The journey continues . Of course, me and Daniela’s journey . It had started in Fhiraldo and continued through Spiris, Alessa, Valdorf, Senka Village, and Replant . We had walked through many towns, villages, and cities .

There were many that were incredibly comfortable . We met new friends that were difficult to part with . Encounters and partings were supposed to be the best parts of traveling, but they were often surprisingly hard . But each time, it meant going on a new adventure and to new encounters . Obviously, there would be more partings after that, but I knew that it wasn’t the end .

Now, what sort of encounter awaited us here on out?

Would it be something wonderful? Perhaps a surprising reunion?

My curiosity was endless . I enjoyed imagining what our future held, as we traveled together every day .

We spent the night by a small river and then headed south . As the river was flowing to the south, we just had to follow it . The clear rus.h.i.+ng of the water was a nice backdrop as Daniela and I talked, occasionally rested, and ate when hungry . If we were ever attacked by monsters, we killed them and cut off any pieces that we thought would be proof of the hunt . That might sound a little rough, but it really was a peaceful journey . Or perhaps I had just become so accustomed to this life that I was able to see it that way .

While we were following the river at first, it eventually changed course and turned west . And so we crossed the river and continued to go down south . Our surroundings had been a field up until then, but there were now short trees everywhere . This forest was the landmark, apparently . According to the map in Daniela’s brain, there was a small village on the other side of the forest .

That night, we made a fire next to the forest and slept .

It was four in the morning . I tossed some wood into the fire and got up to stretch my limbs .

The sky above was still dark, but I could see some light colors rising in the east .

It was just before sunrise . Recently, I had been keeping Presence Detection on at all times, and now, it caught something . I had been checking a wide area, but something had just entered it . I stretched my hand out to grab the Schwarz Tempest, which I swung over my shoulder before heading towards the spot where there was movement .

It was inside of the forest, but visibility was low . I used Nighteyes and tried to see between the trees and in the bushes . Then I narrowed down the focus of Presence Detection and continued to search until I sensed something behind some trees at two o’clock . I held my sword and walked closer in order to see what it was, all the while erasing the sounds of my feet as much as possible . It was necessary to go around the trees so I would be behind whatever it was when I came out .

Then I stared quietly through the gra.s.s towards the root of a tree . That’s where it was . Thanks to Nighteyes, I could see even if the forest was dark .

What was there, was a forest wolf covered in wounds .

Perhaps the signal had been so weak because it was dying . They say that wounded beasts are the most dangerous, but this degree of injury would mean it would barely be able to move . The problem was, what had done this to it?

I kept my guard up as I stood in front of the forest wolf . For some reason, I couldn’t just leave it there . Maybe it was because I had the Protection of the Forest Wolf . I was a little more attached to them than the average Adventurer, anyway .

It glanced towards me and sniffed . But it showed no signs of resisting .

“Horrible cuts…”

It was covered in them . The blood was running so heavily that there was a puddle underneath it . Spatters of blood were next to its path of pawprints .

“Kuun…”

Its whimper was so weak that I started to wonder if I couldn’t help it somehow . The normal thing to do now would be to enjoy my luck, grab a free proof of the hunt and then go and track down whatever it was that did this . But this time, I couldn’t look away .

“Wait here . ”

I didn’t think it would understand me, but I said it anyway before rus.h.i.+ng back to the camp . I hurriedly took off the greatsword and rummaged through my bag for the appraisal gla.s.ses and a few recovery potions . Then I returned to where the forest wolf was . It raised its head when I asked if it was alright . Then I supported its jaw with my hand while pouring the potion into its mouth . At the same time, I watched while wearing the appraisal gla.s.ses . The deepest wound was on its chest . It looked like the work of claws . I somehow managed to pour some of the potion over that area . It must have stung, because it struggled weakly and tried to escape . But I held it down as it healed . Thankfully, the wound closed up . Daniela’s potions were quite effective . Then I gently picked up the forest wolf and headed back for the camp .

When I laid it down near the fire, it closed its eyes as in great comfort . While I was hoping that it would not die, another part of me questioned why I, Asagi the Adventurer, was doing this . What would Daniela say? That side of me asked . But Asagi Kamiyas.h.i.+ro was not so callous . I was still not at a point where I could kill needlessly .

The east sky grew brighter and brighter . I used water magic to wash the forest wolves wounds and thought about what I was going to do .

