Those Familiar Faces

“Get back, my Lord!”

Paula’s whip cracked, expertly knocking an arrow out of the air. At her word, I hurriedly scrambled backward.

Retreating several paces, I turned my eyes toward the direction the arrow had come from. About forty or fifty meters ahead, several small figures seemed to be hiding in a thicket of shrubs. They were too far away and skillfully concealed, making it impossible to catch a clear glimpse of them.

The moment I strained my eyes, another arrow was loosed. An instant later, Paula’s whip sliced through the air again. The arrow aimed at us was knocked off course just like the first one, thudding harmlessly into the ground.

“Thank you, that was a lifesaver.”

“Think nothing of it. I am simply glad you are safe. What are your orders?”

Even if we wanted to counterattack, Mia’s Fire Bullet—our longest-ranged attack—only reaches about thirty meters. While the physically sturdy Yoru or Kuu might be able to shrug off the arrows, I didn’t feel like testing it. Arrows in this world are notoriously prone to landing critical hits.

“For now, let’s pull back. To the stairs!”

At my command, everyone nodded with tense expressions. With Paula acting as the rearguard, we escaped one by one back up the stairs to the fourth floor. As that sensation of being transported through space enveloped my body, I finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Having retreated to the upper floor, we quickly checked ourselves over; thankfully, no one was injured. We immediately put our heads together for a strategy meeting.

“Phew… were those bandits or something?”

“Wait, were those actual bows and arrows? Monsters can’t use those, right? Do people actually live down here!?”

“Insolent!”

“Koo!”

While everyone raised their voices, it seemed the Chief, being an Oni, had managed to get a decent look at the attackers. He muttered wonderingly, though he hadn’t quite identified them.

“I only caught a glimpse, but they were about the height of children. Also—I might have been mistaken—but their skin color…”

“Was it perhaps red?”

“Yes. Are you familiar with them?”

Short stature and reddish-brown skin. Add the intelligence to master weapons, and only one thing came to mind.

“Those are Goblins.”

“Goblins! So that’s what they look like?”

“Eh, are they famous? Those Gob-gobs?”

“Long time no see-gob!”

“Koo!”

“They’re Goblins. A type of fairy—or more accurately, a ‘Wicked Fairy,’ I believe.”

Calling only the ones who don’t openly oppose humans “Fairies” and labeling the harmful ones “Wicked” might be a bit self-serving on humanity’s part. They’re a staple of the game, nearly as popular as slimes, but in this world, they primarily inhabit subterranean labyrinths. They’re well-known for being a handful due to their numbers and cunning, which is why Hans and the Chief recognized the name.

“This is a problem. To think Goblins have infested such magnificent land…”

“Yes, it proves things won’t be that easy. However—while I can’t say for certain yet—if things go well, we might be able to handle it.”

“Ho, as expected. You already have a plan.”

“Please stop talking me up like that, Chief. More importantly, let’s figure out how to deal with the ones who attacked us.”

If we didn’t clear out the group waiting at the bottom of the stairs, we wouldn’t be able to move forward.

“The ranged weapons are the nuisance. We have to do something about those first.”

“How about blocking them with bubbles, Sensei?”

“Hmm, it would definitely block them, but the issue is the number of arrows they have.”

A Water Bubble would pop after taking a single arrow, so Mia would have to keep casting them non-stop. It would turn into a war of attrition between Mia’s mana and the Goblins’ arrow supply.

“Judging by where the shots came from, there were at least two archers—or rather, two creatures.”

“Then there’s a chance we wouldn’t be fast enough. Even with a whip, it’s too dangerous to try and parry multiple arrows.”

The Chief really was sharp. He’d managed to observe the situation calmly despite the chaos.

“My Lord, what if we use this little one?”

“Kee-hee-hee!”

The Fairy perched on Paula’s shoulder let out a delighted giggle.

“Oh, that might actually work.”

I had her fly a little distance from the entrance as a test, and an arrow flew at her immediately. Yeah, I guess being a glowing target makes you stand out…

It was Hans who threw us a lifeline just as we hit a stalemate.

“In that case, shall I draw their fire?”

“Eh, are you sure?”

