted into an evil sneer. There was a time when Enri might

have been terrified, but after living together as long as they had, she knew for

sure that this was a happy expression.

Enri enjoyed the pleasant weather as she headed for the house next door.

One of the houses that ended up empty after the recent tragedy was

currently occupied by the Baleare family, formerly apothecaries in E-Rantel.

There were two in their household: the master apothecary Lizzy Baleare

and her grandson, Enri's friend Nfirea Baleare. Both of them were holed up

in their home steeping herbs and creating medicines.

Not participating in communal village life was considered poor behavior

that meant being kept at an arm's length—or in the worst case, completely

ostracized—but the Baleares were different.

The work of an apothecary—making medicines in case someone became

sick or injured—was indispensable in a small village like this one. As long as

they made medicines, no one would ask any more of them.

The need for an apothecary was felt especially keenly in a village like

Carne, where there was no resident priest who could use healing magic.

Incidentally, in slightly larger settlements, priests often served as local

apothecaries as well.

When priests used healing magic, they asked for the appropriate fee in

return. In fact, they had to. But in the event villagers weren't able to pay, they

were compensated with labor. The priests would use herbs to make medicines

for people who still couldn't pay. Treatments done with herbal remedies cost

less than magic healing.

There was a cleric among the goblins who could close up small cuts in an

instant, but the villagers all agreed that they should save his power to deal

with serious injuries. Still, there were limits; the few spells the cleric knew

didn't include any that could cure sickness or poison.

For that reason, everyone was thankful the Baleare family stayed inside

their house and devoted themselves to making medicines.

Despite the fact that they did such important work, almost no one in the

village went anywhere near them.

The reason for that became clear upon approaching the house.

Enri scrunched up her nose. Kaijari did the same thing—only in a more

menacing fashion. A nasty, pungent smell hung in the air all around the

Baleare house. It practically seemed toxic. Herbs sometimes gave off sharp

odors when crushed, but there was at least something fresh and natural to

them; they didn't produce dangerous smells like this one.

Exhaling through her mouth, Enri knocked on the door.

After knocking a few times, she began to think that they might be out. At

that very moment, she sensed someone moving on the other side. An instant

later, the lock clicked and the door opened.

Urk!

She wanted to keep a straight face and not say anything, but she couldn't

handle the air that wafted out.

It hurt.

The powerful stench assaulted her eyes, nose, and mouth. It smelled so

bad it made the air outside feel like a mild side effect.

"Morning, Enri!"

The eyes peeking through a gap in Nfirea's long bangs were open but

terribly bloodshot. He must have stayed up all night working on his alchemy

again.

She didn't want to open her mouth with that stink in the air, but it would

be rude not to return his greeting.

"M-morning, Nfi."

Her throat felt scratchy for a moment.

"Good morning, boss man."

"Good morning, uh, Kai…Kaijari. I guess it's morning, huh? I was

concentrating so hard I didn't notice, but since the sun's already so… Time

sure flies… I was doing experiments all night, so I'm kinda tired…" He

yawned audibly.

"Seems like you were really focused on your work—"

Breakfast is ready, so call your grandmother and come with me, she

wanted to say, but Nfirea interrupted her. Well, probably not on purpose. He

was just so excited.

"It's amazing, Enri!"

He leaned in. The horrible odor permeated his work clothes, and she

wanted to keep some distance, but she was his friend so she suppressed the

urge to back away.

"Wh-what is, Nfirea?"

"Listen! We've finally succeeded in producing a potion using a new

process! This is totally groundbreaking! We're mixing the solution we were

given with herbs, and the potion we get turns out purple!"

All she could do was sigh.

She had no idea what part of that was amazing. Is it like if you put purple

cabbage in some water?

"And it really does close up wounds! The healing speed is on par with

potions made with alchemical items alone!"

Nfirea rolled up his sleeve to show off the lack of cuts on his slim arm.

While Enri thought, His arm might be skinnier than mine, he continued

talking.

"And so—!"

"Okay, okay, please leave it at that." Kaijari stepped abruptly forward.

"Yer on a high from lack of sleep, ya know? Boss lady, you can leave this to

me, so why don't ya head back first?"

"Are you sure?"

"Not a problem! I'll throw some water in his face and whatnot to calm

him down, then we'll be right over. If yer late getting back, everyone'll

worry, right? What about Grandma, by the way?"

"She's still focused on her experiments… I have the feeling she won't eat

breakfast. Sorry, I know you worked hard to make it…"

"Oh, that's fine. I sort of figured Lizzy might not eat."

This had happened several times before, so it was no surprise.

"All right, boss lady, please head on back."

If he was going to put it like that, she had no choice but to obey.

"Okay, thanks, then."

With one eye on Enri's receding figure, Kaijari gave Nfirea a cold look.

"What do ya think yer doing? Don't ya know women only pay attention to

men talking about their hobbies when they like them? If a man talks about his

hobbies with a woman who's not in love with him, it drives her away!"

"…Sorry. It's just that this amazing thing happened, so… I mean, it's so

amazing! Groundbreaking!"

Nfirea clearly hadn't learned his lesson, and Kaijari interrupted with a

sigh and a wave of his hand. "Are ya sure yer okay there? Yer in love with

the boss lady, right?"

Nfirea gulped and nodded an emphatic yes.

"Then prioritize her over yer medicines!"

"…Okay. I'll try."

"Trying's not good enough! Ya have to do it! Ya have to get her to fall for

ya. We're with ya all the way. Not only that, but her little sister promised to

cooperate, too. Ya need to get it together!"

"Yeah…"

"If ya wait for her to say she likes ya, she'll probably be carried off by

some other guy first! Ya need the courage to speak up!"

Nfirea felt like a sharp knife had plunged into his chest.

"Well, I'm kinda slammin' ya, but I know yer doing ya best, boss man.

Before, ya could hardly even squeeze out a word, and now ya havin'

conversations on the regular!"

"Back then, I didn't get to see her very often. It was only when I came

here to gather herbs… I've definitely spent more time with her since moving

here than all the previous times combined."

"That's the spirit, that's the spirit. Just keep forging ahead! First, we need

to call attention to yer strength. I asked a lady in the village, and sure enough,

women fall for strong guys. She was forty-nine, but…"

"I'm not too confident when it comes to muscles. Should I help out in the

fields more?"

"No, ya have one of these." Kaijari poked his head to drive the point

home. "Fight with that. I was thinking magic might be good, too. But look,

when me or one of the others thinks ya have a chance to sell yerself, we'll

pose like this. When we do that, say or do something that'll make her fall for

ya." Kaijari struck a pose that showed off his bulging biceps. "This, got it?

Then if we think ya should keep pushing, we'll pose like this." Next, he

showed off his chest. The goblin was small but had the sturdy body of a

warrior.

Why the poses? Nfirea thought, but he could see they meant well, so he

couldn't bring himself to wonder aloud. He did have to ask one thing, though.

"So hey, why are you guys doing this for me? I know you're devoted to Enri,

but I can't figure out your motive for helping me."

"What a basic question," Kaijari answered in exasperation and continued

in a clear, slow manner that others might use to explain something to a small

child. "We want the boss lady to be happy! From that point of view, yer the

goal. So ya guys need to get married as soon as possible!"

"We don't have to rush, though! We could just gradually grow closer…

you know?"

"…That'll be too late. It takes time from when a human gets pregnant till

when they have the baby, right?"

When the conversation reached what was arguably the ultimate form of

heterosexual relations, Nfirea blinked a few times, and his face reddened

slightly. "Yeah. I guess it takes about nine months."

"So then ya won't have enough time to have fourteen—I mean, ten."

"Ten?! I think that's a bit much!"

The average number of children for a farmer was five. In rough

environments where it was expected that some wouldn't make it to

adulthood, the average rose a little, while in places where priests could heal

the sick or in the city where contraceptives were available, it decreased

slightly.

For one woman to have ten children was a bit much.

"What're ya talking about? For a goblin, that's normal!"

"We're not goblins!"

"Well, there might be some difference between races, but ya want her to

have lots of babies and be happy, right?"

"…I can't say for sure that having lots of babies wouldn't make her

happy, but something feels off…"

"Hmm."

