After the finding of the teleportation circle, Liam and Julie's photos were spread across the continent of Panas. Meanwhile, Liam had just consoled Julie that he was well and alive, stopping her from crying.
Now the two were walking back to the carriages.
But is she not letting go of my coat?
I walked slowly with Julie by my side, who held on to my coat with one hand and occasionally looked at me as if I would disappear like a mirage. Her eyes were puffy from all the crying.
'haa…'
She must have been really worried about me.
But the bigger problem at the moment was…
"Hey, Julie, do you know where we are?"
"No, I don't recognise this forest from all the books that I have read."
…that we didn't know where we were.
That is why I decided to first get all the things we can get from the carriages.
"Hmm… should I get this too, Liam?"
"Yeah, take that. It will be useful for the night."
"Okay."
After that, we rummaged and brought all the things that could help us in front of the carriage that we were trapped in.
"That is a lot more than I thought."
We found some rations, a lantern that had a crystal as the source of light, some clothes, and money.
"Julie, come help me tear the clothes."
"Huh? Why?"
"Well, because we need to somehow carry the rations, it is best to tear the clothes and put the rations in them, then tie them over our shoulders."
"Umm… Liam… I have a storage artifact."
I stared at her silently.
"…"
"…"
If she has a storage artifact, doesn't that mean she has something to send her location in case she is in danger?
Just why?
Why didn't I think of it earlier?
"Do you have something to send to our location?" I asked her with some expectation, but…
"I am sorry I don't have something like that," Julie said while lowering her head, feeling guilty once again for the situation they found themselves in.
Dammit, now you have gone and wasted all your time consoling her.
Shit, I need to say something.
Anything.
"You don't have to feel bad. I am in this situation because I chose not to let your hand go. I mean it when I say that I had the option to free my hand from yours, but didn't."
"But I—
"No buts. It was solely my decision. You don't have to feel bad." I cut her off before she could say anything. After that, we stored all the stuff we found.
"So, um… Liam, where should we go?"
"Let's find a river first to clean ourselves," I said while pointing to all the mud that had gotten on me and Julie.
We departed, leaving the dead bodies and the carriages behind. Julie wanted to take a horse too, but neither of us knew how to ride, so the idea was quickly dismissed.
…
…
The air was fresh, the trees were long, and there was a lot of vegetation. We walked side by side. I would kill all the monsters that came towards us by shaping my mana slime into threads, cutting their throats.
"Don't you think it is weird that we have encountered no monsters?"
"Cough… that might be because there are no monsters, or… they might have run from something more dangerous."
"I hope it is not the latter."
After that sudden question, the journey went quietly.
Yes, really well.
We would occasionally take a break to catch our breath; more like I would wait for Julie to rest while killing all the dangers in the shadows.
After walking for about 3 hours, we finally heard a stream of water.
The sound grew louder as we neared it. And finally…
"It is beautiful."
"Wow."
We were stunned by the sight that greeted us.
We found ourselves standing at the top of a huge waterfall. The water turned into vapor before it could even hit the ground. Everywhere we looked was nothing but green.
It was as if we were thrown into a world filled with trees, where no civilization existed. No trace of humans, only the green fields with animals and monsters living.
It was a truly majestic sight that would heal even a wounded soul.
We watched the scenery before us for a good minute before jolting out of our daze.
"So, Julie… Should we wash ourselves?"
She looked at me before her cheeks turned red.
I quickly realized my mistake and corrected myself before it could turn into a misunderstanding.
"Wh-what?"
"I said if you want to wash yourself, if you want to go first, then go ahead while I watch the surroundings."
"Right, then I will go first."
She went to clean herself while I went back with my expression changing.
"Show yourself."
"hohoho, I didn't think you would notice me~"
A strange woman came out, her skin purple, red hair cascaded down her back, and reptilian-like yellow irises with a playful smile tugged at her lips while she wore a beautiful green dress that showed her voluptuous curves.
"What do you want?"
I knew she wouldn't attack me; that's why I asked her directly what she wanted.
"Why the serious look, little one~"
Her smile gave me goosebumps as a strange idea crossed my mind.
"You… don't tell me you are the one who killed those men."
"My, what a surprise. How did you know?~"
Fuck.
I just jinxed it.
"You don't need to know. Now, answer me, what do you want?"
I actually guessed it as I saw a similar colour of her skin and that strange tentacle.
"Well, I thought I could help you get out of the forest."
"And what do you want in return?"
I knew she wanted something from me because there are no free meals in this world. If I wanted to get out of this forest, then I would need a guide that I didn't have, which is why she came to me, knowing my situation full well.
I sensed her for quite some time now, but I didn't take action because she had no killing intent, and most of all, she had no monster core like all other monsters, no matter how small.
That is why I sent Julie to wash herself first to talk with this strange woman.
'I will kill her if she does something funny.'
"No need to be so tense and…" She looked at me. Scanning me from head to toe before speaking, "… I want you."
A chill ran down my spine; I quickly trapped her in my thread and covered my body with my hands.
What the actual fuck.
She wants my body.
"Y-you, I will kill you if you do something funny."
I would really kill her. I am not a masochist who enjoys that sort of thing.
"When I said I want you. I meant I wanted your help." She said while being wrapped in my threads.
I sighed internally before speaking.
"What kind of help?"
"I want you to help me get revenge."
So, she wants to take revenge. It is not a bad deal, but before that…
"You don't have any kind of fetish, do you?"
I needed to make sure of my own safety.
"No"
Hearing that, I was strangely relieved.
'I don't have to be…' Even thinking about it gave me goosebumps.
"Liam! I am done. You can come out now."
"We will continue our conversation later."
I released my threads wrapped around her, and she gave me a nod before vanishing into the darkness, while I went to wash myself up.
***
In an underground facility.
"Where the hell are they!"
Bam!
A mad scientist slammed his fist on a table while staring at his communication device. The soft radiance of the device showed the twisted face of the mad scientist.