Chapter 312: Bunnies Are So Cute

In the dense jungle, Muen and Liya struggled forward. Perhaps because there was so little sunlight, there weren’t many shrubs on the ground, but vines clung everywhere to branches and trunks. Those vines were extremely tough—most as thick as Muen’s arm—crisscrossed like woven cloth. If Muen weren’t cutting a path with Elizabeth, even moving forward would have been difficult.

“Are you okay?”

Muen looked back at Liya behind him. The girl seemed a bit exhausted; her hair was damp with fragrant sweat and plastered to her forehead—like a little white flower about to break.

“Use the Holy Light to recover a bit.”

Muen suggested it.

“No need.”

Liya shook her head lightly. “I can still hold on.”

“No need for that.”

Muen sighed. “Even if we might run into an enemy later, it’s not like it would—”

Before he finished, his gaze sharpened. He clenched the pure-white short blade and swung hard, as if he had foreseen it, slashing at the tiny dark blur that shot like lightning out of the thick vines.

A clear ding, like metal striking metal, threw sparks, but the tiny shadow only stalled the keen edge for an instant before it was cut clean in two—becoming two halves that kept writhing on the ground.

“Another snake?”

Looking at the half length of a tiny snake still struggling and trying to lunge, Muen felt a physiological discomfort. In his previous life as a modern man, he went weak in the knees at the sight of snakes; couldn’t something a little cuter come along—like a bouncing little white rabbit or something?

He slashed again and severed the head. Feeling the faint vibration in his hand and surprised by those sturdy scales, Muen frowned.

“Not an ordinary snake. But I can’t sense any magic—so it isn’t a magical beast. How bizarre.”

Since they had started moving, they hadn’t encountered magical beasts, but along the way they kept running into all sorts of strange snakes, bugs, and crawling things—preternaturally quick and often carrying venom that could corrode rock and mountain.

If not for Muen’s speed and reflexes far beyond the norm, he would have been hit long ago.

“These are... aberrants, I think.”

Liya looked at the red venomous snake that, even with only a head left, still gaped its fangs and glared coldly. She shrank a little.

“I’ve read about them. Even though they don’t have magic in their bodies, their flesh and scales are extremely tough, and their poison is intense. In some sense, they’re even more frightening than ordinary magical beasts.”

“No magical beasts, yet aberrants evolving along another route—is that also the influence of that Calamity?”

“It should be.”

“As expected—this is a forbidden ground. Not to be underestimated.”

Muen shook his head and kicked the disgusting snake carcass into the unseen dark. Excited caws rose, as if rejoicing over the meal that had walked to their door.

“Seems crows are clever no matter the world.”

Muen chuckled, then his eyes suddenly fixed on a spot not far away.

“Hm? There’s a lake over there.”

“A lake? Really?”

At the word “lake,” Liya’s eyes bloomed with a different light. The air beneath the trees was this damp, and they had walked for hours on end—if they could find a pool of clear water right now...

But as if she’d thought of something, the light in Liya’s eyes dimmed.

“B-better not.”

“Really?”

Muen’s smile was half teasing.

“Don’t you want to wash up—soak your feet or something?”

“Of course I do,” Liya said. “But now isn’t the time for that, is it?”

“I see. Then nothing to be done.”

Muen spread his hands and started toward the lake as he spoke.

“Since Miss Liya is so diligent, please keep pressing on. Looks like it’ll be dark soon, and I don’t dare move around this ghostly place at night.”

As he said it, Muen even turned back and waved with a smile.

“Then I’ll go rest first, ‘kay? Bye~”

“...”

Watching Muen actually vanish past the vines, Liya went blank—until a strange howl from deep in the forest snapped her back. Her cheeks puffed bit by bit; she stomped in shy anger and chased after him, scolding in a soft, coquettish voice:

“You... scoundrel, wait for me!”

...

“So beautiful...”

Liya cried out when she saw the lake before her. The still water was like a mirror; the rare clear daylight slanting down reflected a dazzling galaxy. As night thickened, the far shore of the lake grew indistinct—those distant great trees hid in fog like slumbering giants. Beauty that drew a sigh—like all the fatigue in her body had ebbed away before the view.

But Liya didn’t rush close. She first stole a glance at Muen beside her.

Muen stood on a fallen, dead tree at the shore, carefully sweeping his gaze over the lake. He picked up a few stones and tossed them to various spots on the calm surface. After the ripples slowly faded, he turned back and smiled.

“Shouldn’t be any danger.”

“Oh.”

Liya let out a breath, then slowly walked to the water’s edge, crouched, and scooped up a handful of clear lake water. She hesitated, then lowered her head and gently sipped a little. The cool water flowed in and instantly made her feel much better.

“Before it gets fully dark, I’ll go find something to eat nearby.”

Muen’s voice came from behind.

“Mm.”

Liya nodded lightly.

“B-be careful on the way.”

“Okay.”

“Hm?”

Touching his chin, Muen turned and muttered with a playful tone, “Why does that sound like a wife sending her husband out the door?”

But how could that be?

Circling the not-so-large lake once more and confirming there was no danger, Muen headed back into the ever-darker forest—leaving Liya alone, quietly crouched at the shore.