Kaijari had cocked his head, but Nfirea didn't feel like responding.

Overall, he was grateful for their support.

"Okay, let's go. For now, I'd like ya to make some kind of move, at least.

If ya end up too much like family, it'll be hard to take things to the next

level… But, well, that might be the slow route."

"Where do you guys come up with all this?" Nfirea shook his head. "Hey,

Grandma, I'm going to Enri's for breakfast. Are you coming?"

A declining voice answered his call into the house.

She would probably be experimenting the whole time. Stopping to eat

would be a waste.

He understood her feelings to a painful degree.

The various alchemical items and instruments in this house were all

highly advanced—the correct way to use most of them completely eluded the

pair. A maid serving the caster Ainz Ooal Gown had delivered the tools,

saying he and his grandma should use them to make new potions and

alchemical items. She also brought other things, like a legendary herb

purported to heal any and all ailments.

When they asked how to use the solutions, other materials, and unfamiliar

instruments, the maid only said, "Think for yourselves!" so they were left

with no clue how to proceed.

That's why they had been working without anything that even bore a

passing resemblance to a break, conducting every kind of experiment they

could think of—they were sure they were making progress, even if each step

forward was slow, and even if they sometimes encountered major setbacks.

It had probably been the most intense two months of Nfirea's life,

naturally, but also Lizzy's.

The final fruit of that labor was a purple potion on the table, which

completely absorbed Lizzy's attention and caused Nfirea to lose himself in

the excitement.

"I'll go get some for you, then, Grandma." Having said that, Nfirea closed

the door and turned to Kaijari. "Shall we go?"

Even if they wanted to wait until everyone arrived to start eating, Enri's

house wasn't big enough to hold them all. For that reason, if the weather was

cooperative, they took their meals outdoors. Doing it this way meant that a bit

of a ruckus was tolerable, too. If everyone had been inside, Enri's patience

would have dried up sooner. Still, it was too loud.

"So this is what I'm saying—boss lady's gonna be my wife!"

"Hey, did ya forget our agreement that ya wouldn't aim for her?!"

"Yeah! If yer gonna make a move, then so am I!"

"What?! I'm first!"

Several goblins kicked aside their chairs and stood up. A few others

jumped onto the table.

Enri held her anger back and called out to them kindly. "Please calm

down, everyone!"

But the fire in the goblins' eyes wouldn't be extinguished.

"Strugglin' is futile, brothers! This game's already been decided. Behold

this gleaming meat!"

Enshrined on the spoon one of the goblins, Kuuneru, held aloft was a

piece of chicken that at first glance resembled a bean. It was so small that

Enri couldn't be blamed for missing it or not recognizing it as meat while she

was trying to serve equal portions.

"I ate my meat already, but I found more at the bottom of my bowl! Did

you guys have any extra meat in yer bowls? You didn't, did you? In other

words, this is love!"

"Gimme a break! She just mistook it for a bit of vegetable!"

"Or maybe you're just imagining things? What you ate before was

actually a potato, and the only meat you got was that puny nub. Careful, you

might creep her out. Remember, our god says: Thou shalt make Enri happy."

"Your god is probably an evil one, Konaa!"

Half the goblins got up, and the rest cheered and heckled them on from

their seats. Nemu was one of the hecklers. A few people remained outside

these groups and focused on the table. Nfirea was a prime example.

"Ruby powder…magic feathers…a pestle made in Tonelico…a mortar…a

mo…a mor…?" He was mumbling something vacantly while working his

spoon, so as soon as he put soup in his mouth, it returned to his plate. His hair

covered his eyes, but his gaze was likely flitting between the real world and a

fantasy.

"Nfi, are you okay?"

If she didn't do something about the goblins, she wasn't sure how heated

their argument would get, but Nfirea was acting strange, so she couldn't

leave him alone, either. He probably hadn't slept in a long time. The moment

he had sat down, his focus fractured even more, scattering in every direction.

By the time they started eating, he was missing so much vitality and

intelligence it was like an undead had joined the table.

"Yes…kay… Enri…soup…"

"Whoa, Nfi. Wake up!"

"Weren't you the one who was saying, 'Nemu for life'?!"

"Things are different now. Nemu is ten and about as tall as us, so I

thought she was a young lady… Then I learned that humans apparently aren't

considered adults until they're fifteen!"

"Eh?! Are you serious…? So boss lady and the others aren't hobhumans

or something?"

The goblins' boisterous conversation moved along quickly. Enri was

about to ask what a hobhuman was, but they grew tired of teasing and

happened upon a new argument.

"Ah! You stole my bread!"

"My wolf is hungry! Don't be stingy!"

"Everyone!" Enri raised her voice only to be drowned out by the clamor.

Spoons and plates flew even as shouts and jeers raged. They were

throwing empty dishes, so no food went to waste, but it still wasn't behavior

that she could let slide.

Enri finally steeled her resolve, furrowed her eyebrows, and inhaled.

"Pretty sure wolves're carnivorous! Ya might be higher level, but don't

kid yerself about how you'd fare in a real melee battle!"

"Very interesting! How about I remind ya what ya had for dinner last

night?!"

The moment Enri leaped to her feet, they all returned to their seats in a

single wave of motion and began eating politely.

"Would you please quiet down?!"

Her shout reverberated around the silent table.

"Oh…"

She looked about blankly. They all wore faces that said, We were just

quietly eating breakfast. Something wrong? and You're disturbing us with

your sudden outburst. After a moment of stillness, Enri blushed and sat down

heavily.

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha!"

The first one to break the silence was Nemu. Then Enri cracked up,

holding her stomach, and the goblins practically fell out of their chairs

laughing.

Their timing had been amazing. They had probably planned it all out in

detail at a meeting beforehand, maybe even rehearsed. It was hilarious that

they would put so much earnest effort into something so silly.

"Ahh, it's too funny. Were you all aiming for that from the beginning?"

She'd laughed so hard that she was still wiping tears out of the corners of her

eyes while she asked, pretending to be annoyed.

"Of course, boss lady. We'd never make such a big fuss about things like

that."

"What he said, ma'am!"

"Quite right, quite right!"

They bragged and frustrated her line of questioning with their usual jokey

grins, not a hint of guilt on their faces. But Enri narrowed her focus to Kaijari

and stared at him. He seemed to grow uncomfortable and averted his eyes

before mumbling an evasive answer. "Well, I guess, like, ya seemed kind of

down this morning, boss lady."

"You guys…"

"After all, we're yer bodyguards."

"That's right!"

"Yeah, we're yer bodyguards!"

"We even came up with a pose for when we appear on the scene."

"Oh yeah, so we put you and Nemu in the middle like this—"

"What?! Me too?"

"Of course! Then you raise your arms majestically…like this!"

Even describing it in the kindest way possible, he seemed like a frog

tipped over on its back.

"Uh, I'll pass, I think. I don't really know what you mean by

'bodyguards' in the first place… Nfi, don't you think it's a little…?" She

turned to her old friend for help, but no one was there.

On a hunch, she lowered her eyes and found him sprawled on the table

facedown in his soup.

"Nfi!" Her face went pale as she shouted and picked him up.

Konaa rushed over at once and pried the exhausted Nfirea's eyes open

with his fingers. "He's only sleeping… If we let him sleep till around noon,

meh, he'll be fine."

"Nfi… What'll we do with you?"

She piggybacked him and set off for a bedroom in her house where she

would let him sleep. She could hear voices behind her.

"Huh? Isn't it normally the other way around?"

"Let's not say anything, Nemu."

"Boss man…"

Once the village harvested the wheat, the tax collector would come to the

village.

Enri wondered how she would explain the goblins.

Should I just say we summoned them? Maybe I can call them my

underlings? Or…

Enri thought about how they were always being considerate of her.

They didn't merely protect her but also understood her feelings. She

wondered what she could do for them.

The goblins were pretty noisy, but they were reliable, too. They were her

new family—there had to be something she could do for them…

Enri wiped the sweat dripping down the nape of her neck with the clean back

of her hand as she gathered up the weeds she had pulled out. There were

quite a lot, and the crushed grass gave off a green smell.

After hours out in the field, her sweat-soaked clothes clung to her. She felt

gross and tired.

