Through living with the goblins, Enri had gotten better at reading people's
emotions. This growth could be attributed to her efforts to understand the
goblins, which seemed like only hideous creatures with borderline
unintelligible expressions to most humans.
She probably thinks we don't have that kind of money in the village…
Well, it seemed like the first thing she looked at was my clothes, so I guess
that's what she would think… And she's wearing nice things.
Enri mentally compared her clothes with the receptionist's and
acknowledged that she lost by a landslide.
But wearing clothes like that to do village work would be a waste; plus,
they'd get in the way.
As a woman, Enri judged this match a draw.
"Uh, I heard the city offered money, a subsidy…"
"It does, but the subsidy is only for a portion of the cost. The rest you
must cover. Adamantite-rank adventurers are extremely expensive, so even
after deducting the subsidy, you would owe quite a large sum. Of course, you
can put in a request at a lower price, but we don't encourage it. Jobs paying
less than the going rate are lower priority, so you would have to be prepared
for the possibility that it will be difficult finding someone."
The receptionist probably spoke so fluently, so fluidly, because she was
regurgitating rules she had perfectly memorized. It was likely she was already
thinking that Enri was just a bother.
I guess that's only natural. A customer who can't pay is no customer at
all…
The receptionist lady's words matched exactly what Nfirea had told her.
That's why she didn't feel too down. It was simply reality that there weren't
many people who would lend a hand to the weak for little to no reward.
That's exactly why Sir Ainz Ooal Gown is our savior. He even gave this
treasure to a village girl like it was nothing!
If she said she would pay with the horn, what sort of attitude would the
receptionist take? She imagined how gratifying it would be but did nothing of
the sort. That great caster had given her this item out of kindness and told her
to protect herself. It wasn't something she could sell just because it would be
good for the village. She couldn't let his benevolence be in vain.
So Enri nodded.
"I understand. Please at least tell me how much. I'll take the information
home and consult with the rest of the village."
"Oh? Then please do that. If you come when the broker's appraisal is
done, I'll have the fee all calculated for you."
Enri thanked the receptionist, moved away from the counter, sat on a sofa
across the lobby, and thought she would kill time until the broker assessment
was done by staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.
I'm tired…
Ever since she had passed through the gates, it had been a parade of new
experiences. No, nothing had been this bewildering since she'd lost her
parents in the attack.
Everything was always the same. I thought that way of life would go on
forever…
Remembering what she had lost, she sighed quietly.
Remembering what she had gained—the goblins, her old friend—she
shook her head back and forth.
I wish they would hurry up…
When she was moving, she didn't have time to get depressed. She could
empty her head and work hard.
"Miss Emmott, your assessment is done."
At the call of the person who must have been in charge of sales, Enri
stood and walked over.
"Th-thank you!"
"Er, the amount is—"
At that moment, she heard someone's quick steps—no, someone running
about as fast as they could—coming toward her. Enri turned her head to find
the receptionist lady standing there, panting.
"Miss—no, Lady Enri Emmott of Carne. Might I ask you for a little more
detail about what we were discussing earlier?"
It was definitely the same receptionist from before. But she was desperate.
Her eyes were bloodshot.
"U-umm, excuse me, I'm about to give her the results of her assessmen
—"
"I'm talking right now. All I need is a minute, so you can shut up."
The broker's face twitched.
"If you like, we could talk in the sitting room over a drink."
Her lips were pleasantly curled, but her eyes held no mirth at all. She was
bizarrely desperate.
What did she sense from Enri's hesitation? With wet eyes, she entwined
her fingers as if to pray. "Please! I want to hear what you have to say! I'm
screwed unless you tell me!"
Enri had no idea what this frantic plea was about, but she would have felt
bad to reject her. When she glanced back, the broker seemed to understand
what she was thinking and nodded.
"I—I see. Then will you take me there?"
That moment, the receptionist's body visibly relaxed.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! Right this way—follow me!"
Bathed in curious stares, Enri followed. The receptionist had a viselike
grip on her right hand. She was definitely not letting her get away.
Maybe I was too hasty…
Though seized by a mild anxiety, she entered the sitting room.
She looked around silently. The empty room had an extremely refined
interior furnished so magnificently she hesitated to sit on the sofa.
"Now then, go ahead, take a seat."
A voice in a corner of her mind said, I won't be taken prisoner the
moment I sit down?
But nothing happened even when she sat on the sofa. That is to say, the
comfortable sofa merely supported her body.
"What would you like to drink? I can offer you quality alcoholic
beverages! Would you like to eat? Perhaps it's too early? I suppose it is!
Then fruit…or perhaps cake?"
"Oh, you don't have to go to all that trouble."
The abrupt change in the receptionist scared Enri just a little bit. It wasn't
like she was particularly cold toward Enri when she first arrived at the
guildhall. She thought the receptionist's reaction utterly natural and didn't
feel like she'd endured any malice or derision. At least, the lady had been
more normal than she was now.
What caused this transformation? Is it because I'm carrying the horn
again?
"Now, now, don't be shy. You can have anything you like. We have
snacks that go great with our drinks."
"No, really… Uh, I don't have much time, so shall we start talking?"
"Right! Just as you say. Let's get talking!"
The receptionist took out a thin piece of white paper. The only paper Enri
had ever seen was thick with muddled colors. This paper she was just given
had to be a luxury item. Does this mean she has no issues if I use it?
Enri started talking. Earlier she'd kept it brief, but this time she went into
so much detail she bored herself.
A short time later, about when she was starting to get thirsty, her story
reached its end.
"Thank you! I'll bring you something to drink, so please enjoy the
refreshment before you go. You can leave the glass here. Thank you very
much for everything today!"
The receptionist popped out of her chair and exited the room as if
compelled.
"Really… What the heck is going on?"
There was no one around to answer Enri's murmur.
In the end, Enri returned to Carne without staying over in E-Rantel.
She had to spend the night in the meadow, but she wasn't worried. On the
contrary, she slept quite well—thanks to her friends guarding the wagon now
packed with new cargo.
"Ahh, you can finally see it."
Carne's wall came into view ahead of them. The sturdy logs lined up in a
row were a grand sight, but having just seen E-Rantel's walls, she couldn't
help but think Carne's seemed inferior in comparison.
"There's so much I need to hurry and report to the headman," Enri
answered the goblin in the cargo bed. Five goblins plus Konaa the goblin
cleric were the members of the goblin troop who had accompanied her all the
way to E-Rantel. Chousuke the goblin rider was also with them, but he was
keeping watch at a short distance.
"Ya got done half of what ya needed, but the thing the headman asked for
didn't go so well—was that it, boss lady?"
"Yes. I asked the priest in the city, but no one said they would move to
our village."
"That's weird. Some people have already moved to the village! Why
aren't there more? Could the priest or whoever be lying?"
"No." She winced. "Frontier villages are dangerous, so people tend to
avoid them. I was hoping for third sons or whatnot who ran off to the city
after not inheriting any land…but I guess there just aren't many people who
want to come out to a place like this if they're not under orders. Also, the
folks who have moved to our village so far are people who already spent time
in other frontier villages, so their situations are a little different."
"So that's just how it is?"
"That's just how it is, but personally I'm a bit relieved."
Building friendly relationships with goblins and living together alongside
them in a village was probably difficult for the average person to accept. She
knew people from the city would be against it for sure, and she wanted to
avoid trouble.
Honestly, if Enri were asked to choose whether to accept new settlers
from the city or the goblins, she'd choose the goblins.
Just then the wagon jolted, and there was some clinking and clanking
from the cargo bed.
"Ah, sorry. Is everyone all right?" Enri looked over her shoulder.
The goblins were riding in the cargo bed, but in one corner was a bag, and
every time the wagon bumped, it made metallic noises.
"Yeah, we're fine, boss lady. Don't worry about us. But hey, with this
many arrowheads, we'll be able to hunt up a storm."
The goblin's expression as he looked at the bag was cheerful. Seeing that,
Enri forgot to answer and simply smiled.
They passed through the wheat fields and entered through the one open
side of the gate.
Greeting the villagers along the way, Enri headed first to the meeting hall.
She wanted to unload her cargo.
When she pulled up next to it, a goblin came out, perhaps in response to
the noise.
"Ohh! Welcome back, boss lady! Glad to see yer all right."
Enri grinned. The goblins had become family to her, to the point where
she didn't truly feel she had returned home until they greeted her.
"I'm home!"
"And is that yer cargo? We'll put it in here if so."
"That's right, brother. Sorry, but give us a hand."
"Aye-aye!"
The goblins all sprang into action and began efficiently unloading the
wagon. The fact that the goblins were cleaning up perfectly without Enri
providing any instruction made it clear that they had completely adapted to
life in the village.
