Chapter 12

Kanna gazed at Ariel’s sleeping face as if enchanted.

As expected of an elf, she was truly beautiful. Just looking at her made one feel better.

Especially, her sleeping face seemed even prettier than when she was awake. When awake, her expressionless face made her slightly difficult to approach, but her sleeping face was as cute as an angel.

“Hmm…”

Kanna fidgeted her fingers, hesitating. Maybe now she could touch Ariel’s cheek?

‘No… I can’t do it without permission. She might find it rude…’

But, what if she doesn’t wake up? What if I just touch it very lightly without her knowing?

Someone once told Kanna this:

If you don’t get caught, it didn’t happen.

The person who said that was Jack, the village’s biggest troublemaker and the main culprit behind Ariel’s kidnapping, but that didn’t matter to Kanna now.

‘Just don’t get caught.’

Kanna finally reached out and poked Ariel’s cheek.

Squish.

Ariel’s cheek was unbelievably soft. It felt like sticky rice cake.

‘Ah… this is it…’

Kanna trembled with ecstasy, and at that moment, Ariel opened her eyes.

“Gasp!”

Kanna jumped in surprise. Ariel stared at her blankly.

“Ah, ah, no, um, the bathwater got cold… I thought you might catch a cold if you slept here…”

While Kanna was making excuses, Ariel got up from the bath.

Then she tried to leave the bathroom immediately, her steps slightly hurried.

“Ah, Ariel!”

Kanna quickly grabbed Ariel’s shoulder. She couldn’t let her leave the bathroom like this.

There were people outside, and Ariel wasn’t wearing a single thread.

“You need to put on clothes.”

Kanna dried Ariel’s body with a towel. For Kanna, this was a great reward. Indeed, boldly entering the bathroom was the best decision she had ever made.

Ariel silently let Kanna’s hands do their work. Her attitude had become much more docile.

Unbeknownst to Kanna, Ariel was currently feeling embarrassed. Even though she had possessed a game character, being seen naked by Kanna was a bit shameful.

“Now, raise your arms.”

Kanna even dressed Ariel. Since the adventurer-like clothes Ariel had been wearing were being washed, Kanna dressed her in her own pajamas.

“Hmm, it’s a bit big.”

Kanna’s pajamas were too big for Ariel. The sleeves covered her hands, and the shoulders slipped down slightly.

‘This is it.’

Kanna nodded in satisfaction.

In fact, Kanna had carefully chosen the pajamas for Ariel, fully anticipating this fit.

And now, Ariel looked exactly as cute as Kanna had imagined.

“Hehehe.”

Seeing Kanna’s sinister smile, Ariel felt an inexplicable chill.

*

After sleeping all day in the inn room, Ariel woke up the next morning.

Feeling something heavy, she looked to the side and saw Kanna tightly hugging her.

Ariel hadn’t noticed, but last night, Roo had been drinking heavily with the villagers until late and had to be carried back to the room by Kanna.

And while bringing Roo back, Kanna found Ariel sleeping in her pajamas…

Unable to resist the temptation, Kanna hugged Ariel tightly and fell asleep.

Ariel pushed Kanna aside and got up from the bed.

The sun was rising outside the window. Before falling asleep last night, she had wondered if she might wake up back in reality, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

She was still in the game world. Well, it didn’t really matter. No need to overthink it.

As long as she could continue her adventure, that was enough.

Ariel took off Kanna’s pajamas and changed into her own clothes hanging on the wall.

Thanks to Kanna’s careful washing yesterday, the clothes smelled nice.

Kanna’s borrowed pajamas were neatly folded.

“Hmm…”

At that moment, Kanna woke up.

Kanna rubbed her eyes, seemingly confused about why she was there, and looked around.

Then, with an ‘ah’ expression, she looked at Ariel.

“Ah, Ariel. Sorry, I fell asleep here while bringing Roo back last night. I was so tired. Was it very uncomfortable?”

Pretending it was an accident, Kanna gauged Ariel’s reaction.

Although Kanna usually never lied, in the face of desire, she was just an ordinary human.

Fortunately, Ariel didn’t seem to mind much.

Ariel returned the pajamas to Kanna.

Kanna took the pajamas and asked,

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah.”

“I see… Well, you said you’re on an adventure.”

Kanna felt regretful but couldn’t stop Ariel.

Ariel wouldn’t settle down in Harrington Village, and she had said she would only stay for a day.

“By the way, I have something to give you before you go. Wait a moment. I’ll prepare it quickly.”

With that, Kanna quickly ran out of the room.

*

Ariel left the room after Roo woke up.

Roo, suffering from a hangover, swayed her body, then made some healing powder and applied it to herself, even putting some in her mouth.

Soon, she was back to normal and shouted, “Let’s go, sister!” as she climbed onto Ariel’s shoulder.

When Ariel left the room, Kanna was waiting at the inn counter.

“Here, take this.”

Kanna handed over a large paper bag.

“It’s a gift.”

Ariel opened the paper bag.

Inside were cream buns that Ariel liked and fruit wine that Roo liked, all packed tightly.

“It’s a token of appreciation from the villagers. Please accept it.”

Ariel had no intention of refusing.

“Yay~!”

Roo was delighted with the fruit wine, and Ariel put the entire paper bag into her inventory.

