School started.
Gaiden: Do Your Best Enri-san! Part 1
Translators: Frostfire10, Skythewood
Enri wiped away the sweat on her brow with the only part of her hand that was not dirty, and collected the plucked herbs.
The feeling of her clothes that absorbed the sweat of a whole day's worth of field work was quite disgusting.
Enri stretched her back for a change of pace.
What entered her eyes was a section of the field.
It was filled with stalks of rall. Since the harvesting season behan, the grains had slowly turned golden. Seeing the entire field become a golden colour was a great feeling, but harvesting it would be extremely troublesome, causing the gold to bring about a tinge of annoyance.
She had worked hard for it to get to this point.
Stretching her body caused her tensed up body to relax, causing her body to become soft. It felt very cooling with the wind blowing.
The blowing wind brought the bustling noise of the village to Enri.
The noises were of something hitting another thing, the shouts of people working together, and other noises that were usually impossible to hear.
The village was currently in the midst of several plans.
The most prominent amongst them was the large wall they will building around the village. Along with watchtowers. Basically the village was turning into a fortress.
This was the plan that the goblin leader and goblin mage proposed.
In the current state, the village had no way of responding to attacks.
The village was built on a flat plain with an open area in the centre. There were no fences of any sort, allowing anyone to enter easily. While it was close to the forest, no monsters had appeared nearby. However, after that tragedy occurred, no one had thought that this would be good.
However no one could answer the question of whether they would be safe after building such fences.
Then the goblins appeared. The plan that the goblins proposed of turning the village into a fortress was immediately approved. This was as they could not forget the nightmare.
They began to take apart several houses to make the village smaller. The village up to now was too large and thus it would take a large wall to surround the village, and it would be difficult to build it with the current number of villagers. Thus they removed houses to shorten the circumference.
The main reason for this was that a large number of villagers were killed, and many houses were empty.
First they took apart the extra houses and used the extra wood to build the wall. Of course that was not enough, thus they looked to the forest for wood. There was the possibility of being attacked by monsters, but the patrols of the goblin troop easily solved that problem.
However, it would be a huge challenge to not only cut wood, but also digging holes for supports and to transport the wood.
How would they do this?
The answer to this was a deal with the ruler of Nazarick, Ainz. It seemed that Ainz wanted to collected gold coins, and would thus exchange labour for coins. Of course, this was something Enri also hoped for.
Despite being a simple village girl, Enri did not understand which such a powerful person such as Ainz would pay attention to her.
At best she would guess that when she and her sister were invited for a meal, she had left an excellent impression. However, she did not understand how Ainz felt like that despite the few conversations they had then.
Thus they had worked out the details with Ainz, but when he was asked why he wanted to collect coins—
"Having you own coins that are not used in the surrounding countries would only bring yourselves trouble."
—That was his answer. It was to avoid drawing the attention of those who seeked rare coins. It was an understandable answer. If that possibility existed then it would be best to let it go. And the only one to come up with that idea was Ainz.
Thus Ainz proposed to exchange coins for labour.
The labour that Ainz offered was three giant statues known as Stone Golems.
They were about three metres in height. They were humanoid, but just barely. Their arms were long, and their legs short. It was like if a child had tried to draw a gorilla.
They were lent strange dolls.
There were several villagers who raised questions. They complained that they were given nothing for their coin. However most of the villagers believed that such a powerful magic caster would definitely given them an equal exchange for their coins. Even the goblins were amazed at the golems that Ainz provided.
When the golems were activated, the villagers that complained turned red, and felt ashamed that they had no eyes. In addition the evaluation of Ainz the village savior went up.
The golems did not tire, and silently followed orders. In addition they had power that no human had. They lacked finesse and could not handle delicate work, but the amount of time they cut down was unbelievable.
Some of those that saw this, they might have been dumb people, felt a strong hatred due to their jealousy.
Due to the golems' unceasing work, the construction of the wall continued at a fast pace. Work that would have taken several months were finished in several days. In addition they could construct a longer wall for a wider village.
Not only the wall, the watchtowers were being built quickly as well. The east and west watchtowers would be completed soon.
With the construction, the villager's vigilance of the goblins nearly disappeared. Especially when one of the reasons being that most of the villagers were killed by knights of their same species. Their lives were lost to the same species. In comparison the goblins of a different race worked as Enri's subordinates. Thus they thought that they were more reliable than humans.
And more importantly they were strong. Even if wounded there was a priest to heal them. The goblins were thought of as warriors.
Like this, in a few days, the goblins became an irreplaceable existence to the village. One could understand this just by looking at where they lived. Disregarding the fact that they were not human, they were living in a specially constructed house, near Enri's.
When Enri thought about returning to the village after hearing that noise—
"Enri-no-Ane-san, I finished up my part."