Well, the first thing was to apologize to Daniela…

“…So that’s what happened . Sorry that I used your potions . ”

“No, I do not mind . I know you well enough to understand . That was not the kind of moment where you could deal the finis.h.i.+ng blow . ”

“Thank you… I’ll give you the money for the potions later . ”

Whether party members or lovers, we had decided to be clear in terms of handling money .

And so I promised to pay for them .

As for the forest wolf, the visible wounds had all closed, but it still wasn’t completely well . It was currently chewing on some meat from a skewer . After finis.h.i.+ng its second one, it licked the area around its mouth and then rested as if satisfied .

“Seems kind of friendly for a monster…”

“Well, perhaps it was once kept by someone . ”

Daniela said . Did such things happen?

“There are tamers . And I have heard that monsters are sometimes raised as subst.i.tutes for guard dogs in the countryside . Maybe this one was a guard dog that was attacked…it is possible . ”

“You mean that it was kept in the village up ahead?”

“It is a possibility . ”

I tried petting its back . It did not resist . It was almost too accustomed to humans . It really was like a pet dog .

“Monsters are tough, which means that in some respects, they are easier to raise than dogs . But the problem is that they are hard to tame . It depends on if you can handle them when they turn their fangs on you . ”

“Well, they are monsters . ”

Considering how this one was, there were no problems in terms of being tamed . I doubted it would start biting .

“This one seems quite tough . I am sure it will be able to walk again soon . We should clean up here and try taking him to the village . ”

“Understood . ”

I agreed with Daniela’s suggestion and stood up . We cleaned up the trash and took down the tent . All of our belongings were thrown into the hollow bag and then I splashed some water over the fire to put it out . When everything was done, the forest wolf got up and wagged its tail as it rubbed its face against my leg . d.a.m.n, it was cute… Something about how it was resting until the last possible second reminded me of Daniela .

“Hmm . I feel as if you were mocking me just now . ”

“You’re imagining things . Let’s go . ”

I picked up the hollow bag and started to walk . Then the forest wolf started to walk in front of us as if leading the way . Of course, it was going east . In the direction of the village . It was so smart that I almost believed that it understood what we were saying .

It was a very unexpected encounter, but that was how we met this new monster . And so began the short journey of two people and one wolf .

The journey continues . Of course, me and Daniela’s journey . It had started in Fhiraldo and continued through Spiris, Alessa, Valdorf, Senka Village, and Replant . We had walked through many towns, villages, and cities

There were many that were incredibly comfortable . We met new friends that were difficult to part with . Encounters and partings were supposed to be the best parts of traveling, but they were often surprisingly hard . But each time, it meant going on a new adventure and to new encounters . Obviously, there would be more partings after that, but I knew that it wasn’t the end

 .

Now, what sort of encounter awaited us here on out?.

 .

Would it be something wonderful? Perhaps a surprising reunion?.

 .

My curiosity was endless . I enjoyed imagining what our future held, as we traveled together every day

 .

　　□　　　□　　　□　　　□.

 .

We spent the night by a small river and then headed south . As the river was flowing to the south, we just had to follow it . The clear rus.h.i.+ng of the water was a nice backdrop as Daniela and I talked, occasionally rested, and ate when hungry . If we were ever attacked by monsters, we killed them and cut off any pieces that we thought would be proof of the hunt . That might sound a little rough, but it really was a peaceful journey . Or perhaps I had just become so accustomed to this life that I was able to see it that way

 .

While we were following the river at first, it eventually changed course and turned west . And so we crossed the river and continued to go down south . Our surroundings had been a field up until then, but there were now short trees everywhere . This forest was the landmark, apparently . According to the map in Daniela’s brain, there was a small village on the other side of the forest

That night, we made a fire next to the forest and slept

 .

It was four in the morning . I tossed some wood into the fire and got up to stretch my limbs

The sky above was still dark, but I could see some light colors rising in the east

It was just before sunrise . Recently, I had been keeping Presence Detection on at all times, and now, it caught something . I had been checking a wide area, but something had just entered it . I stretched my hand out to grab the Schwarz Tempest, which I swung over my shoulder before heading towards the spot where there was movement

It was inside of the forest, but visibility was low . I used Nighteyes and tried to see between the trees and in the bushes . Then I narrowed down the focus of Presence Detection and continued to search until I sensed something behind some trees at two o’clock . I held my sword and walked closer in order to see what it was, all the while erasing the sounds of my feet as much as possible . It was necessary to go around the trees so I would be behind whatever it was when I came out

Then I stared quietly through the gra.s.s towards the root of a tree . That’s where it was . Thanks to Nighteyes, I could see even if the forest was dark

 .

