Chapter 28

“Hehe.”

Roo flew over the lake with a smirk.

Then, she spun her body quickly, creating sleep powder.

The sleep powder made by Roo fell into the lake, and soon a few fish floated to the surface.

They were fish that had fallen asleep from Roo’s sleep powder.

Roo didn’t stop there. This time, she used flying powder to levitate the sleeping fish into the air and then pushed them toward the ground with her hand.

On the ground, Ariel and Ghost were standing dumbfounded.

Fish plopped down in front of Ariel and Ghost.

“See, Ghost? This is the fairy-style fishing method. Impressive, right?”

Roo put her hands on her hips and spoke proudly, but Ghost looked completely uninterested.

Ariel beside her was the same.

“Ahem.”

Feeling awkward, Roo cleared her throat.

“Anyway, sis, since I caught the fish, shall we have these for today’s meal?”

At Roo’s words, Ariel looked at the fish scattered on the ground.

“……”

Ariel’s face darkened. She clearly didn’t want to eat them.

“Not good? They might look a bit rough, but if you clean and grill them, they’re actually pretty tasty… Ah, sis?!”

Before she knew it, Ariel had turned around and started walking away.

“Ghost, what about you? You usually eat wild animals… Wait, you too!”

Ghost also followed Ariel.

Left alone, Roo quickly followed them.

“Let’s go together, sis!”

Ariel sat on a nearby rock and took out some jerky from her inventory.

It was jerky she had bought in the city of Sierra.

She gave some to Ghost and also put some in her mouth, chewing slowly.

“Sigh, eating only jerky and desserts every day is bad for your health, sis.”

Roo started nagging.

“You need to eat fish like that sometimes to get proper nutrients. That way, you’ll grow taller…”

Ariel handed Roo some fruit wine.

“Thank you!”

Roo took the fruit wine and quickly took a sip.

“Ah! The best!”

A while later, after peacefully finishing her meal by the lakeside, Ariel got up from the rock.

She was going to wash up.

When staying at the lodging, she used the bathroom, but since leaving the city, it was better to wash in the lake whenever they passed by one.

By the way, Ariel was now heading west.

She had heard from the merchant Lloyd that the Dwarf Mountain Range was to the west.

Ariel really wanted to meet a dwarf.

In fact, when she first started her adventure, her first thought was, “I really want to meet a dwarf.”

For some reason, she had always liked the dwarf race.

Their stocky, thick bodies, rough beards, crafting skills…

When playing games, if there was a dwarf character, she would always choose them.

“I’ll see one soon…”

Thinking that, Ariel stepped into the lake.

Even just a little way in, the water quickly reached her chest due to her short stature.

Ariel bent her head and soaked her silver hair in the lake water, and then Roo shouted from afar.

“Sis, sis!!”

Ariel looked toward Roo.

Ghost, who had been tearing into the jerky, suddenly stood up, and Roo was jumping around, pointing urgently behind Ariel.

“Be careful! Behind you, behind you!”

Ariel turned around. At the same time, a huge object rose from the lake.

It was a giant caterpillar with a crimson body.

It was about 5 meters in size.

As the giant caterpillar rose, the sunlight was blocked, casting a shadow over Ariel.

“Kieeeek!”

The caterpillar let out a horrifying screech and opened its mouth wide.

Inside its mouth were rows of sharp, needle-like teeth.

“Sis! That’s a Minocaan, a dangerous monster! You need to get away now…!”

Roo started flying toward her, and Ghost also splashed into the lake, rushing toward Ariel.

At that moment, a purple sphere shot out from the Minocaan’s mouth, heading straight for Ariel.

*

Ariel tried to deploy her shield.

She didn’t know what the purple sphere from the Minocaan’s mouth was, but it felt like it would be unpleasant if it hit her.

But just before Ariel could deploy her shield, a white barrier spread above her head.

Splat!

The Minocaan’s purple sphere hit the white barrier and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Then, the white barrier also vanished.

“Are you hurt?”

Suddenly, two people were standing beside Ariel.

A red-haired woman and a golden-haired man.

Both were young.

“Phew, that was close.”

The red-haired woman looked at Ariel and said that, then drew a sword from her waist.

Swish!

