As Maria and I entered the cave, we woke up Lisha and left the cave.
“This forest even has such big bears…”
Lisha murmured while looking at the bear lying beside her, having heard the circumstances.
“It shortened my lifespan.”
“Same here.”
Waking up to find a bear in front of you is too scary.
“If you had woken me up, I would have taken care of it.”
She said something very reliable, but it’s hard to be told by someone who didn’t wake up despite my yelling and the bear’s roar…
“Anyway, let’s get going.”
“Right. Lloyd, can you fly?”
“Sorry, I used too much magic against the bear.”
Two Flares were powerful.
I shot them continuously and didn’t have a staff, so the mana consumption was high.
“That can’t be helped. Alright, that way.”
We quickly decided to move away from this place and started walking.
“To be honest, I haven’t recovered much from the tiredness…”
As we walked, Maria complained.
“Me neither. Sleeping on the ground is tough.”
“It sure is. Soldiers are amazing.”
Soldiers sleep on the ground even in their armor.
That’s impressive.
“We’re fortunate to have Lloyd’s warming magic. Otherwise, we’d catch a cold.”
“It’s not that cold this time of year, but it gets chilly at night.”
“I want to sleep in a bed today…”
“To do that, we have to keep walking…”
“True.”
We continued to walk while venting our complaints and frustrations.
After walking for a while, Lisha stopped and gestured for us to stop.
“What’s wrong?”
“Get down.”
Lisha said that and we all got down on the ground.
“What’s going on?”
I asked again, curious about Lisha’s actions.
“Lloyd, can you use long-range vision magic?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t use much mana.”
“Then look far ahead.”
Following Lisha’s command, I stood up and used long-range vision magic to look in the direction we were heading.
In an instant, I saw a person carrying a large bag.
I quickly crouched down and looked at Lisha.
“That’s a person.”
“You think so?”
“You have good eyesight.”
It was too far to see without using magic.
“I have good eyesight. But more importantly, what do we do?”
What to do…?
“I want to ask for help, but what if it’s bandits?”
“True. We only saw one person, but there might be more. We don’t know their strength. If they’re stronger than us, we don’t know what they might do.”
Considering safety, should we ignore them or surprise them to engage?
“What about just regular adventurers? We should ask for help and gather information at worst, I believe.”
Maria seems to want to ask for help.
We have nothing to offer, but she definitely wants at least the shortest route through the forest.
“If it were just me, I’d do it…”
It’s not good having the visually striking Lisha and Maria here.
I don’t want them to encounter bandits or adventurers in a place like this.
“In that case, since we’re here, how about Lloyd make contact alone?”
“Just you, Your Highness? That’s not good. It’s dangerous!”
“That’s true.”
Now, what should we do…?
“Hey, what are you all doing here?”
A voice suddenly rang out.
I immediately stood up and raised my hand in the direction of the voice.
Lisha also stood up and pointed her sword.
“It’s dangerous, hey…”
The man standing there was the one I saw using long-range vision magic earlier.
Wait a minute…
There was quite a distance between us.
How did he approach us without us noticing?
“Who are you!”
“No, that’s my line… I don’t intend to harm you. Lower your weapons. Any further action will be seen as hostile.”
Lisha and I slowly lowered our swords and hands at his words.
However, I was ready to cast magic at any moment.
“Phew… I thought you were in distress and tried to help, but I didn’t expect you to immediately go on the offensive.”
The mysterious man breathed out.
Lisha looked at me.
She seems to want me to speak.
“Who are you?”
“Me? Just a humble adventurer. I entered this forest for a request, but when I sensed magic suddenly, I came to check and found you guys.”
Sensed magic?
Was it my long-range vision magic?
To detect such a small amount of magic, he must be a considerable mage.
“You mentioned a request? What kind of request is it?”
It couldn’t possibly be about our search, right?
“Easy there. Who are you guys? You don’t look like adventurers. You’re all tattered, but you look like nobles and a church nun…”
Now, what to do?
Should we be honest or deceive them casually?
“As you said, we are nobles. Actually, we were on an airship that got attacked by sky pirates. We crash-landed in this forest.”
Well, this much should be fine to say.
Besides, even if I said we’re not nobles, they wouldn’t believe it.
“Wow… that’s some bad luck… Oh, sorry, I come from humble origins so I can’t use honorific language.”
“That’s fine. We don’t expect such formalities from adventurers.”
Adventurers are essentially jacks-of-all-trades.
They hunt monsters, gather materials, and sometimes participate in wars as mercenaries.
So, they don’t need status or education, which is why commoners, even those of low birth or orphans, are common amongst them.
“Sorry about that. But how can nobles like you survive in a forest like this? Monsters appear here, you know.”
“Obvious… I can use magic, and I can wield a sword. We won’t fall behind against measly monsters.”
Since he sensed my magic, he should know.
“Wow… that’s impressive. I won’t ask which country’s nobles you are, but that’s something.”
“I don’t care about that. More importantly, where are we?”
“This is the Great Forest of Panya.”
The Great Forest of Panya…!
“Oh, the Great Forest of Panya! Tail…”
Maria couldn’t help but react.
The Great Forest of Panya is a forest within the territory of the Tail Kingdom.
And the Tail Kingdom is an enemy of our Edeltalt.
“Oh, you’re nobles from Edeltalt…”
It seems I was exposed by Maria’s reaction.
Should I kill…?
“Stop that… Both you and that young lady there are quick to enter combat mode. Seriously, I have no intention of doing anything. A humble adventurer like me doesn’t want to get involved in conflicts between nobles or countries.”
“How about that…”
Can’t trust adventurers.
They’d do anything for gold.
“I’m not even from this country, and I’m not interested.”
“Where are you from then?”
“I’m from the northeast, Erian.”
Erian…
A country of snow and ice…
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Jack. Jack Yahooi.”
Jack Yahooi?
…What!?
“Jack Yahooi…?”
“Huh? Really!? The Jack Yahooi from The Yahooi Adventures!?”
Lisha was hooked.
“Yep. Have you heard of my books…?”
“Seriously!? You’re the legendary adventurer!”
“Handshake, handshake please!”
“Me too, me too!”
Lisha and I asked Jack for a handshake.
“Uh, who is he? A celebrity?”
It seems Maria doesn’t know.
It’s not just about romantic stories; she should read adventure tales too.
