First Encounter

A figure shuttled quickly through the forest.

“Damn it, where is the fire Snow was talking about? Did he see it wrong?”

Vic kept searching for the fire Snow had mentioned.

Seeing nothing, he irritably scratched his short brown hair, while his pace gradually quickened, as if trying to leave all his frustrations behind him.

“Vic, come back!”

The voices of the two behind him grew closer, and the expression on Vic’s face became even more annoyed.

“My life is what’s most important! My life is what’s most important! To hell with ‘my life is what’s most important’!! Those two don’t understand anything at all!”

He couldn’t show this frustration to his two friends at a time like this.

Realizing they had already caught up, and that he wouldn’t be able to find the fire Snow mentioned anytime soon, Vic could only sheathe his sword and turn to face the two who were now right behind him.

“I said I’d handle it myself, you two should have just gone back. Why did you follow me?”

“Vic! What has gotten into you lately? Ever since we left Laifeng City, I’ve felt you’ve suddenly become so reckless, and today you even did this… this… in short, this isn’t like you, Vic.”

She was so worried about him, even following him despite the danger, yet Vic still had this attitude.

Even the extremely good-tempered Sophie couldn’t help but want to hit him on the head a couple of times with her scabbard.

But after thinking about it, Sophie lowered the scabbard she had halfway raised, and instead grabbed Vic’s hand.

They had to leave this place first.

There would be plenty of time to settle accounts with him after.

“Let’s hurry back before the other party notices anything.”

“If you want to go, you and Snow go. I’m not giving up on my idea.”

It was as if the scene of pulling the horses from earlier was happening all over again.

Sophie never knew Vic could be this stubborn.

She truly regretted not bringing the rope as well, just to tie him up and drag him back.

“…No, Vic, why are you being like this? I…”

“I agree with Vic’s idea now. I’ll lead the way.”

“Snow, why you too?”

Noticing Sophie’s uncomprehending gaze, Snow made a placating gesture with his right hand, signaling for both Sophie and a smug-looking Vic (who was about to say something) to quiet down.

“I remember the location of that fire. It’s just near here. Although I took a quick look around just now and didn’t find any danger, the other party might have already noticed our movements. Regardless of what the other party is thinking, we’ve already walked right up to them, fully armed. So.”

“If they’re hostile, we strike first. If they’re not hostile, we explain clearly to prevent a misunderstanding from starting a fight, right?”

Snow nodded lightly, agreeing with Sophie’s words.

He sheathed his longsword and turned to lead the way for the two.

Actually… with just Snow and Sophie’s strength, they could have definitely dragged Vic away from here, ignoring everything else.

But why hadn’t he suggested that?

Why had he just defaulted to Sophie’s suggestion?

Snow turned his head to glance at his two companions behind him.

Perhaps it was because Vic’s rash actions had given him a push, allowing him to make this decision.

Maybe there really was no danger here.

Or perhaps, he was, in fact, the one here who coveted the reward the most.

He didn’t want to give up this request more than anyone.

“It’s right there.”

The three of them hadn’t been far from the fire in the first place.

With Snow leading, it took less than two minutes for the fire to come clearly into view.

“I’ll go first.”

Vic’s right hand hovered over the hilt of his sword as he walked past Snow and towards the fire.

“Vic, we’re not here to fight, you haven’t forgotten that, right?”

Sophie and Snow followed closely behind.

However, when the three of them arrived at the campfire, they couldn’t find a single person.

“What, no one’s here? Did they already leave?”

Vic casually broke off a branch and poked at the still-burning campfire.

The wood inside looked like it had just been added not long ago and hadn’t fully burned.

Meanwhile, Sophie and Snow began to check the surrounding area.

At the same time, An Ye, hiding behind the bushes, was carefully observing the three through a gap.

A party of one girl and two men.

All three were wearing leather armor and had swords at their waists.

From the looks of it, the brown-haired, spiky-headed young man who had been shouting as soon as he arrived and seemed to have a ‘hot-blooded idiot’ attribute, and the other black-haired young man who had been constantly scanning the surroundings and seemed to be the team’s brains, should be responsible for the frontline.

Their swords were the standard two-handed type.

The remaining long-haired chestnut-haired girl, although she also had a sword at her waist, intuition told An Ye that it was probably a secondary weapon.

Since magic existed in this other world, she had reason to suspect that she was a mage or something similar, responsible for long-range support.