"Oh, boss lady, we'll do the rest, so why don't ya go see the boss man?
He might be busy over with Arg healing the goblins…"
"Thank you, but first I have to go report to the headman."
"Oh? Ah, sorry, guys. I'll go with her just in case. There are the ogres and
whatnot, after all."
With that, Gokou hopped into the box seat next to Enri. The goblins who
had been with her from E-Rantel eyed him jealously, but no one objected—
probably because what he said was right.
"Okay, boss lady, let's go!"
Enri smiled awkwardly. "Thanks! And I appreciate your help!" She
thanked the goblins and pulled the wagon away.
"So did anything happen while I was gone?"
"Not much. We put up a building so the ogres can live inside the village.
We had the stone golems carry the lumber. It's not fancy, but we made a
cabin for them. I wonder if we can do anything about how much they smell?
Their stench instantly permeated all the blankets we gave them!"
"Hmm… But wow, you did all that so fast."
"It was thanks to the stone golems! We'll have to thank the great caster."
"And Lupusregina, too."
"…Somehow, I just don't want to thank Lupusregina, or rather, I don't
like her…"
Enri thought she misheard. She'd never heard Gokou gossip behind
someone's back before.
"How do I put it…? She's scary. She's always watching us, like a magical
beast who could attack at any time… It seems like ya don't feel that way,
but…"
"Well, supposedly she's a maid of Ainz Ooal Gown's, so I don't think she
could be such a bad person."
"…Well, that's not very nice."
Enri and Gokou both flinched. It was the voice of the woman they had just
been talking about.
When they whirled around, there was the maid sitting very matter-
of factly in the cargo bed like she had been the other day.
"What're we gonna do with this guy, En?"
"Uh, what do you mean?"
"B-before that, I want you to tell me how ya keep appearing like that."
"Hmm? It's simple. I come out of the sky, that's all."
"I don't think so. We would notice even if ya were coming from above."
"But I got lots of tricks I can use like turning invisible… I'm just doing
my best to go unnoticed. How thoughtful of me!"
The goblin faced forward again, seemingly exasperated.
"B-but hey, it's rare that you would visit two days in a row. What
happened?"
Lupusregina squinted at Enri. Even that face is cute when such a pretty
lady makes it, she thought without really meaning to.
"Well, whatever. I was just wonderin' how things went. Like how's the
mini-goblin?"
"…He's good. I think he's probably at the headman's house at the
moment," said Gokou.
"Why at the headman's?"
"We saved a bunch of the goblins from his tribe, right? He should be there
talking about finding a place for them to live."
"Oh, right, he's the chief's son, huh? He must have some responsibility
when it comes to the survivors. Well, I gotta hand it to him—and he's just a
kid!" She guffawed in a goofy way, but the accompanying smile was
charming on a woman as beautiful as her. Enri gazed admiringly at her
despite the fact that they were both girls.
"Oops, better keep an eye on the road!"
"O-oh, you're right!"
Enri turned back around, blushing to her ears.
She stopped outside the headman's house, and she and Gokou got off the
wagon.
"Okay, I'll take the horse back to the stable for ya. Don't wanna get in
your way. Hope you'll tell me what ya guys talk about later, though!"
"Understood. I'm sorry to burden you, but thanks for taking the horse."
Lupusregina responded to Enri's bow with a "'Kay, 'kay" and drove the
wagon away.
They knocked, announced their arrival to the voice inside, and opened the
door.
Arg and the headman were sitting immediately inside, facing each other at
a table.
"Oh, welcome back. Take a seat right there. How was the city?"
Enri sat next to Arg as instructed. He seemed to tense up for a moment,
but she must have been imagining things.
"Uh, I'll be going now. Thanks for all your help, Chief."
For a moment, they didn't know who he was talking to. Enri, Gokou, and
the headman were in the room, so he should have been talking to the
headman.
But Arg was looking straight at Enri. She peered intently into his eyes but
couldn't find any hint of a joke in his sincere look.
"Wait… What?!"
Why did he say that to me?
Arg bowed and left the headman's house before Enri could figure it out.
"What?!? Wait—!"
"So, Enri, will you tell me what happened?"
"Huh? No, I mean…but…uh, yes. Okay."
It bothered her, but she could get her question answered later. Her report
was more important.
Having decided that, she gave a concise account to the headman of what
had transpired in the city. The most critical item was probably that there
hadn't been anyone wanting to move there, but it was almost as if the
headman had expected that. He didn't look disappointed at all.
"I see. Well, that makes sense. Not many people want to move to a
frontier settlement where monsters are likely to appear." He gave voice to
exactly what Enri had been thinking. Surely everyone in the village thought
the same thing.
"Thanks for going."
In response to his bow, she said, "It was no problem." There had been
various issues, but on the whole, it was a good experience.
"And then…" He looked at the goblin for a split second. "…There's
something I'd like to ask of you, Enri Emmott."
"O-okay. What might that be? You're being so formal, sir…"
"…I want you to take over my job."
Her expression warped in such a way she seemed to be pulling a face.
"Ehhhhhhh?! What does that even mean? Huh? Is that what Arg meant…?
What?!"
"I understand you're confused…"
"I'm a bit more than confused! Are you going senile, sir? Why would you
say that?"
"Senile? Now that's just cruel. You seem a bit bewildered…and I
understand that, but I want you to calm down and listen to me."
"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?! Why would you want a
village girl like me to take on such a huge responsibility?! Besides, what's
this 'chief' thing about?"
"Would you just relax?!"
He probably meant to sound commanding, but to Enri it only sounded
loud. Still, she managed to regain some composure. Perhaps a corner of her
mind had whispered to her that she wouldn't understand what he was saying
if she didn't listen.
"I know you're not following. But please listen calmly to what I have to
say. Who is the central figure in the village right now?"
"That's you, isn't it? You're the headman."
"No. I think it's safe to say that you are the center of the village at the
moment. The goblins and the new ogres all acknowledge you as their leader
as well, right?"
"That's right. We think of the boss lady as the central figure."
"And the goblins you saved, including Arg, all think of you as their chief,
too."
Enri curled her mouth into a frown. It's true that was what the goblins
thought. But what about the villagers who had been here since long before
that? There was no way they would accept this.
"I pretty much know what you're thinking. You think the villagers would
be against it, right? I already checked with everyone. Last night I held a
meeting with just the villagers to hear their opinion. The result was that
everyone agrees to recognize you as the new headwoman."
"But…why?!"
"…That's what a huge shock the attack was, Enri. Everyone wants a
strong leader."
"What's so strong about me?! I'm just a village girl!"
She had the feeling she'd put a little muscle on her arms, but she was still
nothing but a peasant who couldn't wield a weapon to save her life. If they
wanted someone strong, one of the self-defense squad members like Brita
would have been better.
"Strong doesn't necessarily mean that individual is courageous. Being
able to command goblins—isn't that another kind of strength? The Baleare
family also thinks you're fit for the job."
"Nfi!" Enri squawked like a chicken getting its neck wrung.
"Besides, I'm getting on in years. It wouldn't be so strange for me to hand
over the reins sometime soon."
"What do you mean 'getting on in years'? You're not that old! I thought
you were acting bizarrely grandfatherly—is this what that was about?"
It seemed a bit too early to declare someone in their midforties a senior
citizen. Some would even call it the prime of their lives.
"Setting aside whether I seem grandfatherly or not, the village is
changing. Now that the Wise King of the Forest is gone, there's a higher
likelihood that monsters will come out of the woods. At times like that, my
making decisions based on our experience when times were safer won't cut
it."
"Sir, I realize this is a rude thing to ask, but aren't you just running
away?"
"…I'll be honest. I can't deny that."
The eyes that met Enri's gaze were those of a man baring his heart.
"I still think about that horrific day, when villagers who were like family
to me were killed… I knew your parents well. If we hadn't been living idly
but had built a sturdy wall like we have now, if we had been more on guard,
maybe things wouldn't have ended so badly… Maybe we could have bought
the time until Sir Gown arrived to save us."
Enri felt it would have still been difficult. Survivors who moved to Carne
originally came from other villages that the knights had razed. It was possible
the walls surrounding their homes hadn't been as solid as the one protecting
Carne now, but regardless, they had still been attacked and slaughtered. Even
so, she did agree that if they could have bought even a little bit of time, they
could have saved more lives.
"The old way of thinking is no good. We need to create a new system and
keep this village safe with our own hands. The only ones who can do that
are…the open-minded young people. And of them, it has to be someone with
power."
The headman finished saying his piece. He gazed at Enri with a gentle
expression.
