Without making a single footstep sound, the man who had walked up to her stood at her feet and said softly.

“Come down.”

Jade felt relieved only when she saw the ash-colored eyes faintly reflected in the soft light. Then she relaxed her arms and fell to the ground.

“Ugh…”

As she leaned back against the tree, she came face to face with the unfocused eyes of the monster.

What the, gross. As she shuddered and shook off the goosebumps on her arms, Axel clicked his tongue.

Only then did her mind settle and she could see the situation properly. What was stuck in the monster was not light, but a sword.

But surely that light had looked much longer than the length of this sword, and thicker as if wrapped in something.

“Wh-what was that just now?”

She stuttered, still not having caught her breath, but he only retrieved his sword with an indifferent motion. The deeply embedded sword must have crushed even the monster’s bones, as there was a loud cracking sound.

“Surely, it wasn’t a sword…”

“It was a sword. I threw it like a spear.”

So that’s how he caught the deer without a bow. Just how strong is he?

Jade tried to stand up by putting strength in her legs, but the aftereffects seemed to have hit her now as she couldn’t muster much strength. Well, today was the day she had run the hardest in her life.

She, a mage, criticized the stamina of mages. Phew, mages!

“Any injuries?”

“None.”

His gaze, which had been checking the sword blade, turned to her, but the forest sinking into darkness limited visibility.

Axel ran his leather-gloved hand along the cross-section of the sword. Blood trickled down from where it touched, revealing a pure white blade.

“Monsters don’t usually come this far, but you must have looked tasty. Excuse me for now.”

Axel wrapped his arm around her slender waist and lifted her up in one breath. She flailed in surprise, but it was useless. Jade had to dangle like a sack over his broad shoulders.

“No, I can walk!”

“Be quiet. If you want to encounter other beasts, do as you please.”

It’s humiliating. The most humiliating part was that Jade was much shorter compared to Axel, making him very stable.

Jade snorted and puffed, but kept her mouth shut as he said. She didn’t want any more commotion today.

Axel flipped the monster over with his free hand and kicked it deep into the forest. He probably was wary of other beasts or monsters being drawn to the smell of blood.

Then he started running.

Jade thought she had run quite a long time with the monster, but at his pace, it seemed to be a distance that could be reached in an instant, as they were already inside the fence.

As soon as he closed the door, he locked the bolt tightly and set her down on a chair. Jade slumped down powerlessly.

“What a mess…”

Thinking about it again, she couldn’t help but sigh.

Damn, to nearly die to such a creature.

Even in a world where attack magic efficiency had drastically decreased, it was a monster she could have defeated alone. Sometimes she even burned monsters of that size in groups.

“So this is why older mages tell young mages they must visit the Atanase Forest. To become more desperate and humble after losing magic…”

Jade mumbled like a drunk person.

After throwing his leather gloves on the table and closing the shutters to prevent light from leaking out, Axel returned to her. The corners of his eyes were shadowed in the dim candlelight.

Looking down at Jade’s pale face, Axel asked slowly.

“Why didn’t you come back early? Ollie said you had gone home long ago.”

Jade sighed briefly.

“Because I’m stupid, that’s why. To be honest, there were some precious mushrooms, so I let my guard down. The sun hadn’t set yet, so I thought it wouldn’t be dangerous… I’ve never seen any wild animals or monsters around here before. Sorry for the trouble.”

He frowned.

“Right, usually that’s the case. I forgot to warn you too. Mages are prey that monsters crave.”

“Can’t use magic but still taste good, how unfair…”

Axel, who had been standing silently, suddenly bent down and grabbed her ankle.

Surprised by his unexpected movement, Jade jerked her leg, but was even more startled when she felt his hand on her foot. She just realized her shoes were off.

He turned her white foot with scratches this way and that, then brought the wound healing potion Jade had made. But Jade didn’t take it.

“That’s extremely precious, you know. It’s not worth using for this. If I leave it alone, it’ll heal, right? Let’s call it the price for my carelessness.”

At that, Axel placed the glass bottle on the table as if throwing it and said gruffly.

“You should have screamed.”

“Huh?”

“I was nearby, so if you had called, I would have come. What were you thinking just hanging there? If it weren’t for the sound the monster was making, I wouldn’t have found you.”

Jade blinked.

“Uh…”

“What kind of confidence do you have when you can’t even use magic?”

A dumb voice flowed out bewilderedly.

“You would have come?”

She hadn’t expected much. Even though Axel had become somewhat more lenient towards Jade, that was because she had tried not to be a bother. But to intentionally come to save her required many things.

For instance, it required enough interest to notice that Jade hadn’t returned even at a late hour, and the will to risk danger and kill a monster to save her.

Was that all? If he came to save her, he would have to bring the useless burden back home. It was a loss in many ways.

