Encounter.

{1 day before the breakdown.}

The trip was going smoothly. Almost a little too smoothly considering the fact that we got chased out of Rottheim. The second day was just a straight trip and some decent rest. And today was the final day before we reached my hometown.

I understood that the outside was a dangerous place to be without adventurers. But from what Anino said, the organisation thing had adventurers amongst its ranks. So the fact that none followed was pretty unnerving.

Nonetheless, I'm not one to complain about the lack of misfortune. For all I know, Vivi's aura might have warded them off too.

I shoved the useless thoughts away with slight relief. I was almost there.

"Oi, El. You can keep on going ahead, I'll catch up with you in a bit." Vivi stopped right after we left last night's camp.

"Eh?"

"I need to do my business." She said while scratching her collar bone.

"What business?"

"Take a clue, man. It's almost been 3 days since we left. You already went like twice, I'm the only one left."

"Oh, I see." That's what she was talking about. It was weird seeing her all twiddly. "We'll wait for you."

"DON'T! ...wait for me. That's embarrassing!"

"And now you act reserved."

Honestly, even though it was seemingly safe, I did have my worries about being alone without her. We were practically sitting ducks in her absence. Plus, I was even more worried because of her absolute lack of orientational skills.

"You don't need to wait, I left my scent on you." What? Her sudden claim was concerning. "Please, I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay then. Be quick." That was a weird thing to say, but I couldn't think of anything appropriate to say. Vivi nodded back. "Let's go Anino."

The large woman briskly walked off into the trees as we continued on our walk.

"Io- I mean Master Elyan…" While on our solo travel, Anino grabbed my sleeve.

"What? Do you need to go too?" My words made her face turn red.

"No! I just- I haven't thanked you yet… So I wanted to just- Just! THANK YOU!" She bowed down sincerely. So quickly infact that her braid flipped over her head. I could see her nape and a glimpse of the scars on her back.

Even after going through so much, she was cheerful. Unlike me. But then again, she never got thrown in front of a moose in the middle of the night. Nor did she get her legs obliterated.

'Why am I even comparing?' It was envy.

"It's fine. I couldn't just leave after seeing a scene like that." I tried to brush her gratitude off.

"But still!"

I couldn't stand her believing that my act was an act of heroism. I needed to set the record straight-

"Anino, honestly, I stood there for a minute weighing the outcomes- watching you get slapped. I could have intervened sooner. Even when I was getting chased out of the city and was about to fall off the bridge I hated myself for choosing to help you. I'm not a good guy. Just an impulsive one. Your situation just happened to be one that I wanted to tamper." My confession made her eyes wide.

I couldn't in my right conscience have her believe that I was her savior. If it were the past me, who didn't know how much it hurt to get beaten to a pulp, I wouldn't have second guessed. But more than anything self-preservation mattered tremendously to me.

I was just a guy who wanted to live to see another day.

"None of that matters to me." The astonished look got wiped off her face. "In the end, when everything turned dark and even my family turned their back on me, you were the one who helped me. It is only natural that you would be reluctant to do something that would threaten your own safety. Most people would just stop there. But you didn't- and for that I can't thank you enough."

I think that I accidentally built an idealised image of myself in her eyes. In fact, I could tell that by the glimmer in her eyes. After her little sombre outburst, the both of us went silent, until- "!!"

I turned around erroneously. Out of nowhere, there was a presence right behind us. A strong one at that.

"That was quite touching of a speech." It hadn't even been 3 minutes since Vivi left.

My eyes read her and were thrown off by the absence of the one I expected the voice to be. It wasn't Vivi. There was another girl. Black hair, horns and green eyes.

"Who are you?" I stepped in front of Anino and placed my hand on Anino's belly to throw her back in case of an emergency.

My other hand was blocking the horned girl. But she was still ways off.

"It was quite a pain waiting for that monster to leave you two alone. Like how did you even manage to find someone that strong?!" Judging by how she felt Vivi's presence she had to be either an adventurer or a monster.

The horns on her head quickly answered that doubt.

"I asked you a question first. Who are you?"

A part of me wanted to believe that in a fight, I could just snap her small body like a twig. But every inch of my body was telling me to run away.

"I'm just someone who got hired to take this little girl back."

SHIT! No wonder it was peaceful! There was no opportunity to take her back so far! Ignoring the humanoids' presence for the last couple of days. I messed up.

"Since when did humans start hiring monsters?"

"I'm quite offended that you called me a monster. Someone of my beauty getting tainted by such a cheap word. I prefer the word demoness." She put her finger on her red lips.

Sure she might have looked alluring, but there was no charm in poison. You could practically see her killing men after seducing them.

"Screw off, wench." I spoke as if I was standing against an edge but my claims held true. Her dress barely covered her privates. An exhibitionist.

"Ehn~ Isn't your mouth just as filthy as it comes? I won't mind killing you. No, wait. I don't have the time to savour killing you. I need to hurry before the red head shows up."

'We only had to wait until Vivi came back. That shouldn't be too hard, ri-' Within the span of a blink, the monster was already in front of me.

SHIT!

I hardened my hands to block her attacks and back kicked Anino into the forest. Her clawed hands collided with mine.

"Ughhh... You, bitch."

"You are just a foul person altogether." There was a smile on her face.

My hardening didn't help. The enamel and bones got shattered in one go. And at that moment I ducked and fell back.

Regeneration kicked in and my hands got rebuilt quickly. The assailant stood back with slight surprise.

"What do you know? A human could survive that punch. What a ludicrous skill, boy!" She started giggling. "What's your name? I usually try to disconnect from all my victims, but you- I want to know. It's rare to find such a good package."

"As if I'll tell you." I started panting. That one hit took a lot out of me. I needed to pad for time. "Isn't it common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking for a name?"

"Is it? I haven't lived with humans so I wouldn't know. Oh well, I don't mind revealing my name- You can call me Rumie before you die. And as for my species-"

After the hit, my hands went numb. But then suddenly I felt light-headed from the euphoria spreading in my body.

"You can't help yourself against me. So stop trying to buy time, and just die quietly." She looked down at me condescendingly.

It was painfully obvious what she was-

"A succubus."