“... Stop!”

“...!”

Nicole, who was leading, spoke quietly, signaling for us to stop with a spread hand. Roya and Fal halted, reaching for their weapons at their waists.

“... Three goblins up ahead. No other enemies around.”

“... Three goblins confirmed. They’re only armed with sticks; the three of us can handle them.”

The goblins in this world, unlike some legends, don’t seek to breed with humans, but they are still dangerous creatures that attack people and steal livestock from villages. Due to their rapid reproduction rate, they can quickly become a problem. Adventurers who spot goblins are required to eliminate them whenever it’s within their ability.

Even so, underestimating them or facing goblins armed with stolen weapons has led to many casualties among adventurers.

“... Lilia.”

Roya, our party leader, looked to Lilia for confirmation, and she gave a small nod. It seemed like Roya, Nicole, and Fal would handle the goblins.

“Take this!”

*Slash!*

“Gya gya!”

“Hyaa!”

“Gya!”

“Geh geh?!”

Swish

“Geh gah…”

“Once more!”

“Gya…”

“... Alright, all three confirmed down.”

“... Yeah, this time, you made sure to finish off the fallen ones.”

“Yeah, I’m not letting my guard down anymore.”

“That’s right; it’s important not to repeat the same mistakes.”

It seems the battle ended safely.

“You three were amazing!”

“Hm, Nicole, with her sharp beastman senses, detected the monsters. Roya, our close-combat specialist, launched a surprise attack, distracting the goblins, and Nicole took advantage of her agility to attack from a different angle while Fal provided ranged support with his bow. It’s a solid team—I’d say they’ll reach D-rank in no time.”

Even from my vantage point, the coordination was impressive. And if B-rank adventurer Lilia thinks so, it must be true. She doesn’t seem like the type to flatter anyone.

“Really?!”

“Awesome!”

“Yes!”

“Still, never let your guard down. Even the strongest can die from a moment’s lapse... that’s the life of an adventurer.”

Lilia cautioned them, glancing at her missing left arm as a reminder. She may have lost it due to a mistake, and she wanted to impress upon them the risks of letting their guard down.

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Understood!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

We encountered goblins twice more after that. Three encounters in such a large forest suggested that there were quite a few of them here. We removed the goblins' ears as proof of the kill and buried their bodies.

Checking the direction with the compass while searching for herbs, we made it deep into the forest. So far, the compass had been reliably indicating the correct direction.

“The compass seems fine for now.”

“It’s a fantastic tool. Can it be used anywhere, not just here?”

“Yeah, but like I said earlier, there are some places where it doesn’t work. I’ll have to explain that when selling it, so people are aware.”

I’ll make sure to explain verbally or through warnings that it works in this forest but might not work everywhere.

“It’s really helpful here. The paths get sparser the deeper we go, and those red cloth markers become fewer.”

Sure enough, the path is much narrower now compared to when we entered the forest, and there are no branching paths. It seems few people venture this far into the forest.

“This is our first time coming this deep into the forest.”

“Yeah. If we got lost out here while being attacked by monsters, it’d be easy to end up lost for good. Luckily, with Tetsuya’s compass, we should be fine.”

We had come a long way into the forest, yet it stretched even further, with no change in scenery. In the confusion of battle, it’d be easy to stray off course and get lost. That’s probably why few adventurers venture this deep. At the forest entrance, there were many adventurers, but now, it was just us.

“Not many would come this far. The deeper we go, the more numerous and powerful the monsters become. We’ve gathered enough herbs for our other quest, so I suggest we turn back around here. Tetsuya, what do you think?”

“I agree; we’ve gathered enough data on the compass. Let’s head back.”

With stronger monsters ahead, it’s all the more reason to go. The party has been taking frequent breaks for my sake, but I worry I won’t have enough stamina for the return trip. I didn’t even help with the fighting or collecting, so... it’s clear I’m not cut out for adventuring.

“At least the way back is straightforward.”

“Roya, don’t get careless!”

“We still have half the trip back!”

“Nicole and Fal are right. We also have an escort request to complete. Until the client reaches safety, you can’t afford to let your guard down.”

“S-sorry!!”

Yeah, that was definitely overconfident. And it sounded a lot like tempting fate…

*Rustle, rustle*

“...?!”

Suddenly, something burst out from the bushes behind me.