Enri mulled over his words and gave it serious thought. The reason she
refused at first was because the responsibility was so great. She couldn't be
responsible for the villagers' lives if they were attacked again. But isn't that
just running away, like what I accused him of doing earlier?
"I don't know if I can do such a big job."
"That's only natural. You'll have me to assist with administrative duties
and the goblins supporting you for security issues, but it's still terrifying to be
the one making the final decision."
"What about a system of representation where all the villagers
participate?"
"I did consider that, but opinions tend to diverge more sharply the more
important an issue is. We'd end up getting nowhere. I really do think that if
we don't have someone leading the way, we won't even be able to come to a
consensus on things we already agree on."
"What if we had one system for peaceful times and one system for
emergencies?"
"That won't work. We can't cultivate leaders that way. It's precisely
because you show leadership during times of peace that you can put people to
work efficiently during emergencies—they acknowledge your authority."
The headman's conviction was strong, and his argument was sound.
With a distressed look on her face, Enri asked the only question she had
left. "…When should I let you know by?"
"I won't say you have to tell me now. Take your time and think it over."
"Yes, sir."
With that, Enri stood from her seat.
As they left the headman's house, Enri turned around to look at Gokou.
"Hey, I want to think things over for a bit, so do you mind giving me some
time to myself?"
"Ya got it, boss lady. Take yer time. We're on yer side, ya know. Please
tell us if ya ever need anything."
"Yes, I will. Thanks."
After watching Gokou go, she headed for her own house.
Can I do the headman's job?
Personally, she felt it was out of the question.
It was possible a time would come when she would have to give
unimaginable orders, like sacrificing a minority to save the majority.
I wouldn't be able to do that…
The villagers all think too highly of me. For starters, everyone valued her
for the goblins, but it wasn't as if she had negotiated to get them on the
village's side. They just came out of the horn given to her by the great caster
Ainz Ooal Gown.
And the item came only after the good fortune of being saved…
Wait. I did get saved first, right? Sir Gown was wearing a mask and he…
hmm? He was wearing a mask, right?
She suddenly felt like her memory of those events was fuzzy, but it was
probably because the whole situation was so extreme and chaotic.
She shook her head and cleared her mind of those doubts.
Anyhow…
If someone else had received the horn, the proposal of being the next head
of the village would have gone to that person, not her. In other words, it had
nothing to do with Enri's ability; the wheel of fortune simply spun in her
favor.
I should talk to someone…
The first person she thought of was Nfirea. She had the feeling that since
he used to live in the big city and had met lots of different kinds of people, he
would be able to tell if she was right for the position or not. Plus, he knew a
lot of things. She could probably get a precise answer from him.
But the headman had told her that the Baleare family—which included
Nfirea—was in favor. So there was a good chance that if she asked him, he
would simply tell her she should be headwoman.
This is no good… I can't ask anyone from the village. That would mean
Arg or the ogres, but Arg was calling me chief so he's out, and the ogres
don't seem too smart…
As Enri was furrowing her brow, a bright voice called out to her. "Yo.
Looks like you're done talkin'. Hmm? What a serious face. Something
botherin' ya?"
The voice hit her like a bolt of lightning. Right. Someone from outside the
village. Here was a neutral third party who could calmly assess the situation.
Enri ran over to Lupusregina at full speed. "Lupusregina!" She clutched
the surprised woman's shoulders.
"What? What? What's wrong?! I got butterflies in my stomach, but spare
me the confession. I'm not into girls! Ahh, stop! Don't rape me!"
"Wh-whoa, hold on!" Enri released her shoulders and tried to cover her
mouth.
Lupusregina nimbly dodged her and grinned. "Nah, sorry. Anyhow, it
seems you're a little riled up, so maybe just calm down a bit. I was only
jokin'."
"That's a horrible joke…"
Enri's shoulders slumped. But she recovered immediately. Lupusregina
usually disappeared as suddenly as she appeared, so if Enri didn't ask her
now, the maid might be gone before another chance came. "Please listen and
tell me what I should do!"
"I dunno what this is about, but it'd be great if you could tell me while we
walk. I don't want the villagers givin' us weird looks."
Enri blushed. Lupusregina had a point. But… "Then don't scream about
rape…"
"Tee-hee!" Lupusregina made a cute face with her tongue sticking out.
"Arrrgh, Lupusregina!"
"Okay, okay, let's go. Let's go!"
Without waiting for a reply, Lupusregina set off, and Enri followed her.
"Now, now, tell big sister Lupusregina what's on your mind. I can teach
ya everything from sex tips to how to trick boys!"
"Really? You're so mature…"
To Enri, who had no experience in such matters, Lupusregina seemed
extremely experienced. Although nothing had changed, the maid suddenly
appeared more grown-up.
"Eh-heh! I may not look it, but I've been around, ya know."
"Huh?"
Been around? As she wondered what that could mean, Lupusregina
gestured at her to bring on the questions. For the time being, she set aside the
ones that didn't matter and told her about what happened at the headman's
house.
"So what should I do?"
"Huh? Like I know!"
That was all she said.
"What? But, Lupusregina, you said I could talk to you."
"Sure, but that didn't mean I would give ya a proper reply… Well, listen.
First, if you only take the job because someone is pushin' ya, you'll regret it,
so definitely don't do that. You should keep thinking till ya have an answer
that makes sense."
Lupusregina's usual innocence had faded, giving way to alluring beauty.
Normally her eyes were round, but now they tapered thin. Her faint smile
gave Enri shivers.
"That's just my opinion—I won't tell ya what to do. Break it down in
your own head. One thing we can say is that no matter who becomes
headman, they'll make a lot of mistakes. As far as I know, there's only about
forty-one people who can do everything perfectly. So it's stupid to worry
about failure. And if ya take a step back and really think about it, no one in
this village is more fit for the job than you."
"Why do you think that?"
"Go ask the goblins what they'll do if a monster they deem unbeatable
attacks the village—both if you're the headwoman and if you're not."
Lupusregina quietly changed back to her normal cheerful expression.
"Well, that was no fun! Agh, I'm not into this scenario. Mannn. It'd be
more fun if instead of you bein' headwoman, the village got hit by a big, fat
tragedy!"
"What?"
"Heh-heh." Lupusregina patted Enri on the shoulder. "I think you should
be headwoman. As for everything else…you should ask the boy over
there…" As she took her hand off Enri's shoulder, she twirled around once. It
was a light movement, as if friction didn't affect her. "Later, then!"
Lupusregina walked away while waving. Nfirea and Nemu were standing
in that direction holding hands. She patted Nfirea on the shoulder. As if that
had poured energy into them, the pair started to move.
"Welcome back, Enri!" Nemu must have been incredibly anxious,
because she raced toward her at full speed.
For a moment, Enri worried she would be bowled over, but she managed
to avoid it by bringing out all the strength in her leg muscles.
"You're back sooner than I expected, Enri. You didn't stay the night?"
"Hi to both of you. No, I didn't. I camped on the way back."
"Hmm… I'm glad you didn't get attacked by monsters. I can't really
support that choice, though. The goblins may be strong, but there are stronger
monsters out there. We live on the plains, so you don't get too many out here,
but still."
"Enri, don't do anything dangerous!" Nemu grabbed her shirt as if to say
she would never let her go again.
Enri was the only living family her little sister had left. My life doesn't
belong to only me. It seemed like she had briefly forgotten that.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."
Enri gently petted Nemu's head.
"Okay! I forgive you!" Nemu looked up at her and smiled.
"Thanks. Were you a good girl while I was gone? You didn't make too
much trouble for Nfi, did you?"
"Aw, c'mon, sis! I'm not a baby anymore! Right, Nfi?"
"Ah-ha-ha. I had to take care of the members of Arg's tribe, so I couldn't
watch her the whole time, but I think she was good!"
"Agh, you're treating me like a kid, too, Nfi? Anyway, more importantly,
Enri, Nfi stinks!"
"Nemu! It's the smell of herbs, isn't it? Didn't you say your hands
smelled after you crushed them?"
"Is the smell that makes your eyes sting from the herbs?"
"…Well, there are other things, too, like alchemical items I use as an
apothecary. But, Nemu, don't make it sound like I smell bad…"
"But you do!"
His face froze.
"Well, it's just that the odor clings to your clothes. I think you'd be fine if
you changed out of your work clothes…" Enri hurried to explain what Nemu
meant, and Nfirea's face softened a bit.
"I don't really have other clothes… In E-Rantel, I pretty much just wore
this."
"Then should I make you some?"
"Huh? You can make clothes?"
"What do you take me for, Nfi? Of course I can make simple clothes."
"Oh. I've always bought mine so it seems amazing that you can just make
your own."
"Well, thanks, but anyone in the village… Nemu, we should start
practicing."
"Okayyy!"
