"This is..."

　Ray, who had come back to the Tower of Birth, defeating the goblins, saw a large number of goblins dead.

"Oh, Ray. Are you back? I would have been saved if you had come back a little earlier."

　One of the adventurers who saw Ray called out with a smile.
　As a strong man recommended by the guild as a bodyguard for the Tower of Birth, no one is seriously injured when a goblin attacks.
　...some of them were scratched, some of them teased by fellow adventurers about their injuries against the goblins, but that's about it.

"Even if you don't ask me what happened, I wonder if it's obvious from this situation."
"Oh, a little while after Ray's gone, a goblin suddenly attacked me."

　There are nearly a hundred goblins lying on the ground.
　The number of bodies that would be hidden in the forest of Trent, if combined, would rise further.

"I encountered a few goblins while I was sending Anastasia and Fana... I think there might be a large goblin community somewhere in the forest of Trent... the trouble is."

　The goblins are weak, so it's no problem to knock them down.
　However, in this case, that number was a problem.
　No matter how weak a goblin is to die at a stroke, and all the adventurers here are strong, it's still a stroke.
　While the blow kills the goblins, other goblins may come in.

"A goblin village? I'm sure we should do something about it as soon as possible. ... Then we'll need to find out the goblin village first. ... Ray, can we?
"That's better, but if you're building a hamlet under the trees, it's hard to find it."
"Even if Seto is here?"
"Even with Seto. ... Of course, it's much more likely to be found than normal, but that doesn't mean it's easy to find."

　The adventurer looks troubled at Ray's words.
　That's because I thought Seto could easily find a goblin settlement.
　However, if there is a possibility that it may not actually be found, it is not surprising to be disappointed.

(If you're a Seto, you can find it... I know you think so, and I think you're more likely to find it, but I don't know if it's really going to happen until I find out, so I'd better not tell you about it yet.)

　First of all, let's ask Seto to fly to find out where the goblin village is.
　Ray, who decided to speak to the adventurer, was speak to the adventurer, but...

"Hey, hey, is that okay?"

　muttering so to the scene that came into view.
　Because, at the sight of him, adventurers and lizardmen were carrying the bodies of goblins and giving them to the waterwolves.
　The current waterwolves were not a little smaller than what they had seen before they went out, they had grown considerably.
　It's small compared to yesterday's fight with Ray, but it's still big enough to swallow people.
　The water wolf of that size is swallowing the body of a goblin, not a human being.
　The bodies of the goblins that are being carried away are swallowed one after another and melted away in their bodies.
　You can tell what they are doing by looking at the water wolf.
　But even if I knew that, I was wondering if it was really okay... because of the poor taste of the goblin meat.
　For example, if this was an oak body rather than a goblin body, everyone would be happy to dismantle it into meat.
　But it was natural to wonder if it was really a problem to eat goblin meat like that, which is supposed to be miraculously tasteless.
　When the adventurer understands Ray's words, he nods deeply.
　As long as I was born and raised in this world and worked as an adventurer, it was only natural that I understood how bad the goblin meat was.

"We were surprised at first. As far as we can see, we eat goblins without any problems. Maybe we don't have any sense of taste."
"No, he must have a sense of taste."

　The water wolf was eating deliciously the block of oak that Ray handed over last night.
　It was the same as now that I swallowed it whole and melted it in my body, but I still tasted the meat satisfactorily enough.
　Considering the circumstances, it wasn't that Ray didn't feel any problem eating goblin meat.

"Do you have one? But you're eating goblins without a hitch. That's more helpful for us."

　For the adventurers here, the goblins' materials, proof of subjugation, and magical stones are cheap enough to be brought home.
　Many people will recognize that it is even a negative thing from a labor standpoint.

"If possible, can you change your taste buds to your liking, or is goblin meat purely delicious to water wolves?"

　It is the taste buds of the inhabitants of this world that judge goblins to be tasteless.
　...to be exact, Ray is from a different world, but as long as Ray's body was created by the Zepail family, his sense of taste could be unique to this world.
　However, since waterwolves came from a different world, their taste was not necessarily the same as this world.
　It was Ray's prediction, but I'm very grateful that it actually saved him from burning the goblin's body.
　If you burn the body of a goblin, of course, smoke will come out, and it is appropriate to describe the smoke as bad smell because it is grilling the meat of the goblin.
　There are even some people who don't like it, saying that it is stinging to the eyes.
　Considering the time and effort involved in the disposal, there was no doubt that waterwolves would absorb it.

(In the worst case, there is a way to fill it with terrain manipulation... well, if the water wolf eats it as it is, just leave it to me.)

　Ray decides to leave the goblin's body to the water wolf.

(Oh, the dead body left in the Trent forest......no, don't you have to worry about it? Let's pray that animals and other monsters will eat it.)

