Since this is only a collection of a few houses, it's quite easy to find someone. Especially someone who stands out as much as a couple that's quarreling. Or so it should have been. Instead, we find them kissing behind a barn. Ugh, just explode already...

When they notice us, they quickly separate and act as if nothing of the sort happened. Either they're consciously putting up an act, or really think they're getting away with keeping their relationship a secret. Whichever it is, both are equally annoying to me.

"Wh-what is it?" Luna asks with a flushed face. She wipes her moist lips on a sleeve and tries to maintain her countenance. But we already saw it, dammit!

"We wanted to get moving." Gram says while acting as if he didn't see it.

"Yes, we want to get back before nightfall." Rolan, more composed, quickly takes the opportunity to divert attention away from his girlfriend. I'm standing next to the bard, just behind Gram, to be out of sight. They will be the ones to tell their leader about me wanting to come along, so I better not initiate the issue with my noticeable presence.

"Miss Marcott wishes to join us on this request. She is too scared to remain alone in the village. After all, she only knows us here." I didn't expect the big man to be able to make such a nice argument. Usually you'd think the tanks are those with muscle for brains. But reality doesn't have min-maxing stats, so it makes sense.

"We should be fine. As dangerous as a Wulfar may be, if it is us four, it will not even have the freedom to consider attacking the lady." Flowery language as usual. But at least he's contributing. Good job, playboy bard.

Really though, you guys should be more concerned about protecting yourselves. If it comes down to it and I have to show my full power, you won't be getting away. I don't want any witnesses to my identity in the human territory. It'd only make it harder for me to get back home. Or rather, back to the place I woke up in after reincarnating, where I only stayed a couple of hours.

So, we walk for a few hours and come upon a forest. While I did say these were rolling plains, there's more forest than plains for the most part. It looks like Central Europe. Of course, I never went there, but I've seen photo books and paintings before. Actually, I always wanted to visit it, and maybe an opportunity would have arisen eventually if I hadn't died. When I think about it, this is basically a second chance at seeing the world. A world filled with fantasy and no smartphones to take pictures with. But wait, isn't this actually better? I can take pictures with my mind.

"Gram, prepare the bait. We'll be setting up camp here." Rolan sounds like a proper leader. Well, he is actually the leader, and I'm sure there's a reason he could gather these people around him, other than with just his good looks. Well, aside from Luna, that is, I'm sure she's mostly here because of his good looks. "Sigurd, try out your suggestion, we never know if it might work." Hm, he's trusting the bard to do something. Let's see how that pans out.

Gram places his massive shield on the ground, then takes out something wrapped in leather. It's the severed leg of a lamb. Classic bait material. I approach the shield and realize that it towers above me. This thing must be extremely heavy and will require two hands to carry. So the tank is really just a shield?

"What is your weapon, Mister Gram?" I'm curious how he fights when carrying that shield, but somehow I should have expected the response.

"My shield is my sword, Miss Marcott." He sounds proud. "It's enchanted to repel magic and most elements, and it's thick enough to block even ballista shots. I leave attacking to those I protect with it." So, just like a tank in MMORPGs, he's just there to soak up the damage in the squishy damage dealers' stead.

"And just in case, he can bash someone over the head with it." Rolan adds while setting up the camp with Luna. That girl's glaring at me for some reason. Ah, maybe you shouldn't be too friendly with another woman in the presence of your sweetheart. At least I'm not wearing my makeshift clothes anymore, which would stir any man's libido because it resembled a naked shirt look. The bard was kind enough to buy me a set of clothes from a farmer, and while the material is rough and somewhat itchy, I'm not naked anymore. Then again, I wouldn't really mind; it's society that minds.

The howling of a wolf interrupts us. Already here? That was fast. But it's really close. I look around and find that the sound came from the bard. He notices my gaze, smiles, and winks at me. Ugh, annoying. So he can imitate the call of a Wulfar. I hope that was actually its mating call and it'll come running to mount him.

If it was me alone, I'm sure it would have already found me and attacked me. Knowing my luck, it would have been in a pack, too. I already had such an experience before, so I know how to deal with it. Hedgehog Mode is waiting to be unleashed again someday! But for now, I'll have to play the helpless girl who can only watch as the humans go about their business. Maybe I can use this time to try out controlling the inside of my body. If my outside is so malleable, my insides should be, too. Aside from designating one part for storage and others for varying degrees of dissolving speeds, I should be able to make certain motions, too. Such as taking out objects from inside the backpack while it's still inside me.