Chapter 10 - The Dog-Eared Girl and Her Troubles
Day two. We left the stone-paved highway and walked along an unpaved road. It was a path through the forest, just wide enough for a single carriage. We started encountering monsters that camouflaged themselves as trees, and wolf-like monsters as well. The tree monsters were called Warwoods. They excelled at surprise attacks, making them easy to fall for on the first strike, but they lacked mobility, so they were easy to kill. The wolves were troublesome because they appeared in packs and tried to confound us with their swift movements. Apparently, there were non-monster wolves too. Since both would attack, people just called them all wolves. We were facing off against three of them.
"Don't just focus on the enemy in front of ye. Grasp the whole situation."
Fam was on the front line, taking on attacks from two wolves. She tried to deal with them one at a time, but the one she wasn't focused on kept attacking, leaving her bogged down. I tried to provide cover with my earth magic, but my timing with Fam was off, and our attacks would concentrate on the same enemy, allowing it to dodge. The third wolf circled around and bared its fangs at me. Caught off guard, I couldn't dodge. An arrow from Aidan shot out and finished off that wolf. Now free, I moved to Fam's side to assist. Once it was one-on-one, we could overpower them. Fam and I defeated our respective enemies.
"Alright, it dropped a magic seed."
It was a drop from the enemy I'd killed. I picked it up.
"By the way, how should we split the drops?" I asked Aidan.
"Ye killed it, so ye keep it. I don't need 'em."
"No way. I can't accept that. I'd suffocate and die from being so indebted to you."
"Hmph. Then we'll cash 'em in when we get back to town. We'll split it fifty-fifty. Hold on to it 'til then."
"Got it."
I nodded and put it in my storage. Aidan watched me.
"Come to think of it, ye also found a magic seed in the goblin fight five days ago. And ye were usin' 'em to trade with the slave merchant and the church."
"Do you know about special skills?"
It didn't seem like I could hide it, so I decided to tell him.
"The ones called 'Divine Blessings,' ye mean. A skill granted to an individual, separate from their job skills."
Apparently, you can normally only have one special skill.
"My special skill increases the rare item drop rate for all party members."
"I see. So there's a skill like that."
"Aidan, do you have one too?"
"Aye. I have a combat-related one."
He didn't seem inclined to give me any more details.
"Fam doesn't have a special skill. Is there a way for her to get one?"
He gave me a strange look. Which made sense. Since I already had a special skill, I was supposed to already know the answer.
"Ye should know. It's not somethin' anyone can just obtain. That's why they're called Divine Blessings."
I see. In that case, maybe I could ask Racshell for one.
We encountered and defeated two more wolves.
"Ye're too focused on the individual. See the whole picture. Perceive the group as a single entity."
That was a tall order.
"It's yer eyes. Ye're staring too hard at the enemy right in front of ye."
But the enemy right in front of me was a handful. I didn't have the luxury of paying attention to anything else.
"Those wolves move with coordination. Ye two lack that."
I couldn't argue with that.
"Well, it's not something ye can master in a few days. First, focus on yer ally. Ye two need to think more about each other."
Coordination between me and Fam, huh.
"Fam, why do you rush out and try to fight alone?"
Aidan's question made Fam glance at my face before looking down. It was the same when we were on the gathering quest together. Whenever a monster appeared, she would always get between me and it, trying to be the first to fight. It didn't seem like she enjoyed combat. It was more like she didn't want me to fight.
"Is it because I'm weak? Are you protecting me?"
"That is not it. I do not wish to answer."
I was surprised by her sudden refusal. But I needed to get an answer out of her.
"One-on-one is fine, but when there are multiple enemies, we need teamwork."
"…Yes."
She responded, but she clearly had no intention of answering. I gave an exaggerated shrug. It was something I'd never done in my old world, but I'd always wanted to try it.
"Aidan, sorry. This is impossible. I'd like to abandon the quest."
"Eh?" Fam looked shocked at my words.
"You cannot! Is it not enough for me to try my best to become stronger?"
"Let's head back to town. We need to think about what to do from here."
As long as Fam was unwilling to talk, continuing the quest was dangerous.
"I have things I wish to keep secret, too. Must I tell you everything, Master?"
"No, it's better not to tell anyone your secrets. I have a mountain of things I want to keep secret myself. But this concerns our lives."
If we kept fighting like this, the chances of Fam getting hurt would only increase. It would be one thing if she could be healed, but I couldn't bear the thought of anything worse happening.
"…There were so many people in the city. But I was all alone. You were the only one who noticed me, Master. I have no one but you. I do not want to be alone again. I want to protect you, Master."
Fam suddenly started saying something incredibly sentimental. But she was a young girl, so I guess it couldn't be helped. It sounded almost like a confession, but it probably wasn't romantic love.
"We only met three days ago. Why go so far for me?"
"The number of days does not matter."
Fam cut in, overlapping my words. Her sincerity was dazzling. I placed a hand on her head. I'd been harassing her so much I'd forgotten, but she was just a kid. She still had a long way to go before she could stand on her own. She needed someone's help. And she was trying to push that responsibility onto me. What a handful. But… it didn't feel bad. In fact, I was even a little happy. I gave her head a good, rough rub.
"I understand how you feel, Fam. From now on, the basic plan is that you'll be the main fighter, and I'll be in a support role. But that's just the basic plan. We need to experience different patterns depending on the situation. We'll use this quest to test them out. Aidan can check our work."
"Really…" Fam started to ask something, then stopped. I have no intention of making Fam the main attacker. I'll use 'testing' as an excuse to muddle things and establish a different formation. As she gains experience, her perspective will probably change anyway.
"Is that okay, Fam? Aidan, you speak up if there's a problem too."
"It's fine by me," Aidan nodded.
"Yes," Fam also nodded.
We found a shady spot under a tree and took a break. We were taking longer rests than yesterday. Getting proper rest while camping in a tent takes experience. Our sleep was being cut short by guard duty. We needed to let our bodies acclimate to the journey. Fam caught the scent of some fruit and went to pick it. That left me alone with Aidan.
"Don't be too hard on her. That's a trait of her race," Aidan said.
"Hm? You mean Fam?"
"The dog-eared folk have keen insight and a high capacity for reading people's emotions. And those who choose a warrior-type profession in particular will devote their entire lives in loyalty to the one they choose as their master."
"Is that so? In that case, I really wish she wouldn't push herself to the front like that. It's a problem for me even if she just gets injured."
Aidan nodded.
"Ye are afraid of fighting monsters. She senses that and is trying to fight in yer place. That resolve is even reflected in the profession she chose."
Come to think of it, I remembered telling Fam I was scared. But she had been acting that way even before then. So she really could sense what I was feeling inside. And the Mibu-Rō from my old world… though they were consumed by internal strife, the core members' feelings were pure; they were patriots of unwavering loyalty. Their iconic light-blue coats were the colors of the loyal vassals they aspired to be. She was trying to become this world's Mibu-Rō. Just then, Fam returned, and our conversation was cut short.
We ate the fruit Fam had found. It looked like cherries.
"It is sour."
Fam said. It did seem to lack sweetness, but I supposed that was to be expected from wild fruit.
"Sourness tastes stronger when ye're tired."
Aidan commented.
"Is that so?"
"Nah, just my experience."
Listening to their conversation, I stretched my arms. The seasons were apparently heading toward summer. The sun's rays were getting stronger.