Talk about an eventful battle. Between putting that clueless bandit in his place and risking my life on it, I wonder how the others are faring.

Once I reach the entrance, my eyes widen at what I see. In front of me is the once merciless lying on the ground with his body covered in bruises, scars, and stab wounds with some of his clothes ripped and cut in shreds. But even more shocking, I see Arthur with his armor in tatters and covered in digital scars and wounds as he lies on the woman's lap and breathing heavily.

"Arthur?! What the hell happened to you?!,” I shout as I run to his side. "Did you almost lose your limbs trying to kill that guy?!"

He just weakly chuckles in response and says, "Hehe... It's just a small price to pay just to save a dignified lady."

"Yeah, but at what cost? I know I trusted you with that Bane guy, but I warned you not to get reckless in battle."

The commander sighs as he starts to speak.

[I have to agree with your young friend, knight. If it wasn't for my lady's aid, you wouldn't have survived his onslaught. But regardless, I am grateful for risking yourself to protect us.]

The woman nods with a smile as she finishes tending to his injuries. Well, if what they say is true, then I have no qualms with the aftermath.

[By the way, what happened to the bandits who chased you into the forest?] The commander asks me.

"Don't worry, I managed to take care of them with a few scratches," I say with a bit of honesty, at which I remember that I was hit by a bomb's blast earlier. "But don't worry, I think the forest's guardian is already taking care of him as we speak."

[I see. I guess my subordinate's report were true after all. I guess I have no choice but to leave Bane and his men here until the guardian's judgment is determined. What about your other friend?]

Oh, yeah. We had to split up to enact my plan earlier, so I have no idea what has happened on his end.

"About that..." I start to say until...

"What the hell happened to you, Arthur?!"

Judging by how mad Razul is without any signs of digital scars on his body, I'm guessing he managed to take care of his end.

"Hey... Is this a way to greet a he- OW!"

I sigh loudly as I say, "At least you're well enough to crack a few jokes."

"Whatever. The point is that we managed to beat the bad guys. End of story."

"Yeah, yeah. Since you seemed to be well and your lady friend is taking good care of you, I guess we don't need to give you a potion after we get back to town," Razul said as he gave a slight smirk to me, which I can guess what he is trying to do.

"He's right. I think you'll be fine without it. I'll just save this special rare potion that my talented pharmacist brother made soon."

As I (pretend to) leave with Razul, I hear Arthur growling behind me.

"H-Hey, not funny, guys! Seriously, I really need that potion! Come on, throw me a bone here!"

As expected, we...

[Oh, there's no need to worry, young knight. Allow me to tend your wounds.]

Huh?

[My lady, are you sure?] The commander spoke up. [But we need to save your strength for...]

[It's alright, Commander. Besides, I saw everything with my own two eyes and I want to return the favor for saving me and your men.]

Before I can say anything, she starts to mutter in a strange language that doesn't resemble Latin, Japanese, or any real language I know. To my shock, Arthur’s body begins to glow green as most of his wounds began to disappear.

"Wha... What the?” he mutters. "I can't feel any more pain. Heck, I even feel like I can stand again!"

No way... I knew he hadn’t mentioned specifics for obvious reasons, but not only are his scars gone, but his [HP] has also gone back to its full health. I knew she was an NPC, but the fact that she managed to heal him through magic is unbelievable. But as I approach my friend, the young woman suddenly collapses into Arthur's arms.

"M-Madam! Are you okay?"

Before I can do anything, the woman nods “yes” and says, [It's alright, my knight. It's just a small side-effect to my spell.]

"Your spell?" I repeat. "What do you mean? And more importantly, who are you?"

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[Ah, yes. We didn't have a chance to introduce ourselves due to the trouble earlier.]

The woman stands up as Arthur helps her. Then she bows to us and said, [I am , one of the royal magicians of the Royal Court. I am also the chief magician and head researcher of the magical studies division.]

Royal? Chief? Researcher? Sounds like a lot of titles for a dignified lady like he- OOF?!

"R-R-R-R-Royal magician?! Y-You're telling me that you're one of the most powerful magicians of the entire kingdom?!" Arthur asks as he rudely pushes me away. "I never thought I protected an important person of the kingdom like you!"

I growl in annoyance as try to approach and Arthur keeps pushing me away.

"Hey! Some context would be nice, please! What's so important about a magician NPC like her?!"

However, my question falls on deaf ears as Arthur shushes me.

"Be quiet, Mr. Arrows! Can't you see I'm in the middle of an important conversation with a royal and powerful magician of ?!”

