"When I was little, I had a good friend. I went on all sorts of little adventures with him."
"He was reckless, careless, and had endless energy, just like a [Gorilla]. But he was a good [Gorilla] who cared about his friends."
"After I grew up, I had almost forgotten my childhood dream. But that guy ca to invite and asked if I wanted to beco an adventurer with him."
"If I had taken his hand back then, maybe sothing would have changed."
Shane nodded.
"So what does that have to do with ?"
"As long as you take my hand..."
Sein was bent over at the waist, his legs trembling. On his back was a ridiculously huge bundle, packed full of daily necessities. From bedding to slippers, and even a tiny spoon for cleaning his ears, everything had been prepared by his brother as travel luggage.
Shane instantly turned into Frieren, his face expressionless.
"No."
Sein: "..."
Beside them, Fern looked at the mountain of luggage and comnted without rcy, "Even the delicate Mr. Shane isn't this much trouble."
Shane imdiately felt as if soone had stepped on his tail.
"What kind of statent is that? How am I troubleso? And who are you calling delicate?"
Stark, standing nearby, also gave him a look that said everything without saying a word.
Shane's rebuttal gradually weakened.
But that really wasn't his fault. He just had slightly higher standards for quality of life...
After all, he had lived through modern life in his previous world. So habits were deeply ingrained, such as brushing his teeth, bathing, drinking hot water, eating soft bread, wearing soft shoes, going to the bathroom at regular tis...
Heiter had once comnted that if Shane beca a priest, his self-discipline toward "daily life" would surely earn the Goddess's praise.
Shane had been speechless at that.
Still, Shane could understand Sein's brother.
When a child travels far from ho, their family worries.
Sein's brother wanted his younger brother to fulfill his childhood dream and beco an adventurer, but he was also equally worried that Sein would suffer hardship outside, sleeping in the wind and eating in the open.
"Lady Frieren, Mr. Shane, please take care of Sein."
Rembering that brother-complex priest's repeated instructions, Shane felt a little emotional.
"Hehe."
Beside him, Frieren seed completely unaware. She was happily holding a grimoire and making cheerful sounds.
That was the reward the priest had given them: Magic That Keeps Your Tongue from Twisting During Tongue Twisters.
"Pretty amazing, right?"
"As long as you're happy..."
In the end, the kindhearted Shane reluctantly freed up part of his backpack space for Sein and helped solve his luggage problem.
The condition was that Sein had to call him over whenever they played cards from now on.
At that, Sein looked horrified. "With your card luck, how are we supposed to play if you're with ...?"
The group began crossing Alt Woods.
Along the way, they encountered a gigantic turtle.
Many dicinal herbs grew on the turtle's back. Sein explained to everyone that this was the Mountain God of the forest. It often wandered from place to place, and its whereabouts were unpredictable. The dicinal herbs on its back were extrely valuable and beloved by herbalists.
Fern tried feeding the turtle so grass.
The turtle rubbed its head against her hand, and the young girl smiled gently.
After carefully circling the turtle and observing it, Frieren curiously pulled out a plant that looked like a giant bulb of garlic, successfully giving Sein a fright.
Because that plant was used to help livestock go into heat and reproduce. It could not be eaten!
"Lady Frieren, throw that away quickly."
The group continued onward, while Shane quietly fell behind and picked up the discarded [Herb].
It wasn't because he was curious or wanted to do anything with it. It was just that, as a sage, collecting strange and unusual things was part of the profession.
Over the next few days, Sein also witnessed Shane's original fishing technique for the first ti.
Stark proudly told Sein that back in the Schwer Mountains, he and Shane had once used this fishing thod to catch several hundred pounds of fish in one go, leaving Sein utterly stunned.
"How did you preserve that many fish?"
"We gave more than half of them to the animals in the forest on the spot."
"..."
"..."
Of course, Sein also successfully witnessed Frieren's world-shaking sleeping posture.
Sein, Shane, and Stark were wrapped in blankets, pitifully leaning against a large rock.
