Chapter 8
Chapter 8: The Path Ahead
***
The torchlight was getting closer, and voices could be heard.
Who’s there?!
I instantly became wide awake, scrambling up like an alert cat, curling up and hiding behind a cluster of thick leaves, perking up my ears to listen carefully.
“…I really don’t know what Lady Janis is thinking? Having us search for a 15-year-old girl in the Woodward Forest in the middle of the night…”
Damn, they’re looking for me!
Has the commander lost their mind, actually sending people to search the forest at night! Why are these people still unwilling to let me go even at this point…
I narrowed my eyes and peeked quietly, a small squad of about 7-8 knights gradually walked towards my direction.
“Don’t know. But I heard that during the day, Legion Commander Nick and his men were fighting the Abyssal here, could it be related?”
“Don’t joke around, what connection could a 15-year-old girl have with the Abyssal! Besides, wasn’t the battle already over when we arrived?”
“Didn’t Lady Janis say that this is an extremely dangerous girl? She told us not to act rashly even if we find her, but to signal for reinforcements?”
“How dangerous could a girl be, don’t be silly. I think she’s probably just some noble’s mischievous daughter who got lost while playing.”
The knight squad chatted while searching around with torches, soon walking to a position very close below me.
“…Could be. I need to take a piss, wait for me a bit.”
Suddenly one knight walked to the tree where I was hiding, took off his helmet and leg armor placing them aside, undid his pants and aimed his weapon at the tree.
Damn. I quietly rolled my eyes at him, but suddenly remembered something, I had thrown down my leftover fruit cores earlier.
It would be terrible if they discover them!
“Don’t talk nonsense, whose daughter would come here for no reason. This is Woodward! The Woodward Forest where white dragons are rumored to appear!”
“That’s true…hehe, then what do you think this is about? Besides us, even the 7th Army guys came. Adding the 3rd Army who came first, the Holy Church mobilized three legions of forces this time! What kind of girl needs three legions conducting a carpet search, the God of Sin?”
The knight who finished urinating gave a satisfied shake, while putting on his leg armor.
“…Don’t joke about the Goddess, Duke. Go back and accept your punishment.”
“Yes yes yes, don’t be so serious Captain, I just spoke without thinking.”
“Ask and say less about Church higher-ups’ matters, we just need to follow orders.”
The fruit cores weren’t discovered, and the knights’ figures gradually moved away.
“But I heard that Legion Commander Nick was attacked by someone, and is still unconscious…”
“Could this girl be that assassin?”
“…Alright, everyone keep your voices down! Aren’t you afraid of attracting some beast?”
“Captain, there are 8 of us, what beast would dare mess with us…”
“It’s always good to be careful.”
“Wasn’t there talk about white dragons?”
“You believe those rumors…”
…………
Once I could no longer hear their voices, I finally let out a sigh of relief, fortunately wasn’t discovered.
I really don’t want to fight anymore.
But from what the knights were saying, this search operation seems to have deployed considerable manpower, I need to be careful.
Legion Commander Nick… so that knight leader who chased after me later was called Nick… Originally thought he would be a super tough opponent like the swordsman or the old man, but after fighting realized that wasn’t the case. Though his strength and speed were also impressive, they were still within human limits, incomparable to that swordsman who was strong beyond human levels, he just had more combat experience.
He’s not dead? I thought that strike would have killed him for sure… Don’t know if he saw my face either.
But it doesn’t matter, that swordsman knows what I look like anyway.
He not only knows what my face looks like, but also knows what my body looks like.
Thinking of this, a trace of anger actually rose from the bottom of my heart.
Really, what’s wrong with me. It’s just having my body seen, why would a grown man care about such things… Could it be that not only did my body become female, but my mindset is also becoming feminine…
…….No more thinking about it, the more I think the more annoying it gets.
But those knights mentioned white dragons earlier… are there dragons in this world?
Thinking of those dragons soaring in the sky and breathing flames like in movies, I felt a bit of longing.
It would be nice to turn me into a dragon instead, how cool would that be, why turn me into this…
Whatever, I’ll find a chance to catch one as a mount.
While thinking randomly about things in my mind, I fell asleep without realizing when.
…………
This sleep lasted until everything was dark and hazy, when I woke up the sun was already high overhead.
I was woken up by the heat.
Sitting up somewhat dazedly, gently rubbing my eyes, I just quietly listened for a while, didn’t sense any human presence nearby.
Those knights searched all night without results, they should have completely given up by now?
I stretched lazily, picked a few more fruits, ate them and then climbed down from the tree, walking to the edge of the stream. The clear stream water reflected my face, and I finally got my first proper look at my appearance after being reborn.
The face without makeup was clean and natural, delicate to the point of seeming somewhat unreal. The pitch-black eyes were clear and pure, the back-length jet-black hair was like some kind of precious silk. The mouth was small, and the eyes weren’t the phoenix eyes typical of traditional beauties. The slightly downturned eye corners added a hint of ineffable melancholy to the whole face, easily arousing people’s protective instincts. Though still appearing young, there were already signs of devastating beauty.
I saw a trace of Xiaoxi in this face.
“【Abyssal Language】Always accompanying me…”
I really wish I could have your strength to face life with a smile.
I suddenly understood the swordsman’s hesitation back then. Which man could bring themselves to kill when facing this face, I was even somewhat stunned by myself.
A 15-16 year old girl… tsk. If no one said it, who would think this was a monster that crawled out of the Abyss.
I clicked my tongue with complicated feelings.
The stuffy forest climate made me break out in sweat, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.
Might as well take a bath.
I took off the cloak and folded it aside, then slowly unwrapped the cloth around my waist. In just one night, the wounds had already started to scab over, the bruising on my knees had subsided last night, the recovery speed of this body was frighteningly fast.
I first gently put my feet in the stream to test the temperature, after feeling it was suitable I jumped in with a “splash”.
So cool, so comfortable.
“Giggle.”
The stream was only waist-deep, the ice-cold water made me feel cheerful. While washing my body, I hummed a song whose name I couldn’t remember in the language of this world that no one else could understand.
“…Those who always repeat the same mistakes only…know the blue of the clear sky…Though the endless road seems to keep extending…These hands can surely embrace the light…hmm hmm hmm, la la la la la…”
Forgot the lyrics towards the end so just started humming randomly, after a while feeling that just splashing water on my body wasn’t refreshing enough, I simply sat down in the stream.
The water flow gently caressing my skin felt so comfortable that I closed my eyes.
A new life has begun, what should I plan for later?
Who knows about such things.
Just being a little wild person living in this forest seems not bad either. There won’t be wifi anywhere in this world anyway.
What if I get bored after a long time?
I’ll decide when I feel bored. I can walk around following my mood, see more of what this world looks like. Then choose a town I like to settle down, find a job that can feed me.
Wonder if this world has places like adventurer guilds, being a receptionist seems like a good choice. Meeting all kinds of adventurers every day, having a beer with them, listening to their stories.
If someone encounters difficulties, with my power, I could also choose to join their team, help them overcome challenges, and take my deserved share of rewards. As long as I don’t use the black smoke, no one should be able to tell I’m a monster right?
Anyway as long as I don’t have children, I can do whatever I want.
Let me abandon those meaningless desires and pursuits from before, and live properly once with this monster’s body.