Chapter 35

I woke up to a gentle touch.

Something long and thin was caressing my chest.

It felt ticklish.

And heavy.

When I opened my eyes, Yuel was there.

She was pressing her ear tightly against my chest, her body pressed against mine.

Her expression was anxious.

Yuel's brows were furrowed, and her eyes were tightly shut.

It seemed the sensation I felt was from Yuel's hair touching my skin.

As I was about to call out to Yuel, I realized something was wrong.

Yuel's hair was touching my bare skin.

Yes, my bare skin.

I looked at myself.

I was only in my underwear.

...That's strange.

Where did my monk's robe go?

And why was Yuel so close to my body?

In such a situation, it's important to stay calm.

Let's sort things out one by one.

First, where are my clothes?

I moved my gaze slightly and found them right away.

They were neatly folded next to my head.

Next, where are we?

We were in a small cave-like area, sheltered by rocks.

The surroundings were dimly lit by a campfire, and the sound of a river could be heard.

It was either dusk or night, and we seemed to be near a river.

River.

"...Right, I fell into the river."

"Ma, Master!"

When I spoke, Yuel's eyes widened.

"Master, are you hurt!?"

"A, ah, I'm... fine... ouch."

When I moved a little, pain shot through my body.

It didn't seem like any bones were broken, but I had a few bruises.

And my head hurt.

I don't remember much, but I might have hit my head when I fell into the river.

First, I need to heal.

"Heal! Yuel, are you hurt?"

"Well, I... "

She hesitated.

Upon closer inspection, blood was seeping from Yuel's palm.

"There's blood! Ex-Heal!"

But what happened after I fell into the river?

I was lying in the shade of the rocks by the river, alone with Yuel.

And the figure I saw just before I was swept away by the river.

I can guess what probably happened.

Most likely, when I fell into the river, Yuel jumped in after me.

But I must have hit my head or something and lost consciousness.

Yuel managed to save me and carry me here.

There were marks indicating that I had been dragged from outside the rock shelter.

However, I don't know where we are.

I also don't know how much time has passed since then.

It's important to share information first.

Yuel told me what happened in a matter-of-fact way.

To summarize:

After I fell into the river, Yuel immediately jumped in.

She managed to grab onto me and held on tight to prevent being separated.

However, the river was fast, and I soon lost consciousness, making it difficult for Yuel to save me alone.

We were carried downstream for a while.

In that situation, Yuel desperately tried to think of a way to save me.

She came up with an idea.

She tied one end of a rope from her item box to me and the other end to a knife, then hooked the knife to a tree by the river.

After several failed attempts, Yuel successfully hooked the knife to a tree, and we managed to reach the riverbank.

The bleeding from her palm was due to the rope rubbing against her hand when she pulled me out of the river.

Then, she dragged me to the rock shelter and laid me down.

Regarding the clothes, she took them off because I would catch a cold if they stayed wet, but she couldn't get a change of clothes from my item box, so she warmed me by the campfire.

And the close contact was just to listen to my heartbeat.

From what she told me, Yuel must have worked very hard.

However, the courage to jump into the swollen river without hesitation.

The ingenuity to use the rope and knife to save me.

And the kindness to worry about me, a pitiful master who fainted right after falling into the river.

She's too capable.

Yuel is upset because she dropped the knife given by me into the river, looking quite sad.

But that's a minor issue.

Considering that Yuel saved me from the river, it's a small price to pay.

I want to do something to make Yuel happy, but what would make her happy?

In the dungeon, a light pat on the head was enough when she defeated a monster.

But this time, just patting her head might leave her unsatisfied.

But I'll pat her head for now.

"Yuel, you did a great job. Thank you."

As I praised her and patted her head, Yuel leaned in, looking very happy.

...That seemed to do the trick.

While patting Yuel's head, I continued talking.

"By the way, do you know how much time has passed since then?"

"...Well, including the time you were asleep, I think it's been about three hours."

If it's been three hours, it's probably around 7 PM now.

I must have slept for quite a while.

"Do you know how far we were carried?"

"...I'm sorry, I don't know. But the river was fast, so I think we were carried quite far."

It's not clear, but it seems we were carried quite far.

In other words, we were carried so far that it's hard to tell.

I remember a scene from a drama where the protagonist saved a puppy that fell into a swollen river.

In that drama, an adult had to run at full speed to keep up with the puppy in the river.

The river I fell into might have been just as fast.

Considering that, even if we were carried for only 20-30 minutes, we might have been carried about 5 kilometers.

Depending on how long we were in the river, it could be even more.

Can we meet up with the extermination team?

In this forest where monsters are rampant and visibility is poor.

Suddenly, I remembered something Luluka said at the infirmary.

--Lost.

No, no, it should be fine.

Of course, falling into the river is natural, but we have a clear landmark, the river.

