It’s been three days since we departed the village. We managed to have a smooth trip because we followed the road chief told us. Thankfully, no creatures came to attack us.

During those 3 days, Fae was able to discover new herbs and plants giving her more knowledge about medicine. We also stopped during the night to sleep. Those past few days were fun and we were able to strengthen our bonds together.

…

Two weeks have passed. We were minding our own business when I saw a lake in front of us. My eyes were mesmerized by its beauty.

“Look, guys! There's a lake in front of us,” I shouted in excitement.

“You're right Ms. Ina, It's beautiful, and it's really big!” Fae replied.

“D-do you guys wanna stop for a while? Maybe hunt for fish or take a bath?” I suggested to both of them.

“Do we!?!” They answered in unison.

The excitement on Fae and Komraad's faces cannot be contained.

We've been traveling for a while now, we needed something like this to relax. We just arrived at the lake and Komraad already undressed and jumped in.

“H-hey be careful! We don't know what kind of creatures are lurking in there.”

“You overthink too much cat! Just jump in here already, you stink!”

“You little! Ugh, he's right. I haven't taken a bath since I came here. I'm a cat so it doesn't matter that much but at the same time I'm a woman so…”

“Let's go, Ms. Ina, let's take a bath together,” Fae suggested.

“I don't know, what if a monster is hiding inside this lake?”

“It's okay, I'm not worried at all. I mean I got you and Mr. Komraad to protect me.”

“S-she trusts me this much, I'm so happy I think I'm gonna cry.”

Fae jumped in the lake, might as well do it. We bathed and played in the water and at the same time, hunted some fish to eat. After some time, Fae and I decided to get out of the water to eat. I was walking out of the water when I suddenly touched something gooey.

“Oh God, I just touched something weird, it's slimy, like a jellyfish.”

“What's a jellyfish, Ms. Ina? Oh, by the way, the thing you just touched is called a slime.”

“I see, wait, slime? They exist here? Wait weird, why do I know what a slime is? Ah, never mind.”

“A-anyways are they dangerous? They're not gonna melt me, r-right?” I asked Fae looking scared and clueless.

“They aren't but if you see a horde of them, they can overwhelm you,” she answered.

“Wow, Fae, you're so young but you already know a lot of things.”

“I read a lot of books, it's my hobby,” she answered proudly.

“By the way, you can actually use them as a sleeping mask Ms. Ina. It’s actually really relaxing. Just a scoop of their flesh and add a drop of moonflower oil extract then…”

“Ta-da! You're ready to go.”

“A scoop of their flesh? You sound so diabolical Fae.”

“Tee-hee.”

We stayed at the lake until noon and resumed our travel soon after.

…

“That was refreshing, we should do that again,” Komraad said.

“Definitely,” I replied.

Fae rested and fell asleep on the carriage.

*Yawn*

“Maybe I should rest too,” I thought to myself.

Komraad noticed I was sleepy.

“Go to sleep cat, I can manage on my own.”

“Are you sure you can manage on your own?” I asked.

“Are you kidding me? Of course, I can,” he confidently answered.

“Okay, just wake me up when you need something.”

I was about to go to sleep when suddenly, people appeared out of nowhere. It was bandits waiting to ambush people like us who are traveling in a carriage. They were carrying weapons such as bows and arrows, axes, and swords. They approached and surrounded our carriage slowly to prevent us from escaping.

“Well well well... what do we have here? A carriage traveling without a guard,” one of the bandits said. He appears to be the leader of the group.

“Looks like we hit the jackpot boss. It’s just a man and a little girl with her pet,” one of the bandits added.

“Tsk did one of them just called me pet?!?” I thought to myself angrily.

“Hey, hands off our belongings,” I said to the bandits.

“W-wait boss, did you hear that? Their pet just talked!”

All of them were shocked when they heard me talk but their boss just laughed it off.

“Ha-ha! Are you serious? What can a puny talking pet even do?”

“Y-you’re right boss!” The bandits said together.

“Aah… Everyone just keeps on underestimating me, don’t they?”

Fae woke up from her sleep.

“Ms. Ina, what is happening here?” She asked.

“It's nothing big Fae. Just some strangers looking for trouble,” I answered.

The boss of the bandits shouted and commanded everyone to start taking our belongings.

“Take everything they have, even the carriage. Also, take the little girl.”

