Published: July 3, 2025
The day after arriving at Abali Village.
Last night, there wasn't a welcome banquet for Nils in the square.
(It’s a shame that such things didn't happen, even though it’s a common trope in reincarnation in another world stories...)
Ryo was the only one feeling down.
It wasn't that Ryo particularly liked alcohol or banquets.
He was simply expecting it as part of the story's conventions.
That's the type of person Ryo is.
When the four of them arrived at the square, the village chief, Buran, was talking to an elderly woman.
“Ah, you’ve come. Eto, Amon, and Ryo, right? Let me introduce you. This here is the village advisor, Nas. Also known as grandma.”
The moment Buran said that, the staff in Nas's hand was swung at him. Buran swayed to dodge it.
“Is there anyone who would introduce a guest as grandma? Foolish man. I apologize, guests. This village has many who lack manners, like this Buran and Nils.”
“Why me...”
Nils was inexplicably pulled into it.
“Well, for now, let’s go investigate the goblins.”
Buran interrupted immediately.
To dismiss the elder’s scolding with one phrase like that, Buran might be a capable village chief.
The location was about a fifteen-minute walk from the village's outskirts.
“That’s quite close.”
Nils said, looking towards the village.
“Yeah, the children sometimes come this way to play. We prohibited them from getting close after we saw them... but there are always kids who break the rules…”
The village chief Buran said, looking at Nils.
“Well, there was a time when I did such things too... it’s possible... I guess…”
“You definitely did.”
Buran asserted, not allowing Nils to dodge the topic.
“Looks like Nils has always been like that…”
Ryo crossed his arms in front of his chest and murmured deeply… no, it was loud enough to be considered a murmur.
As if he intended for Nils to hear him.
“What do you mean by ‘always’? The way you say it makes it sound like it’s still the same now.”
Eto chuckled at that, while Amon smiled wryly.
No one said, “That’s not the case anymore.”
In reality, Nils hardly breaks rules anymore, but perhaps it’s just a matter of image.
Fifteen more minutes of walking from where Buran had seen them.
Suddenly, there were many footprints believed to belong to goblins.
“This is... could it be?”
Eto thought of the worst-case scenario.
This assumption was shared by both Eto and Nils.
“A goblin nest... or there might be a village.”
In general, if around twenty goblins are living together, it’s called a ‘nest’, but if there’s a larger number, it’s considered a ‘village.’
Once Nils said that, Ryo raised his head.
“What’s wrong, Ryo?”
“Nils... more than ten goblins are coming this way. We’ll encounter them in five minutes.”
With that, Ryo pointed south.
“Great detection ability. Then... we’ll leave one alive and hunt the rest.”
Nils immediately gave the order.
“We’ll follow the one we spare, find the nest, and attack.”
Ryo confirmed.
“Yeah. Ideally, it would be better to properly investigate and gather people first… but if they’re coming, we have no choice.”
“Hey Nils, ten of them. Are you sure about this?”
One or two wouldn’t be a problem, but numbers are power.
With twice as many approaching as the five of them, Buran felt somewhat uneasy.
“It’ll be fine since Ryo’s here. Ryo, please hold them off. I’ll leave the method up to you.”
“Understood.”
(This is a chance to test out my new creation... hehe.)
Ryo thought with an evil grin in his heart.
“Ryo-san is...”
“Planning something, huh?”
Ryo thought he was smiling internally, but it showed on his face as well.
Seeing that, Amon and Eto whispered to each other.
It seemed that keeping secrets was not possible...
Five minutes later, ten goblins emerged from the depths of the forest.
As all ten appeared in a slightly open area, Ryo envisioned and silently cast a spell in his mind.
“[Ice Bind]”
Upon casting, water chains wrapped around the goblins’ arms and legs, instantly freezing them and restricting their movements.