This was the first time I had visited the Eastern Forest since Toya and the others had saved me that time.

　It's not only that I didn't need to, but I also didn't want to go near it because of the danger I was in.

　...... No, I was just in distress, I didn't encounter any danger in the sense of encountering demons or anything like that.

Now, we're going for goblins today, so we're going to have to go pretty deep. Are you sure you're strong enough?
Yes!　I've been running every day.
Okay. Good. Follow me.

　I followed him for about an hour, walking a little faster than usual.
　Finally, Toya stopped.

There are three goblins about 20 meters away, maybe. Can you handle them by yourself?
"I don't know. I don't know, but I'll try. Can you follow me in case of danger?
That's what I'm here for. I'll take care of it.

　I nodded vigorously and started walking in the direction that Toya pointed.
　I try to keep my footsteps as quiet as possible, and after about 10 meters, I see my opponent.

That's the goblin .......

　He's short, about the same height as me now that I'm a dwarf.

　He had a thin torso, grayish-green skin, sharp claws, and a long, thin, reptilian face.

　I've heard of them, but I've never seen one in person.

　Perhaps my sneaking up on him was a good thing, but he hadn't noticed me yet.
　The sound of my heart beating loudly and my hands almost shaking.

　--I can do this!

　I made up my mind, grabbed my battle hammer and started running.

　A goblin noticed me running towards it and turned around. But by that time, I had already swung the hammer.

"Yeah!

　I swing the hammer down as hard as I can at the goblin's head.

　Boom!

　With a dull, watery sound, the goblin's head disappears.
　And the liquid splashes down on my face.

"Huh?

　For a moment, I stand stunned, unable to understand what has happened.
　Right after that, the body of the headless goblin falls to the ground with a thud.

"Don't just stand there!

　The goblin that was swinging its claws at me was about to collapse. At the same time, its head, which had been flying through the air, also fell to the ground.

　At its side was Toya, holding a sword in his hand.

"Kill at least one more!
I can't.　Yes, yes!

　I struggled to hold back a surge of anger and confronted the goblin that was threatening me.

　Even though we're about the same height, the reach of a bare handed goblin is different from that of me with a battle hammer.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine!

　I swung the battle hammer as hard as I could and slammed it into the goblin's torso, and with a crushing sensation, the goblin's body was blown away and thrown to the ground.

The goblin's body was blown away and he was thrown to the ground. I mean, that's overkill.
The goblin's body was blown away and he was thrown to the ground.

　As soon as you see the goblin fall, all the things you've been holding back come pouring out of your mouth.

Tommy, I know what you're thinking, but if you're not careful, you could die.
"I'm sorry.

　Tommy, I know how you feel, but if you don't relax, you'll die.
　The liquid on my face is disgusting.

"Well, what can you do? Wash your face for now.

　I gratefully washed my face with the water and wiped off the spatter with a hand towel.

　When I looked around, I saw something grotesque again, and a sour taste welled up in my mouth.

"Ugh. ...... Huh?　Are there more of them?

　A closer look at my surroundings reveals that the number of fallen corpses is for five.
　Because there were three of them at first. .......

There were two more. Well, technically, I've been aware of it all along. I was hoping you could die. ......

　Apparently, while I was throwing up, Toya killed it.

　I hadn't noticed that ...... "Don't relax or you'll die" was a literal warning.

　It's true that if it weren't for Toya's follow-up, I might have been killed as usual. .......

Thank you, Toya.
"Well, I came along for the follow-up. That's the hobgoblin, by the way.

　When I looked in the direction Toya pointed, there was a headless corpse.

　You can find many different types of hobgoblins in the market.

　From what I've read, they're much tougher than goblins, but I guess it doesn't make much of a difference to Toya. I've already killed it before I even noticed it.

After this, we need to get the magic stone. Can you ...... do it?


Um, the goblin's magic stone is in the head, right?
"You're doing your research, aren't you? Yes, in the lower part of the brain. Let's give it a try.

　As he said this, Toya thrust his sword into a lying goblin's head, split it in two, and removed a small stone from it with the tip of his sword.

　He washed it with water, picked it up, and threw it at me.

"Whoa!

　I received a small stone about the size of the tip of my little finger, blackish and shiny.
　It was black and shiny, like obsidian, if you were looking for something close.

