7. Encounter in the Forest

“Good morning, Rei.”

When Gil opened the curtains, the morning light shone in. I tried to hide under the covers because it was too bright, but he chuckled.

“Get up. Breakfast is ready.”

As he gently pulled back the covers, Gil’s face appeared in my hazy vision. Ah, he looks handsome again today. 

I was lifted up as if being gently coaxed and stretched out my body.

The heated room was warm even in the morning. By the time I washed my face with warm water, I was fully awake.

“Gil! Good morning!”

In the living room, the fireplace crackled with a small sound. 

Today’s menu was fluffy white bread and vegetable soup, and omelets with ham. 

The work of the knight order seemed to have settled down, and they were able to have breakfast together like before.

Just talking about trivial things like today’s schedule and return time made me feel energized from the morning. Gil’s presence is more effective than an energy drink for me!

“Well, I’ll be off.”

“Oh, wait. Take this.”

Judging from yesterday’s cloud movement, it’s going to be quite cold today. I wrapped the scarf I had taken out of the closet around my neck.

“Thank you.”

“Heh, you’re welcome.”

We hugged and waved goodbye. 

I was leaving about an hour later. After seeing Gil off, I headed to the kitchen. 

Since Gil said he would make breakfast, cleaning up had naturally become my job. However, Gil washed the cooking utensils, so all I had to wash were the dishes.

I turned on the tap and filled the bucket. Even the water for washing dishes had been replaced by hot water lately.

“It’s getting cold, huh?”

The morning and evening chill has become severe, and it’s starting to feel a lot like winter. From the day when the kidnapping incident occurred until today, there have been several small troubles. However, each one of them ended in failure. For example, there was an incident where I accidentally fell into the pond, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Mia’s soaked figure as she helped me out – but it didn’t happen in the first place because I was supported by Gil before falling into the pond and was safe.

“Maybe Gil doesn’t like Mia san in a romantic way.”

Although they had already met each other for a long time, Gil had never shown any sign of liking Mia san. And in the setting of the story, Mia san is just a sub-heroine. She’s not really related to the main ending.

So, even if there were no flags with Mia,

“Is it okay…? Ugh…”

I felt like I would be crushed by guilt if I didn’t think that way.

“But I haven’t met Natalie yet, so I have to make sure to cause trouble next time…!”

In a new encounter, Gil might waver a little. It’s unacceptable that my lack of responsibility would limit Gil’s choices. 

The second major trouble happened when it was snowing, so it’s a little further ahead. 

With renewed determination, I finished washing the dishes and tidying up the room before heading to work.

Today’s job is to collect medicinal herbs. We’ll be entering the forest near Da Jo to gather herbs that only grow in the borderlands.

The borderlands were originally an area where many monsters appeared. This was due to the influence of the abundant “magical elements” contained in the soil. Magical elements are also nutrients for medicinal herbs. Therefore, the borderlands have always been a treasure trove of high-quality herbs that only grow here, and many pharmacists have risked their lives to collect them.

Now that Gil has shaped the river, the flow of magical elements is no longer stagnant, and most of the monsters appear in a designated location – Da Jo. 

However, the amount of magical elements contained in the soil remains the same, so high-quality herbs can still be harvested. Thanks to that, many excellent pharmacists have gathered in the borderlands, and magical pharmacology has greatly developed. The laboratory where I work was also established in response to these changes.

“All right, I’ll search this area, so Rei, please take care of that area!”

“Yes, senpai!”

While carrying a basket and I head deeper into the forest. There is a spring a little further ahead, and I’m always in charge of the area around it. Just as I was about to reach the spring, I noticed that the usually quiet forest was noisy. Turning the corner, I saw a group of people gathered around the spring. I called out to a familiar face in the crowd.

“Natalie, is something wrong?”

Natalie is another heroine whom I met when I went to deliver medicine to the adventurer’s guild. She is a cheerful girl whom I can talk to easily since we are the same age, and she always talks to me whenever we meet. However, I do not know if she has met Gil since I have never seen them together when I was with Gil. In the novel, they would have met around the beginning of winter, but…

“Oh, it’s Rei Rei! This area is off-limits now. A monster appeared here,” Natalie said.

“A monster?!” I finally remembered. This is the scene where the protagonist and Natalie meet for the first time!

In the novel, the story goes like this: When I went to the forest to collect herbs, I was attacked by a monster near a spring. I was captured by its tentacles and was wet and slimy. Then, Natalie happened to pass by and tried to help me, but her attacks couldn’t reach me due to the long tentacles. However, Gil happened to be patrolling nearby and sensed the presence of the monster. He rushed over to help Natalie. After successfully defeating the monster, they found out that they were the same age as Rei and became friends.

Natalie pointed to where a barrier was erected and several knights were fighting. Among them, a familiar figure with black hair could be seen.

Dodging the monster’s tentacle attacks with ease, Gil used the recoil to counterattack. As soon as Gil stepped away, the other knights took advantage and attacked the monster. Gil quickly closed the distance from a blind spot and swung his sword, shattering the monster’s core.

The tentacles writhed and the monster fell to the ground, motionless.

Once he confirmed that the monster was dead, Gil relaxed and released the barrier. The tense atmosphere suddenly softened.

“We’ve defeated it!”

“Well done, Gil!”

I watched nervously as Gil was surrounded and jostled by the senior knights. The contrast between his gallantry during the fight and his kind smile now was irresistible— wait, no!

“Natalie, come with me!”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Although they couldn’t fight together, at least they had to be introduced. And there was one more thing I had to do. I took Natalie’s hand and ran towards Gil.

“Gil!”

When Gil turned around in response to my voice, he furrowed his brows at the sight of our hands clasped together. I panicked and let go of her hand. It wasn’t good for a mob character to touch the heroine.

“Rei, what are you doing here?”

“I came to pick some herbs. I saw you earlier, Gil. You were so cool!”

At my words, Gil smiled shyly. I wanted to talk more, but that could wait. I turned to Natalie and pointed at Gil.

“Natalie, this is Gil. He’s one of the frontier knights, the same age as us. Gil, this is Natalie. She’s an adventurer the same age as us. She’s my friend.”

I watched with relief as the two of them bowed to each other. It was awkward, but understandable since they had just met. From now on, they would probably go out on adventures together, just like in the story. Thinking about it made my heart ache, but I pretended not to notice.

“By the way, Gil! I have a favor to ask.”

There is one more thing I have to do. That is to obtain the slime of a monster. This monster slime is a raw material for several potions, but its value is not particularly high. 

However, since this monster itself is somewhat rare, it is difficult to obtain at the guild.

In the novel, as a victim of the monsters, I was in a position to obtain their materials. However, in reality, I had nothing to do with their subjugation. 

The materials obtained from defeating monsters are usually divided among those who were involved in the subjugation.

The materials obtained by the knights from subjugating monsters, except those used by the knights themselves, are sold through the guild. However, since the demand for this monster slime is low despite being cheap, there is a possibility that it may be discarded.

When I asked the guild if they could wholesale some of the slime to me, they kindly agreed.

After parting with Gil, who said there was post-processing, Natalie and I left the spring.

“You know, Gil was really cool, wasn’t he? He’s strong, cool, and really kind.”

“Huh? Yeah, I guess so.”

It seems that Natalie was impressed. Although we were not attacked by monsters, I think this can be considered a success. I quietly did a little victory pose for the first time.