Chapter 12
From the sky fading into darkness, Lupusregina could see that almost everyone in the village was gathered in the village square. Enri was at their head, addressing them, but she couldn't hear what Enri was saying.
After Enri appeared to finish, the villagers were applauding.
"Ha… so it did turn out like this after all. Ahhhh, I can't take it, uhihihi."
"What's so funny?"
The voice from behind made Lupusregina turn around to face it.
"Oya! Yuri-nee? Are you flying because of a magic item?"
"That's right. Ainz-sama bestowed it upon me himself. This would be… Carne Village, right? That would be why you were scolded."
"That's right. Ahhh, now the fun's about to begin…"
"What do you mean?"
"A new leader has just arisen within the village. To the villagers, they're about to turn to a new page in their history. However, I wonder what would happen if, at this glorious moment, the village was attacked and everything set ablaze. I wonder what kind of faces those villagers would make?"
A sadistic grin spread over her beautiful face, and anyone who saw her would immediately conclude that something evil and horrible had been unleashed.
"And I thought you got along with these people. Is this coming from the bottom of your heart?"
"That's right, Yuri-nee. I mean every word of it. Every time I think of the people I get along with getting trampled like ants and exterminated with brute force, I can't help but laugh."
"You're terrible. You're as bad as Solution. Why are my little sisters like this? Really, the only good one is Shizu… although I suppose Entoma isn't a bad girl."
Lupusregina laughed as her older sister grumbled.
"Ah, will the village be destroyed after all? I just can't wait!"
"Ah, I'm so tired."
Enri dumped the small slate she was holding on the table and flopped down, devoid of energy. She turned to look at the source of the quiet laughter and saw Nfirea there with a smile that said 'just as planned' on his face.
"You've worked hard, Enri."
"It's soooo haaaaard~ I'm not good at using my head…"
"You need to learn how to read and write, you know."
Enri's reply was a mournful whine.
"As the village chief she needed a basic level of education, which was why Nfirea was personally instructing her, but Enri's head felt like it was splitting apart.
"These stupid words, they were made up just to give me trouble…"
"Don't say that. You've already learned how to write your own name, haven't you? And Nemu-chan's as well."
"Mm… well, that is a good thing… can't I get by with just that much?"
"Alas! These are merely the basics. Look at it this way, you've only started learning for five days, we haven't even reached the important parts yet."
An 'are you kidding me' expression appeared on Enri's face.
"Ahhh, don't make a face like that. Once you learn the basics, they'll serve you well. That's why they're so important."
"Hmph."
"You look really tired. Then, we'll stop here for today."
As though she'd been waiting for this word, Enri sprang up from her seat.
"That's wonderful! Let's end early tomorrow too! Thank you, Enfi!"
Nfirea smiled thinly before wiping the chicken scratch-like letters off the slate.
"Then you'd best get a good rest. Tomorrow we'll start again at the same time."
"I'm really happy that you're using your experiment time to teach me all this. But I don't want to be grateful at all…"
"Mm. Well, that's how it is. They say it's better for a teacher to be hated by their students than to be thanked by them."
"That's a lie! It's a total lie!"
"Ahahaha. Ah, I'm out of time. Goodnight, Enri."
"Mm. Goodnight. Don't work too hard when you get back and sleep early."
Nfirea smiled to show he understood, and then he left through the front door. After watching the floating mote of his magical light recede into the distance, Enri returned to her house. In the darkness, it felt especially lonely.
"Ah― I'm so tired…"
Enri lazily stripped off her clothing and burrowed under the covers. She'd been so noisy when learning just now, but now all she could hear were the cute sounds of her little sister sleeping. Enri calmly closed her eyes.
Having worked her brains so hard earlier, Enri was certain she would fall asleep right away. Just as she expected, she passed out within seconds of closing her eyes.
Enri didn't know how long she'd slept, but a distant sound woke her from her slumber.
Three knocks. A pause and then three more knocks.
Realizing what that signal meant, Enri forced her eyes open in the darkness. Having woken with abnormal speed and realizing she was still at home, she practically leapt out of bed. In the same moment the others bolted awake too.
The three little girls' faces showed a bit of fear, but they quickly got up together with Enri and Arche. As the sound of the bells carried over the wind, the sisters readied themselves swiftly. Theirs was a speed born of repeated evacuation drills.
Lighting a lamp would waste too much time, so Enri prepared herself to flee in the dark, but Arche mumbled something and little orbs of light appeared in both bedrooms.
The bell was still ringing loudly, which meant there was an emergency "situation. This was definitely a sign that an attack as coming.
The training sequence for the evacuation repeated itself countless times in her heart, and she couldn't completely abandon her desire to run away from reality and this, but the chill in the air denied it. It was the same chill that was there when the soldiers attacked the village.
As they neared the rendezvous point, Arche and Enri pushed forward their little sisters.
"All right, go!"
They nodded very slightly in reply, and then joining hands dashed toward the meeting place for those who would not fight.
