Chapter 38: The Mage Knight and the Soul Singer

At the moment the wild wolf collapsed, two slender figures froze in place. Then, one of them reacted swiftly, instinctively turning around and raising a slender sword. It was unlike any blade Roy had seen before—a fencing sword used by ancient knights. At least, in the previous camp, Roy had never encountered such a weapon.

The other figure sat down weakly, breathing heavily. Even just facing off against a level-seven wild wolf was enough to drain both their energy and strength, leaving them exhausted.

“Who—who are you?” The figure holding the sword, upon seeing Roy’s appearance, relaxed a bit but remained wary.

“A traveler,” Roy replied calmly. As the girl looked at him, he took a good look in return. They were two young girls, both thin and frail, as if suffering from long-term malnutrition, and it appeared they bore injuries as well.

“What?” The older-looking girl asked, as if struggling to comprehend the meaning of “traveler.”

“I came from another camp. I got lost wandering and ended up here…” Roy explained.

“So you’re saying you just happened to pass by?” the girl asked.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not at all. Thank you for saving us just now.” Only then did the girl realize her sword was still pointed at Roy, and, awkwardly, she lowered it. Her body trembled and she nearly fell.

“Gaya, are you alright?” The other girl quickly reached out to steady her, but she was so weak that not only did she fail to help, she herself toppled to the ground, staying there for quite a while.

Roy sighed and stepped forward, raising his hand to summon a burst of holy light.

Swish!

The girl named Gaya used the last of her strength to raise her slender sword again, pointing it at Roy.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re on the verge of death,” Roy said coolly, halting his advance. The little angel of holy light in his hand flew over, scattering a radiant glow that enveloped the two girls.

“Holy light…” The girl’s expression was one of astonishment. Though weak, she could clearly feel her minor injuries healing rapidly.

“Are you a celestial? Are you here to save us?” The other girl, a bit naive, stared at Roy in a daze. She was nearly at her limit, her eyes heavy, consciousness slipping.

“Sylvie, hold on, don’t sleep! If you fall asleep now, you’ll never wake up!” Gaya cried out, shaking Sylvie desperately to keep her awake.

But at this point, no matter how she called, it was useless. Sylvie had already slipped into a deep sleep.

“Save her, please, save her quickly!” Gaya raised her head with difficulty, looking at Roy, her voice full of pleading. “No matter what you ask, I’ll agree—just save her…”

“I’ll do my best; you don’t need to say anything more.” Roy moved closer to check. Sylvie was simply too exhausted, probably hadn’t eaten in a long time, and had fainted from hunger.

The holy light angel landed on Sylvie’s forehead, waving its tiny fists adorably as it worked to heal her.

Gaya stared wide-eyed at the scene, glancing occasionally at the “traveler” she’d never seen before.

“There’s no need to look at me like that. Since we’ve met, I can’t just walk away without helping,” Roy shrugged, his tone light.

“Once she’s recovered, I hope you can guide me to the nearest camp. I’m lost.”

“Are you sure… you don’t want anything else from me?” Gaya still seemed incredulous—was it possible for someone to be so kind in this world?

“Hah, what could you possibly do for me?” Roy cast her an indifferent glance, one that seemed to carry countless meanings.

Gaya fell silent, her cheeks flushing red, a flame of frustration burning deep inside. She couldn’t quite explain it, only feeling annoyed—perhaps because there was nothing she could offer.

After a few breaths, Sylvie finally opened her eyes, still dazed, but managed to say clearly, “Gaya, I’m so hungry…”

Gaya was speechless again. She’d wanted to ask Sylvie if she was really alright, but fainting from hunger hardly counted as “fine.”

“As payment for guiding me, I have some food for you. Consider it an advance,” Roy took some rations from his storage space and handed them to the girls.

“Payment?”

“Yes, once you accept the food, you’ve accepted the task of safely escorting me to the camp,” Roy said, straight-faced.

“Alright.” Gaya nodded solemnly, quickly took the food, nudged the still-dazed Sylvie, and together they began to eat ravenously.

Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.

Roy looked up at the blood moon hanging in the sky.

So, it rains in this other world as well?

As he pondered, suddenly a bolt of lightning struck, splitting a nearby tree with a crack.

The tree creaked and crashed toward Roy and the two girls.

Damn!

Roy was taken aback—what luck was this?

He glanced at the girls beside him; both were entirely focused on eating, so absorbed that even if the world ended, it wouldn’t faze them.

No time to think, Roy grabbed each girl under his arm and dashed aside.

“Ah, what are you doing?” Gaya cried, struggling, but she was too weak for resistance.

Crash!

A dark shadow slammed into the ground, and her slender sword was knocked away, flying deep into the woods.

“My sword!” Gaya exclaimed.

Suddenly, rain poured down in torrents, as if the heavens had opened, drenching the three of them.

Moments later, within a gloomy cave, Roy built a campfire. The two girls huddled together, trembling as they devoured their food.

“So, this place is called Roger Camp…” Roy gazed at the sudden downpour outside, his mind wandering.

After a while, he came back to himself, looking at the girls.

“How did you end up outside the camp, facing a wild wolf?”

“I… burp…” Sylvie let out a satisfied belch, wiped the crumbs from her mouth, and answered, “We were doing a task near the camp, not too far away. But for this particular mission, we had to go a bit farther…”

“When we got there, we found a treasure chest with some… uh, actually, we didn’t find anything!” At this point, Sylvie glanced at Roy guiltily, then at Gaya.

“After finishing the task, we tried to return, but suddenly realized a wild wolf had appeared behind us.”

“It was injured and seemed to be in pain, looked terrifying, so we kept retreating while facing off with it. But it blocked the way back…”

“With no choice, we retreated in this direction, getting further from the camp.”

“Though wounded, the wild wolf was cunning and tried several times to pounce when we weren’t paying attention. It scratched Gaya’s leg once…”

“The rest you know,” Gaya added quietly.

“What task were you doing? What are your professions and levels?” Roy asked, taking out a chicken drumstick and chewing as he spoke.

“We were gathering items—a magic shop needs them…”

“I’m a magic swordswoman, she’s a soul singer,” Gaya said, pointing at herself and Sylvie.

Roy nearly choked on his chicken.

He’d never imagined eating a drumstick could be fatal.

“Magic swordswoman?!”

Roy stared at Gaya in disbelief.

Damn…

That profession really exists?

When Roy was questioned by two guards, he’d planned to mention some sword-related melee job. But by chance, the Book of Seals had dropped at his feet, and he’d blurted out a random profession.

He never expected…

“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the profession?” Gaya asked, puzzled.

“No, not at all.” Roy calmed himself and continued, “What level?”

“One’s level one, one’s level two,” Sylvie said, eyeing Roy’s drumstick.

“We’ve told you everything—what about you?” Gaya asked.

“Roy, Wind Whisperer, level eight.” Roy casually cast a Blade of Wind, sending it out into the storm beyond the cave.

And faintly, he seemed to hear whispers at his ear again.

“How long will this rain last?” Roy asked.

“No telling—sometimes it goes on forever, sometimes it stops before a meal is over.”

“Are you in a hurry to reach the camp?”

“Yes, I am. There’s something very important I need to take care of,” Roy replied.