Chapter 09…
 The Fallen Young Man
Kuna continued walking as the silver wolf led the way.
She moved forward, marking trees so she wouldnât lose her way.
Along the way, Kuna felt hunger and took a Safro fruit from her basket to eat. Each time, the wolf politely stopped, but even when Kuna offered it fruit, it showed no intention of eating.
After walking for many hours like thatâat last, the wolf stopped.
The wolf sniffed the air repeatedly, âHuff, huff,â as if searching for a scent.
When Kuna, tired, looked through the trees, she saw the figure of a man leaning against a shrub. Noâhe wasnât leaning. He had collapsed after knocking down a tree and was unconscious.
Kuna observed him from a distance.
His body was stained with blood, making it hard to see clearly, but he appeared to be a young man.
A torn upper garment had pieces of tanned leather armor and a cloak caught on it.
Hanging from his belt were a small pouch and a water flask. Whether he had run out or dropped it, there was no sign of any recovery potion.
The leather boots covering him up to below the knees looked fairly high-quality. And from the long sword at his waist, he was likely an adventurer.
He must have been attacked by a magical beast. From his left eye down to his jaw, and from his shoulder to his abdomen, deep claw-like wounds had split open his body.
An enormous amount of blood had flowed out, changing the color of the soil around him. It was miraculous that, even with so much blood scent in the air, he had not been finished off by magical beasts.
Kuna looked at the manâs miserable condition and said:
âIdiot, this guy.â
She stated it flatly.
She didnât know what circumstances he had, but he was a man who had carelessly stepped into a forest known to take lives from anyone who entered too deeply.
In any case, it was best to leave him alone. Kuna was not kind enough to save people without reward.
In fact, in Ako Village, the more kindness one showed, the more likely it was to be exploited. Because of that, Kuna had been exiled to the forest. In that sense, this man might even be the bigger idiot.
At that momentâ
Something tugged at the hem of Kunaâs clothing as she tried to look away from the man.
When she turned her face, the wolf had lightly bitten her clothesâjust enough not to tear them.
Though it was a silent beast, it looked up at her as if it wanted to say something.
Now that it was close, the strange, supernatural aura she had felt at first could no longer be sensed, but it was still clear the wolf had no intention of harming her.
ââŚYou want me to help him?â
The silent wolf only looked back and forth between Kuna and the man.
âAre you this guyâs pet or something?â
ăâŚâŚâŚâŚă
Of course, there was no answer. But somehow, she could sense a faint denial.
Kuna sighed and scratched her head roughly.
She moved quietly so as not to make any sound and approached the man.
She leaned close to his mouth, but his breathing was quieter than the sound of insect wings.
Moreover, his body temperature was quite low. Probably because he had lost a large amount of blood at once.
Even if hundreds of medicinal herbs were piled in front of him, he would likely run out of strength before he could consume them.
In the first place, he probably didnât even have the strength to swallow medicineâŚ
(If I could make a potion.)
In situations like this, potions were extremely usefulâbut there was no distillation pot or alchemy equipment here.
While she was thinking about what to do, she heard a strange sound.
Looking over, she saw the wolf nudging something with its nose.
A metallic clink echoed.
Kuna picked it up.
What the wolf had brought was a small portable potâlikely used for camping.
It seemed to have fallen from somewhere, and the bottom was dented, but it was still usable.
At last, Kuna understood why the wolf had brought her here.
Why no one else would have been suitable.
ââŚI see. Perfect for a pharmacist.â
Kuna gave a faint smile.
She felt no sympathy for the man at all.
But she decided to accept the challenge from the silver wolf, which was watching her as if testing her.