After a glancing at the battle-ready Arche, as a days-old village chief, Enri wondered about what to do now that she was a fewdays-old village chief.
The bad feelings she had before assuming the position now flowed out uncontrollably from her heart.
"It's as though the gods want to see us suffer…"
Without thinking, Enri let the words slip out of her mouth. This was the worst-case scenario.
"It'll be alright, Enri-san."
While she was being reassured, a goblin ran up to Enri.
"What happened? What's going on?"
"We found monsters in the forest. High chance they'll be attacking us."
"Understood, now let's go!"
With the goblin leading the way, they soon came to the main gate. Enri saw that the night-time barricades were set up and the goblins were massing here. Wearing the weapons and armor she had bought for them, they looked like seasoned veterans.
Arche joined her group which seemed imperturbable in the face of the incoming attack.
As she drew close she could scent a stink on the air, which clued Enri in to the fact that there were ogres present. The ogres clutched their new clubs, which looked spiky and menacing.
Along with Enri, a panting Nfirea and the villagers enrolled in the self-defence force gathered at the main gate. Agu and some of his fellow goblins, the ones who had recovered enough from their ordeal to fight, stood with them as well.
"Is that everyone? How about Madam Lizzie? Did something keep her?"
Nfirea's grandmother Lizzie was a notable magic caster in her own right. It wouldn't have been out of place for her to take part in the village's defense.
"No, Obaa-chan's not coming here. She's at the safe house. That place is important too."
The villagers nodded as they heard Nfirea's words. Since their family members had fled there, they had to keep it secure too.
"All those who can't use bows are already over there. Since you guys are strong, would it be all right for one of you to go over there?"
"We can't do that."
Jugem flatly refused one of the villagers' request.
He hadn't done this out of malice toward the villagers whom he had lived and worked with. As the surging tension made Enri gulp, Jugem explained his position.
"There's a lot of monsters. And there are others, in addition to the ogres. Since they're all coming this way, splitting up our forces would be bad."
"Do you have a clear picture of their numbers?"
"Hekkeran-san, the enemy was lurking in the forest. There's no way to accurately judge their numbers. However, we did manage to get an estimate… about a dozen ogres, several giant snakes, many wargs, a lot of somethings we think might be barghests and something very big following behind them."
"Wargs, giant snakes and barghests? Hmm, is there a druid behind them?"
"It's very likely. Things will be really bad if they have a magic caster on their side. We can probably assume that they also have ranged attackers. So it would be better to marshal all our fighting power here, right? Should I call Obaa-chan over?"
"That… is hard to say, Ani-san. The rendezvous point is one of the strongest buildings in the village. If anything happens, it'll be the final defensive line or in other words, the village's keep. We can't let anyone protecting that place leave."
"…So we'll be falling back as we fight, then?"
"Right, we'll use the second strategy against invaders. After feathering them with arrows, we'll use barricades to keep them at bay while we stab them through the gaps with spears. Doesn't matter how skilled people are once they're that close."
"Ah, then I'll leave that to you. However, wargs and barghests are very agile, and if left alone, they'll cause a lot of damage. Target them first. Also, when their druid shows up, would you mind having the defense force go to the back line?"
"I'm not opposed to that, but will you have enough people on the front without us?"
"… If we're lucky, we'll be enough."
"If it's like that… as I thought, I'd better tell everyone here to be ready to die. At least, if we're in the back we won't be attacked, so we can concentrate fire on the druid. You know, this is the first time I've seen such brave villagers… at least, I thought that much when I watched them train with bows."
"In the past, the village was attacked… and we hated how useless we were."
Enri, who had been silent up till now, cut in with the sentiments of every member of the defense forces.
Amazingly, there was nobody here who wanted to flee. There was no way around this fight, no way they wouldn't protect their village for the loved ones hiding behind them.
"Speaking of which, such a large force must have taken some time to assemble. Does this mean they've been sent by the Giant of the East or the Serpent of the West?"
"That's very likely."
Jugem softly confirmed Hekkeran's suspicions.
If that was the case, it would mean Agu had drawn the monsters here. That was why Jugem had lowered his voice, so the defense force wouldn't pick up on it and direct their aggression at Agu.
The existence of monsters like the Giant of the East, the Serpent of the West and their mutual enemy, the Beast of the South, had already been made known among the villagers.
Although the Beast of the South had been tamed by the Dark Hero, the mighty monster's form and presence had been etched indelibly on the villagers' hearts. Fear was the appropriate response to the thought of fighting something on the same level as that.
"So what kind of magic does the Serpent of the West use? Damn, what a pain."
Jugem nodded to Arche's mumbling.
"Usually, monsters with innate spells won't have more than ten of them, but if they can practice and learn magic they'll have access to many more, which makes them troublesome. If they know magic for crossing obstacles…"
"Don't worry. Just stay behind and shoot. We'll handle the front."
The goblins had trained the defense force for precisely this role, which suited them best.