"All right. Will you go on home ahead of me? I want to talk to Nfi about
something."
Nemu put a hand to her mouth, and her eyes sparkled. "Okay! Got it! I'll
go home now! Good luck, Nfi!" She dashed excitedly toward the house with
a wave.
"She sure listened well. I wonder if she's hiding something," Enri
murmured as she watched Nemu go.
"Nah, I doubt it… More importantly! What did you want to talk about? Of
course, I have an idea, since I participated in the village meeting
yesterday…"
"Then this will be quick." Enri skipped needless explanation and told him
what had happened at the headman's house.
But not only that. She told him about her worries and what Lupusregina
had said—everything.
After listening to the end, Nfirea looked her square in the eye and said,
"You should do what you think is best; I'll support you either way…is the
kind of canned reply I don't want to give. I want you to do it."
"Why? I'm—"
"You're not just a village girl. You're Enri Emmott, leader of the goblins.
You're thinking that the goblins aren't your power. But in the end, they are.
I'll answer the question Lupusregina told you to ask the goblins. In an
emergency, if you're not the headwoman, they'll carry you off and escape
before their fighting power is too depleted."
"They wouldn't do that!"
"…They'll say that while you're safe, but if the time came, they would.
They told me so."
"No way…"
Enri stared at Nfirea in disbelief. She thought he had to be lying, but she
couldn't detect so much as a hint of exaggeration.
"The most important thing to them isn't the village but you. But if you're
the headwoman, then the village belongs to you, so they'll stay here and fight
as long as they can. That's the only thing that changes, but it does make a
difference. By the way, they told me to take your sister and follow them in
case that did happen. Enri…you can confirm with them if you want, but don't
tell them you heard anything from me."
"I'm not going to ask them," she declared.
Nfirea parted his bangs and looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you sure?
There's always the possibility that I'm ly—"
"No, there isn't. You wouldn't lie to me. I believe you. But I guess that's
just how important a summoner is, huh?"
"I think it must be partly because it's you. You buy weapons for them and
stuff, right? Seems only natural that they would place the highest importance
on such a kind master. This isn't the nicest way to put it, but the villagers
never gave the goblins anything—they think of them as monsters you
summoned. It's only natural to pick the person who sees them as individuals
over the people who don't, right?"
Of course, the villagers didn't necessarily think of them that way, but
when she thought back, she had never seen any of them showing their
gratitude in a concrete way.
"…But sometimes the villagers treat them to lunch."
"That's a thank-you to you. They're just saying, 'We'll handle the lunch
cost and prep time.' Have you ever seen any of the villagers call a goblin by
their name?"
She hadn't. She thought it was because they just couldn't tell them apart,
but maybe they never even felt like trying.
When she thought that, an indescribable loneliness came over her.
"Oh…"
But the forlorn feeling wasn't the only thing in her voice. There was a
determined gleam in her eyes, like she had made up her mind.
"Yeah… Personally, I think you'd be a great headwoman. And if you
become headwoman, the goblins' situation will change pretty quickly."
"…You'll all help me, right?"
"Of course. It's more like there's no one who wouldn't help you!"
"Okay. Then I'm going to pay the headman a visit. When you've made up
your mind, it's better to act right away!"
Nfirea laughed at her declaration. It was a soft, bubbly laugh that showed
he understood that she wanted encouragement.
"Okay! Get going, Enri!"
She turned on her heel with an "Mm-hmm" and took a step down the path
to being the new head of Carne.
Watching the village intently from the sky, Lupusregina saw people
clustering in the square. Enri went out in front of everyone and said
something, but it was nearly impossible at this distance to pick up her voice.
Perhaps she had finished talking—the villagers began to clap.
"Ha-haaa. So that's how it turned out. She did it. This is great. Ee-heehee-hee-hee-hee!"
"—What are you having so much fun with?"
Lupusregina turned just her head to face the voice behind her. "Oh, if it
isn't Yuri. Are you flying with a magic item?"
"Yes, by the power of a magic item Lord Ainz lent me. What's so…? This
is Carne. You got scolded over it, right?"
"That's right. But things just got really interestin'."
"What things?"
"There's a new leader in the village now… For the humans here, that
means new history, a potential for new beginnings. But imagine the looks on
their faces if, just at their grandest moment, the village got attacked and
everything burned up!"
A crack appeared in her beauty, and anyone who saw it would have said
that something evil or horrible was flowing from it.
"I thought you were getting along with the villagers…"
"Yeah, we get along. I just get so excited when I think about all my
human pals getting crushed like bugs."
"So you're a total sadist, hmm? Right up there with Solution. Why are
you all like that? Shizu is the only saving grace—honestly. Although Entoma
isn't so bad, either…"
Lupusregina laughed at her leader's complaints and said, "Oh, village,
won't you fall for me?"
4
"Urrrgh, I'm so tired."
Enri tossed the little chalkboard she was holding onto the table and
flopped over. Hearing some quiet laughter, she turned just her head to see her
teacher, Nfirea, smiling at her as she had guessed.
"Nice work, Enri."
"I did work—so hard! I'm not good at using my head…"
"But you have to be able to do simple reading, writing, and arithmetic."
Enri groaned.
She'd been told there were minimum education requirements for
becoming headwoman, so she was getting private lessons from Nfirea, but
her head felt like it was going to burst.
"Why are there so many letters? Someone came up with this system just
to torture meeee…"
"Don't say that. You can write your name now, right? And Nemu's?"
"Yeah, I'm a little happy about that… I don't suppose that much is good
enough, is it?"
"Sorry! Unfortunately, you're still at the most basic of basics. I mean, it's
only been five days since you started studying, so we haven't gotten to any of
the important stuff yet."
Enri looked like someone who couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"Ohh, don't make that face. Once you get the simple stuff down, it's just
application. So this actually is pretty important, yeah."
"…Wahh."
"You do seem tired, though. Shall we call it quits for today?"
Enri stood as if she'd been waiting for the word. "Yes! Got an early day
tomorrow! Good thinking, Nfi!"
With a wry grin, Nfirea erased the squiggly worm letters off the
chalkboard. "Okay, have a nice rest. We'll start studying at the same time
tomorrow."
"I'm really happy that you're willing to take time away from
experimenting to help me, but I can't do anything to thank you…"
"Yes, yes. That's how it goes. Someone once told me that the teachers
hated by their students are better than the ones who get thanked."
"That's a lie! That's definitely a lie!"
"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Okay, I need to get going. Good night, Enri."
"Okay, good night, Nfi. You should go home and sleep, not experiment."
Acknowledging her remark with a smile, he left through the front door.
After watching his magic light recede for a little while, she went back inside,
and the dark house suddenly felt terribly lonely.
"Ahh, I'm tired."
She sluggishly took off her clothes and got into bed. They had been pretty
noisy, but next to her, her sister was making adorable snoozing noises. Enri
closed her eyes in peace.
She was sure she would fall asleep right away because she had worked her
brain so hard, and she was right. Perhaps only a few seconds after she closed
her eyes, she was out.
How long had it been since she had fallen asleep? Some far-off noise
awakened her from her light sleep.
Three knocks. Then a little while later, another three knocks.
When she realized what that pattern meant, her eyes popped open in the
darkness. Her extraordinarily lucid brain recognized that she was in her own
house, and she jumped up. Her sister jumped up at the same time.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
She sounded scared but not to the point where she couldn't function.
"Get ready now!"
"Okay!"
Turning on the light would be a waste of time, so they simply started
preparing to run.
As the ringing of the bell came to them on the wind, they got their things
together in an extremely short amount of time—the result of practicing over
and over, as well as a product of the fear that had stuck with them from the
previous attack. Probably Arg's story planted the possibility in their minds,
too.
"Nemu! You run straight to the meeting hall! I'll be there as soon as I
finish my duties!"
Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed her sister's hand and flew out the
door of their house.
The bell still making a racket signaled an emergency. It meant that
attackers had been spotted.
She couldn't completely abandon the hope that this was just another drill,
but the agitation in the air denied it. It was the same atmosphere as when the
knights had attacked.
When they neared the meeting hall, Enri gave Nemu a push. "Now go!"
Nemu made a small reply without turning around and ran as fast as she
could.
Enri felt the urge to go after her, to at least see that she made it into the
hall safely.
But at the meeting several days ago, she had become headwoman, so she
had to act with the entire village in mind now.
She wished this would have happened before she'd assumed the position
or long after…
"It's almost like some evil god is watching us." Her inner thoughts spilled
out. This really was the worst timing.
"Boss lady!" A goblin ran toward her.
"What is it? What happened?"
"We spotted some monsters on the edge of the forest. They might attack
the village."
"Understood. I'll follow you!"
