Chapter 6 – Lily (3)
The question was cut off by Russ.
Lily, startedled again, grabbed Stachis by the waist.
Russ was approaching to the left of Stachis and Lily’s horse.
Russ didn’t even look at Lily, only Starchis.
“Are you all here?”
Starchis put his hand to his eyes and looked away from the sun.
This was a forest area. I couldn’t see it well because of the dense trees, but maybe it’s because I’m on a highland?
If you set the angle right, you could see a glimpse of the village below, and if you looked up at the sky, you could see a faint line of smoke rising from a fire.
“That’s right. It looks over there. Everything is here.”
“Yes. So stop talking now. You did it all day.”
Russ didn’t look happy. She seemed sensitive.
It was felt that the original way of speaking, speaking a little softly and turning around, had changed to a little more direct.
Starchis must have felt it too, so he took her eyes off the village and looked at Russ.
And when Russ looked at him, she turned her head away from him and looked the other way as if pouting.
Vien came to their right and spoke to Stachis.
“…Great?”
“..Uh? What..?”
“Done.”
Not only Russ, but even Bien seemed to be in a bad mood. Starchis was taken aback by the sudden situation.
“That… Hey guys. What’s wrong?”
“No.”
“No.”
But why Starchis’s voice seemed to be heard by Lily as well.
Starchis sighed as he watched the two of them.
“That… Under. Talk to you later You have to be careful here. It’s fine because it’s still out of town, but I don’t know how big this pack is or what kind of wolves they are.”
“…”
“…”
They both didn’t answer. Umm… Lily could hear Stachis groan quietly.
.
.
But after that, the eyes of Russ and Vien changed.
He turned his head nonstop and checked every nook and cranny, and at the slightest rustling sound, the two women’s gazes headed there at the same time.
Although they spoke a little bluntly, they were faithfully fulfilling their roles.
Starchis also looked around quietly now.
Except for the purr of words, the party fell into complete silence.
Along with the silence, tension also creeped up.
Scouting missions are always like this. Not knowing what the enemy is like, there is always a lot of tension.
If it was a normal pack of wolves, no matter how big the party was, it would be possible to subjugate each other, but if it was a pack of wolves with the character of monsters, the party could be in danger depending on the size .
Of course, as it was just a reconnaissance mission, the probability of falling into danger was not high, but because Starchis emphasized safety several times as the party’s belief, the party members were more cautious.
The road to the village was downhill.
As we descended this gentle slope, the trees grew thicker and denser.
It also made it darker because of the sun.
The village that I had seen before was rather invisible now.
Stachis said just when he felt uncomfortable riding.
“Ruler. Let’s tie the horse here. It’ll be later to ride. Everyone get off.”
Starchis dismounted first.
It was impressive to see him leaping easily over one foot over the horse’s head.
“Ruler.”
Starchis reached out to his Lily.
Everyone in the party flinched at the sight.
“Uh… Huh?”
“You won’t be able to get off Lily’s horse.”
He was right. Because she wasn’t used to her words, she was actually Lily, who was contemplating how to get off.
Starchis, who was accustomed to being considerate, did not easily forget these facts.
Lily stretched out a hand with her cheek blushing. But Stachis shook his head.
“I can’t come down like this. I come with the idea of putting both of her hands on my neck.”
Pooh-! Purr–!
Russ’s horse suddenly runs amok.
Starchis turned his head.
“Russ…! Calm down! There’s nothing wrong with being careful here.”
“…”
Russ doesn’t answer.
“Why are you doing that again…”
Starchis murmured, then turned his head back to Lily. Both of her hands were outstretched.
“Come on, hurry up. We don’t have time to finish it all within today. The sun is still up, but if you look at it this dimly, you won’t be able to see anything until evening.”
“…Well, then. Excuse me…”
Lily turned around and stretched out her hands. Still, there was a distance.
Slowly and carefully, Lily laid her body against Starchis. Lily, who was leaning forward, lost her balance and fell towards Starchis.
Width
Starchis put her arms under her Lily’s armpits to support her, and Lily wrapped her arms around her neck in her Starches.
Feeling the urge again, Lily hugged Stachis with more force than necessary.