A small village would be hard-pressed to gather armor and weapons, and there simply weren't enough to arm the defense force. And in the end, they were still villagers. They might have strong arms from working the fields, but that didn't translate into sword skills. Anyone who could train himself into a warrior that could defeat monsters in their free time between chores would be nothing short of a genius.
With those points in mind, the goblins realized that they couldn't turn the defense force into frontliners. Instead, they decided to teach them archery to become the rear guard.
Although their technique had improved and they could hit their targets, their bows didn't have much penetrative power, making it difficult to strike a telling blow on thick-skinned monsters. However, if they were lucky and fired in unison, there was a chance they might hit a vulnerable spot.
"Alright, just like we trained, aim at the other side of the door, and fire in ranks! Agu, your tribe's task is to keep the main door from being broken down and stab the enemies with spears."
"Ohhh! Leave it to me! In fact, why not put us at the frontline with the ogres?"
"You stupid kid! If I let you do that, you'd just end up killing yourself. You can say that once you get stronger!"
After being scolded by Jugem, Agu's face was filled with regret and some of the defence force members went to comfort him.
Enri sighed in relief as she saw this. For one, the villagers didn't see him as the one who had brought the monsters in. For another, it was proof that Agu was accepted by the villagers.
They were the last outsiders to arrive in the village. Although they weren't shunned or treated badly, there was still a distance between them. However, from the look of things, that gap would vanish if they won today. It was ironic that the battlefield was the best place to build the bonds of camaraderie.
And it was because he felt that gap that Agu fought so fiercely. His objective was to contribute to the village and raise the standing of himself and his people. In human society, they would show respect to people who shed blood for them. Agu and his people had the welfare of his people in mind, so his passion was only natural.
"Enfi, I have something to ask of you."
After that, Nfirea stood beside Agu, and whispered into his ear.
"Agu, I have something to entrust to you. Take these alchemical items and use them well."
He opened his satchel. Inside were many bottles and papers.
"Use these and throw them at the enemy. You'll miss if you're too far away, so try to use them at medium range. You ready?"
"Sure! Watch me accomplish my mission perfectly!"
Agu accepted the satchel, and as they were waiting, one of the goblins on the turret shouted down to them.
"They're on the move! They're heading this way!"
If one were to listen, they could hear the sounds of the monsters rending the night.
"Defense force to your positions! Ane-san, watch out! Ani-san too!"
"Yes, yes, I got it! Don't any of you die, please!"
"Of course!"
"Now then, Enri, shall we?"
Nfirea ran up to Enri as her escort. Their job was to patrol the houses to see if anyone hadn't noticed the emergency.
As they watched Enri leave, the goblins stood to battle stations.
"Self-defense force, to your places ― and done. The enemy is entering the target area."
There was no direct line of fire to the monsters on the other side of the wall. Shooting an unseen target would require firing in an arc, but that wasn't something any amateur could do, and training to be able to do that would take too long. As a result, the goblins had decided to try something else.
They trained the defence force to land arrows on the other side of the wall at a specific distance. That meant learning how much force to use, and practicing the right angle to shoot at in order to accurately hit within a certain area. It was training that was completely useless outside of very specific circumstances. However, since the enemy's aim was to break down the gate and they were massed in front of it, single-mindedly attacking the gate, the training was very effective.
The main gate trembled under the fearsome cries of the monsters, and the nearby walls shuddered as well.
"Very good! Enemies are at the target area! Suppressive fire from the turret― begin!"
"Begin!"
In response to Jugem's shout, the goblin archers on the watchtower ― Shuringan and Gurindai ― began shooting. As long as their target was within their line of fire, the marksmen of the goblins would not miss.
Screams of agony rose up from the other side of the door.
The defense force trembled in fear and tension, as though they would be swallowed up by the air which was filled by the awful din of the battlefield. Amidst all this, Jugem shouted once more.
"Defence force ― hold! Do not raise your bows until ordered!"
They were told not to shoot when the enemy had reached the place they had spent countless hours learning to shoot. However, in the next instant, everyone who looked at the towers understood why.
The monsters had started hurling rocks from the other side of the wall. Each one was about the size of a human head.
Although many went astray, even a lucky hit on the watchtower made it shudder.
"Rock throwers confirmed! Enemy rock throwers have multiple rounds remaining!"
"Each one has about 3 rocks, and roughly 21 rocks in total ― whoa!"
"Another thrown rock struck a watchtower and the wood splintered.
If they began shooting, the defense force would become targets too.
It was true that the defense force was out of sight of the enemy, and their accuracy would be low. However, if they were unlucky, a single hit could kill people. Even a weakly-thrown rock could severely injure someone.
The order for the defense force not to attack could be said to be a safe strategy, because it showed that Jugem did not want anyone to die before the extended battle could commence.
"Don't think we can't hit you just because you're throwing rocks at us!"