—The goblin that was picking herbs with Enri told her that he was finished.
"T, thank you very much."
"No, this is nothing much."
He was a goblin that was waving his herb-stained hand, butEnri felt that no matter how much she thanked them, it would never be enough.
To Enri who had lost her father and mother, working the fields was hard for her. Originally she would have asked for help from the other villagers, but their number had fallen, and all the farmers had their hands full. However, having the goblins help her solved that problem.
In addition, the goblins offered their help to those who were short of it.
Could they continue to shun the goblins after this?
Would it not be better to have goblins as their neighbours rather than humans, the villagers in Carne village though. The evaluation of the goblins was so high that that thought became commonplace.
Enri stretched her back once more and looked to the sky. Although the lunch bell had not rung yet, it seemed like it was about time. They had worked enough of the field to take a break as well.
"Then, shall we have lunch?"
Despite his smashed-looking face, the goblin managed what was instantly recognizable as a smile.
"That would be great, your meals are always delicious, Enri-no-Ane-san."
"Oh, they're not that great."
Enri replied, slightly embarrassed.
"No, no, I'm serious. Helping you in the fields is one of the most hotly contested positions among ourselves. That's because we get to eat your delicious lunches, Ane-san."
"Then, should I make it for everyone?"
Making food for three people was the same as making it for over twenty…. Not. The time needed to stoke the fire, the time to cook the food and the effort needed was easily seven times larger. However, to Enri who had received their grace, this was not a large problem.
"Oh, no, we couldn't impose on you like that. Enjoying your handmade lunch is something like a bonus for the one who wins the right to help you, Ane-san."
Enri made a wry smile at the small demi-human who was giving off an air of superiority.
She knew that the goblins were deciding who to help Enri using scissors-paper-stone, but she raised an eyebrow to hear that her food was so highly evaluated.
"Then, shall we go back and eat?"
"Sounds great…"
The goblin's words cut off halfway as he looked to the distance with his keen eyes. With a deep breath, the formerly relaxed and cheerful little demihuman became a veteran warrior in an instant. Enri followed his eyesight into the distance.
They saw a goblin riding a black wolf. They seemed to glide across the plain as they approached the village at high speed.
"It's Rider-san."
Among the Goblin Troop that Enri had summoned, there were 12 level 8 Goblins, two level 10 Goblin Archers, one level 10 Goblin Mage, one level 10 Goblin Cleric, two level 10 Goblin Riders and one level 12 Goblin Leader, for a total of 19 Goblins.
The one in front of Enri was a level 8 goblin, while the one heading here, who was mounted on a black Wolf, wearing leather armor and carrying a lance, was a level 10 Goblin Rider.
The Goblin Riders' job was to patrol the plains and act as scouts. The riders periodically returning to the village to deliver reports was a common sight.
"…Looks like it."
However, the goblin's tone was very somber. It made her think that something bad had happened.
"What's wrong?"
"…He's back a little early. He should have been prowling the forest today… did something happen?"
Hearing the goblin's explanation, Enri felt unease well up in her. It was the unease that another bloody battle would occur.
While the two were silent, the goblin riding the giant wolf ran towards them. The wolf was breathing heavily, and made it clear how much of a rush they were in to get back.
"What's the matter?"
Hearing the goblin's question, the rider bowed to Enri from on top of his wolf while replying,
"Something's happened in the forest."
"…What?"
"I'm not too sure….. A whole bunch of unknown guys are moving towards the north."
"Are they knights?"
Enri unwittingly interrupted the two of them. Even though she was powerless to change anything, she still could not ignore the conversation. She still could not forget her fear when the village had been attacked.
"Enri-no-Ane-san, I apologize for not coming down…. I am not confident of this but I believe that it incorrect. They made a road by cutting down trees, but I saw traces of them walking barefoot, and do not think that they are human."
"Is that so."
There was no human that would walk in the wild barefoot. It was natural, a human's soles were not that hard.
Hearing that answer, Enri candidly heaved a sigh of relief.
"…Then, I'd better go report to Leader."
"All right. Good job."
"Thank you for your hard work."
After waving to the two of them, the rider spurred his wolf on and departed. Enri and the goblin watched him enter the slowly-opening village doors.
"Then, shall we go back, too?"
"Yes, let's."
After washing their hands beside the well, Enri and the goblin had just reached home when they heard a young girl's voice.
"Welcome back, Onee-chan."
The voice was accompanied by the sound of rock grinding against rock. Following the sound to its source, Enri saw a 12 year old girl turning a millstone behind the house.
She was Enri's younger sister Nemu.
A pungent smell came from the millstone. Although it was similar to the smell that had clung to Enri's hands just before, it was several times more intense, enough that one could smell it from some distance away.
