The two buckets full of water weighed heavily on Enri's hands, making her question if her decision to carry two of them had been a good one, but she couldn't afford to show it, not out of pride, of which she had very little, but just so the ones following behind wouldn't worry about her.
"Boss, why don't you let me carry these for you?"
"Hey! Don't cut in line, it's my turn to help the boss."
"What are you talking about? Your turn was 4 days ago, so you two should step away and let me do it."
The group of 8 goblins following her once again began arguing with each other, something that she had quickly grown used to, as it continued to happen again and again for a few days.
The Goblin Troope, as her savior had called them, consisted of 19 goblins in total, but with different functions.
Despite their tiny bodies, barely at the height of her younger sister, the goblins following her showed surprising strength, with each one effortlessly carrying two buckets of water while still having the energy to argue with one another.
"You guys should stop fighting. I can do this without a problem." Enri put on a bright smile and lifted the two buckets until they were at shoulder height.
"Ha! See that? The boss is way stronger than you think. She could carry 10 buckets without a problem."
That is not what I said, though?
"Well, if it were for the Boss, I could carry 20."
"Pfft, you're proud of that? I could carry 30."
"Hmph, I could even carry 50."
And they were back at arguing again.
Looking at them like this, she found them quite cute.
It was strange, really. If it were a week ago, she would have been terrified upon seeing a group of goblins, but now she felt so close to these goblins that they felt almost like family.
Family, huh?
A sad smile found its way to her face upon thinking of this.
"But are you sure, Boss? There's no need for you to be doing this type of work; we're happy to do it for you."
Hearing the question addressed to her, Enri was taken back from her reverie.
All the goblins were looking at her with expressions full of determination, making it clear that they all thought the same thing.
She felt her face flush under the admiring gaze of the goblins. She still didn't understand why they cared so much about her and could only attribute this to the magical power of her savior, Ainz-sama.
The goblins' loyalty made her feel flattered, but also anxious.
I'm only a normal village girl, alright? How am I supposed to suddenly boss a group of goblins around?
Ugh!
You're such a bad person, Enri Enmot.
Are you actually complaining about something like this?
"I'm fine, guys, really. I like to work."
But she wasn't fine.
The reason Enri worked so eagerly was to hide from her own thoughts.
Whenever she found herself in a moment of idleness, scenes from that day would come back, and she would inevitably think about what-if scenarios.
What if Ainz-sama had appeared a little bit earlier?
Would her parents still be alive?
What if she hadn't gone back to the village?
Would that hateful man still have gone and killed her father?
If not for his taking a fancy to her, could her family have safely fled into the forest?
She understood how pointless these thoughts truly were, but she still let herself lock into them, savoring the bitterness that followed, letting the guilt envelop her until she felt enough pain to feel better about herself.
In this state, she sometimes blamed Ainz for his tardiness and felt awful for thinking it, but she mostly blamed herself and her own weakness.
What happened that day proved to her that without power, she or her loved ones would never be truly safe, a reality that had dawned on everyone in Carne.
They continued marching along the road until they saw a great wooden wall.
Iron Golems, more than twice her height, were moving around, carrying heavy logs to be used in the construction, while skeletons carrying mason tools worked tirelessly to erect the walls out of them.
Enri knew these were workers sent by Ainz to help them rebuild their village.
The Golems and Skeletons worked efficiently and without rest, so in just a few days, the wall seemed almost complete.
This 6-meter-tall wall now served as the boundary of Carne Village, which had quadrupled its former area following Ainz's directives.
Passing through the newly erected gates, Enri silently thanked Ainz once again in her heart.
Once inside, she let her gaze wander through her hometown.
The village looked remarkably different from how it had looked just one week before.
The attack from the knights had left many of the houses in shambles, if not completely demolished, but now new houses and new buildings had been added to the village.
This was also thanks to the skeletons Ainz sent. He left these undead under their command, saying they could order them to construct whatever they needed.
At first, everyone had been hesitant. Despite their great admiration for Ainz, using the undead still felt wrong on a fundamental level.
At that moment, Enri had been the first to employ these skeletons, asking them to demolish the old Enmot house and erect a new one in its place.
She felt some sadness seeing the house where she grew up with her parents going down, but what she mostly felt was relief.
The memories of her parents and what had happened in that house had been haunting her for many days, and she could see how this had been affecting Nemu.
The new house was larger and more comfortable, superior in every respect to her old one, and upon seeing this, more and more villagers decided to employ the skeletons, to the point that, on this day, none of the old houses remained.
It was a new beginning for all of them.
"Good morning, Enri-chan!"
"Morning, Enri, and you too, goblins."
"Hey."
As they moved through the village, many people stopped to greet them.
Some of them she knew, while others were still strangers.
