In the Mushroom House filled with glass bottles and shards.

Xiao Hai lay curled up on the fungal mat.

The wound on the shoulder had already healed, but it would take several days for the scales to regrow.

A Puki appeared outside the Mushroom House.

Although this Puki emitted a honey fragrance, Xiao Hai was unimpressed.

He even crushed a few treasured glass bottles with a "crackling" sound and turned away from it.

The Puki had no choice but to jump vigorously.

The Mushroom House was slightly higher, so it didn't make it up.

On the second jump, it barely reached the edge and struggled to climb up.

The Puki ran around the Mushroom House twice, filling the entire room with the honey scent.

Xiao Hai's nose twitched occasionally, but he remained inactive.

The Puki simply approached, its mushroom cap swaying back and forth in front of Xiao Hai—

Getting closer and closer—

Finally, it rubbed directly against his mouth.

Xiao Hai originally wanted to push the Puki away, but when his tongue accidentally tasted the honey on the mushroom cap... he couldn't help but lick it a couple more times.

A bit delicious...

Soon, Xiao Hai wholeheartedly hugged the Puki like an octopus and started nibbling along the edge.

Outside, three more identical Pukis jumped in one after another, circling around Xiao Hai, waiting to be eaten one by one, creating a delicious atmosphere inside the Mushroom House.

Whew—

Thanks to the Demon's False Flower Vine for providing the flavor, making something sweet is never wrong.

After calming Xiao Hai, the scene had to be cleaned up.

The Pukis scattered spores on the bombarded area, letting the fungal mat regrow.

A Fat Otaku Puki wobbled to the edge of the Swamp Area.

Thick fungal tentacles reached into its own pocket, quickly taking out the Adventurer.

A lump...

Two lumps...

...

All were thrown into the swamp.

This incident was still my fault, blaming myself for not being proficient in the language and failing to foresee this group's plan.

Although I've already started learning the Universal Language with Dylan, the plan couldn't keep up with the changes.

If only I had let Xiao Hai stay in the Mushroom Forest for a day, or let her play on the sixth level.

Also blame myself for not keeping an eye on things, as my attention was focused on the Scout side.

But what can I do, when Dylan's side triggered the plot...

-----------------

Under the sound of cicadas, a tan-skinned girl stood under a large tree beside the forest.

The hem of her coarse linen skirt swayed gently with the breeze, and her armful of a basket was filled with various wild fruits.

The girl's gaze suddenly met with Dylan, who was galloping by on horseback.

Dylan pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and approached the girl.

"Knight?"

The girl timidly took two steps back.

Seeing this, Dylan, being called a knight for the first time in his life, could only dismount to keep a distance to avoid scaring the girl.

Without explaining that he wasn't a knight, Dylan directly asked:

"Little girl, I just want to ask, is your village nearby? I'd like to replenish some water."

Saying this, he patted the water pouch at his waist.

After taking a few more glances at Dylan, the girl pointed a finger at a small path.

"Thank you, little girl."

"Thank you, little girl."

Having confirmed the direction, Dylan flipped onto his horse and headed over.

No choice, if he didn't get some water soon, the Puki on his back might dry up.

"Why did the knight say it twice?"

...

Under the puzzled gaze of the villagers, Dylan stuffed the wilted bag on his back into a wooden bucket and put it in the well.

The elder village chief, worried about the contents of the bag polluting the well water, wanted to say something.

But upon seeing the longsword at Dylan's waist, he chose to swallow his words.

About two minutes later, Dylan cranked the wheel to lift the water bucket and bag out.

At this point, the bag appeared significantly fuller.

Dylan first picked up the scout, shook it vigorously to expel most of the water, and then slung it back over his shoulder.

Only then did he fill up several water pouches.

Who would've thought that even though he prepared water for three days at the start, the scout used up more than half of it.

Fortunately, after this resupply, we could last until Novid, and then buy a few more water bags then.

Oh!

Dylan checked his pocket, took out a few Copper Plates, and handed them to the elder village chief.

"This is payment for the water, please accept it."

"This is payment for the water, please accept it."

After Dylan left, Lin Jun's voice echoed in his mind.

"Dylan, I must remind you that you just repeated yourself twice without translating for me."

"Huh? Is that so..."

Dylan sheepishly scratched his head.

Having to say the same sentence in both his mouth and mind repeatedly can get confusing.

The boss wants to learn the Universal Language this way, but who knows if it's reliable...

Walking back along the path, faint voices were heard ahead.

Dylan craned his neck, seeing no figures, but he saw a straw basket and scattered fruit on the ground not far away.

And... a horse tied to the roadside?

That village girl?

Dylan made the horse pick up its pace a bit.

As he got closer, the indistinct sounds gradually became clear—it was the girl's muffled cries for help.

Following the sound, he found a knight and a struggling girl pressed under him in the bushes not far from the roadside.

Not a fake knight like Dylan; this person had an emblem embroidered on his clothing.

Although Dylan didn't know whose house he belonged to, it was undoubtedly a genuine knight under a noble.

Still, what he was doing now wasn't so "knightly."

The girl's top was torn, revealing bruises on her arms and face. Although her mouth was covered, her tearful eyes brightened upon seeing Dylan.

The Noble Knight naturally noticed the passing Mercenary as well.

This burly guy said nothing, but his sinister eyes undoubtedly warned Dylan not to interfere.

"Oh? Dylan, do you want to meddle?"

The voice of the boss in his mind seemed surprisingly interested, or was it just a misconception?

"Should I interfere?" Dylan asked.

"How should I know? I'm just a backpack.

But if you do, it might delay our schedule."

"..."

Delaying the schedule meant Bella was in more danger...

It seemed Dylan staring at him without leaving prompted the nearly two-meter-tall brute to yank the girl's hair, pulling her to her feet.

His hand went towards the sword hanging on his horse.

"What, old man, you want to die?"

Ugh—

Why does everyone refer to me as old, I'm only 45...

Dylan dismounted, and as he landed, the longsword at his waist was already in his hand, its blade pointing directly at the Noble Knight.

"Are you really going to interfere?"

Indeed, it's best not to meddle.

Have I become less cautious after getting stronger?

But... this girl looks about the same age as Bella...

Dylan took a deep breath and spoke: "How about just leaving, and we all pretend nothing happened?"

"Ha!"

Seemingly amused by the adventurer's audacity.

"A stray dog barking at me?"

The Noble Knight flung the girl to the ground with a toss of his hand.

He drew the Knight's Sword, larger than Dylan's longsword.

"Try struggling with your toy sword; I'll show you how you get chopped up!"

The sword blade turned horizontal, and he sneered as he approached Dylan.

...

...

...

"Translate quickly! Is he taunting? That's exactly what I need to learn!"

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