It seemed that I had a real talent to mess up everything. How could that be remediated? Did I want it to be remediated?

The meat was pretty much everything I had in my diet. And even if that wasn't the case, I wasn't that willing to be a vegetarian just because that was how elves lived. There were no adverse effects from consuming it either, at least not so far. 

I probably would put with it in front of any other members of my new race, but in front of her... I already messed up her elf portrayal enough. One more thing was not a big deal.

” That is just a rumor. It depends on the person. Some of us eat and others not. ”

She looked at me like she did not entirely believe my flat-out bullshit but I managed to speak with such indifference that she said nothing else. I was, after all, a living specimen of my race right in front of her. Who would argue with me about what I could eat and what I could not?

” If you say so... ” she said and gave up in the end, not really interested in the subject either. Probably her empty stomach paid an important role in that as well. 

When she would learn the truth, that would be too late.

” Mehehehe... ”

” Why are you laughing? ”

” Nothing, it's nothing... Just a bad habit of mine, don't worry about it. ”

My habit of speaking you loud, or in this particular case; of laughing like a maniac had to be controlled somehow in the near future. There was another person around me and I wasn't willing to be seen as an even bigger weirdo than the one I was already. 

” So Fio, how should be the best way to proceed tomorrow morning? I assume that the faster we move, the safer it will be. ”

” Mm. I'm not so sure myself. Now that the problem with my collar is resolved, there's no need to hurry. But I think that will still be better to avoid contact with any big city. ”

That was reasonable. No need for unexpected trouble. We discussed and decided to make a stop at one of the smaller villages that were in our way to prepare for the journey instead. 

She had wanted to stay on guard for the night but I convinced her that we were relatively safe in the temple and we needed to be in our best condition for tomorrow. She argued a little but complied in the end. 

Of course, that was just my excuse to sleep on the same bed with the fluff and maybe to sneak a completely accidental hand on that fluffy tail. Unfortunately, my plan failed because she was somehow on guard even in her sleep. 

After the night was over and the sun started to peek from the horizon we ate some of the remaining meat and packed the rest to take with us. 

I couldn't reveal my ring to her before to even know how precious an item with space enchantment truly was. To ask her about it was even stranger. An enchanter who did not know about stuff from his field of work was dubious. And I doubted that she was more knowledgeable in the matter than me. 

And if the ring was something super rare— which I was pretty sure it was— it was better to not mention it at all.

We took another trip to the river to retrieve her knife and drink some water. To actually find it had taken around an hour but leaving without her weapon would be dangerous. 

I was also forced to carry my better spear around from that point on but that was a minor issue. 

” Well... You are the guide, Fio. What direction we'll take? What's the plan? ” 

” We need to follow the mountain chain north-vest. We're going to make a small detour and exit the forest first. After that, we will take the less used roads to one of the border villages. ”

Before leaving, I took a last glance at the ruined temple; at my first home I had in this new world. 

In my mind, the old and desolate building had been changed with a place of safety in the middle of the hostile forest. What for others was nothing more than a ruin, for me was something akin to salvation. A lost oasis that I was lucky enough to stumble upon. 

” Let's go Fio. ”

She nodded in return and we started to walk vest to exit the forest. Now that I wasn't alone anymore, the journey would progress much easier.

I was aware that she was pretty strong herself. That made me quite curious about her but I refrained from asking her personal questions. Maybe there was common sense to not ask about level and skills... She never mentioned hers and did not ask for mine either. 

I did not regret throwing some of mine at the beginning. If I had not, we wouldn't have been together at this point. I was still feeling somehow tricked but that was all. 

We proceed further with caution to not attract too many monsters to us. She had as good hearing and senses as I had; maybe even better. The scenario was slowly changing, with scarcer trees and smaller bushes. We encounter fewer monsters as we exited the forest.

” Elizabeth, if we continue this way, we’ll get to the main road leading to Tagar City and also smaller roads connecting the city to the nearby villages. ”

She probably implied that would be better to avoid the main road as much as we could. I agreed with her. It was better to keep interaction with the people from this country at a minimum. 

” So, what do you think we should do from here, Fio? Follow one of the small roads to a village? ” I replyed at her after weighing the possibilities. ” And we are journey comrades now, please call me Lizza. ” 

She looked strangely at me again. Like how someone would look at modern art, but that was bothering me less and less. It turned from awkward to quite entertaining at some point. 

At least she was putting some emotions in her stares. It was always better to provoke an emotion in someone even if that emotion was a slightly negative one. To represent something for a person was better than to not exist at all. 

I could see that she was the could type of person. But even a negative impression could be changed into a positive one in time. The important thing was to be regarded as something in her perspective.

After some time of consideration, she nodded in agreement.

” I suppose we are... I'm going to call you Lizza from now on. I hope that you do not mind. ”

” Not at all. ” I said, smiling at her. ” I'm quite happy that you'll do so... ”

That... was a huge success. I was one step closer to my fluffy goal. And with that settled, it was better to resume the less important problem.

” Soooo, back to the road... ” I said and looked at her with a demanding eye. 

” We could walk while following the road from a distance. That would be much safer. ”

’As expected from my fluff.’

She was a smart little ball of cuteness. Except that she wasn't a ball... and she was just a little bit shorter than me. Outside of that, we looked approximately the same; age-wise at least. 

” Good idea. We will go with that and we will stop at a small village to make some preparations. Maybe we can buy a rucksack and other necessary things. ”

” Mm. That would be best. ”

.

.

.

We resumed our way north following the road from a distance. The time passed without events. At times, I could see caravans on the road. All of them were guarded by at least several people on horses, maybe even more who were sitting in the carriages. 

That was pretty normal if we took into consideration all the dangers in the forest.

I was very curious about the identities of these people... If we were in a fantasy world— filled with monsters and all the funny stuff— then there was a small possibility even for that famous organization to exist...

No... Thinking again, for that organization to not be a part of every fantasy world would be akin to madness. I would start one myself if that was not established already.

I would make it my purpose of coming to this world. For me to lay the foundation of the Adventurer’s Guild. 

.

.

.

The time slowly passed and we had to make a stop for the night. We shifted at regular intervals to be sure that nothing dangerous would come near us. There was not much danger after we exited the forest but you could never be too careful when you weigh it with your own life. 

In the morning, we resumed our trip further. Sometimes, a stray goblin or wolf would appear from the forest but all of them were taken care of by Fiona. 

When the sun seemed to signal the middle of the day, I could see the shape of what must have been a village.

That would be my first contact with the civilization of this world. Not strangely, I was very anxious about it.