Riku planned to restart his search for Solomon from the beginning until... With the wind brushing against his face, he detected the scent of iron.
Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!
At the same time, he was whirling around, trying to pinpoint the source of the aroma with his nose. The correct term to describe the odor was "blood."
He turned east as this wind was blowing from that direction. Before moving his feet, he took a quick look around to see if there was any indication of a monster.
Fortunately, this path appeared to be much more relaxing. "Even though the environment is like this, I can't let my guard down," he remarked solemnly, hoping that Solomon was not in danger.
...
It was nearly three o'clock now, and he just had three hours before he could use his [Fly] talent. Furthermore, Solomon was the only human he knew who had been in the forest, thus there was a strong potential that another creature was attacking him.
He wiped the tall bushes away to see what was lurking behind them.
Swoosh!
There were no humans or monsters in this location, therefore it didn't appear to be the source of the odor. It was just a plain area with small grasses and trees surrounding it.
"Where did that blood come from? Hmm..." Riku rubbed his chin gently, contemplating whether or not to visit this location. Underneath the golden brown cliff, a small cave had already formed.
He can't lie down and wait for the sun to set, convincing himself that he isn't in any danger. However, a man on a mission already knew the answer.
"Solomon! Solomon! Solomon!" Riku exclaimed, his voice booming.
"Argh!"
Riku was suddenly startled by the sound of a feeble voice grunting in anguish not far away. He was taken aback by this incident since that didn't come from a man.
"W-woman? T-That's lady's voice?" he stuttered, puzzled as to why a woman had suddenly come in the dangerous woodland.
He questioned him, "H-Hey? Tell me where you are?" because he had no idea where he would locate her.
The woman's voice was only an echo, which meant that if he tried to find her, the exact location of the woman would vary. So it will be easy for him if the unknown woman responded to him.
"P-Please help me...!" murmured the woman, her voice trembling.
Riku could tell from the tone of her voice that this woman had severe injuries. He traveled to the location to see how she was doing.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that the voice was only 65 meters away, he wasted a lot of time looking for her since the area was encircled by tall shrubs. When he saw a woman laying on the ground with terrible injuries all over her body, his eyes widened.
She was eight centimeters shorter than Riku, with blue hair, pale skin, thick thighs, and a bust breast. The countless bruises on her entire body, stabbed in her stomach, and shattered legs, however, drew her attention.
"What happened to this woman-?" He came to a halt when he noticed she was virtually naked. He rapidly shook his head, telling his mind that he couldn't concentrate on this problem. "I should do something to halt the bleeding; otherwise, she'll die of severe hemorrhage."
When he looked up at the sky, he observed that the sunlight was unable to reach them. As a result, he ripped his garments to assist her in stopping the bleeding.
"She's unconscious..." he said, leaning in closer to see whether she was still breathing. "Do you think she's still alive?"
Crack! Crack!
He used his blade to slash his garments and then covered the open wound on her tummy. It may have helped to stem the bleeding, but that does not mean she was saved from death. Remember, Riku's only goal was to stop the bleeding; he had no way of knowing if those three stabs had injured her organs.
Crack! Crack!
He tore his garments, even more, to clean the blood from her body before carrying and relocating them.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Riku strewed the clothing that had been soaked in the blood of this woman all over the room. If the monsters smelled the human, they would undoubtedly come here, which would mislead the approaching monsters.
"Ahhhhhh!"
His entire body, including his veins, appeared to be carrying this woman with all of his force. "Why am I in this predicament? Where did I go wrong?"
He recognized that his plan for this world was completely shifting. Even though he wouldn't gain anything by assisting her, he can't accept the fact that someone died in front of him when he had the potential to save her.
...
A man with long silky black hair was running on a grassy surface. Yes, he was having difficulty carrying a woman since she was heavy, and he felt gravity pulling him down. He didn't intend to take a rest after sighting the small cave's entrance from his current location, which was 150 meters away.
Back then, his life was simple since he had someone to do his jobs and someone to always be by his side, just like Haru. If you were the son of a prosperous businessman, it was a pleasure you could enjoy.
There were a few moments after that. Riku and a new woman who would play a significant part in his life arrived in the cave. It was extremely gloomy inside, and the room was too small. The only option was to take a seat and lie down.
The woman's respiration had returned to normal for no apparent reason, and she had never looked better than she did now. Riku had also left the area to fetch some water from the lake.
He knew he couldn't abandon this woman, but what could he do? He needed to fetch some water so that the monster wouldn't be able to track them down because of her blood.
He made an improvised container out of a huge leaf he found in the jungle. When he returned a few minutes later, the water level had dropped to nearly half. As the water dripped down his legs, Riku realized what was going on.
Huff... Huff... Huff...
Riku was panting as he entered the cave, his gaze narrowed on the naked woman in front of him. The major thing that worried him about this woman was her heavenly face.
"Sorry, Yui, but I have to do this," he said as he lowered himself and washed her body with a small bit of water.
Riku wasn't looking at the woman, but his hand was traveling around her entire body, making him uncomfortable because he knew he had struck her intimate regions.
"S-She must be glad because of a precious man like me doing this stuff." He stuttered, then took a deep to clear his mind.
Sigh...
He stated that this was the first time he did this, so if he felt uncomfortable, it was to be expected. These were the phrases he spoke to himself.
Unfortunately, the woman was washed, and Riku threw the used ripped garments back into the forest to mislead the fierce monsters that lived there.
"Phew! It's all done," he said, wiping sweat from his brow as he looked at the woman with three stab wounds on her stomach. Riku could clearly identify that her wounds were caused by the monster's claws since each wound had a little gap between them.
She was feeling better today, and it didn't appear that the stabs had damaged her organs. One thing he was certain of was that this woman would heal in this wilderness for several weeks.
Riku also brought her black knife, realizing that the locals would love to assault someone they'd only met once. "In the meantime, I should relax; this day has worn me out."
The Naga monster's pursuit was the most vivid image in his mind, and he couldn't believe he had survived. He did not realize he had fallen asleep when pondering the error he made when confronting the Naga monster.
...
Riku was able to sleep within the small cave due to his fatigue, and the night came up. He may also use his [Fly] skill right now to return to the Arzotoc settlement and bring this woman with him so that she could be healed.
Swoosh!
His eyes perceived a sharp sound so moved back as the black keen knife earlier in his grasp was already had by the woman. Even though her leg was broken, still, she can draw her knife to kill him.
The woman with aggressive red eyes glared at him, pointing her knife under Riku's chin. It appeared behind her angelic face there was a demon hiding inside her.
In a small kick, Riku would able to stop her, yet he was just looking at her nonchalantly. "Hey, calm down, this is your way to thank a person that saved your life?"