"Nicolas! There's someone injured here..." Since I couldn't even move my head, I couldn't see who was approaching me. However, the voice belonged to a girl.
A few people came over to me. They knelt down and began examining my injured body. I kept my eyes closed, pretending to be unconscious.
"Is he dead?" One of them asked, curious if I was alive or not. Since I was temporarily paralyzed, I needed to be cautious. If these people were killers or robbers, I could end up dead.
"Let me check!" I could sense the murderous intent of the stern-looking man.
"Calm down... Don't you see his wounds? We need to help him!" The girl spoke again. She tried to lift me by herself, holding onto my arms.
"What are you trying to do, Anette? Keeping an injured person with us is inviting death. Don't you see the blood spread everywhere... The predators who smell the blood are surely approaching us at full speed." He was right; I had lost quite a bit of blood due to the wounds inflicted by the Ice Elf. If there were wolves or bears, or similar monsters nearby, it wouldn't take them long to be attracted by the smell of blood.
"So what should we do, just leave him here alone?" Anette didn't seem to have any intention of leaving me behind.
"Tch... One day, because of that sweet face of yours, you'll bring trouble upon us." The stern-looking man grabbed my body with his hands and placed me on his shoulder before starting to walk.
I didn't know where they were going, but I had to continue playing the role of the unconscious person. As we continued on the path, a deep, ear-splitting roar from a monster echoed from the depths of the forest.
"It seems the Forest King has awakened..." The Forest King? I didn't understand what he was referring to.
"Please, can we move a little faster? I don't want to encounter the Forest King," Anette said, approaching the man carrying me with a frightened and worried tone.
"Haaah!? We abandoned our main mission because of this guy! I don't know why we're doing this." We began climbing up the slope. The trio continued to talk among themselves during the climb.
When we finally entered a cave, they laid me down on a flat surface. Anette covered me with an old bear pelt to keep me warm. Then she got up and walked towards the entrance of the cave, continuing their conversation.
I couldn't hear exactly what was being said outside. The only thing I could make out was the stern-looking man's complaints about me behind my back.
I still needed to keep up the act of being unconscious for a while longer. I wasn't sure if those who rescued me were friends or enemies, and I didn't know their levels either.
I could hear them slowly moving away from the cave, descending among the rocks. I gradually got up from where I was lying and immediately began to assess my surroundings.
My first priority was to figure out where I was. It was a small but not cramped cave, big enough for a few people to fit and take shelter. There was a fire burning at the entrance to keep wolves and other monsters away.
My mother always said that predators were afraid of fire and avoided approaching it. I wasn't sure exactly what they planned to do here, so I was undecided about whether to stay or go. If I stayed here when they returned, I might learn a bit more about this world.
"The Forest King..." They seemed to know something. So, I chose to wait. I took out the rabbits I had in my inventory and started cooking them with the tiny flames I had made.
I then began to cook the rabbits by holding them close to the flame. It was my first time trying to cook on my own, so I tried to mimic what my mother used to do. It took a few minutes for the first rabbit to cook. I tried to bite into and tear off the roasted rabbit meat.
The taste was hot, bitter, and unsalted, but it wasn't inedible. At least it was filling. I hadn't had a proper meal since leaving the village.
I cooked all the rabbits one by one and ate them, then waited for the people who had left the cave to return. During this time, I tried to read the writings on the cave walls.
The writings on the walls had a simple-looking alphabet, but they were unreadable. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't make sense of them. So, I gave up on reading and waited by the fire for their return.
After a while, I started to hear sounds coming from the rocks. It seemed they were returning, so I slowly got up. I had to be ready to defend myself at any moment. There were three people in front of me. If they attacked me, I might not have much of a chance, but if I could take down even one of them, it would be enough for me.
"Oooy! You're awake. Your wounds aren't fully healed, so why did you get up right away?" Anette, with her slightly brown braided hair and large glasses, was carrying a sword as big as her body. The two men with her were: one with a muscular build and tattooed arms, and the other, a skinny, tall man with a bow slung over his shoulder.
They approached me within a few seconds. I didn't want to break my silence, but I couldn't hold back any longer and had to ask.
"Why did you save me?"
"Heh? Why? You looked like you needed saving..." Anette asked as she looked to the men beside her for support, questioning if what they were doing made any sense.
"Who are you?" The muscular man folded his arms and waited with a stern expression, clearly expecting an answer.
"I'm just an ordinary person. I got lost and was attacked by an Ice Elf while trying to find my way back." I had to lie. Revealing my abilities at this point would be unwise.
"Oh, so you're lucky enough to have escaped from an Ice Elf..." Did he realize I was lying?
"Don't be ridiculous, Ice Elves are too fast to escape. Tell us the truth, who are you really?" It seemed I had run into some tough characters. Since lying wouldn't change anything, I decided to continue playing the role of an innocent child.
"I swear! I saw an Ice Elf and got injured. While trying to escape, the Ice Elf seemed to be scared and ran in the opposite direction. I took advantage of that and managed to escape, but I fainted halfway due to blood loss."
"Scared, you say?" They continued to listen to my story with astonishment.
"Yes, while fleeing, I looked back to see what was happening and saw the shadow of a large figure. It was moving quickly and followed the direction in which the Ice Elf had fled." Of course, everything I said was complete nonsense.
"Could it really have been? The Forest King..."
"It seems that the sound we heard before we arrived was from it. The Ice Elf was probably fighting it. I pity the Ice Elf, it's a formidable beast that will never lose..." This was the first time I had heard anything about the Forest King. My mother had never mentioned anything like this.
"Who exactly is the Forest King?" I found myself getting too curious and asked thoughtlessly.
"He's the most powerful being in the entire forest. According to the stories my grandfather told, he fought the Forest King three times and lost every time. He is said to be unbeatable; only a few people have ever seen him. He always hides and hunts silently." Anette seemed quite excited as she described it, getting as engrossed in the tales as my mother did when she told stories.
"That's why we're here, to defeat the Forest King..." The muscular man said this while sitting by the fire, playing with the flames with his finger.
"Nicolas! Don't reveal our secret mission to everyone!" Anette interrupted angrily. Her earlier childish demeanor was gone, replaced by a more serious tone.
"Don't worry, kids, I'm really just an ordinary person. I swear, I didn't understand any of what you were saying... All I know is milking my cows and using them..." I tried to belittle myself as much as possible. This way, I'd appear insignificant in their eyes, allowing me to leave when I wished and continue on my own path.
"Come on! I thought we found a strong ally. We've been looking for allies lately. I'd have loved to have you join us with all my heart, but we don't need an ordinary villager who plays with cows among us." The skinny man with the bow finally broke his silence.
"I know, I know... I don't want to be a burden, so please let me leave slowly." I stood up from where I was sitting and walked towards the entrance of the cave. I gave a polite smile and left.
'Phew, I got away cheaply. If they found out I had abilities, they'd be bending over backward to include me in their group. This way is better for me...'