Goblins
Cael called out to Eleonoa, who was gazing around the room. "Eleonoa."
"Did you two find any clues?"
Seemingly having found nothing, Eleonoa turned away from the room without a second glance and approached them. Only when Lucrecia nodded did she finally offer a faint smile and nod in return, as if urging them to continue.
"Based on the traces, I'd say it's a small monster — about the size of a goblin. That's my best guess."
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
The three returned to the chairs they had sat in upon first arriving at the house and shared their thoughts. Lucrecia rubbed her fingers together before slowly pulling them apart. A yellowish fluid bubbled slightly, forming a sticky thread.
Frowning at the sight, Eleonoa asked, "What is that?"
"Monster fluids. I can't be certain, but I suspect a small monster passed through here and left this behind."
"Hmm..."
Eleonoa lowered her head, organizing her thoughts. She hadn't found concrete proof of the monster's identity — nothing the villagers could have spotted — but this was evidence nonetheless. It meant the monster was very likely a real, physical being that had entered the village directly to abduct the women. And then she understood why Lucrecia had mentioned a small frame. "So there's a secret passage somewhere."
As if Eleonoa's guess was correct, Lucrecia nodded. "The most plausible scenario is that there's a passage connecting the inside of the village to the outside. A place that isn't easily exposed to the villagers, whether day or night. That rules out the village walls. So what could connect the interior to the exterior..." Lucrecia lowered her gaze to the floor. Then she raised her head, looked at each of them in turn, and asked Cael, "What do you think, Junior?"
At Cael's words, both women turned their eyes to him. Caught off guard by the sudden attention, Cael gave an awkward smile and touched his lips. "You're putting me on the spot..."
"Don't leave us hanging — answer quickly, Cael!"
"Well... The victims I heard about from the village chief all mentioned their families. But the woman who lived in this house was a widow who'd lost her husband to illness. That's why they didn't even realize she was missing until much later. If the secret passage were anywhere else, the victims' families would have likely discovered it."
"Then shall we search a little more aggressively?" Eleonoa stood up, pulled out the wand hanging at her waist, and swung it once. Brown mana burst from her body, flowed along the wand, gathered at its tip, then spread in all directions. It was her unique ability — materializing intangible mana into a physical form to exert force. Soon, the brown mana cascaded toward the floor like a waterfall.
Thump! Crash!
The mana struck the wooden floor with a dull sound, shattering it. At the same time, dust that had accumulated in the long-unused house kicked up violently, invading the three's airways and making them cough.
"Cough! Eleonoa!" Lucrecia shouted.
With tears in her eyes from the tickling in her nose, Eleonoa yelled an apology and used her mana to fling open the windows. They fanned away the dust for a while until the room finally aired out enough for them to open their eyes properly.
"Ahem. Eleonoa, what if you'd destroyed everything all of a sudden like that?"
"Sorry, Cael!"
Eleonoa withdrew her released mana, then winked one eye as she apologized. Charm from a beautiful woman left Cael with no choice but to chuckle and forgive her.
Watching their banter, Lucrecia sighed and gave Eleonoa a new assignment. "Eleonoa, go to the village chief and ask about the herb he put in the water we drank."
"The herb?"
Lucrecia nodded. "Find out where it grows in relation to this village, and what its effects are. That should be enough. Meanwhile, Cael and I will search the house."
"Hmph." Eleonoa shot Lucrecia a displeased look, then pointed two fingers at her own eyes before pointing at Cael — as if to say, "I'll be watching, so don't do anything funny." Cael chuckled and told her to go quickly.
"Haaah, no helping it. I'll be back soon." Eleonoa headed straight for the chief's house, leaving only Lucrecia and Cael in the widow's home.
"Lucrecia, then where should we start— Mmph!"
Cael was about to suggest dividing up the search areas when he was startled by a soft sensation on his lips. Lucrecia had approached unnoticed and pressed a light kiss to his mouth. Her face, usually so composed, was tinged with a faint blush.
"Since Eleonoa made a mess, she deserves this much punishment, don't you think, Junior?"
Held by her intent gaze, Cael could only nod helplessly before glancing around to make sure Eleonoa was really gone, then letting out a sigh of relief.
"Haaah... I don't get it. Eleonoa is always the sharpest with solutions in critical moments, so why is she so clumsy the rest of the time?"
"Didn't you say that's part of her charm?"
"That's true, but... Well then, shall we resume the search?"
The two soon divided up the areas and began searching the house.
Eleonoa walked toward the chief's house, looking around. The village, which had been under constant monster attacks, was gloomy and lifeless. The only people she saw were a few men who whispered among themselves when she passed — no women in sight, confirming the chief's claim that they had been gathered in one place for protection.
"What's the matter? Did you find something?" the chief asked urgently as she arrived, as if grasping at straws.
"Hmm. Nothing certain yet. But I had a question I wanted to ask — would you answer honestly?"
"Absolutely, if it means resolving this situation."
"Where did you get the herb you put in the water we drank?"
Perhaps caught off guard by the unexpected question, the chief looked flustered briefly. He thought for a moment before speaking. "That's brought in regularly by the village herbalist. We don't know the exact location, but it's from the forest to the northwest of the village."