Gurindai shouted angrily, and began shooting again while weaving through the hail of flung rocks. The defence force burned his courageous form into their eyes, watching the way he fearlessly returned fire, knowing that he would be severely hurt if he was hit. However, Jugem was not watching him. He quickly scanned his surroundings and found new enemies in an instant.
"Kiumei! Snakes climbing the wall on the left flank! You'll be alright by yourself?"
"No problems, Leader! Leave it to me!"
Kiumei, who had been standing by in the rear, spurred his wolf forward. Ahead of him were the giant snakes climbing the wall.
"You two hang on a bit more!"
There was no need for Jugem's words. Not a hint of fear could be seen in the shooting stances of the two archers atop the listing watchtower. Not caring whether the tower would collapse under them, they continued targeting the monsters and baiting the rock attacks. On the left flank, Kiumei seemed to be doing well against the snakes.
Finally, the watchtower bent and broke under the barrage of thrown rocks. Shuringan and Gurindai jumped down to the ground, rolling several times to disperse the impact of their fall.
"Defense force archers ready!"
In response to the call, the archers prepared their bows.
"Breathe deep! In ― out! In ― Pull!"
This voice was just like their training, and for a moment, the defense force archers forgot they were on the battlefield. Ignoring the sound of the timbers creaking, they performed the same movements like they did during practice.
"Loose!"
Fourteen arrows traced beautiful arcs through the sky and vanished behind the wall, drawing more screams of pain from the monsters.
"Amazing," Agu muttered to himself, but Jugem had no intention of giving anyone else the time to watch further.
"Second wave ready! ― Don't panic ― Breathe deep! In ― out! In ― Pull!"
By this time, Shuringan and Gurindai had been healed and took their places by the defence force.
"Loose!"
Once again, fourteen arrows flew forth, followed slightly later by two more. The door creaked louder as the cries from the enemy intensified. The arrows must have gotten them mad — and made them hit harder.
"Back up! Change weapons!"
The defence force moved as a group behind the barricades positioned behind the main gate. Anyone charging in would be stuck on the sturdy bars and spikes of the obstacle. The arrangement was in an L-shape, leading the attackers to where Jugem and the ogres were waiting for them. For the intruders, breaking through the gate would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
"If you see any magic casters, get out of their line of fire!"
"Leader!"
"What's the matter, Agu?"
"Ani-san gave me some alchemical items and there's glue in there, where do you want it?"
"Will it be absorbed by the mud?"
"Yes, but he said it would only shorten its effective duration."
"If it's like that, then wait for a good opportunity and jam up the entrance."
After showing they understood, Agu and his tribesmen moved off as one. Kiumei returned after defeating the snakes and immediately headed off to the goblin cleric to receive healing.
There was the sound of wood splintering, and one side of the main gate was down. Enemy ogres surged through the breach.
"Kuku, a bunch of brainless fools."
Jugem mocked the incoming enemies. They had made a fatal mistake.
The monsters had only broken down one side of the doors. Once that side was down, they ignored the other side and forced their way in, especially since they were afraid of being hit by arrows if they remained outside. However, with only one side of the door down, they could only come in one or two at a time, which meant a lot of enemies were stuck squeezing through the entrance. In addition, they would be caught in the angle of an L-shaped ambush, where all the defenders could focus their attacks on a small number of attackers at a time.
"Welcome to the kill zone. Time to die."
The armed ogres on the village's side would have an advantage in a slugging match against their wild counterparts, and the defence force had their spears to assist. Any ogres who tried to break down the palisades would be taken down by arrows, magic and Agu's alchemical items. The goblins and 'Foresight' would handle any magical beasts who broke through amidst the chaos.
The tactical situation was overwhelmingly favourable to them and there were still the goblin wolf riders standing by in the rear. If the enemy didn't have any magic casters, their victory would be assured. However—
"—What's that?!" Panic crept into Jugem's voice. "Is that a troll out there?"
It looked different from an ogre and even bigger. It lurched stiffly toward the defenders, emitting an oppressive presence as it came. In its hand, it held a greatsword with an unnatural air about it.
A sticky substance flowed in the middle of the blade. That must be some form of magic.
"The boss took the field?… Could that be the Giant of the East?"
It certainly looked that way. Its strong body looked like it had been trained until it was as hard as steel and it was completely unlike any of the trolls Jugem knew of. At a glance, he could see how it could be on par with the Beast of the South.
Just one troll would require all of the goblins to handle. It was an enemy that was tougher than any they had ever faced.
"If that's the case…"
Jugem thought about what to do.
It seemed hopeless. The best way would be to cover Enri's escape. If she didn't want to, then even if they had to force her―
"…No, that's not the best way. That's the worst way, and our last resort."
Having given up on that course of action, Jugem spoke to his goblin troops.
"…Oi, you lot. Every single one of us is going to win or die. Don't even think about childish things like falling back. Make sure you brand your heroic deeds into everyone's eyes!"
The goblins answered with a roar full of fighting spirit. In an instant, enemies and allies alike seemed to freeze.
