Lucky Incident

It seems we spent two hours in that cave. I don't ever want to enter that place again after what happened. I may have underestimated the goblins as I was almost defeated by one. But that was because I ran out of stamina.

I need to rest right now so I can regain all my lost stamina.

Four hours have passed and we had set up camp somewhere in the forest. Ordos had gone out to go hunt any edible creatures he can find. He was given some drug that Mia had developed and that got him back onto his feet. Mia claims to be an expert at healing magic and says she plans to become a doctor.

"Why not just enter the magic school then? I bet you would learn more about healing magic there."

Mia smiled and took a sip from her canteen.

"Well I would but adventuring is more fun. And besides, what use is there to do if all you learn is magic? That's pretty boring."

I agree. It is pretty boring just learning a single subject. And besides, the adventurer school has pretty much everything related to magic in the library.

I was setting up the tents Ordos brought and Mia was setting up the campfire.

It was a quick decision but I decided that joining teams with another duo wouldn't be so bad. Mia did heal me and I was just saved from being clobbered by a hobgoblin from Aurelia. I have reasons to trust those two so this is the best solution. After all, one of them is a healer. I don't think I'll be needing my potions for now.

Ten minutes later Ordos came back with what looked like rabbits with overly large ears.

"What the hell is that?"

I couldn't help but ask because of the ears.

"It's a winged-ear rabbit."

"Winged… ear?"

It uses its ears as wings?! Well now that I think of it, it's not really surprising.

"I see… are the ears edible?"

"Yeah of course… I think."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Dude is acting suspicious, but whatever. Guess I can make some rabbit stew or something.

I inserted my hand into the darkness and pulled out a bag filled with vegetables that I have been saving. I also brought out some red wine. I didn't buy this wine myself as I'm not of age yet. But when my birthday comes which is actually in five days, then I can be able to drink. The drinking age in this world is actually sixteen. That also goes for the age of consent and, well, anything that you can do when you reach that certain age.

As I was making the rabbit stew, Aurelia said that she was going to go for a bit. I told her to take as long as she wants since I'm not that close to finishing.

A few minutes later, I was done with the stew and decided to take a rest. It was weird touching a rabbit with oversized ears. It was already night by the time I finished.

I went to take a sip of water from my canteen, but it seemed that I had run out.

"Shit, I was getting thirsty."

I had used some water from my canteen to make the stew but it looks like I used all of it.

"Hey Ordos, did you see any water sources on the way here?"

I questioned Ordos who was busy stuffing his face with rabbit stew.

"Uhh, I think I saw a pond. It's just a mile away from here. West."

"Alright, thanks."

"Wait actually it's east!"

"Think clearly before you speak, idiot."

This guy is wasting my time.

"Hmm, I think that's where… went to… but oh well."

Did Mia say something? Oh, she wasn't talking to me. I think.

***

I arrived at a small lake surrounded by small trees. The moon reflected off of the lake water and shine into my eyes. It's a full moon today so I could see it clearly in the skies. The moon in this world seemed to look a little larger than the one in my world. And it also seems that the cycle is a bit longer so this full moon will not go away until the last day of this exam.

Though it's beautiful, it's gonna be a hassle too. Reason why is that Marth will be able to use his full potential under this condition in the night. I bet he's an all-nighter kind of guy. He's a Lycan and he probably has a good sense of smell because of that. I'll bet he's gonna be hunting me down all night since that guy is not even fully human. When he finds me, he'll be waiting until the twelve-hour mark is over and probably take me out right there and then.

Graaaah! Thinking about that guy pisses me off. I'll just say he's not that devious to attack me when I'm off guard. But I have my doubts.

What did I come here to do again? Oh yeah, refill my canteen.

As I was refilling my canteen with some water, I noticed something glinting to my left. It was a sword. A white sword with a silver sheath decorated with golden symbols. If I recall, that is Aurelia's rapier. W-wait a minute… isn't that her clothes?

Splash!

I jerked my head towards the water and something seemed to have just jumped out of the water.