"Has it been brought recently?"
"Given the recent incidents, I don't believe so. What we served you was the last of it."
"And what are its effects?"
"When boiled and drunk, it soothes pain and calms the mind."
Eleonoa committed the information to memory — the northwest forest, pain relief, and mental stability — then returned to the widow's house.
Sensing her presence, the other two emerged, covered in dust from head to toe. "You two look a mess. Find anything?"
"We found what looks like an entrance. More importantly, what about the herb?" Cael asked, dusting himself off.
"Yeah. To put it simply, it's from the northwest forest, supplied regularly by an herbalist. There's none left in the village due to the recent incidents. Its effects are mental stabilization and pain relief. So, Lucrecia." Eleonoa fixed her gaze on Lucrecia, as if demanding to know why she had been sent to the chief.
Lucrecia licked her lips slightly and said, "Body fluids are affected by what you consume regularly. If you eat fruit, it might carry a sweet scent..."
"How do you know that?" Eleonoa asked.
Lucrecia merely replied briefly that it was a family secret. After pondering her answer for a moment, Eleonoa turned to Cael with a sly grin, stepped close, and held out her arm. "Cael, what scent do you think my body gives off? Maybe the nasty black bread I had this morning?"
"Eep! Eleonoa, you're too close!"
Startled by her sudden advance and the arm thrust toward him, Cael blushed even more at the way her large breasts brushed against his arm rather than her forearm. "J-just stop that and follow me. We found the secret passage."
"Aye~ aye~"
Cael led the way to a hole gaping in the wooden floor. Inside was a small tunnel, barely large enough for an average adult human to enter. One would have to crawl on hands and knees to get through — it clearly wasn't man-made.
"Eleonoa, use your mana to block the passage."
"Got it, Cael." Eleonoa grabbed her wand and began to release her mana. The mana flowed from her body, coalesced into a small sphere, and slowly drifted into the hole. Then, with a hissing sound, the floor began to collapse.
Boom... crash!
The sound of the cave-in echoed from the house, through the village, and far into the forest. Startled by the noise, the villagers rushed outside to look around, but all they saw was a sunken floor billowing dust.
The commotion didn't subside for a while, and the alarmed chief came to find them. Cael showed him the now-blocked hole and explained what had happened. The chief's eyes welled with tears as he expressed his gratitude.
"It's too early for thanks," Cael said. "We still need to find the missing people."
"Are they alive?"
"Probably... since they're women." Cael's tone was slightly bitter. If they were men, they'd have been used as food or killed outright, but women were far too important for reproduction.
"Th-then we'll help too—" The chief began, but Cael raised a hand to stop him.
"No. We'll handle it from here. Anyone untrained in combat would only get in the way or end up hurt. Just send the herbalist to guide us."
"I... I understand. I wish you the best of luck." With that, the chief went outside to calm the still-unsettled village.
Before long, a plain-looking herbalist arrived. "Y-you called for me?"
"You know the herb the villagers boil in their water, right?"
"Ah, yes. I used to bring it often. It's not remarkable enough to have a proper name, so most people don't know it."
"Then can you guide us to where it grows?"
The herbalist agreed. Strike while the iron is hot, they set out into the forest.
After walking through the northwest forest for a while, they were greeted by thick undergrowth. It was a pristine woodland with no discernible paths, lush with greenery.
"I used to gather herbs here. Do you need me to guide you further inside?" The herbalist's voice trembled slightly. With villagers having disappeared to monsters and Imperial Knights called in to resolve it, he clearly had no desire to venture deeper into this forest where unknown dangers might lurk. Cael said it was fine and sent him back. Once he was gone, the three of them entered the forest.
Lucrecia took the lead, Eleonoa in the middle and Cael bringing up the rear, watching their surroundings. His eyes shimmered with rippling mana — the power of Clairvoyance, allowing him to see through the thick bushes, trees, and rocks to what lay beyond. Scanning the forest as if it were an empty clearing, Cael remained vigilant against any possible ambush.
Suddenly, Lucrecia raised her hand with a sharp motion. Following the prearranged signal, the other two halted in their tracks and crouched slightly, waiting for her next instruction.
Meanwhile, Lucrecia cautiously approached the tree directly ahead and read the direction of the wind. She felt a gentle breeze brush her face. Fortunately, it didn't seem like their scent would carry. She peeked out slightly and spotted small green-skinned monsters passing in the distance — goblins. They were some of the most iconic small monsters, known for their ferocity despite their size, often banding together in large groups to attack humans. Not particularly powerful, though. Occasionally, deformed variants would be born with special abilities, but these ones didn't appear to be anything of the sort. They were carrying a hunted animal and heading somewhere. She could attack and kill them now, but since they were carrying prey, they were surely heading to their lair — and that lair likely held the kidnapped village women. Having reached that conclusion, Lucrecia gestured carefully for the other two to approach and shared her thoughts. Both agreed without objection — she was the party's vanguard and a seasoned hunter.
They spread out at intervals and followed the goblins. Soon, they came upon the entrance to a cave. As if welcoming the goblins returning with their hunt, a large group burst out from inside, making a raucous noise.
