volume 2 - Chapter 124 (1/2)

Chapter 124 – The observer in the back (1)

The clear laughter pierced through the quiet forest.

Brendel and Ekman raised their heads to the source of the voice, and discovered a short girl sitting on top of a branch. She looked like she was fourteen or fifteen years old, and had twin ponytails that were slightly curled. She supported her round face with both hands and looked at Brendel with interest.

The girl’s clear green eyes was also filled with mirth. She wore traditional leather armor and shook her boots subconsciously.

“Mister Brendel, do you need any help?” The girl asked with a big smile.

“Who are you?” Brendel asked after a moment and narrowed his eyes. The little girl was somehow familiar to him.

“Rauze.” The girl said.

“Rauze?”

Ekman’s bellow interrupted the both of them. It was clearly displeased with this newcomer, but there seemed to be something dangerous about her and was reluctant to move rashly. It looked at her cautiously while lowering its body and entered into a wary stance.

This action clearly grabbed Brendel’s attention.

“How annoying, interrupting me when I’m speaking—” The little girl snapped her teeth lightly and jumped down, with a huge greatsword suddenly appearing in her hands. She did not waste any more lines and swung it. Ekman roared loudly and jumped back a little, placing both its hardened arms in front of him. There was a sharp snapping sound like twigs being snapped, as the sword’s blade shattered the layers of the rock s.h.i.+eld like it was made of gla.s.s before destroying the outer layer of the forefront limbs.

Copper-green blood immediately spurted out from the cracks, but the blade continued to travel its path without stopping, slicing off its limbs and biting into its chest. A loud explosion rang out as the sword knocked Ekman away, causing it to scream repeatedly from pain.

Bredel froze there on the spot.

The attack was done in the blink of an eye. She only took a split second to beat that scary monster Ekman into a pulp. He even asked himself if it was an illusion. How did she make it was even weaker than the low leveled grey wolves outside of Bucce?

“You are……” Before Brendel could finish his words, his mouth opened widely because the girl threw away the gigantic sword like it was a toothpick into Ekman’s direction. A loud crash could be heard as the sword struck it and the forest was silent once again.

“……” Brendel did not know what to say.

“Such a naughty little puppy. It needs to be taught a lesson before it’s quiet.” The little girl clapped her hands as if to get rid of the dust on them before she turned around. Because Brendel was much taller than her, she had to look up at him.

“What were you asking just now, mister Brendel?” She asked while raising her eyebrow in a mischievous manner.

“Erm…… I have no questions. I have things to do, so I’m going to leave now.” It looked like the girl was someone violent, and he knew how many crazy NPCs there were in the game. Even though they had amazing hidden side quests, it would be better to leave them alone if he could not handle it.

There was no way he could revive in this world so he had to flee now before trouble got a hold on him.

Sadly, that trouble was looking specifically for him—

“Wait,” The little girl saw that Brendel really wanted to leave and pulled his sleeves, but she had hurriedly grabbed his leather armor with both hands and tore the seams off with a loud ripping sound. She stuck out her tongue: “Sorry, I think I used too much strength…..”

Brendel said nothing as he took off his leather armor and threw it onto the ground because it was not usable anymore. He sighed and turned around: “Do I know you, miss Rauze?”

“Of course you do, you even accepted such a precious gift from me.”

“Wait— I don’t understand what you mean. What precious gift did I accept from you?”

She pointed at his bag.

“You mean to say…..”

The little girl nodded.

Brendel’s face darkened. The Golden Apple naturally would not find its way into his bag without rhyme or reason. He had suspected that someone did it on purpose, but he always lacked a target to point his finger at. He even thought that it was Romaine’s aunt that he had not met yet, especially after he met Tulman. However, he did not think it was….. a little girl?

He looked at her. Her features were pretty like a doll and she was staring at him in a mischievous manner. He still felt it was a little difficult to believe her.

“So, you know what that is?”

“The Fairy’s Apple. Is it rare?”

[She really is that person.]

“That means you were at that place from the start?”

“Haaah~~~ I feel really hurt that you are so~~~ suspicious of me, mister Brendel! Of course I know what that place is. The Valley of the Holy Saints, that is the name you humans call it right?”

[You humans—?]

Brendel caught that two words. He tested her in order to confirm his suspicions and there was no mistaking it. At the very least, she was somehow related to the Golden Apple. Even he did not realize he was carrying it for a while, after the visit to the Valley of the Holy Saints.