“W-what do you mean, like a wife sending her husband out...”

Having accidentally heard that line, Liya bit her silver teeth hard. But after fuming for a while, she only pouted, looked at her reflection tinged with rosy glow in the water, and breathed out two words:

“Bad man...”

Naturally, no one heard. Only the lake sent out mischievous ripples.

Liya scooped up clear water again and drank a few mouthfuls. Then she glanced around, found a large leaf, and rolled it into the shape of a cup.

“Should let you die of thirst!”

With no one else around, the girl let her imagination run, picturing that guy eating crow and couldn’t help a smile. But when she lowered her head, a cautious holy radiance bloomed in her palm.

[Purification].

The clear water in the leaf trembled, and under the sacred glow from the girl’s hand it became even purer. After that, she set the filled leaf aside, gazed at the limpid lake, and a trace of hesitation flickered in her eyes.

“It should... be fine, right?”

Nervous, Liya looked left and right. She knew doing that sort of thing at a time like this wasn’t good, but she’d been walking so long, and the forest air was humid and stifling. After a whole day, she was covered in sweat. She could even—maybe it was her imagination—smell a faint odd scent on herself...

No, no. Liya shook her head hard and vetoed the thought. The Holy Light passively seeping from her body had a cleansing effect. Even if she went a month without bathing, she’d still be clean and fragrant. How could there be any weird smell after just one day?

But if there really was...

Biting her lip, Liya’s eyes were unconsciously drawn to the clear water again. It would be a bit chilly, but compared to the heat around her, it would be just right.

“If I move fast, it should be fine.” Thinking that, Liya’s hands moved on their own to the buttons of her outer garment and slowly undid them—

“Plop...”

The splash made Liya start violently. She looked in a panic toward the direction of the water but saw only an ordinary fish leaping and splashing back down. She breathed out in relief, but her gaze also fell on the thick water-weeds along the bank. If someone hid there, she definitely wouldn’t notice.

“That guy... he wouldn’t hide and peek, would he...”

“No, no, he isn’t that kind of person... right?”

Liya’s little head got tangled again, but with time already short there wasn’t much room to hesitate.

“Hmph, I’ll trust that bad man this once!”

Liya finally made up her mind. After all, she had seen his. Worst case, let him look back!

So comforting herself, Liya slipped off her outer layer while easing her little feet into the lake. The cold water against her skin made her let out a soft hum of pleasure. The wilds were silent. Even the noisy crows seemed to have dozed off as night drew in. Liya gradually relaxed.

Only, in the deep at the lake’s heart—where Liya wasn’t looking—several shadowy shapes were slowly closing in. Without a sound.

...

“Ha, wilderness survival really isn’t easy.”

Looking at the wild fruit in his palm, Muen pulled a face and groaned. He’d worked himself ragged all day and could only eat fruit—how was his sturdy body with eight-pack abs supposed to tolerate that?

He would lose muscle!

“Damn forest—are there really no normal creatures?”

Kicking away a few more strange bugs and snakes that attacked him, Muen sighed helplessly. He didn’t dare hope for wild boar or deer, but chicken-flavored, crunchy, with six times the nutrition of beef... something ought to show up, right?

In this vast forest, besides those aberrants that seemed to pick their targets and would only frenzy at him, and the crows perched high in the trees, he hadn’t seen a single creature that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) looked edible.

“Hm?”

Thinking that, Muen’s eyes narrowed and he looked a bit farther off. With his vision now, he could clearly see, deep in the grass, a pair of long white ears standing up—like those scantily dressed women on certain Lower City streets at night—constantly making tempting little gestures at him.

“Is that... a rabbit?”

Did this damned forest actually have rabbits?

Muen’s eyes narrowed further. He smothered the excitement in his chest; pure-white blades kissed, a faint arc spread, and all trace of his presence vanished. He crept in carefully, eyes flicking left and right. No matter how he looked, this cute little creature that would surely be delicious roasted matched his understanding of a rabbit.

Aside from being a bit big...

But in a world like this, animals being a bit larger was normal.

In any case—edible was what mattered!

Muen made up his mind, drew a deep breath, and lunged—a starving wolf pouncing! The next instant, the cute bunny nibbling grass snapped its head around; its red eyes showed a savage, violent glint. Then the white-furred belly split open into a maw packed with fangs—eagerly welcoming Muen, who had thrown himself into its arms.

“Ahh, my cute bunny...”

Muen felt his heart plunge from heaven to hell, yet—with no surprise at all—he swung Elizabeth, already tight in his grip.

“Can’t you let me hold onto a little more fantasy?”

Blade-light flashed; blood sprayed. With his footwork, Muen elegantly avoided the falling droplets.

Sss sss...

Blood ran over the ground, and sure enough it sizzled with the same corrosive sound as the other aberrants.

“Sigh. Like this, I guess it isn’t edible.”

Face twisted with misery, Muen picked up the wild fruit he’d set down earlier.

“Anyway—head back first. I’ll settle this score with those bast—”

Before he finished, Muen’s face changed abruptly. He snapped his head toward the lake. Birds flurried in the distance, and a girl’s cry carried over.

“H-help!”