Finn had been watching them look at him with a mix of guardedness and confusion. It made the older bro in him want to pat their heads.

He had to admit that going through the days alone without human contact got to him.

"You look like you could use some snacks… " he said, handing them some jerky he pretended to take from the basket.

Judging from Syl's words before, he could surmise that having a void space wasn't too common, so he wasn't planning on revealing it unnecessarily.

"Snacks?" he asked again, and they gaped at him. They still did not dare to take down their weapons, of course. Finn thought it was adorable.

At this, Finn took a random slice and ate it. "It's not poisonous," he said. "Aren't you hungry?"

This line suddenly made him feel like he was staring at stray kittens, and his eyes on them softened even more.

The-three-twenty-year-olds: "???"

Finn's eyes were now coated with the glaze caused by finally seeing fellow humans (and potential customers), so he was intent on making the best impression. In his mind, the best way was through food.

He saw the brunette with the messy manbun soften first. He was the largest among them and was definitely the hungriest. Finn smiled and—after putting his weapon to his back—walked over slowly, handing a few slices to the lad.

They still held their weapons, but so far they hadn't tried attacking. Judging by their condition, they were probably wary to attack as well. They look very tired and injured.

This meant that they could be very good customers.

Anyway, now that he took a few steps closer, it was only then that he saw little green things next to them, just about as tall as their waist.

They were small and easily hidden in the bushes. Not to mention: they were green, so they visually blended with the shrubs. He really didn't see them before.

They had brownish-green skin, had pointed noses, pointy ears, and large eyes. His mind whirled as he placed the description about what he knew about this world (mostly from Syl).

.

.

Goblins?!

…

"Goblins?" he voiced out, making them flinch. His rise in tone made the men tighten their weapons. Even the brunette, whose eyes had been focused on the jerky he still hadn't eaten, was no exception.

Finn did not flinch. "Ah, I mean no harm! It is the first time I have seen goblins, you see," he said. "I've lived in the area since I opened my eyes in this world, after all."

"What?" they asked. 'He has been here, in the danger zone, since he was born?' They thought.

Of course, they didn't really think that was true, but they assumed he lived at the edges of the safe zone, and had somehow travelled deeper into the forest.

In any case, the odd statement inexplicably confused them even more, and their curiosity made their guard lower just a bit.

It was here that Zachary really couldn't hold himself back and ate the jerky. He put the entire thing in his mouth and ate it in a single bite.

Nom

"Zach!" Aaron yelled, looking at him in aghast. They just met this guy, right? No matter how you look at it, he's suspicious!

Sure, he ate one of his jerky, but what if he was immune or drank an antidote beforehand?

And even if it wasn't poison, what if they were hallucinogens instead?

This naive fool! He knew he was a musclehead who'd risk his life to save a few goblins, but this is too much!

Was he supposed to trust his back to this big brown-haired doofus who could stab him in the back because he thought he was a monster?!

Nom, nom

Chew, chew

But then…nothing happened. Instead, the doofus' eyes were wide and he looked at the suspicious redhead. "It's delicious! The best jerky I have tasted!"

"You want more?" he asked Zachary, and the idiot bobbed his head like an obedient fool.

Aaron and Ren didn't really have the grounds to stop Zach, so they could only watch as the man handed a few more slices for him to eat. As he chewed one, he finally noticed the others were looking at him.

He handed one to Ren, who reluctantly took one, and the other one for the goblins to share.

Aaron-who-did-not-get-any: "..."

What did he expect?

Zachary saw his look and immediately looked apologetic. "I only had three, you see," he said, and then looked at the half-bitten jerky in his hand and (reluctantly) handed it to him.

Aaron's eyes twitched. "I don't want it!"

He gritted his teeth and turned his head to Ren, hoping that he would at least agree with him, only to see him actually eating it!

Ren was silent, but the way his eyes were slightly wider than usual indicated he liked what he was eating.

Aaron: "..."

Then another jerky appeared in front of Aaron, this time it was directly from the redhead. "It's fine. Why would I waste precious jerky to poison them? Have you forgotten where we are? If I wanted to kill people I'd just push you outside the scope of my beast repelling area."

"Your what?"

Finn smiled, looking at the area with relatively dense foliage and a decent variety of plants. "I poured a bit of my rare, superior beast repelling potion in this area. I only have a few so be honored in taking advantage."

They looked around again, and recalled how the monsters literally just stopped following after them. It seemed like there was indeed a few meters of area where it was safe, and they just entered the border of it before.

So, thinking about it, it was them who trespassed on someone else's place.

This calmed them down and put down their weapons.

Since Finn had already set himself as the older brother figure, he contained his excitement to appear mature and just fed them a bit more.

The goblins didn't think twice before eating (they were very trusting in nature), while the blonde finally took a bite. His eyes widened, and then he started chewing and eating the whole thing.

Soon, the jerkies he handed out were consumed.

"How is it?" Finn asked.

"Delicious! It is both chewy and tender, and the flavor is so interesting!" the brunette said, the two little ones nodded vehemently. The other two were a bit more muted, but the way they ate was indicative that they did like it.

Finn tilted his head a bit. Was it really that good? They didn't know it was a low-ranked essence food using basic spices, and it seemed like it was really the taste that meant so much to them.

Do they not have enough spices in the settlements?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel pity. He handed a bit more to them, and they gobbled it up without another word.

Except for the ebony-haired lad, who kept one. He seemed to be smarter and more apprehensive than the others, and Finn watched as the lad took something from his side bag.

The blonde flinched. "You're using the assessment tool?" He should've used it earlier! It'd have saved him from embarrassment (and missing a few jerky!)

This bloke totally did it on purpose, right!?

Ren looked at him. "Why don't you use one?"

"I lost it during the raid!" Aaron snapped. Who carried assessment tools in their pockets? Those things were uncomfortable and poked a lot during battles!

Anyway, when Ren placed the card over the half-eaten jerky, his eyebrows rose. He then took some of the pieces from others' hands, and he whipped his head to look at Finn after checking them.

"They're all essence food?"

"Just low level ones," he said, shrugging. "Have one more?"

The rest of them stared.

Are Essence Food so easy to get now?

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