“I can be her bodyguard.”

Adar stepped up.

“I’m an assassin, which means out of all of us, I’m the least affected by corrupted mana. Disguising my presence and moving stealthily is a piece of cake for me. As for keeping Kakana’s identity a secret... Why don’t we think about that later?”

We’ll be leaving as soon as we get our mana back anyway.

Adar grinned.

“So, what’s there to worry about?”

The other heroes smiled silently in response.

It was the kind of smile that would chill the empire to the core.

Kakana, who one could say was in the eye of the storm, was sound asleep and drooling.

In her slumber, her dreams played out like a sweet lullaby.

Part 2. The Beginning of a Legend

Time flew by. Already a week had passed since I had let them in.

I had been cooped up in the research lab the whole time. As a result, I was able to discover the ratio of the best possible combination.

Of course, it was all just theory and speculation at this point, and I had yet to begin any actual experimentation with any herbs.

Since it required many rare herbs, I decided to visit the village at a much earlier date, which was just around the corner.

Before heading out to the village, I checked my notes one final time, just in case there were any flaws in my research.

My feet were already guiding me to the research lab without me having to look up where I was going.

This was my habit—walking while doing my work. Suddenly, I crashed into something.

Rubbing my forehead, I picked up the notebook I had dropped.

I glanced up and saw a black outfit.

It was obvious who that was. I raised my head, grumbling to myself.

Just as I thought, it was Adar. He put on a smile like he was trying to mimic Chellus, but it felt completely different on him.

“Don’t forget breakfast, Kakana.”

As soon as I heard him, I felt a lump in my throat. I cried out:

“Just how much do you plan to feed me? I’m about to gain weight because of you, Adar.”

“Shouldn’t an herbalist know the importance of not skipping meals?”

“And why do you care about my health? I can take care of myself.”

“Aha, is that why you passed out?”

That shut me up immediately.

Adar was referring to what had happened three days ago.

I had been so engrossed in my research on trying to work out an antidote that I had worked until I felt light-headed and eventually passed out. It had taken half a day for Chellus to discover me.

These things happen in life, but Adar wouldn’t let it go. He would constantly say stuff like...:

Why aren’t you eating anything else? Don’t be picky with your food. Eat this, eat that.

Ugh... I grimaced. I was getting sick and tired of his nagging. Adar continued to nag, but this time in a more soothing voice.

“I made a sandwich for you today. It’s filled with all your favorite veggies. It won't take as long to eat as the last one. Trust me.”

Adar patted my back and led me to the kitchen.

I sat on the table and stared at the sandwich with an angry face. The toast was grilled until golden brown, and a spicy sauce dripped out from the sides.

Funny enough, watching that made my stomach growl.

I must have gotten used to Adar’s cooking already.

For sheep anthropomorphs, eating meat gave us stomachaches. Taking that into consideration, he made vegetarian dishes so delicious they melted in my mouth.

I forcibly grabbed the sandwich and took a bite.

It was annoying how delicious it was.

Adar sat across from me. Watching my face being stuffed with food, he blurted out:

“Cute.”

“Blegh.”

I picked off a crumb of bread and threw it on his face.

Why did he have to be like that every time I made a face?

“Geez, you’re sadistic.”

“Well, I do have that side in me.”

Adar said with a grin.

How could he be so shameless? I glared at him in anger. Then, munching on my sandwich, I informed him.

“I’m going to the village tomorrow.”

Hm. Adar rested his chin on his hands and appeared to be immersed in thought.

I used the rest of the bread to wipe down the sauce on the plate. I continued to talk while I ate.

“I need to get groceries. And herbs, too.”

“Where are you going?”

“A little far. It’s a rare herb, so I have to go to a big city to find it. There’s a small village just outside the Forest of Death. I’ll buy a teleportation scroll from there.”

“How about money? You’ll need to buy at least two scrolls.”

“One is enough. Why would I need two?”

My eyes widened. I stared at him.

Adar explained nonchalantly.

“We need two scrolls, including mine.”

“What are you talking about? Who said you’re coming along?”

“I did.”

He answered with a smile still on his face.

I jumped out from my seat.

I wanted to shout at him. Why did it have to be him of all people? But even Adar might feel hurt if I said that out loud, so I managed to hold my tongue just in time.

Gripping my forehead, I started thinking about it. Adar and I bickered the most in this house.

It wasn’t going to be easy traveling with him.

Though I understood why it was necessary for him to come along, couldn’t it be someone else?

‘Why him?’

Just as I thought, it was impossible.

Instead of arguing with him, though, I glanced around the room.

I wouldn’t be freaking out like this if I could just persuade him in some way.

But Adar was a master of wordplay.

The fact that I’m now regularly eating three meals a day is testimony to that.

I definitely needed someone who would take my side on this important matter.

It just so happened that everyone was coming down to the living room.

Chellus caught my eyes, but since he was hardheaded, I wasn’t sure he would listen to me.

Almoer was hard to approach, and Snoa appeared cold despite his gentle tone.