In front of them, Frieren was rolling around the campsite at a speed of one ter per minute.
"Will she roll into the campfire?"
"She has before."
"Did she wake up?"
"No..."
Sein was horrified.
Shane looked like soone who had seen the world. "It's fine. Once she feels the heat, she'll imdiately roll back out... Just rember not to laugh at her fire-scorched hairstyle tomorrow."
Sein looked at the other side of the campsite, where Fern was sleeping obediently on her blanket.
He silently sighed.
Sure enough, children raised by priests were reassuring.
That day, the group successfully reached the northern edge of Alt Forest. After another stretch of travel, they would be able to head to the next town.
Cluck, cluck!
Cluck, cluck!
Several crisp chicken calls rang out.
The three n, who had been picking fruit outside the campsite, all raised their heads at the sa ti and looked toward a spot not far away.
A hen was foraging in the bushes.
Of course, anything that appeared in the forest was naturally no ordinary hen.
It was as large as a carriage, with pitch-black feathers and a majestic posture. Most importantly, there was also a snake head growing from its tail.
"It's a Snake-Tailed Chicken."
There was a hint of pleasant surprise in Sein's voice.
"I've long heard that Alt Forest has this rare mutated species. I didn't expect it to really exist."
"Is there anything special about it?"
"Hey, Stark, have you ever eaten a fried egg that tastes like pork cutlet? Snake-Tailed Chicken eggs are the most delicious eggs in the world..."
Hearing that, Stark's eyes lit up as well.
They had been walking through the forest for more than ten days. It had been a long ti since they last ate eggs, and pork cutlet-flavored eggs at that. They absolutely had to try them.
Shane also grew interested.
"Stealing eggs, huh... How nostalgic..."
Sein cautiously observed the Snake-Tailed Chicken's movents. The hen kept circling the bushes, and from their angle, they could faintly see a huge nest hidden within.
"We need to lure it away from the nest."
"How?" Stark was eager to try.
"This is my first ti seeing this creature too... Shouldn't we first figure out which head is actually the main one?" Sein suggested uncertainly.
Shane rubbed his chin and thought for a mont.
"No matter which one it is, we can separately draw the chicken head and snake head's attention, then drive it off or make it fall into confusion."
"Good."
And so...
He and Stark crouched down. Using the wild grass as cover, they slowly circled around to the Snake-Tailed Chicken's sides, one from the left and one from the right.
Once he got closer, Shane could hear the hissing sound coming from the [Snake Tail].
He exchanged glances with Stark from a distance.
In an instant, the two of them leapt up at the sa ti.
Cluck, cluck!
The hen was startled.
The Snake-Tailed Chicken did not have one useful head while the other was rely an accessory. On the contrary, both heads had consciousness.
At this mont, the chicken head and snake head both wanted to escape, but the two heads clearly disagreed on which way to run. The hen swayed left and right like a drunkard, then began spinning in place, completely lacking any offensive power.
This delighted Shane.
What delighted him even more was that inside the chicken nest in the bushes, there were three whole eggs.
Each one was the size of a washbasin.
"One for each of us."
The mont Shane finished speaking, Sein shot forward and rushed straight toward the chicken nest in the bushes. The three of them each picked up one massive egg.
Cluck, cluck!
Seeing its eggs being stolen, the Snake-Tailed Chicken, which had just been dizzy a mont ago, instantly ca back to its senses. Its sharp beak whistled down as it pecked straight at them.
The three of them did not hesitate. Holding the eggs, they turned and ran.
With [Sprint], Shane took the lead.
Stark followed close behind.
Only Sein was the slowest and fell behind.
The Snake-Tailed Chicken screeched as it chased him, pecking at Sein with its beak all the while.
"Ouch, my butt! Wait for , you two..."
"Hahaha, run faster, Sein!"
"Do your best, Sein."
Shane and Stark did not stop. The two of them laughed and teased Sein as they ran.
Back at the campsite, Fern was starting a fire.
The young girl looked toward the forest in confusion.
"Lady Frieren, did you hear so strange sound?"
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