Marca led me deeper into the forest, stopping at a small clearing.
"This herb is called 'cocora'. It can heal shallow wounds and cure mild skin diseases." She explained.
Right next to the patch of cocora, Marca picked another plant. "And this flower can be used as a bug repellent if you burn it!"
"You're really knowledgeable, Marca. I'm sure you'll become an excellent Herbologist like your father!" I encouraged.
Marca smiled sweetly and giggled. "Hehe~ You think so?"
She leads me deeper into the forest, my anxiety slowly getting worse. Not because I was scared of some big monster appearing… Just worried that Marca would get injured in some way if I have to protect her.
I will not allow even a single scratch on her…!
"We're almost there, Astolfo!"
Soon, the forest opened up again, this time to a much bigger clearing with a field of vibrant white flowers. Marca hurriedly jumped down as I cautiously followed, paying attention to my surroundings.
"Yay! The flowers are in full bloom, just like I thought! Look at how pretty they are, Astolfo!" Marca jumped up in glee as she frolicked around the field of white flowers.
"Well, at least she seems to be having some fun." I chuckled.
Just then, I noticed the odd-looking boulder in the middle of the field. It was black, almost, scaly in texture…
"…!! Marca, come here! Now!" I shouted.
Before she could react to my shout, the rock revealed itself as a grotesque salamander-like monster.
I dashed forward and took Marca into my arms just before the monster used its thick paw to crush the ground she was standing on.
"Are you hurt, Marca?" I asked in worry. I was a little rough when I grabbed her.
"Astolfo…!" Marca cried out in terror and brief relief.
I turned to look at the monster, which just stared at its paw in confusion, as if it expected Marca's crushed body to be in its hand.
So, it may have some level of intelligence to react that way. Intelligence makes a monster dangerous. I should handle this quickly.
I unsheathe my sword and smile. I've wanted to test one of these since I got here, and now's the chance… one of my Noble Phantasms.
The Trap of Argalia. A lance that topples everything.
Keyword: 'Topples'.
It doesn't pierce, it doesn't penetrate, it doesn't puncture, impale, or even stab. Well, it does stab… just, like, a normal stab.
What I'm trying to say, is that this lance doesn't do much damage at all. But, damage isn't the specialty of this lance. Its sole purpose for existing is to make everything it touches golden tip touch fall.
No matter what, it will fall.
"GRUUAH—?!"
And that's exactly what happened with this ugly monster.
"Haha!! It looks like it slipped on a banana peel!" I laughed out loud as I watched the monster fall. Even when it tried to stand back up, it fell again.
I guess its luck is just that low.
"Don't worry, I'll finish you off in one hit."
Astolfo has three abilities that I know of from the Fate series. One of them is 'Monsterous Strength'. It's an ability that gives me incomparable strength at the cost of self-injury.
I swing my whip-sword diagonally, activating monstrous strength just before the height of my swing, cleanly cleaving the monster in two from head to toe.
"Heh. Way too easy… Though that ability kinda hurts even though I activated it for such a short amount of time."
"Astolfo!" Marca yelled.
I wipe the nosebleed off my face and turn to face the girl, giving her a thumbs up a a big smile to let her know I was fine.
"Don't worry, Marca! That thing was just a big weakling!"
"Wow ~!! You're amazing! Miss Astolfo is really strong! You're like a Princess Knight from the books I read!" She awed.
"Er… Yes, you could say I'm a type of knight… Anyway, do monsters like that show up in this forest often?" I asked.
It feels like multiple monsters like that would disrupt or even destroy an ecosystem in an instant…
"No, I've never seen anything like that before." Marca denied.
"The real issue is the monster wreaking havoc in the fields around the village! It's eating a whole bunch of crops! It's got tusks thiiis big!"
Marca cutely demonstrated the monster's tusks with her hands placed against her cheeks.
It only took us a moment or two of scouting. I stared at the 'real' monster that threatened the village.
It did have big tusks, but… it was cute? At least, comparatively cuter than the huge monster I cut in two. It was also as big as an inflatable jumping castle.
"Marca… this is the monster?" It feels kinda anticlimactic for some reason.
Needless to say, the Fanged Boar was even easier to deal with than the ugly monster.
Even without my 'Monsterous Strength' skill, I easily carried the huge boar over my shoulder, the only trouble coming from my vision being obstructed by the fur and fat as Marca and I made our way back to the village.
••••••••••
"Marca! Miss Astolfo, you're back!" Seona ran to us and hugged her daughter in relief.
"You didn't run into any trouble out there, did you?" She asked, looking at the Fanged Boar wearily.
"Oh, no, there wasn't any trouble over at the forest at all! I'm pretty strong after all!" I reassured.
"Ah, what a relief! I was just worried because there have been reports of a huge monster appearing in the forest. The Viscount even ordered a company of knights to investigate and to exterminate if it was true. I'm just glad both of you are safe." Seona explained.
Don't tell me… it was that big ugly monster I one-shot? I'm just gonna keep quiet about it…
Marca seemed to be of like mind and also stayed silent as she glanced at me nervously. Seems she didn't want to get scolded by her mother if she spoke up about it.
After a few more minutes of talking, I said goodbye to Marca and her family, gifting the boar to Marca after taking the runestone and tusks as proof for the Guild.
The whole village celebrated. I stayed with them for the night as they cheered my name, a few of the men actually coming up to me and trying their luck.
I quickly taught them that it was a mistake to try to flirt with me by gripping the second guy who came up to me by the balls, smiling innocently, and 'whispering' loud enough for the other young men to hear: "Sorry, I'm afraid none of you are strong enough to handle me~"
I wasn't gonna deal with everyone's reaction if I told them I was actually a man, but my threat worked and I wasn't bothered by men the entire party.
The next morning, I stood in front of the village gates, with Marca and her family seeing me off after giving me the completion tag for the request.
"Now that my job is done, I'll be on my way." I waved.
Marca ran up to me and hugged me. Despite being a little girl, the top of her head still reached my lower chest. I'm so short… sad…!
"Miss Astolfo…! Um… Do you think you could come visit the village again…?" Marca asked innocently.
I didn't want to give her an empty promise… "Well, that depends on how busy I get in the future, Marca… I'm a traveling Mercenary, after all… but if you ever need another request, you can simply submit it to the Guild and specifically ask for me! I'll gladly help you, no matter the price!"
I patted her head, my fingers gently brushing her soft hair.
Marca smiled and giggled at my touch and nodded enthusiastically. "Okay! I'll ask for you when I need more herbs!"
After parting ways, I walk back to the city, which I just learned is called 'Luvierte'. Odd that I've never cared to learn it, but whatever.
On the walk back, a large caravan of soldiers headed towards the village. They simply yelled at me to move and didn't bother talking to me. They were probably the Viscount's Knights that Seona was talking about.
They probably won't think it was little ol' me that took out that monster, right?