It's me.
　We are coming out of the farm for a long trip today.

　The Elven Forest.
　So this is the home base of the elves....

But it's really desolate...?

　We're just at the point that should be the entrance to the forest.
　We were standing on the borderline between the area of trees and the area that is not.

　Strictly speaking, the position is one step down to the outside of the forest.
　Perhaps if we tried to enter the forest side any further, the arrows of the elves who had turned into manhunters would fly at us mercilessly....

　However, what was more worrisome than that was the desolation inside and outside the Elven Forest.

　A wilderness where not a single blade of grass grew.
　The soil was dry and silky, the rocky surface bare.
　The strip of depressions that stretched straight out as if drawing a line across the ground must have been a river that once flowed through it.
　Now it has dried up and there is nothing to see.

　Such a desolate landscape stretched as far as the eye could see.
　This was the result of natural mana being extracted by legal magic........

''Now that the human nation has been destroyed and the legal magic that devastates nature has stopped, the mana should be returning to the earth little by little. This earth is about to be revived.

　So we're talking about planting trees and helping to revive them.
　A battle is inevitable to get the local elves themselves, who live in the area, to approve it.

If we continue with our planting operations, there will be serious delays if there are any interruptions by Zimoel. It is essential that we deal with Zimoel before we can start work in earnest.

　Elzariel says, sounding serious.
　She too has become serious about her planting work before long.

　On the other hand........

'No!　I'm going home!　I'm going back to the farm, the home of my heart!

　Aileron, who was half forced to be brought to the farm, was still crying and screaming.
　I believed that if I was taken away, I would never be able to return to the farm again due to the forcefulness of Elsariel-san.

''Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for bringing you back with me...!
Ugh, I can't leave my saint for a second.

　He just clung to me as he said that.

'Don't go any closer to the woods, either of you.

　Elzariel said with the tension of a warrior.

'Already, the Zimoels have positioned themselves near the entrance to the forest.
Local Elves.

　But I couldn't feel anything.
　The forest in front of me was filled with tranquility, and there was nothing but a sense of quietness and seclusion.

　I could even hear birds chirping through the trees.

　Is there an elf lurking in this peaceful space, aiming to kill you?

With the elves' cloaking skills, not even a little bird would notice. But the elves can detect each other. There are at least five of them. They are pointing their arrows in our direction.
There are six of them.

　Elzariel-san puts a correction on Elron's narrative.

''As I thought, your instincts are also dull. I'm sure you'll be able to find one guy in the vanguard who is extremely good at blocking out all the attention. If you were alone, you'd be dead by now.
"That's why I said 'at least'!

　The first and second head eyes arguing with each other.

　I can't participate in their argument because I don't feel anything.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say.
　No one can find the elves who hid in the forest, and thus cannot attack them.
　But the elves can see their prey wandering through the forest in full view.
　The elves who have the forest on their side are invincible.

　Isn't the reason why we were able to easily catch an aileron who once infiltrated our home, because we encountered him outside the forest?

Normally, there is only one way for a race to defeat the elves that lurk in the forest. It is to burn the entire forest to the ground.
"How could you be so violent...?

　I pull back from Aeron's abrupt explanation.
　But in order to defeat an elf who received absolute terrain support called a forest, the entire forest, the guardian of the forest, had to be defeated.

"The reason why the elven forest has shrunk to this level is not only because of the depletion of mana, but also because the forest was burnt down in the war with the human nation...
'Again, that's the only and surest way to hold off the local elves who can't hear you. But that won't work this time.

　That's right.
　The original idea was to revive the elven forest in the first place, but it would be a disaster if the few remaining original forests were burned to the ground.

That's why we must accurately find and capture the elves that have blended into it without harming the forest.

　Is that realistically possible?
　Uncovering the elves that lived with the forest was the equivalent of sorting through the sand and mixed grit without tools.

　Even the teacher and Veerle seemed to find it a difficult task.
　Especially for Veerle, he's going to get bored and blow up the entire forest in a heartbeat.

