Reward

"I was very satisfied with your answer. I can grant you one wish."

Naiyuan said with a smile. Her previous actions, along with her answer this time, had all pleased him.

Momonga and Herohero nodded as well, showing their agreement.

The three of them were family now, and her actions and answer had earned their approval.

"Speak boldly. There's no need to be reserved."

"This is what you deserve."

Momonga and Herohero also showed her kindness, telling her not to worry. After all, they knew their current appearances were still quite frightening, and they feared they might intimidate her.

Feeling the kindness of the three, Enri appeared very flustered.

"Um, could you tell me the names of the three Gods?"

Enri carefully raised her head as she spoke, yet only asked for something as small as their names, leaving the three of them stunned.

Her younger sister, who had been eavesdropping in Enri's arms, gave her sister a bewildered look.

As if to say, Sister, are you serious? (⊙x⊙;)

"Um, please forget what I just said."

Seeing their reactions, Enri's already rosy cheeks became even redder, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"It's fine. My name is Naiyuan, and that skeleton is Momonga. Though he looks imposing, he's actually very gentle toward those he acknowledges."

"You don't need to be reserved around him. You have already earned our recognition."

"That purple fellow is Herohero. Of course, I call him Little Herohero. He looks very cold, but he treats his own people well. He's the type who's cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

Coming back to his senses, Naiyuan smiled and began answering her question, first pointing at Momonga standing nearby.

Momonga responded with a nod.

Then Naiyuan pointed at Herohero, who looked as aloof as ever, and said with a grin.

"Naiyuan, you bastard!"

Hearing his friend's introduction, Herohero was instantly shocked and enraged. This guy really said everything out loud. Did Herohero not have any dignity?

"See? This guy's a tsundere."

"Maybe you don't know what a tsundere is. It's someone who says no with their mouth, but whose body is completely honest."

Naiyuan ignored Herohero's fury and continued smiling at Enri.

Seeing this, Momonga immediately stepped forward and stopped Herohero, who was about to rush over and fight Naiyuan to the death.

"Calm down, Herohero. Don't be impulsive. Think about it seriously—you can't beat Naiyuan at all."

Momonga's two pairs of skeletal hands tightly held Herohero as he hurriedly explained to his struggling friend.

Another blade pierced Herohero's heart. He stopped resisting. That was right—he really couldn't beat Naiyuan. It might be fine if he charged in now, but once they returned to Nazarick, Naiyuan would definitely put him through brutal training.

"Sigh... Momonga, who taught you to comfort people like that?"

Herohero said weakly.

"I learned it from Naiyuan. It seemed quite effective."

Momonga released his skeletal hands and smiled at Herohero.

"You learned very well. Listen to me—don't learn it again next time."

"Ah, why?"

"So, aren't those two great?"

Naiyuan, who had enjoyed the show immensely, asked with a soft laugh.

Without the Floor Guardians around, they could act much more freely. Joking around like this was perfectly normal.

Since Enri had earned their approval, there was no need to put on airs anymore.

"The three Gods have such a wonderful relationship."

"Just call us by our names. You don't need to be so formal."

"Then, Lord Naiyuan?"

"Mm, that's much better."

Enri looked at him with secret delight. She had successfully gained the God's recognition.

"Momonga, Little Herohero, let's go."

After chatting with Enri for a few more moments, Naiyuan called out to Momonga, who was studying the soldiers' corpses, and Herohero, who was silently squatting in the corner and continuously muttering curses.

"Are you done talking?"

Momonga walked over to Naiyuan and asked, while also dragging over Herohero, who had been squatting nearby.

Herohero turned his head away after being dragged over, his displeasure obvious.

"We should go see our new friends."

"Have they been trapped?"

Hearing that, Herohero put away his playful mood and returned to his calm state.

Ever since they sensed that there were still two groups of soldiers in the village, they had activated the magic item [Phantom Barrier], trapping the two groups in separate barriers. At this moment, the soldiers were endlessly walking in circles inside.

Without level 60 strength, they could only obediently wait an hour for the barrier to disappear on its own.

Naiyuan nodded and glanced at Momonga. Momonga immediately understood and raised the staff in his hand.

[Gate]

The black hole appeared once more. Momonga entered first, Herohero followed closely behind, and Naiyuan looked at Enri.

"Want to come along?"

"Can I?"

Enri nervously looked at the hole before her. The thought of going together with the Gods filled her with longing.

"No problem."

Naiyuan directly took her hand and, amid her startled cry, pulled her inside.

Of course, her younger sister was not left behind either. (I forgot this character's name. Oh well, she only appears once anyway, hehe.)

As they entered, the hole instantly vanished. Silence returned to the surroundings, leaving only a headless corpse lying on the cold ground.

Within Carne Village, the surviving villagers had all gathered in the center, each carrying weapons such as wooden clubs and hoes.

Bright red blood covered the villagers' bodies. Some of it belonged to the soldiers, and some of it belonged to themselves.

"Village Chief, what should we do now?"

A man holding a wooden club anxiously asked a white-haired old man.

"Yes, those soldiers said earlier that they were only the advance party. There's still a larger force behind them."

"With our strength, there's no way we can stop their attack."

The other villagers nearby were also terrified. Though they did not know why the earlier soldiers had suddenly become unable to move, allowing them to kill them in return.

They felt no joy at all. Learning that a larger force was still on its way left them extremely anxious and afraid.

"Quiet. We don't need to do anything."

Seeing everyone's emotions beginning to spiral out of control, the village chief immediately shouted.

"Huh? Then aren't we just waiting to die?"

"No. Think about it—why were those soldiers suddenly unable to move earlier?"

"Based on my guess, a Magic Caster must have helped us."

"Since that person helped us, it means they certainly won't just abandon us."

The village chief continued laying out his reasoning, soothing the villagers' emotions.

In truth, he had no confidence either. He did not know whether that person would truly help them; perhaps they had already left.

But he could only say this, because it was their only hope now. It was not as though he had never considered running, but when he thought of the horses the soldiers rode, he gave up on that idea.

Ordinary people like them could run as fast as they wanted, but they could never outrun horses. Being caught was only a matter of time.

"You're very smart. It was a gamble, but congratulations—you won."

Just as the village chief and villagers were discussing things intensely, a black hole appeared before them, and a voice came from within it.

"What is that?"

Hearing the voice coming from the hole, the villagers who had been discussing matters immediately grew tense. They raised their weapons and stared tremblingly at the vague figures inside.

They had originally thought the larger force mentioned by the soldiers had arrived, but a familiar figure ran out of the hole.

"Grandpa Village Chief, everyone!"

Enri ran out excitedly while holding her younger sister's hand, arriving before the villagers.

"Enri!!"

The village chief cried out in surprise. He had thought she had already been killed by those soldiers. He never expected her to be unharmed, much less return from such a place.

"Mm, Grandpa Village Chief, everyone, we're safe now. It's all thanks to the Three Lords."

Enri smiled and nodded, then pointed at the black hole, indicating that someone had saved her life.

"Thank you, my lords, for saving our lives. We are endlessly grateful."

Hearing this, the village chief hurriedly bowed toward the hole in thanks. He knew they had not only saved Enri, but also saved all of them.

Seeing the village chief's actions, the other villagers quickly bowed and gave thanks as well. They knew this was likely the Magic Caster who had made the soldiers unable to move earlier. Whether they could continue living now depended entirely on that person.

It could be said that the lives of their entire village were in that person's hands.