Well whatever it was, it was definitely not a fish. Well, unless they are three or four times their average size.

I took off my boots and tried getting a closer look, stepping into the cold water. But then at that same time, that same figure quickly rose from the water and I got a clear and close look. And by close…

I meant… really… close.

That figure was not a fish, nor any aquatic creature, but the naked body of a woman.

I just stood there like I was petrified or something. Aurelia stood in front of me with her luscious white hair covering her breast. Her beautiful white skin shimmered in the moonlight. And then our eyes met.

I didn't know how to react. A beauty was standing in front of me. Not to mention, naked!

"I-I-I-I-I'm sorry!"

I prepared to run away but then I felt a tug on my scarf.

"Wait…"

She murmured as she got closer to me. My heart was pounding. She's so close! Calm down, Seiya. At times like this, it's good to count your prime numbers to settle down.

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31…

Gaaaaaah!!

It's no use! I can't calm down in this situation!

I've never acted this bashful before. What is happening to you Seiya?

"Umm…"

"Yes!"

"Can you get me… my towel?"

She asked as she pointed to the towel that was resting on her sword.

"S-sure…"

I slowly parted away from Aurelia and approached her pile of clothing. My heart was beating like never before! Take deep breaths Seiya, they'll help you calm down… probably.

…

I wonder if that counts as a lucky pervert incident…

I grabbed her towel and turned back around. She had followed me and was half-naked with her lower half in the water. I handed her the towel and turned away. I could hear her step out of the water and I began to tense up.

A minute passed, I could hear her put on her clothing. I wanted to look but I bit down on my tongue and stopped myself before I did.

Concentrate Seiya, don't get distracted, there could be creatures around waiting to atta-

"I'm done."

"What?"

I was startled and I turned around. Aurelia was already fully dressed. She was just strapping her rapier to her belt. She would open up this kind of portal and stored her towel inside.

"I… I apologize for what-"

"No, i-it's alright."

We stood in front of each other awkwardly. I don't think I will be able to look her in the eyes anymore after that.

"W-we should head back."

"Agreed."

We were now walking through the woods. The hoots of the owls echoed through the night but it was quiet if you ignored that. However, it was a bit too quiet. I've been having a bad premonition ever since entering the woods.

"Do yo-"

Suddenly I was pushed up against a tree and my mouth covered. I was confused until Aurelia shushed me.

What the? What is she doing? I-I'm not emotionally prepared for this.

"Don't, make, a, sound."

Her tone sounded serious and a second later, there was a thump coming from my right.

"Grrrrrrr…"

There was a large shadowy figure moving past us in the bushes. I don't know if Aurelia was able to see, but I was able to see clearly. It was the figure of a bear, but for some reason I was unable to tell what kind of bear. With Umbra's blessing, you could say I have night vision but it's not perfect. The bear looked around for a minute and then vanished into the woods.

After that Aurelia slowly took her hand off my mouth.

"Whew… we almost got caught there. One noise and we would've been tackled by a Nera Bear."

"A Nera Bear?"

"It's a bear who's skin is made purely out of dark energy. It only hunts at night and it is really dangerous. It's a B-rank but in my opinion, it's too dangerous to be a B-rank."

So that thing was a B-rank? Well, if Aurelia says it's dangerous, then I guess I'll believe her. After all, she didn't attack it when she saw it.

"Le-let's continue."

I nodded and we walked back to camp.

Along the way, I was a bit thirsty. Well, glad I refilled my canteen at the lake.

But before I drank the water, I realized something.

Aurelia… bathed in this water… so that means…

This is technically her bathwater…

I shut my canteen and tossed it into my [Shadow Storage]. I got out a brand new canteen and decided not to drink the water in that canteen for one reason.

"Hmm? What's the matter, Seiya? Your face is… red."

"N-nothing."

I'll just get water from a nearby waterfall which would be more suitable to drink.

When we arrived back at camp, I was sleeping on top of a tree branch.

The reason is so I don't have to deal with Ordos' obnoxious snoring. Remind me not to be tent-mates with that guy. But all in all, I got some sleep.

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