Matthias sat on a rock in a clearing of the forest. The sun was still high in the sky, and according to his impeccable internal clock, it should just be around an hour past noon.

He hasn’t eaten yet by that point. His hunger made him think of the food in the guild restaurant. All the items on the menu were quite good. They needed to be, as morale had a heavy dependence on the food the members could eat before setting off. It was just a shame that neither he nor Manna could cook very well. Soleil didn’t even know anything besides roasting meat on top of a fire. But despite that, they weren’t about to head back to town yet. They were currently at a location that was much farther to the east.

The bandits they caught gave them a reason to not go back yet. According to them, they were able to take several adventurers and clergy prisoners. That is, the women.

It didn’t take a genius to deduce what the bandits planned to do to them.

Knowing that the guild was going to send other parties to that location, Matthias decided to not send Manna back to town. Instead, he left a letter detailing everything they learned in a conspicuous location near the wreckage. They also transferred the bandits they had captured there to make it even more eye-catching. Of course, they made sure that they wouldn’t escape.

Tolg broke all of their limbs.

He had contemplated making Manna create a smoke signal like last time but eventually ruled it out. The smoke was as much of an advertisement to the guild as to the bandits they were trying to sneak up to.

Their lair was quite a distance from where the ambush occurred. Only an idiot would commit a crime in their backyard. As to its specific location, one of the bandits they captured talked after he had a few fingers broken. In the first place, they wouldn't have been bandits if they had any sense of loyalty to a group. They gave them several landmarks to note, which Matthias immediately deduced to be at a place more than double the distance from the scene to town. Even if they lied, he wasn’t at all worried; because he was primarily relying on Manna’s tracking ability anyway.

Then, the sound of his stomach’s complaints interrupted his thoughts.

“The food will be ready in a few moments.”

A massive werewolf-looking beastkin stood ahead of him, cooking with nothing but a flat stone propped a feet off the ground. He used magic to heat the stone from below instead of using a campfire to avoid making any smoke. As for the meat, it was provided by Manna after Matthias asked her to hunt for some. It only took her a minute before a dead boar was thrown to their feet.

He wasn’t simply grilling slabs of meat, too. The beastkin, Tolg, managed to identify some usable herbs nearby as a seasoning for their meal. There were even some vegetables and mushrooms thrown into the mix, which Manna had thrown to them after a short while of him cooking. Soon, a delectable smell wafted around the area – which was quickly blown high into the air with magic to prevent animals from being attracted.

Plates of thick pork chops with grilled vegetables were served. It was on a plate made of multiple wide leaves stacked neatly on top of the other and washed with water from a nearby stream. The finished food had an aroma that was incomparably more delectable than when it was on the hot stone. Just the smell alone made Matthias’ mouth salivate uncontrollably.

“How about your friend?” Tolg asked while holding another serving.

Matthias, distracted by the food, simply nodded to the side and told him “Just leave it behind a tree where we can’t see it.” He didn’t see Tolg tilt his head in confusion before walking a short distance to do what he said.

Lacking any kind of utensils, Matthias was forced to remove his plated gloves and eat by hand. It did nothing to ruin the experience. The first bite sent hot, savory juices from the meat gushing onto his tastebuds. The meat itself was cooked tender, almost dissolving into his mouth with each satisfying bite. Even the wild vegetables were delectable; they were seasoned with a different herb to give them a strong, but complementary contrast to the meat.

This guy was the real deal.

“Nice,” Matthias complimented. He didn’t even realize he did until Tolg replied to him.

“Thank you very much. This is the first time I’ve eaten with someone in a long while, so I was wondering how I did.”

His hands stopped momentarily upon hearing that, but he quickly recovered. His eyes wandered to the well-built beastkin who sat across him. The clothes on his back were tattered and dirty, and his fur was mottled with dirt and mud. Obviously, he hadn’t had any time to clean himself up for a while.

“You’re a wanderer?”

That was the only deduction he could come up with that didn’t sound offensive. The other explanation he could think of was that he was also a bandit and everything up to that point was an elaborate trap. But in that case, he was very confident that Manna could finish him off in an instant. Matthias also maintained his body augmentation magic and layered a single-use barrier to make it unnoticeable.

