Jaegar quickly thought that he had enough time to save both the man falling from the tree and the girl that appeared from the cave. Since he was closer to the man, he decided to jump up and grab the falling guy while in the air.

After catching the man midair, Jaegar immediately hung the man on another branch of the tree. He then looked at the giant wild boar charging at the girl. He realized instantly that even with his speed, he won't be able to reach her in time. The wild boar's tusks were already close to the face of the girl. Jaegar could only clench his fists at the sight of his failure to save the girl from a monster.

Then, a cloud of dust burst from the ground. There was a blast of air that carried the dust toward Jaegar, so he covered his eyes with his arm. Jaegar didn't see what caused it or what happened to the girl.

When the dust cleared, there was a thick wall made of earth protruding from the ground. The giant wild boar's face was crushed into the earthen wall.

"What just happened…? Wait, what happened to the girl?!"

After seeing the large chunk of the ground protruding upward, Jaegar rushed to the side of the earthen wall opposite the giant wild boar's body. He saw the girl standing still with her arms on her waist.

"I wonder what I should call that spell… Hmm… Well, 'Instant Wall made of Earth from the Ground' sounds like a good idea!"

The girl was talking to herself while looking downward at the ground.

"That sucks."

"Huh?"

The girl looked at her side and saw a knight standing there.

"Who are you?"

The girl then tilted her head while staring at Jaegar.

"I was supposed to be your knight in shining armor, but now I see you're a very capable mage."

Jaegar smirked while scratching the back of his head.

"Capable? I'm the greatest mage alive!"

She proudly smiled at Jaegar.

"I didn't know a mage could cast a spell in an instant! You must really be the greatest mage alive!"

Jaegar's eyes were glittering as he smiled back at the girl.

"I don't want to say it was easy, but it was!"

She started laughing.

---

Jaegar and the girl decided to return to Yuberden together. While walking through the forest, Jaegar was carrying on his shoulder the guy that fell from the tree. That person was unconscious and remained that way the whole time. Meanwhile, the girl was dragging the giant wild boar's body by rope, which was tied to its tusks.

"So, what were you doing here in the forest?"

Jaegar looked at the girl beside him and asked.

"Oh, I was hunting the wild boars in the area, but recently their numbers were decreasing for some reason."

The girl looked up and placed her finger on her chin.

"That must be because I've been hunting them for the past few days, although I couldn't get rid of all of them."

"I see. So that's why. I've been wandering around here for days, too!"

The girl looked back at Jaegar and smiled at him.

"You haven't returned to town... in days?"

He looked at her with his eyebrow raised, anticipating a logical response.

"No."

The girl continued to smile at him. Jaegar then took a few steps away from her, keeping a healthy distance between them.

"I haven't avenged the parents of the young restaurant owner yet."

She then quickly frowned and looked forward.

"Oh, so you were the sucker who got fooled by that cunning brat."

He looked at her with an expression that was a mix of amazement and disbelief.

"What?"

"Nothing. By the way, why were you inside the cave?"

He then looked away from her.

"Well, I got lost and slept there. When I woke up, I saw the parent monsters mating. I guess they didn't like being watched, since the mother boar ran outside. I chased after her to tell her I was sorry, but then she attacked me."

The girl placed her hand behind her head and slightly bowed.

"If I was the one being watched while doing it, I'd be pissed too."

Jaegar made a side glance at her.

"I know, right? That's why I wanted to apologize."

The girl leaned closer to Jaegar. He leaned away from her to still keep his distance.

"I think she got the message, since she's not making any fuss now."

Jaegar shook his head.

"You think she forgave me already?"

"Are you being serious? The boar's dead, thus no fussing!"

Jaegar glared at her.

"Oh."

---

They got back to town and decided to go their separate ways. Jaegar wanted to go to the tavern to drop the son of the barkeep there. The girl decided to go straight to the restaurant.

The townspeople she passed by all gazed in amazement at what she was dragging. Most of them thought that they have never seen a wild boar that big. The giant wild boar wouldn't fit the door of the restaurant so she left it outside. She then went straight to the young girl that was behind the counter.

"Hey there, Avila."

