“―Oi, punk. Ane-san’s the one who decided to save you, along with Ani-san. You’d better watch your words to the people who rescued you. That’s for your own good too, got it?”

The kid turned to look at the blades brandished before him. Although he was only a child, he still knew that it would be a bad idea to anger the goblins in front of him. He sagged visibly, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Enri felt that it would be better if they didn’t have to intimidate the kid, but she knew the goblins had their own rules which they followed. It wouldn’t be a good idea for her to butt in with her human sensibilities.

“I-I’m very sorry.”

“Ah, it’s all right. Don’t worry.”

As he answered, Nfirea was smearing the potion on the kid’s body. The wounds were visibly closing up.

“Uuuoooh! What’s this? The color’s so gross but it’s so amazing!”

The kid felt the stares of the surrounding goblins on him and trembled.

“Ah… no, I, ah, th-thank y-you very m-much...”

“Oh, looks like the punk has some manners after all.”

“Very good. This way, I can tell Gown-san that the experiment was completed without a hitch.”

Nfirea looked around, fumbling for approval. Enri and the goblins, who got what he meant, nodded to him.

The potion Nfirea created was made from the materials provided by the great magic caster Ainz Ooal Gown, who was the savior of Carne Village. Not only was there no need to spend money on research fees, but he even provided all the necessary ingredients. With that in mind, the meaning and value of the potion that he had created was plainly obvious.

The fact that Nfirea had decided to use it on his own was a major problem, but perhaps he could pass it off as a practical evaluation of the potion’s effects.

If I explain it to Gown-san after the fact, he’ll probably allow it… experimentation is the fundamental principle of pharmacists, anyway.

“You, you used me as a guinea pig!”

Unable to read between the lines, the kid gasped in shock, while Enri and Nfirea grinned in response. A reaction like this was only natural from someone who didn’t know the full details of the situation.

Although the two of them had at least managed to smile at the reaction, others present were not so forgiving. The goblins present could not moderate their rage, and spat utterances like, “that little bastard!” and so on.

Enri held out her hands to try and calm them down. This reaction was only natural for a clueless kid, and because he was a kid, it wouldn’t do to overreact.

“Well, if Ane-san says so… anyway, we should get moving. Who knows what other monsters will be drawn by the scent of blood.”

“And, although we won… Ane-san. Please don’t do this sort of thing again, okay? Our job is protecting you.”

“What a mess. Still, hearing Enri’s voice like that really scared me.”

“…Well, it’s because of that voice that we’re fine ― oi, brat, you’d better not run off. We have a lot of questions to ask you and if you don’t want to go home in pieces you’d better answer up truthfully.”

“Unlai-san…”

“―Ane-san, this is for the village’s sake too… get over here, kid.”

The kid got up, slowly and painstakingly. His wounds were healed, so they shouldn’t impede his movement, but his stubborn resistance made his movements slow.

Gokoh, whose machete was dyed red with blood, spat on the ground.

Enri turned to Nfirea for help. However, he silently shook his head. As she turned to look at the goblins, she saw that there was steel in their eyes, and with it, silent approval of their colleague’s actions.

“…Ane-san, don’t worry, I won’t kill him. I just want to ask him some questions about what’s going on. Besides, don’t you think he’ll die if we left him here?”

It seemed as though the question was aimed more at the goblin child than Enri herself. He seemed to get it, and the resistance in his heart faded away.

“I got it… I won’t run off…”

“That’s good. Then we’d better get moving. Kid, can you confirm that there’s only one of those barghests?”

“…I can’t. Apart from them, there’s several ogres too. I don’t know if any of them chased after me. And I’m not a kid, I’m Agu, the fourth son of Ah, the chieftain of the Gigu tribe.”

“Agu-kun, hm.”

“I thought that ‘Kid’ was enough for him…”

“We’ll discuss that later. It’s not like it’s important enough to argue about it now. Since Agu wants us to use his name, maybe we should, in order to build trust between us?”

“Ani-san’s really mature. Then let’s gather our things and go.”

In accordance with Kaijali’s words, the group set off in silence while watching their surroundings warily. The heavy atmosphere that hung around them was almost visible to the naked eye.

Although Enri wanted to lighten the mood with conversation, the forest was not a place for humanity. She could not act lightly here, especially considering that there might be further pursuers after them.

♦ ♦ ♦

The tension that had filled their bodies seemed to melt off as they stepped out of the dark, shadowy forest, and was replaced by a gentle, idle feeling. In that moment, they felt that they had finally returned to the world they were used to.

Nfirea, walking beside Enri, sighed in relief with an “Uwah~”. ·

The goblins’ movements had lost their tense edge, but Agu’s expression still looked stiff. He seemed confused by the sunlight and the wide spaces, and it showed on his face. He was a long way from the shadows of the forests where he had grown up.

“There, the village is there.”

Agu’s face scrunched up as he followed Enri’s finger to the distance.

“What? That wall? It feels… feels kind of like that Monument of Destruction.”

“Monument of Destruction?”

“That’s right. It’s a scary new place in the Great Forest. Anyone who goes near it will perish. They say there’s undead there too.”

“You say everyone who goes near it will die, but you sure know a lot about it.”

“…while the Monument of Destruction was still under construction, the brave ones from our tribe went there and saw skeleton monsters building it.”

“Did you know about this?”