“You’re taking this surprisingly well,” I said, glancing up at Gale. Damn, how’d I get so short! Previously, I’d been maybe an inch shorter than him, but now I was a full head lower. The new perspective highlighted that annoyingly handsome jawline. I clicked my tongue in frustation. 

He looked at me briefly before staring ahead again. A casual grin fell across his face. With his hands in his pockets, he said, “Last thing I remember was getting shot. Waking up with a beautiful woman in front of me? That’s classic isekai.”  Newest update provided by novel※fire.net

Frowning, I slapped his shoulder. “What beautiful woman?” 

I stared at him, and the grin he wore gradually faded away. A solemn grimace formed. 

“I’m worried about Zoey,” He said softly. I nodded, looked up to him, and replied, “We’ll get back. I promise.”

He didn’t respond. We walked in a comfortable silence. I listened to the wind blowing through the trees, leaves rustling, with the occasional bird chirping. The air was fresh, cool like the gentle breath of an Autumn breeze. I had rarely felt such clean air. It reminded me of camping trips I’d taken with my family, before my parents passed. I recalled dragging Gale along more than once. I had used him as a blockade against camp work. Thankfully, my vacation had stayed work-free thanks to my sacrificial pawn. I grinned dumbly at the memory of his grievance-stricken face. 

Gale stopped suddenly. Having been somewhat behind his long gait, I walked directly into his back. The grin melted from my face, replaced by mild pain. “What the hell?” I grumbled.

“Do you hear that?” Gale asked, tilting his head to the side. I strained my ears, and barely heard the distant sound of something. 

“What is that?” I asked.

“Water!” Gale said, smiling widely. He walked a couple of steps in each direction, trying to pinpoint the sound. He waved a hand for me to follow, and we began to walk at a quick pace. Within ten minutes, the rushing sound of water grew from a distant rustle to a roar. We exited the trees, taking in the sight of a raging river. 

“Did it rain recently?” I asked. I could barely hear myself over the sound of the water. Gale carefully edged forward, leaned down and scooped some water in his hand. He brought it to his mouth and tasted it. 

“You’re gonna get a parasite!” I shouted over the din. He turned his head and smiled. 

“Better a stomach ache than dying of thirst!” He yelled. 

I decided he had a point, so I also attempted to take a drink. My mouth was parched; despite only walking for tens of minutes, I was incredibly thirsty. As I leaned down, the dirt I’d put my weight on suddenly broke free from the bank, and I felt my stomach drop as I lost my balance. My fall was interrupted by something wrapping around my waist, pulling me back to safety. I felt my back pressed against something warm.

I looked up, seeing Gale’s face, shrouded somewhat by his gleaming golden hair, looking down at me like I was an idiot. I pulled away from him, face turning red from embarrassment. 

Gale sighed, shook his head, then leaned once more to scoop some water up. He brought his hand to my face, clearly intending to let me take a sip. 

“I can do it myself!” I said. 

“You’re gonna kill yourself, just drink it. If you fall in I won’t be able to help before you’re dragged around that bend.” Gale replied, raising his voice above the water. I frowned, but leaned forward, lightly touching the edge of  Gale’s hand with my mouth. Of course the one time I’m not carrying my water bottle would be when I’d died. 

After drinking, I looked at the end of the river, then turned towards Gale. “Should we follow the water down? We might find a town we can stay in.”

Gale was standing there like a statue, staring at his hand. I noticed his ears were red for some reason. Weird. I raised a hand and snapped my fingers. 

“Hey!” I yelled. He looked up, startled, eyes crossing over my face. Didn’t seem to be looking at my eyes, weirdly. What was wrong with him?

His face flushed red, and he averted his gaze. Had he been infected with a parasite already?! I panicked, turning my gaze inward. Was I infected too? 

[Neither the Host or Hero have been infected.]

I was surprised at the system’s sudden information dump. It could be used like this too? 

“What’s wrong with him then?” I asked, lowering my voice so Gale couldn’t hear it. 

[…]

Wondering why the system wouldn’t answer me, I decided to worry about it later. I sighed in relief that Gale hadn’t been infected with something dangerous. I slapped Gale on the shoulder and waved for him to follow me down the riverside. 

