Chapter 9 - Encounter with a Knight
The next morning, Dahlia set out to gather materials in the forest outside the royal capital.
Although it was called gathering, she only casually planned to pick up stones and sand near the road. She wasn't expecting much.
Staying in the tower, the thought that Tobias might come again made her uneasy, and being asked about the broken engagement by acquaintances was bothersome.
If she went to the forest, she wouldn't meet many people, so she planned to spend the day as a change of pace.
She traveled by carriage, but since she was alone, she decided to splurge a little and rented a sturdy box carriage with a metal door, pulled by a trained sleipnir.
The rental fee was relatively high, but the sleipnir was said to be able to kick down small monsters or bandits that attacked during travel in a single blow.
Also, from the door behind the coachman's bench, if she went and hid on the platform and blew the whistle there, the horse would return to the royal capital on its own, even without the driver's instructions.
When she went to make a reservation, a cancellation had just come through, so she rented it without hesitation.
At first, she was cautious driving the sleipnir, but there were no problems. In fact, it was so comfortable that she felt the horse was being considerate of her.
Under the blue sky, the sounds of birds blended together, and the wind gently rustled the trees.
Although the road to the forest was a bit rough, the width and condition of the road were fairly good. Above all, a good carriage made the ride comfortable.
It was said that there were almost no monsters on the way to the forest she was heading to since it was near the royal capital.
However, as her father had taught her, she had brought projectile magic stones used against monsters and placed them in her coat just in case, and she also wore some self-defense gear. She was ready to deal with any human bandits that might show up.
After confirming there was no one around, Dahlia took a bottle of white wine from her bag and drank directly from it.
After taking a few sips, she exhaled deeply. It was an improper way to drink, but it was something she had wanted to try.
The stress of the past few days seemed to have weighed on her more than expected.
She felt like she could finally take a deep breath.
If she continued along this road, she would reach a slightly open riverbed.
Once she gathered stones there, she planned to have an early lunch while enjoying the view of the river. Just as she thought this, a flock of birds suddenly took off with a loud cry from the nearby forest.
The sleipnir neighed and stopped, lifting its front-right leg as it looked into the forest. It seemed to be in a cautious stance.
From the dense thicket to the right of the path, a rustling sound came. It wasn’t a sound made by a small animal.
It was more likely a larger animal, possibly a monster.
Dahlia tightly gripped her projectile magic stone for monsters.
"...Finally, a road..."
With a hoarse voice, a human emerged from the dense thicket of the forest.
However, they were covered in blood from head to toe.
"A-are you okay?!"
"...W-water...please..."
The man, kneeling on both hands and knees, had a hoarse voice, his words barely forming.
Dahlia hurriedly grabbed a leather water pouch from the carriage and handed it to him.
"Drink this!"
The man, lowering his head slightly to accept it, drank the entire contents of the pouch in one go, as if reluctant to waste a single breath.
"...I’ve revived... thank you..."
He collapsed to the ground.
Although the chest part of his armor remained, the shoulder and back parts were torn, and his clothes were in tatters. His left shoulder and upper arm were badly gouged with multiple wounds. His entire body was drenched in blood.
"Are you okay?!"
"I’m fine... it’s mostly monster blood... I got separated from my comrades... ran for two days from the mountain...”
The man pointed weakly in the direction of the mountain peak, which was covered in snow.
It was remarkable that he made it here alive coming from that mountain.
If he had been separated from his comrades, he might be an adventurer.
"Wait here for a moment."
Dahlia entered the carriage, retrieved a potion from her supplies, and poured it into a wooden cup.
"Here you go."
"Thank you..."
The man accepted the cup and took a sip. His eyes then widened in surprise.
"This is a potion, isn’t it?!"
"Yes, I’ve already opened it, so please drink it all."
Once the potion was opened, it couldn’t be stored.
She had poured it into the cup to avoid the man hesitating after realizing what it was, and it seemed to be the right choice.
The cost of one potion was five large silver coins, which, in Dahlia's sense, was about 50,000 yen.
It might seem expensive, but it was quite effective for healing injuries. Life couldn’t be measured by money.
"Sorry... I’ll pay you back once we return to the royal capital."
The man lowered his head and finished drinking the rest of the potion, then he took a few deep breaths.
It was strange to see his arm wounds slowly healing as if being rewound.
"Thank you. I feel better now."
He spoke in a more energetic voice, but his face was still covered in blood, so it was hard to tell if his complexion had improved.
"Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I’m Volfred of the Chivalric Order’s Monster Subjugation Force. I’m the youngest son of a minor noble, so please just call me Volf."
The man was a knight from the kingdom’s Monster Subjugation Force.
Monsters were a frequent presence in this world.
Usually, adventurers would defeat them, and resources like meat, hides, and bones would be circulated in the market through the Adventurer Guild.
However, if monsters encroached on human areas, or if their numbers grew too large or included strong or large ones, the kingdom’s Monster Subjugation Force would step in.
Monsters were a threat akin to a natural disaster when they were numerous or large.
Fighting such dangerous creatures, it was said that the Monster Subjugation Force was composed of some incredibly strong individuals.
"I’m Dahli, a commoner. I do a variety of things."
Dahlia deliberately shortened her name like the man had.
Today, she was wearing her father's oversized coat. She also wore a black hat that covered all her hair, black-framed glasses, and a choker that lowered her voice, with her throat covered by a gauze scarf.
Since a lone woman might attract attention in the forest, this was a precaution.
For nobles, men often avoided riding in carriages alone with unmarried women, so she didn’t mention she was a woman.