"Here we go, lads! Let's show them the power of Ane-san's boys!"
After a circuit of the village, Enri confirmed that nobody was left behind and breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, the sound of something breaking came from the front. It was followed by battle cries from both sides and the resounding deep bass sound made her shudder.
That was probably the sound of the gate breaking and the goblins joining battle. She nearly threw up from stress, but Enri forced it back down. The bitter taste remained in her mouth, but she ignored it to look at Nfirea.
"Enfi. We should be heading to the gate."
"Understood. But you need to go to the rendezvous point and calm everyone down, okay?"
Enfi's words had the subtext of don't get in everyone else's way.
Although Enri had been trained in the use of a bow, now that the gate had been broken, the battle would have moved into close quarters. To be honest, even if Enri went there now, there wasn't much she could do.
"I can't do that. I chose to lead the goblins and the villagers, and as long as I'm able, I need to do that. Although falling back is the correct thing to do, it's not the right thing to do."
She had to stand on the frontlines and see how the battle was fought. After seeing the conviction in Enri's eyes, Enfi hardened his features and nodded.
"That's true. I understand. I'll protect you."
The serious expression on her childhood friend's usually placid face made Enri's heart beat in strange and wondrous ways.
"Mm? What's wrong, Enri? I know, I'm not as cool as Gown-san, but I won't let you die."
"…Don't say die."
"Ah, I'm sorry. That… that…"
As she saw her childhood friend struggle for the words to use, like he always did, Enri smiled.
"Let's go, Enfi!"
"Ah, yes! That's right, we don't have time to waste on talking!"
The two of them ran to the front gate. Because they'd started running from the rear gate, which was furthest away, even if they ran at top speed, it would take them a while to get there. And with them panting for breath, there was no way they could start fighting right away. In order not to let haste make waste, they proceeded at a moderate speed.
However, they only ran for a few seconds.
The two of them heard a stomach-churning sound and halted in their tracks.
Looking back, they saw someone abnormally huge, far larger than a human being. They couldn't comprehend it in the moment that they saw it, but that was its true form. It had a hand on the rear gate, which stood four meters tall.
"―That, what's that? A giant?"
"I don't know! Ah—"
Nfirea's words cut off halfway, and his mouth hung open. Enri frantically turned to look at what had stunned him and ended up making the same expression.
The creature was slowly climbing the wall.
"Could that be a troll?"
As she heard Nfirea breathing those words, Enri stared at the emerging monster. "What's that?"
"Although it's the first time I've seen one, it's exactly like how I've heard it would be. If that's really a troll we're in trouble… Trolls are opponents that even 'Foresight' would have trouble beating.."
Enri felt the blood drain downward as she heard about something that was stronger than the mightiest guys in the village.
The troll that was revealing its massive silhouette snorted, and it started looking around its surroundings.
Grabbing Enri by the hand, Nfirea dragged her into the shadows of a nearby house. Here, he closed his mouth and whispered directly into her ear at a barely audible volume.
"Enri, trolls have very sensitive noses. It is okay for now since we're downwind, but it's too soon to rest easy. You need to get out of here… then meet up with the others."
Enri drew closer to Nfirea and whispered back into his ear.
"I can't, Enfi. If we let that guy go to the main gate, everyone will die in the pincer attack."
"That might be the case, but right now, we can't―"
"―We're the only ones here. That means it's up to us to stop it."
Between the gap in his hair, Nfirea's eyes looked at Enri like he'd just seen a crazy person. Granted, Enri did realize she'd just asked him and herself to do the impossible, but to be honest, there was no other way.
"We don't need to win or defeat it. We just need to delay it. Enfi, please lend me your strength."
"―How are we going to delay it? Lure that guy away from here? I suppose I could fight it directly… but I doubt I could take even a single hit from him."
Nfirea's calm words revealed a calm determination inside him. In response, Enri laid out her plan.
"I have an idea. For starters, let's make some ogres."
The troll stared briefly at a wooden, human-made house and made its move.
That was because it thought all the houses had the smell of soft, delicious humans, but that was just leftover scent. After confirming there were no other scents in the area, it began striding toward the direction where the sound of battle was coming from. The sound of humans fighting its brethren made it drool non-stop, and in its mind, it thought of the humans that would be there.
A soft, lovely feast of human flesh.
As a connoisseur among trolls, it loved the meaty limbs and disliked the bitter torso. Therefore, it was rare that he could eat its fill, but now it looked like he would get the chance to do just that.
The troll's strides grew longer and he started to drool in anticipation.
However, the troll halted and looked carefully around its surroundings. Or rather, he looked into the shadows of a nearby house.
There were ogres. The smell of ogres was wafting out from there.
The troll frowned. Although there were ogres on his side, there was a slight difference in the scent it was picking up. It was one of which he had no prior memory. And now it was coming from all around him.
Of course he didn't come to this conclusion because his nose was as sensitive as a bloodhound's, but because it had remembered the unique odor of its ogre allies. As such, the didn't know how many ogres there were.
