Goblin Troubles

Some time later the group plus one was now sitting in front of a table full of nice food inside a not too shabby tavern that doubled as inn for any travelers passing by.
For Sae's modern standard it was quite the rural building, but it sure gave her the sword-and-magic medieval isekai yadda yadda and so she didn't mind at all and instead felt thrilled about it, and even the good seemed to taste better in such circumstances despite being basic helpings of bread, soupish pasta and some kind of warm low-**** ale.

Quantity beat quality here when it came to food, and the owner of this place sure didn't hold back with the quantity.
Was it because Isha was there, or was this the standard course?

She was curious, but her focus was more on the village guardian's troubles rather than the food.
The warrior explained about her village. They were renown around there for their fertile fields and pretty women, as well as their skilled farmers.
That was all and good, if not for the fact that practically all the villagers liked to hold hoes rather than weapons and their males were useless when it came to a fight.

Isha was the only proper fighter around there and if not for her great strength, this village would have been overrun by all sort of threats... the village bestowed upon her the title of guardian and gave her all sorts of rewards and benefits and she lived a comfy life, but it didn't change the fact that there was only one of her and when there were multiple threats it was still a strain on her ability to handle them.
And their current trouble was indeed relying on numbers to swarm their defences and put Isha at her wit's end.

Goblins.

Lately a swarm of them had migrated in the nearby woods and once they set their sight on the village and local women they became a constant threat.
In the beginning they'd just attack head-on and be slaughtered by Isha, but a smarter one must be leading them since their attacks became more and more sophisticated... it was as if they recognized Isha's power and would throw baits to distract her while they ambushed the village.

Ever since the goblins showed up the villagers had kept the women inside and Isha always managed to react in time to avoid any casuality... but for how long would it last?
Those green vermins were getting smarter and it may be only a matter of time before some villager would die in an **** or one of their women got caught.

The only silver lining about this situation was that it didn't look like their numbers were increasing.
The goblins were careful about keeping their lives and would escape whenever it looked like Isha would come around, hinting that maybe they had no way to replenish their number... it was a good thing to know, and she felt like she should strike before they found a way (or a woman) to reproduce themselves, but leaving the village meant leaving it too **** with nobody to defend it.

"And so that's why i requested for help. There's about thirty of them, fourty at most, and at least one leading figure. I'd take care of them myself but i can't leave the village so you'll have to deal with the pack yourselves. As for the reward, i can't offer much in the way of money but i can give you a weapon of your choice from my collection and a fine set of leather armor. I assure you they'll be of fine quality and worth more than any monetary reward i could give you"

Samantha didn't like the terms of the deal, whereas the rest thought it wasn't that bad since it'd give Sae the gear she'd need in her usual daily life since she could just don her phantom thief gear everywhere and be exposed.
Therefore they accepted the quest, and Isha thanked them by paying for dinner and their room for the night.

Sae and Iriel would share a room, while Belus and Samantha would share the other...