Hobgoblins were offshoots of the goblin race, and they were superior to goblins in every way. Goblins were about as big as human children when they were adults, but hobgoblins could reach the height of an adult human.
They were similar to humans in terms of physical abilities and intellect. In order to mate with other goblins, many tribes tended to live in the same region. However, in order not to let the population increase too much, many were left behind as bodyguards or team leaders within the tribe.
“But if my father or mother was a hobgoblin, wouldn’t they know themselves?”
“Both his parents were goblins and he was a hobgoblin.”
“Eh? Isn’t that the kind of weird plot that shows up in dramas?”
“…This is the first time I’ve seen Enri make that kind of expression… but unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the answer. Just as humans adopt children, I think the goblins might have done something similar.”
“That’s certainly possible. Well, in that case, we don’t have to worry too much about it.”
The three of them returned to the table, and as they did, the hitherto silent Lupusregina opened her mouth to speak.
“Welp, made a decision? If anything happens, you can always ask Ainz-sama for help. Ask him to help solve the problem and all that.”
That would be a godsend.
If the hero who saved the village decided to make a move, not even the greatest monsters could hope to stand against him. However—
“That’s too naive.”
Enri mumbled to herself, and the goblins agreed. Only Brita and Agu, who didn’t know of Ainz, were baffled. Nfirea had a complex expression on his face.
“This village is our village. That means we should do as much as we can by ourselves. Although some people will think that I shouldn’t be babbling pretty words since I can’t fight and have no battle experience…”
“No, I agree with Ane-san’s opinion. This village is Ane-san’s—”
“Kaijali?”
“Hm?”
He tilted his head to correct himself.
“Ane-san and us… no, that’s not right either.”
“You’re trying to say that the village belongs to everyone who lives here, right?”
“That’s right, Ani-san. You’re getting it! Well, even so, I think borrowing the power of that magic caster-sama should wait until we’re completely out of options.”
“But if we do that, everyone might die~su… Getting hacked up hurts, you know~su”
“Ha! Lupusregina-san, we won’t let that happen. We’ll sacrifice ourselves so everyone has time to run first.”
A disappointed look appeared on Lupusregina’s face.
“Is that so? You’d better work hard, then~su.”
“And I also want to communicate our village’s intentions to the Adventurer’s Guild in E-Rantel — or maybe “report” would be a better word to use. If the guild accepts our request, they’ll send a member to come and assess the current situation. It would be troublesome if we put in a request after it becomes an emergency.”
Brita followed on after Nfirea’s suggestion.
“That’s true. The Adventurer’s Guild doesn’t want to be surprised by unexpected monsters. Although workers and their ilk might say otherwise, the words of people blinded by greed aren’t worth mentioning. It’s only natural that an organization would want to protect their own members.”
“Brita-san, although I don’t want to speak ill of adventurers, but during emergencies, the request payments will go through the roof, what happens if they refuse even then?”
“Adventurers don’t want to die, and the Guild won’t let them either. Because of that, when it comes to emergency requests, the prices will go up, which means that the Guild will tend to assign higher-ranked adventurers to deal with them, even if the situation technically doesn’t warrant them. “
All Enri could do when hearing the former adventurer’s words was to accept them. It was quite hard to have to accept this when they were being pushed into a corner. However, when she looked at it from the adventurers’ point of view, it made sense.
“Well, even if the Guild checks it out, people might still die anyway, that sort of thing happens a lot…”
Brita bit her lip.
“― When I think of that vampire attack, I can’t help but shiver… used to be I couldn’t even sleep without medicine for it…”
“Vampire? What’s that?”
Agu asked without thinking, and Brita smiled bitterly.
“It’s a secret. Well, it’s more like I don’t even want to think about it. You’ll piss yourself.”
“But I was the one who was aski―”
“You’re not in a position to ask questions, brat.”
“Then we’ll go ahead with his plan for the time being and report it to the Guild, and make a request if all goes well, is that it? Although request fees won’t be cheap, we’ll need to break the bank for this one. Tell Jugem-san and the chief about it later. Can you do that, Enri?”
“l’ll take care of the self-defence force. Honestly speaking, I was thinking this was the way to go too.”
Nfirea nodded as Brita spoke.
“Then, I guess I’ll be leaving the village for a bit su~ You really won’t ask Ainz-sama for help?”
“Yes. We’d like to do as much as possible by ourselves. If possible, we’d like you to tell Gown-sama that much.”
“Got it su~”
As Agu looked at Enri and Nfirea, who were moving off, a hard-to-describe feeling welled up within him.
“Just what’s so great about that woman?”
“Hah?!”
There was danger in the adult goblin’s voice, and it made Agu’s body tremble.
Agu felt that the adult goblins were stronger than anyone else in his village. It was only natural for him to break out in goosebumps when threatened by them.
Yet, this still could not overcome his childish curiosity.
“Are women really that great in this Carne tribe?”
From Agu’s point of view, Enri didn’t seem particularly strong. Although she had some muscle on her arms and legs, it wasn’t enough at all. While she didn’t need to be as big as an ogre, but if she were a superior, she needed way more than that.
If she were a magic caster he could understand it. The female leaders of the goblin tribes often used that mysterious power. However, that woman didn’t look like a magic caster.