Chapter 110

I suddenly heard that Eli would be going with us, so I got to learn more about the situation.

Non-combat types like Eli are super important for gathering materials like herbs and leather.

Normally, they would focus on safe areas and gather supplies themselves, but now even the outskirts are dangerous.

So, it’s changed to them joining when combat classes go out for investigations or monster hunts.

For Eli, who collects various herbs, this was a bit of a relief.

“Hello! I’m Eli from the Herbalism Department! Nice to meet you!”

The next day, I introduced Eli to the team that would be heading into the forest together.

Her cheerful and overly bright greeting, combined with her pretty looks, made a fantastic first impression.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Grace Aria del Verche from the Verche Duke’s Family.”

“I-I’m Lee Yeon-joo…”

Both Grace and Yeon-joo greeted each other in ways that matched their personalities, but their gazes started to waver a little.

They tried to keep their eyes fixed on each other’s faces as much as possible, but occasionally, they would slip down…

Eli’s ample assets were hard to ignore. It was impossible for anyone, regardless of gender, not to sneak a glance.

“You guys are on the same team as Sivar, right? I’ll do my best not to hold you back! You don’t have to worry about herbs; I know those well!”

Eli, with her bubbly personality, lifted the team’s spirits with her positivity.

Grace seemed to like Eli’s bright personality too and wore a satisfied smile.

Occasionally, her gaze would dip lower; she was trying her best to play it cool like a proper noble lady.

“You seem to know a lot about herbs, Eli. You seem like a commoner; may I ask where you’re from?”

“You probably won’t know it. Have you heard of a place called Batonto Village?”

“Um… I guess my knowledge isn’t enough; I don’t really know it.”

“You can think of it as the countryside of the countryside.”

Just like that, girls bond quickly. I watched the two of them chat and giggle away.

Grace had that typical noble air about her; it made it hard to approach her.

But thanks to Eli’s optimistic demeanor, I was able to join the conversation sooner than expected.

“Grace, your eyes are really beautiful. They remind me of a cat’s!”

“Y-You think so? My eyes?”

“Yes, I really think they’re pretty!”

She even complimented Grace’s eyes. Grace was left flabbergasted, touching her own eyes in disbelief.

From a fierce perspective, calling her lovely or beautiful is a stretch.

Yet Eli seemed to genuinely like them. Maybe it wasn’t a twisted sense of aesthetics, just a personal preference.

“Th-Thank you. Eli, your eyes too…”

Grace began to speak, but her gaze drifted downward. I could easily guess where she was looking.

Then she wore an expression like she was forcing back words stuck in her throat before finally managing to say, “Your eyes are really beautiful too. I’ve never seen such golden, shining irises.”

“Hehe. Thanks!”

Seeing them exchange compliments was a delightful sight. I felt lucky to be surrounded by such kind people.

Eli then asked Yeon-joo about her origins, and Yeon-joo, of course, revealed her hometown instead of the Hwan Empire.

Eli, not particularly caring about this, quickly moved on and showed her fun side instead.

“Sorry for being forward, but can I hug you?”

“Uh…?”

Was it Yeon-joo’s small frame and cute appearance? Eli asked if she could hug her.

Taken aback by the unexpected question, Yeon-joo looked embarrassed, and Eli seemed to feel the awkwardness too, giving a sheepish smile.

“I guess that wouldn’t be alright? Sorry!”

“It’s… it’s fine…! Here!”

Yeon-joo, flustered, spread her arms wide open. It looked genuine; none of that was just an act.

Eli seized the moment and gently wrapped her arms around Yeon-joo. Eli was of average height, but with Yeon-joo being petite, it was a perfect embrace.

“Hmm…”

Yeon-joo sighed in delight against the soft hug. She looked like every worry in the world had disappeared.

I knew that feeling well. Whatever tension I had melted away completely.

The two held each other for a while before slowly parting. Both appeared quite satisfied.

“Was it uncomfortable?”

