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.
“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?”