In conjunction with the arrow I fired, Dagger, who had the highest burst power damage output out of us all, gripped the cross hilt of her stiletto (her stabbing dagger) and jumped out towards the opponent while keeping herself in a crouching stance. 

“Waoonn!!” (Ei!!)

“Gah!?”

Dagger had crept up behind a Goblin who was defenseless because he was using his entire strength to hold down the left arm of the cat-eared girl and drove her sharp stiletto straight into his heart, instantly killing him.

Meanwhile, Lancer, who came out at the same time, used her body weight and speed to skewer the bellies of the other two defenseless Goblins simultaneously who both held down the Werecat’s left and right leg.  

“Giiiih…hh…!”

“Geyah!?”

“Kuu, waofuh.” (Here I… come!)

“Giiyaaaah.”

With another twist of Lancer’s spear, the wound opened on the Goblin’s abdomen widened.

The defenseless Goblin who had been stabbed from the front clutched the spear protruding from its belly, while the other Goblin, who was practically stabbed through to its buttocks, screamed in agony as he pressed his hands against the gaping wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Both had sustained fatal wounds, so they died quickly. The last one who saw everything that transpired immediately turned around and ran away in an attempt to escape, but…

“Kuaaaann!” (We won’t let you run!)

Dagger drew her left-hand dagger and threw it at the Goblin, and with a quick spin, it accurately stabbed into the back of the fleeing Goblin. 

“Giiiih!? Ugaah!!”

The guy shrieked which turned into a yell of pain halfway through, yet continued to run even as he endured the pain from the dagger sticking out from his back.

“Garuofa, wofuh.” (Don’t be so careless, sister.)

I, who had already readied my second shot, aimed, and released my arrow; it weaved through the sparse trees before it hit the target.

“…Gaa… a, gefuh…”

The Goblin, who was pierced by the dagger and my arrow, suddenly stopped and instead of yelling, he vomited blood and collapsed.

(During my mercenary days, I was a pure close combat fighter, but now, I’m becoming a fine archer too.)

That was good enough, but…although we had already taken care of the Goblins in the area, a thick tension could still be felt throughout the forest.

“Guruo, gaowann.” (Everyone, be on your guard!)

“Wooonn, gurua.” (Leave it to us, Chief.)

Both Buster and Lancer left a little ways away and surveyed the area, while my sister slowly approached the carcass of the Goblin who had tried to run away and retrieved the dagger she threw at it.

I, on the other hand, turned my gaze towards the female Werecat.

During my mercenary days in the desert country of Athos, I had worked with their desert counterparts, so this was not my first time seeing a Werecat. Unlike us Kobolds, they have adapted to living in various lands, are more human in nature, and give the impression of humans with cat ears and tails.

(Certainly, it’s not strange for them to inhabit the forest, but…)

As I speculated about their appearance in the forest, the female Werecat pushed off the Goblin lying on top of her and sat up.

As her hand reached for the Large Knife clutched by the dead Goblin who I shot through the head, I held out an open palm in front of me and shook my head from side to side to stop her.

After confirming that she had understood and indeed stopped reaching for her weapon, I slowly approached and kicked away the fallen Goblin lying by my feet. After securing a place to sit down, I plunked next to the cat-eared girl.

I needed to confirm a few things with her, so I brought out the slate pencil I made with a vertical stone wrapped in some hemp cord from the leather pouch on my waist and directed her gaze to the ground as I began to write out letters.

“Why did the Goblins attack you?”

……………

………

…

I was unexpectedly fortunate that I met these peculiar dog people when I was about to fall into a desperate situation.

Just as my heart was about to break in despair at being held down by four savage Goblins and being taken advantage of without being able to defend myself as they stuffed dirty rags in my mouth, an arrow pierced the head of the Goblin who vulgarly smiled above me.

Nauseated by the awful, bitter taste of the rag stuck into my mouth, I turned away and saw a silver-furred Kobold(?) from a distance who nocked a second arrow in its bow.

We all knew that Kobolds were inhabiting the mid-western part of Easteria Forest, as some of my brethren occasionally visit Viel village, which is to the north of our village.

…I heard my father say that the Kobolds are small in stature, but the silver-furred Kobold was at least 180 centimeters tall and had an uncharacteristically muscular body— in other words, it had a macho build.

As everyone’s attention was drawn by the sudden appearance of the Kobold, two other Kobold, who were also larger than I expected, leaped out from either side of it and used their respective weapons to attack the Goblins holding my limbs down.

The remaining Goblin holding down my right arm let go and tried to escape, but it was still within range of the silver Kobold’s bow, and his futile struggle ended soon…

Thus freed from my restraints, I removed my gag and took out the lump of dirty cloth that was stuffed into my mouth.

“Yech, *cough*”

I pushed off the disgusting Goblin who had died and collapsed on top of me and got up to take back my beloved Large Knife that the Goblins had taken from me, but the silver Kobold prevented me from doing so.

(I’ve heard that Kobolds are intelligent to some extent, but…)

Looking at the result, it was clear that they just helped save my chastity from the goblins, so I withdrew my hand from my weapon and observed the dull, silver-furred dog kin. 

And then, he slowly approached and sat down next to me, while his companions began a perimeter check for any remaining hostiles.

(It seems like there are also ones that are taller than 190cm, huh…So that’s a Kobold too?)

A huge, muscular Kobold with black arms? As I was momentarily distracted, the silver-furred Kobold who sat beside me had carved something on the ground.

“Y-yes!?”

I was surprised to see the letters commonly used by us and the surrounding nations. My impression of the Kobold as dumb creatures that was influenced by what I heard from everyone in the village crumbled…

(This is not just “a certain extent of intelligence,” dad!)

And this is how I was rescued by these peculiar dog people.

……………

………

…

Character Introduction

Name: Liz ()

Race: Werecat

Class: Light-Armored Warrior

Skill: Short Sword Technique, Improve Agility (Small/ Instantaneous)

Weapon: Large Knife (Main), Throwing Knife (Auxiliary)

Armament: Black Leather