Goblin Village II

I could hear someone saying, "Your voice is too loud," from behind me. It was probably Hiiro. He must have been surprised I suddenly used my voice, as we didn't use voice communication before. Now then!

"..sorry! I haven't really gotten the hang of modulating this just yet."

I said that in a very low voice. But it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"N-No, N-No, Sir! W-We are not worthy of apologies."

Well, whatever. Let's get this over with.

"So, what do you want with me? I have no business up ahead or anywhere else, really."

"I see, your mightiness. As it happens, our village lies beyond this point. We sensed a powerful monster approaching and ventured forth to confront it."

Powerful monster!? What? I couldn't sense anything though.

"Really! My magic sense isn't picking up anything like that, though?"

"Grah!! Garg! Surely, you jest!"

<Announcement: 100 There is no monster within a radius of meters that contains greater magicules than the individual named Rimuru Tempest.>

See? Exactly.

As I thought that, Hiiro spoke to me.

"...He is talking about you."

Wait! They mean me?!

"We cannot be fooled easily. No ordinary slime can produce such a powerful aura."

Hnmm!? Aura?

I don't recall exuding any aura... Great Sage! Can I switch my magic sense's viewpoint? I want to see myself.

<Switching... >

As the view started to change to third person, I could see my body.

And! Oh my goodness!! It's pouring out of me, huh? Ominous-looking waves were coming out of my body. No wonder the wolves ran away when they saw me. Oh boy!

But hey, how come Hiiro doesn't have any aura coming out of him?

<Answer: 5 Individual Hiiro has times fewer magicules than individual Rimuru. He is also using his Unique Skill to control the aura exuding from body.>

So, I was just careless, huh? This is a little embarrassing. I feel like I've been strolling down Main Street with my fly down or something.

"Heh. Heh-Heh. You can see that?"

"Of course! It is impossible for your mightiness to hide such grand power!"

Argggh!!! Go back! Stop exuding! I was suppressing my aura with my full power.

"..pftt"

I could see Hiiro snickering in the corner of my eyes. You little... Just you wait.

"Thank you, your mightiness. Many were terrified by your aura."

"H-Ha Ha Ha... No worries. I have to keep my aura out, or else I'll be attacked by all kinds of monsters."

That'll be my excuse from now on.

"...P-Pft.."

Aghhh!! Damn it! There is one person I can't fool. This little twerp, I'll get back at you.

As I glared back at Hiiro, he swiftly avoided my gaze. No matter how cute you act, you're getting punished later. I won't go easy on you.

Sensing my intentions, he starts to rub his body on mine gesturing, 'Oh! come on, it was just a joke.'.

  ...

After conversing with the goblins for a while, they led us to their village. The village was quite rundown, to put it simply. I was escorted to the village elder, a short and scrawny old man who leaned on a staff for support.

We exchanged a few greetings, and soon the Goblin Elder came to the point, asking for my assistance. Their request was to help them deal with the Direwolves that posed a significant threat to the goblins' livelihood. There were reportedly at least a hundred of them, and even a single wolf was formidable enough to take on tens of goblins. So, it was indeed a dire situation for them—pun intended.

Ahem!

Anyways, the cause of this mayhem was monsters looking for new territory. But why now, you ask? Because the presence of a certain intimidating and human-loving dragon had kept all the monsters at bay. However, a month ago, that dragon suddenly vanished. Ever since, nearby monsters have been encroaching on this region in search of a new place.

Arehh? I wonder how that dragon disappeared. Sigh~ I know. I know. You don't have to give me that look, Hiiro. That dragon was probably Veldora, and the person responsible for his disappearance is me as well. So, it was probably my fault, huh?

The goblin elder's eldest son, Rigur, died while gathering information on the Direwolves. He was the elder brother of the goblin who talked with me when we first met in the jungle. It seems he was a great warrior who died fighting for his village.