“Got it!”

The three goblins, Gokoh, Kaijali and Unlai, responded with a hearty shout.

“And Ani-san, you’ll be taking care of Ane-san too, right?”

Enri suddenly noticed that Kaijali, for no apparent reason, was flexing his muscles in a front double biceps pose.

“You mean I should take over from here?… kah! Of course! You can count on me to protect Enri!”

For a moment, Enri imagined Nfirea showing his shiny teeth as he radiated self-confidence through his smile. His attitude now was very different from his usual one, and to be honest it felt kind of gross. However, that was probably just his excitement about trekking into the forest.

Just like a little boy, Enri smiled, feeling like she was his big sister.

“Thank you, Enfi. I’ll be in your care.”

Strange, is he doing a side chest pose now…? What’s with that?

“Ahhh, that again… oh, about that, I prepared a bunch of alchemical items that I made myself, so leave it to me!”

After seeing Nfirea’s second sparkly smile, the smile fell off Enri’s face.

“Uh… mm. You go do that.”

“Ah, well, it’s been settled… although. Honestly speaking, even if we weren’t doing this dangerous job, this…”

Jugem turned to look at Enri, showing her a sour expression. Enri was starting to get a little annoyed after hearing this question again after answering it so many times in the village, but because he was only asking out of concern for her, she couldn’t just ignore it.

“That might be true, but the fact remains that without the herbs, we can’t get any money…”

“How about animal skins? We can get those.”

“That’s not a bad idea, but herbs are the most valuable.”

Animal pelts and medicinal herbs were in completely different price categories. The difference was comparable to that between the heavens and the earth. Granted, some especially rare animals had skins that were worth a fortune, but those were few and far between.

“If Ani-san could share his…”

“We’re combining the accounts of the Bareares and ourselves. We work together and split the benefits. We can’t just take it all for ourselves.”

Helping each other in difficult situations was a keystone of village life — as such, it was only expected that eighty percent of their income would be earmarked for the community’s benefit. This was also why greedy and selfish households could not be established, because such behavior would never be permitted. Self-sufficiency was a strict requirement.

The two of them started looking away from Nfirea, who was quietly saying, “Kaijali-san, please read the mood and stop making those weird poses…”

“If that’s the case, then it’s definitely… and like that too… well, if you lived with Ani-san, you could certainly pool the wealth… but… looks like nothing’s stopping that…”

Jugem’s words gradually lost their force. He knew that he couldn’t stop Enri from entering the Great Forest.

Although Enri didn’t want to make things difficult for Jugem and the others who cared for her, she would not be swayed from her course.

After all, she had decided to venture into the forest despite knowing its dangers because she had heard Jugem say, “We can’t repair our gear”.

Whetstones helped, of course, but caring for and repairing metal weapons required the services of a professional blacksmith. Which meant that a subtle danger threatened all the goblins. If their equipment deteriorated, it would mean their lives would be in danger. The maintenance of their battle gear was essential.

What could she do for them, who had pledged their lives to protect hers? She couldn’t just hide in safety and enjoy the fruits of their labour. Just as they had given their all for her, she too had to do everything she could for them. That was Enri’s decision.

The goblins weren’t just Enri’s bodyguards, they were the village’s protectors. If she decided to press that point, she could probably extort the required money to equip the goblins from the villagers. However, Enri decided to give up on that idea.

No matter what, Enri was simply trying to repay the goblins’ service through her own efforts. This expedition was the proof of that.

“Normally, the safest thing to do would be to confirm the area was free of danger before you went in…"

Interrupting from behind was the goblin mage, Dyno.

She was an arcane magic caster who wore a humanoid skull for a helmet.

In her hands was a staff that was even taller than herself, made of simple, gnarled wood. She dressed in some form of exotic full-body tribal costume that managed to emphasize her meager bust. Her face seemed softer than those of the male goblins. Enri could recognize this because she was their mistress, but normal people probably wouldn’t be able to pick up on those details.

“However, you can’t confirm it’s safe, can you?”

“Mm, that’s right. Sadly, we can’t do that. The most we can do is confirm that the forest seems peaceful, but even that needs time. And if we want to find out when tensions are going to run high again, that’ll take even more time.

If they did that, they would miss the opportunity to gather the desired herbs. After hearing Dyno’s words, a firm conviction gathered in her eyes and she made her reply.

“It’ll be fine, we won’t go too deep.”

After hearing her repeat that answer several times, Jugem realized that he couldn’t change Enri’s mind. Instead, he looked to the three goblins who would travel with her. What he told them was the same as what he had said to them before.

“We won’t be able to protect Ane-san, so you guys are going to have to do it for us. You’d better keep her safe! And Ani-san too!”

“Got it!”

“It would be safest if we’d all stuck together as usual. Splitting up our fighting strength is just asking for trouble.”

Dyno muttered under her breath.

“If we did that, then we’d be forced into reacting to the enemy, right?”

“That’s right. If any of the monsters coming to the village decide to settle down in the forest, getting rid of them for good would be extremely troublesome. Once they build a nest, they’ll never leave. Even if we chased them away, they’d come right back after a while.”

Since the balance of power in the forest had changed, reconnoitering the Great Forest ― especially the area surrounding the village ― was critical.

This was the first pass. The first pass implied that the danger was the greatest. As such, they could only arrange for three people to be Enri’s escorts.