If a fight broke out, the first one to be eliminated would have to be this girl.

But… when the time came, could she really strike without hesitation?

…No, she had to.

Although the three people in front of her didn’t look like bad people, and their ages were probably still in school back in her previous world, she had to consider the worst-case scenario here.

Otherwise, the one to die might be her.

So… if necessary, she must be able to…

“Thwip!”

“Uwah… mgh…”

As she was thinking, a wooden arrow shot into the ground right beside An Ye.

Seeing the arrowhead buried deep in the dirt, An Ye broke out in a cold sweat.

She almost cried out in shock, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

‘An arrow, where did it come from? Did they find me?’

An Ye’s heart was filled with alarm and uncertainty, hesitating whether to continue hiding or to get up and blast a [Fireball] first.

“I intentionally missed with that last shot. I know you’re hiding behind the bushes. But please rest assured, we have no malicious intent. If possible, we don’t want to fight either. I will put down my bow. Could you please come out from there?”

Okay, now An Ye was 100% sure she was exposed, and she also didn’t have to worry about a language barrier.

The other party had a bow.

From that arrow that landed right next to her, she could tell the archer was skilled.

Therefore, An Ye didn’t dare to be arrogant; continuing to hide would just make her an easier target.

However, the other side wasn’t rushing her to come out, instead giving her time to think.

This showed that they were decent people.

It might not have to develop into a fight.

Of course, at the slightest sign of trouble, she would immediately use [Dragonification] to prevent herself from getting injured in this desolate place.

With that thought, An Ye adjusted the cloak on her body, making sure the other party couldn’t see her true appearance, and then slowly stood up from behind the bushes.

“Don’t shoot… ahem, I don’t want to fight you either. I just heard someone approaching, so I hid.”

“A girl?”

Hearing An Ye’s clear voice, all three of them—Sophie, Vic, and Snow—froze instinctively.

Obviously, none of them had expected to find a girl out here in the wilderness, and from her words, it sounded like she was alone.

An Ye stared nervously at the three people in front of her, waiting for their next words, all while being ready to tap the skill icon at any moment.

The air fell into a strange silence for a moment.

The two sides just stared at each other.

Finally, on Sophie’s side, Vic spoke up with a delayed reaction.

“Take off your hood. That’s basic courtesy when talking, isn’t it? I don’t think you’d trust an unknown person who isn’t willing to show their face, right?”

As Vic spoke, he gripped the hilt of his sword, invisibly increasing the pressure on An Ye.

“Sorry… I can’t…”

“Hah? What’s so hard about taking off a hood?”

Vic postured as if to take a step forward.

Seeing this, An Ye took a slight step back.

Taking off the hood was impossible.

It wasn’t just because of her appearance, but also her clothes.

Based on the attire of Sophie’s group, An Ye could basically determine that this place was indeed in a medieval-like era.

And without exception, they were all dressed rather plainly.

The fabric of their clothes was probably no better than the starter set she got in her inventory.

On An Ye’s side, however, the material of the clothes under her cloak was clearly high-quality.

Even if she only took off her hood, the golden accessories in her hair and on her ears would be hard to explain.

If this person named Vic continued to press her like this, An Ye would really have to consider firing an [Arcane Missile] at him.

“What? You won’t even take off your hood? Or do you have some ulterior secret?”

Vic was getting closer and closer, almost to the limit where An Ye was about to launch an [Arcane Missile].

“Pow!”

The girl named Sophie landed a solid punch on Vic’s head.

“Vic, you’re being very rude. There are many reasons why a girl might not want to show her face.”

Sophie pulled the wincing Vic back, glanced at Snow, and the two exchanged a look of understanding.

Snow then dragged Vic off to the side, leaving space for the two girls, Sophie and An Ye, to talk.

“I’m sorry, my companion is a bit rough. I apologize to you on his behalf.”

“Ah… it’s fine.”

Watching Vic get dragged away, An Ye quietly sighed in relief, her gaze turning to Sophie.

Finally, someone she could talk to properly.

“Thank you for forgiving him. My name is Sophie, that brown-haired spiky-head is Vic, and the one who shot the arrow just now is Snow. May I ask your name?”

“…An. Just call me An.”

An Ye thought for a moment, giving her name for the first time in this other world.

“An… what a lovely name. Actually, we…”