Led by the goblin, Enri raced toward the main gate. Just behind it was the
fence they set up only at night, and Enri saw that the goblins were all present.
Equipped with the new weapons and gear she'd bought for them, they looked
stalwart—like true veteran warriors.
As they approached, Enri could tell by the stench on the wind that the
ogres were there, too. They had their brand-new, brutal-looking clubs firmly
in hand.
At about the same time Enri arrived, the self-defense squad members,
along with Brita and Nfirea, all gathered from around the village. Arg and
two of the goblins from his village who had managed to make a
psychological recovery came, too.
"Is this everyone? How about Lizzy? Is she coming later?"
Nfirea's grandmother Lizzy was a fairly powerful caster. It wouldn't have
been at all strange to have her help defend the main gate.
"No, she's not coming. I had her go to the meeting hall. That place is
important, too."
The villagers nodded with conviction. Their families were gathered in the
meeting hall. They needed to fortify those defenses, as well.
"I had members who aren't great with bows go there. If you have any
available hands, I'd like some of you to go as well, just to be safe, but what
do you think?"
"That's not happening." Jugemu shot down Brita's request with zero
hesitation.
The villagers who lived with the goblins knew there was no malice in his
reply. Enri swallowed tensely and the goblin leader continued.
"There are a lot of monsters. Not only ogres, but lots of different kinds.
It's too dangerous to split up the force."
"We don't have an accurate count?"
"Brita, they're in the woods, so we don't have an accurate count. Keeping
that in mind…our current count is at seven ogres, a few giant snakes, a
couple wargs, creatures that resemble barghests, and something huge at the
rear…"
"Wargs, snakes, and ogres working together? Is there a druid behind
them?"
A warg was a magical beast that for all appearances looked like an upsize
wolf. They were smarter than wolves, and encountering one in the woods
meant a bad time.
"There's a good chance. If they have a caster, this'll get tricky—they'll
have a ranged attack method, too. Should we commit our full force? If so, I'll
go call Grandma."
"I'm…not sure that's a good idea, boss man. The meeting hall is the
sturdiest building in the village. It was made that way so people could hole up
in there if it came to it—it's the village's citadel, so to speak. It's far better if
we have someone there to protect it."
"…So we might have to retreat? Where should I position myself?"
"Lead the self-defense squad, Brita. I want ya to explain my orders to
them in an easy-to-understand way and take other actions as appropriate."
"So we'll be the second line of defense against the invaders? First will be
the archers, and then we'll be behind the barricade not really aiming but just
thrusting our spears?"
"Yeah, do that. But wargs and barghests are quick. If we leave them be,
they'll cause a lot of damage, so aim for them first. And if there's a druid, can
ya all pull back?"
"I have no objections, but will you have enough manpower if the selfdefense squad withdraws?"
"…If we're lucky, it'll work out somehow."
"I see… I'll make sure everyone is ready. Can you prioritize taking out
the druids or whatever has a ranged attack so we don't get hit in the rear?
Man, I used to be an adventurer, but I don't think I've ever seen villagers this
brave… Well, I've been thinking that ever since I came here and saw them
doing archery drills…"
"It's because they were attacked once… They hated how powerless they
were." Enri had been listening in silence, but now she chimed in to speak for
all the members of the self-defense squad.
And in reality, no one ran away, even if they were pale in the face. They
had to make a stand. They had to defend their village. Most importantly, their
loved ones were behind them.
"By the way, do we think that, since there are so many of them, it might
be some creature who can muster a force, like the Giant of the East or the
Magical Serpent of the West?"
"We can't say for sure that it's not." Jugemu answered Brita's question in
a low voice.
If that was the case, then it was possible that it was Arg and his tribe who
drew in the monsters. Maybe that's why he had answered so quietly—so the
self-defense squad didn't get upset at Arg and his tribe.
They had already told the villagers that the Giant of the East and the
Magical Serpent of the West existed and that those two were each as strong
as the Wise King of the Forest.
They only saw it once the Dark Warrior had captured it, but the
immensely powerful magical beast made quite an impression on the villagers.
If they thought they might have to confront a monster equally strong, against
which they had no chance of winning, they might get frightened.
"The Magical Serpent of the West uses some kind of magic, right? That
could be hairy," Brita grumbled and Nfirea agreed with her.
"Monsters have less than ten kinds of magic they can use racially, but it
can get tricky when you're dealing with the type that can acquire spells,
because of how diverse their repertoire gets. There might be something they
can use to get over the wall…"
"I'm glad you and the goblins can use magic, but when the enemy can, it
feels like they're cheating," Enri whined and the villagers winced.
"…Don't tell Sir Gown I said that."
At that, many of the villagers cracked a smile.
Maybe they're a little calmer now, thought Enri. Too relaxed was no
good, but being too nervous would prevent them from fighting with their
usual strength. The current atmosphere seemed just right.
"Don't worry, guys. All ya have to do is shoot yer bows from the rear.
We'll be the front line."
The goblins had trained the self-defense squad with that purpose in mind,
so that was the most appropriate position for them.
It was extremely difficult for such a small village to procure enough
swords and shields for everyone, so they didn't have enough gear to properly
equip the self-defense squad for fighting on the front line. In the first place,
they may have been called the self-defense squad, but they were still just
volunteers from the village. Their members had some degree of muscle from
their habitual use of hoes and spades, but that didn't make them skilled with a
weapon. Only people with ludicrous potential could become strong enough to
defeat monsters while training only during their spare time between farming
tasks.
Having concluded for the above reasons that they couldn't train the
villagers up to the level necessary to fight on the front line, the goblins taught
them how to use bows and arrows so they could act as the rear guard.
Although their skills had improved and they could hit a target with decent
accuracy, they didn't have the strength to draw powerful bows that conveyed
superior penetrating ability, so they probably wouldn't be able to deal
damage to monsters with thick hides. Still, if they were lucky, an arrow from
a volley might strike a weak point.
"All right, line up so that ya can aim for the area right on the other side of
the gate, just like we practiced. Arg, yer guys' job starts after the gate gets
broken down. We'll have ya line up with the self-defense squad members and
use spears. Consider anything Brita says an order from the boss lady herself
and obey!"
"Okay! Leave it to me!"
"That's the spirit. No running away, ya hear me? Fight for yer life!"
"Of course! I owe her my life! I don't even mind taking the farthest
position out front with the ogres!"
"Stupid kid! If we left it all to ya, the enemy would break through right
away! Save the heroics for when yer stronger!"
Getting snapped at by Jugemu seemed to frustrate Arg, but the selfdefense squad comforted him.
Enri was relieved—first, that the villagers didn't think Arg drew the
monsters, and second, that they seemed to be accepting him and the others in
his tribe.
They were the most recent outsiders to come to the village. They weren't
treated cruelly or avoided, but neither had the wall between them completely
disappeared. But seeing them like this, it seemed like in the near future—
perhaps once they got through this battle together—there would be no chasm
between them. Ironically, combat was the best way to strengthen their bonds.
It was precisely because Arg felt that wall directly that his passion to fight
was so strong. He was aiming to improve his group's standing by
contributing to the village. Even in human society, the ones who took
initiative and shed blood were respected. Considering that the position in that
society of all their tribe mates hinged on their performance in this battle, the
determination of Arg and his comrades was understandable.
"Nfi, I have a favor to ask you." Enri moved next to him and whispered in
his ear.
"Ooh—er, could you back up a bit for a second? Mm-hmm, okay. Got it.
In that case… There's something I want your group to do, Arg. I'm going to
give you these alchemical items, so I want you to put them to good use."
Nfirea opened his bag and showed them a bunch of bottles and paper
packages.
"Throw them at the enemy. You won't be able to hit them from too far
away, so it'll only be useful in medium-range combat, but… Can you do
that?"
"Leave it to us! We got this!"
As if he had been waiting for Arg to take the bag, the voice of a goblin in
the watchtower sounded. "Those guys out there are on the move! No doubt
about it. They're headed for the village!"
If they strained their ears, they could hear the savage growls of various
monsters on the wind.
"Okay, self-defense squad, get ready! Be careful, boss lady! You, too,
boss man!"
"Yep! Got it. Please don't let anyone die!"
"You can count on me! Let's go, Enri."
Enri ran off with Nfirea as an escort. They were going to make a round of
all the houses to make sure there were no villagers who hadn't been warned
about the situation.
After seeing off Enri, the goblins transitioned into battle mode.
"First, self-defense squad members, ple— Get into position. Make sure
the enemy is in range!"