In the end, I dashed over to Halik, who was yawning from ear to ear.

“Halik! Hear me out. Can you believe what Adar said?!”

“Take him with you.”

He replied without even bothering to listen to me.

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. I felt like I had been stabbed in the back by my closest friend.

When Halik finally saw my face, he bit his tongue and became restless. Stumbling over his words, he tried to explain.

“I-it’s dangerous, Kakana. The army of the empire must have the entire Forest of Death surrounded by now. How do you plan to get past them?”

“I didn’t say I don’t need a bodyguard. But I want to go with someone else.”

“The village won’t be like how it used to be. They’ll be checking everyone’s identity. Adar’s the best out of all of us at sneaking around. He’s an assassin, after all.”

It was a first for me to see Halik arguing so stubbornly.

They must have already decided on some sort of plan behind my back.

Otherwise, there was no way Halik would treat me like this. He usually let me have my way.

With a grimace, I glared at Adar.

He took a sip of his hot black tea and said:

“I told you not to hate me so much.”

With a cold stare, I looked him over from top to bottom and then let out a sigh.

What Halik said was reasonable. I couldn’t continue being so stubborn about this. My stomach turned.

Whenever I visited the village, I always wore a hooded robe.

Since it was a common outfit, it didn’t look particularly suspicious, and it covered my horns.

But by now, the empire was probably flipping out and desperate to find the heroes. Without a doubt, they would take off my hood.

It was safe to assume that all anthropomorphs were considered slaves.

If anyone saw my horns, I’d be captured on the spot. Even if I somehow managed to escape, some scabby group of kidnappers would surely come after me. Then, I’d be sold as a sex slave to some pot-bellied aristocrat.

My body trembled for a moment.

To make matters worse, I was going into heat next week.

Needless to say, I had long ago developed a medicine to disrupt my hormones and mana points. This would prevent me from going into heat.

The medicine came with a side effect of making me feverish, so I would be bedridden all day, but it was better than being in pain for a whole week.

‘When I go into heat, it’s still a problem regardless if I take medicine or not due to the side effects. I need to hurry up.’

I had to get everything done before the beginning of next week.

With the empire on edge, our movements would be limited, and the journey might take longer.

Now that it had come to this, I had no choice but to take full advantage of Adar.

Devising a plan, I observed Adar from head to toe with scheming eyes.

‘I guess I should unblock the mana points at least a little before we go.’

Wondering which needle to use, I announced:

“I’ll be going to the village first thing tomorrow, so let’s do something about Adar’s mana right now.”

Adar, who was leisurely savoring the scent from his black tea, looked up at me with a rare look of surprise on his eyes.

Confused by his reaction, I stared back up at him.

He stopped drinking and set down the tea on a coaster.

“Mana?”

Adar spoke in an unusual tone as though he had never heard the word before.

“Yeah, mana.”

A thin needle should work.

I answered half-heartedly as I wondered about which needle to use. Suddenly, a faint whiff of something tickled my nose. My eyes shot wide open.

There was a smell of old, aged wine coming from somewhere.

It was a rich and scorching scent.

I stared wide-eyed at Adar who had come closer.

‘Is the scent coming from Adar?’

I secretly sniffed him and turned pale.

The scent was indeed coming from Adar’s body.

I felt like I’d be completely intoxicated if I continued smelling it.

Without a doubt, I was going into heat soon.

If I could already smell the scent of humans, then it was highly likely that I’d go into heat starting next Monday.

“Come up to my room! Right now!”

Feeling pressed for time, I turned in a hurry and then froze on the spot. I stood there standing as four pairs of eyes looked intensely at me.

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that...?”

“What do you mean you’ll do something about his mana? Is there a way to unblock our mana even just the slightest bit while we wait around for an antidote?”

Halik asked in a low, trembling voice.

His voice was tense but also anxious.

I found it peculiar and nodded my head.

“I can release it a little.”

Halik squeezed his fists.

That was when I finally realized they were hungry for mana. I felt a little dumbfounded.

“Then could we also get acupuncture, please?”

Chellus requested politely.

“No, I can’t do that. I won’t be by your side. It’s dangerous to unblock mana points, using acupuncture without medicine, which is why I haven’t done it yet. As for Adar, I can take care of him if anything happens.”

“Wow, what an honor.”

Adar grinned with a teasing tone, clearly meant for the other heroes to hear.

I landed a strong punch on Adar’s shoulder on their behalf.

Argh, Adar blurted out and bent over in an overly dramatic fashion, exaggerating his pain.

“I didn't think sheep were so strong.”

Ignoring Adar’s nonsense, I went upstairs.

In my room, there was a needle case on my desk. I had already sanitized them the night before.

I opened the case and observed the needles.

Adar stuck his head into the room.

“Come in.”

I picked up the case. Inside, the needles were organized in single file in an expensive leather pouch.

“Lie down.”

“On your bed?”

Adar asked slowly and licked his lower lip.

“Are you sure?”