She stretched her back to refresh her mood.

Spreading out before her was a field.

The heads of the wheat plants she'd sown were filling out. As the

harvesting season drew closer and closer, the wheat would turn gold. It was

quite a sight when the entire field turned completely golden, but before that,

she had to perform the chore of weeding. If she didn't take care of the weeds

before then, the color wouldn't be as fine.

Now was the time for that suffering.

Stretching her back helped relieve some tension and stiffness. Her body

was warm from working the field, and the breeze blowing past felt great.

The gust brought something else to her—noise from the village.

She could hear something being hammered, as well as chants to help

teams of laborers focus—all things she had never heard in the village before.

They were currently working on a variety of different projects.

The most important was the building of a wall. And a watchtower. It went

without saying that this was to further fortify the village.

Carne was near the Tove Woodlands. The forest was a threatening place

where monsters dwelled. It was impossible to live safely near an area like that

without sturdy fortifications.

But their village, with houses lined up on level ground and a square in the

middle, didn't have anything that could be called defenses; anyone could

walk right in. Their arrangements had worked fine for a while—because

although they were near the woodlands, no monsters came near them.

That was thanks to the Wise King of the Forest's territory in the forest. No

monsters would traverse its domain, so the villagers were as safe as if they

had been protected by an iron wall.

But that safeguard was undone by human hands.

Imperial knights had attacked the settlement, killing their loved ones. No

one thought they would be safe any longer as they were.

That was why the goblin leader Jugemu's proposal to fortify the village—

he mentioned they might not be able to protect everyone if they came under

attack again—was adopted unanimously. They were still tormented by

unforgettable nightmares.

First, they broke down houses no one was living in anymore and

appropriated the wood for the wall. Obviously, that wasn't enough, so they

needed to cut down some trees from the woodlands. If they went deep into

the woods, they ran the risk of entering the Wise King of the Forest's

territory, so they skirted along the edge.

The goblins, naturally, served as their escorts.

Through all this cooperation, the villagers' wariness of the goblins

virtually disappeared. Perhaps the knights being fellow humans who killed

the villagers was a contributing factor. Their own kind had robbed them of

their lives and loved ones. In contrast, the goblins, despite being a different

race, worked under Enri to help the village. In other words, it wasn't right to

place trust in others based on whether they were from the same race or not.

Most of all, the goblins were powerful. Goblin warriors posted as

lookouts, and even if they got hurt, the goblin cleric Konaa would heal them.

It was hard to dislike them when they were so nice.

Thus, in a few short days, the goblins put down roots in the village and

became an irreplaceable presence there. One glance at their house was

enough to understand. Despite belonging to a different race, they were living

in a big new house built for them right near Enri's.

The villagers and the goblins worked together on the defense plan, but

unfortunately they were short on hands, so at first they'd been able to build

only a simple fence.

It was at precisely that point that the Wise King of the Forest, who had

been acting as a breakwater for the village, abandoned its territory to follow a

masterful warrior in black armor. Everyone had worked so hard to finish the

fence and then had to lament that it would never be enough to keep them

safe.

But now they were protected by a great wall.

Things had taken a turn for the better when a peerless beauty, who said

she was one of the village's savior Ainz Ooal Gown's maids, brought some

stone golems to their homes.

Golems were strangers to exhaustion that silently followed orders—and

possessed far more power than humans. Since they were a little clumsy, the

golems couldn't be trusted with detailed work, but their help shortened

building times by an unbelievable degree. With golems working without

sleep or rest, the construction of the wall advanced rapidly.

It would have been impossible for the villagers and the goblins to perform

such a vast amount of labor on their own, but the golems finished it—felling

a huge number of trees, digging the gigantic hole to properly sink the

foundation—and the wall that would normally take several years to complete

was built in a few days. Moreover, it was longer, taller, and sturdier than

originally planned.

They made progress on not only the wall but the lookout towers as well.

Thanks to that, the village had towers in both the east and west.

"Boss lady, I'm done over here, too."

Enri's thoughts were interrupted when Paipo, the goblin who was weeding

with her, called out.

"Oh! Thank you."

"No, no need."

Paipo waved her off while his hands were still filthy with dirt and plant

juices, but she didn't feel like she could ever thank him enough.

It was hard for her to maintain her house's fields after losing her mother

and father. Normally someone from the village would help, but with the

dearth of workers, everyone had their hands full with their own fields. But

when the goblins started helping her, the problem was solved. And Enri

wasn't the only one getting assistance.

Enri heard someone calling for her and turned around to find a plump

woman standing there. Next to her was a goblin.

"Enri, dear. Ohh, thanks so much. I finished up my field with the help of

Mr. Goblin."

"That's great. Everyone volunteered to cooperate. Please thank them

directly."

"Ohh, I thanked Mr. Goblin already. He said they're just underlings and

wanted me to thank their boss lady!"

Enri's face twinged at the mention of "boss lady," but she turned it into a

grin.

The goblins had offered to help out households who'd lost workers in the

attack. The woman before her was from one such family.

Who could begrudge such considerate goblins? They were better

neighbors than some of the humans in Carne. Naturally, those sorts of stories

got around and had resulted in everyone's current high opinion of the little

monsters.

"By the way, where are the other goblins? I thought I'd treat them to a

meal as a thank-you."

"The others are either working security or helping out the new arrivals,

but I'll let them know."

"Oh. Well then, please pass the message along, Enri, dear. I'll make

something special. I suppose I'll treat this one now."

"Really? Then I humbly accept yer offer. Sorry, boss lady, but I'll be over

at Mrs. Molger's."

When Enri nodded, the woman and the goblin next to her set off walking

back toward the village.

"I just hope all the people who agreed to move here will understand that

you're not evil…"

"They looked pretty spooked when we first laid eyes on one another. It

seems like they'd counted us among their enemies," replied Paipo.

"I guess in other frontier villages, it's normal to consider subhumans

enemies…"

"That's why we're offering to help out so much. It's tricky, though."

"B-but they're coming around, aren't they? A little while ago I saw

someone say hello like normal."

"Well, the transplants have memories just like the people here do of being

attacked and having their families killed. No, maybe their burdens are even

heavier."

Carne's fate was brutal, but even so, about half the villagers survived.

Some villages had almost their entire populations killed by the knights.

The people who had responded to Carne's call for new settlers were

survivors from those villages.

A silence fell upon the pair.

Enri gave her back another good stretch and looked up at the sky. The

noon bell hadn't rung yet, but it was almost time, and she was at a good

stopping point in her field work.

"Okay, should we have lunch?"

She was familiar enough with Paipo's squashed-looking face to see that

he'd put on a cheerful smile.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear! Yer cooking is delicious, boss

lady."

"No, it's not." She laughed, blushing.

"No, no, really! Competition for the job of helping ya in the field is fierce

—'cause we all want to eat yer tasty food."

"Ah-ha-ha! Then why don't I just make food for everyone? Like we do at

breakfast."

Cooking for two was the same as cooking for twenty…or not. Cutting up

the ingredients for that many portions was a job in and of itself. One or two

pots would never be enough. It would take quite a lot of work. But when she

considered how much she owed the goblins, it didn't feel like any trouble at

all.

"No, no, that's okay. Eating yer food is a perk for the one who beats out

the competition."

Enri smiled at the little grinning subhuman, not sure what to do. She knew

the goblins had been playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who got to help

her, but she wasn't sure her cooking was worthy of such a fuss.

"Okay, shall we head back and eat?"

"Sounds good…"

Having said that much, Paipo suddenly shut his mouth and looked into the

distance with his keen eyes. Enri gasped at the stark shift from funny little

subhuman to seasoned warrior and followed his gaze.

There was a goblin riding a black wolf, seemingly gliding across the

meadow toward the village.

"It's Kyuumei."

The goblin troop Enri had summoned comprised twelve level-8 goblins,

two level-10 goblin archers, one level-10 goblin mage, one level-10 goblin

cleric, two level-10 goblin riders, and one level-12 goblin leader for a total of

nineteen.

Kaijari, who she had seen that morning, and Paipo, who had been helping

her in the field, were level-8 goblins, while a level-10 goblin rider, Kyuumei,

was coming toward them now in furry leather armor mounted on a pitchblack wolf.