And that brought up a question. There was a strange smell here as well, like crushed grass, but far stronger.
Has an ogre shredded grass and smeared himself with the juices?
It pondered this question and found confusion. The strong herbal odor stung the troll's nose, and tears were about to flow. If the ogres could endure this stench, it must have been because they had a bad sense of smell.
He could take them on face to face. As a troll, he was much stronger than any ogre. However, that didn't mean he could emerge unscathed, and it would take time to deal with them.
Because trolls had the natural ability to regenerate, their wounds would recover over time. However, regenerating its injuries would still take a while, which was troublesome. Who knew, his allies might have eaten all the humans by the time it got there.
Then, since the opposition had dispersed, as long as he moved straight ahead, they would all come out to attack him.
He felt a glimmer of pride at seeing through his opponents and slowly began moving again.
He would destroy them all in a short time. Thus, the fact that his opponents had split up was a golden opportunity. All he needed to do was slay the ogres one by one.
He moved slowly, taking care not to make noise, but suddenly, a small shadow dashed out of a nearby house.
It wasn't a goblin, but one of its favorite prey, humans.
In contrast to the troll who had been surprised into inaction, the caped human splashed something on him…
"Guooooaaaahhh!"
The troll screamed from the overpowering stench. Just by smelling the odor of the green stuff, the powerful stink burrowed into its nose. This reek was several times stronger than that of the grass-stained ogres.
Even though he could regenerate, this was not a wound it could heal. It simply could not endure the smell. Its eyes watered and it took a step toward the human, but it had already run back into the house.
The reason why the human had managed to get so close despite the troll's keen sense of smell was because the human's scent had been masked by the scent of the crushed grass.
Angered by the loss of his target, the troll returned to its earlier target — the ogres. First, he would kill the ogres and then find that tantalizing bait, the troll thought.
The troll, thrashing around the outside of the house in a fury, didn't find any signs of the ogres. It was as though they'd vanished into thin air.
"Ogres, where?"
Looking around, he still couldn't find the ogres, which were still large despite being smaller than himself. No matter how those ogres moved, he should have seen them eventually. Could those puny ogres use invisibility, like their master? The troll had encountered another situation he could not figure out and snorted.
However, the strong stink of herbs rising from his own body interfered with its sense of smell, and it could not follow the ogres' scent trail.
"Uuuuuuuuuu…"
The moaning troll scraped experimentally at the fluid on its body.
"This time, its fingers stank. Glancing around, the troll found a fallen piece of cloth on the ground.
The troll considered that it might be good to wipe itself off with the cloth and picked it up with a curious expression on its face. It brought the cloth to its nose and sniffed, but because its nose still wasn't fully recovered yet, it could only get a bit of scent.
The troll smelled ogre on the cloth, and suddenly, he understood. He had mistaken this cloth that reeked of ogre-stink for an ogre itself.
This was not a coincidence.
"Humans!"
Roaring angrily, the troll started tearing up its surroundings. No humans. Then they should still be in their homes.
The troll's fist pounded angrily at a nearby house and after hammering at it several times, it reached up to tear the roof off, intent on destroying the interior.
A human rushed out in a panic as it was demolishing the house. Eager to tear the human apart as well, it gave chase.
The troll was chasing her. That meant the plan was working. Though Enri was grateful for that, her heart was still pounding and she wanted to cry. A gigantic, man-eating monster was pressing in from behind, and this high-stakes game of tag — if she lost, she would disappear down that monster's throat — was something any ordinary village girl would cry about.
The fact that she didn't know how long she'd have to play this game made her want to cry even more.
If she knew when it would be over, she might be able to will herself to keep fleeing until the last moment. However, without knowing when the battle at the gate would be over, without knowing when the others could come and help her, she was filled with uneasiness, which diminished her strength.
Enri regretted not sending someone over to the main gate to make a report, but the preparations had taken too long.
She ran with all her strength, rushing into the house where Nfirea was waiting. In turn, Nfirea rushed out of the back door, wearing the same cape and robe that she was.
Enri held her breath, gulping and hoping that the enemy hadn't seen through their scheme. The troll continued chasing Nfirea, not having noticed the switch.
She calmed her ragged breathing and clasped her hands in delight.
Trolls were far superior to humans in strength, stride length and physical ability, therefore a single person running away would definitely be caught. In order to recover stamina for extended periods of movement, they decided to switch with each other without letting the enemy notice. This was intended to draw out the chase, and also to keep it from going to the rendezvous point where the people were.
The question, then, was how to deceive it.
How could trolls tell humans apart? Maybe if they lived together long enough they would have a few ways, but this was not nearly long enough. Practically speaking, it would be by appearance, especially clothing. As such, Nfirea and Enri had worn the same capes.
Next, they had to keep it from differentiating between the two of them via its sense of smell, and the herbal juice was meant to take care of its keen nose.
