And so I said to Kathe,

  “Let’s walk. It’s only about three hours. If you want to come with us, you’ll have to do it in human form.”


  “Very well then.”


  During the three hour journey and goblin hunt, Ario and Ginny would likely get used to Kathe.

  And then perhaps they could ride on her back on the way home.

  That would save us enough time. We might be able to return before sundown.

  “Alright then. I shall go and turn into a human.”


  So saying, Kathe went running into the nearby forest.

  She no longer took her clothes off without warning. That showed she had grown accustomed to the traditions of humans.

  Kathe returned quickly in her human form, and then we started to walk towards the village.

  Kathe looked very cheerful as she began to talk to Ginny.

  “Are you good at hunting goblins, Ginny?”


  “I wouldn’t say that I’m good……”


  “Well, I am good at it. After all, I can even tell humans and goblins apart!”


  “Huh? Oh, indeed.”


  It seemed that Ginny had no idea what Kathe was talking about.

  “Kathe. It’s easy if all you have to do is defeat one or two goblins. However, there is more to it than that.”


  “Really? I thought all you had to do was defeat them.”


  “Because goblins create herds. And so you must hunt the entire herd.”


  Were the attacks from a single herd? Multiple herds? Or was it just some stray goblins?

  And from what nest did the herd come from? It was necessary to learn all of these things.

  We would then need to destroy the entire nest.

  When I told Kathe all of this, she nodded understandingly.

  “How very educational this is.”


  “While you are strong, Kathe, you are still a beginner as an Adventurer. And so you must listen carefully to what I say.”


  “I understand.”


  We had three hours to reach the village, which was plenty of time.

  And so I would use that time to explain goblin hunting to Kathe as we walked.

  “Oh! Oh! So that’s how it is!”


  “This is very helpful.”


  “Aye. I am learning.”


  It wasn’t just Kathe, but Ginny and Ario also listened carefully.

  We took a few breaks on the way, and after walking for three hours, the village came into view.

  “So that’s the village.”


  As a former hunter and bow scout, Ginny had good eyes and saw it immediately.

  “It’s a small village.”


  “Aye. If we happen to lack any supplies, I doubt that we’ll be able to replenish them here.”


  Ario muttered.

  As Adventurers, you would generally prepare so that you didn’t have to rely on replenishing.

  However, there were always unexpected situations.

  And so it would be incredibly helpful if you could restock on location.

  “Ario, Ginny. I will leave the negotiations to you.”


  “Yes! Please leave it to us.”


  “We have some experience with quests since then. So I’m used to negotiating now.”


  “That’s good to hear.”


  As we talked about such things, we reached the entrance to the village.

  “.……Grrr.”


  Suddenly, Grulf started to tug at my sleeve.

  “What is it?”


  “Grrrrrraaau!”


  Grulf began to growl in a low voice as he glared into the village.