The goblin riders were tasked with riding around the meadow and acting

as an early warning system. It was common to see them return to the village

for regular reports.

"…Yeah."

But Paipo's voice was tense. Something wasn't sitting right with him.

That was the feeling she got.

"What's wrong?"

"…It's a little early. He was supposed to be on watch out toward the

woodlands… Did something happen?"

Hearing Paipo's explanation, Enri felt worry well up inside her—fear that

another bloody attack was nearing.

As the pair watched in silence, the large wolf carrying Kyuumei raced

toward them.

The wolf's ragged breaths spoke volumes about how hard they must have

rushed over.

"What is it?"

In response to Paipo's question, Kyuumei, still on his wolf, bobbed his

head to Enri and answered, "Something seems to have happened out near the

woodlands."

"…Something?"

"I don't really know. It's not like before when a big bunch of guys were

heading north—"

"Do you mean knights?" Enri interrupted without thinking. Even though

she knew she couldn't be of any use in this situation, she had to ask. She

couldn't shake the fear from the day the village was attacked.

The other group the goblins mentioned had numbered in the thousands,

leaving tracks behind as they headed north. The footprints were human size,

but since they had apparently been barefoot, the goblins concluded they

weren't human.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it's knights. It seems more like

something's happened deep in the woods."

"Oh." She sighed in relief without really meaning to.

"…Well, for now I'll report in to our leader."

"All right. Nice work."

"Thank you."

They waved, and Kyuumei ran off astride his wolf. They watched him go

until they saw him slip through the slowly opened village gate.

"Well, shall we go back?"

"Yeah."

After washing up at the well, Enri and Paipo arrived home and a young girl's

voice called out to them.

"Welcome back, Enri!"

Along with the greeting, they heard the scraping noise of two rocks

grinding together. When they looked, it was Nemu using the stone mill in the

shade of the house.

The pungent smell that prickled Enri's nose was wafting from the mill. It

resembled the aroma that had been clinging to her hands earlier but was twice

as strong—enough to pick up even from a distance.

Nemu was already used to it, so it must not have been a problem for her,

but when it hit Enri, tears sprang into the corners of her eyes. Nothing in

particular happened to Paipo's expression behind her, although it wasn't clear

if a racial trait had spared him or whether he simply thought it would be rude

to make a strange face in front of his master's younger sister.

"We're back. How'd it go? Did you get them crushed properly?"

"Yep, perfect. Look!" Nemu eyed her results with a satisfied smile. Of the

mound of herbs that had been there when Enri went out, only a tiny few were

left. "Amazing, right? I'm practically done!"

Nemu had been turning the herbs into a paste and stuffing them into a jar

the way Enri had requested. Most herbs were stored by either drying or

grinding them up, depending on the type.

"Wow, you worked hard, Nemu!"

In response to Enri's unreserved praise, Nemu looked a bit proud but also

blushed. At some point, she had either been trained by Nfirea, or perhaps she

had simply decided she wanted to help her sister out, but her work had

improved, becoming both thorough and swift.

Herbs were an important source of revenue for Carne. It took a lot of work

to live in a frontier village, and this was arguably their home's only specialty

product.

It was an indispensable way of acquiring money, so the villagers knew

where to find abundant clusters of all different sorts of herbs.

Enri thought to herself quietly. This herb boasted one of the best profits

out of all the various types that the villagers foraged. But because the plants

developed medicinal properties only right before they flowered, they could be

relied on for only supplemental income. The villagers had already picked

clean all the clusters they knew about, but it was possible that if they pushed

a little farther into the forest, there were still untouched clusters.

But of course, monsters stalked the woodlands. Enri couldn't just stroll in

as if she was going on a picnic. But now she had the goblins alongside her,

plus Nfirea, who had a wealth of experience gathering herbs. If she asked for

their help, they would probably be able to earn a nice bit of money.

After hesitating for a moment, Enri broached the topic with Paipo. "I'd

like to go gather herbs in a new spot. Would you come with me?"

Really, there was no reason Enri herself needed to go; she could have

theoretically sent the more confident goblins of their ranks into the dangerous

woodlands on their own, if only the goblins she summoned hadn't come with

a peculiar shortcoming.

They were bad at looking for herbs and butchering animals they had

hunted.

It was similar to how none of them could cook. Enri could show them an

herb, but they couldn't find another of the same variety even if it was right in

front of their noses. It puzzled her, but they simply lacked those abilities.

Moreover, there was no sign that they had the ability to learn or acquire those

skills. It was almost as if they were erased from their memories.

As a result, when it came to gathering herbs, someone had to go with the

goblins.

"I don't mind going, but it might be a little tricky to have ya come along."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, wasn't Kyuumei just talking about how something might have

happened deep in the forest? During times like that, the woods get agitated."

Enri looked confused, so Paipo explained in detail. "Cautious monsters

will sometimes shift their territory. When that happens, neighboring

territories get jumbled up temporarily, and it causes all sorts of confusion. To

put it simply, yer more likely to run into a monster, and the forest becomes

more dangerous. If yer unlucky, ya might even come across monsters outside

the woods. No matter how daring ya are, there's no need to leap directly into

danger, is there?"

"I see…" Enri wondered if she was actually "daring," but she chalked it

up as more of the goblins' usual flattery and let it go. "It seemed like there

was a big migration before, too. Something must be going on, huh?"

"I don't know. I really don't. I'd like to send some guys into the woods to

do a detailed investigation…but if we leave, there won't be as many people

to protect the village… Oh! How about sending adventurers?"

"That would be tough." Enri frowned. "Nfi told me it costs a lot of money

to hire adventurers. Supposedly, the lord in E-Rantel would cover part of the

cost, but it'd be hard for us to cover even just our share."

"Ah…"

"Maybe if we were able to forage and sell a lot of herbs, it would work

out, but our only other option would be to sell that item Sir Gown gave us…"

Ainz Ooal Gown had given her two horns. She had used one, but the other

she still had hidden in her house.

"Don't do that, boss lady. If it came to that, it'd be better to blow it."

"No, of course I won't sell it."

She didn't want to be the low sort of person who would pawn off a

generous gift. Even if it reached the point where they were in trouble if she

didn't sell it, she would still be against it. She especially didn't want to do

anything so ungrateful when Ainz Ooal Gown continued to be so concerned

for the village that he had sent over a maid with golems.

"But what a dilemma. We can only gather these herbs during this time, so

even if it's a bit dangerous, I'd really like to go if possible…"

Enri smiled at Nemu, who seemed nervous. She wanted to avoid doing

anything that would upset her last remaining family member, but she would

hate missing out on a chance to earn some precious cash. Maybe her

priorities were a little out of order, but she needed to pay her debt to the

people who put their lives on the line for the village—the ones who

considered her their master.

I need to make a pile of money and see what I can do to buy the goblins

new gear. Full plate or whatever seemed like it had good defense. That blackarmor person…what was her name again?

She had no idea how much weapons and armor cost, but it had to be quite

a hefty sum. That was precisely why Paipo held out a steadying hand when

she looked so determined to rush ahead.

"Well, it's just my opinion. I'll ask our leader about it, so don't make any

hasty decisions. I don't want to get scolded for claiming some half-baked

idea, and I bet the boss man would also like to get his hands on all sorts of

herbs."

Just as Enri was wondering what to do, she heard a cute little rumbling

noise. When she looked up, Nemu was shooting her a dissatisfied look.

"I'm hungry, Enri. Let's eat!"

"Yeah, sorry. Clean this up and wash your hands. I'll make lunch."

"Okay!"

With a cheerful reply, Nemu took apart the mill and used a spatula to

transfer the green goop inside to a little pot. Enri headed for the entrance to

the house, thinking, I wonder what I should make…

2

Enri stood just outside the Tove Woodlands. Of course, she wasn't alone. She

was surrounded by all the members of her loyal goblin troop.

The goblins had donned mail shirts and round shields, while thick

machetes hung at their hips. On the other side were slung pochettes to carry

small items. They also wore brown shorts and sturdy shoes fashioned from

furry animal pelts. They weren't missing anything in terms of gear.

