Laddie raised her head and said, "It sounds like someone is crying for help!"
Everyone immediately grew tense. Could bandits or the like be robbing travelers nearby? Although the lord beside them had been boasting all along the road about how effective his "Strike Hard" campaign had been, there were bound to be some who had slipped through the net.
Everyone held their breath and listened carefully, but they heard nothing. Queller said with a laugh, "Miss Laddie probably heard wrong?"
But the scholar still frowned deeply and pointed south. "It was from that direction, my lord. Please lend me a horse so I can go check." The members of the adventuring party had been sitting in a freight wagon the whole journey and had no horses to ride.
Paul nodded. "Uh, all right! Ride my horse. It's the fastest of these." With that, he handed her the reins.
Laddie nimbly mounted the horse and said to her companions, "Wait here for a moment. I'll be right back." She gave the horse a light flick of the whip. It snorted, but merely spun in place.
Paul said awkwardly, "I forgot this beast only recognizes me. I'll go up and drive it."
With the situation so urgent, the scholar gave up the stirrups. Paul climbed onto the horse and sat in front of her—Laddie was slightly taller than him.
"Hold on to my waist!" Paul cracked the whip, and the mount galloped south.
Bryce and Schroeder, who had been resting nearby, heard the commotion and immediately ran over.
"Stop fooling around!" Bryce said anxiously after learning what had happened. They immediately gathered everyone nearby who had a horse and chased south together. The adventuring party followed close behind.
After riding for a while, the scholar said, "We're getting close!" Paul pricked up his ears and listened carefully again. Sure enough, someone was shouting for help. He urged the mount to speed up. Fortunately, the trees in this area were not particularly dense.
As they continued onward, they rounded several trees. The horse beneath them suddenly reared up and braked sharply, and the two riders nearly went tumbling headfirst off its back.
Paul hurriedly looked ahead. "Damn!" he blurted out, suddenly filled with foreboding.
A hundred meters ahead, a Black-Spotted Tiger was confronting two people, one tall and one short. The taller person gripped a Longsword in both hands and guarded the shorter person behind them. This animal, known as the Black-Spotted Tiger, looked extremely similar to the Siberian tigers of Earth, though its markings were somewhat different. It likewise stood at the very top of this world's food chain.
Fortunately, the Black-Spotted Tiger had its back to Paul and Laddie and did not seem to have noticed anyone approaching from behind. The two people facing it, however, were in danger. Although they were too far away for Paul to see clearly, their perilous situation still struck a chord with him. He immediately rolled off the horse, pulled out the fire tube, and began blowing into it, trying to ignite the pistol's match cord.
"Damn! Is the fuel inside burned out? Why won't it light?"
Just as Paul puffed out his cheeks and blew hard at the flame, the scholar also dismounted. She removed the Short Bow she had been carrying on her back, deftly drew an arrow, nocked it, pulled the string taut, and aimed at the Black-Spotted Tiger ahead.
Hey, Miss Scholar, no matter how good your archery is, isn't this distance a bit ridiculous? Paul complained inwardly. From here, the Black-Spotted Tiger looked about the size of a toy cat. How could she possibly hit it?
As Laddie took aim, the big cat in the distance tensed its hind legs, preparing to attack.
In the blink of an eye, following a sharp cry, Laddie's arrow shot toward the Black-Spotted Tiger as fast as a shooting star. Just as the beast was about to pounce, the arrow plunged into the fur on its right thigh.
"Roar!" The sudden pain drove the beast into a furious roar, sending great flocks of birds from the surrounding woods flying into the sky. Paul's mount was startled and, with a shrill neigh, ran back the way they had come.
The Black-Spotted Tiger turned around viciously and quickly spotted the people who had attacked it from behind. It immediately abandoned its previous target and charged toward Paul. Because of the great distance, and because it was a Short Bow, the arrow had not penetrated deeply and had caused no fatal injury.
Watching the beast thunder toward them, Paul's mind short-circuited. He stood helplessly with the still-unlit fire tube in his hand, instinctively looking toward the scholar.
The scholar had already nocked a second arrow. Her lips moved slightly several times, as though she were muttering something to herself, but Paul could not make it out.
The second arrow shot out. Under Paul's incredulous gaze, it struck the Black-Spotted Tiger without the slightest deviation and plunged into its right eye. With a vital spot injured, the beast could no longer endure the pain and collapsed to the ground. Because it was so close, the arrow had lost almost none of its force and buried itself deep in the tiger's skull. After struggling on the ground for a while, it stopped moving.
Hoofbeats sounded behind them. Bryce, Schroeder, and the others had arrived. They had heard the tiger's roar moments ago, and upon seeing the dead beast on the ground, they immediately understood what had happened. Inwardly, they all thanked the Lord of Light for his protection.
"My lord, please don't put yourself in danger like this again." Bryce spoke in a stern tone Paul had never heard from him before, with even a hint of anger in his voice.
Paul's face reddened. "I'm sorry, everyone. I... I was too reckless."
Just then, the two people who had been confronting the Black-Spotted Tiger walked over and thanked them. "Thank you ever so much for coming to our aid. May we ask your names?"
Paul caught his breath and looked at the two of them. They were both women—and both beautiful. The taller beauty was over 1.7 meters tall, with black hair, delicate features, and a resolute expression. It seemed the crisis just now had not caused her to panic excessively. The petite beauty she had protected behind her still looked shaken, her breathing somewhat rapid. The girl was about as tall as Paul, and probably around his age as well. She had a head of bright blond hair and snow-white, tender skin. The flush on her cheeks had yet to fade after the recent danger, giving her a different kind of adorable charm.
Paul tidied his hair, placed a hand over his chest, and introduced himself. "I am Paul Greiman, lord of the Arda Earl Territory in the Northwest Bay of the Auldo Kingdom. Welcome to my territory. May I ask who you are?"
"We've already reached the Northwest Bay?" The two beauties, one tall and one short, exchanged bewildered glances.
Uh... It looks like these two are lost.
Before you continue