“Okay, that's it! That's the last draw! We were gonna let you off with a warning because we don't wanna end up hurting you but you've just said something unforgivable,” I said angrily.

“Hey cat, you don't mind if I break some bones in the process, don't you?” Komraad asked with a burning look in his eyes.

“Oh no… do what your best at,” I replied to him.

“Hell yeah!”

We were about to retaliate when something happened. One of the bandits who was about to shoot us with an arrow suddenly slipped out of an acorn.

“Oh, I forgot about my ability.”

Actually, I don't see them as a threat to me at all. I mean I fought a giant snake, a giant lizard, and a giant demon. But I do see them as a threat to Fae and it makes me angry that such people exist who are even worst than the creatures I fought before.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“You know what Komraad, just sit and watch. We don't even have to lift a single pinky to defeat them. They'll do it on their own.”

“Oh, y-yeah fine. I don’t wanna get too close to them or else I’ll get caught in it too.”

Komraad already knew what I was talking about. We just sat and watched the bandits get caught in something that even us can’t explain. One of the bandits got his ax stuck in a tree. One of them was attacked by a horde of angry insects. One of their swords got snapped in half. They were all panicking. They don't have any clue about what is happening to them.

“B-boss what is happening? Help us,” one of the bandits who was attacked by the horde of insects said.

“Why, you! What did you two do?!?” The boss asked us looking confused and irritated.

“Nothing, you guys just have terrible luck,” I replied.

“T-that doesn't make sense, ugh…”

He rushed towards us and launched an attack, Komraad was about to fight back when the boss of the bandits suddenly tripped and hit his head in the process. All of the bandits were either down or unconscious. They were defeated without us even moving a muscle.

“That's it? I didn't even do anything fun,” Komraad said in disappointment.

“I'm glad I'm not your enemy tho, 'cause it sucks to be them right now,” he added.

"Yeah, I'm kinda scared of my powers,” I answered.

Before we left the scene, we tied the bandits to a tree to prevent them from robbing travelers again.

It's only been hours since our encounter with the bandits and we happen to stumble upon another problem. Something is blocking our path, it's a huge boulder-like creature, you can actually hear it breathing heavily from afar and it's obvious something is wrong with it. I can actually feel its pain, it's the same with Fae when we found her in the woods unconscious. A woman approached us covered with light armor and she is carrying a sword. She waved and shouted at us from the distance.

“Hey, there travelers! We're sorry about the trouble, but if you wanna get to your destination as soon as possible then you'll have to go around. Again, sorry about this.”

We were curious about what was happening so we approached her.

“Uhm… Can we ask what happened here?” I asked.

“A talking cat?!? So cute... E-ehem... I'm sorry I got sidetracked.”

“Gosh, are talking animals rare in here?” I thought to myself.

“About your question, our friend here is sick and we don't know what caused it.”

“W-wait, is that a giant turtle? And is that a house on top of it?” I shouted.

“Yeah, we’re actually called a traveling guild. Our friend here is our ride. We are called adventurers and we accept different requests from people that we encounter along the way but apparently, Nessie here is sick and won't move at all. She's been blocking this road for a week now and if we don't do something soon, we wouldn't be able to resume our job and the worst part is that our friend here will die.”

The woman was worried sick. Her bond with the giant turtle was genuine.

“I was born on top of her and we became best friends. She's been on our side for a long time now. I don't want her gone,” she said as tears started falling from her eyes.

“I'm sorry I got a little emotional. Anyways, some of our men are actually looking for a doctor as we speak,” she added.

“I wish we could help her but this is out of our hands now.”

I was gonna suggest we travel around it when Fae suddenly approached the giant turtle.

“H-hey Fae, it's dangerous. You don't know what kind of sickness it has. It might be infectious,” I shouted worriedly.

“It's ok Ms. Ina, I think I know what's happening to her,” she answered confidently.

“Yeah, It got out of my head but Fae is working to be a doctor. I just thought that it was limited to just humans, but apparently, she might know a thing or two about treating a creature.”

“Little girl, did you just say you know what's happening to Nessie?” The woman asked.

“Yes, all the signs are here. Her color has faded, her skin is dry and the reason why she can't move is because parasites are targeting her nerves. If she doesn't get proper medical attention as soon as possible, she'll die,” Fae answered.