At least, this knight in front of her seemed to need to be taken to the royal capital by carriage as soon as possible.
“Dahli-san, I’m terribly sorry, but if you’re headed to the royal capital, would you mind if I join you? I’ll pay you back properly as soon as we get to the castle.”
"Of course. Please, get on."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
Volf blinked a few times before rubbing his light brownish eyes.
Upon closer inspection, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.
"Uhm, are your eyes hurting?"
"Since the monster’s blood got into them, they’ve been a bit off..."
Since the potion hadn’t healed them, it seemed like it wasn’t an injury but possibly poison or an eye disease. It was also possible that the blood on his face was flowing into his eyes again.
"You should wash them off quickly. Some monsters could cause blindness if the blood remains in your eyes."
"That would cost 20 gold coins at the church... I’d prefer to avoid that."
In this world, although there were doctors, it was more common for serious injuries to be treated by priests at the church. It was expensive, with the cost rising with the severity of the injury, but the fact that almost all injuries could be treated was a blessing.
"There’s a river nearby. Would you like to wash there?"
"Please."
When Volf stood up, Dahlia finally realized how tall he was. He seemed a bit thin, but that might be due to his height, which was close to 190 cm.
"Excuse me, but could you sit next to me on the coachman’s bench?"
Dahlia cleared a spot beside her.
"No, I’ll walk to the river. I don’t want to get the seat dirty."
"It’s fine. The cloth under us is waterproof."
"Is that so? Well then, I’ll take you up on your offer."
Volf sat on the edge to avoid his clothes touching hers, but even then, Dahlia could smell the strong scent of blood coming from him. It was clear that he needed to wash himself completely as soon as possible.
It would have been nice if she had brought a water magic stone capable of producing a decent amount of water, but she only had the water for drinking in a leather pouch with preservation enchantments.
"This waterproof cloth is really convenient, isn’t it?"
"You think so?"
It was a casual remark for Volf, but for Dahlia, it made her really happy.
The waterproof cloth was a magical tool she had developed back when she was at the academy.
In this world, there was no vinyl material.
She had wanted a waterproof fabric to make a raincoat for her father and had gone through a lot of trial and error before creating the waterproof cloth.
In the end, she powdered a blue slime, mixed it with a chemical, and applied it to one side of a fabric, then cast a fixation spell. That was how Dahlia’s waterproof cloth was made.
Thanks to that, for a while, various types of slimes were hung out to dry all over the rooftop and garden, and there were jars filled with powder on the floor.
Incidentally, during the sudden spread of waterproof cloth, there were reports of adventurers overhunting slimes. If blue slimes had minds of their own, Dahlia was certain they would definitely harbor some resentment towards her.
"When I first joined the chivalric order, we used to coat the camping tents and rain cloaks with wax. It was a task for the new recruits, and it was actually quite difficult. If you missed a spot, water would seep in through the gaps... The cloth was thick to ensure the wax would coat well, so carrying it was a hassle. After a while, waterproof cloth became available, and it made everything lighter and easier."
"I see. That sounds convenient."
"Raincoats are good too. Oh, by 'raincoats,' I mean the kind of cloak with arm holes made of waterproof cloth. Once we started using them, fewer people in the division developed heat rashes. Before that, even on rainy summer days, we used leather cloaks..."
"Heat rashes, you say?"
Dahlia, who had made the waterproof cloth, hadn’t considered that.
"Yes. Even though it itches, you can't scratch under your armor, and it’s hard to bathe when camping. When traveling, it can lead to infection, and that can affect concentration, so it's no small matter."
It was a more serious issue than she had initially thought.
Hearing the real-life concerns made it clearer where improvements could be made.
She wanted to develop a fabric that maintained waterproof functionality while being more breathable—and if possible, even lighter.
"It would be really useful if they could make a more breathable and lighter waterproof cloth."
"That would be nice. But durability is still a key factor, so it might be difficult."
She realized that durability would still need to be preserved, which might require experimenting with various materials, including new ones. As she pondered this, Volf spoke up.
"Sorry, I’ve been talking about my own stuff. Are you here to gather materials, Dahli-san?"
"Yes, I’ve been checking out a few things around here."
"I’m really sorry for interrupting your work."
"Not at all. I was just planning to take a look today."
As they exchanged pleasantries, they arrived at the riverbank.
This area was originally developed as a resting spot during travel, so it was relatively flat and wide.
They parked the carriage in an open area and both got off.
Volf headed to the shallow part of the river to wash his face and eyes immediately. However, since some of the blood had dried, it seemed difficult to clean.
He continued to splash water on his face, trying to wash it off. After a while, he raised his head.
Dahlia handed him a towel she had on hand.
"Here, please use this."
"Thank you."
Volf took the towel and wiped his face before finally turning to face Dahlia.
The sight of him caused her words to catch in her throat.
His short hair, which had been covered in blood and dust moments ago, was now a sleek shade of ebony.
His skin was flawless, the pale white untouched by blemish. His face had perfect contours, a straight nose, and well-shaped lips.
Beneath long lashes, his eyes were striking—narrow, almost like an artwork, gleaming with a golden hue, like whiskey catching the light. At the center of those eyes were black pupils that would remind you of the night sky.
He was easily one of the most handsome men Dahlia had ever seen, ranking in the top one or two, across both her past and present lives.
While she didn't feel the desire to date him, it wouldn't be a bad idea if she were to hang a portrait of him.
"Animals might be drawn to the scent of blood, so I’ll bathe and wash my clothes in the river."
With those words, Volf began to remove his armor and headed toward the center of the river.
At the sound of water splashing, Dahlia immediately turned her back.
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