“Mitchell, I’ll handle the Minocaan. Take the child and get out of the lake.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”

“Don’t you trust my skills?”

“I do.”

Then, the Minocaan opened its mouth again.

Inside its mouth, the purple sphere was pulsating.

“Go quickly!”

The red-haired woman leaped toward the Minocaan.

And the man named Mitchell said, “Excuse me,” as he picked up Ariel and carried her out of the lake.

“Sis!”

Roo, who arrived a step late, looked at Mitchell suspiciously.

“What, what are you? Why are you holding our sis?”

Ghost also growled, glaring at Mitchell.

“Haha, so you have companions.”

Mitchell smiled softly as he walked out of the lake.

“No need to worry. I’m just trying to keep her safe.”

Mitchell sat Ariel on a rock and checked if she was hurt.

Ariel quietly watched Mitchell.

Mitchell was dressed in priest robes.

That meant the white barrier that had protected Ariel earlier was definitely cast by Mitchell.

“You must be shocked, right? Minocaans usually appear suddenly in quiet lakesides and eat people. You have to be careful.”

Mitchell took out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Ariel.

Ariel didn’t take it and instead looked toward the lake where the Minocaan and the red-haired woman were.

“It’s fine. Jenny will definitely take down the Minocaan easily.”

Mitchell spoke reassuringly, but Ariel wasn’t particularly worried.

She was just curious about the Minocaan. It was her first time seeing such a huge caterpillar.

Anyway, as Mitchell said, the red-haired woman, Jenny, quickly defeated the Minocaan and walked out of the lake.

“Mitchell, is the kid okay?”

“She’s fine.”

The one who wasn’t fine was actually Jenny.

Jenny’s arm was stained with a purple liquid, and smoke was rising as her skin melted.

“The Minocaan’s poison is really strong.”

As Mitchell muttered, Jenny frowned.

“Why are you marveling? Hurry up and heal me.”

“Understood.”

A white light formed in Mitchell’s hand.

Mitchell brought the white light to Jenny’s wound, and soon her wound healed cleanly.

It was a healing magic comparable to a fairy’s healing powder.

*

Jenny was quite a beauty.

Her vibrant red hair and a slim body honed by swordsmanship. Plus, her ample chest.

She was more than enough to catch the eyes of men on the street.

And Mitchell was also handsome, with a dignified golden hair, a slightly thin but tall body, and a gentle smile and tone.

The two looked like a perfect pair, but they didn’t seem to be lovers.

Nor did they seem like mere companions.

Mitchell was dressed in priest robes, and Jenny looked like a wandering adventurer.

Jenny bent down to meet Ariel’s eyes and asked.

“Hi, what’s your name?”

“Ariel.”

“Ariel~ What were you doing by the lakeside~? Playing in the water~?”

“Hey, human! Don’t treat our sis like a kid!”

Roo shouted from Ariel’s shoulder.

Jenny looked at Roo and smiled.

“Wow, a healthy-looking fairy. You could sell her for a good price in a bottle.”

“……!”

Roo flinched at Jenny’s words. Seeing Roo’s reaction, Jenny waved her hand.

“Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, you guys are quite unique. An elf, a fairy, and this… a wolf? It’s huge.”

When Jenny reached out to pet Ghost, Ghost stepped back and growled fiercely.

“Oh my, scary.”

Jenny withdrew her hand and looked at Ariel.

“So, Ariel, where are you headed?”

“We’re heading to the Dwarf Mountain Range in the west.”

This time, Roo answered for her.

“Really? Same direction. Since we’ve met like this, why don’t we travel together?”

Jenny asked while glancing at Mitchell behind her, and Mitchell shrugged as if to say it was up to her.

“What do you say, Ariel? Let’s go with sis. I’ll keep you safe while we travel. I’m really strong, you know.”

“Hmph, as if you could compare to our sis. Our sis took down a troll with one punch.”

At Roo’s words, Jenny covered her mouth and widened her eyes.

“Oh, really~?”

It was clearly an adult’s gesture of pretending to be impressed by a child’s boast.

“Ariel, you’re really strong~ Then you can protect sis instead~”

Jenny reached out and pinched Ariel’s cheek.

“Ariel, you’ll go with sis, right?”