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“Wa…”

Howard tried to warn her, as there could still be Demonic Beasts nearby. Unfortunately, his voice did not come out. The poison was slowly spreading throughout his whole body.

The girl eventually reached Howard’s longsword, picked it up, and headed back to the tree. However, behind her, Howard saw a dark shadow rushing at her from the thick forest. It was another Grey Wolf.

“AH!”

Howard tried to scream, but no words left his mouth.

(Damn it! Getting myself involved is one thing, but why did I have to drag this girl down with me?!!)

Howard couldn’t believe that his life would end like this after wielding his sword as a Guard all this time. He bit his lip in exasperation at himself. Just as the wolf’s fangs were about to reach the girl, she spun around dancing.

The next moment, the Grey Wolf was lying on the ground, split in two. The beast had been sliced cleanly in two, from the base of its front legs to the back, and its body, propelled by the momentum of its leap, tumbled forward and collapsed beside her.

Howard lay in stunned silence, goosebumps standing all across his body.

(What a beautiful sword)

He thought. The girl had wielded the sword effortlessly, almost making it dance. It had sliced through the opponent as a knife through butter. Howard pondered whether his sword had ever been this sharp, but he already knew the answer to that. The difference in their skill was evident. The girl’s movements had been clear, without any doubt. Howard’s sword was way too rough compared to them. He was unlikely to ever forget the beautiful shine and movements of the sword’s tip.

Nor the way the girl’s red hair flowed and her skirt fluttered, all led by her movements.

“This… final…”

With cool eyes, the girl muttered as she looked down at what used to be the Gray Wolf. She then glanced at Howard and huffed.

“Sorry… late… to notice…”

The girl came running toward Howard, clearly in a panic. She kneeled to his right, placing her right palm over the wound on his shin.

“I… quickly… fix…”

(Did she say she’s going to heal me? What is this girl planning? It can’t be. There’s no way she can use detoxification magic at this age!)

Regardless of what the girl decided to do, Howard’s immobile body could only watch. He couldn’t understand her clearly but could hear her muttering something. Then, light suddenly began gathering between her hand and his shin.

Howard’s eyes widened in surprise.

(WHAT?! A healing glow? She can use it! How can someone this young produce this much warmth and light?)

A gentle warmth spread through Howard’s leg, which had lost all sensation. Howard could also feel the same soft warmth circulate through his entire body, even sinking into the biceps of his left arm, which had been gouged out by the Gray Wolf, and the lip he’d bitten just now. His whole body relaxed, and he felt completely at ease.

Suddenly, the light faded away, and Howard was brought back to reality.

“I… fixed… good.”

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and turned a happy smile toward Howard.

“You sure did. I can move, and my wounds are gone. This is amazing.”

Howard stood up, confirming that the paralysis had left his body and he could move freely. He touched his arms and legs, marveling at the fact that the wounds were completely healed.

Many children at this age could use healing techniques to speed up the recovery of wounds and alleviate pain.

However, only a well-trained priest could handle techniques that completely healed wounds, detoxified the body, and restored full mobility almost instantly. Howard looked at the girl with sheer amazement.

“Thank you. I owe you my life.” He said, to which the girl smiled happily. After that, Howard continued, “Still, who are you? I doubt you’re an ordinary person who’s just a master of swordsmanship and healing. Where in the world did you come from? Are you even from this country?”

The girl’s smile froze for a moment when bombarded with that series of questions.

“Excuse me. I haven’t even introduced myself, and here I am asking questions. My name is Howard Cloud. As you can see, I’m nothing more than an old geezer. I will say it once more. Thank you for saving me. I owe you my life.”

Standing up straight, Howard adjusted his appearance and thanked her again.

“My name… Susie… I… glad… you… fine…”

The girl smiled at Howard as she spoke and handed him his longsword. As he accepted the longsword, Howard got lost in his thoughts.

(Her not being able to speak can be explained by her being from a different country. Maybe she was smuggled in? Really, in these light clothes? By her state, I can imagine she’s been sleeping in the forest these past few days. Maybe she was kidnapped from her country but managed to escape and fled to this forest. But is there really anyone able to capture someone as skilled as her? It could be possible if they drugged her. In any case, I must contact her family. This forest is no place for a girl like her to wander alone.)

Howard could only imagine the grief of the parents, who had suddenly lost their daughter. His chest tightened even more when he looked at the girl’s hair.

He decided to try and ask the girl if she knew anything about this country.

“This country is known as Aurora. Does it ring a bell?”
“Aurora? Don’t… know…”

(So she really is from another country.)

“Do you know where you come from?”

As Howard asked, the girl pointed fearfully toward the far end of the forest.

(Was she really kidnapped?! No, wait. It’s also possible that she simply got lost while traveling with her family.)

“Are you alone? Where are your parents?”

The moment Howard asked, the girl’s shoulders shook.

“Parents? Never… had…”

(Oh my god. So she really stayed in the forest all by herself?!)

Howard’s brow wrinkled involuntarily, and his expression became stern.

Then, from somewhere, he heard a lovely sound that resembled a growling. As he looked over, Howard saw the girl’s face had turned bright red, and she was holding her stomach. Seeing this, Howard quickly moved her hand and looked at her.

“S-Sorry… Sorry… I…”

The girl looked down, her face reddening further as she uttered a panicked apology. Howard could feel the tension in the air slowly fade away. He was simply taken aback by what had just happened.

(Well, it’s already lunch… Sonia should be waiting for lunch by now. We can talk details then. Right now I must help my benefactor.)

“I’m about to head home for lunch, and I’m wondering if you’d like to join me. We were supposed to have guests, so my wife should’ve prepared a feast. We won’t be able to eat all of it, and it’ll be a waste, so I’d love it if you could come and eat with us.”

Howard said, extending his hand to the girl.

“Lunch… Food? Lots… food?”

The girl widened her eyes in surprise, blinking as she looked at Howard with a bright red face.

“That’s right! Lots of food! It’s packed with herb-roasted chicken! I just love the taste of that salty chicken meat.”

Howard said happily, recalling the bird that Sonia had been preparing for cooking as he was on his way out.

“Salt!!! Herb!!! Chicken!!!”

The girl’s eyes widened even more, even welling up with tears. Her mouth hung open, and it looked as if drool was about to spill out.

(Hey now, that’s not a good look for a pretty lady.)

“So, what do you say? Will you accept?”
“Will… be… bother? Can… really… come?”

The girl moved her hands wackily in front of her chest, her face bright red and looking as if she were really about to cry. Howard’s heart couldn’t help but break as he saw her like that.

“You won’t be a bother at all! Let’s all eat together!”

Howard said, laughing and holding his hand out. The girl glanced at it, then looked at Howard’s face, nodding repeatedly in delight before grabbing onto his hand with both hands.

Although he couldn’t bring Will back, he’d be bringing another very special guest.

(Now then, we should hurry. I can’t wait to see the surprised look on Sonia’s face. I’m sure she’ll be delighted.)

Howard led the girl out of the forest, and they happily hurried to his home.

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