In Terra, a Hunter, and a Bad Woman

"Woof?"

"The diary mentioned it before. This place is a safe zone... If those 'beasts' really are what caused the problems in this forest, then this weapon stained with the aura of beasts is the reason this place became a safe zone."

After examining it closely for a while, Maria lowered her head and placed the weapon back into the hands of the puppy girl, who looked pitiful enough to cry.

Having recovered what she had lost, the puppy girl became visibly wary of Maria and clutched the weapon tightly with both hands.

And because of that, Maria noticed the words carved into the axe handle.

But...

"I can't read it."

Maria was a very intelligent woman, but... no matter how intelligent someone was, they could not learn another language out of thin air. So she could only stare at it.

"Woof?"

"If this thing is related to you, then what is carved on it might also be related to you... Maybe it's the name of one of your relatives, or perhaps a record of your origins."

Maria stroked the axe hidden in the puppy girl's arms a few times, silently shook her head, and said no more.

That was more or less the end of the matter. Maria had no intention of investigating further. After merely telling the girl to keep the weapon safe, she quietly turned around and headed toward the camp.

There was also a place here where weapons were stored, along with some sharpening tools.

They were rather scattered, but they would do in an emergency.

After picking out a fairly suitable longsword, Maria slowly began sharpening it.

There was nowhere to repair the chips, nor did she have the tools, but at the very least, she had to fix the curled edge.

The dull sections also needed to be sharpened again.

As she worked, Maria gradually became focused.

To a Hunter, a weapon was their life. If they lost their weapon or lacked a suitable one, their lives would be hanging by a thread!

There could be no carelessness in this matter!

Seeing Maria's actions, the puppy girl instinctively watched her.

She was also extremely curious.

Before long, she began copying Maria, taking a rough stone and sharpening her own axe.

However, compared to Maria's technique, the puppy girl was much rougher. She simply scraped her axe randomly with the stone.

Before long, Maria had finished sharpening her weapon.

Then the sound of metal clashing beside her caught her attention.

"..."

"Woof!"

The puppy girl held a stone and vigorously smashed the axe's edge.

Yet she still wore a serious expression.

It was a little hard to understand.

But Maria could more or less understand that the other girl was trying to imitate her.

After all, under the hierarchy of beasts, lower-ranking creatures would always unconsciously imitate and learn the behavior of higher-ranking creatures.

That was also part of the wisdom known as inheritance.

Only...

"That isn't how you sharpen a weapon..."

"Woof?"

The puppy girl tilted her head and looked at Maria strangely.

Maria slowly sheathed her longsword, then held out her hand.

Before the puppy girl could react, Maria pulled her into her arms.

Her soft body pressed through the stiff fabric, their warmth quietly exchanging between them.

Maria used one hand to grasp the puppy girl's hand and make her hold the weapon. With the other, she guided her in picking up the whetstone.

"There is a proper method to sharpening a blade. High demands are clearly unreasonable for a beginner, but what you were doing just now would make even the dumbest amateur faint from anger."

Maria spoke slowly.

Though her words were mocking, her gentle tone carried no trace of contempt.

Her voice was soft, as though she were speaking directly beside the puppy girl's ear.

Though cold on the outside, she was still warm within. Her breath was soft and lingering as it brushed the girl's neck and quietly slipped into her mind.

Just like...

A mother...

"Woof!"

"Watch carefully... This is how you sharpen a blade."

Maria did not notice the puppy girl's increasingly fidgety legs or her restless little ears. She merely held the girl's hand carefully, guiding her bit by bit as she slowly sharpened the axe.

Although a heavy weapon like an axe could still be used when it was slightly dull, that was only when it was slightly dull.

A rough method like the one the girl had used earlier would only greatly shorten the lifespan of this extraordinary-looking weapon.

That would not do.

After guiding the puppy girl for a while, Maria released her hand and signaled for her to continue sharpening it herself.

