A New Threat.

“Alright, first we head north.”

“Huh? Aren’t we going to circle the edges?”

“That would be dangerous as things stand, Mia.”

As she spoke, Paula reached toward the girl. Feeling Paula’s fingertips lightly trail across her neck, Mia blinked rapidly before clapping her hands together.

“Oh, right! Without that thing on our necks, we’ll get attacked, won’t we?”

“The Goblin Amulets.”

Since I gave three to the villagers who came to help with the farming, we’re currently two amulets short. Because of that, Paula and Mia risk triggering a battle if they run into any goblins. So, the plan is to head to the goblin settlement first to get more amulets.

Still, those two seem to be getting along quite well today.

I had the fairy duo lead the way to help us avoid groups of goblins while we gathered olives and garlic. After about an hour—stopping occasionally to take down a Horn Rabbit—we reached the settlement. This floor really does take a long time to traverse.

I had Paula and the others wait outside and began trading with Red-Feather, who was sitting in front of the boss room. Since I plan to increase the number of helpers, I decided to ask for ten amulets at once. However, fifty magic stones is a brutal price. We bring in about that much in a single trip, but with the number of items I’m transmuting increasing, our consumption rate isn’t something to sneeze at. Compound Transmutations are convenient, but using two stones at once adds up.

“I should see if they’ll buy anything from me, too.”

While Gob-tchi went to deliver the amulets to Paula and the others, I pulled out various items to attempt a negotiation. Red-Feather sniffed the bat and worm meat for a while, eventually telling me it would take a fairly large amount of it just for one magic stone. Horn Rabbit meat is much tastier, after all…

He also shook his head at the garlic, likely because they can harvest plenty of it themselves. He showed zero interest in the olives or the oil. I wanted to keep the rabbit horns and hides for making medicines and equipment, so that left…

I held out the small pouch containing the last of the salt. Red-Feather sniffed it, took a lick, and immediately grimaced. Just as I thought it was a bust, he held up one finger.

“Oh, you’ll take salt?”

“Kee-hee, kee-hee-hee!”

He seemed to like it.

“What are your orders, my Lord?”

“Hmm, let’s change plans. We’re heading to the sixth floor first.”

The goblin bows and arrows apparently have quite good performance, and I wanted an extra set, but I was told it would be twenty magic stones for a full kit. Well, they look a lot more complex to make than the amulets. If half a pouch of salt is worth one stone, a full slime-pouch should be enough to trade for plenty of gear.

“He’s back. Of course he is.”

The Goblin King was sitting on his throne as if it were the most natural thing in the world, being pampered by his two attendants. I was expecting another duel, but Yoru suddenly started rubbing her head against my leg.

“What’s wrong, Yoru?”

“Troublesome—”

“Ah, is your head itchy? There, there, like this?”

As I scratched just above her forehead, the beast-child immediately began to purr. Now, against a Goblin King, having Yoru go in is the standard tactic, but dealing with that is a pain. While I was debating who to send in, Yoru nudged my hand away. Then, tilting her head, she pointed between her two triangular ears.

“Oh, is that spot itchy? There, there…”

“Slightly—”

Yoru purred lowly again. Hmm, considering the matchup, a Blue Slime—which is resistant to blunt force and bad smells—might be the best fit. The problem is its lack of a finishing move.

Again, Yoru pushed my hand away and pointed insistently at her own head. Yeah, yeah, I’ll scratch you until the itch is gone.

“Sensei, Sensei.”

“Yeah?”

“I think Yoru-chi wants something.”

“Is that so?”

When I asked, Yoru nodded vigorously and pointed between her ears again. Then, with her other hand, she pointed toward the top of the Goblin King’s head. Watching her desperate gestures, Mia and I finally realized what she meant.

“Oh, the crown!”

“Wait, do you mean that thing he wears on his head?”

I hurriedly pulled out the Fairy-Silver Crown and placed it on Yoru. She cutely puffed out her chest and began to waddle forward. As we watched in surprise, the King stared intently at the challenger approaching his throne. Just as the tension reached its peak, the massive goblin stood up silently—

He took off his crown, and simply vacated the throne.

Yoru hopped up in his place and waved her hand proudly at us. Then, trying to cross her legs like a proper king, she flipped over backward. The crown tumbled off her head in the process.

Immediately, the former King looked panicked, snatched up the crown, put it back on, and grabbed his bone club. But then Kuu snatched up the crown that had come rolling his way and plopped it on his own head; the goblin looked flustered again, took off his crown, and let go of the club.