But Axel had noticed that Jade hadn’t returned, followed the traces she left, killed the monster, and brought her back safely.

Surely she was nothing to him. Even though he said he had brought her along on impulse and left her at home because he couldn’t help it due to Ollie’s insistence.

So that voice saying it was obvious was surprising. That he would have come if she had called.

“Then should I have left you to die by the monster? That would make for a very peaceful night’s sleep.”

Axel said in an irritated voice, furrowing his brow. Jade marveled blankly.

“Oh…”

“Stop with the exclamations and from now on, come back before the sun touches the treetops. If you’re late, don’t go outside the fence alone.”

Axel strode away, leaving her behind. Jade quietly watched his large retreating figure.

This indifferent landlord didn’t know about Jade’s family or the value of her name. In his mind, Jade must have been a mage of moderate skill who ate anything and earned money with magic outside.

He wouldn’t have expected any reward for returning. If so, he did it simply because saving her was the right thing to do as a person.

And maybe he cared about me just a tiny bit too.

How could such a person be in the Atanase Forest?

She felt something bubbling up in her throat. It felt like it might surge upwards or flow downwards.

But soon it grew and tickled her whole body, eventually spreading into joy.

She had encountered unexpected kindness here in the Atanase Forest, which she hadn’t even expected outside. How could she not be happy?

Jade, smiling broadly, jumped up and followed him with a limping gait.

“Then are you saying you’ll go out with me every day?”

“How did you hear it like that? I meant stay put at home.”

“What if I find a moon flower that only blooms under the moonlight? It only blooms at night.”

“What’s that used for?”

“They say if you make alcohol with it, it’s really delicious. There’s some distilled liquor in Ollie’s storage over there.”

“…”

Somehow sensing interest in the silence, Jade grinned mischievously.

“By the way, do you know you’ve saved me twice now?”

“I’m sure you’re immensely grateful.”

“Of course. Can you see the tears of gratitude in my eyes right now?”

Glancing down, her bright eyes were completely dry. Axel snorted.

“I can see shameless eyes.”

“No. Anyway, thank you for saying you’ll come anytime.”

“Did I say that? Seems like a bit of an exaggeration.”

“No, it’s not. You definitely said so.”

The moment Axel asked why she hadn’t called for him, Jade thought that the time spent trapped in this forest might not be so meaningless after all.

Because there’s nothing more valuable than getting to know a good person.

The start might have been a bit rocky, but it’ll become a good relationship that we’ll be sad to part with in the end. For sure.

Jade was certain.

Because she had come to know Axel that much.

He was a man who thought it was natural to help or save someone. Despite any inconvenience, he didn’t turn away from people facing disaster. Though he said he wasn’t a knight, he possessed honor and steadfastness more than anyone.

So the man’s foundation was good and trustworthy, and he viewed her somewhat positively.

Jade had always been starved for such people.

Of course, she also thought that she might not need to be as cautious from now on, but that was just a slight additional benefit. And since it was a thought that had crossed her mind very briefly, she kept it a secret.

After the night the monster chased her, Jade just did what she wanted to do.

Of course, she still fetched water and helped with work at Ollie’s house.

However, while doing what she could, she stopped being overly cautious. After all, Axel had never been particularly demanding of her.

Jade resolved to use her fall into this forest as a turning point in her life.

It might have been a meaningless attribution. Her fall here might have been a simple accident created by someone with malicious intent. After all, there were many people who wanted to hinder her.

But spending each day with such thoughts was too wasteful of time, beautiful scenery, and good people.

Worrying and fretting here wouldn’t change anything anyway. The merchant would only come when the power of water weakened and the power of earth strengthened.

So, she would be faithful to this time.

While the catalyst for this change in mindset was Axel’s unexpectedly excellent character, this attitude truly helped Jade. Her nightmares, which used to occur every other day, reduced to once every three days.

During the day, Jade enthusiastically explored the forest, drawing strange maps with inaccurate scales and marking the main plants growing near Axel’s house.

In the evenings, she would pester the returned Axel, asking and learning various things. At first, he tried to escape with a tired face, but now he seemed to have given up and answered slowly.

Most of it was trivial.

“Why didn’t you build the house near the pond?”

“Where do you usually go hunting?”

“Do you know how to fish? Can I go to the lakeside too?”

Of course, she had subtly asked about his life outside the forest, but those questions were usually blatantly ignored.

But the more she spoke to him, the more she felt they were getting a little closer, which was nice.

She already knew that even in their relatively comfortable conversations, he was consciously drawing a line.

Still, she thought it was too much that he never once called her by name. Jade is such an easy name to pronounce!

Anyway, after this change of heart, how quickly the days in the forest passed!

When she came to her senses, the sun had already tilted, casting long shadows across the table. Every day was intensely fulfilling.

And…

“…”

“…”

“Hey.”

“Don’t say it… I know…”

She even attempted cooking.