The girl sat down on a chair and placed both elbows on top of the counter.

"Oh, Tany! You're alive!"

The young owner and manager with pigtails jumped over the counter and hugged the girl wearing a mage hat.

---

Jaegar entered the tavern while carrying the unconscious man on his shoulder. The barkeep didn't look at the person who just entered his place. Jaegar placed the man on top of the counter, which made the barkeep jump back in surprise and drop the glass he was cleaning.

"T-that's... my son! Where did you find his body?"

The barkeep was shaking from the shock of seeing his son that he couldn't approach and touch the body.

"After killing the parent monster, I saw him being attacked by zombies. I tried to save him. Unfortunately, he was bitten by then. He's been unconscious ever since."

Jaegar turned around and covered his mouth.

"Zombies? There aren't any zombies in this area before... What is the world turning into...? My poor son..."

The old barkeep slowly fell to his knees as he stared at the motionless body of his son.

The head of the man, which was facing the old barkeep while lying down on the counter, suddenly twitched. The barkeep fell to the floor backwards due to the shock. He supported his weight with both of his hands.

"His head... moved! He's turning into a zombie!"

The barkeep then stood up clumsily and grabbed an empty alcohol bottle from one of the shelves. He quickly raised it up with both hands and smashed the bottle into his son's head.

"Ow… That hurts…"

The man on the counter uttered some grumblings and continued to move about. He then touched the back of his head where the bottle was smashed into.

"No! Stop moving!"

The barkeep was now pressing himself against the wall behind the counter, away from his now sitting son.

"Why did you hit me with a bottle? You damn old senile geezer!"

The guy then jumped off the counter and stood up straight. He pointed at the old barkeep.

"You… you were turning into a zombie! I had to stop it!"

"Z-zombie?"

The man was still rubbing the back of his head, while confused by the situation. He looked around and saw the knight he met earlier.

"Hey! You're alive! What happened in the forest? And why are we here…?"

The guy waited looked around the tavern. Jaegar still was covering his face to prevent himself from laughing. Although, some of his laughter already leaked out.

"What's so funny?"

The confused guy called out to Jaegar again.

"Oh, don't mind me."

Jaegar wiped a tear from his eye and then turned to the barkeep, who was still quivering and attached to the wall.

"I guess he didn't turn into a zombie. Good for you, then, old man."

He looked back at the son and pointed his finger at him.

"You've fainted from just falling down from a tree. I guess the Warriors Guild did the right thing for you. Don't wander out there by yourself again, okay?"

Jaegar turned around and then left the tavern. The son looked at his father.

"Please don't eat me!"

The barkeep begged while closing his eyes.

---

"So, did you see any knight in the forest?"

Avila asked the girl. She was now seated beside the girl with a mage hat.

"Oh, yeah. He was with me until we entered the town. I don't know where he went afterwards."

The girl was now eating from a plate Avila served her earlier.

"By the way… Something smells… weird. Do you know what that is?"

Avila looked around and sniffed the air. Then, she sniffed near the girl and realized where the smell was coming from. Avila moved one chair further from the girl.

"Hmm… The knight was walking far away from me earlier… Oh! It must be… the giant wild boar outside!"

The girl's eyes widened with her epiphany.

"I'm sure that's not it… Well, anyway, I didn't think you'd be the one to kill the parent monster, Brit."

Avila placed her elbow on the countertop and rested her head on her hand.

"Well, it took me a few days, but I fulfilled my promise to you."

The girl smiled again at the young owner.

"You did… even though I told you not to... But seriously, thank you."

The young owner crossed her arms to demonstrate her disappointment. But after a moment, she smiled gently.

"Now, we'll have to start building a farm to raise livestock and plant fruits and vegetables, since the number of monsters will start to dwindle down."

Avila's hopeful tone put a smile on the girl's face.

"Yeah, it'll be much safer now—"

The ground then started to shake. Some plates and glasses started to fall from all over the restaurant as the shaking continued.

"What the heck is this?!"

Avila shouted while grabbing the counter. The girl wearing a mage hat stood up and ran to the door of the restaurant.

"Where are you going, Anya?"

Avila stared at the girl.

"I'll check what's happening outside!"