Chapter 51: Into the Forest

As Gopuro went back to chopping more wood, Gopuran was about to take the Wood Gathering Quest as well, but I stopped her.

"No, Puran. I have something else I need you to do," I said.

"Yes, Big Boss?"

The girl tilted her head curiously.

I opened my inventory and pulled out a new quest scroll, then handed it to her.

[Quest: Scouting the Forest!]

Prerequisite: None

Quest Info: Your Ruler wishes to tour the surrounding forest and see what lies within. However, their magic is still limited, so they possess a spell that allows them to connect with your eyes and see what you see. Therefore, you will venture into the forest and show your Ruler around, answering any questions they may have along the way.

Quest Type: One-Time

Objective: Walk into the forest and explore until your Ruler tells you to return. Answer questions if possible. Do not travel more than 5 km away from the castle.

Reward: 2 Powerstones per hour

****

Gopuran happily accepted the quest, her sharp-toothed grin widening with excitement. And the moment she did, I activated [Vassal’s Eyes], linking my vision directly to hers.

Instantly, another screen flickered open inside my mind.

It felt a little like suddenly turning on another television when I was already watching nine others at once.

Thankfully, I’d already gotten used to juggling multiple viewpoints, so it only took a few moments for me to adjust.

As Gopuran turned her head, my field of vision shifted along with hers.

And immediately, I noticed something.

The forest looked much clearer and more vivid through her eyes.

The trees loomed much taller from ground level, their thick trunks covered in rough bark etched with deep grooves and patches of soft green moss. Twisted roots snaked across the forest floor like sleeping serpents, occasionally disappearing beneath layers of fallen leaves.

And just as I had expected, the forest was dense.

Very dense.

The deeper Gopuran looked, the darker it became. Branches tangled overhead into a heavy canopy, allowing only thin strands of sunlight to slip through and dapple the ground in shifting patches of light.

Everything beyond the first few rows of trees gradually dissolved into layers of shadow and mystery.

From somewhere behind us came the steady, rhythmic sound of Gopuro chopping wood.

THUNK!

THUNK!

THUNK!

The guy was completely absorbed in his work now, even humming a happy little tune as he swung his axe.

It sounded almost like some kind of goblin folk song.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Haha, that guy really does love chopping wood.

Gopuran eventually turned back toward the castle.

"Big Boss, should we go?"

"Yup!" I replied through [Ruler’s Voice].

Before sending her off, however, I still had a few things to give her.

First, I gave her some bread in case she got hungry and needed a quick snack.

Next was a small wooden shield. It was round and a little larger than an average frying pan, giving her some extra protection in case she encountered something dangerous.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t need it.

And finally, I gave her a small bone knife as a backup weapon. Just an F-tier weapon though.

With that, her preparations were complete.

Gopuran gave Gopuro a small wave goodbye before turning around and carefully venturing into the forest.

*****

A few moments later...

As Gopuran moved deeper into the forest, I noticed something interesting.

Her eyes adapted incredibly well to the darkness.

It was almost like looking through the eyes of a cat. Even beneath the dim canopy, where very little sunlight reached the forest floor, everything remained surprisingly clear.

Well, it made sense, since she was a goblin, and goblins had already evolved to live in this environment.

Anyway, the forest itself was remarkably quiet.

Only the gentle rustle of leaves stirred by the wind broke the silence, accompanied by the distant chirping of birds and the soft crunch of Gopuran’s footsteps over fallen leaves and twigs.

For the first ten minutes, we saw little more than trees.

Trees, trees, and even more trees.

Nothing particularly interesting.

Until...

"Big Boss, look!"

Gopuran suddenly pointed toward a bush up ahead.

"Yeah, I’m looking!"

Obviously, my eyes were literally her eyes right now, so how could I not be?

That silly thought aside, the bush was actually quite interesting. Because it was covered in berries.

Aha! A berry bush!

Gopuran moved closer, using her short sword to cut through the vines blocking her path. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Once she reached the bush, she plucked one of the fruits from a branch.

It was round and fairly large, about the size of a table tennis ball, with bright orange skin. Several other berries on the bush were smaller and still green.

Looks like orange is their ripe color.

I immediately wondered whether they were edible.

Back in my previous life, eating random wild berries was almost always a terrible idea. More often than not, they turned out to be poisonous berries.

But Gopuran seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"Big Boss! This is a sour berry! Sour berries are very delicious!"

Before I could say anything, she tossed one straight into her mouth.

"Mmmhh!"

Her vision suddenly went dark for a moment as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Haha, that must be seriously sour indeed!"

Despite that reaction, Gopuran insisted that it was delicious and immediately popped another berry into her mouth.

"Mmmh! So delish!"

Yeah, yeah. So delish. I can totally see that.

Honestly, like hell I believed her!

Then again, she seemed perfectly happy eating them.

After a moment, Gopuran paused and looked ahead.

"Big Boss, can you taste what I taste too?"

"Ah, nope. I can’t."

My skill only allowed me to see and hear through her senses. It couldn’t transmit any of her other senses.

"Aww... that’s sad."

She sounded genuinely disappointed before tossing another sour berry into her mouth.

In the end, she ate about half of the ripe berries on the bush. She carefully collected the rest and placed them into her pouch, probably intending to bring them back for Gopuro.

That little detail made me smile.

She had been so protective of her new sword, yet she was already thinking about sharing food with her brother.

"Oh, Gopuran," I asked, another question suddenly coming to mind. "What did you two usually eat before you met me? Did you have meat every day?"

"Ermmm... no."

Her voice grew noticeably quieter.

Then she began telling me about how they had survived before coming here.

The sparse foraging.

The long stretches without enough food.

The days when they had little more than a few roots, berries, or whatever small prey they could find.

As I listened, I gradually fell silent.

I knew their life had been harsh.

But hearing the details made it feel much more real.

Oh damn...

No wonder they looked so small and frail.