Enri had prepared two traps based on scent — one was to use the ogre-stink to halt it in its tracks, and the other was using the stench of the herbs to disorient it.
After she got her breathing under control. Enri began stealthily moving to the next house.
She crept into the darkened interior of the house, peeking at the situation outside. With a 'dong' sound, Nfirea ran inside. At this moment, Enri ran out again from the back door by which she had entered.
But then Enri realised that the troll wasn't following her, even though she had run out of the house.
The troll snorted and looked at Enri and the house. Its ugly face contorted even further. She guessed that the look on its face might be surprise.
Cold sweat beaded on Enri's throat. She touched herself unconsciously, and her hand came away, sticky and wet.
"…Its nose is used to it?"
After getting used to the smell of the herbs, and smelling the fear in her sweat, the troll seemed to have realised that there were two humans.
The troll raised its hand and smashed it deeply into the house. Nfirea ran out again. However, his footsteps stopped, and he didn't look like he was going to flee.
"Enri! Run away! I'll buy you some time!"
"―Idiot! Run with me!"
"It'll definitely catch up with us! Even if we use the houses as shields!"
The wide-eyed Enri saw Nfirea smiling.
"I'm stronger, so there's a higher chance I'll survive if you leave me behind!"
Nfirea cast a spell, and his body was enveloped in a bubble of soft, gentle light.
He continued smiling to Enri, who had lost the power of speech.
"And besides ― I want to protect the woman I love!"
Nfirea turned toward the ferocious monster, raising his fist and pointing his thumb to himself.
"Come on, big guy, I'll play with you! Come have a go if you're hard enough! [Acid Arrow]!"
Nfirea kept taunting the troll, while firing a green arrow of acid at it. As it hit, steam rose with the sound of hissing and bubbling, making the troll scream in agony.
The troll fixed its rage-maddened eyes on Nfirea. It paid no more attention to Enri.
"Go! Go and get help!"
It would be foolish to waste time here.
"―You'd better stay safe!"
Saying that, Enri ran.
The troll didn't look like it wanted to follow her. Instead, it stared at Nfirea.
Frankly speaking, his chances of survival were zero. There was an overwhelming difference in their respective physical capabilities. And there was no way he could triumph over a foe that needed gold-ranked adventurers to beat.
It was a hopeless battle, and being able to hold on for even a minute was worthy of praise.
"Yup, I'm going to die."
Nfirea smiled bitterly as he watched the troll, who was approaching him warily.
It could not regenerate damage caused by acid and fire. Because of this, the troll was especially careful around Nfirea, who could defeat its greatest ability. It was laughable that it had to act so cautiously around a foe it could finish off in one blow.
"Well, that works for me. [Hypnotism]!"
The troll's hostility seemed unchanged. It seemed to have resisted the spell.
Realizing that it had been targeted by a spell, the troll charged.
The gigantic body approaching him was like a scene out of a nightmare.
"If it worked, I could have held on a bit longer… no such luck. Ahhh, what a shame."
Nfirea seemed to have given up. This was because it was a completely unwinnable battle, which had crossed the line from bravery to recklessness. But even so―
―He had to buy time for Enri.
With that thought in mind, Nfirea leapt into action.
Making note of the troll's upraised left arm, he ran forward and to the left. Seeking life in death, he plunged head-first into danger to reach the safety beyond it. The troll's fist followed him, and the wind of its passing ruffled his hair. And in front of Nfirea, a mighty foot kicked out at him like a moving wall.
Nfirea's vision spun wildly as he flew through the air, his body making cracking sounds like shattered tree branches.
He hit the ground hard and rolled several times, like a piece of discarded rubbish.
Pain coursed through Nfirea's body, which was still rolling over the ground. He was in more pain than he'd ever been in his life.
"No, I somehow managed to survive. That's amazing. I'm amazing…"
This was because of the effects of his defensive spell and the fact that the troll had been unable to kick with all its strength. Ignoring the pain that shot through him with every breath he took, Nfirea stood, and loosed another spell.
"[Acid Arrow]!"
The pursuing troll stopped in its tracks, wary of the pool of scorching acid at its feet.
Mmm, just as planned.
Nfirea's aim was to buy time. If the enemy stopped attacking and went on guard, he hoped it would continue to stay that way.
"…Damn, this hurts. I don't want to die…"
Nfirea gave voice to his despair.
In the end, this was all his life had amounted to.
He didn't want to face this fact, but the circumstances were forcing him to acknowledge it.
He would die here. There was no doubt that his existence would end here.
He wanted to run. Maybe if he ran with all his strength he might be able to escape. But if that happened, what manner of tragedies would occur?
Nfirea thought of Enri.
He was able to fight because he had Enri.
"So I told her after all… damn. I don't want to die before I hear her answer."
The ever-approaching troll could not understand what the young man was feeling.
And he couldn't delay it any longer.
He didn't know how, but Nfirea managed to read his opponent's thoughts through its face. It was planning to kill him, even if it got hurt. If that was the case—
"[Acid Arrow]!"