What was there, was a forest wolf covered in wounds

 .

Perhaps the signal had been so weak because it was dying . They say that wounded beasts are the most dangerous, but this degree of injury would mean it would barely be able to move . The problem was, what had done this to it?.

I kept my guard up as I stood in front of the forest wolf . For some reason, I couldn’t just leave it there . Maybe it was because I had the Protection of the Forest Wolf . I was a little more attached to them than the average Adventurer, anyway

It glanced towards me and sniffed . But it showed no signs of resisting

 .

“Horrible cuts…”.

 .

It was covered in them . The blood was running so heavily that there was a puddle underneath it . Spatters of blood were next to its path of pawprints

 .

“Kuun…”.

 .

Its whimper was so weak that I started to wonder if I couldn’t help it somehow . The normal thing to do now would be to enjoy my luck, grab a free proof of the hunt and then go and track down whatever it was that did this . But this time, I couldn’t look away

 .

“Wait here . ”.

 .

I didn’t think it would understand me, but I said it anyway before rus.h.i.+ng back to the camp . I hurriedly took off the greatsword and rummaged through my bag for the appraisal gla.s.ses and a few recovery potions . Then I returned to where the forest wolf was . It raised its head when I asked if it was alright . Then I supported its jaw with my hand while pouring the potion into its mouth . At the same time, I watched while wearing the appraisal gla.s.ses . The deepest wound was on its chest . It looked like the work of claws . I somehow managed to pour some of the potion over that area . It must have stung, because it struggled weakly and tried to escape . But I held it down as it healed . Thankfully, the wound closed up . Daniela’s potions were quite effective . Then I gently picked up the forest wolf and headed back for the camp

When I laid it down near the fire, it closed its eyes as in great comfort . While I was hoping that it would not die, another part of me questioned why I, Asagi the Adventurer, was doing this . What would Daniela say? That side of me asked . But Asagi Kamiyas.h.i.+ro was not so callous . I was still not at a point where I could kill needlessly

 .

The east sky grew brighter and brighter . I used water magic to wash the forest wolves wounds and thought about what I was going to do

Well, the first thing was to apologize to Daniela….

 .

　　□　　　□　　　□　　　□.

 .

“…So that’s what happened . Sorry that I used your potions . ”.

“No, I do not mind . I know you well enough to understand . That was not the kind of moment where you could deal the finis.h.i.+ng blow . ”.

“Thank you… I’ll give you the money for the potions later . ”.

 .

Whether party members or lovers, we had decided to be clear in terms of handling money

And so I promised to pay for them

As for the forest wolf, the visible wounds had all closed, but it still wasn’t completely well . It was currently chewing on some meat from a skewer . After finis.h.i.+ng its second one, it licked the area around its mouth and then rested as if satisfied

 .

“Seems kind of friendly for a monster…”.

“Well, perhaps it was once kept by someone . ”.

 .

Daniela said . Did such things happen?.

 .

“There are tamers . And I have heard that monsters are sometimes raised as subst.i.tutes for guard dogs in the countryside . Maybe this one was a guard dog that was attacked…it is possible . ”.

“You mean that it was kept in the village up ahead?”.

“It is a possibility . ”.

 .

I tried petting its back . It did not resist . It was almost too accustomed to humans . It really was like a pet dog

 .

“Monsters are tough, which means that in some respects, they are easier to raise than dogs . But the problem is that they are hard to tame . It depends on if you can handle them when they turn their fangs on you . ”.

“Well, they are monsters . ”.

 .

Considering how this one was, there were no problems in terms of being tamed . I doubted it would start biting

 .

“This one seems quite tough . I am sure it will be able to walk again soon . We should clean up here and try taking him to the village . ”.

“Understood . ”.

 .

I agreed with Daniela’s suggestion and stood up . We cleaned up the trash and took down the tent . All of our belongings were thrown into the hollow bag and then I splashed some water over the fire to put it out . When everything was done, the forest wolf got up and wagged its tail as it rubbed its face against my leg . d.a.m.n, it was cute… Something about how it was resting until the last possible second reminded me of Daniela

 .

“Hmm . I feel as if you were mocking me just now . ”.

“You’re imagining things . Let’s go . ”.

 .

I picked up the hollow bag and started to walk . Then the forest wolf started to walk in front of us as if leading the way . Of course, it was going east . In the direction of the village . It was so smart that I almost believed that it understood what we were saying

 .

It was a very unexpected encounter, but that was how we met this new monster . And so began the short journey of two people and one wolf