That's 250 rare. That's pocket change. We've been neglecting it a lot lately.

　It's enough for two days' worth of food, but it's a bit ...... delicate.
　In my case, Toya was able to follow me, but usually there is a certain amount of danger.

It's a little better. A little better.

　The goblins that he kills will be the ones that will be in danger.
　The three goblins he killed all had their heads chopped off.
　One of the goblins I killed had its head splattered, and the other was lying on the ground with its torso caved in.

So, Tommy, let's try!

How can you do that without hesitation, ......?

Familiarity, I guess. We didn't collect the demon stone at first because it was too hard to crack his head open.

I'm not sure.

　It's a bit far from being a humanoid ......, but cracking open the head of a living being is pretty tough. But you have to do it, don't you?

　I pulled out my knife and faced the head that Toya had rolled for me.

"Ugh. ......

"Tommy, it's just meat. It's not like you're going to break a fish's helmet.　Think of it as the same thing.

"I see. ......!

　That makes me feel a little better.

　It's not uncommon to cut a fish head in half with a knife, and there's no shortage of blood spattering in the process.

　Think of it as the same thing.

"Okay!

　I grabbed my knife back and thrust it at the goblin's head.

　　　　The goblin's demon stone collection is now underway.

　Once I had made up my mind, retrieving the goblin's magic stone was a piece of cake.
　Four goblins and a hobgoblin. A total of 1,600 rares.

　Toya gave me all of them to celebrate my first kill, so not bad for a few hours of work.

　Of course, I understand that this is not something I can do by myself, so don't make the mistake of thinking that I can do it too.

　If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to find it in the first place.

Well, I'm going home for the day. It's going to get dark soon.
Oh, yeah, that's right. ...... Are even you and Toya in danger at night?

　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them.

No, goblins are no problem. --As long as we ignore you.
Let's go home!

　I don't want to die yet, so I immediately propose to return.
　I don't want to die yet, so I suggest we go home. Toya smiles and nods at me.

"Yeah. Well, we'll probably be fine, but in any case, we don't have any lights, do we?　If Haruka and the others were here, they could handle it with magic, but I can't use magic. I can't use magic, so I won't be able to collect the magic stone when it gets dark.

I see. Without a magician, we'll have to prepare for that.

And water and everything else. It's going to be a tough adventure without them.

　Perhaps because he was planning to leave in a few hours, Toya had only a small bag with him today.

　He didn't collect anything other than the goblin's magical stone, but he would have had to bring back meat and skin.

　Considering this, the presence of a wizard is very helpful, even if it means skipping props such as water and torches.

Well, that's none of Tommy's business, since he's not going on an adventure. So how did it go?　Try fighting.

Well, it's going to take some getting used to with the ...... splatter, but it wasn't as strong as I thought, was it?

Well, yeah. The combination of [Strengthening] and a hammer seems to be quite an offensive force. The head was blown off in one shot.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who's had a bad experience.

"Ugh, ...... too much force?

It's better than going easy on yourself and getting hit back, but if you don't want to be covered in ...... flying debris, you might want to consider it. You might want to consider the location and direction.

　The second goblin, aimed at the torso, was killed with a single blow, but there was no blood spatter.
　So, is it a bad idea to smash the head from above?

But only a goblin would be able to do that. Orcs wouldn't be able to shatter a head like that, I don't think. Besides, Tommy is too tall to reach the head.



No, I have no plans to fight orcs!

　My goal is to fish and learn some defensive skills.
　I want nothing more than that.
　I'm not going to force myself to break goblin heads if I can live just fine with blacksmithing.

I don't need it if I'm going fishing. So, what are you doing tomorrow?　If you can get a day off, maybe we can spend a day together.

Oh, yeah?

They're going to keep working tomorrow. After that, I don't know when I'll have time.

　I know that you and your friends take time off from time to time, but it's for rest and relaxation.
　I can't ask them to stay in the forest with me at that time.

　So tomorrow would be a great opportunity for me. ...... Today was pretty tough.
　So, if you want to miss this opportunity, you can go to .......

"I'll have to talk to my master about this, but if I can get some time off, can I come along?
Yeah. I'll be training in the garden tomorrow, so if you get a day off, come along.

　I thanked Toya for his casual answer and we returned to the town of Laffan.