Chapter 23
“Asagi…?”
“Mm? Ah, good morning, Daniela . ”
“Uh, good…morning…”
What happened? She seemed kind of absent-minded this morning . At least she seemed to have drunk her soup .
I throw the deer onto the ground . I had already drained it of blood and dug out all of its guts, but I still had to skin and dismember it . It was a doe given the lack of antlers . A large animal, something that would make a worthy meal .
“Um, Asagi…”
“Yeah?”
It was just as I pulled had out and twirled my short sword, ready to cut into the meat, that Daniela called me . I looked back and saw that she was standing behind me and looking very uncomfortable . It was rare to see her so timid looking…
“About yesterday, I was wrong! It was a misunderstanding!”
She quickly bowed her head . That was all it took for me to understand . She was talking about what happened last night . Ah, I see now . So she figured it out . But it didn’t change the fact that I had created the reason for it .
“I’m the one who should be sorry . I didn’t know you dressed like that when you sleep . ”
“I do not!”
She points a finger straight at me . It was like she meant to refute some important argument .
“That was the work of the ale I took from the kitchens to help me sleep! It became hot while I slept and so the clothes came off . I hereby declare that I do not normally sleep in that manner!”
“Oh, ohh…”
While slightly red, she fired off very pa.s.sionately . I see . So that was why . It made sense .
“If that’s the case, then I guess there’s no reason for me to sleep up in the tree anymore . ”
“Yesterday, I had already realized it when you had gone to collect the vines . But your skills with ropemaking were so captivating that I lost my timing to bring it up . ”
Yes, yes . My vine-rope making skills are second to none . There was nothing you could do once someone was under my spell .
Anyway, it seemed that we could at least return to a more lighthearted relationship . I guess there was no real need for the deer then . Not that we wouldn’t eat it . It looked delicious .
“I hunted this deer here to make amends for angering you . But I guess it wasn’t needed . Let’s eat it together . ”
“Aye, it’s a good one . ”
She smiled happily . Being able to see that was enough for me .
We went even deeper into the forest that day . We would set up camp and go out hunting the forest wolves . Once we had them, their fangs would come out . Rinse and repeat . The bodies would evaporate if left alone . This was apparently due to the magical energy being degraded by the air . But any materials carved off before then would remain . I didn’t understand how it worked . Such things could be left to the scholars . I just wanted to hunt .
The venison we had for dinner was exceptional . The meat was juicier than wolf but not too soft and just felt plain good to eat . It was still too much for us to eat alone, so we smoked the rest and decided to bring it back to the Spring Wind inn as a gift .
Hunting went well the following day as well . We found ourselves moving deeper again into the forest, becoming hunters .
But there was one thing that I noticed . The numbers of forest wolves were decreasing . Perhaps we had killed too many of them . There were very clearly less than the first and second days now . I worried that they were going extinct, but according to Daniela, this was not a problem . She said that monsters were just naturally born in nature . In places that had a high concentration of magic, or a normal wolf would suddenly transform . Hearing that was a great relief .
“Asagi, you worry too much . ”
“Do I? Well, it’s better than not worrying at all . ”
“I suppose so . ”
There was dried meat, vegetables and yesterday’s venison boiling in the pot in front of us . We would eat this, sleep and return to the town, first thing in the morning . The three days had gone by so quickly, but I ama.s.sed quite a bit of experience points and as far as knowledge went, Daniela had taught me a lot as well . I took out my status card .
“Status open . ”
Name: Asagi Kamiyashiro
Race: Human
Job: Adventurer (Rank: E)
LV: 32
HP: 316/316
MP: 285/285
STR: 125 VIT: 118
AGI: 366 DEX: 158
INT: 120 LUK: 14
Skills: Jack of all Trades, Presence Detection, One-handed Sword, Short Sword, Spear
Magic: Ice, Water, Fire
Quest: Eliminate the Forest Wolves
Party: Daniela Villesilf
Equipment: Head – None
Body – Leather Armor
Arms – Leather Gloves
Legs – None
Feet – Leather Boots
Weapons – Iron Sword
– Iron Short Sword
Accessories – None
I had Presence Detection now . I guess it was because of all the practicing . It was great being able to actually see the results of your work . I put the card back into my pocket and report it to Daniela .
“I have Presence Detection . ”
“That is good . You worked hard for it!”
She was so happy that you’d think it was her that got a new skill . It made me feel even better about putting in the effort .
“Well then, food looks about ready . ”
“Asagi!”
“Huh?”
