"Agu?"
Minori's sharp gaze flickered when he caught the name.The large goblin Muguo, who had been groveling in fear, clearly recognized the newly arrived goblin.It wasn't just familiarity—the name itself triggered memories.
Minori narrowed his eyes and examined the goblin named Agu carefully.
Agu of the Gigu Tribe...
A faint memory surfaced.In the Overlord anime, Agu was a minor character—clumsy compared to humans, but exceptionally intelligent among goblinoid creatures.
While normal goblins were barely sentient,Agu's intelligence nearly matched that of a human peasant.
Yet before him, Minori saw little difference.Agu looked much like the other larger goblins—coarse features, brutish build.The difference wasn't obvious at a glance.
Still—Minori's instincts told him to pay closer attention.
Sand... Sand...
The underbrush rustled.Two more large goblins emerged behind Agu, their steps hesitant.When they met Minori's calm, indifferent gaze, a chill shot down their spines.
Instinctively, the two goblins took a step back.
"H-Humans... human..."One of the goblins stuttered with wide eyes, fear thick in his voice.
The human before them was thin—even frail by goblinoid standards.Compared to their burly arms, his limbs seemed fragile.
Yet just standing there—Minori exuded a suffocating pressure that set their primitive instincts screaming.
A fear they couldn't explain seized their hearts.
Muguo, the previously captured goblin, quickly crawled forward and prostrated himself.
"My lord!"He clutched his shoulders in panic, his voice trembling:"They are from our tribe! Not the lowly goblins! Please, spare them!"
Muguo's fear was real.He had seen Minori slaughter dozens of common goblins without mercy.He feared Agu and the others would meet the same fate.
In response, Agu's legs buckled.He immediately fell to his knees, pressing his forehead into the rotting forest leaves.
"H-Human... Great Human Lord..."Agu's voice quivered with terror."We are from the Gi... Gigu Tribe, deep in the forest.We are not like the lowly goblins...Please spare Brother Muguo. We... we bring offerings!"
His words prompted the two goblins behind him to react.They hurriedly set down the massive wooden baskets they carried and knelt beside him.
Minori watched their frantic behavior with amusement.He turned his gaze back to the groveling Muguo.
"It seems you hold some status among your kind."
"Of course, my lord!"Despite his battered appearance, pride gleamed in Muguo's eyes."I am a hero of the tribe!"
Hero?Minori smirked, finding the title laughable.
He stepped forward, eyeing the two wooden baskets.
One was packed with freshly-dug herbs, some still clinging to dirt.The other was filled with grotesque-looking blue mushrooms, likely poisonous.
"Hmm..."Minori raised an eyebrow, half-smiling as he studied Agu.
"You're smarter than you look."
He couldn't identify all the herbs and fungi,but judging from their presence deep within the Great Tob Forest,they were certainly valuable to alchemists and herbalists outside.
While trivial to the Gigu Tribe,these items would fetch good coin among humans.
This wasn't simple flattery.Agu had shown remarkable insight—understanding what humans valued and offering it as tribute.
It wasn't just animal cunning.It was rational thought—negotiation.
In a world where most demi-humans only knew brute force,this was rare.
Very rare.
Agu shivered under Minori's praise, not daring to lift his head.But a spark of hope lit within him.
It worked.
After learning that Muguo had been captured but spared,Agu had gambled.He believed the human didn't harbor blind hatred toward the larger goblinoid tribes—only toward the weaker goblins.
In the eyes of large goblins, ordinary goblins were little better than vermin.It wasn't an unfair assumption.
Still kneeling, Agu's mind raced.
Could they perhaps establish a relationship with this human?Perhaps trade, or even an alliance?
But deep down, he wondered:
Was this human stronger than the ogre chieftains?
The ogres who ruled the inner forest were terrifying.
Stronger than any goblin, stronger than most monsters.
Agu didn't know the answer—but the aura Minori radiated made him uneasy in a way even the ogres did not.
"Tell me about the ogres."
A low, cold voice cut through Agu's thoughts.
He jerked his head up—Minori stood before him, arms crossed, towering and composed.
For a moment, Agu hesitated, unable to process the demand.
Minori's gaze sharpened.
"I've been causing a fair amount of trouble here lately."He tapped his arm thoughtfully.
"Even Muguo knew about it.Surely the ogres have noticed as well?"
Minori needed information.In YGGDRASIL terms, ogres were mid-tier mobs—dangerous, but manageable with preparation.
But here, in a world with no game mechanics, caution was vital.
Agu's head drooped again.
"Sir..."He swallowed hard."The ogre masters... they don't care about the goblins.Whether a few or a few hundred die... it matters not to them."
Indifference.
Minori's eyes narrowed slightly.
He had been holding back, concerned about provoking a larger force.Now he realized his caution was unnecessary.
The ogres were arrogant, indifferent.They didn't view goblins as kin, only as expendable slaves.
It matched what he knew.
In the anime, the ogres of Tob Forest had even dismissed Ainz Ooal Gown at first.That kind of foolish pride was dangerous—but exploitable.
Minori shook his head slightly, amused at his previous over-caution.
He pressed further:"Tell me everything about the ogres—their numbers, their leaders, their habits."
Agu dared not refuse.
He quickly divulged everything he knew:
The ogres lived deep within the forest.
Their chief wielded crude magic and brute force.
They ruled by strength alone, caring little for the weaker races beneath them.
Internal struggles for dominance were frequent and bloody.
If someone strong enough appeared...their hierarchy could be shattered.
Minori listened in silence, absorbing the information.
By the end, he wore a thin smile.
A rich harvest indeed.
Armed with this intelligence,his next expedition into the Tob Forest would be far more... productive.
Without a word, Minori waved a hand.
The two large wooden baskets vanished—absorbed into his Magic Item Box, an artifact of YGGDRASIL technology.
Agu looked up in shock, his mouth hanging open.
"Dis... disappeared?!"
Magic!