Naturally, they couldn't aim directly through the wall at the monsters on
the other side. To hit a target they couldn't see would require an indirect shot,
but these novices couldn't manage something so complicated. It would have
taken too long to train them to that level, so the goblin instructors decided to
have them specialize in one thing—mastering a sense for how to land arrows
right on the other side of the gate. In other words, the goblins had the
volunteers practice figuring out how much strength to use at a specific angle
to draw their bows in a way that would drop arrows in the correct spot. It was
an exercise that wouldn't be useful anywhere but that one location, but it was
probably fairly efficient training, since it allowed them to conduct one-sided
attacks if they could expect enemies to come to break down the gate.
The cries of the monsters drew nearer, and a booming shock echoed
through the gate. The adjacent walls vibrated.
"Okay! Targets are in range! Suppress them!"
"Loose!"
In response to Jugemu's shout, two goblin archers up in the watchtower—
Shuuringan and Guurindai—began loosing their shots. As long as they had a
clear shot, the goblins with "archer" in their name wouldn't miss. Screams of
pain went up from the other side of the gate.
The self-defense squad, engulfed in the virtually rumbling combat
atmosphere, trembled in fear and anxiety.
Then Jugemu shouted, "Self-defense squad members shouldn't be loosing
their arrows yet! Bows down till I give the order!"
The reason they weren't attacking even though enemies were in the range
they had practiced for could be understood by anyone who saw the
watchtower in the next instant.
Someone was lobbing rocks at it from over the wall. Each one was larger
than a human head.
Most of them missed, but bad luck had it that one did hit, and the whole
tower swayed.
"We've got stone lobbers! They seem to have more shots!"
"Each one has about three stones, so we can expect around twenty-one—
Whoa!"
Another stone connected and broke a plank in the upper part of the
watchtower.
If the self-defense squad attacked, the stones would probably go flying at
them, too. Granted, the chance of receiving a direct hit was extremely slim,
since they were in a position that shielded them from the enemy's line of
sight. But if they were unlucky, one impact would definitely be enough to kill
any one of them. Even a stone retaining its momentum and rolling through
their lines could cause serious injuries.
The battle looked like it would be a long one. Choosing not to have the
self-defense squad fight was the safe, conservative strategy, but it was also a
sign of Jugemu's determination to not let anyone die.
"You thought if you threw stones we'd get scared and stop shooting? You
thought wrong!" Guurindai shouted and bravely aimed his bow again amid
the flying stones. All the self-defense squad members' eyes were pinned on
him as he fearlessly retaliated despite the serious risk of injury he faced.
But Jugemu wasn't watching that. He scanned the battlefield and spotted a
new enemy. "Kyuumei! Get the snake that's climbin' up the left-hand wall!
You can take him on yer own, right?"
"No problem, Leader. Leave it to me!"
Kyuumei, who had been on standby in the rear, raced on his wolf over to
where the snake was now visible coming over the wall.
"Fifteen! Sixteen! Hang in there a little longer, you two!" shouted
Jugemu.
They didn't even need to be told. The prowess of the pair of archers
standing in the now-leaning watchtower remained as sharp as ever. If they
had abandoned the tower, the position would have crumbled sooner, but their
hard work drew the lobbed stones in its direction, rendering them pointless.
When Jugemu looked left, Kyuumei was prevailing in his fight with the
snake.
Once the half-destroyed watchtower began leaning so badly that
Shuuringan and Guurindai couldn't hold out any longer, they jumped down.
The pair didn't stop on impact but rolled across the ground.
"Self-defense squad, prepare to loose!"
The squad raised their bows.
"Deep breaths! In! Out! In! Draw!"
The same shouts as usual gave the self-defense squad the illusion, for just
a moment, that this was a drill. They could forget the screaming creaks of the
wood and move almost identically to the way they did during practice.
"Loose!"
Fourteen arrows flew neatly through the air, curving in identical arcs.
They disappeared over the wall, and the screams of monsters could be heard.
Arg whispered an impressed "Amazing," but Jugemu didn't have time to
pay attention to him.
"Prepare yer second shot! Don't rush! Deep breaths! In! Out! In! Draw!"
Shuuringan and Guurindai, who had received healing magic, lined up
alongside the self-defense squad.
"Loose!"
Another fourteen arrows flew. And two more a beat later. A howl of rage
went up again, and the shrieking of the gate grew even louder. It seemed the
enemies' anger and pain were being converted into power.
"Fall back! Change gear!"
All at once the self-defense squad moved behind the fence located inside
the main gate. The sturdy barrier would block the path of anyone who
penetrated the first defense. It was set up in an L shape, and it funneled the
enemies straight toward the waiting ogres and the goblins under Jugemu. For
the invaders, it was after they broke through the gate that things would
become truly deadly.
"Any casters should get out of the direct line of fire!"
"Leader!"
"What is it, Arg?"
"In the items from boss man, there's an adhesive. Where should I spread
it?"
"Won't it get sucked up by the dirt?!"
"He said it will but that ya can just assume it'll last for a short amount of
time!"
"I see. Then find an opening to throw it at the base of the blocked gate!"
Arg took his tribe mates and moved out with a curt "Understood." As they
prepared, the rider returned from defeating the snake. The cleric rushed over
and healed his wounds.
With a ker-blam, one side of the gate burst open. The first to surge in were
the enemy ogres.
"Heh-heh, ya brainless morons." Jugemu sneered. Ya made a big mistake.
The way that only one door broke was actually part of the village's plan.
If one side broke, the enemy would probably just charge in rather than try to
break the other side, especially if they were being shot at. But the opening
was narrow, so they couldn't all enter at once, leaving quite a few stuck with
nowhere to go. Meanwhile the village had soldiers stationed along the L
fence and could attack all at once.
"Stay hi to our deadly battle formation!"
The ally ogres had an advantage in their fistfights with the enemy ogres
due to their slightly better gear, and the self-defense squad supported them
with spears. Volleys from the archers and the mage, as well as alchemical
items from Arg, flew toward the ogres who were trying to break down the
inner fence. Other beasts were looking for gaps to jump into the fray, but the
goblins held them at bay.
The villagers had a definite advantage. The riders were on reserve in the
rear. If the enemy didn't have any casters, victory was certain. But then—
"What's that?!" There was dread in Jugemu's stifled shout. "Is that a
troll?"
A giant, clearly different from an ogre but just as big, was approaching
with peculiar, awkward movements. In its hands it clutched a huge sword
with a strange aura about it.
Did the slimy liquid running from the groove down the center of the blade
to its edge have magical power?
"Is this their boss…? Could it be…the Giant of the East?"
Once it crossed his mind, it made sense. Its tough flesh was trained like
steel, and while it resembled trolls Jugemu had seen, it also looked like
something completely different. He could understand how it would be on par
with the magical beast he'd once seen.
Even one troll was formidable enough that they would have to throw
everyone they had at it. How hard of a fight would they have against a
monster that seemed even stronger?
"Then…"
Jugemu wondered what to do.
They had no chance of winning. The best move would be to protect Enri
and run. She would be completely opposed to it, but they would have to use
force if it came down to that.
"…No, that's not our best move. It's our worst move and our last resort,"
he spat. "…Men, we're going to die. Abandon any comfy ideas like falling
back. We're going to sear our bravery into the eyes of everyone here!"
A battle cry full of the goblins' fighting spirit went up, and for a moment,
the enemies in the area seemed overwhelmed and froze.
"Let's go! Show them yer power as one of boss lady Enri's followers!"
Enri breathed a sigh of relief; she and Nfirea had been around the village
once but found no one. Just then she could make out the sound of something
breaking from the direction of the main gate. Then she heard a chorus of
screams and a heavy bass sound that made her guts vibrate.
The monsters must have broken down the gate. The battle must have
started. Enri swallowed the bile that threatened to come up. A bitter taste
spread from her throat through her mouth, but she ignored it and looked at
Nfirea.
"Nfi. We should be at the gate, too."
"I understand, but don't you think it would be better for you to go reassure
the people in the meeting hall?" His words contained the nuance so you won't
be in the way.
Enri had trained with a bow, but at the point the gate was broken down,
they should have already transitioned to fighting with spears. Even if she
went now, there honestly wasn't much she could do.
"I can't do that. I was chosen as headwoman because I can command the
goblins, because I'm powerful. It's probably the right move to withdraw, but
at least this time, I just can't."
She had to show them, at least once, that she could fight out in front.
Perhaps acknowledging the strength in her eyes, Nfirea parted his bangs
to reveal a serious expression and agreed. "Yeah, you're right. Got it. I'll
protect you."
At the sight of the brave, earnest look on his face, not at all characteristic
of her longtime friend, Enri felt her heart do something unfamiliar.
"Hmm? What is it, Enri? I may not be as magnificent as Sir Gown, but I
won't die before you."
"…Don't say 'die.'"
"Oh, sorry… Umm…umm…"
Recognizing his usual inability to come up with something to say, Enri
smiled.