Stachis took one step backwards and pulled her Lily, and Lily dismounted from her horse.
“It’s okay.”
But even though Lily’s feet touched her ground, Lily didn’t let go of her starches.
Lily was sniffing the nape of his neck before she knew it.
It was the moment when her smell fetish first blossomed. Very suddenly, purely because of Starchis.
“Um… Lily?”
When she wouldn’t let go of him, her taller Stachis naturally wrote.
Lily was on her tiptoe and didn’t fall off him.
“That, Lily? Please leave now.”
She patted her on the back.
“Hee! Ah! Ah.. I’m sorry.”
-Took
For a moment, it felt like a small pebble hitting Lily’s head.
She turned to see Vien mounted on her horse with her head turned.
It was Lily who she thought was Ki-woo.
Anyway, Lily untied his arm. She didn’t even understand her own actions.
She also realized that her face was closer than she thought.
Stachis said as he was about to get sick of shame again.
“Ah, you’re more timid than I thought. I guess you were scared of falling off your horse? I thought you weren’t scared when the monsters’ heads exploded, haha…”
She was the one who made a little joke and laughed coyly.
Lily felt more grateful than embarrassed or sorry to see him like that.
She liked the way she tried to lighten her mood with idle words, fearing that she would make herself uncomfortable again.
“Chiss. Didn’t you just tell me that there’s nothing wrong with being careful?
Russ gets off her horse and comes over to talk to her. She opened her eyes and her expression was stern. Unlike before, she did not hide her uncomfortable expression.
“Kko… What’s wrong with you.. Lily-san uncomfortable.”
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“Me, I’m uncomfortable too.”
Starchis stood between Lily and Russ. Then, unknownst to Russ, she patted Lily on the arm feeling sorry.
“I’m sorry. I was too relaxed while giving you attention, right?”
“I don’t know. Do it yourself.”
So Russ turns around. But she doesn’t move. She seemed to come quickly and soothe her.
Starchis flies away in an instant and stands next to her, patting her on the back and stroking her.
The soothing look seemed so familiar. Starchis’ apologetic expression is a bonus.
“Russ, take off your anger. This is really my fault. I’ll do better myself, but I’ll just tell you something. You’re a leader you can’t trust, right?”
Stachis now patted Russ’s arm up and down with her arm behind her back.
Perhaps because of that effort, Russ’ tone had softened a little.
“I didn’t even say that. Just be careful next time.”
“Okay. If I’m going to say something next, I’ll do it first.”
When Stachis laughed haha at Russ’ anger, Russ playfully pushed Stachis with her elbow.
And then she smiled.
“Well then, shall we go again?”
“..Huh.”
But it wasn’t over.
Starchis immediately felt uneasy. She turned to see Bien still on her horse, with her arms crossed.
“Can’t I help you?”
“Bien, you get on and off well.”
“Help me.”
“Why?”
“Are you discriminating?”
Starchis stiffened with a bewildered expression, then changed his expression and smiled as he approached.
“There’s no way to discriminate. Okay. Is it because it’s hard to come? You say that.”
Starchis reached out her hands in front of Bien’s horse this time.
When he reached out his hand, his cheeks blushed and he hugged him without hesitation.
As if he had waited, Starchis received Bienne, who threw his body.
“Oh! Come on, take it easy.”
Bien doesn’t answer and clings to him.
His arms were wrapped around his neck and his legs were wrapped around his waist.
And with that, her eyes were fixed on Lily over her shoulder.
Noticing her gaze, Lily covered her eyes with something uneasy.
****
It’s been a while since I got off my horse and looked around the forest looking for traces.
As the sun went down and the leaves covered even the light, it soon became dark.
She thought they were coming soon, but when she got there, she realized it was too late.
Whoops!
As the whistling sound cut through the forest, the scattered party members headed for it.
Starchis was standing there.
“Huh. I can’t do it. Guys, let’s go to the village. It’s dangerous anymore.”
“You mean?”
“It’ll be fine. Looking around, I don’t think this is the scope for activity. And if you make a mistake while leading a horse in a dark place like this, the horse might fall badly. Let’s leave the horse behind .”
“Okay.”