Once in the inventory, the cream buns and fruit wine would stay fresh. She could take them out and eat them whenever she wanted during her adventure.

A rare smile appeared on Ariel’s lips.

It was a faint smile, hard to notice if not looked at closely, but Kanna noticed.

“Ah, Ariel, do you like it…?”

Kanna felt a sudden surge of emotion and her eyes teared up.

Ariel, who had been unresponsive, finally showed she liked something. Kanna was so moved she could hardly hold back her tears.

Ariel didn’t know why Kanna was crying but felt concerned.

Thinking of something to give, she took out a necklace from her inventory and put it around Kanna’s neck.

A necklace made of animal bones.

It was something she had taken from the Goblin King.

“……!”

Kanna was startled by the necklace.

A necklace made of animal bones felt eerie and scary.

But since Ariel gave it, she had to manage her expression. Kanna forced a smile.

“Is, is this for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Th, thank you…”

Forcing a smile made Kanna’s lips tremble, but Ariel didn’t notice that.

Ariel turned around and walked towards the village palisade without stopping.

A man on guard opened the palisade, and only then did Ariel look back.

By then, the villagers had gathered to see Ariel and Roo off.

Jack’s gang wasn’t visible, but the village chief, his daughter Daisy, and even Kanna were all looking at Ariel with regretful expressions.

An awkward silence hung in the air, and Kanna, choking back tears, shouted,

“Ariel…! Come visit again! Okay? Promise!”

With that, the villagers started speaking up one by one.

“That’s right, Ariel! Feel free to visit anytime! You’re our village’s savior!”

“Roo! Let’s have another drink next time!”

“Take care of yourselves!”

Moved by the villagers’ enthusiastic response, Roo shed tears and waved her hand.

“Sniff, take care…! We’ll definitely come back!”

Ariel also waved her hand slightly towards the villagers, then turned and walked away.

And so, Ariel’s adventure began anew.

*

After leaving Harrington Village, Ariel set her destination for the city.

She planned to see how people lived in the city and sell some monster corpses.

Of course, there was no rush, so her pace was leisurely.

She walked slowly, enjoying nature, and when hungry, took out cream buns from her inventory to eat, savoring the relaxed time.

“Hmm…”

Roo, drunk on fruit wine since midday, sprawled on a rock and muttered.

“Sister… I smell something…”

Ariel had been sitting by the lakeside, staring blankly at the sky.

She tilted her head at Roo’s words.

Ariel couldn’t tell what smell Roo was talking about.

“Hmm, definitely…”

Roo staggered to her feet, took a handful of healing powder she had made earlier, and put it in her mouth.

As Ariel walked away from the lakeside, Roo, now sober, narrowed her eyes and looked towards the forest.

“There’s a strong smell of blood nearby, sister. Shall we go check it out?”

At Roo’s question, Ariel nodded.

If there was a strong smell of blood, there was likely a battle nearby.

Watching battles was the most enjoyable part of sightseeing.

Ariel and Roo climbed up a tree, hid their presence, and approached the source of the blood smell.

As they got closer, Ariel also started to smell the blood.

Sounds like “Kyaaak” or “Kyaooo,” as if beasts were howling, could be heard.

Soon, Ariel and Roo arrived at the scene of the battle.

Hiding in a tall tree, they saw that a battle was indeed taking place.

Fighting were green-skinned orcs and a silver-furred wolf.

There were dozens of orcs, and only one silver wolf.

“Ooh.”

Roo, sitting on Ariel’s shoulder, said,

“That silver wolf is an incredible spirit.”

Ariel didn’t know much, but she could somehow agree that the silver wolf was an incredible spirit.

Its silver fur gave off a mysterious vibe, and its size was much larger than a normal wolf.

“But it’s a bit unfortunate…”

Roo’s voice darkened slightly.

Around the silver wolf were the corpses of other silver wolves.

There were seven in total, and judging by their small size, they seemed to be cubs.

The silver wolf cubs were covered in blood, all dead.

“Looks like the orcs killed the silver wolf cubs, and the mother is fighting desperately.”

Ariel quietly watched the silver wolf fighting the orcs.

As Roo said, the silver wolf was fighting a desperate battle.

It didn’t care about its own body, recklessly charging at the orcs.

Normally, wolves are calm creatures, but having lost her cubs, she couldn’t maintain her composure.

The outcome of the battle was obvious.

A few orcs had their throats torn out by the silver wolf and lay on the ground, but there were still many orcs left to fight.

Eventually, an orc’s axe struck, and the silver wolf collapsed.

The orcs quickly rushed in to ensure the silver wolf wouldn’t get up again, trampling and kicking her.

The silver wolf, making “kyaeng, kyaeng” sounds, lay on the ground, unable to get up, gasping for breath.

Yet, her eyes still burned with anger as she glared at the orcs.

One orc stepped on the silver wolf’s neck, laughing, and raised his axe high.

“It’s over.”

Roo spat out.

The battle was over. The moment the orc brought down his axe, the silver wolf would follow her cubs to the afterlife.

And the silver wolf’s corpse would become the orcs’ food.

It was bitter, but it was the natural order.

Just as the orc was about to bring down his axe,

Ariel murmured softly.

“Shield.”

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