"Let's go, Nfi!"
"Oh, uh, yeah! Let's. We don't have time to stand around talking."
The two of them took off running for the main gate. They had come all
the way to the back gate, so even if they sprinted at full speed, it would still
take some time to get there. If they arrived out of breath, they wouldn't be
able to fight right away and would only be in the way in a clash, so they
moved at a pace that saved a bit of energy.
But they ended up running for only a few seconds.
An awful noise froze them in their tracks.
When they turned around, something was partially visible at the top of the
back gate.
The shapes were huge, and strange, and so unlike what a human's looked
like that, for a moment, Enri and Nfirea couldn't figure out what they were
staring at, but they were fingers. A hand had grabbed the top of the thirteenfoot gate.
Shocked like they'd been punched in the head, the pair scrambled into the
shadow of a house.
"What is that thing? A giant?"
"I don't know! B—" Without finishing, Nfirea gasped, mouth agape.
Enri quickly looked to the back gate and made exactly the same
expression.
Something was slowly climbing over, and there was no way it was
human.
"That's not a troll, is it?"
At Nfirea's breathless question, Enri took a hard look at the monster.
"That?"
"It's the first time I'm seeing one, but it looks just like the stories I've
heard. If it's really a troll, we're in trouble… Adventurers have to be at least
gold rank to fight them. Honestly, it might be tough for Jugemu and the
goblins."
So it was stronger than the strongest person in the village. Enri felt all the
blood drain out of her face.
The troll began looking around the area, snorting.
Enri was pulled farther into the shadows. Then a hand went over her
mouth, and she heard a low voice whispering in her ear.
"Enri, trolls have good noses. Right now, we're downwind, so I think
we're fine, but it's too soon to relax. We should try to get away from here…
and meet up with the goblins."
Enri replied into Nfirea's ear. "No, Nfi! If this thing goes to the front gate
now, they'll be pincered and everyone will die!"
"Ah, you might be right. But what can we—?"
"We're the only ones here, so we have to stop it."
From a gap in Nfirea's bangs, his eyes said he thought she was crazy. And
Enri knew what she was saying sounded outrageous, but there was no other
way.
"We don't have to defeat or kill it. We just have to buy some time. Nfi,
help me out."
"How are we going to buy time? You mean we try to keep it here? I could
fight it, but…I doubt I would survive even a single hit." There was a quiet
resolve in his voice.
In response, Enri told him her plan to trick the troll. "I have an idea. First,
let's make an ogre."
The troll looked at the wooden houses for a little while and then began to
move.
Every dwelling had the mellow scent of humans, but he knew it was only
lingering traces. Confirming there were no other nearby smells, he started
walking in the direction of the fighting clamor. The sounds of his brother's
battle made saliva pool in his mouth—because they made him think about the
humans who were surely there.
Nice, tender humans were a rare feast.
Even among trolls, he was a bit of a gourmand, and he loved the meaty
arms and legs while preferring to pass on the bitter bellies. As a result, it was
hard for him to eat his fill without enough prey, but it seemed like there was
plenty here.
His stride lengthened as he began to drool.
But then he stopped and looked around—more precisely, he eyed the
shadows of the houses.
Ogres.
He smelled ogres.
The troll frowned. There were ogres among his brethren, but these
smelled a little bit different; he didn't recognize them. The scent surrounded
him from the shadows of the houses.
Of course, the reason he could distinguish the odor to that degree was not
that he had the keen nose of a dog but that since he had ogre comrades, he
had learned the scent of their race. So he wasn't able to figure out how many
there were.
And something puzzled him. There was a mysterious scent in the air as
well. It was like the green smell of trampled herbs but much stronger.
Are the ogres slathered in mashed-up herbs? With the question still on his
mind, he wondered what to do. The smell was so pungent it seemed like his
eyes were going to tear up. The ogres must have stuffy noses if they can stand
this.
He could take them head-on. Trolls were stronger than ogres. But that
didn't mean he would get through it unscathed, and it didn't mean it would be
a short fight.
Since the troll possessed a racial regeneration ability, his wounds would
gradually heal, but it was bad to lose time. His ogre friends would eat up all
the humans.
Surely his opponents were spread out so they could all jump him at once
if he went straight for a fight.
Satisfied that he had seen through their scheme, the troll started going
around them.
His goal was to annihilate them as quickly as possible. So perhaps now,
while they were scattered, was his chance. He could just start with one on the
edge and pick them off individually.
As he was moving slowly so as not to make any noise, a tiny shadow
suddenly darted out from one of the houses.
It wasn't a goblin or some other creature like that but his favorite food—a
human.
As he was frozen in shock, the caped human came and splashed him with
something.
"Oograhhhhh!" The sharp stench made him scream. The green liquid he'd
been hit with gave off such a violent stink he all but wanted to rip off his
nose. It was several times stronger than the herb smell hanging around the
ogres.
He may have had regenerative powers, but this wasn't an injury. With
tears in his eyes from the intolerable smell, he tried to kick the human, but it
had already raced into a house.
The reason that he, with his keen sense of smell, had let it sneak up on
him was that the stench of the herbs had overpowered the human scent.
Though angered, the troll returned to his original target. First, he'd kill the
ogres, then he'd have the human for dessert.
The furious troll searched around the houses but couldn't find any ogres.
There was no one; it was as if they had all disappeared.
"Grrrr, where are they?"
Ogres were smaller than him, but they were still huge, yet he scanned the
area and saw nothing. If anything that large moved, he should have caught it
in his peripheral vision. Are the ogres invisible like my master? Confused by
this incomprehensible turn of events, the troll snorted.
Still, the intense herb smell on his body got in his way, so he had no idea
where the ogre smell was coming from.
"Grrrrr." With a groan, the troll used a hand to wipe at the liquid, but that
only made his hand smell.
Just then he discovered a piece of cloth on the ground. Figuring he could
clean up with that, he grabbed it and brought it to his nose out of curiosity.
His nose wasn't working so well, but up close he could somewhat detect the
smell.
It smelled like an ogre. At that point, even the troll could figure out what
was going on. I must have thought there was an ogre here because of this
fabric covered in ogre scent.
That couldn't be a coincidence.
"Human!" the troll roared and scanned the area. No humans to be found.
So it had to be in the house still.
Clenching his fist with rage, he smashed it into the building. After
pounding a few times, the roof caved in.
I'm going to tear it to pieces, thought the troll as he chased the human that
flew out of the house in a panic.
The troll chasing her meant the plan was working, so she could only be
thankful, but she still wanted to cry. This can't be good for my heart. What
village girl wouldn't be on the verge of tears if she had to play tag with a
huge man-eating monster, where being caught meant ending up in its
stomach?
The other thing that made her want to cry was that she didn't know when
this game of tag would end. When she thought about how long she would
have to keep at it, the will to continue running to the very end welled up
inside her, but every time she worried about when the battle at the front gate
would be over and whether everyone knew they were being chased around,
her spirit flagged.
Enri regretted taking so long to prep that neither she nor Nfirea had been
able to report to the front gate.
She dove desperately into the house where Nfirea was waiting. Then her
friend, wearing a matching hooded cape, ran out the back door. As she waited
with bated breath to see if their opponent would get caught in her trap, the
troll chased after Nfirea without seeming to realize he was a different person.
Panting, Enri happily clasped her hands together.
There was a clear gap between trolls' and humans' stamina, stride, and
strength, meaning a single person being chased would definitely get caught;
her idea was to even up the battle of attrition by trading places and taking
turns resting without their opponent realizing. One objective was to buy time,
but they also didn't want to let the troll reach the meeting hall where all the
villagers were gathered.
The issue was how to make it seem like there was only one person. How
did trolls tell humans apart? If a troll spent a lot of time observing humans,
surely they would learn to discern some differences, but what if that wasn't
the case? What she relied on was disguising their appearances, focusing
especially on their clothes. That's why they both wore the same rain cape.
Then they employed herb juice to neutralize the troll's sensitive nose.
Enri had set two traps for the monster's sense of smell—stopping the troll
in its tracks with the lingering odor of the ogres and then covering up their
human scent with the herbs.
Having finally caught her breath, she began moving stealthily toward the
next house.
Once she entered the dark interior, she quietly checked on the situation
outside. As the heavy thudding approached, Nfirea, looking frantic, dove into
the house. At the right timing, Enri leaped out the back door she had just
come in.
She set off running but quickly realized the troll wasn't coming after her.
It was looking between her and the house, snorting. Its ugly face warped
further. She could sort of tell it seemed full of suspicion.
Icy sweat ran down her neck. She absentmindedly wiped it away with the
back of her hand, but at the wet sensation, it hit her. "…Its nose adapted?"
