"How long have we been walking for? Do you know where we are? I think I am beginning to hear the voices of monsters around me. It is scary to listen to. I don't like it here."

Rosette shivered as she heard another howl from the forest. This was the third time she had heard this voice, and the sound seemed to be coming closer every time.

"Calm down! I am sure it is nothing big. We won't be in trouble if we keep quiet and not disturb the forest.

The teacher always said, "No monster would deliberately approach a human. Just calm down and take a deep breath."

Adam tried to calm Rosette down, but he was also beginning to feel worried. Something about this forest got on his nerves.

But as much as he wanted to calm Rosette down, even he knew this could be troublesome.

"It will be fine. Let's find our party first, and then we can worry about other things."

Adam assured, but just as he turned the corner, he felt a body jump toward her and Rosette.

He instinctively covered the female's body with his own to protect her, but the wolf did not seem to care as it rushed toward the pair.

The young pair closed their eyes so they wouldn't see the wolf rushing toward them, but nothing happened after a whole minute.

Only the sound of metal meeting skin was heard before a sorrowful howl made them open their eyes.

"Would you two stay put for a minute? This forest is dangerous, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't leave my side for now."

Layla's voice was like a soothing balm for the pair. They felt their breathing ease up as soon as Layla walked toward them.

The one who had saved them had been Raziel, and he seemed to be shining as he kept an eye out for the wolf and its pack.

"T-Thank you. You saved our lives."

Adam reluctantly said these words. He had to force himself to thank Layla, but he did not like it. But it was true that Layla had saved his life here.

So, as much as he did not trust her, he had to give her credit when it was due.

"If you want to thank me, stay with me, and do not linger around. The world is not as safe as the temple is. One wrong move, and you might end up in a slave trader's hands. Now, follow me, and I will guide you. Our destination is not that far."

Layla's words had no teasing tone. She was 100% serious when she made this threat.

It made the pair in front of her shiver, but they did not say anything anymore. Layla knew what she was talking about.

Raziel slowly put his small sword back into his sheath, showing Adam what he was doing. He was making a threat toward Adam to behave himself, and that made Adam nervous.

Suddenly, he did not want to speak out anymore.

...

'It was a close call. Thankfully, this world is always aligned to help the Female Lead when she is in danger. That made it easy for me to find her.'

Just when Layla felt lost, she heard the loud sound of a wolf's howl and knew where to go.

As expected, the wolf had been trailing Adam and Rosette, making it easy for Layla to find the pair.

Raziel drove the wolf away while Layla discreetly placed a tracker on the pair to ensure they remained in her line of sight.

"We will be careful next time. I am sorry! It is all because I did not notice where I was heading. It won't happen next time."

Rosette apologized as she bowed and showed how bad she felt about all this.

Layla took her apology and did not press the matter further. She was more focused as she entered Professor Ragnarock's territory. It was where the real danger began.

"I will deploy the shield now. Do not leave my side if you value your life."

Layla warned as the shield formed around her. It only covered about 10 feet in diameter, so the other party needed to be extremely close to her to benefit from it.

Raziel pushed the two younger kids toward Layla first before he also came into the safe zone. That was how the party reached the professor's home, and Layla knocked on the door.

There was the sound of something crashing before a loud curse was heard, and the door opened.

An annoyed but familiar face looked at Layla before Professor Ragnarock looked behind her and cringed.

"May we head in? I am afraid that the monsters have an eye on our party. The second I leave them alone, the monsters will attack them."

Layla warned while standing outside Professor Ragnarock's barrier.

The elf acted fast. He had likely recognized Rosette already, and his expression looked disturbed.

But he opened the door and let the party inside before he grabbed Layla's arm and dragged her inside the house.

"Listen! Do not leave the barrier. I will return in a minute once I finish talking to Layla here. Just…stay rooted in your places and do not move."

The elf warned as he slammed his house door behind him in a hurry,

Once inside, he finally let Layla go before he crossed his arms and looked at her.

"So, what the hell is going on here? That girl…why did you bring her here? What do you want from me?"

Lloyd Ragnarock looked disturbed at this apprentice who tried to play such a trick on him.

He wanted to shake and throw her out, but his heart skipped a few beats when he saw that familiar face before him.

"It is a bribe for you. You wanted to see Rosette's face, but you were too cowardly. So, I decided to bring that girl here for you as a bribe. Shall I tell you why I gave you such a bribe?"

Layla asked straightforwardly, and the elf flinched at her brutal honesty.