“…Looks like the wounds have healed considerably.”

The man murmured to himself as he took off his clothes to inspect his condition.

Certainly, the injuries were still severe, but considering the initial state, it was a significant improvement in just a day.

Moreover, his skin color, which should have turned dusky due to the monster’s poison, was normal.

Although the slightly discolored skin around him indicated a past encounter with monster venom, at least for now, it had to be assumed that the poison had been neutralized.

Having finished examining the wounds, the man buttoned up his  shirt as if nothing had happened.

Then, his eyes met with Leciel’s.

“…My apologies.”

The man suddenly realized that he just took off his  shirt in front of a child.

It was an inconsiderate act to undress so casually, even if she was just a child.

“Please apologize to my heart.”

Her heart raced at the unexpected attack.

“I’ll be careful from now on.”

“It’s okay. It’s something that can happen as people live long.”

If one mistake led to another, two mistakes would turn into three, providing good entertainment. It wouldn’t be bad from Leciel’s perspective.

The man looked at her with a strange expression, albeit briefly.

“Did you only apply ointment for treatment, or did you do anything else?”

Doubts arose because the monster venom had been detoxified by simply applying the ointment.

“Before applying the ointment, I wash the wound with water and disinfect it?”

“And?”

“I applied the ointment.”

“You mean… did you not do anything else besides that?”

“No.”

“Then can I see that ointment?”

The man asked, thinking that perhaps there was something special about the ointment, or maybe it had detoxified the demon’s poison.

In response, Leciel obediently brought the ointment.

However, contrary to the man’s thoughts, it was just ordinary ointment.

With this kind of ointment, it would only be effective for minor wounds, and it wouldn’t have much effect on deep wounds like the one he had.

“Did you really just apply ointment?”

The man asked again to dispel his doubts, but instead, the situation only became more puzzling.

“If Sir ask if I did something more afterward, then yes, I did.”

“What was that?”

The man looked at Leciel with a brightened gaze.

“I gave my sincere devotion.”

“….”

The man was momentarily speechless.

He didn’t know how to react to such an unexpected answer.

For a moment, he thought that she was making fun of him, but Leciel’s expression was serious.

“…How did you give that devotion?”

The man asked, perhaps fearing that he might have missed something.

“I put my hand on the wound and prayed for it to heal, like I was praying for a miracle. But why does Sir ask?”

Curious about the man’s persistent questioning, which seemed to be prying into something, Leciel asked.

“Before collapsing, I was in a state of poisoning from the monster venom. But it seems to have been detoxified.”

“Oh… That’s fortunate.”

Leciel  felt relieved, realizing that she hadn’t even considered that possibility.

If he had died despite her efforts to save him, how heartbreaking would it have been?

Especially since he was the only person she had seen in two years since waking up in this place!

“The poison requires an antidote to be ingested in order to detoxify. It’s not something that naturally detoxifies.”

“Well, that’s strange then. But I really only applied ointment and prayed for a quick recovery.”

There was no way that monster venom could be detoxified by only a prayer, it almost  felt like a joke.

“Maybe, you never know.”

“What does Sir mean?”

“The fact that the monsters didn’t attack you but followed you isn’t something ordinary. Even though I don’t know the reason, it probably means you’re special. So, it wouldn’t be strange if you also have the ability to detoxify monster venom.”

“That makes sense.”

Although Leciel had never thought of herself as special, the man’s words sounded plausible, so she nodded her head.

“And the wound seems to be visibly better.”

Even though the man’s recovery ability or healing power was generally superior to others, the current state couldn’t be explained by that alone.

Perhaps, it was also because of the ability the child possessed.

‘…I must have been really lucky.’

If it had been someone other than the child, he would have been captured by the monsters or died from the monster venom. So, the man became even more interested in the child.

While clearly living alone in the Monster Forest, there was a strange untainted purity about her, as if she hadn’t been touched by the world.

“What will Sir do now?”

The conversation lasted longer than expected; Leciel asked as she watched the sun rise beyond the window.

“If you’re okay with it, can I stay here for a few more days?”

Compared to the beginning, he had recovered a lot from his injuries, but he wasn’t in a state to move his body freely.

