Enri saw the black blade coming in her direction, so fast that she didn't even have the time to blink.
In that infinitesimal moment, her perception went on overdrive, allowing her to see her death in precise detail.
The sword carried engravings she only now noticed.
She didn't know, and didn't have the time to check if they had any practical function or were purely cosmetic.
Fresh blood of ogres and goblins still stained the sword, struggling to remain in place as the blade moved at a lightning pace towards her.
The droplets flew through the air, shining under the sun like little rubies that had somehow found themselves in this battlefield to honor her death.
A mixture of sounds reached her ear in quick succession, not giving her time to process each one before a new one came to take its place.
She heard the sound of Jugem reaching for his sword, followed by the sound of him falling to the ground.
Did Lupita knock him down?
She was surprised to find that she didn't care
They sounded muffled and distant, and most of all, she felt like they had nothing to do with her.
This feeling grew stronger and stronger until the blade stopped a hair's breadth away from her head.
The momentum of the wind blew away her hair, making her heart stop for a moment.
She felt the wet sensation of blood on her face, but in her hyperawareness, she knew that this blood was not hers.
Then she saw Momon retrieve his blade, turning his attention to her, before making a gesture to the ones behind her.
"Boss, boss! Are you okay?" Jugem came to her, shaking her shoulders as he continued to ask the same question over and over.
"Huh? Jugem?"
Enri looked at him, stupefied, then she registered the sound of more of her goblins coming in her direction.
Didn't I tell you to guard the carriage? What are you doing here?
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.
As she looked at the members of the Goblin Troop, making a circle around her, then at Lupita, looking at her in amusement, and Momon standing close by, she felt a sense of unreality wash over her.
What happened here?
Only when she followed Momon's gaze to see the terrified goblins trembling on the ground did she understand what had happened.
Oh no, what have I done?
Seeing her regain her wits, Momon turned his gaze back at her and took a step in her direction.
As a response, all the members of the Goblin Troop unshelted their weapons, pointing them at Momon with every intention of fighting.
"Oh? You wish to fight me, little ones? Are you sure about that?"
They didn't answer with words, but by taking a step in his direction while entering in formation.
Seeing these actions, Enri opened her mouth and let out the loudest scream of her life.
"[Drop your weapons!]"
In the exact moment the words left her mouth, she heard the sound of weapons hitting the ground.
Even the goblins seemed surprised by their own actions of dropping their weapons.
They turned to look at her for answers, but she was the most surprised of all.
What was this? It felt like there was a special power in my words.
For the first time since she had summoned the goblins, she didn't ask, but ordered them to do something.
"Now that's surprising, it seems you have some talent to be a commander, Enri Enmot," Momon commented, intrigued.
"Commander? Like a leader?" She didn't understand what he was saying.
"Not quite. I won't discard the possibility that you have talent for leading people, but what I'm referring to is the skill to command troops in battle." Momon began to explain, but seeing the confusion on her face, he continued. "Commanders can increase the abilities of those under their command, so in a battle, they can be very helpful."
"In your case, this seems to manifest with these goblins you summoned, but if you develop in this direction, there may come a day when you can command platoons or even armies."
"What you just did was release a command to your troops, which works like a suggestion that can help them to better execute the action you want."
"You can think of it as a type of charm effect. Since your skills as a commander are still subpar, you can only influence those who are completely loyal and won't even try to resist your commands, like these summoned goblins."
Enri heard Momon's words, feeling that this didn't seem like something that should have anything to do with her.
Me, commanding troops?
Me?
She felt like she was just a simple village girl, but as she looked at the goblins that were ready to fight to the death in order to protect her, Enri had to come to terms with the fact that she might not be just a regular village girl anymore.
"Now, if you may, can you tell me why you tried to stop me from killing these goblins?" Momon then pointed at the frightened goblins on the ground.
Enri then looked over them.
Indeed.
Why did I do that?
Was it because they reminded me of the goblins in the troop?
Was it because the sight of them dying bothered me?
Was it because they had already given up on the fight and were simply running?
It's hard to say.
Enri thought of many possible reasons why she did that, but it didn't feel like she would reach a conclusion anytime soon.
Do I really need a reason for doing this?
Maybe what matters is that I don't want to see them die.
"I stopped you because I want to take these goblins back to the village."
