Chapter 9. Hunter's Wife (2)
Chapter 9. Hunter's Wife (2)
It's a familiar gaze.
It's the kind of look village girls gave me when they were seducing me.
"Once he gets drunk, he wouldn't notice even if you carried him away. He'll probably be like this for half a day?"
Helen said.
Somehow, it sounded like a seduction.
Since her husband won't wake up.
How about enjoying ourselves together in the meantime?
I could sense that was her intention.
I deliberately lowered my gaze.
If I kept making eye contact.
I might lose my reason first.
Helen moved a chair next to me.
And sat down, pressing her shoulder against mine.
It was blatant seduction.
No.
Helen is the wife of my benefactor.
Bruno took the longsword with him, but.
He still saved my life from the wolves.
So I can't commit adultery.
That would be worse than a beast.
No matter how much I've awakened to sex, I'm not that immoral.
I just quietly drank my alcohol.
With no response from me.
Helen soon backed off.
She brought a tub of hot water.
"Wash with this."
"Understood."
She handed me a towel too.
As I gathered them to go outside the cabin, Helen blocked the doorway.
"There might be wild animals prowling outside the cabin. So wash inside."
It was blatant flirtation.
She must be scheming to see my naked body.
But I could overlook that much.
I took off my clothes first.
Then I meticulously wiped my sweat-soaked body with the towel soaked in hot water.
Helen peeked.
Her cheeks had been flushed red for a while.
Gulp, the sound of her swallowing saliva.
I shook my head side to side.
Since she'd treated me to delicious pheasant meat, I couldn't complain.
"It's covered in wounds..."
Helen murmured.
"Ah, yes..."
I answered with a bitter smile.
"How did this happen?"
Helen drew closer.
Her voice was full of worry.
Before I knew it, her hand touched my chest.
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped me involuntarily.
The center of my chest hurt.
Baron Kargon's rage.
The brutal whipping from that had left clear marks.
"Oh dear... If you leave it like this, it might get infected. Let me treat it."
"It's fine, madam."
In a situation where I'd already been given food and lodging.
Any more favors felt burdensome.
But Helen didn't seem inclined to back down easily.
She brought a simple cot from somewhere and laid me down on it.
She also brought a basket.
It was filled with bandages and various medical supplies.
"I suspected from the bloodstains, but I didn't expect it to be this bad."
Helen murmured.
In a voice just barely audible.
I also lowered my head to check the wounds again.
They were quite serious injuries.
The bleeding had stopped, but.
That didn't mean they were healing.
If left as is, they really could get infected like Helen said.
If it festered, it would be over.
The medical level in this world is in the gutter.
"Then... I'll leave it to you."
I bowed my head toward Helen.
"It's a human duty to treat guests well."
Helen brought over a wooden chair.
And sat facing me.
After examining the wounds for a moment.
She first wiped them with a clean wet cloth.
Then she took out a bottle from the basket.
When she opened the lid.
A thick smell wafted out strongly.
It smelled like herbal medicine.
"The smell is pretty strong, right? It's juice extracted from Alibeska Leaves. First, we'll purify with this."
Purification.
It probably meant disinfection.
I nodded.
Helen meticulously applied the dark blue liquid—Alibeska Leaf juice—to my body.
Then she took out another bottle from the basket.
"What's this?"
"It's Dashu Root ground up and fermented. Just one sip will make your mind hazy."
Dashu Root juice.
This must be an anesthetic.
I took a sip as instructed.
It was too astringent.
My tongue went numb.
But after a short time passed.
My eyelids grew heavy, as if weighted with frost.
Helen took out a needle.
She heated it briefly over the fire.
Then poured alcohol on it to cool it.
Sizzle.
Disinfecting with fire and alcohol.
Helen's medical knowledge was beyond imagination.
"Does it hurt?"
Helen asked, lightly pricking my skin with the needle.
It didn't hurt at all.
There was a ticklish feeling, but.
The suturing began.
Helen meticulously stitched the open wounds with the disinfected needle and thread.
She had quite the handiwork.
I could tell just from the stitches.
The spacing was even and tight.
Helen wiped down the rest of my body.
Then she laid me on the simple cot.
I was too tired.
Because I'd wandered the forest all through dawn.
On top of that, my belly was full.
As soon as I closed my eyes, I fell into sleep.
Chirping sounds.
I raised only my upper body.
Sunlight poured into the cabin through the window.
The couple was lying on the large bed.
As I got up, the two soon woke from sleep too.
Helen was wearing something like a slip.
Thin fabric.
Through it, the silhouette of her breasts flickered.
I stared blankly for a moment.
They were that pretty breasts.
So heavy, yet they didn't sag much.
"Heh..."
A smile spread across Helen's lips.
Only then did I lower my eyes.
Fortunately, Bruno didn't seem to notice my gaze.
Breakfast was black bread with potato stew.
It felt a bit modest.
But Helen's cooking skills were so good that it was delicious.