Even now, just moving a little caused severe pain.

If the situation had been different, he would have wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, but now that the immediate danger had passed, there was no reason to leave hastily.

As long as the child was safe, this place a safe haven from the monster’s attacks.

“That’s fine with me!”

Whether it was for a few days or a few months, Leciel wouldn’t refuse.

Being alone in this place was too lonely and depressing.

So, if she could spend some time with someone, it would be a welcome change for Leciel.

Finally having someone to communicate properly with after so long was a relief for her.

Although the man’s personality wasn’t such that he would respond kindly to every word she said, it was still something.

Someone else had finally entered this space where she was used to being alone.

“But… what happens after that?”

“I’ll have to leave this place.”

He couldn’t just stay in this place just because it was not dangerous as long as the child was here.

There were people waiting for me.

Especially his son, the only gift left by his deceased wife.

If his return was delayed, his son would be worried about himself and wait.

Even though he was a selfish and stubborn child with no trace of charm.

“It’ll be dangerous.”

Leciel expressed her concern with a worried expression because it wouldn’t be right if he was to escape from the forest and end up meeting his death after she rescued him.

“Even so, I have a reason to go back.”

“Well, I’m not telling Sir not to go back.”

Though she selfishly wished for at least one companion, she couldn’t force anyone to stay by her side.

“It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible to leave the monster forest.”

The reason he collapsed after being attacked by monsters here was because he was already exhausted from dealing with them before.

So, if he recovered his strength, there should be some hope.

“Um, should I help you, sir?”

“I’m not stupid enough to kick away the opportunity given to me.”

Understanding what the child meant by help, the man replied with an indifferent expression.

Certainly, if the child helped, it would be possible to safely leave the monster forest.

As long as the child was by his side, the monsters in the forest would not easily attack him.

But even if that was the case, the child wouldn’t be able to accompany him beyond the outskirts of the forest.

Because if they got too close to the boundary, the monsters would interpret the child’s attempt to leave the forest as an attack and come after them.

However, even that alone would be a considerable help.

Therefore, the man also thought about whether he should ask the child for help.

But he didn’t feel like it.

Even though the monsters didn’t attack the child, it wasn’t necessarily a good idea to take it lightly.

Just because the child was with him didn’t mean that the monsters wouldn’t attack them at all.

So, in those moments, the child would have to block the monsters one by one, causing unnecessary trouble.

Especially since she had spent a lot of time in the monster forest, encountering many of them, even though facing them might be familiar, facing them all day would be difficult and burdensome for her.

Since the monster forest is vast, she would have to walk quite a long way to see him off.

The man didn’t want to ask the child for such a difficult task.

Saving his life was enough of help.

But he wasn’t such a selfless person as to refuse when the other side offered to help first.

“Alright. I’ll make the final decision on whether to help Sir or not.”

The man chuckled as Leciel spoke boldly.

“But…”

“Yes?”

The man made a sudden serious expression and spoke with a low voice.

Even his voice was so impressive that Leciel admired it for a moment before looking at him with wide eyes, wondering what was going on.

She looked so harmless, like a curious squirrel, and it was almost as if he  felt something he rarely  felt, even from his own son, a sense of loveliness.

“I wonder until when you’ll call me by that strange title?”

The title ‘Sir’ that Leciel used to call him was as strange and awkward to him as Gulliver in the strange world.

“It’s like a sense of respect.”

Well, if she thought about it again, people in Korea didn’t really call someone ‘Sir’ all the time during a real meeting.

“I don’t need you to call me so formally. I’m not so stubborn as to make it difficult even for those who saved my life.”

The man was someone good enough to not be picky about such matters when he was already in debt.

“I see. Then do you have any preferred title?”

“…Not particularly.”

Although there were titles familiar to him, he didn’t want to be called by them, especially hastily revealing his true identity to a child without deciding carefully first.

“Then can I just call you whatever I want?”

If anything, his response was just as frustrating as the word ‘nothing’; Leciel spoke with grumpy expression.

“… As you wish.”

“Alright, then I’ve decided.”

“Have you?”

“Yes. Please take care of me in the future, uncle!”

Leciel said with a lively voice.