“Good. Well then, let’s move! Finish up here and meet up with Ane-san!”

In response to Jugem’s call, the goblin troop thundered their assent.

♦ ♦ ♦

The interior of the Great Forest.

Although they had only travelled about a hundred and fifty meters in, the temperature had fallen by several degrees. This was simply because no sunlight shone in here. That said, the interior was not completely pitch-dark, and Enri could still see what was happening around her. It was like being in a room with the air-conditioner turned up to full blast. In this way, Enri and the other four members of her party advanced into the forest.

At the moment, the forest was dominated by silence. Apart from the gentle sounds of the tree branches swaying and the occasional cries of birds or beasts, there was nothing else. The footsteps of Enri and her companions echoed loudly. The other team led by Jugem had already gone deeper in, and they could no longer be heard.

Enri and company formed a roughly triangular formation as they advanced into the forest. In the center of the formation were Enri and Nfirea.

It was very difficult to maintain a wide formation in the forest. Normally, they would have gone single file, but in order to protect the two of them the goblins had insisted on doing things that way. They lost speed as a result, but that couldn’t be helped.

As they moved deeper inwards, Nfirea began looking up and towards the north.

He was looking for the treasure sleeping in the dense forest — medicinal herbs.

Enri was not a novice to herb-gathering. A girl her age would know all about herbs that could be taken orally or smeared on an affected area, or the ordinary herbs used as ingredients for potions. However, in this field she was completely outmatched by Nfirea. Not only was he thoroughly familiar with medicinal herbs, he even knew which ones were useful as bases for alchemical compounds.

“Found any rare herbs?”

Of all the questions Enri had asked, this seemed like the one he had been waiting for. The surrounding goblins took their poses.

A double bicep flex again… is that the latest trend or what?

The tilt-headed Enri did not notice the faint expression of annoyance on Nfirea’s face.

“Why didn’t I tell them to stop posing… it sucks to have no courage. Then, is there a brown moss over there?”

As it turned out, there was brown moss growing where Nfirea had pointed.

“That’s Bebeyamokugoke. Mix some with a healing potion and it’ll slightly improve its effects.“

“Oh, really? I thought it was just a simple patch of moss and missed it. Without Enfi, I probably would have ignored it completely. As expected of Enfi.”

“Really now, Ani-san’s pretty amazing. Is it worth a lot?”

“It’s worth quite a bit of money… ah, wait. Don’t pick it. What Enri and I are aiming for is worth even more. If we can’t find it, then we’ll pick this on the way back.”

“I see. Yeah, we got it. Speaking of which, to Ani-san, this forest must be like a treasure trove, since it’s so easy to make wealth. Ah~ with Ani-san I feel much more at ease.”

“This sort of thing—”

The surrounding goblins’ poses changed.

“Yes, hm, well, it might actually be like that. One thing’s for sure, people travelling with me won’t have a hard time. I’m pretty confident of that.”

“Mmm. Enfi can definitely do that.”

An awkward mood flowed through the sleeping forest.

“Then, Ane-san, is that all?”

“Hm? Kaijali-san, what do you mean?”

“Hm? No, I actually, nothing… ah… come to think of it, there’s a question I forgot to ask. What sort of herbs are you looking for?”

“We didn’t tell you? It’s a herb called Enkaishi. Afterwards we’ll let Nemu grind it up.”

“Ah, so that’s what it is. Got it. Although, even if you describe it to us, we won’t be able to tell the difference. Then, let’s move on.”

Step by step, they ventured further into the forest. As they went on, their noses started itching from the thick scent of the forest’s fragrance.

There was no sign of human activity here at all. Immersed in this place, Nfirea felt like this was a world where humans were weak and tiny. Then, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Let’s start looking around here. We’re looking for places with lots of shade and humidity… are there any water sources nearby? That herb grows near them. There’s no sign of monster activity around here, what a stroke of luck.”

With his vast experience as a herbalist, it was unlikely for Nfirea to make a mistake.. The goblins and Enri replied in approval.

The group put their things down and the burden on them decreased greatly.

“Ahhh… Ane-san, could you go give Ani-san a hand?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. Enfi must have his hands full by himself.”

Enri walked over to where Nfirea had put down his luggage and assisted him in his labors.

“Thanks, Enri.”

“No problem, Enfi. Although, now that I think of it, all this specialist equipment is amazing. You need so many things…”

Out of the corner of her eyes, Enri could see the goblins nodding in a wordless “very good, very good” manner. Although she was surprised by why they were so happy, she eventually decided that her first priority was getting the job done.

“Then, let’s start the search!”

With a throttled “Oh!” to keep the noise down, they began. The goblins watched the perimeter, while Enri and Nfirea began gathering the herbs.

Although Enri had been prepared for the work to be difficult, they were fortunate and soon found growths of Enkaishi. The dense sheets grew thickly in the cracks of tree trunks.

“It’s over there. We found where they grew right away. As I thought, it’s best when I’m with Enfi.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. We’re lucky we found it in a deserted area. If there were monster tracks, it would be pretty nasty.”

To the two humans, the large quantity of herbs, while not exactly a treasure in its own right, was akin to a small mountain of coins. Enri desperately fought the desire burning in her heart. This place was dangerous, it was better that she put her greed aside and worked to steadily complete the job.

However, Enri knelt down, and began to pluck, minding the roots of the herbs.