Chapter 3

Vol 1 Chapter 3 – Elf Girl

With the quest request complete, I was on my way out of the capital.

It was also to get out of there before the Guild Master and the military minister noticed.

Everyone suddenly knew who I was, so I put a hood over my head and jumped in a stagecoach.

I rode from coach to coach, two nights, three days. Since the coach didn’t go all the way, I had to walk the rest of the way to Mulg.

It wasn’t good for my knee, but if I walked slowly, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Actually, it was a great day for walking. The weather was excellent and the breeze invigorating.

「Damn, this feels great!!」

Without thinking I shouted at the top of my lungs.

I took break after break while walking and after three hours…I heard a commotion away from the path.

It was deep inside the woods, far from the trail.

「Hm?」

It was a sound I was accustomed to. The sound of magic beasts and humans fighting. It wasn’t something small either.

I wrapped my knee with a cloth and hurried.

「You can’t! Beat me! So easily!」

I ran to the voice and saw a magical wolf and a young elven girl facing off.

The girl had a big stick and was threatening the wolf with it.

Even though she was yelling loudly, she was shaking with fear. I could tell by the way she was holding the stick that she had no military training.

As I got closer, the wolf turned to attack me.

It was an emaciated wolf. Maybe it was thinking I’d make a better meal than the girl.

「You’re okay?!」

I shouted at the girl.

There wasn’t even any reason to use magic with a beast like this.

I dove in, dropped, grabbed its left paw…under its chin, flipped it, and beat its upturned body once into the ground.

「Whiinnnee」

The wolf quickly ran away.

「Thanks, sir.」

The elf girl politely thanked me.

「Sure, no worries. Are you okay?」

「Don’t call me YOU – my name is Millet.」

Said the girl, I mean Millet, as I looked her over.

She was a cute elf girl from 14 to 15 years old. A bit small in stature with pointy, cute elf ears.

「Yeah, sorry. Millet. I’m Alfred.」

Millet smiled in response to my introduction.

「Mister Al, thanks.」

She said gratefully again.

As a middle-aged adventurer, I had been thanked many times. But being thanked one more time is nice.

「Glad to see you’re okay, Millet. But you know you shouldn’t be in a place like this alone, right?」

Millet’s face suddenly turned sombre.

「My sister has a fever. Since there’s no medicine left in the village, I came here to find the ingredients for a cure.」

「I see.」

「Everyone in the village told me not to come out here because of the wolves. But, my little sister looked so sick, and since she’s got a disease that can be fatal…」

So Millet was a big sister looking out for her little one.

As I listened, I found out that Millet was also the village’s apothecary. Two big jobs for an elf girl.

「So, did you get the materials?」

Millet shook her head.

Her soft elvish ears sagged a bit.

「Medicinal herbs are very tasty to animals and magic beasts. I should have come out earlier in the season to pick them, but with the wolves out this time of year, I never got a chance to.」

「So the animals eat them up and there’s none left?」

「Yes. I think there’s a bit still left on the mountain though.」

「Are you going up the mountain?」

「…Yes.」

Seeing Millet so sad made me want to help her.

It was only one hour away from Mulg Village. If we go now to pick medicinal herbs out there, we wouldn’t make it back by sundown.

It’s normal for villages to shut their gates after sundown. That would mean us having to camp.

But, I wasn’t needed immediately in Mulg. And I was used to camping.

If I were to leave Millet, she would go on looking for herbs on the mountain, and probably end up as wolf’s food.

That would suck to wake up to the next morning, knowing I could’ve helped her stay alive.

「Oh well, I guess I’ll help you look for the herbs.」

「Wha?」

Millet looked over at me, confused.

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「I’m not in any hurry. And if I let you die, it’s going to suck finding that out when I wake up in the morning.」

「Ah…thanks…」

「Just show me where the herbs are growing.」

「Sure!」

Millet replied happily as her elven ears shot straight up.