That's why you brought the perfect helper to help you out, right?

　Someone caught my gaze and marched forward proudly.

　One of the two major leaders of our farm's monster team.
　This is Gobbler Gobkichi.

　Today is his day of triumph.

''I will do whatever you ask of me.

　Gobukichi declares himself to be reliable and worthy.
　He is usually inconspicuous, hiding behind Okubo, but his abilities are comparable to those of Okubo.

　On the contrary, in missions that require such attention to detail and accuracy, he is more capable than Okubo.

''If it's Okubo-dono, he'll certainly be able to reap four or five trees with his momentum first...''

　Gobkichi said with a wry smile.

'So instead of renting out the elf team, we're going to have Gobkichi work for us!　For God's sake, Gobbler!
'Are you sure you're okay?　The fact that you only brought this one guy with you means that rather than mobilizing all my former subordinate elves, this one guy can solve everything...?

　Elzariel seems to be half-convinced of Gobukichi's ability, which he still doesn't know.

''You're a poor judge, Miss, I'll vouch for Gobukichi's abilities!

　Aileron pounds away with confidence.
　Why do you have to be so bossy?

　Abandoning the gallery's buzzing, Gobbledygookichi walks off in a haphazard manner.
　Now it looks as if the monster has a big mouth, heading towards the elven forest.

'Wait!　If you break in that casually, you'll get an immediate shot at...?
Maa-maa.

　I pushed back Elzariel-san, who was in a hurry, and in the meantime, Gobbledygookichi would go on, everywhere.
　Then we entered the forest in earnest.
　Even from us, the trees were in the way, overlapping us, and we couldn't see Gobukichi clearly.

　And the response from the other party came quickly.
　Eight arrows were immediately shot at the intruder in my territory.

''Eh?　Eight?

　Wasn't there six lurking elves, in Elzariel's view!

　Those eight arrows flew precisely towards Gobukichi.
　At this rate, he would undoubtedly have so many arrows stuck in him that he would end up looking like a hedgehog.

　But it wouldn't happen.........
　All the arrows were knocked down by Gobukichi's scythe!

''What?!''

　Elzariel-san, who was watching the game like that, was puzzled.

''Some of those arrows came in from a perfect blind spot!　They were knocked down as well!

　Moreover, the elven arrows are said to have been given magic, which not only nullifies protective magic, but also has enhanced penetration that can be broken through with some armor.

　All of that doesn't translate to goblins.

''........This Gobukichi was previously given a blessing from God....

　Yeah.
　I was once offered a feast by a group of gods as a reward.
　Many of the farm's inhabitants got a blessing, and Gobb Kichi must have been one of them.

Orion, the god of hunting, gave me a blessing to hunt a lot of game. Through that blessing I gained the ability to predict things.
A seer?

　They say you can see something.
　Gov't has a couple of seconds in the future?

　That ability allowed Gobukichi to read the enemy's movements ahead.
　That meant that he was perfectly capable of dealing with it.

'There is no arrow that can't be struck down with the precognition given by God and the mana metal grass cutter scythe given by you, my lord. And.....

　Whoa?
　From our point of view, the gobbler has disappeared.
　He's moving super fast.

"Based on the angle of incidence, we can figure out where the shooter is. You guys think you can just change the location every time you shoot. I'm a lot faster than that.
What? Huh! Hehehe!

　Three screams could be heard at once from the elves lurking in the forest.
　Probably gobbledygookichi got them........
　They weren't exactly on the same page as the others, yet they screamed almost simultaneously!

"With Gobukichi's speed, will it be easy...?

　The speed of Gobukichi, who had mutated into a three-step mutation into a Takehaya Susano-o goblin, was faster than it sounded.
　This had been proven in a mock battle with the farm exchange students the other day.

　The 'speed' he had acquired as a mutant goblin.
　The 'speed' that comes from the ability to foresee things.

　There probably isn't anyone who has both of these things that can be ahead of Gobukichi...?