Russ and Stachis were talking. Following the words of their leader, Stachis, the party decided to stop searching and head to the village.
It was a decision no one was willing to make. Depending on the species of wolf, it could be an urgent situation, but having to take a day off was just inconvenient. No one knows what the outcome of this choice will be.
But Starches made a decision. Because he always puts safety first, it was not acceptable to be attacked by wolves when it got darker and he didn’t know the way.
There is no such thing as a 100% safe option.
Perhaps wolves with the character of monsters may attack the village today.
Returning to the village might be a more risky choice.
However, Stachis decided to rule out that possibility and think about it.
“Bien, which direction is the village?”
“There.”
Bien points in the direction. The moment I spoke, I could feel it getting darker and darker.
“I have to hurry a little. It’s getting dark sooner than I thought.”
The forest was also a forest, but the sun was losing quickly. A day, as is often said, was a short day.
Stachis started walking in the direction Bien pointed.
The road was rough. There were bumpy stones here and there, and going straight was unthinkable.
Trees are blocking all over the place, turning here, turning there, going up and down, it was such a difficult road to walk on.
“The length… Ha…! Whoo..! Why are you like this..”
Bien complained quietly.
The road was strange, so I didn’t go as fast as I thought.
Anxiety began to settle in Starchis’ mind.
Couldn’t his mistake in judgment put the whole party in danger?
Darkness did not wait for them and continued to roll in.
****
Long walk.
Starchis paused to unpack the bag.
“Guys, are you okay? It’s too dark. So watch your ankles. And Mr. Lily?”
Slightly gasping for breath, Lily answered Stachis’ words. Starchis took something out of his bag.
“Light a fire here.”
It was a torch. Lily, who had been following Stachis while looking behind her, finally felt that the surroundings were darker than she thought.
After a moment of being started by the darkness, Lily snapped her finger – and the torch ignited.
When it’s bright, you realize how dark it was before.
The torch lighted the way farther than she thought.
“Everyone, let’s go quickly.”
Starchis rewound her bag and held the torch high. Starchis’s impatience was also contagious to the party members.
Even though Starchis was speeding up, everyone followed without a word and paid more attention to his surroundings.
– Rustling
Breathing and the sound of them stepping on fallen leaves were the only sounds.
It was to the point where I had the illusion that the sound of stepping on the leaves echoed.
How long did it take again
“…?”
Stachis felt puzzled and stopped right where he was.
Other party members followed him and stopped.
“Chiss, why?”
Maybe because of the tension that had built up so far, Russ whispered to him in her whisper.
However, Starchis showed a different side than usual. He didn’t answer and was concentrating on his surroundings.
Starchis took a few more steps and then came to a stop.
-…Basrak
Even after the Starchis had stopped, the sound of stepping on the leaves was clearly audible.
And the whole party heard it.
It was a moment when Stachis’ actions were understood without explanation.
Lily could feel her goose bumps on her.
No way, they didn’t know that something was following their steps.
It may be an illusion.
It might just be the wind.
But couldn’t confirm.
The range of the torches was limited, and now it was pitch-black darkness outside the area of the torches.
There was very little light in the forest.
“Mr. Lily. Light it up just once.”
Stachis spoke to Lily quietly with a firm expression.
Although the volume of her voice was low, it was so clear to Lily that she couldn’t even think of making a sound.
“Right now?”
“Count to three in your mind and light it up. And kids, get ready for battle.”
Starchis said while holding one side of the tonfa in one hand. The opposite hand still held the torch high.
Russ also drew her sword and lifted her shield from her shoulder.
…Two, one.
After counting all the numbers in Lily’s mind, she casts a spell. I hope this situation that may be in danger is an illusion.
“…Light.”
The light from her hand comes out like a firecracker and stretches all over her. Everyone lowered their stance a little and adjusted their preparations.
-Pop!
The magic light that went up exploded and the surroundings brightened.
The darkness that was outside the range of the torch disappears.
And they saw
Dozens of wolves surrounded them and watched them in the dark, from among the trees.
Each one had a size different from that of normal wolves. If not, it looked three times bigger.
“Haha… Such crazy.”
This was the first time Lily saw Stachis swear.
“It’s a Tiger Wolf.”