“H-how are you knowledgeable about this stuff? H-how can I trust what you're saying? You're just a little girl!” The woman said worriedly and was in complete distrust of Fae.

“I read it in a book and my grandma once treated something like this.”

“A-are you sure?” She was still confused and was afraid of getting her hopes up.

“Just trust her will ya?!? She knows what she's saying!” I said irritatedly.

“She didn't believe Fae. I know it's understandable especially when hope like this showed out of nowhere when you're already at wit's end.”

“T-then please please save Nessie,” the woman begged as she cried in hope that her best friend might be saved.

“I will save her no matter what, but I'm gonna need everyone's help,” Fae answered.

I was mesmerized by the unwavering determination of Fae to save Nessie. She was confident with herself and that makes me proud.

“You got us here Fae. Just tell us what to do,” I said to support her decision.

“Stop crying woman, if you wanna save this turtle then you better start listening to Fae!” Komraad shouted as he was excited to help out.

The woman nodded and just like Fae, she was determined to save her best friend, Nessie.

“Fae, my name is Stephany. I got a lot of men here who can help you, we'll follow your orders so please, tell us what to do.”

“Yeah! Let's do this!” Komraad shouted.

“I'm gonna be needing ingredients for the medicine I'm about to make.”

Fae wrote the ingredients on a piece of paper and handed it over to Stephany’s men.

“Here's the list. You can find all of it in the woods,” Fae explained.

They proceeded to find the ingredients Fae needs to create a medicine.

“Ms. Ina, Mr. Komraad, I'm gonna need you to do something else. I need you to capture a florisite, a very big one.”

“Florisite? What is that?” I asked.

“It's a type of parasitic flower that overtakes other creature's body by inserting its roots into its victim's nerves.”

“W-wait, that sounds familiar. Just hearing it gives me shivers. It's the toad incident last time, that was scary but thanks to that I was able to discover my powers. I'm kinda traumatized but thankful at the same time.”

...

“Wait? Did you say a big one Fae? There's a big one? I only encountered a small one before and it was seriously scary.”

“Yes, Ms. Ina. I need a big one for this to work.”

“Hey, cat let's go already!” Komraad excitingly said.

“Ehhhhh?? Do you even know where to find one?” I asked.

“Of course I do! Follow me!” Komraad rushed into the woods to find a florisite.

“W-wait for me…”

“Ms. Ina, be careful.”

“Don't worry Fae, we got this.”

“Take care. I'll be staying here to help out Fae,” Stephany said as I followed komraad into the woods.

Each of us focused on our own part to make sure Fae have everything she needs to save Nessie. Komraad and I went deep into the woods to find some florisites. It's been hours but we still haven't found one.

“Komraad, are you sure you know where to find one?”

“Yeah, I have smelled those creatures before, I know when I smell one.”

Komraad stopped moving and smirked.

“Why did you stop all of a sudden?”

“Found it!”

“Found what?”

“Their nest.”

Eeehhhh? I looked in the direction komraad pointed at and saw a horde of florisites.

“There are a lot of them and most of them are attached to a creature but none of them are what we're looking for! All of them are small.”

“That's fine. When a horde of florisites gather, it means they're protecting their territory, and territory means a leader and a leader is bound to be big!”

I was shocked by the amount of knowledge Komraad has, I guess he's not just all brawn after all.

“Wow, Komraad, I didn't expect you to be this knowledgeable,” I complimented him enough not to boost his ego so much.

“Heh, I lived in a forest for many years, this is nothing new to me,” he answered with a brimming look on his face.

“Nevermind, shouldn't have complimented him.”

“Let's go already!” Komraad insisted.

“Wait, are we just gonna barge in? Isn't it useless attacking the small ones?”

“Of course not! How is their boss supposed to show up if we don't cause a riot?”

“This dog!”

“Fine, let's do it your way,” I answered.

“That's more like it!”

Komraad and I attacked the small ones in hopes that the final boss will show up. It was actually easy to defeat those parasites when you know how they operate. All we have to do is separate the florisite from its prey by cutting its head off. It was a lot but we managed to defeat all of them and that was the moment when the big boss finally showed up.

“It's finally here,” Komraad said.

“This is gonna be fun,” he added.

The florisite that showed up was as big as a human but, the thing that was bothering me the most is that it was controlling not only one but 3 creatures at the same time.