All Nfirea could do was wound the troll, in order to make things easier for his allies who would face the troll after him.
The troll raised its fist, face twisted from the pain of being burnt by the acid. Nfirea, who couldn't even stand without being wracked with pain, was unable to muster any form of defense.
He could only watch as a deadly blow came down crashing on him.
"Hurry!"
In response to Enri's command, the three goblins ran to save Nfirea.
The reason they had met up wasn't because Enri had reached the main gate, but rather, because Enri had not returned, and the noise coming from the rear had worried Jugem enough that he had sent three goblins out to investigate.
If he could just hold on, the goblins would save him. This was what Enri thought, as her heart was shredded by guilt.
This was really a stroke of bad luck.
If it hadn't been like this―
"There!"
Enri was pointing to Nfirea, in front of them. And towering over him, the troll was raising its fist.
They couldn't reach him. The distance was just too far.
The troll's hand fell like a thunderbolt. It could destroy a house in a single blow. Nfirea was dead beyond all reasonable doubt.
As she closed her eyes, not wanting to see, she heard the goblins gulp in surprise and a familiar voice.
"Aaaahhhh, your HP's in the red… You okay?"
She reopened her eyes and saw a beautiful red-haired woman holding a gigantic weapon.
Lupusregina was carrying a weapon that looked like some sort of oversized religious symbol, using it like a shield to block the troll's fist. The weapon's dimensions and the maid's size seemed completely mismatched to the point of surreality, but this was no illusion.
"Then, I'll take care of this guy. …Oh wait, Enfi-chan's hurt. [Heal]."
The troll stepped back, unable to understand the scene before it. The blow which it had put its full strength into had been blocked by a human, so its reaction was only to be expected. Perhaps it thought there was some kind of magic at work here.
With a stunned expression, Enfi limped away from the troll, turning his back to it. It was a thoroughly unguarded posture, but the troll didn't press the attack. No, it couldn't just ignore the newcomer. His nose told him she was no human, but a far more dangerous monster.
"Enfi!"
Enri hugged Nfirea tightly.
"Ah, it's Enri."
His dreamlike reply told Enri that he was at his limit. Although he was out of danger, he was still in shock.
"I'm glad you're alright."
"―Y-you too."
Enri felt something warm inside her heart. It was a warmth that replaced the cold that ran through her when she thought Nfirea had died.
"Really, I'm happy you're fine!"
Enri hugged Nfirea tightly, with all her strength.
"So am I."
Nfirea reached out his arms to hug Enri in return. Although the hug was very tight, they both felt safe within each other's arms.
Enri's tears welled up and spilled out, streaming down her face.
"What's wrong?"
"…Idiot."
"Ahhhh, sorry to interrupt you two while you're making out."
"Lupusregina-san!
Enri let the strength flow from her arms, and at the same time Nfirea loosened his grip. Feeling slightly disappointed, they both turned to Lupusregina.
"The troll―"
Shifting her line of sight, Enri saw something which was hard to describe.
"Ah, this? Kinda looks like a hamburger patty, doesn't it? All it needs is a good charbroiling."
A mass of blood-spattered meat shifted and twitched under the bloodied head of Lupus' crozier. There was nothing about the pile of broken flesh that suggested that it had once been a troll. However, what made it disgusting was the fact that it was still regenerating, and still breathing.
"Ahhh well, it's good you two are fine. Then I guess I can clean things up here too."
Enri heard the voices of the goblins approaching. It seemed like the battle for the main gate had been won.
"There you go!"
Fire descended from the heavens, and a pillar of red light engulfed the troll, producing the smell of cooked meat.
"Now then, the matter of the troll's settled, so I'll be taking off. Ah, Enfi-chan, Ainz-sama wants to reward you for developing the purple potion, so he invited you to his house. Hope you've prepared yourself… or should I say, any last words?"
After saying that, Lupusregina left through the back door.
"Thank you very much!"
Lupusregina didn't stop or turn back in response to Enri's shouted thanks, only waved her hand.
"…Ane-san, Ani-san, we'll take over the task of telling the others. You two should go have some rest over there."
Without waiting for a reply, the goblins started moving. Shouldn't they leave someone with us? Enri thought, but she was more worried for Nfirea than that, and put a hand on his shoulder.
After leaving the corpse of the troll behind, the two of them sat down.
"Haaaa."
Their sighs of relief overlapped each other. Then, the two of them raised their eyes to look at the night sky.
"She saved you."
"Mmm."
"It was just good luck."
"Mmm."
"Don't do that again."
"Mmm."
Silence flowed between the two of them. Enri suddenly spoke the words in her heart.
"I don't know whether or not this is love, but I don't want you to go anywhere."
"Mmm."
"Is this love?"
"…I don't know. But if it is, I'd be very happy."
Enri and Nfirea sat silently like this, leaning shoulder to shoulder and watching the stars.