"You! Pretty boy! Do you have healing scrolls on you?! I'll do anything, so please, give me all you can spare!"
"...!"
The maid suddenly turned to the green-haired young man and the next moment, she was already in front of him, lifting him up by the scruff of his shirt and pleading… although any onlooker who would stubble on them would assume that she was threatening him instead…
"Anything!? AHEM! No, never mind. I have a couple complete heal scrolls and a few medium and large ones since I expected a lot of trouble and no healer out here, you can…"
The young man let out a gasp as his eyes widened, but as he was checking the maid's face, he shook his head. He came to his senses and offered aid, reaching out to a satchel at his side…
"THANK YOU! TARGET, MELINDA FENRIOETTE!"
…the maid couldn't handle the wait and ended up snatching all the scrolls and using them all at once the very next second.
"EVEN THAT DIDN…! Eh? Ah…! Oh, that's right…! Melly knows healing spells…"
The maid almost succumbed to despair, but thankfully, something she sensed through the party link made her breathe out with overwhelming relief.
"...gughhhhHGHGHHHH!"
"L-look out! Dodge it!"
As if it was set up, the monster the maid sent flying was coming down with a crazed howl, making the green-haired man shout a warning to the seemingly unprepared girl.
"EH...?! Oh, that."
*SPLAT* *SLAM*
She tilted her head only to look up with realization before exploding the monster's head clean off its shoulders with a lightning-fast kick and seeding its body ragdoll to the side with a seamless follow-up attack.
"Ehem… About your compensation, kind Sir."
The maid cleared out her throat, conspicuously shaking off the dust off her skirt and curtsying.
She certainly acted as if her performance wasn't a big deal at all.
"I… umm… No… I mean, I could never be so rude as to ask for compensation from someone serving the Fenrioette family. Helping out is a natural thing to do."
The green-haired young man took a step back, hurriedly shaking his head as he refused even a notion of receiving a reward.
"...I am grateful, but I cannot just leave it at that, Sir."
The maid made a troubled expression, tilting her head to the side.
"If that's the case, how about a kiss on the cheek like in old stories?"
The green-haired youth hesitated for only a moment before chuckling playfully, not at all serious.
"..wh-wh-wha…!?"
Though, even if he wasn't, the maid certainly did take his words seriously and stuttered, backing off with a deep blush overtaking her face she attempted to cover with both arms.
"Huh…? Hold on! Miss! I was joking, okay?! Joking! I seriously don't need any reward. I will go back to the town and get more scrolls! I'm not supposed to be here in the first place, and I imagine that neither should you or young lady Fenrioette! What do you say about keeping each other's presence a secret as compensation instead?"
Seeing her reaction, the young man let out a gasp and stepped forward, doing his best to fix his mistake.
"..."
"Miss?"
The maid slowly lowered her arms and kept looking at the young man, who gulped down his saliva and asked hesitantly.
"What kind of idiot would ask a girl around his age for something scandalous like tha… Hmm… a-actually… why not…? It's not as if you will remember me anyway…"
"...pardon…?"
The girl, too preoccupied with her own thoughts, fidgeted, glancing time and time again at the green-haired youth's face, making him blink repeatedly, not believing his own ears.
"..."
"..."
Then, the maid approached the young man and, in silence, climbed up on her tiptoes and…
*chuu*
…placed a gentle peck on the young man's cheek.
"Stuuupid~"
"...!"
She then backed off without taking her eyes off the young man and hummed.
"You will forget me anyway, pretty boy."
The maid's expression saddened as she sighed before turning around and rushing off back to where she came from.
"I don't think so. This King forbids himself from forgetting this."
The green-haired young man touching the spot where the girl's lips touched his face declared, watching the back of the maid disappear between the trees.
…and his ability activated…
—--
"ADIIIIIIII~!"
"...!"
Upon her return, the maid was greeted by the overjoyed Melinda jumping into her arms with just the brightest smile.
"I forgot how big of a difference hearing makes! And I can hear everything so clearly! This is so amazing!"
"I'm happy for you, my lady!"
The gold-haired girl chirped, and the maid exclaimed with overwhelming relief, almost sweeping her off her feet.
It hasn't been that long, all things considered, but with her lady deaf and literally defenseless except for her offensive capabilities, those past weeks have been mentally exhausting beyond belief.
"My lady, how are you feeling? Did your wounds heal up properly!? The complete healing scrolls didn't work properly for some reason!"
As the first wave of emotions passed, the maid shook her head and asked to make sure.
"I'm alright! I discovered a holy attribute healing spell with a different color, but I feel great otherwise!!"
Melinda assured her with a laugh.
"Oh, and don't worry about the scrolls. The complete healing is just a fancy name and not actually the description. There is a limit on how much HP they can actually restore."
She pointed out, waving her hand dismissively to calm down the other girl.
"You should see the intensity of the magic swirling around me! The whole thicket turned bright gold instead of white! There must be some books regarding that that I can check out. It does suit me quite well, too~ Oh! And I can't wait to check how much HP I actually have in total now~"
Melinda added while chuckling.
"My lady… now that I think about it, we should get you new clothes too… Parading around in bloodstained clothes riddled with holes can't be comfortable or healthy in the long run…"
"...that's fair… But are there any clean ones left…?"
The maid gave the gold-haired girl a taxing look and pointed out, which made the girl nod and ask her back in an apologetic voice.
"That cutie mentioned… Ah…! I mean, I do believe that there is a town nearby, my lady. We can buy clothes and resupply the healing items there."
The maid hesitated as if being reminded of something embarrassing but nodded and turned away from Melinda the next moment.