Chapter 23

“A-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 passionately. 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 amassed 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.