The latter were mostly survivors of the other villages attacked by the knights, who had moved into Carne after hearing that a powerful magic caster had defeated the knights who had destroyed their homes.
As people who had experienced the same tragedy and who felt gratitude for the same person, it didn't take long for everyone to blend in, although she could still see suspicion in the way they gazed at the goblins.
But she felt that this would soon go away.
"Sister!"
Suddenly, she felt someone hug her waist, almost making her drop the buckets.
"Be careful, Nemu."
Nemu then moved to her right and took the bucket from her hand.
"Let me help you, sis."
Seeing the serious expression on her sister's face, Enri agreed.
Within minutes, they made their way to a huge water tank.
It was a 4m-tall metal tank with a flight of stairs beside it.
In the village, there were at least 4 of these tanks, and she was responsible for filling each of them every single day.
If she were alone, it would be impossible, but with the help of the goblins, it was still doable.
She climbed the stairs, then opened the lid and poured the water from the buckets inside, filling it to the brim.
Having finished her job, Enri wiped the sweat from her face and looked at her village from this high vantage point.
"Hold… Fire!"
In a remote area, she saw a group of villagers training with bows under the command of two of the goblins.
Most of the arrows didn't hit their mark, but no one looked discouraged in any way.
"1,2,3,4!"
In another area, a group was being trained by another goblin in the use of wooden spears.
They executed different moves in sequence, with the goblin correcting their posture after every set.
She saw a group of villagers moving outside the walls to tend to the crops, while another group returned from outside, bringing some freshly hunted game.
A group of aunties was busy processing berries into jelly, preparing one of the village's signature products.
Kids ran between houses, playing a game of tag.
Elders sat at their doors talking cheerfully with each other.
A newly married couple kissed, while a nearby kid made a disgusted face.
For the first time in her life, Enri felt that the small village of Carne was undergoing change.
Tragedy had hit them all, but they were on their way to overcoming it.
Enri smiled. Everyone was doing their best to move forward, so she had to do her part as well.
As she observed the village, a giant black portal opened at the center of Carne, and before she could process it, she was already running towards it with a smile on her face.
"Wait for me, sister."
Nemu began to follow her, having the same idea.
On the way, she saw many people hurrying to get there, while others kept their distance.
This was the difference between the village's new and old members: the old ones understood what this portal meant, while the new ones only looked at it in fear.
Once she got there, Enri was proven right.
From the portal emerged the village's savior, Ainz Ooal Gown, wearing the same clothes and mask as she remembered.
He was followed by a man in an expensive-looking set of black armor, with two gigantic swords strapped to his back, and by a beautiful young woman with brown skin and red hair who wore black priestly robes.
Behind them came a carriage with a simple but somewhat exceptional design.
Enri didn't know much about carriages, but she could tell that, despite being made from common materials, this carriage had been crafted by a very talented craftsman.
Stirring the carriage was a woman with short blonde hair. She looked unremarkable compared to the others in the group, but Enri noticed that her sclerae were completely black, and her eyes held a hint of trepidation as she looked at the group in front of her.
Ainz greeted everyone before walking towards her.
"How have you been, Enri Enmot?"
"Thanks to you, everything has been going great, Ainz-sama."
"That's good to hear," Ainz responded cheerfully, which made her feel glad, despite her nervousness.
Whenever she was in the presence of Ainz, she felt safe, but also nervous.
The man before her was so powerful that every one of his movements and words seemed to be infused with the power to dictate the life and death of the ones around him.
Even the air seemed to turn colder in his presence, giving her the impression that even the world feared him.
Despite this, she didn't feel any fear, for she knew how gentle and kind Ainz truly was.
"May I ask you to give me a tour around the village? I must admit that I'm not up to date with the changes happening here."
"Of course, Ainz-sama!"
And like that, their group began to wander through Carne.
Nemu joined them immediately, acting spoiled until Ainz put her on his shoulders.
She was afraid that her sister might have offended Ainz, but if he had, he didn't show it.
"You're so thin, Ainz-sama; you're practically just bones."
Hearing her sister's thoughtless remark, Enri felt like crying.
Nemu, why can't you control your tongue? Look at the warrior and the priestess; they seem furious at you now.
"Ha ha ha, you're right, little girl; maybe I should eat a bit more from now on."
Far from being angry, Ainz gave a light laugh and thanked Nemu for her concern.
He then turned to the warrior and the priestess, and she felt him directing a warning to the other two.
Who are these two anyway? I don't feel like it's my right to ask him.
"Who are they, Ainz-sama? His armor is so cool, and she is so pretty!"
"Oh, they? They are my companions, and also the reason I came here today."
He then turned to her.
"Enri Enmot, I have a favor to ask."
"Can you accompany these two to E-Rantal?"