For the past ten days or so, I had been watching over a mixed party of rookie adventurers, but now that they had all gained experience hunting in the forest and received the approval of the guildmaster and other senior guild officials, my role was complete.

From here on, they would rotate between hunting in the forest and escorting merchants as they traveled through the territory.

Their training had been particularly strict when it came to escort duties, as they had been drilled thoroughly by veteran adventurers based on the dangers of the Magic Frontier. Because they were seen as promising young adventurers from the region, their reputation was quite good.

If things continued like this, escort work in this area might become a solid source of income for rookie adventurers from Riana.

Recently, the forest’s “fever time” had finally begun to settle, and even the apprentices had started entering the area.

Their roles included supporting veterans and gathering medicinal herbs along the way.

Currently, there were just under twenty apprentices in the capital.

Whether all of them would remain until the end was uncertain, but despite some having already graduated, the numbers had somehow been maintained.

Teresa was still serving as their instructor, but since I wasn’t as involved anymore, I didn’t know much about how things were going.

I wasn’t suited to be an instructor, and veteran adventurers had already taken up the role of guides.

Well, I’d occasionally drop by, say a few words, and treat them to a meal.

It was kind of like being an alumni of a club—though in my case, would it be OG instead of OB?

That was roughly my position.

And today, this OG was out hunting in the forest.

I had come to a location straight east from the capital’s eastern gate.

The dungeons were getting crowded again, so I planned to wait until things calmed down before heading there. In the meantime, I figured I’d train using 【Monkey’s Arm】 in combat here.

That was the plan, but…

Not far from me, the rookie party was in the middle of a heated battle.

Their opponents were four goblins.

Judging by the bodies on the ground, they had probably encountered two groups and been forced into combat.

Had they initiated the fight, or had they been attacked first?

Given the circumstances, I’d guess the latter.

They were handling themselves well, and at this rate, they should be able to win.

However…

Although still some distance away, a group of nearly twenty kobolds had caught the scent of battle and were closing in.

Kobolds, like goblins, were small demonic creatures, but they were better at forming packs, making them more numerous when encountered as a group.

While their individual strength wasn’t much different from goblins, goblins were more frequent encounters, whereas kobolds formed larger groups.

For me, they weren’t particularly troublesome, since they had no means of attacking airborne targets. But for the rookies…?

Should I step in?

As I mulled over the decision, rotating my shoulders to warm up—

“Watch out! A group of monsters is approaching from deeper in!”

A different group of adventurers, noticing the fight and the approaching monsters, rushed in as reinforcements.

They were also a six-person team, but unlike the rookies, they were an official adventurer party that included veterans.

That meant they had the upper hand in terms of strength.

Once they joined up, the numbers would be about even.

Could they handle it?

◇

After merging forces, the adventurers quickly finished off the remaining goblins.

Despite the goblins being creatures from the outskirts of the Magic Frontier—meaning they should have been stronger than normal—the battle ended in an instant, showing just how efficient they were.

The veterans took the front line and braced for the incoming kobolds, but… the rookies and apprentices still lacked experience.

When people talked about the “shallows of the First Forest,” it covered a vast area.

In the section directly east of the capital, goblins and wolves were the most common threats.

Since this was a path frequently traveled by adventurers heading deeper into the forest, any monsters that tended to gather in large groups were usually wiped out in passing.

Even considering the effort of retrieving the corpses, it was probably faster to clear them out rather than take a detour.

As a result, the monsters that appeared in this area had adapted, becoming mostly goblins and wolves.

However, kobolds were more commonly found further south.

That’s why the rookies were struggling.

Kobolds fought by attempting to surround their opponents under the command of a boss positioned in the rear.

To counter this, you either had to take out the boss early or disrupt their formation before they could spread out—but the rookies were beginning to fall behind in their response.

The veterans were doing their best, but covering for four inexperienced fighters was proving too much, and the encirclement was complete.

Looks like it’s time for OG Sera to step in.

“Hup—! I’ll handle the rear!”

Activating all my blessings and enhancements at once, I charged into the thinnest part of their formation.

◇

The battle ended in an overwhelming victory, even without using 【Shadow Sword】.

Well, once their encirclement was broken, the rest was easy.

With 【Scarlet Bee Needle】, I sent them flying, and the others finished them off.

It was almost too simple.

“Vice-captain… you noticed them, didn’t you?”

As the rookies handled the cleanup, one of the veteran adventurers approached me with a question.

“Yeah. I happened to be passing by when you started fighting the goblins.”

“I see… well, thanks for the help.”

He probably wanted to ask why I hadn’t stepped in sooner, but he also understood my decision to wait until the last moment.

His expression was difficult to read.

The other three veterans were eyeing the pile of monster corpses, seemingly lost in thought.

“There’s quite a lot… should we help carry them?”

“Yeah, we can’t just leave them here.”

One of them glanced at me and shrugged.

It would be fine if it were just a few bodies, but with twenty, they definitely had to be hauled back—otherwise, they’d get a serious scolding.

They could submit a request to the Knight Order for retrieval, but that would cost them.

Better to carry them back themselves.

Luckily, the path out of the forest was relatively clear, and there were other adventurers around.

They probably wouldn’t run into any more monsters on the way out!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Garment】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・4 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・39 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards