(Lady Knight, Menger-Ehrhard)

During the battle with the Blaze Tiger, I fell into a coma.

When I realized my unconsciousness, I opened my eyes wide in astonishment. Luckily, the scene before me was not hell nor heaven, nor any other afterlife. It was just a beautiful starry sky, like a poem.

"I'm not dead yet."

I murmured to myself, stating this fortunate fact without much joy or fear. Death is a release, and being alive only brings me more torment. But as long as I live, I must continue to strive towards my ideals, step by step, endlessly walking in the void.

The ancestral legacy has nearly driven me mad over the past two years!

But I must persevere.

"Are you awake?"

A gentle and exquisite voice drifted into my ears, reminding me of everything that happened during the battle with the Blaze Tiger.

At this point, the pain from the severe burns on my body had disappeared, and the ugly wound had completely healed. Now, the newly regenerated white and smooth skin on my right half made a stark contrast to the color of my left half. It was like running in the sun wearing clothes only on the left side.

"Well, I'm fine now. Thank you." I sat up against a tree trunk and expressed my gratitude towards the direction of the voice.

Since I was still in darkness and there was no fire, I couldn't clearly see the delicate face I expected. But just by having this young girl by my side, I felt a pang of pain in my forehead. It must be because the medicine that could instantly heal severe injuries like mine was surely valuable, and as someone even poorer than anyone else, I definitely couldn't afford to fully compensate her...

"Well, as long as you're fine." In the darkness, the other person replied lightly. Their voice was like a summer wind chime, refreshing to the heart, yet it also felt like a small, delicious piece of bait, illicitly luring me, a fish, arousing my curiosity.

Although my memory was very fuzzy, I still remembered how this young girl resolved the crisis back then.

"Miss, may I ask if you're a Druid?"

Recalling the young girl's actions that stopped the tiger, my mind immediately made this association. When it comes to communicating with Warcraft as a human, that is a specialty of the Druids. However, at that time, I was already in a desperate battle with the Blaze Tiger. Why did it still accept this young girl's persuasion? Could it be that she used skills to control magical creatures?

"Controlling a golden-level magical creature? Oh, how amazing and terrifying that ability must be!"

Just as I was astonished by my own thoughts, the young girl sitting in the darkness fell silent. After a while, she replied cautiously, "Generally speaking, before inquiring about someone else's personal privacy, isn't it customary to first disclose one's own identity? So, may I ask your name..."

Taken aback by her question, I hesitated for a moment and realized that I had been somewhat rude. In order to avoid further suspicion, I quickly stated my identity, "I am Menger-Ehrhard, formerly a senior knight in the royal city. Now, I reside in the city of Moporis as the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild [Casa do Penedo]. I just completed a hunting mission and was passing by this area on my way back to the city."

I introduced myself, but the young girl fell into another layer of silence. She still did not speak, and I wondered if she was pondering complex philosophical questions or simply ignoring a stranger like me?

After about five minutes, she still hadn't said a word, and I lost my patience.

"Can I make a fire? In The Forest of Dragons at night, we need the light to ward off poisonous insects and beasts..."

Rather than seeking permission, my words were more like an announcement. The encounter with the Blaze Tiger during the day had dealt a heavy blow to me. At this moment, I was temporarily unwilling to pick up my axe for another battle. I knew I needed time to adjust to the feeling of defeat and alleviate the pressures from Casa do Penedo. Both the sense of defeat and pressure could lead me to make fatal mistakes.I want to take a good rest and let the warmth of the fire soothe my body and mind.

Bowing my head in the dark, I gathered some branches and stacked them in a circle. It was then that I realized my usual necklace with the fire crystal was lost during the day's battle. This small discovery made me panic, and I hurriedly reached for my left thumb, finally feeling a cold ring. It was a space ring that held all my belongings!

"If I had lost it, I would rather die..." I sighed to myself, taking out a new fire crystal from the space ring. With the help of elemental crystals, almost everyone could use basic elemental magic through specific methods. However, as a battle-axe warrior who didn't train his spiritual power, I could only produce a small fireball in the palm of my hand that could only ignite the branches.

With a flick, the fire lit up, and the silent girl finally spoke.

"Hello, my name is Uru-Lannong."

Hearing the girl's voice, I instinctively turned around. Thanks to the fire, I finally saw her delicate face again. At this moment, her face turned bright red. She lifted her right arm and trembled as she pointed at my chest, shyly exclaiming, "Miss Aihad, you're exposed!"

Huh? Exposed?

I looked down at my exposed cleavage due to the burnt clothes, then looked up at the girl's slender figure. Somehow, a sense of pride arose within me. I crossed my hands below my chest, showing off my naturally abundant assets, and casually said, "We're all girls, it doesn't matter!"

But my casual response was not met with agreement from Miss Lannong. She looked at me as if she had seen something dirty, quickly averting her gaze and hiding behind a giant tree trunk, concealing her figure.

"Where did this prim and proper lady come from? Is she really that innocent?" I couldn't help but chuckle. But if we couldn't communicate face to face properly, it would be very troublesome. Therefore, I opened the space ring again and took out a pitch-black rogue cloak. I tightly wrapped it around my exposed body. Honestly, the night was chilly, and if I slept in only the half-destroyed clothes, it would be quite unlucky and would probably incur a hefty medical bill...

"Alright, I'm dressed now, you don't need to hide anymore!"

After putting on the cloak, I called out to the girl hiding. I found her shyness towards even the sight of the same sex's body extremely cute. And after hearing my call, Miss Lannong cautiously poked her head out from behind the tree trunk. In the glow of the fire, her delicate face became even more alluring. Even though there was no immediate danger like a Flame Tiger nearby, I couldn't help but feel a subtle protective desire towards her.

"You still haven't answered my original question. Are you a druid?"

Despite her cute appearance, as an adventurer, I still maintained a certain level of caution towards strangers encountered during missions. And like these expensive potions, this Miss Lannong unexpectedly had two bottles in hand. The question of her identity became even more intriguing.

Hearing my question, the girl did not answer immediately. She slowly walked to the side of the fire and sat on a smooth rock, just like me. She asked, "Can I trust you?"

As she asked, her eyes looked directly into mine, as if examining them.

I met her crimson eyes and asked myself honestly. Finally, I shook my head and admitted, "I'm a woman who loves money almost to the point of madness. If you have enough value, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist selling you out."

So, she lowered her eyes, as if making a determined decision, and said to me, "I think... I've probably lost my memory."

...

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