“Is that so…”

Although she wasn’t quite sure about the fearless and cool part, that was probably the goblins way of talking her up among themselves, Enri thought.

“There was also that big movement earlier. What happened there?”

“I don’t know. Originally, we should have sent someone familiar with the Great Forest’s conditions to investigate. …but if we go, the village’s defenses will be weakened…. ah, got it! Why not hire adventurers to check it out?”

“That could be difficult,” Enri said, knitting her eyebrows. “According to Enfi, the cost of hiring an adventuring party is very high. Although the lords of E-Rantel will subsidize some of those costs, it’ll be very hard for a village like us to pay for adventurers out of our own pocket.”

“I see…”

“Collecting lots of herbs and selling them afterwards should help with one part of that problem… otherwise, all we can do is sell off the items we got from Gown-sama.”

She had received two horns from Ainz Ooal Gown. Although one of them had disappeared after she used it, the other was safely hidden in Enri’s home.

“Forget about that, Ane-san. We’d rather you just blow the horn instead.”

“Of course, there’s no way I’d sell it.”

Enri didn’t want to become the sort of despicable person who would sell off a gift given out of goodwill. There also existed the possibility that it might not even be possible to sell it off, so she decided not to do so. Even now they were still benefiting from the generosity of the maid who had brought the golems to the village. She would never commit such an ungrateful deed.

“But that’s going to be problematic. The herbs can only be gathered in this season, so although it’s a bit dangerous, I still have to…”

Enri smiled to Nemu, who had a worried expression on her face. She didn’t want to hurt the last surviving member of her family, nor did she want to pass up this chance to make lots of money. Although, when she considered her priorities, that was clearly a mistake. Rather, she should bet her life for the good of the entire village and repay the goblins who considered her their mistress.

I need to earn more money and see what kind of gear I can buy for the goblins. Full body armor looks like it could protect very well. Speaking of full body armor, there’s that gentleman in the black-colored armor… what was his name again?

Although she didn’t know how much armor and weapons cost, she was fairly certain that it wouldn’t be a small sum. At this moment, Paipo held out his hand in front of Enri, indicating that she should hold on a little.

“Erm… although this is just my personal opinion, maybe you should talk it over with the boss? Ane-san doesn’t need to make the decision so early. I don’t want to be scolded by the boss because I opened my mouth without thinking. Plus, I think Ani-san would like to get his hands on herbal ingredients too.”

Just as Enri’s troubles were filling her head, an adorable gurgling sound came from beside her. Turning to look, she saw Nemu looking at her with a frown on her face.

“Onee-chan, I’m hungry, let’s go eat.

“Mm, sorry. Then, wash your hands after we pack up. I’ll go get things ready.”

“Kay~”

Nemu’s response was full of energy. After taking apart the millstone, she scraped the accumulated green paste into a small urn. Enri returned to the house, wondering what she should make for lunch.

Part 2

Enri stood before the Great Forest of Tob. Of course, she was not alone. Beside her were the assembled members of the Goblin Troop.

The goblins were equipped with chain shirts, round shields and sturdy machetes, which hung from their belts. They wore brown-colored tunics under their armor and furred leather boots on their feet. On their belts were bags for small items. One could not say they were under-geared.

The fully-armed goblins made their final checks of their personal equipment. They topped up their waterskins and made sure their machetes were sharpened.

Everyone was well-geared, but they carried little baggage. That was because the plan was to swiftly complete their work, and not to mount a long expedition in the forest.

Not everyone in the troop was assigned to Enri’s protection. Their objective was to thoroughly scout the surrounding area and further verify the information the goblin wolf riders had collected. That is to say, they were to carefully observe the current situation within the Great Forest. In order to protect the village, the goblins had decided to scout its surroundings and the hinterlands.

Only three goblins would accompany Enri.

Them, and one more person: Nfirea. He had made his preparations too, dressed in suitable clothing for collecting herbs in a forest. With Nfirea around, the herb harvesting trip would definitely be a success.

Perhaps he had sensed Enri looking at him, and turned around, asking “What’s the matter?” Although Enri had waved her hands as though to say “nothing, nothing,” one of the surrounding goblins took notice and drew closer to Enri’s side.

He was a goblin whose body was so muscular and athletic that it would be hard for bystanders to think that he was a goblin. His torso was protected by a crude, but practical breastplate, and the greatsword he used was sheathed on his back.

This was Jugem, the leader of the goblins, named after a fairytale goblin ranger called ‘Jugem Juugem’ by Enri. As an aside, there were other named knights who did battle alongside the goblin ranger, and their names were also used for the other goblins.

“There shouldn’t be anything wrong… what’s the matter?”

“No, really, it’s fine! I was just looking at him.”

“That’s great, after all, once you’re in the forest, you can lose your life over even a tiny slip. If anything’s wrong, anything at all, you tell me.”

“That’s right, Ane-san. Just like we agreed before, we’re all scouting the forest, so if anything happens and we can’t get there in time… it’ll be okay, right?”

Jugem’s brutish face contorted with what looked like an expression of worry, and he glanced at Enri’s face. Seeing that, Enri smiled and replied to him.

“It’ll be fine. We won’t go too deep, and they’ll protect me.”

“That’s good to hear…”

Jugem followed Enri’s line of sight to the three goblins ahead of them. Then he shouted.

“Oi! You punks! You’d better not let Ane-san take so much as a single scratch, got it?!”