One moment Daniela was standing in front of me, the next she was on my side as she rammed into me . I didn’t understand what was happening . The spoon I was holding got caught on the pot and the whole thing flew into the air . The delicious looking soup danced in the air before losing to the powers of gravity and splattering all over the ground .
“Danie…!”
“We run! Asagi!!”
I returned to myself with those words . There was something on the other side of the pot . It looked a little like a giant wolf, but I didn’t have time to make sure of it, as I stumbled off after Daniela .
“Wha…t…was that!”
“Hahhh, hhh…ah…That was…Beowulf…!”
After running from our camp, the two of us were now hiding in the hollow of a large tree . Whatever it was that I saw, it was called Beowulf . Apparently, he was the master of the forest wolves . Daniela explained this as she caught her breath .
“Hhhh… He is a forest wolf who has lived a very long life . But as forest wolves are hunted by adventurers, it’s only a small few that survive that long… I never would have suspected he’d be in a forest so close to the town…”
“I only saw it for a second, but it looked huge . ”
“Aye, he was over two meters tall . ”
“Could we kill it?”
“To be frank, that would be quite difficult . ”
I find myself making a fist . There was a monster that we were not capable of defeating . There was no one to call for help here . And it was night time . It would be hard to see . But he was huge and a wolf besides . It wouldn’t take long for him to follow our scent and find us . There was almost no chance of us winning .
“What should we do…”
“I’m afraid that I’ve done you great harm . ”
“What’s this, all of a sudden?”
“This would not have happened if I hadn’t suggested we come out here to train . ”
“Daniela, that’s not true . And I’m glad that we came out here . I learned a lot, and more than anything, it was fun . ”
“Asagi…”
“But I have no intention of dying here . We’ll kill him . We’ll live and we’ll return home . ”
“Yes, you are right… We are a party . We must both live . ”
The light that shone from the cracks in the clouds illuminated Daniela’s smile then . Her face was as beautiful as any art could be . I couldn’t help but be captivated . But then I saw something behind her .
“What is…that?”
Daniela turned around to see .
“It looks like a building of some sort . ”
I could see it now . The stone structure in the moonlight .
“What should we do?”
“There’s no point in staying here . Let’s give it a closer look . ”
Daniela nods and stands up . Still cautious of our surroundings, we decided to slowly make our way towards the mysterious building .
“Asagi…?”. . .
“Mm? Ah, good morning, Daniela . ”.
“Uh, good…morning…”.
What happened? She seemed kind of absent-minded this morning . At least she seemed to have drunk her soup
I throw the deer onto the ground . I had already drained it of blood and dug out all of its guts, but I still had to skin and dismember it . It was a doe given the lack of antlers . A large animal, something that would make a worthy meal
“Um, Asagi…”.
“Yeah?”.
It was just as I pulled had out and twirled my short sword, ready to cut into the meat, that Daniela called me . I looked back and saw that she was standing behind me and looking very uncomfortable . It was rare to see her so timid looking….
“About yesterday, I was wrong! It was a misunderstanding!”.
She quickly bowed her head . That was all it took for me to understand . She was talking about what happened last night . Ah, I see now . So she figured it out . But it didn’t change the fact that I had created the reason for it
“I’m the one who should be sorry . I didn’t know you dressed like that when you sleep . ”.
“I do not!”.
She points a finger straight at me . It was like she meant to refute some important argument
“That was the work of the ale I took from the kitchens to help me sleep! It became hot while I slept and so the clothes came off . I hereby declare that I do not normally sleep in that manner!”.
“Oh, ohh…”.
While slightly red, she fired off very pa.s.sionately . I see . So that was why . It made sense
“If that’s the case, then I guess there’s no reason for me to sleep up in the tree anymore . ”.
“Yesterday, I had already realized it when you had gone to collect the vines . But your skills with ropemaking were so captivating that I lost my timing to bring it up . ”.
Yes, yes . My vine-rope making skills are second to none . There was nothing you could do once someone was under my spell . .
Anyway, it seemed that we could at least return to a more lighthearted relationship . I guess there was no real need for the deer then . Not that we wouldn’t eat it . It looked delicious
“I hunted this deer here to make amends for angering you . But I guess it wasn’t needed . Let’s eat it together . ”.
“Aye, it’s a good one . ”.
She smiled happily . Being able to see that was enough for me
□ □ □ □.
