Chapter28-Kill Someone in the Morning

Iris instantly became alert, but her gaze fell on Owen. "What are you planning? I'm a silver-tier level 2 mage! Think about the consequences before you try anything!"

Owen felt a wave of helplessness.

He had only given a subtle warning, but in this girl's mind, it had turned into him planning something nefarious.

With the combined years of his two lifetimes, he was old enough to be her father!

He wouldn't stoop so low as to harm a teenage girl.

"No, I just think tonight might be a bit eventful," Owen said, glancing discreetly at the woods and blinking to hint at the situation.

After all, they still didn't know the identity or intentions of the people hiding in the forest. It wouldn't be wise to alert them prematurely.

However, Iris didn't catch Owen's hint at all. Instead, she frowned slightly.

"Just take care of yourself. Among the three of us, you're the only one without any self-defense capability. I still don't understand why you accepted this mission," Iris said, clearly displeased. She then climbed back into the carriage without further interaction with Owen.

Owen felt a bit helpless but said nothing more.

He moved a short distance away, leaned against a large tree, and focused his gaze on the woods again.

Who were those hiding in the forest?

What were they planning?

Were they after Iris, or... were they after him?

The complex scent carried by the wind earlier indicated there were at least three or four people...

If a fight broke out, they might be at a disadvantage.

Owen looked at the woods again before closing his eyes to rest.

No matter who they were, if they dared to cause trouble, he wouldn't let them off easily!

The weather was cool, so sleeping outside in the middle of the night wasn't uncomfortable. When h

e woke again, the sky was just starting to lighten, and the forest was filled with the sound of chirping birds.

Owen stirred the fire, added a few more logs, and went to the river to wash up.

As he squatted down, his pupils contracted, and he instinctively leaped back several steps.

Swish, swish, swish!

The sound of something cutting through the air reached Owen's ears.

Right where he had been standing moments before, three silver needles were embedded in the ground!

Each needle was about a finger's length, with tips gleaming with a faint blue light, clearly coated with a deadly poison.

The people in the woods had made their move!

The assailant hidden in the forest was equally shocked. He hadn't expected an ordinary-looking person without any mana to dodge his needles!

Gritting his teeth, he took out a blowpipe and aimed it at Owen, then blew with all his might.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Three more silver needles flew towards Owen!

Owen's eyes turned cold. He swiftly picked up the three needles from the ground and flicked them back in the direction they had come from!

If any expert had been present, they would have seen two of the needles knocking the incoming ones out of the air, while the third needle embedded itself right between the eyebrows of the assailant in the woods!

"Ugh..."

The man's eyes widened in shock, and the blowpipe fell from his hands.

He didn't even have time to reach for the antidote in his pocket before collapsing to the ground!

He died without ever understanding how an ordinary person with no mana could evade his needles.

After confirming there was no further movement from the woods, Owen resumed washing up.

The night had been peaceful, but it turned out the danger had been waiting for the morning...

What a devious plan!

During the night, everyone is on high alert, fearing something might happen.

But when the night passes uneventfully, it's natural to lower one's guard a bit in the morning.

These attackers had cunningly chosen the morning to strike!

If he hadn't been on guard, he would have been hit for sure!

After finishing his wash, Owen went to check on the body of the man in the woods.

After a quick search, he found nothing of value, just a few silver coins.

The man was dressed in black without any distinctive markings.

The only notable item was a peculiar blowpipe, but it wasn't worth much.

Owen looked at the corpse with some disdain but confirmed one thing: these people were likely after the young lady, not him.

Pocketing the few silver coins, he slowly made his way back to the campsite.

Iris was meditating but was distracted by the smell of something delicious. She opened her eyes and saw that Owen was making flatbreads.

"Hey!" Iris hesitated but finally called out to Owen.

Owen pretended not to hear her and continued flipping the flatbreads, which made Iris a bit anxious. She frowned and got up to push Owen lightly.

"I'm talking to you. Why are you ignoring me?"

Owen looked at Iris, puzzled. "I have a name. It's Owen. When you just said 'hey,' I thought you were calling someone else."

Iris was momentarily speechless, her eyes involuntarily glancing at the flatbreads.

"O-Owen, right? On this journey, you can just cook for me. I can't rely on you for the escort mission, so just stick to cooking."

Afraid that Owen might refuse, Iris quickly added, "If it weren't for your decent cooking skills, I would have already asked you to give up this mission. How can you protect me on the way to the Imperial Capital?"

"You'll be my cook on this journey. I'll still pay you the same."

Owen looked at the young lady with amusement.

"Sorry, but I accepted an escort mission, not a cooking job."

"You!" Iris was momentarily infuriated! She hadn't expected Owen to respond like this.

"But you haven't protected me at all so far, and you don't have any mana fluctuations; you're just an ordinary person. If we encounter danger, you'll only be able to hide behind me."

Iris frowned, hands on her hips, looking down at Owen as he grilled the flatbreads.

"I haven't counted the mission as a failure, and letting you switch to being a cook is already very generous. I'll still pay you."

Owen poked at the flatbreads, which were golden brown on both sides, and sprinkled some prepared spices on them.

"We haven't encountered any danger yet, so who knows who will protect whom."

Owen was about to refuse again, but Iris's next words made him stop.

"Being my cook won't be a loss for you. Hmm... four gold coins a day."

Owen paused for a moment as he flipped the flatbreads.

The next second, a smile appeared on his face.

He took a flatbread from the fire and handed it to Iris.

"Miss Iris, the flatbread is ready. It's best enjoyed while hot."

If she had mentioned four gold coins a day earlier, he wouldn't have hesitated for a second!

Hesitating for even a moment would be disrespectful to those four gold coins!