"We might seem isolated, but it's not exactly like that."
Bruno, who had been silently sitting and drinking stew, spoke up.
"Yeah. My husband occasionally goes to the city to trade leather and meat for grain. Sometimes he even buys cosmetics for me."
"I see."
Today was the day Bruno went to the city.
Trading city Rafalen.
Apparently, it took three days round trip.
One day to get there.
Stay overnight in Rafalen.
And one day to come back.
"Want to come along?"
Bruno asked.
I wanted to go once.
Since reincarnating, I'd never had a chance to visit a city even once.
Seeing medieval city scenery wouldn't be a bad experience.
But it was tricky.
Because of my status.
By now, wanted posters of me might be up in nearby cities.
Soldiers sent by the baron might be searching for me with fire in their eyes.
If I stopped by Rafalen and got caught.
I'd be dragged back to that dark, damp basement.
"Hmm... Got it. You stay here."
"Understood."
Fortunately, Bruno didn't press.
He just added one thing.
"It probably won't happen, but..."
"I know well. No need to worry."
Bruno was worried.
That while he was away.
Helen and I might get physical.
That kind of thing would never happen, I swear.
Of course, I'm not one who hates sleeping with a voluptuous woman.
But Helen is Bruno's wife.
My benefactor's wife.
If I lusted after her body, I'd become less than human.
Bruno brought a horse from the back of the workshop.
It was an ordinary packhorse.
After loading tanned leather and various forest products, Bruno mounted the saddle himself.
"Then, I'm off."
"Come back safe, dear."
As Bruno was about to leave.
I grabbed the reins.
"Wait a moment."
"What is it?"
"That sword—if you take it to the city, it might cause trouble."
My finger pointed to the sword at Bruno's waist.
It was Yannick's longsword.
If the baron had posted soldiers in the city, they might recognize the sword.
"Got it. I'll leave this behind."
Bruno handed the sword to me.
"Then, safe travels."
"Yeah."
The silhouette slowly receding along the forest path.
Now only Helen and I were left.
Her face was red.
She even licked her lips for no reason.
But that won't make me succumb to temptation.
I have to uphold what must be upheld.
There are lines in the world you must not cross.
I will never get physical with Helen.
"Hans-ssi."
"Yes, madam."
"When it's just us, speak comfortably. What's this madam stuff, madam..."
Helen grumbled.
"No can do. I can't do that to the wife of the man who saved my life."
I put up an iron wall.
She pouted her lips.
"Whatever, come mushroom picking with me."
"Mushrooms?"
"Yeah, there are lots of tasty mushrooms in the forest."
Surely mushrooms don't mean some slang for genitals, right?
Dispelling my worry.
Helen really led me to a place full of mushrooms.
She handed me a bow and arrows.
"Stand guard while I pick mushrooms."
It was a tricky situation.
I don't know how to use a bow.
Then Helen shook her head side to side.
"Then first, I'll teach you how to shoot."
It was a tempting offer.
Though I'm a mage.
I don't know any proper ranged attack magic.
I could learn from Lieselotte.
But since our first meeting.
It's already been months without seeing her.
The numbers were still the same.
0/1
The phrase hadn't changed either.
[Sometimes, you have no choice but to take what's someone else's.]
Anyway, I need a ranged attack method.
And the bow is the representative projectile weapon in this medieval world.
It'd be useful to learn.
Especially against beasts like wolves, it would show its full power.
We returned near the cabin.
There was a wooden target there.
"First, I'll demonstrate."
"Understood."
Helen stood facing the target.
Feet shoulder-width apart.
Eyes fixed on the target.
Soon she raised the bow, nocked an arrow, and powerfully drew the string.
She looked extremely skilled.
Like dancing, each movement flowed smoothly.
Twang!
The arrow left the string and hit the center of the target.
The arrowhead sank deep.
The fletching quivered.
It must have been quite a strong draw strength.
"Come here and hold the bow first."
Helen's instruction began.
From how to stand.
How to hold the bow.
How to nock the arrow on the string, and so on.
She taught me various things step by step.
She didn't skimp on practical advice either.
"You can't draw and release an empty string. It could damage the bow limb."
The string tension was strong indeed.
I couldn't even draw it properly without gritting my teeth.
Helen drew it effortlessly.
Proof of her great strength.
I released the string.
The arrow shot forward.
But it didn't even reach the target.
Because it wasn't properly powered.
"It's okay. Everyone's like that at first."
Helen smiled and patted my back.
Before I knew it, the day was darkening.
The cabin with twilight settling.
Helen filled the fireplace with firewood.
"I'll light the fire."
"Sure."
Helen handed me flint and steel.
But as a mage, I don't need such things.
Mana was sufficient.
I'd gathered it intermittently with breathing.
I pictured fire in my mind.
Striving to feel the heat, I uttered the incantation.
"Fire."
A spark formed at my fingertip.
It soon caught on the firewood.
Whoosh.
"Ma... mage?"
Helen's eyes went wide.