Doubts

When I came to my senses, a considerable amount of time had passed. Breakfast was already prepared, so I hurried to the table.

"I felt like I was sliding on ice!"
Riza was quite excited. It seems she doesn't have the concept of skating yet. Since winter gets cold enough for ice to form, she has experience moving across ice. Apparently, children attach boards to their shoes and slide around during the winter.
It's similar to some games that were popular in the past. I thought introducing those old games might make them trendy again.

After finishing breakfast, I confirmed everyone had returned to their rooms and quietly handed Teisha her usual payment. She smiled bitterly but accepted it. It's just manners. The least I can do since I'm staying here.

By the way, since I reached 9th level, I mentioned leaving the house, but both of them strongly objected. Riza is allowed to become an adventurer, but leaving home immediately seems lonely, apparently.
Since I'm paying rent, I'll stay a little longer. I need to think about it before my older brother comes back.
Riza? She was super eager to leave. Or rather, both of them were desperately trying to persuade her not to.
I understand the reason, but it's none of my business. Girls are girls, after all.

So, we headed to the guild while chatting. This casual conversation is very important. Without constant communication, they get anxious. I had to dig deep for topics. Favorability must be maintained; otherwise, it will drop.

Fia was waiting at the guild entrance. Typical of a farm girl—early riser.

"Good morning!"

Without even exchanging greetings, Riza started talking excitedly about her skating experience from earlier. It seemed like she had a lot of fun.

"If it's that much fun, I want to try too! Please, can I?"

Riza glared at me. Apparently, the princess carry incident still bothers her.

"I'll carry you on my back if you want."

"Eh? That's different. The treatment is different!"
Thinking they're kids, but then again, they are kids. These guys would be middle or high school students in Japan.
Speaking of Japan, I felt a pang of guilt for making children fight. Riza quietly held my hand.

"Are you okay? You look like something's bothering you."

"No, just thinking it's a bit sad that such young kids have to fight."

"Hey, we're adults now. Don't think like that."
Fia answered cheerfully.

"Yeah, I'm happy to earn so much income."
Riza looked confused at her response.

"What do you mean?"

Both of them tilted their heads in unison. Typical childhood friends—they’re in sync.

For now, I carried Fia on my back in an open space near the northern forest. As we floated and started sliding, she screamed at my ear.

"Whoa! What is this?! So fun! This is awesome! Why didn't you do this earlier?!"
Honestly, it was annoying. It reminded me of my nephew’s excitement when I gave him a gaming console in the entertainment-starved countryside. He went crazy too.
I stopped after a while. Fia looked clearly dissatisfied, but we had work to do.

On our way to the usual stream to gather Vaz grass...

"Three goblins approaching, but their direction is off."

Let’s try it now.

"I’ll take them on alone this time."

"That's great, but are you sure?"
Fia asked.

"Yes, because Fia-san taught me yesterday."
I patted her head while answering. She seemed happy, like I was treating her as a younger sister. But is this harassment? I glanced at Riza, who didn’t seem to mind. Phew, safe.

We had the goblins led to the discovery point and moved quietly through the bushes. There they were—three of them.

"Let’s go!"
I muttered, aligning my reticle with their chests and backs within sight. I imagined firing as usual and executed it. At the same time, the chests and backs of all three goblins burst open almost simultaneously, causing them to fall slowly.
Good, success!

"What? You chanted yesterday, right? Why is it different now?"
Fia asked curiously.

"I figured some things out and could do it now."
I answered, but she didn’t seem fully convinced. Well, no big deal. From here on, it’s repetition. I’ll continue hunting as usual, using my magic only in emergencies, focusing on Riza's training while Fia covers.

But something felt off. It started around the 20th goblin yesterday and got stronger.

"Whoa! That’s already yesterday’s count? Aren’t we going to be rich soon?"
Fia was innocently excited, but this isn’t right. It’s too fast. We haven’t even made 10 bundles yet.

"Hiro? Your face looks scary."
Riza worriedly turned to me.

"No, just something on my mind."

"Really? You’ve been pushing yourself lately..."
I must have worried her. I need to reassure her.

We continued hunting, reaching 30, 40, then 50 goblins. Something’s wrong. This is too much. An alarm bells rang in my head. The prey is too concentrated? Not at this level.
If everyone is 9th level, they’d all be rich. Even with my magic, this output is suspicious.

When we reached 30 bundles of Vaz grass and a neat 60 goblins, I suggested returning to the village. This situation feels off. We’ve hunted so many goblins without encountering other prey.
We moved around enough; maybe we’re stepping into their territory. But this unease...alarm bells are ringing at max volume. In games, I’ve seen this before—flooding. Same species flooding...
At that moment, a chill ran down my spine. If we hunted 60 goblins in one day, how many are in this forest? What if they all attacked at once?

"Hiro, something’s definitely off."
Riza, who was excitedly chatting with Fia earlier, asked me. I could see the blood drain from her face.

"Yeah, I noticed something. We’ll check it out at the guild. Riza and Fia will continue training, right?"
Both nodded in unison. Good they’re close. As an old man who likes yuri (female-female relationships), it’s heartwarming. Though I’m not into lesbians myself, platonic yuri is my thing.

"Whoa! We’ll be rich! Yesss!"
I calmed Fia down and hurried back to the village. I kept 'Alert' at max, ignoring everything around me. Even near the forest exit, Fia said it felt off.
The bad feeling grew stronger.

We arrived at the guild.
First, I requested an appraisal and asked the receptionist to call Harthis. She’ll be here shortly; until then, wait in the entrance.

"Completion fee for 60 goblins is 120,000. 30 bundles of Vaz grass are 24,000. Total is 144,000."
The usual brother handed it over, and I distributed it equally—36,000 each. Riza reached 9th level with this amount. The exam was waived; she’s done enough work for it. Including the overflow, we split it evenly. The remainder went to me.

"Wow... That's amazing. And that's just one day’s earnings?"
Riza was stunned. Fia stopped talking and gripped her money tightly, trembling. But I couldn’t care less about that now.

"Alright, since it’s early, train while you can. Be careful not to get hurt. Let me know if you do."
With such numbers, injuries are inevitable. We had minor scratches a few times, but divine magic healed them. They were surprised, but when I said it was thanks to the gods, they looked suspicious.
In the end, they accepted it, so no problem. Both headed to Fia’s usual training ground together.

I waved goodbye and went to the entrance.
Sitting at an open seat, I felt increasingly restless. After a short wait, Harthis descended the stairs with several documents in hand.

The organization prepared the documents for discussion.
Doubts turned into certainty. Something is...