[Well, "powerful" is a bit exaggerated on their part. Most of the spells I use are [Fire], [Wind], and [Restoration] magic. I would have tried to help your friend if I could, but I wanted to conserve my [Mana] just in case. Besides, your knight friend seems to know what he’s doing, so all I could use is a simple [Wind] enhancement spell and I didn't want to burn down the forest out of respect.]

That makes sense. Though I wish I could have seen that battle for myself if I can. But that’s not important right now. I overpower Arthur and push him away so I could have the chance to speak.

"Well, thank you for helping our friend out," I say in a respectable tone. "But I have to ask, my lady, what are you doing in with your kingdom's royal soldiers?"

[Oh, right. I am aware that only adventurers are allowed in this forest. However, I am here because of the rumors regarding its state,] Dalhia explained. [You are aware of the rumors of the purple fog and the plague, correct?]

I gulp at the mere mention of said event.

"Um... sort of... We just heard that we were not supposed to go so deep into the woods because it was rumored that it will drain our energies or something," Razul guesses. "But last we heard, most adventurers reported that it's now safe to go deep into the woods again.”

[Yes, we’ve already heard about its current state from both our head adventurer of the guild and the kingdom's scouts. I myself am actually curious about this, so I came here with the king's permission and the watchful eyes of Commander Salvo to investigate the sudden changes just to see if it's safe for everyone to traverse again, and to pray for the guardian.]

"I-I see," I speak up. I am now nervous that I now know the reason behind their visit.

[Of course, as you just saw, we had been ambushed by Bane and his bandits. Without you, we might’ve perished the hands of those cretins. So I thank you for your assistance.]

The commander also bows to us in silence, which we slowly bow in response to her gratitude.

"It's all in the days' work, our lady," Arthur says with the usual confidence in his tone. "As your future knight in shining armor, I lived to serve and protect."

I sigh in annoyance.

"Aren't knights supposed to protect princesses?"

Arthur quickly elbows me and whispers, "Shut it, Palmer! Royal magicians are no different from princesses, especially with the cute and beautiful type of gals."

I sigh again. Do NPCs even count as candidates for his so-called girlfriends?

[But I am curious after our incident. Namely, it's about your hunter friend.]

Hunter? Wait, does she mean me?

"Huh? What about our hunter friend? There's nothing special about it."

This time, it's my turn to elbow him.

[He looks that way, but...]

To my surprise, she slowly approaches me with a small smile and stares at me to the point that I have to avert my eyes to avoid awkwardness.

[There's something special about him, but I can't point out what it is,] Dahlia explained. [More importantly, I don't sense any hostility towards you from any of the monsters in this forest. It's as if they seem to know you somehow.]

I quickly gulp at this. Did she manage to figure it out with just her senses? What kind of magician is she?!

"Nope, nope. As Arthur said, I'm nothing special! Nothing at all. Anyways, we should probably go now. It's already late."

I grab Razul and Arthur's wrists as I drag them out of the forest.

"H-Hey! Wait! I haven't asked her number yet!" Arthur shouts.

"Arthur! Phones do not exist here!" Razul speaks up. "But he's right! We still need to get our quest..."

[I'll let my soldiers know about your rewards. Be careful out there, adventurers,] Salvo said, which I am grateful to hear that.

"Thanks now come on!"

I quickly take off as I ignore my friends' protests. As much as I want to stay here, I want to keep my secrets safe and out of the public. Besides, I’ve had enough adventure for one day.

----------------------------------------

Current Quest: The Ruthless Bane! ***

Status: Complete

Party Members:

[Wind]

[Arthur]

[Razul]

Reward[s]: 9000 Lapi

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Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 18

[Woodcrafting] Level 7

[Swordsmanship] Level 16

[Cooking] Level 6

[Wind] Level 15

[Physical Enhancement] Level 15

[Hunting] Level 14

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[Aren't you going to question him further, my lady?] Salvo asked as he and Dalhia left the . After Wind and his friends departed, most of the soldiers started packing up, while a remaining few of them set up tents so they could stay outside the forest under Salvo's command.

[Probably not. I could see the hesitation in his eyes, so I’d rather not probe him any further for the sake of his friendship with those two,] she answered. [I know my research comes first in my mind. But I don't want to tear them apart because of how unprepared that young knight and his magic gun user were. Besides, even if he still called me "lady", he's the first one who has spoken so casually in front of me. It's like what he said. He's a bit blunt, but he has a kind heart.]

[You have a good point. Not to mention how skilled that young knight was against Bane. With enough training, he might be qualified to join the . But still, I’m surprised that the rumors are true. Though I am also surprised that his brother wasn’t with him and his group.]

[Well, it is a shame we couldn't meet his [Insignis] brother. But their father and guardian Bai Hu are right. He really is an interesting half-[Human] adventurer.]