At that moment, the puppy girl showed a hint of disappointment.

She turned back to look at Maria behind her, then looked at the axe in her hands.

After thinking for a while, she widened her eyes, determination rising on her face.

She carefully reached out, her muscles tensing.

Little by little...

Stone touched metal, producing a soft scraping sound.

The puppy girl held her breath and tried hard to imitate what Maria had just taught her, pushing forward bit by bit.

In the firelight that had just been lit in the camp, the little girl studied earnestly.

The Lost Puppy

"Phew... phew..."

Inside the camp, the little girl lay happily on the not-so-soft rug, sleeping soundly.

Although she had slept during the first half of the night, compared to the exhaustion of her body, that bit of rest had been far too little.

So after sharpening her weapon, she could no longer resist her drowsiness. She fell to the ground and went straight to sleep.

Time continued to pass.

Who knew how long had gone by? It was nearly sunset when the puppy girl finally stretched lazily and climbed up from the rug.

Her slightly bleary eyes looked around.

"Woof?"

Her kind... was gone?

She turned around and searched everywhere, but she could not find any sign of Maria.

Her mood immediately sank.

Even her tail drooped considerably.

Gone...

Her companion... was gone...

Sadly, she hugged the axe that felt strangely familiar to her and slowly walked out of the tent.

The camp still looked much as it had when she first arrived. The only difference was that Maria seemed to have organized the camp during the day. Anything that could still be used had been sorted out, while the useless things had been tossed aside.

The wood in the campfire had burned out, leaving only faint sparks still dancing.

"Sniff, sniff~"

The puppy girl closed her eyes, lifted her little head, and began sniffing the air around her.

A sweet, comforting scent lingered around her.

There was food!

Her eyes immediately lit up, and she followed the smell.

Beside the campfire, pancakes wrapped simply in parchment lay quietly there.

Because they were close to the fire, the food was still warm even now.

Excitement immediately appeared on the puppy girl's face.

But she did not rush over immediately. Instead, she covered her rumbling stomach and carefully observed her surroundings for a while.

Only after confirming there were no enemies nearby did she run over excitedly, pick up a pancake from the ground, and start gnawing on it along with the paper.

Since there were still some supplies left, Maria had been a little more generous this time and added some sugar to the simple pancakes.

There was not much of it, and the flavor was faint, but for the puppy girl, it was a completely new taste she had never experienced before.

With one bite, a faint wheat fragrance spread through her mouth, carrying a subtle trace of sweetness.

This was good stuff!

Girls in the forest rarely got to taste sweetness. Even when they did, it was usually mixed with all sorts of impurities.

Such pure sweetness was a rare delicacy to her.

In an instant, her eyes lit up!

In just a few bites, she finished one pancake.

But when faced with the remaining pancake in her hand, the puppy girl became conflicted.

The sweet flavor surged into her mind like poison, leaving behind an indescribable sense of happiness. Her hungry instincts urged her to hurry and eat the rest of the pancake too.

But...

The girl looked at the food in her hand, her expression conflicted.

At that moment, Black Maria slowly emerged from the forest nearby...

"Even if the danger has been dealt with, you should not have acted so carelessly."

Seeing the puppy girl hesitating where she stood, the first thing Maria did was scold her.

Unfortunately, the puppy girl could not understand the reminder hidden beneath Maria's slightly tsundere tone.

She merely tilted her head and looked at Maria strangely.

Though it was impossible to tell how she felt upon seeing Maria again, her wagging tail revealed her mood.

She was very happy.

After exchanging glances for a few moments, she gritted her teeth and reluctantly held out the pancake in her hand.

After extending her arm, she even forced herself to turn her head away so she would not look at the pancake.

Clearly, making such a gesture required tremendous courage from her.

It caused the words Maria still wanted to say to catch in her throat.

Those two pancakes had originally been made by Maria for the puppy girl.

She had thought the girl would eat them all.

Who would have thought...

She had saved one for her?