“Hey Komraad, remember. We gotta take this one alive.”

“I know. That's what makes it fun and challenging.”

“Then let's do this,” I replied.

We wanted to attack the florisite itself but it just keeps hiding behind the creatures it was controlling.

“Komraad, new plan. If I attack the florisite I might end up disintegrating it anyways so I'm going to focus on the creatures, you focus on separating them from the florisite.”

“Sure, but can you handle three at once?”

“I’ll try. You know Komraad, you've always been the bait during our last battles. This time, I'll be the bait.”

I flew towards the creatures to lure them away from the florisite while Komraad looked for a way to separate them.

I was successful in luring them.

“Komraad, now!” I shouted.

“Cat, I don't know what you're thinking, giving me all the glory. I was fine being your support as long as I have fun but this time, I don't mind it.”

Komraad smirked as he sling-shot himself towards the florisite.

He was so fast that I wasn't able to see what happened. All I saw in the end is that Komraad was already holding our target. He was able to cleanly separate the florisite from the creatures without killing it.

“Gah! Hey, stop wiggling you bastard plant.”

*Sigh*

“This guy.” I smiled.

“Let's go back Komraad.”

“Yeah, let’s not make Fae wait a little longer.”

...

We came back hours after the battle. The other group was already back and Fae already finished making the medicine.

“We're back,” I shouted.

Fae hugged me.

“Welcome back.”

“Here's the florisite. It was super loud so I knocked it off,” Komraad handed the unconscious florisite.

“Just in time Mr. Komraad. Please put it on the ground facing upwards.”

“What are you gonna do with it anyways? I mean isn't the medicine you made the cure for Nessie?” I asked.

“I made it for the florisite,” Fae answered.

“Eeeehhhhhh???? Did I hear things right? Or did I miss something here?” I thought.

“H-how does that help Nessie?” Stephany asked in confusion.

“With this medicine, I can command the florisite to attack the parasites infecting Nessie instead of attacking Nessie's nerves and controlling her.”

I was still confused even though Fae explained it already.

“Just watch everyone.”

Fae poured the medicine into the florisite's mouth. After a while, the florisite woke up and its scary face changed into a face of a loyal puppy.

“Mr. Florisite, can I ask you to help our friend here? She's sick and infected by parasites. Can you help us get rid of them?”

The florisite smiled and approached Nessie. It positioned itself on top of Nessie's head and its roots spread inside her.

“Now we just have to wait until all the parasite inside Nessie is gone,” Fae said.

“Is the effect on the florisite permanent?” I asked Fae.

“No, it will only last until it finishes the command,” she answered.

“I see, then let's wait here until everything's okay,” I suggested.

We stayed with them until Nessie got better.

After 3 days, she was showing signs of recovery. Little by little, she was able to move her body and she started gaining back her vibrant color. A week later, Nessie completely recovered.

Everyone was so happy, especially Stephany. They cried in joy because Nessie got better and they'll be able to resume their job as adventurers and help people in need.

“Fae, this is the first step in achieving your dream. I'm so proud of you,” I said.

"Yeah, me too,” Komraad added.

I looked at Fae and saw her crying.

*Sniff* *Sniff*

“Ms. Ina, Mr. Komraad, I did it. I was able to help someone using the knowledge grandma taught me.”

“Yeah, you'll still be able to help more people and we'll always be here to support you.”

Stephany approached us smiling with tears in her eyes.

“Fae, Everyone, thank you so much. Thank you for saving someone very important to me. I know I could never repay you but here's a little something to help you out with your travels.”

“No worries Ms. Stephany. Always happy to help,” Fae replied.

Stephany handed us a bag of silver coins and an orb.

I was curious so I asked her what the orb is.

“H-hey Stephany, what is that thing?” I asked.

“It's a magic item, you can contact us anywhere, anytime. Call us whenever you guys are in trouble. We'll be there to help.”

“Whoa, this is the first time I saw a magic item. I gotta learn more about the magic system of this world.”

Komraad grabbed the orb and started playing with it.

“Hey, you! Stop playing with it,” I shouted at Komraad while trying to take the orb back.

Everyone laughed together and said our farewell as we started going our separate ways. We resumed our travels. We got delayed because of our encounters but after a month, we finally arrived at our destination, the Witch's Isle.