The words came out of her mouth without much thought.
Why did she feel that bringing them to the village was the right move?
The her from a week before would have never entertained an idea like that, but right now, this felt like the most natural course of action.
Then, as she alternated her gaze between the goblin group and Momon, it finally clicked for her.
She didn't want to see the weak being preyed upon by the strong.
She didn't want to see more people fall victim to someone stronger.
She didn't want to see massacres anymore, no matter the race of the ones suffering.
"You want to bring them to Carne? Are you sure about that? If you're taking this decision while under the assumption that they will be just like your subordinates, then I must tell you not to entertain this illusion. These goblins can very easily harm or kill humans, so you have to be very careful when handling them."
"Thank you for your concern, Momon-san, but if there's something the other villagers and I learned recently is that no one can harm humans as much as other humans, so I don't mind the race of anyone as long as they don't bring harm to us." Facing the pushback, she found herself getting even bolder.
This was a man of great power who could easily kill everyone present without issue, but she didn't hesitate to contradict him.
There was a fire inside her, refusing to die even in front of someone as powerful as Momon.
"And what if they do harm the people of Carne? What will you do?"
Enri paused for a moment, her mind conjuring images of these goblins hurting people in the village, even her sister Nemu.
What would I do in a situation like this?
She felt her heart harden.
The image of Bellius, the one responsible for her family's tragedy, came to her mind.
Thinking of that hateful man, she came to her answer.
"Then I will kill them." The words came naturally, just as naturally as she had used that sword to stab Bellius to death.
The massacre in Carne Village had killed her innocence, but it also awakened something in her that she still didn't quite understand.
"Very well. Then by all means they are yours to take." Momon sheathed his swords, and despite not seeing his face, Enri felt that the man was happy with her answer.
He reminds me of Ainz-sama.
She then turned to see the 4 men who were approaching them carefully.
***
"Sword of Darkness?" Momon asked.
"Yes, that's the name of our party." The leading warrior, a man with short blond hair, replied.
"My name is Peter, I'm a fighter."
The man had a bright personality and seemed very social. Enri was sure that he was fairly popular with girls; at least she knew many girls back at the village who would dream of marrying someone like him.
Marriage…
That concept seemed very distant to her at the moment.
The reconstruction of the village and taking care of Nemu had occupied most of her thoughts recently, so something like marriage felt deeply unimportant by comparison, but she still had to prepare for that eventuality for no other reason than to fulfill her late parents' wish to see her happy with kids.
"I'm Dyne, a druid." A robust man with a thick beard and scruffy hair then spoke.
"These are Ninya, a wizard, and Lukrut, a ranger." Peter then pointed at a thin man who looked prettier than handsome, and to a man with long blonde hair who had been looking at her with a strange gaze since they had started talking.
"Hum. I'm Momon, and these are Lupita and Enri." Momon replied politely, introducing them to the party.
"Peter, let me ask you this: are you guys adventurers?"
"Oh? Yes, we are a silver rank party." Peter answered with a bit of embarrassment. It seemed that when faced with someone as powerful as Momon, their rank as silver-ranked adventurers seemed shameful by comparison.
"Were you fighting these demihumans because of a quest? If so, I must apologize for interfering with your work." Momon then began to bow his head.
"Please don't do this!" Peter moved to prevent Momon from bowing.
"Yes, Momon-san, please don't apologize for saving our lives. We should be thanking you instead." Dryne added.
"And also you two, Lupita-chan and Enri-chan." Lukrut, the ranger, then proceeded to thank both of them profusely.
She felt some disgust over his actions, but did her best to maintain a polite smile.
"Lukrut, that's enough." Ninya had to drag him away.
"We weren't completing a particular quest, just the regular work of clearing monsters close to the city. The guild rewards parties who provide proof of killing monsters or demihumans. We were in the middle of that when we were attacked." Ninya then explained to them the gist of their activities as adventurers.
Momon seemed a bit disappointed by his explanation, but continued to listen quietly.
"Momon-san, do you mind me asking something?" After finishing his explanation, Ninya continued.
"Go ahead."
"What are you going to do with these goblins? There are even some extra ones here." He pointed at the group standing behind her.
"Oh, these ones? You don't have to worry about them," Momon then patted her on the shoulder.
"Enri here has a rare profession. She is a Goblin Tamer."