The fully outfitted goblins were going over their kit one final time. They

checked that their waterskins were full and their machetes sharp.

The reason they were so well equipped but packed lightly was that they

planned to finish their business quickly rather than spend hours exploring the

forest.

They weren't all there as escorts for Enri. Their main objective was to do

a detailed investigation on the news the rider had brought. They wanted to

find out what had occurred in the woodlands. Still, all they needed to do was

protect the village, so they decided to explore more broadly in the

settlement's vicinity rather than plunge into the forest depths.

Only three goblins would go gathering with Enri.

Nfirea was also with her. He was all ready to go, wearing clothes suitable

for picking herbs in the forest. With him along, they would certainly be able

to collect what they needed.

He must have sensed her gaze. He cocked his head as if to ask, What? She

waved her hands to show that she had nothing particular in mind, but he still

must have been worried, because he walked over accompanied by a large

goblin.

The goblin had such a hulking physique that it was hard to believe he was

the same race. He wore a heavy-duty, roughly fashioned breastplate and

carried a well-used great sword on his back.

This was Jugemu, the goblin leader whom Enri had named after the goblin

hero Jugemu Juugemu. Incidentally, all the knights who fought alongside that

hero had special names, and she had given those names to the rest of the

goblins.

"You don't seem…worried, but is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine, really! I just happened to look at you."

"That's all right, then, but remember that even a little thing can get you

killed in the woods. If anything seems off, let me know."

"He's right, boss lady. Like I said before, we're gonna be checking out the

forest, so we won't be able to come to yer rescue so quick… Will ya be all

right?" Jugemu twisted his craggy face into a worried look and peered at

Enri.

In response, Enri smiled. "I'll be fine. I'm not going that far in, and these

guys will protect me."

"If ya say so…" He eyed each of the goblins she was looking at in turn.

Then he raised his voice. "Well, ya guys probably already know this, but

don't let the boss lady get so much as a scrape!"

"Aye!" The three goblins going with her—Gokou, Kaijari, and Unrai—

gave a lively reply.

"And boss man, I'm counting on ya, too."

Enri noticed Kaijari was doing a front double biceps pose for some

reason.

"So now's a good time to do something? Ahem! Of course! I'll protect

Enri!"

Enri hallucinated a sparkle in Nfirea's teeth as he laughed, brimming with

confidence. It was so unlike his usual personality that it kind of creeped her

out. He must be tense because we're headed into the forest.

How childish. She thought it was sweet and felt like his big sister.

"Thanks, Nfi. Glad I can count on you."

Huh? Now he's doing a side chest pose… What's that about?

"What? But we're not even… Uh, I brought a bunch of alchemical items,

so yeah, you can leave it to me!"

Hit with another sparkle, Enri felt his sweetness level drop by about half.

"Uh, sure…thanks."

"Yeah, thanks… Still, I'm not sure we really need to be doing something

this dangerous…"

Jugemu turned around to look at Enri with a sober face. She couldn't

believe he was rehashing the same conversation they had had multiple times

in the village, but she knew he was saying it out of concern for her safety, so

she couldn't ignore him.

"But if we don't gather the herbs, we can't make that money…"

"Couldn't we use animal skins instead? Those we can get well enough on

our own."

"They aren't bad, but those herbs fetch the best price."

The values of skins and herbs were completely different—night and day.

Of course, an extremely rare animal might be worth a lot, but those were few

and far between.

"Maybe you could have the boss man bring them back to you…"

"The Baleare household and mine have separate accounts. We'll work

together and split the profits. I can't just take advantage of everyone all the

time."

Helping one another out was the village way of life. That was precisely

why becoming ostracized left people without options. But relying on

everyone else all the time was proof that a household couldn't make it on

their own, and there was no way mooching would be tolerated. Selfsufficiency meant hard work.

Behind them, Nfirea was saying, "Kaijari, can you read the atmosphere a

bit and knock off the poses for now…?" and the pair averted their eyes.

"Ah, that's true… Yeah… But that means if you got together, you'd have

a single account… Anyway, you won't cancel the trip, right?"

Jugemu's voice was gradually losing energy. He must have realized that

she wasn't going to give up on the plan.

Enri knew Jugemu was worried about her and she didn't want to cause

him trouble, but her resolve was unshakable.

The reason she was heading into the forest despite knowing about the

dangers was due to that remark Kaijari had made about being unable to repair

their gear.

She might have been able to sharpen a knife, but mending iron gear would

require a true blacksmith. In other words, the goblins were having a latent

crisis. As their gear degraded, it put them that much more at risk. It was

essential to have backup equipment.

If they put their lives on the line and worshipped her as their master, what

could Enri do in return? She couldn't just hole up in a safe place enjoying the

fruits of their devotion. She concluded that she needed to do everything in her

power to let them fight to their full potential at a moment's notice.

The goblins were Enri's bodyguards, but they also protected Carne.

Following that logic, she could probably tax the villagers to buy weapons for

them, but she rejected that idea the moment it came into her head.

She wanted to pay back her debt to the goblins personally. This foraging

trip was, in a way, an expression of her sincerity and pride.

"We would've liked to have scouted the area before ya go…"

The goblin mage Daino chimed in from behind. She wore the skull of

some humanlike creature. In her hand, she held a twisted staff that looked

shabby but still taller than she was. Her body was heavily accessorized with

peculiar tribal ornaments, and her chest had a slight swell to it. Looking at

her face, Enri could distinguish a slight softness compared to the men. Enri

was used to it but could still only barely make out the difference; an average

human wouldn't be able to tell at all.

"But you have no idea what it's like, right?"

"Yeah, unfortunately we don't know if it's safe or not. Even if we did go

first, all we would be able to find out is whether the forest had calmed down

or not, but that would still take time. If we wanted to know the new layout of

territories within the forest, it would take longer."

By then, the herbs they wanted to collect would be out of season. Hearing

Daino's comments, Enri's strong will shone in her eyes. "It's all right. I

won't go in too deep," she said decisively.

After repeating the same argument several times, Jugemu understood that

Enri wasn't going to change her mind. He gave up and turned to the three

goblins who would be accompanying her. As expected, he said the same

thing as before. "We can't guard her, so ya guys gotta protect her as our

representatives. You too, boss man!"

"Aye!"

"Really, it would be safest for everyone to go together. Dividing our force

is awfully foolish," grumbled Daino.

"But that would take too long otherwise, right?"

"Yeah. If we don't shoo away the monsters heading toward the village

and the creatures trying to establish territory nearby, there'll be trouble. Once

they've built a nest, they won't leave, and even if they do leave temporarily,

it's very likely they'd come back."

With the changes in how the spheres of influence mapped across the

woodlands, it was essential that they perform a search, especially in the areas

near the village.

They were readying for round one of this reconnaissance. As the first, it

was the most dangerous. That's why they could spare only three goblins to

escort Enri.

"Okay, then. Let's go! We gotta get this search over with and meet up

with our boss lady!" Jugemu barked orders, and the goblin troop responded

with a ferocious roar.

Inside the woodlands…

About a hundred and fifty yards in, the temperature had dropped more

than a couple of degrees simply because the sun's rays didn't reach the forest

floor. That said, it wasn't completely dark; even Enri could see their

surroundings fine. Wading through the crisp air as they went, the party of five

advanced into the forest.

For now, silence reigned over the woodlands. There were almost no

sounds besides the swaying of the treetops and the occasional echoing call of

a bird or beast. Enri and her companions' footsteps felt loud in that quiet. The

other party, headed by Jugemu, must have gone far ahead, because they

couldn't hear them anymore.

Enri's group advanced in a wedge formation with Enri and Nfirea in the

center.

It was difficult to stay spread out in the forest, so a single-file line would

have been standard, but they insisted on the formation in order to protect the

two humans. That slowed down their group, but they decided there was

nothing they could do about that.

When they got farther in and began heading north, Nfirea started glancing

around.

He was searching for treasures sleeping among the trees—herbs.

Enri was no amateur when it came to herbs, either. She knew quite a lot

for a girl her age—which ones could be simply ingested orally, which ones

were more suited for topical application, and which ones could be made into

potions. But she didn't even come close to Nfirea. He had a profound

knowledge of not only medicinal herbs but also the ones that could be used

for alchemy.