What he needed was information, even on someone who just genuinely wanted to lend a hand. Wars were won with it. That was why he buried his head in books for a very long time on every hour he was free.

“For quite a long time, yes.”

Tolg took a large bite out of his steak… and just swallowed. At first, Matthias was disillusioned about the beastkin with how humans acted. At least he ate more like a wolf.

The disparity between their eating speeds forced Matthias to devour his food faster. The taste almost made him forget that they weren’t on a picnic, and made him completely forget to ask more questions. They still had people to rescue.

“… Are you okay? I would advise that you not eat too fast.”

“No, I’m fine,” Matthias squeezed out his words after some difficulty. But despite his efforts, he was only able to make a dent on his food as Tolg finished up with his. As he choked on a particularly large piece of mushroom, Tolg stood up to where he left the plate for Manna and grunted in surprise.

“Your friend ate everything already. That’s quite fast.”

Matthias’ gasp forced the food stuck in his throat to dislodge and almost ended up in his lungs.

“Did you just throw it out or something?” he thought through a violent coughing fit.

Suddenly, something hit him, literally speaking. A large branch flew from behind and hit him right on the back. The force deflated his lungs and pushed the mushroom cap out of his throat.

“Your friend is quite amazing.”

“… You can say that again.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Matthias drank water from his canteen and frowned. He could imagine Manna’s smug face laughing at his misfortune.

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

“I just arrived a few weeks ago. I’m… looking for someone.”

They walked at a relaxed pace towards their destination. While they wanted to hurry, they also had to avoid any possible traps set up for pursuers.

Matthias signaled Manna to scout ahead. She would notify them of any signs of bandits or other targets, as well as silently dispatch any of the low-ranked monsters she came across. However, while she could also easily detect traps to alleviate their situation, Matthias doubted that she’d bother marking them along the way as long as they weren’t particularly troublesome.

He wanted to take the remaining time before they arrived to gather information about him.

Despite Tolg’s dirty appearance, he was a very mild-mannered man like he came from a well-off family. He spoke without any familiarity, but with a warm voice that soothed people’s nerves. Not to mention that he was an incredible cook. But what really made an impression on him was that Tolg never asked any questions about them.

Why? Didn’t it bother him? Or was he satisfied with merely observing?

“Adventurers? I see. Well, it’s my pleasure to meet you, sir adventurer.”

So Matthias decided to disclose a little bit of information about them. It was so the other party could be more comfortable about sharing their story. As long as there wasn’t any conflict between them, then the information should be treated as a commodity.

He wouldn’t disclose any important details, anyway.

“Oh, yes, this is a magic staff. It’s an inexpensive one, but it certainly helps.”

“You’re a mage?”

“Hmm…” with this, Tolg showed some hesitation in his answer. “Yes, you could say that I am a mage. At least, I am able to handle two basic elements.”

That was already quite a feat. Mages that could comfortably use two elements were already considered rare geniuses. Those that could use three elements like him were aberrations.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Tolg smiled softly, baring his sharp teeth. As a beastkin in the human continent, Matthias had the impression that they weren’t used to being praised by another race. It was a shame. They were excellent front liners that adventurers like him would love to have in their parties. But a beastkin mage, and a Dire Wolf one at that? It was like getting a relatively frail elf as a swordsman or placing a dwarf on a desk job. Though that was obviously a generalization and a shameful thing to think, the discrepancy still tugged at his mind.

“You two are quite amazing yourselves,” Tolg suddenly said. “For example, your friend; even as a beastkin, I can’t pick up her scent or hear her movements at all. I can’t even sense her presence.”

“Didn’t you notice her back there?”

“Ah, that was only because she directed quite a lot of killing intent at me. We’re also sensitive to that. And I know she did that on purpose.”

“How so?”

“Because she timed it right as I noticed the three bandits making a move. It might have been a warning.”

It was no secret that Manna was an excellent hunter. She had spent the vast majority of her life in the forests. Because the learning speed of children was much faster than adults, she was able to quickly grasp the fundamentals and intricacies of a hunt. Though he was sure that on even ground he would be able to win against her, a fight between them in a forest would be completely one-sided. Once she was among the trees, she became a phantom of death.

For someone to recognize her abilities simply from “feeling” her killing intent meant that Tolg himself was an incredible character.

He was definitely not just “a mage”.