We went even deeper into the forest that day . We would set up camp and go out hunting the forest wolves . Once we had them, their fangs would come out . Rinse and repeat . The bodies would evaporate if left alone . This was apparently due to the magical energy being degraded by the air . But any materials carved off before then would remain . I didn’t understand how it worked . Such things could be left to the scholars . I just wanted to hunt
The venison we had for dinner was exceptional . The meat was juicier than wolf but not too soft and just felt plain good to eat . It was still too much for us to eat alone, so we smoked the rest and decided to bring it back to the Spring Wind inn as a gift
Hunting went well the following day as well . We found ourselves moving deeper again into the forest, becoming hunters
But there was one thing that I noticed . The numbers of forest wolves were decreasing . Perhaps we had killed too many of them . There were very clearly less than the first and second days now . I worried that they were going extinct, but according to Daniela, this was not a problem . She said that monsters were just naturally born in nature . In places that had a high concentration of magic, or a normal wolf would suddenly transform . Hearing that was a great relief
“Asagi, you worry too much . ”.
“Do I? Well, it’s better than not worrying at all . ”.
“I suppose so . ”.
There was dried meat, vegetables and yesterday’s venison boiling in the pot in front of us . We would eat this, sleep and return to the town, first thing in the morning . The three days had gone by so quickly, but I ama.s.sed quite a bit of experience points and as far as knowledge went, Daniela had taught me a lot as well . I took out my status card
“Status open . ”.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.
Name: Asagi Kamiyashiro.
Race: Human.
Job: Adventurer (Rank: E). . .
LV: 32.
HP: 316/316.
MP: 285/285.
STR: 125 VIT: 118.
AGI: 366 DEX: 158.
INT: 120 LUK: 14.
Skills: Jack of all Trades, Presence Detection, One-handed Sword, Short Sword, Spear.
Magic: Ice, Water, Fire.
Quest: Eliminate the Forest Wolves.
Party: Daniela Villesilf.
Equipment: Head – None.
Body – Leather Armor.
Arms – Leather Gloves.
Legs – None.
Feet – Leather Boots.
Weapons – Iron Sword.
– Iron Short Sword.
Accessories – None.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.
I had Presence Detection now . I guess it was because of all the practicing . It was great being able to actually see the results of your work . I put the card back into my pocket and report it to Daniela
“I have Presence Detection . ”.
“That is good . You worked hard for it!”.
She was so happy that you’d think it was her that got a new skill . It made me feel even better about putting in the effort
“Well then, food looks about ready . ”.
“Asagi!”.
“Huh?”.
One moment Daniela was standing in front of me, the next she was on my side as she rammed into me . I didn’t understand what was happening . The spoon I was holding got caught on the pot and the whole thing flew into the air . The delicious looking soup danced in the air before losing to the powers of gravity and splattering all over the ground
“Danie…!”.
“We run! Asagi!!”.
I returned to myself with those words . There was something on the other side of the pot . It looked a little like a giant wolf, but I didn’t have time to make sure of it, as I stumbled off after Daniela
“Wha…t…was that!”.
“Hahhh, hhh…ah…That was…Beowulf…!”.
After running from our camp, the two of us were now hiding in the hollow of a large tree . Whatever it was that I saw, it was called Beowulf . Apparently, he was the master of the forest wolves . Daniela explained this as she caught her breath
“Hhhh… He is a forest wolf who has lived a very long life . But as forest wolves are hunted by adventurers, it’s only a small few that survive that long… I never would have suspected he’d be in a forest so close to the town…”.
“I only saw it for a second, but it looked huge . ”.
“Aye, he was over two meters tall . ”.
“Could we kill it?”.
“To be frank, that would be quite difficult . ”.
I find myself making a fist . There was a monster that we were not capable of defeating . There was no one to call for help here . And it was night time . It would be hard to see . But he was huge and a wolf besides . It wouldn’t take long for him to follow our scent and find us . There was almost no chance of us winning
“What should we do…”.
“I’m afraid that I’ve done you great harm . ”.
“What’s this, all of a sudden?”.
“This would not have happened if I hadn’t suggested we come out here to train . ”.
“Daniela, that’s not true . And I’m glad that we came out here . I learned a lot, and more than anything, it was fun . ”.
“Asagi…”.
“But I have no intention of dying here . We’ll kill him . We’ll live and we’ll return home . ”.
“Yes, you are right… We are a party . We must both live . ”.
The light that shone from the cracks in the clouds illuminated Daniela’s smile then . Her face was as beautiful as any art could be . I couldn’t help but be captivated . But then I saw something behind her
“What is…that?”.
Daniela turned around to see
“It looks like a building of some sort . ”.
I could see it now . The stone structure in the moonlight
“What should we do?”.
“There’s no point in staying here . Let’s give it a closer look . ”.
Daniela nods and stands up . Still cautious of our surroundings, we decided to slowly make our way towards the mysterious building