Escaping the royal capital and going to Buena Village, the reason is, the wronged party has come to the door?

"That's delicious!"

The vibrant red, muscle-streaked pork, cut into almost uniformly palm-sized, thin square slices, was folded and threaded onto water-soaked branches, moving back and forth through the flames.

With sizzling sounds, the Maillard reaction turned the meat into an appetizing reddish-brown, as bubbling oil and moisture continually seeped out and burst from the meat.

Allen, with water droplets still clinging to his hair, was focused on grilling the meat.

The exclamation came from Lokkishi's mouth.

She watched Allen sprinkle some strange powder onto the grilling meat, her hand propped against her cheek, her mouth stuffed full of grilled meat like a squirrel, a look of utter contentment on her face.

"I've never had this seasoning before."

"It's ground Batil Flower seeds. They have a very slight toxicity that causes a tingling sensation on the tongue, but the seeds themselves are sweet. It's a natural sweet and spicy seasoning. They say the Migurd Race likes sweets, and it seems that's true."

Lokkishi nodded in agreement.

Allen finished grilling all the meat, then placed it on the freshly washed leaves in front of Lokkishi. He stretched, then stood up.

His swordsman's uniform was still tattered, but he had taken it off earlier and asked Lokkishi to wash and dry it. Though it looked wrinkled now, it was much better than being covered in bloodstains.

Good thing the inner lining didn't get blood on it. When we swapped clothes to wash… I still had something to wear.

However, Lokkishi maintained a straight face and kept her back to Allen throughout the entire process. She only washed her hair after Allen had put his clothes back on.

How shy.

She's completely different from the tutor in the anime who would secretly watch Paul and Zenith having sex at night and then break out in a sweat.

[Mushoku Tensei Major Event Participation Score increased.]

[Current Stage: Infancy, Cumulative Participation Score: 25 points.]

[Immediate Task to be completed: Gain Rudeus's favor.]

[Rudeus: Countdown: 87:02:37]

Allen looked at the words floating before him. A sudden bright light from the side shone through the gaps in the text, illuminating Lokkishi's face beside him. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she looked up at Allen.

It was morning.

The dawn light leaped over the horizon, casting a hazy glow between the tree trunks, enveloping the two of them.

Lokkishi's smile bloomed in the light.

—

Because he was deep in the forest, Allen hadn't realized that less than two kilometers south of their location was a road.

When Lokkishi led him out of the forest, he was even a little dazed.

Under the sunlight, occasional sections of decaying fences lined both sides of the road. Beyond the fences stretched endless uncultivated grasslands, with a few scattered trees.

Allen instinctively pulled out his map to confirm their location.

"We're currently in…"

A fair, small hand reached out from Allen's side, pointing to the southwest direction of the Fittoa Region on the map, less than a fingernail's distance from Buena Village, which was circled in red.

Allen turned his head, only to be poked in the face by a stray strand of hair sticking up.

Lokkishi looked up at him.

The lighting wasn't good last night, so the height difference hadn't been very noticeable. Now, under the sun, Allen's 15-centimeter height advantage over Lokkishi was undeniable.

This is a Yordle god one doesn't need to look up to.

The god spoke.

"Given your physical condition, if you hurry… you should be able to reach the village tonight… I-I'm sorry, I delayed your journey."

Allen twisted his slightly sore wrist, a hint of helplessness in his expression.

Lokkishi was covered in grilled meat, wrapped in leaves of various sizes. In her hand, she clutched a jar of Batil Flower seed powder that Allen had given her.

The delicious parts of a Terminator Boar—the thigh, tenderloin, and ribs—were all hanging from Lokkishi.

Of course, they were already grilled, a process that had taken Allen a full hour.

"By the way, can you really eat all this? Wouldn't it be unappetizing once it cools down? You could just kill and eat it fresh."

Lokkishi shook her head, looking down at the scabbard at Allen's waist as she mumbled, "My knife skills aren't quite there yet… I can't cut it into thin slices like you do. This way, if I get hungry, I can just reheat it with fire magic… Thank you for grilling the meat for me and for giving me the seasoning."

"Right…"

A strange silence fell between the two.

After a moment, Allen looked up at the sky.

"Well, I guess that's that. I need to keep going… to the village…"

But then Lokkishi suddenly looked up and interrupted him.

"Perhaps you could travel with me? You're going to the countryside to take refuge anyway, wouldn't directly leaving the Asura Kingdom hide your tracks even better? And with your skills, you could easily become an independent adventurer. After a year, once you've made a name for yourself, you could naturally return to the Asura Kingdom with honor."

Allen was startled and looked at Lokkishi.

Lokkishi's face was flushed, but it was clear she was giving serious advice.

Logically speaking, her judgment was indeed sound. In the world of Mushoku Tensei, there were quite a few oddballs who left home for adventures in their early teens.

The closest example was the strong person right in front of them: she ran away at fourteen to become an adventurer, never returning home, leaving her parents wondering if she was alive or dead.

A bit further afield was Paul S. Xiang, who completed his coming-of-age ceremony at ten and quickly unlocked the "noble multi-person action" achievement at a noble school. Unexpectedly, he was reported to his family by the wronged party, had a huge fight with his father, and then left without a word, and then...

Wait, this plot development... could Lokkishi be speculating the same about me? We're both nobles from the Asura Kingdom, and we share the same surname...

Hiss... it shouldn't be that bad, right? After all, I'm a proper...

"And by then, that girl will probably have given up on you. Perhaps by the time you return from your travels, she'll already have found someone new, and her family should be able to let you go."

"???"

Allen, the "proper person," was dumbfounded, watching Lokkishi speak so eloquently.

He instinctively retorted, "No, you just want to kidnap a free chef, don't you? And a free child laborer at that."

"! No!"

Lokkishi pouted. "Although you look young, you must be over ten, right? How can you call yourself a child laborer?"

Allen blinked. "I'm nine."

Lokkishi was startled, her eyes wide as she stared at Allen. "Nine..."

Allen watched Lokkishi's dazed expression, frowning in thought.

This butterfly effect is happening a bit too fast... I've just interacted with the first important character, only for one night, and I've already received such a tempting offer from a god. Whether it affects future plot developments aside, my rating could be in danger if this continues.

Just as he was about to figure out how to politely refuse Lokkishi, she spoke first.

"Nine years old is still too young. I think you should lay low for a bit, then go to the Water God Style dojo in the Royal Capital of Asura to study swordsmanship for two years before going out to gain experience. Uh... you're a noble, at that age, shouldn't you be gradually inheriting the family business? In that case..."

Lokkishi lowered her gaze. "Maybe after this occasional meeting, we might never see each other again... Rudy too, and you too..."

"We will meet."

Lokkishi looked up.

In the sunlight, Allen smiled brightly. "We will meet. Not just me, but Rudy too."

Lokkishi nodded blankly. "Hmm, it's getting late. I should go too, otherwise, I might not make it to the village before nightfall."

"...Okay."

Allen turned around, but before he had walked more than a few steps, he suddenly turned his head to look at Lokkishi.

"...We meet again wherever we go in life. As long as we're on the right path, we'll always meet again."

He turned his back to Lokkishi and waved dismissively, as if it didn't matter.

Then he picked up his pace and ran off down the road.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Lokkishi felt that his retreating figure had a hint of frantic escape.

She watched Allen's figure gradually shrink, then turned around, walking in the opposite direction from him.

"...We meet again wherever we go in life, huh..."

Lokkishi smiled, then began to walk into the distance.