“It was really… really comfortable…”

That’s how they started to warm up one by one. I bet they wouldn’t even realize it themselves.

“Should I give you a hug too, Sivar?”

“Sure.”

This is Eli’s wide acceptance, even though she knows what she’s doing. I accepted her offer and leaned in for a gentle hug.

Even though I couldn’t bury my face in her chest while standing, just feeling the touch was enough to satisfy me.

I’d have to ask later when we were seated to rest. It’s been so long since I felt that kind of comfort.

‘It would feel a little awkward asking Rize for this.’

I don’t know why, but I hesitated bringing this up to Rize.

Maybe it was because of her title as ‘Saint’, or perhaps for other reasons.

Others were the same. It was hard to find someone like Eli who could casually indulge in such requests.

“Okay, that’s enough for today. We should start to head into the forest so let’s break it up.”

“…”

I wanted to linger a bit longer, but I complied with her words while trying not to show my disappointment.

Eli seemed to find me adorable, pinching my cheek with a bright smile. I really don’t get why everyone likes to pinch my cheeks.

“Everyone, gather around! Like I said yesterday, today will primarily focus on reconnaissance! Avoid going too far inside without the guide’s orders! We’ll give out special compasses to the two students who were appointed guides yesterday, just in case!”

At the forest’s entrance, students gathered like they were on a picnic. They wore casual clothes instead of school uniforms.

Plus, thanks to the information about monsters running rampant, everyone was carrying weapons. I was no different.

It felt strangely nostalgic holding Ragnarok after such a long time. I hadn’t needed to use it for a while.

“Hey, Eli, you made it? I heard there would be non-combat classes mixed in here.”

After receiving special compasses, Kara approached us. She didn’t seem surprised at Eli’s presence.

It seems there are others from non-combat classes in Kara’s team as well. Or maybe she’d already heard the news.

Eli greeted Kara with her usual bright smile.

“Hi, Kara! It’s good to see you! How have you been?”

“It’s only been a week; what’s the big deal? How did you do on your midterms?”

“I’m not sure. I wrote everything down, but I haven’t gotten my results yet. Non-combat classes are mostly theory, so it takes a bit longer.”

“Oh, really? I’m sure you did well. We’ll head out first.”

“Okay, take care.”

Kara said a short greeting and headed into the forest with her team. I quietly watched her as she left.

I hadn’t noticed until now, but Kara is quite tall. Taller than most male students.

Seeing her stand alone now really shows how tall she is.

“Wonder where Luna is? Did she go ahead?”

“The first team went first, so that’s likely. Let’s get going too.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Luna. But I’m sure I’ll run into her while wandering around the forest.

I handed the special compass to Eli. It’s better in her hands.

‘Shall we start looking for traces of Porori?’

Porori, who went into heat. I have no idea what that guy is up to right now.

Animals tend to get wild during heat. Even prey can jump at predators.

Even though Porori evolved into a spirit creature, its animal instincts shouldn’t have disappeared. Humans can be wild too, after all.

‘I’m surprisingly calm about this.’

Having lived like a beast and entering civilization, I found my desires not exactly overwhelming. Not that I’m completely numb.

I still work hard every morning setting up tents, and I have enough interest. I suppose I’m just very patient.

I don’t know how long this patience will last, but I must hold on. If not, I’ll handle things alone.

“By the way, Eli, how did you and Sivar get connected?”

“I first found Sivar with Luna. Do you know about the Manki? It’s a giant monster that looks like a gorilla.”

“I know it. It’s a monster that even skilled knights struggle to deal with.”

As I searched for notable traces, I noticed Eli and Grace start chatting behind me.

Grace, seeing that I seemed to be familiar with Eli, looked intrigued. She had been friendly from the start, after all.

“Actually, I almost got killed by a Manki. I ventured deep to find good herbs and nearly got caught.”

“So Sivar saved you then…?”

“Yes. Just before the Manki’s hand struck me down, Sivar saved me. Honestly… it was like a fairytale prince.”