“Yes, leave it to me. However, my strength alone is insufficient, so I would ask for your assistance, Sir Nino.”

With the plan decided and preparations finished, we descended back to the fifth floor. Hans led the way, holding a leather shield and wearing the freshly tanned giant bat wings tied in front of his body. Behind him, Mia huddled close with a look of intense concentration. Once I confirmed the other monsters were in position, I gave the signal, and Hans leaped from the cover of the entrance shouting:

“Wind, blow!”

Immediately, a whirl wind roared fiercely behind him. Driven by the magical wind, the cape Hans wore and the bat wings began to flap violently. This was Hans’s plan to block the incoming arrows.

The leather, billowed out by the wind, would deflect the arrows’ momentum and make it difficult for the archers to pin down his actual position. Apparently, this is how knights’ cloaks were originally intended to be used on the battlefield. Hans simply used magic to move the wind from behind him to handle a frontal assault. Furthermore, since they were shooting into a headwind, the arrows’ power would be significantly reduced. Of course, with Hans’s limited mana, it would be hard to keep the wind going, so my potions were assisting him there.

As Hans began his advance, several arrows flew at him immediately. He raised his shield and blocked them without much effort. Other arrows missed entirely, veering off into the ground.

However, once Hans and Mia had advanced a few paces, the Goblins learned quickly. They began concentrating their fire on his lower body, where the shield was harder to place and the bat wings didn’t interfere.

That was Mia’s cue. Large water bubbles expanded and burst along with the arrows. Since they were at a distance, the arrows were already losing accuracy, making the duo’s coordination a near-perfect defense.

But the drawback was that their pace slowed to a crawl. Arrows rained down relentlessly on Hans as he edged forward. At this rate, I was worried about how long it would take to actually reach that thicket.

But in reality, that wasn’t Hans’s true role. Acting as a decoy and buying plenty of time—that was our real aim.

As we watched with bated breath, a flash of brilliant light suddenly erupted from within the shrub thicket. Simultaneously, the blinded Goblins let out shrieks of pain.

“Oh, they made it! Mia, now!”

“Alright! Time to burn ’em up!”

Snap, snap, snap! The sound of Mia snapping her fingers three times echoed out. There was no need to be “honest” and walk all the way up to the Goblins. At thirty meters, her Fire Bullet could just barely reach.

The fireballs impacted one after another, and from behind the shrubs that were now rapidly catching fire, several small figures came scurrying out. Five in total. Red-skinned monsters: Goblins.

Now was the time for me to deploy our hidden ambush.

“Alright, Yoru, Kuu! Go!”

“Moving out!”

“Kooooo!”

With an energetic shout, a furry child fell from the sky. Not to be outdone by his sister, the younger brother dived as well. Falling from above, Yoru and Kuu landed perfectly on the heads of two Goblins. The monsters’ bodies hit the ground with a sickening, wet crunch.

The aerial assault left two Goblins incapacitated, while two more were silenced as they turned into living torches. The final one was left staring blankly with rolled-back eyes as it was squeezed tight by Mizu the Giant Worm.

“Good job, Mizu. Paula, finish it up.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The beautiful woman gave a bewitching smile as her tail flickered elegantly, and the Goblin—who was on the verge of fainting—meekly chose the path of Subordination.

With the operation successfully completed, Mia and the others raised a collective cry of joy.

“We did it!”

“Victory!”

“Koo!”

The plan was a combination of everyone’s ideas. First, Hans drew all the arrows to himself while Mia followed with support. During that time, the Fairy approached and used Blind to incapacitate the archers. Of course, flying straight there would have made her a target, so the Giant Worm used a safer route by tunneling through the ground to get her close.

Furthermore, while their attention was diverted by Hans, Kuu—with Yoru on his shoulders—soared high into the air to approach the Goblins from above. This was inspired by the piggyback ride we had on the way here. Then, they launched a sudden offensive and suppressed them.

There were some parts I was anxious about, but I’m just glad it succeeded. And most importantly, we secured a prisoner.

Standing before the Wicked Fairy kneeling to Paula, I declared our next move.

“Alright, next, you’re going to lead us to your settlement.”