After we had been walking for an hour or so, I saw something in the distance. Buildings! I quickened my gait, nearly running at the thought of a warm meal and a break from walking through the wilderness. Gale strode next to me, anticipation apparent on his face. Shortly after, we arrived at what appeared to be a rather well-off village. The buildings, although rustic in style, were clean and decidedly unshabby. 

We circled from the side of the village, which the river was running through, to the front. Although not particularly sturdy, a small fence circled the village. The only ways to enter were the entrances on both sides of the river. Standing at attention guarding the gate was a young man wearing oversized armor. His red hair stuck out from under a poorly situated helmet. 

“Halt!” He called out. His voice, cracking somewhat, clearly was still in the last stage of puberty. Gale and I glanced at each other. I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I wouldn’t trust this kid with a pantry, much less a gate.” Gale shot a smirk, and we both looked towards the intimidating ‘guard.’

“Hello,” Gale greeted, stepping in front of me. “We’re passing through, just need a place to rest.”

The guard looked Gale over, then stared at me with wide eyes. He blinked rapidly before looking towards Gale again. 

“Staying for the night?” He asked. He rubbed his nose and sniffled, guard clearly lowered. 

Gale nodded. “Looking for work too.”

The boy nodded seriously and waved us through. “Don’t make trouble, or you’ll have to deal with me.” He said, puffing his chest up. His helmet leaned precariously to the side. I tried to hide my smile as we walked past. 

“Cute kid,” I said, stifling a laugh. 

“Hey, Aaron?” Gale said, suddenly halting his stride. 

“Hm?” 

“Did your system give you any money?”

My eyes widened, my face growing pale. Oh shit. 

“I guess we can look for work…” I said, looking down at the dirt-covered, scratched clothes we’d been wearing. They’d taken a beating from the various roots, branches and thorns we’d been forced to wander through. Gale nodded and started looking around.

The village was larger than it appeared on the outside. There were multiple businesses, although most of them had symbols hanging at their doors to denote their purpose rather than text to explain it. There seemed to be a bustling stall market in the town square. I could see multiple people haggling over goods, their voices carrying over the crowd. 

I looked around for somewhere I could work without breaking my back.

We passed by a building that caught my attention. It looked like a restaurant; I thought maybe I could wash dishes or something. I caught Gale’s sleeve, and pointed towards my destination. 

“I’m gonna go look in there!” I said.

He nodded, replying, “I’ll look for something out here. We meet up when the sun goes down by the restaurant.”

I bobbled my head in agreement. As I started to walk off, I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I turned back curiously. 

Gale’s concerned face observed me with apprehension. 

“What is it?” I asked. 

“I don’t think you really get it yet,” He began, carefully pacing his words, “But you’re a girl now. Be careful, please.”

“I’m not gonna be taking candy from strangers,” I scoffed, waving his worries away.

He shook his head, “That’s not what I mean. Just stay near other people, don’t go in a room alone with anyone, and watch your drinks.”

I looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “When did you get so protective?” I asked teasingly. 

He shrugged, an easy grin falling across his face. “I’m a big brother,” he said, as if that explained everything.

I agreed to get him off my back, then walked into the restaurant. The interior was warmly decorated with animal pelts, candles and other miscellaneous knickknacks I didn’t recognize. There was a counter near the front, and multiple tables spread throughout the room, though only half of them were occupied at the moment. A woman stood behind the counter; she looked older, with long hair tied up in a bun. She was wearing a matronly dress, and had an apron wrapped around her waist.

She looked up as I walked in, a fond smile spreading across her face. When she looked over my clothes, however, her smile faltered. 

“Did you get caught out in the woods, dear?” She asked, worriedly. I scratched my head awkwardly and looked down at my somewhat shabby clothing.

“Uh, yeah we did. I was looking for some work, actually. We need some money for an inn.” I said, struggling to muster any trace of sociability I could.

She looked me over and nodded. She smiled at me. For some reason I felt a cold chill down my back. 

“Of course, I was short a waitress for tonight’s rush. You’ll do nicely.”

I froze. 

“Um… Maybe I could wash dishes or something instead…?”

She walked around the counter, firmly planted both hands on my shoulders. She gave me a devilish grin, saying, “I’m full up on dishwashers unfortunately.” She began to steer me behind the counter towards a back room. She planted me on a chair in the back, and pushed something into my hands. I looked down in horror. 

It was a waitress outfit.