If we follow it upstream, we should be able to meet up with the extermination team led by the knights.

...Unless the extermination team has moved away from the river.

However, if they haven't given up on my survival, they might come down the river to search the area.

Moreover, before fighting the Crankheight Turtle, Sera showed me a map. This river flows through the forest and connects to the road leading to the city of Merharts.

If we follow the river downstream, we will eventually reach the road.

I don't remember the exact distance, but it shouldn't take a full day.

What should we do?

First, we should follow the river upstream and try to meet up with the extermination team.

If we can't meet up with them at the place where we defeated the Crankheight Turtle, we should follow the river downstream to leave the forest and reach the road.

This seems like the best plan.

"Master?"

As I was thinking, Yuel called out to me.

It seems I was thinking too much and stopped patting her head.

"Yuel, I think we should follow the river upstream and try to meet up with the extermination team. They might be searching for me. What do you think?"

"Yes. If we can meet up with the knights, it would be best to do so as soon as possible. It's very dangerous outside the city."

"Then, let's move when it gets light."

"...Master, it might be safer to move at night."

Yuel said with a serious expression.

"In the forest, the most frightening thing is being surrounded by a large number of monsters. But at night, at least the monsters that can't see in the dark are sleeping."

I see.

"But it's dark, right? If we can't see, we can't fight the monsters, can we?"

"I can see clearly even at night. I'm a Dark Elf."

High-spec Yuel.

She even has night vision.

After about ten minutes of following the river upstream, the sky was clear, and the moonlight was shining along the river.

Even with the moonlight, the night forest with rampant monsters is still scary.

Yuel occasionally twitched her ears to listen for sounds around her and moved forward slowly.

Then, she suddenly sprinted forward.

For a moment, her knife glinted in the moonlight.

When I approached, I saw the dead body of a humanoid monster with a dog-like face.

Its neck had been cleanly sliced.

Even while moving cautiously, Yuel would launch a preemptive attack on any monsters she found.

She acted like an assassin.

I saw a talent in Yuel that shouldn't be developed.

But there might be a reason why Yuel has to adopt this style.

Yuel is small and doesn't have a shield skill like Luluka.

Physically, Yuel isn't good at protecting others.

So, she might need to eliminate threats before they get close to me.

It makes sense when you think about it.

As I was thinking, Yuel suddenly stopped.

She twitched her ears and looked around cautiously.

"Master, there's probably a kobold village ahead."

"You can tell?"

"Yes. There are many monster presences. It's a large group... maybe over a hundred. The kobold we just encountered was probably a lookout for the village."

"Can we defeat them?"

"...I'm sorry, I don't think I can do it alone."

That's understandable.

It was a bit of an unreasonable request.

"Can we move without being detected?"

"...Kobolds have good night vision, so it's dangerous. If we get any closer, we might be surrounded."

A large kobold village.

What should we do?

I briefly considered sending Yuel in alone while I cast Ex-Heal from a tree, but it would be too risky.

I wouldn't even consider such a plan.

So, we should detour.

Kobolds have good night vision, and their ears and sense of smell are sharp.

If we are detected and end up in a battle with a large number of kobolds, it would be disastrous.

We need to detour a considerable distance.

But detouring means moving away from the river.

Losing the river as a landmark in the vast forest would be a problem.

We might also miss the extermination team.

What should we do?

Yuel was looking at me as I thought.

Then, I noticed something.

Yuel looked sleepy and tired.

I felt cold sweat on my back.

--Right, what if Yuel falls asleep?

This is bad.

I didn't think it through.

Now, there are only Yuel and I here.

Yuel can detect and fight monsters, but I can't do either.

I can't sense approaching wild monsters or protect a sleeping Yuel from sudden attacks.

...We shouldn't follow the river upstream.

Even if we do, if we can't meet up with the extermination team, it will take twice as long to get back to the city.

Yuel must be quite tired from saving me from the river and taking care of me.

I was just sleeping, but Yuel must have been on guard against monsters the whole time.

If we detour around the kobold village, follow the river upstream, and can't meet up with the extermination team, I don't know if Yuel's stamina will hold out.

Yuel has combat skills, but physically, she's just like any other girl.

She probably won't last.

When Yuel's stamina runs out, we'll become monster food.

If we follow the river downstream and reach the road, we might meet up with knights or merchants.

In terms of distance, it will take less time to get back to the city than trying to meet up with the extermination team.

There's no guarantee that the extermination team is even following the river.

I briefly considered staying still and waiting for help, but there are monsters in the forest.

A prolonged stay is not an option.

Fortunately, we've only been following the river upstream for about twenty minutes.

The loss is minimal.

We can turn back.

"Yuel, let's give up on following the river upstream. Let's follow it downstream and aim for the road to the city."