"Did you find a rare herb?"

When Enri asked, all the goblins started posing as if on cue.

More double biceps poses… It must be the hip thing to do… Enri cocked

her head. She didn't notice Nfirea's fed-up expression.

"Why didn't I tell them those signals were a bad idea…? Being a chicken

is the worst. Uh, so do you see that brownish moss over there?"

Sure enough, there was moss in the direction he was pointing.

"That's bebeyamoku moss. If you mix a bit of that into a potion, it makes

the effects a little stronger."

"Wow, really? Looks like normal moss to me. Even now that you've

pointed it out, I probably won't be able to spot it. You're amazing, Nfi!"

"Ya really are something, boss man. Is that a valuable herb?"

"It's worth a fair amount, but… Ah, wait. We don't need to get that one.

The herb Enri and I are after is worth a lot more. If we don't find much, we

can always pick this one on the way back."

"Aha. Gotcha. Wow, but for someone like you, this mountain is a pile of

treasure. It'd be easy for you to make a fortune with it. Anyone who chooses

to be with ya would be able to rest easy."

"I dunno about—"

The goblins changed poses.

"Uhh, er, maybe you're right. I'm pretty confident that I won't let my

partner have a hard time in life."

"Yeah. You seem capable of that much, Nfi."

The atmosphere of the quiet forest grew awkward.

"Uh, is that all, boss lady?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Kaijari?"

"Huh? Nah, I mean, nothing… Oh… I meant to ask you earlier: What

herb are ya looking for?"

"Oh, we didn't tell you? It's called enkaishi. Nemu crushed up the rest of

our supply."

"I see, I see. Gotcha—not that us goblins can help spot it, though. All

right, let's keep moving."

With each step, they wandered deeper into the woods where the heady

scent of the forest tickled their noses.

Once they were fully enveloped in this world devoid of people, a place

where the humans realized how small and fragile they were, Nfirea spoke.

"Let's try looking around here. There's lots of shade, and the air is damp…

There might be water nearby as well. This is where that type of herb normally

grows. This spot doesn't seem to have been trampled by monsters, either, so

it's exactly what we're looking for."

"Gotcha, boss man."

Nfirea was an apothecary with lots of herb-gathering experience, so

anything he said was probably correct. Both Enri and the goblins agreed.

Everyone put down their packs to lighten their load.

"Oh, boss lady, would ya give boss man a hand?"

"Oh yeah. He's carrying a lot for one person."

She went over to Nfirea and capably assisted him as he set down his bags.

"Thanks, Enri."

"No worries, Nfi. But wow, as a specialist, you sure have a lot of stuff to

carry. You need so many things."

She noticed the goblins nodding in satisfaction out of the corner of her

eye. She didn't know what they were so happy about, but she decided to

ignore it for the time being.

"Okay, let's start searching!"

With a slightly subdued "Yeah!" the goblins set about guarding the area,

and Enri and Nfirea began combing the area for herbs.

Enri hadn't expected things to go very smoothly, but it was almost

disappointingly easy to find enkaishi. The herb grew so densely between the

trees that it practically jumped out at them.

"Over there. I can't believe we found a bunch on our first try. It was

definitely the right choice to have you come along."

"Nah, it had nothing to do with me. We're just lucky we found a spot that

wasn't all messed up. It can be awful after a monster passes through."

The large amount of herbs growing there wasn't exactly worth a fortune,

but it would still net them a considerable sum. Enri frantically suppressed the

greed flaring up inside her. They were in a dangerous place, so they needed

to finish their work quickly without overreaching.

She crouched down and picked the plants carefully at the base.

The parts of the enkaishi herb that had medicinal properties were near the

roots, but that didn't mean Enri could simply pull up the entire plant. This

herb had a lot of life energy, so if she left the roots alone, it would grow back

over time. It took a little longer to pick the herbs carefully, but it would have

been a shame to gather every last bit and ruin the cluster they'd only just

located.

The pungent smell that drifted up each time they plucked a plant didn't

bother them once they got used to it. It was heaven compared to Nfirea's

house.

They foraged each herb one at a time and carefully packed them in the

bags on their hips in a way that kept them from being crushed. It would have

gone faster with the goblins' help, but they were keeping a vigilant watch.

Enri wasn't foolish enough to ask them to pick herbs.

Next to her, the motions of Nfirea's hands were superb. He moved so

quickly but still picked the plants in a way that perfectly preserved the

medicinal components. It was clear he had skills only a specialized

professional could have.

Enri watched him from the side in silence as he concentrated. He almost

looked like someone else.

He's really grown up…

"Is something wrong?" Nfirea suddenly looked up. He must have sensed

something was off because her hands had stopped moving.

Enri looked down bashfully for no particular reason. "Nah, I just was

thinking how amazing you are."

"…Oh? I don't think I'm all that. I'm barely an apothecary. Pretty sure

this is normal."

"...I wonder."

"I'm pretty sure."

The conversation broke off there, and the herbs in their bags gradually

piled up as time slowly passed.

Their bags were a little more than half full when the goblins abruptly

crouched down around the two of them as if to hide.

Enri was startled, but Kaijari gestured to her to be quiet. It's some kind of

emergency. Once she realized the situation, she finally stopped moving and

strained her ears. From very far away, she could hear the sound of something

moving through the undergrowth.

"What is it?"

"Something's coming this way. It could be aiming for us…but most

likely, it just happens to be headed in this direction. First, let's pull back a

little from this place."

"…Would an item that could make a loud noise work as a decoy?"

"Hmm. No, boss man, I think we'd better not. Seems like it could

backfire. Okay, let's go."

The five of them moved away from the noise into the shadow of a nearby

tree. The reason they didn't go farther was to avoid making too much noise

tramping through the plants. If the incoming creature only happened to be

traveling in their direction, they didn't need to risk being discovered.

It wasn't a huge tree, so they weren't completely hidden, but they could at

least flatten themselves against its roots so they didn't stick out too much.

The five of them lay there waiting, holding their breath and praying that

the creature would go in a different direction. Unfortunately, their wish didn't

come true, and the creature appeared in the party's line of sight.

"…Huh?!" Enri let a small yelp of surprise slip.

It was a little beat-up goblin.

There were small, bloody wounds all over its body. It was breathing

heavily, covered in sweat and blood.

Goblins were smaller than humans to begin with, but even taking that into

account, this one was tiny. Her insights from living with goblins in her daily

life told her she was looking at a child.

The goblin child threw a fearful glance over its shoulder back in the

direction it had run from. Without even straining her ears, she could hear

something else coming through the brush. If the goblin she saw was being

hunted, the other had to be the hunter.

The goblin frantically worked its cramping legs to hide in the shade of a

different tree from Enri and her companions.

"Wha—?"

"Please be quiet."

Gokou interrupted her, but his eyes never moved. He was keeping close

watch on the direction the goblin child had fled from.

Less than a minute later, the hunter appeared.

It was a magical beast that resembled a huge black wolf. They could tell it

was a magical beast because of the chains wrapped around it. The boa

constrictor–like chains didn't inhibit the beast at all; they practically seemed

like an illusion. The creature also had two horns jutting out of its head.

Nfirea whispered the beast's name. "It's a barghest…"

There was no way it was answering, but it snorted just like a dog would—

and then sneered. The expression was sinister—impossible for a normal

animal to make. The beast's eyes slowly scanned the area until they were

looking in the direction of the tree where the goblin child had hidden.

If the barghest had a good nose to match its canine appearance, there was

no way it would miss the scent of that much blood.

It didn't seem like the goblin child had made it this far because of any

ability to fend off the pursuer. The beast was either sadistic or hunting purely

for sport.

Suddenly the barghest stopped, scrunched up its face in suspicion, then

stared at the place where the herbs were growing thickly.

Ah…

Enri shrank back. The others did the same.

Behind the tree, Enri opened her hands. Her skin was flecked with green.

Nfirea was next to her looking at his hands, too.

The sap from when we were picking herbs…

Yes, the same intense odor as when Nemu had been crushing them. They

had gotten used to it, so their noses didn't notice it anymore, but the intense

smell must have been hanging in the air. Her racing heartbeat felt noisy.