Nemu was used to the smell, which was all well and good, but Enri's eyes almost teared up as the odor assaulted her. The goblin, standing behind her, seemed unaffected in comparison . It remained to be seen whether that was because the smell only had an effect on certain species, or because it would be terribly rude to make a face like that to his mistress' little sister.
"I'm home. How's things? Have you ground them all up yet?"
"Mm, I did. Have a look." Enri looked along Nemu's line of sight, and saw that the herbs that she had piled up before leaving the house had been reduced to a small handful. "But Onee-chan, there's not much more left."
Nemu's job was to turn the herbs into a paste and pour it into a jar. That was because some herbs had to be dried to be preserved, but others needed to be shredded to be preserved.
"Is that so? Then we have to get more…."
Herbs made up a major portion of Carne Village's income. No, apart from that, they had almost nothing.
It was true that for food, they could make do with what they grew, but making a profit from other things like clothes was impossible.
However the herbs could only be acquired in the forest, where the chance of encountering monsters was high. It was not a place that a simple village girl like Enri could go.
"Can I ask it of you?"
That was why she spoke to the goblin who bowing towards Nemu.
The Great Forest was a place that was filled with danger, but there were also places inside that granted blessings to the villagers of Carne Village. Such as kindling, food such as fruits, plants and animals, and various herbs.
In a way, it was a mountain of treasure, but due to the existence of monsters, there was the chance of attracting monsters to the village and was not a place that they could enter lightheartedly.
Thus it was basic for those who were confident like hunters, and specialists with experience, to head inside occasionally. However, currently the goblins were doing that.
The goblins' work was excellent, and they could now easily get fresh meat and had fresh fruits and vegetables on the table. The quality of their dining had improved considerably.
"It should be all right, but it might be a little difficult for you to come with us, Ane-san."
"Hm? Why's that?"
Enri made an inquisitive face at the goblin making a wry smile.
"Eeee, these were the words of the rider from before, but it seems that a large number of them are heading north."
"Ah, yes."
"If that is the case, it will turn into pandemonium. The forest will."
"?"
Enri once again made an curious face, and the goblin then explained.
"Even the cautious ones are going to want to expand their territory. If that's the case, then for a while, their territory is going to overlap with the others, and that's going to cause all sorts of confusion. Simply put, the chances of meeting a monster's going to increase, and so will the danger. And if you're unlucky, you might even run into something outside the forest. We know you're brave and cool, but there's no need to walk into danger, Ane-san."
"Is that so…" I'm not too sure about the brave and cool part, but that's probably just the Goblins being polite, Enri thought. "However this is bad. We cannot harvest the herbs anytime but now. Thus despite the danger I would like to…."
She smiled at the worried Nemu. She wanted to avoid any actions that would sadden her last family member. However she did not want to let any chance of profit slip by. It might be true that her priorities were skewed. However she had to pay back the debt of gratitude she had towards her subordinates for risking their lives for the village.
Enri made her firm decision, but the goblin thrust his hand out.
"Erm… although this is just my personal opinion, how about discussing the matter with Leader? You don't need to make the decision so early, Ane-san. I don't want to be scolded by the boss because I opened my mouth without thinking"
"Is that so? ….Hmmm…."
The two, Enri and the goblin, talked as if Enri accompanying them into the great forest was decided, but that was usually strange. All she needed to do was to ask the Goblins, who could take care of themselves, to go into the dangerous Great Forest on her behalf. However, the Goblins she had summoned had a strange weakness.
That was to say, they had no aptitude at all for herb-picking, butchering animals, and that sort of work.
even if one handed Goblins a sample of a herb, they would not be able to match it up with identical herb in front of them. The surprising thing was, it was as though they were born unable to do that sort of thing, or even learn it.
It was as if someone had removed the capacity to do so from them.
Therefore, if they were assigned to pick herbs, the Goblins needed to have a non-Goblin with them. Enri was the one to accompany them. This was natural as the goblins were Enri's subordinates. It was true that if Enri ordered it, they would bring other villagers to the great forest. They had done this before with the woodcutters. However there was the perfect villager who the goblins would protect at all costs.
It was not that they were making her a scrapegoat. Should there be danger, they believed that the goblins would protect Enri with their lives.
When Enri was thinking about what to do, she heard a cute "Kuu" sound. That sound stopped her train of thought. When she looked, she saw Nemu's unhappy gaze directed towards her.
"Onee-chan, I'm hungry. Can we eat yet?".
"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.
What she had was the black bread that was a few days old. The usual lunch was a soup that had some dried meats in it, but with the goblins, their food situation would change drastically.
Thus she decided to make a soup with fresh vegetables and meat.
Tasting it, her cheeks slackened as she opened the house door.