When the antiheroes were making the trek back to the slime village, it took them more time than they had taken when they were originally traveling to the caves. It was getting late, and they were followed by goblins who were carrying their compatriots, and so they had no choice but to slow the pace.
Garett considered driving them harder, but decided against it. He felt that he had already sufficiently freaked out Oraguth and the other goblins to the point of submission and despair, and that there was no further need to treat them badly. On top of that, pushing them harder now would potentially scar them beyond the point of no return, however Garett was reluctant of whether they were already at that point or not.
He wanted them to become contributing members of society eventually, and so a combination of carrot and stick were necessary.
Pushing them harder while they were wounded would likely only decrease their efficiency.
So, the antiheroes decided to make a camp in the middle of the plains. Was it dangerous to do so? Of course, however they decided that they would split the 8 hour night into 2 hour watches with one party member watching at a time.
They did not make any fires to avoid catching attention, and while Oraguth looked like he wished that they had, Trevor had firmly stated to everyone that fires would only attract attention, and that they had no rights to complain-as they were now slaves.
Garett considered obtaining food for the goblins, and decided to have Samantha play the good guy in asking.
"You all must be very hungry... should we obtain food for you all?"
Oraguth was shocked and surprised as Samantha asked this, with the other three standing behind her. All the goblins were huddled in a circle with the injured lying down, and Coran and Berith stood behind the antiheroes.
"You... why would you go through the effort to obtain food for your slaves? You weren't willing to spare us any healing magic.", Oraguth asked suspiciously.
Samantha smiled while holding back a rebuke, and calmly responded.
"We've explained this multiple times... my mana is limited, and I cannot just heal everyone. I am offering that we obtain food for you all. Do you want it? Isn't it obvious that a master will care for their slaves?"
Samantha took a seat next to Oraguth, who was staring at the ground with wide eyes while sweating bullets and trying to maintain his composure.
"You seem to look at us like we are some sort of demons... but we aren't that bad. What was that thing he said before... ah! That's right! 'We will have no mercy on those who make enemies of us, but come into our fold and we will ensure you don't regret it.'"
Oraguth looked up at Samantha, with fear on his face. He clearly didn't believe her, but he seemed at least a small bit less tense than before.
"You should put a particular emphasis on the first part. Know that we will not show mercy to those who wish to escape with knowledge of us. If anyone here tries to escape, we will be forced to make an example out of not only them, but perhaps out of others who weren't involved to prevent further occurrences from happening.", Trevor stated.
On the inside, Trevor fought himself as he said something so cold hearted, but on the outside he had a complete poker face, as if he truly did not view the lives of the goblins as worth anything.
"I understand... then, if you are willing to do so, please obtain food for us. I will accompany you if you wish.", Oraguth replied, his voice wavering.
"There will be no need. Stay here and care for your people. Is that not what you wish to do?", Samantha replied.
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"If you will allow me..."
"Coran, Berith."
Garett called them forward and they stepped up with submissive smiles on their faces and closed eyes while bowing their heads.
"Yes, your excellency"
"You two have the ability to produce silk, do you not? Would you be able to bandage up these goblins wounds while we are searching for food?"
"Easily, your excellency"
"Thank you. You two are becoming more and more reliable by the moment"
"Your praise overestimates us."
The two spiderlings quickly shuffled over to the goblins and one by one were patching them up with the makeshift bandages that they created from their abdomens. Samantha stood up and the four walked off into a light forest patch to try and find some food.
After doing some hunting with Trevor's bow, they had caught quite a few rabbits and lizards to roast and eat, which Ashley quickly fried with a light flame from her finger.
Garett learned that if he was the one to do the cooking that it would improve the quality... and that he was actually the only one capable of doing so. Whenever another party member tried, an error occurred, so he was the one who held the food on a stick as it roasted.
Samantha had picked some wild berries and fruits from nearby bushes while the others were doing their tasks.
The teamwork of the antiheroes was improving by the day, and they were becoming more aware of the abilities of themselves and each other. They were able to efficiently bring back a load of food which they then distributed among the goblins, who were delighted and yet reluctant upon receiving the food.
Not a single person took a bite.
One man even began crying.
"What's going on here? Do you think we've poisoned the food or something?", Trevor asked, impatiently.
"If it's not good enough for you then we can just take is back", Ashley stated indifferently.
"That's not it... that isn't it at all", one woman said quietly seemingly about to burst into tears.
"When... when was the last time someone fed us? When was the last time anyone did anything for us!?"
Garett turned away and the antiheroes slowly turned their backs on the goblins who seemed to be brought to tears.
"It makes me sick that these people are so happy over something so simple...", Garett stated.
"Eh... it doesn't sit well with me either. What conditions must they have lived under to be brought to this point? Even living as a slave is an improvement for them..." Trevor pointed out.
"Fargar... he must have been a real piece of work... it was a good thing we took care of him... hehehe... I'd like to get my hands on more freaks like him...". Ashley chuckled.
Samantha simply looked sad. She sat there, not saying a word.
She then looked up at everyone.
"What a crazy day this has been. It makes me want to just go to sleep forever and never wake up... ah... I've seen too many things today. But I will say this- I am glad to have met you all."
Garett smiled deviously, and Trevor gave off an arrogant smirk, while Ashley simply continued laughing like a creep.
"Yeah.. that's about right.", Trevor observed.
And with that, three of them decided to go to sleep. Ashley was the one who took the first watch, and she looked at the others as they slept while she sat up, with dull eyes.
She smirked.
She looked at Garett, fast asleep. She recalled the kiss he had given her and laughed like a creep as she remembered it.
All the people who had looked down on her when she was in high school... all those jerks who would flaunt their relationships in public as if to say 'hey look at me I am better than you.".
Ashley remembered them, and laughed.
She was no longer the person she was before.
She was no longer a loser. An otaku. A jobless bum.
She was a member of the antiheroes. She was an overpowered being in a fantasy world.
She contemplated her new powers, and decided to do some practice with her new skills.
Ashley practiced for quite a while, and realized that she learned extremely quickly because of her maximized intelligence.
She was soon able to completely control and fine tune her magical aura, to the point where she could pinpoint it and aim it at specific locations and people.
When she finished doing this practice, almost 2 hours had passed and she was about to wake Garett to take the next watch, however something happened.
She saw something in her mind.
It was something like a vision... it was hazy, and not very clear, but it was certainly there.
The sounds of clapping.
Tribal instruments playing, and drums being beat.
The cheers of others.
What was this?
It was too hazy to make out more than that, but the vision soon ended.
After it ended, Ashley looked around to see if there were any changes around her, but could not find anything wrong. The goblins and the two spiderlings were all in a large circle fast asleep, and there was not a sound to be heard from the forest. Not only this, but she could not sense any mana coming from anyone aside from the people who were here.
She woke Garett up, and he took over the watch. She soon then fell asleep, unsure of what that vision was.
"Perhaps i'm becoming delusional in my own desires... "