The troll seemed to have gotten used to the herbs, noticed something off
about the sweat it was smelling, and came to the conclusion that there were
actually two humans.
It raised its fist and smashed the roof of the house. Nfirea came tumbling
out, but he stopped and didn't seem like he was going to run. "Enri! You
escape! I'll buy you time!"
"You idiot! We should go together!"
"It'll definitely catch up to us! Using a house as a shield won't matter!"
Enri's eyes widened and Nfirea laughed.
"I'm the stronger one, so if I act as the bait, we have a better chance of
surviving!" He cast a spell, and a glow enveloped his body.
What he said made sense, so Enri was at a loss for words. Nfirea seemed
to laugh.
"Let me protect the lady I love!"
Nfirea turned to the savagely grimacing monster and pointed at himself
with a thumb. "If you wanna play, then play with me! C'mon! Acid Arrow!"
A green arrow flew at the troll after he shouted some uncharacteristic taunts.
The moment it connected, steam rose as the sound of sizzling filled the air.
Of course, the troll's roar of pain was multiple times louder.
The troll fixed its wild eyes on Nfirea. It didn't seem to be paying any
attention to Enri anymore.
"Hurry up and go! Get help!"
It was even more foolish to stand around doing nothing.
"Stay safe!" With those parting words, Enri set off running.
The troll didn't seem to be coming after her.
Honestly, there was no chance of him surviving. There was an
insurmountable gap in their stats. Nfirea didn't stand a chance against a
monster only gold-rank adventurers could fight.
Lasting even a minute would be praiseworthy—that's how hopeless the
battle was.
"Yeah, I'm definitely gonna die."
Nfirea smiled wryly at the troll, which was cautiously on the move.
Regeneration didn't work on wounds from acid or fire. Nfirea had
trumped the troll's greatest ability, so that's probably why it was on guard,
but its worry was misplaced. If the troll just leaped at him like normal, it
would surely win, so all Nfirea could do was laugh.
"Well, it works in my favor. Hypnotism!"
There was no change in the troll's hostile attitude. It seemed to be
resistant to the spell.
When it realized its opponent was casting magic, it charged.
The sight of the hulking figure drawing nearer as Nfirea watched was
nightmarish.
"I would have been able to last a little longer if it had worked… Am I that
unlucky? Too bad…"
Nfirea felt discouraged. He had no chance of winning; he knew he'd gone
beyond brave to reckless, but still—
I have to buy more time for Enri.
—that thought moved him.
When he saw the troll before him raise its left arm, he dashed forward and
to the left. Inspired to escape his impossible situation, he dove for the safety
at the end of the most dangerous path. He felt the whoosh of the fist striking
down behind him blow through his hair and a wall-like leg coming at him.
His field of vision spun. From inside his body, he heard noises like
snapping branches.
He crashed into the ground and tumbled across it like a piece of trash.
Pain coursed through his body. Rather than an acute pain, it was more
pain than he had ever felt in his entire life.
"B-but it's amazing that I'm alive. I'm so awesome…" It was thanks to
the defensive magic he had cast, plus the fact that the troll had kicked at him
from an unstable posture. Stabbing pains assailed him when he coughed, but
he stood and cast a spell. "Acid Arrow."
The troll was about to follow up with another attack but stopped in its
tracks. It was wary of the acid scorch on the ground at its feet.
Yes, exactly what I wanted.
His objective was to buy time. If his opponent hesitated to attack out of
wariness, he would be happy for it to stay wary forever.
Besides, the next attack would surely kill him.
"…It hurts. I don't wanna die…" He whimpered in spite of himself.
That's life.
No one wanted to admit it, but there came a time for everyone when they
had no other choice. For Nfirea, that time was now.
I'm going to die here. I am, without a doubt, going to die right now.
He wanted to run away. If he ran with all his might, maybe he could get
away. But if he did that, how horrible of a tragedy would ensue?
He thought of Enri.
It was because he had her that he could fight like this.
"Well, I told her, so I guess it's… No. I don't want to die without hearing
her answer…"
He figured he couldn't get the troll closing in to understand the heart of a
boy in love.
Buying time was now impossible.
For some reason, he was able to read exactly what the troll was thinking
from its hideous expression. The monster was prepared to sustain damage in
order to kill him. In that case—
"Acid Arrow!"
The most he could do was leave it a little worse for wear for whoever
came to fight it after him.
The troll's face twisted up with the burning pain, and it raised a fist.
Already in so much pain he could barely stand, Nfirea had no idea how to
block it.
"Please hurry!"
Three goblins led by Enri rushed to Nfirea's aid.
The reason they'd met up wasn't that Enri had reached the front gate.
Since Nfirea and Enri hadn't come back, and mysterious screaming could be
heard from the rear, their leader had split his already meager force and
dispatched three troops.
If I had sat tight a little longer, they would have arrived regardless. The
thought filled her to bursting with guilt.
They had just a little bad luck.
If it weren't for that—
"Over there!" Enri was pointing at Nfirea. Before him, the troll was
raising its fist.
They wouldn't reach him. The distance was too great.
He would get hit with the troll's pounding fist, a blow strong enough to
break a house. His death was certain.
In the darkness of her closed eyes, Enri heard the goblins gasp. It was an
indication of their shock.
The reaction struck her as out of place, so she cautiously opened her eyes
and—
"Yeesh, your health bar's in the red there. Are you okay?"
—saw a beautiful woman holding a huge weapon.
Lupusregina had thrust her huge sigil-shaped weapon out from the side
and blocked the troll's fist. Considering how thick and huge the arm was, it
seemed impossible, but it was neither a dream nor an illusion.
"Hokay, I'll take this guy. You're hurt pretty badly, huh, Nfi? Heal!"
The troll took a step back as if it couldn't comprehend what it was seeing.
Well, it was only natural, since a mysterious person had appeared out of
nowhere and blocked its full-powered blow. Maybe it thought she was some
sort of magic being.
With a dazed expression, Nfirea turned his back to the troll and began
walking. He was utterly unguarded, but the troll didn't attack. No, it couldn't,
because that would entail ignoring the one standing in its way.
"Nfi!" Enri squeezed him.
"Ohh, it's you."
His hazy response, spoken as if from a dream, alerted her to how critical
his condition was. They had managed to snatch him from the jaws of death,
but his psychological shock was surely critical.
"I'm glad you're okay!"
"You too."
Enri felt something warm returning to her heart, replacing the cold she'd
felt when she thought Nfirea would die.
"I'm really glad you're okay!" She hugged him hard.
"You too."
His hands went around her, hugging her back. It was a tight embrace but
comfortable.
Her tears overflowed and ran down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?"
"Idiot!"
"Sorry to bug ya while you're flirtin', but…"
They both let go simultaneously. Though a little sad about that, she turned
to Lupusregina. "Lupusregina! The troll—" Shifting her gaze, she saw
something that defied description.
"Oh yeah. He's that raw-hamburger-lookin' thing over there. Just gotta
grill him up, and he's done."
In the direction her bloody holy staff was pointing, there was a gory lump
of meat on the ground. There was nothing to show that it had once been a
troll. The sight of it trying to regenerate was beyond horrifying and made
Enri feel sick.
"Ahh, I'm glad you're both all right. Seems like the other guys did okay,
too."
Enri heard the voices of the other goblins coming their way. It sounded
like the fight by the front gate had ended in victory.
"Hup."
A red column like fire raining out of the sky enveloped the troll, and the
stink of burning flesh filled the air.
"That's it for the troll. Anyhow, my work here is done, so I'm gonna head
back. Nfi, Lord Ainz highly praises your work on the purple potion and
would like to invite ya to his house, so ya better prepare yourself! Er, I mean,
look forward to it!"
As if she'd said everything she wanted to say, she turned on her heel and
headed for the back gate.
"Thank you!"
The eccentric maid neither turned around nor stopped at Enri's shout but
just waved a hand.
"Boss lady, boss man. We'll lead everyone over here. Please rest."
The goblins ran off without listening for a reply. Enri thought they could
have left at least one behind, but she was more worried about Nfirea, so she
lent him a shoulder as they walked.
"Phew…" Their sighs overlapped coincidentally. Then they both looked
up at the stars at almost exactly the same time.
"She saved us."
"Yeah."
"We were lucky."
"Yeah."
"I never want to do anything like this ever again."
"Yeah."
Silence fell between them. Then Enri suddenly remembered something. "I
don't know if I love you or not, but I don't want you to go away anywhere."
"…Mm-hmm… Yeah."
"Does that mean I love you?"
"…I dunno. But if it does, I'm glad."
Enri and Nfirea waited for the goblins shoulder to shoulder while quietly
gazing up at the night sky…