“Who are you looking for?”

It would be troublesome if he was someone hostile to them. Matthias judged that determining Tolg’s goal was essential for him to know how to act.

“I can’t say. Or rather, I don’t know.”

Matthias raised his eyebrows.

“But that person owes me something. I’ll know immediately who he or she is once I see him.”

“And then he’ll pay,” he whispered.

Different from Tolg’s usual calm tone, his voice at that time had a palpable hostility to it. Was it a journey for revenge? But what did he mean by not knowing whom he was looking for?

Matthias thought there must be some complicated circumstances behind his journey. A lot of people in that world had one. Unlike the world he lived in previously, where people could be assisted by the justice system and by their peers, the offenses experienced by the common people were usually ignored there. This was especially true for the other races in the human continent, who were looked at as lower than freemen. Sometimes there would be lords, who would showcase their benevolence by assisting them, but that was it; it was only a show. Few actually meant it.

He looked at the beast of a man walking with him. As the topic of his journey’s goal came up, his calm gait became agitated and restrained. It was as if he was trying his best to stop himself from stomping on the ground.

An awkward silence descended upon them. The trees started to show signs of ending. After a long period of absence, the sun’s rays finally appeared through the thinning canopy above. There was still some distance between them and their destination, but it wouldn’t take them half an hour to arrive there at that pace.

It was also the first time they saw a kill. There was a Lay Beast; its core pierced with an arrow from a high angle. It was a monster that specialized in ambush tactics using food such as fruits to lure animals and humans into its massive jaw. It looked like what a child would make if they glued several rings of sharp teeth on a large circular carpet.

Tolg crouched to pick up three fruits next to its corpse.

“My apologies. It seems I ruined the mood.”

He offered one of them to Matthias. It was a Firelick, a fruit that looked like an apple but had seeds that exploded when crushed and could be burned for a prolonged period. Other than that, the flesh was safe to eat. Matthias took it and said, “It’s okay. Sorry if that was a sensitive topic.”

“No, it’s not.” Tolg shook his head. “In truth, I have problems with controlling my emotions.”

He asked how he could give the third to Manna, and Matthias told him to just throw it in the air. As he did, the fruit disappeared from their vision right as it passed through the canopy.

Despite lacking incisors, Tolg looked comfortable eating fruit. He doesn’t chew it, though. But he knew to spit out the seeds. How he managed to do it without mastication was a mystery Matthias wanted to solve one day, since he felt it was inappropriate to ask such a question.

“We’re almost there. But there shouldn’t be anyone nearby yet.”

Lacking a topic to break the ice, Matthias decided to talk about their immediate task at hand.

“Because your friend hasn’t notified us?”

Matthias nodded. “You’re coming with us, right?”

“Those people need help. The more of us there are, the faster they’ll be rescued. I’ll be glad to lend a hand.”

“Then, tell me how you fight.”

It was a question that was normally taken as telling someone to reveal their cards. Between party members, it was a common thing to do. But between strangers, it wasn’t. Despite that, for them to act as efficiently as possible, they must know how the other fought. Matthias asked first because his side had numerical superiority. Of course, he also intended to tell him some details in exchange.

“Ah, right. Understandable.” Thankfully it seemed like Tolg didn’t take any offense to his question. “I’m a mage. I can use fire and wind. Moreover, depending on the enemy we face, you don’t have to worry about defending me. So please fight to your heart’s content. I’ll be sure to support you to the best of my ability.” He respectfully bowed as he explained.

With those kinds of manners, Matthias realized that it was incredibly difficult to dislike him, despite his intimidating appearance. Though he committed to keep an eye on his rear anyway, he did feel quite a bit safer after Tolg mentioned giving him his full support.

Matthias gave him a brief introduction of how he and Manna fought, making sure to omit the part that he knew how to use magic. He also left out details concerning his magic sword and Manna’s giant bow. But for what he provided, he did so fully. A bit of sincerity was in order for such a guy.

Then, he realized something. Shaking his head, he reprimanded himself for his rudeness. He extended his hand with a smile and said, “Nice to meet you. My name’s Matthias.”

Tolg was slightly surprised at this, but he quickly recovered and took his hand firmly.

And so, almost four hours after setting off from the wreckage, they finally arrived at the bandits’ hideout.