"It's on the move… Looks like it's heading away from here. I guess it

didn't notice him because of the stink."

Listening with an ear against the tree, Unrai seemed to have a question

mark over his head. "…I guess it couldn't pinpoint him because of the

smell?"

"What do you mean, boss man? I'm pretty sure magical beasts have good

noses…"

"That's the point…," said Nfirea, explaining his idea.

Basically, because of the beast's keen sense of smell, it hadn't been able

to pinpoint where the pungent smell was coming from. The scent on Enri's

and Nfirea's hands and bags had mixed with the general smell of the location

they had been picking in. And as a lucky bonus, their body odors must have

also been covered up.

It might have even viewed the crushed herbs as a last-ditch effort by the

goblin child to hide.

They had a lot to thank the powerful smell for, but it wasn't hard to

imagine that if they ran, the smell might follow them and lure the barghest.

"If that kid ends up being a sacrifice, then problem solved. As long as we

don't know how strong that thing is, it's too risky to interfere."

At those coolheaded words, Enri looked over at Gokou in spite of herself.

But it was a natural thing for him to say. The goblins' number one priority

was Enri's safety. Of course, they would want to avoid combat with that

magical beast—even if they needed to sacrifice someone of their own race.

There was nothing strange about his statement whatsoever, according to

his beliefs.

But Enri hated it. Isn't it wrong, as a human, to not save someone if you

can? Even someone from a different race?

Maybe it was just the foolish idea of a village girl who had never been

attacked by goblins and lacked a sense of crisis.

She looked at all the other goblins. They must have understood her

feelings, but they kept their mouths shut. Next, she looked at Nfirea.

"Nfi…"

He sighed. "Let's save him. He might be a good source of information. If

we don't find out why he ran all this way, the village might find itself in a

tough spot later."

The goblins furrowed their brows.

"We might not be able to beat it, ya know!"

"That's true. But barghests come in all different strengths. I heard

barghest leaders are pretty powerful. From that one's chains and horns,

though, it doesn't seem like it's too strong. I'm sure we could beat a normal

barghest."

"Hold yer horses. The boss lady's here! We should avoid any danger."

Enri swallowed. These were foolish words spoken for her own satisfaction

that would put not only her own but other lives at risk. Still, she had to speak.

"Abandoning someone you might be able to save…is like allying with the

attacker. I don't want to be the kind of person who picks on the weak.

Please!"

About the time Kaijari looked at Enri's serious face and sighed in defeat,

the magical beast made a strange noise. It was a bark that was clearly

sneering. Next, they heard the goblin child scream.

They no longer had time to hesitate or confer among themselves.

"Guess we got no choice. Let's go!"

The goblins leaped out first. Nfirea followed.

Watching the warriors go to battle to make her wish come true, Enri felt a

tearing pain in her chest.

I can't do anything but watch from back here.

The least she could do was watch so intently that she didn't even blink.

The four who had charged out immediately caught sight of the barghest,

which had tackled the goblin child. The reason the young goblin had new

wounds but wasn't dead had to be due to the barghest's wicked desire to play

with its prey.

The barghest stopped moving and looked between the new group and the

goblin child. It probably thought it had just been led into a trap.

"Hey there, puppy dog!" Unrai jerked a thumb at himself and said, "If ya

wanna play, I'll play with ya! C'mon!"

"Grrrrarr," the barghest growled with open hostility.

Out in front, Kaijari drew his machete from his hip in one smooth, natural

motion. The other goblins followed suit.

"Don't hold back! I'll teach ya some tricks—like 'Down.'"

"Agyahhh!" In response to the provocation, the goblin child pinned under

the barghest screamed.

The beast didn't talk, but its actions spoke loudly: If you move, I'll kill

him. But—

"Okay! Let's slay this sucker!"

The three goblins ignored the beast's threat and charged.

The barghest's eyes wavered in confusion at the unexpected turn of

events.

The barghest didn't know this, but the goblins hadn't really turned up to

save the child. They had simply heard Enri's request and were invested on

only the "it'd be great if we could save him" level.

If they didn't kill the barghest now that they'd faced it head-on, it was

possible Enri, who was actually most important, could end up hurt as well.

That's why they had to slay the beast once and for all. So actually, if it

wanted to mess with the goblin child some more, that would mean it was

taking pointless actions, which would help them out.

Seeing the gleam of the three machetes, the barghest stopped moving

again, realizing the child wouldn't work as a hostage. It wondered whether or

not it should finish off the small goblin.

Ending his life would be extremely easy. It could kill the child in one bite.

But while doing that, its enemies' weapons would definitely come slashing.

The danger to the barghest's life forced it to do one thing.

Ignoring the child, it leaped to meet the goblins' attack.

The barghest was heavier than the goblin warriors. The plan was to take

advantage of that to tackle them before ripping out their throats.

But that immediately went awry.

The goblin the barghest aimed for nimbly dodged, and the other two

sliced at it with their machetes from either side.

The chains wrapped around its body blocked one of the attacks, but the

other bit into flesh, spraying blood.

At the same time, an open bottle came flying at its snout.

"Rarrrr!" The barghest screamed at the awful stench that pierced its eyes

and nose.

The moment the beast stumbled to a halt, more pain assaulted it.

The barghest could tell from the blood flowing freely from open wounds

that the fight was going poorly. With tears in its eyes and a wavering field of

vision, the magical creature charged. It aimed at the one who'd thrown the

bottle—a human.

But the charge lasted only a few steps. The bottoms of its paws adhered to

the ground and stayed there.

Below, a bizarre slime was spread across the earth. The strange liquid

didn't soak into the dirt at all.

"This doesn't have enough adhesive power to hold a strong magical beast!

Let's attack it all at once!"

Following the human's urging, the goblins shouted a battle cry and leaped

to attack. The human launched powerful magic as well.

"Raaaorrrr!" The monster mustered all its strength and ripped its feet

away from the ground. They came up with the adhesive and the dirt stuck to

them, so the monster was slowed down a little but could still fight.

Seeing the goblins surrounding it again, the barghest, which was far more

intelligent than regular animals, acknowledged that these goblins were

formidable.

It was convinced they were different from ordinary goblins—the risk of

dying was very real.

This barghest had three basic attacks. It could gouge with its horns, it

could bite, and it could tackle and then scratch with its forelegs. That was it.

Unlike a stronger barghest, its repertoire had no special attacks. But actually,

there was one last-resort ability.

It was an attack that completely abandoned defense, so that would be the

end if it didn't connect. At the same time, there was no reason to hold back

any longer. The barghest was merely waiting for the right time to use it.

After checking the goblins surrounding it, the monster howled madly.

"Reinforce Armor!"

The human's spell made the goblins' armor glow. The barghest panicked,

guessing it must have been some kind of strengthening spell, but the goblins

seemed calm.

The warriors charged together in what could be considered a reckless

attack that relied heavily on their boosted armor. It wasn't a stupid plan,

though. Some might even call it a brave step forward to avoid needless

injuries in a protracted battle.

That would have been true—if the barghest hadn't been lying in wait for

them.

If it had been able to make major changes to its expression like a human,

the monster would have showed them a satisfied smile.

The chains wrapped around its body made slithering noises like a snake.

They began to move as if they had come alive.

The thick chains swung at a tremendous speed.

Even if the special ability Great Chain Whirlwind didn't kill the goblins, it

would still deal serious damage.

The barghest was desperate. This was a major skill that it could use only

once per day. And during the approximately ten seconds it took for the chains

to wind back up, the monster couldn't protect itself with them. This was a

very risky move indeed.

The unexpected attack caught the goblins off guard, and their evasive

maneuvers came too late. It was a fatal error. But—

"Duck!"

—a determined order sliced through the air faster than the chains could.

The barghest had bet everything on that one attack. Its eyes widened at the

shout from another human.

It should have been too late for the goblins to dodge, but they agilely

ducked down as if energized by the voice.

The barghest strained its slightly blurred vision, peering at the commander

standing behind the caster.

Machetes cut into both of its forelegs and one of its hind legs. The

monster shrieked at the pain. It managed to wind up the chains and bare its

teeth in a menacing way, but the goblins didn't seem the least bit scared.