　Or is it a nutrient for trees growing in the Trent Forest?
　As I looked at it thinking like that, I saw Seto approaching a water wolf.

(When I was big yesterday, I was jealous of the water wolf. When I was a little smaller than I am today, I wasn't jealous. Then... what happens now?)

　With such questions in mind, Ray looks at Seto approaching the water wolf.
　The adventurer next to Ray followed Ray's gaze and watched Seto's actions.
　I wondered what would happen in the current situation...

"Guru".
"Wow? ... One."

　It looked like Ray was interacting with something.
　Of course, Seto can communicate with Yero, who is of a completely different race from his own.
　If you think about it that way, it's not strange to be able to communicate with the water wolf.
　Ray was so convinced, but at the same time, it's also true that I'm curious about what he's talking about in this situation.

"Hey, what... can you talk?"
"I don't know. I don't know about that. Maybe I'm just pretending to be able to talk."

　In response to the adventurer's words, Ray replies so.
　When I remembered what happened last night, it didn't seem like Seto and the water wolf were communicating well.
　In that case, it means that Seto and the water wolf were able to talk in this short time.(Maybe you came near Seto last night and talked to him? No, but as of yesterday, Seto should have been very wary of water wolves. If so, I don't think so.)

　However, there is no doubt that Seto and the water wolf never spent much time together.
　If so, it was natural for Ray to question the situation at the end of his gaze.
　...I didn't mean to worry about it, because it wasn't inconvenient for Ray that Seto and the water wolf could communicate.

"Not to mention that Seto and the water wolf can communicate, it's big that we don't have to think about disposing of the goblin's corpse. Judging from the look of the water wolf, it doesn't seem to fill us up."

　The body of the goblin swallowed is instantly melted and absorbed in the water wolf.
　So it seemed to Ray that the water wolf would never be full.
　You may have eaten too much of the goblin corpses and become bored with the taste.

"Well, it takes time and effort to carry the goblins, but it's helpful that they eat everything else. ... The downside is that it feels like it's connected to the water in the lake, so it can't be that far."
"Ah... it's like that."

　As far as Ray can see, waterwolves are basically in the lake.
　Sometimes, as I saw in the morning, the water wolf was connected to the water of the lake.
　In other words, the wolf and the lake are connected by what should be called a string of water.
　What happens if the water breaks?
　In the first place, Ray doesn't even know if the water wolf you're looking at is the main body, or if it's just moving in the shape of a water wolf.

(No, there's no point in thinking about it. You'll find out what the water wolf is like in the future. Fortunately, the water wolf is friendly to me.)

　Strangely, the water wolf treats the rays amicably.
　to the point where I wonder why on earth I went so far.
　As long as Ray is helped by it, he has nothing to complain about.

"Anyway, I don't know if I can find a goblin settlement, but I'm sure I should find it soon anyway. ... Seto!"
"Guru?"

　Seto, who was talking to a water wolf, approaches Ray's voice, "What's the matter?" with a growl.
　While patting Seto's head, Ray opens his mouth.

"It's pretty troublesome with the goblins, so I'm going to fly over Trent Forest and see if there's any settlement. Can you help me?"
"Slurp!"

　Seto chokes at Ray's words, "Of course!"
　It's partly because Ray is saying it, but moreover, it's very troublesome for Seto to be attacked by a goblin while moving through the Trent Forest.
　If you are an ordinary monster, you will often run away if you understand the power difference and status of existence, but if you are a goblin, that's basically not the case, it attacks you.
　Nevertheless, as soon as you know you have no chance to fight and win, you run away.
　It's not strange for Seto to think that if the Goblin community is in the Trent Forest, it's the first thing he wants to do.

"Okay, then I'll come out for a second. ... Good luck cleaning up the goblins."
"Wow!"

　a water wolf who cries happily at Ray's words
　Judging from the appearance of the situation, they must still like the goblin's corpse.

(Do you think goblins are delicious to people in the world of water wolves?)

　As long as we are in a different world in the literal sense of the word, it is not strange to have a big difference in taste.
　...but Ray also doubted why he found oak meat delicious, which is said to be the best in the world.

"Shall we think about that later? ... Here we go, Seto."

　When Ray on Seto's back calls out to him, Seto runs up from the spot, flapping his wings.
　As it rises to its usual height, it checks the Trent Forest for any abnormalities...or, more precisely, any goblin settlements.
　The Trent Forest is quite large, but if it's Seto, it's still easy to fly above.
　Also, when it comes to creating a community, the trees that grow naturally get in the way.
　Intelligent people may use trees as camouflage from above, but goblins do not do such things unless they are exceptions to the superior species.
　That's what I thought, but...

"Yeah. Well... I know."

　It wasn't long since we flew over, and it was only natural in a sense that we found it.
　A part of the forest of Trent, well away from where Ray and the woodcutters were logging, had discovered a goblin settlement where trees were growing sparsely grown.