At the time, I was a scruffy mess; I doubt I was anywhere close to a prince. But I’m glad she remembers it fondly.

“Just thinking about it still gives me chills. I owe him my life, so it’s pretty much Sivar’s life now that I owe.”

“Does it really come to that? To the point of entrusting your life to him?”

“Of course! This is how I was taught: If you owe a life, you use that life for the person. My parents taught me that.”

Isn’t that a bit extreme? I was left speechless by the absurdity.

It’s the same on Earth, but especially in this world, family upbringing holds great importance. There’s no internet or anything, so society feels quite narrow.

The more confined a society is, the easier it is to get consumed by bizarre ideals. Even someone like Eli, who seems ordinary, might have extreme views.

‘Eli even views violence as a necessary means.’

It’s acceptable to use violence against criminals. Eli didn’t deny this and actually agreed.

The person is kind overall. It’s just that the times we live in have its unavoidable hardships.

“I see. So does that mean I should also pledge my purity to Sivar?”

“Eh? What do you mean by that?”

“To be honest… there was a recent incident where my purity was almost compromised. Fortunately, Sivar saved me from the crisis.”

The problem was that Grace had some dirt of her own to share. She brought up a recent incident herself.

Though it must have been quite traumatic for her, she stated it calmly, likely because it was a relatable theme, something that surprised me.

“If we follow Eli’s line of thought, shouldn’t I pledge my purity to Sivar too?”

But it seemed more like an educational moment rather than something serious. It was nowhere near what I expected.

However, there was still an unexpected twist even for Grace.

“Are you not going to offer it?”

“Eh?”

“From what you’re saying, it sounds like you’d be ready to offer it at any time… or not?”

Eli seemed like she had some awareness, but also entirely clueless. I guess it’s her usual optimistic nature.

What’s more discomforting is that this isn’t even about the so-called act of eating. Eli genuinely asked out of curiosity.

“Um… I can’t say I wouldn’t… but, th-this is something that needs mutual readiness…!”

“Readiness? What kind of readiness?”

“That, um… there’s just a lot to be said! Let’s skip on to something important!”

In the end, Grace surrendered. No matter how noble she was, explaining this part must have been tricky for her.

“This is dizzying…”

Lee Yeon-joo, who had quietly followed behind, mumbled softly. She looked as dizzyed by this situation as I was.

I don’t know how long we walked in that confused atmosphere, but as we gathered herbs along the way, we stumbled upon something.

“This is…”

“A Nol.”

We discovered the corpse of a Nol that had only just died. It was a humanoid monster with the head of a hyena.

They’re one of the common monsters found in forests, grasslands, and mountain ranges. I’d dealt with quite a few when I lived in the forest.

However, it’s not usually a creature from the outskirts. It appeared to have been pushed out due to losing a fight.

‘But why is there only one?’

Nols typically live in packs like other monsters. It seemed weird to find just one sitting there.

While I was about to check more closely, I noticed something odd.

“Why is there only scorch marks on the lower half?”

“Good question. It doesn’t seem to be burned…”

Only the fur on the lower half was charred black. The rest of the body looked relatively intact.

It seemed the poor creature died from an uneven impact after being scorched too fiercely on its lower half.

‘But wait… wasn’t this from lightning?’

It wasn’t burn marks; they looked more like scars from ‘lightning’. I’d come to identify that based on how much I’ve been struck lately.

But then why was only the lower half electrocuted? I began to poke around the area with a stick to examine further.

Not long after, I spotted a ‘trace’ mixed with bright red blood and understood.

‘…Could it be that bastard?’

I wasn’t entirely sure yet. I needed more concrete evidence.

After finding a few more traces, I grasped something significant.

“A neatly dead monster and another monster with just its lower half burned… what does this signify?”

“Not sure. I’m stumped as well…”

It seems like Porori went into deep heat.

It’s a relief that they’re only preying on beasts.

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