"Boss man. We won't need any more support magic. Please just keep an

eye on our surroundings."

Realizing the battle had been decided, the barghest tried to run.

But its normally agile body was unusually heavy. Of course it was. Three

of its four legs were now useless. Still, it struggled to escape, but the goblins

wouldn't allow it.

Sticky blood spread across the grass, dyeing it red, and the smell of iron

completely overpowered the odor of the herbs. The barghest's spilled innards

were still so warm they were practically steaming. The goblins shifted their

gazes from the dead beast to the child.

The little goblin was so heavily wounded he had completely lost the

energy to run, but he had enough mental fortitude to sit up and lean against a

tree.

"Wh-who are ya? What tribe are ya from?" he asked, half–on guard, halfterrified.

Enri's goblins looked at one another. They were exchanging glances to

decide what sort of attitude would benefit them the most and how much

information they could give away, but Enri felt there was something else that

needed attention first.

"More importantly, shouldn't we do something about those wounds?

What can we do, Nfi?"

The goblin child's injuries seemed deep, and they were still bleeding. Left

like this, he would surely die. Enri didn't have any way to save the child, but

her hope that her friend would be able to do something was immediately

answered.

"All normal herbs can do is stop the bleeding. They can't put the lost

blood back in, so he'll still be in danger, but…" Nfirea rummaged in his bag.

"I have the potion we made with the new method. I should probably give it to

Sir Gown, but…can I see the wounds?"

Nfirea moved swiftly to the front and took out the potion.

"Wh-what's that freaky-lookin' juice? It's not poison, is it?"

When he saw the purple potion, the goblin child became hostile, though

he was still scared. To Enri, and maybe to Nfirea as well, it was a perfectly

normal reaction. Being wary of something that looked toxic was only natural.

But to the goblins, it was apparently unforgivable, and they immediately

launched into a tirade.

"Hey, kid! This is our boss lady, who decided to rescue ya, and the boss

man. Ya owe yer life to these people, so ya better watch yer mouth. They're

trying to help ya!"

The goblin child's eyes flitted to the bare machete blades. He may have

been a child, but even he could tell the goblins were in a foul mood. He

quickly withered.

Enri felt the threats probably weren't necessary for a child, but she was

aware that goblins probably had their own way of doing things. Butting in

with human common sense was no good in a variety of ways.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Ah, nah, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Nfirea sprinkled the potion on

the child as he spoke. The cuts all closed right up.

"Whoa! What the heck? It's a gross color, but it works amazing!" Then he

seemed to catch sight of the goblins looking at him and trembled. "Er, I

mean, th-thank y-you."

"That's right, kid, gratitude is important."

"Great. Now we can tell Sir Gown that the experiment was a success."

Enri and the goblins understood why he was going out of his way to seek

their agreement, and they nodded.

Nfirea was conducting research in potion making with ingredients he

received from Ainz Ooal Gown, the greatest caster of all time and the

village's savior. It wasn't as if he was being paid, but all the materials were

being provided by someone else. It should have been clear who the results

belonged to.

There were major issues with Nfirea using a potion without permission,

but a clinical trial was a fine excuse.

I bet if we told him what happened, Sir Gown would forgive us, but…

maybe there is some kind of rule for apothecaries.

"Y-ya experimented on me?!"

Enri and Nfirea winced as the child interpreted things differently. But, of

course, someone who didn't know the backstory couldn't help but think that.

For those two, it ended with a wince, but there were others who weren't

so composed. The goblins seemed to be getting pretty riled up—to the point

where one of them muttered, "Stupid brat," while he sucked his teeth.

Enri gestured for them to calm down. "Okay, that's enough." For

someone who didn't know the situation, it was a natural reaction, and they

were talking to a kid, so it was no wonder he couldn't grasp the big picture.

"If ya say so, boss lady… Shall we get moving? Something else might

smell the blood and come over here."

"We won this time, but boss lady, give us a break, okay? Our mission is to

protect ya."

"Seriously. I was surprised when ya shouted out, too!"

"I think that saved us, though, so we can't really— Hey, punk, don't be

running away! We've got a mountain of questions for ya. If ya don't want me

to cut yer legs off, come quietly."

"Unrai…"

"It's for the sake of the village, boss lady… C'mon, kid."

The goblin child trudged forward. His wounds were completely healed, so

he didn't have any trouble moving. It was his rebellious spirit slowing him

down.

Gokou, holding his bloody machete, spat on the ground.

Enri looked to Nfirea for help, but he silently shook his head. Next, she

looked at the other goblins, but she was met with steely gazes that said they

supported their comrade's actions.

"Boss lady, don't worry, I won't kill him. I just want to ask him what

happened. Besides, do ya think he'll make it if we leave him alone here?"

The question was clearly aimed more at the child than Enri. He seemed to

understand, and the resistance in his eyes vanished.

"I get it… I won't run away…"

"Okay. Then let's move quickly. Do ya know for sure if there was only

one barghest, kid?"

"No. There should have been a few ogres, too. I don't know if they came

after me or not… And don't call me 'kid.' I'm Arg, fourth son of chief of the

Geeg tribe, Ar."

"Arg, got it."

"'Kid' seems good enough to me, but…"

"We can talk later. And we don't need to fight. If he wants us to call him

Arg, then wouldn't doing that help us build some mutual trust?"

"Yer so mature, boss man. All right, let's grab our bags and go."

The party followed Kaijari's instructions. Keeping their guard up, they

walked in silence.

Enri wanted to lighten the mood with some conversation, but the forest

wasn't a world that belonged to humans. She couldn't do something so

careless when there might have been other monsters coming after them.

The group emerged from the dim forest, with its patches of deep darkness

here and there. Bathing in full sunlight banished the tension that had been

reigning over Enri's body. She felt relaxed, like there was room to breathe

again. For a moment, she keenly sensed that she was back in the human

world.

Nfirea, walking next to her, seemed to feel the same way and let out a

deep breath that could have been taken as a sigh or a yawn.

The goblins' bristling tension had also faded. Arg was the only one whose

expression was still strained. He looked confused by all the sunlight and

wide-open space, probably because he had been brought up in the forest,

where there were plenty of places to hide.

"Uh, the village is that way."

Looking in the direction she pointed, Arg frowned. "What's that wall? It

looks like…the Structure of Ruin."

"The Structure of Ruin?"

"Yeah. It's a horrible place that just got built in the woodlands. No one

who goes near it comes back alive. I heard there are undead lurking around

it."

"You seem to know quite a lot, considering no one ever comes back

alive."

"When the Structure of Ruin was still small, a brave warrior from our

tribe saw bone monsters building it."

"Have you ever heard of this place?"

"No, sorry, boss man, but I haven't. If we go too far into the woodlands,

we might run into a monster even our boss can't beat, so we can't go in very

deep."

"…Hey, so what tribe are ya three from? Yer stronger than any goblins

I've ever seen. How…?" Arg glanced at Enri. Then he said in a tiny whisper,

"I think it's a human, but…" Then he asked, "So ya work for this human?"

"Is that weird? Pretty sure it makes sense to ally with someone strong."

"Sh-she's strong?! I mean, I know there are supposedly all levels of

humans, but… Yer a girl, right? And the one hiding his face with his hair is a

boy?"

Enri blinked. What, do I look like I'm not a girl? But if the goblin wasn't

sure Nfirea was a boy, maybe he had trouble telling them apart.

Next to her, Nfirea whispered something logical. "Enri, this kid probably

hasn't seen humans before. He probably doesn't know anything about us

besides what other goblins told him. Maybe for goblins it's just harder to tell

human sexes apart?"

"But even our clothes are different…"

"But he doesn't know about that kind of stuff! Maybe men and women

goblins wear the same clothes. I mean, some goblins have advanced culture

and built countries, but he's probably not from a group like that."

I see, thought Enri, and she realized she hadn't answered Arg's question.

"Yes, I'm a girl."

"So yer a caster?"

"No, why?"

Arg looked very confused.

"I'm the caster. I'm an arcane caster."

"…Are ya guys married? Is that why?"

"Huh?" They both reacted with yelps.

"Well, I just feel like I heard about some tribes where the wife wields the

husband's authority…but yer not like that?"