“What kind of system is this!?”

I tried putting the crown on my own head as a test, and the reaction was exactly the same. It seems to function like a pass or a badge of authority, and they don’t seem to care how you obtained it.

“Two of these would be convenient; let’s get another one.”

This time, I had a buffed-up Kuu challenge the poor King. He won by using his speed to confuse the King, staying out of range of and , and wearing him down with .

“Good job, Kuu. Alright, let’s go check out the lake.”

“Sir Nino, would it be alright if I stayed behind here for a while?”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m just a little curious about their craftsmanship.”

Hans-san glanced toward the huts where sounds of work were echoing. Seeing that merchant’s glint in his eye, I agreed without hesitation. As a precaution, I left Imo-tchi—who hates saltwater—behind to act as his guard.

We arrived at the sixth floor, and I decided to make salt while scouting for monsters. We headed east, with Yo the Fairy flying about a meter from the shore. On the bank, Yoru and Kuu waited atop the Blue Slimes, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Paula, Mia, Gob-tchi, and I moved along the wall, keeping an eye on the lake.

“Mia, stay back a bit further. It’s dangerous.”

“Okay, Pau-sama! You’re acting so nice today.”

“Am I? Hehe, it must be your imagination.”

Yeah, they’ve definitely become friends, probably from sharing a bed.

A few minutes into our trek, water sprayed into the air, and Yo’s body suddenly glowed brilliantly. As the fairy successfully evaded danger with , black shadows emerged from the water one after another onto the bank. Their bodies had rounded silhouettes about the height of my shins. But that wasn’t what caught the eye. Protruding from the left and right of their bodies were large, double-edged—

“Whoa! What are those, scissors?”

“Those are Great-Pincers, crab monsters. Watch out so you don’t get nipped!”

“Roger that—!”

“Koo!”

As the Great-Pincers snapped their claws, Yoru and Kuu immediately closed in to attack. However, they were blocked by hard shells, and their strikes weren’t fatal. Even the arrows loosed by Gob-tchi were skillfully parried by the claws.

“Get out of the way! I’m gonna burn ’em!”

“Ah, wait—”

Before I could warn the enthusiastic Mia, she snapped her fingers. The fireball she produced streaked across the air toward a crab. In the next instant, a large bubble appeared at the monster’s mouth. The bubble expanded rapidly and vanished the moment the hit it. But simultaneously, the mass of fire disappeared as if it had never existed.

“Eh!? What was that!?”

“The Great-Pincer’s specialty is . I was trying to tell you it’s a bad matchup…”

“How rude! Copying me like that!”

“Actually, their bubbles are bigger.”

While we were talking non-chalantly, Paula suddenly raised a sharp warning.

“My Lord, something is coming.”

At her warning, I remembered the existence of a troublesome monster that often appears as a set with the Great-Pincers. But it was too late. A new black shadow emerged, parting the water. It was a giant turtle nearly three meters long.

“This is bad. Give it everything you’ve got!”

“Kuu, use !”

“Kooooooo!”

“Me too—!”

Yoru and the slimes hurriedly jumped back. Immediately after, a storm of feathers danced through the air. Combined with the sound of rapid finger-snapping, fireballs flew in one after another. The splashing water was instantly turned into steam, filling our vision with white.

As we watched with bated breath, the steam slowly cleared. Two crabs were revealed lying on their backs. The turtle had barely managed to endure and was wobbling up the shore using its flipper-like front legs. Yoru’s tail flicked out and bit into its neck. The monster’s face instantly turned purple, and it slumped to the ground, motionless.

“Yay! We won!”

“Victory!”

“Koo!”

“Splendidly done, Yoru, Kuu, Mia.”

Watching them celebrate, I breathed a sigh of relief. The duo of Great-Pincers and Great-Shells isn’t that threatening in terms of offense. The problem is the combination of the crab’s and the turtle’s defensive specialties. If those two activate at once, they form an ironclad defense that makes them very hard to defeat. Then the crabs just keep calling more friends… it’s a total hell-pattern.

“Taking them out with a blitz was the right call. Now, for the fun collection time—”

“SIR NINOOO!”

Someone’s voice suddenly cut in. I looked up to see Hans-san running toward us, waving his hands wildly.

“Huff… puff… T-this is a disaster!”

“W-what happened?”

To my question, Hans-san gasped out a shocking revelation.

“The… the Goblin settlement is under attack!”