Doing a good deed truly brings joy—especially to children, whose sense of accomplishment and delight far surpasses that of grown–ups.

  Watching the two little girls bursting with excitement, Glenn merely patted their heads. “Who knows? Perhaps one day, when you’re in trouble, that white wolf will return to repay your kindness.”

  He had no idea where the wolf had come from, but that didn’t stop him from giving the girls a beautiful fantasy. If circumstances allowed, he would have gone to investigate its origins himself.

  “Really?!” Little Leaf grew even more animated.

  She and Little Mushroom spent the rest of their time chattering about the future, occasionally turning to Glenn with innocent questions— such as what she should do to appear polite if they ever met the white wolf again.

  Glenn answered half-heartedly; he still had skewers left to finish grilling.

  None of them expected the white wolf to return so soon— yet there it was again, something clasped carefully in its jaws.

  Glenn spotted it the moment it appeared this time, just as he finished grilling the last skewer. He turned toward the wolf.

  “Mushroom! Look! It really came back!” Little Leaf shook her friend so vigorously that Little Mushroom nearly saw stars.

  As the wolf approached, Glenn still could not identify the object it carried. It was a cylindrical item—one end set with what resembled a ruby, the rest glimmering with a metallic sheen, its design draped in mystery.

  The wolf set it gently on the ground, cast Glenn a glance, then lowered its head in the same gesture of gratitude as before— and once again turned to leave.

  Little Leaf nearly rushed forward to pick it up, but restrained herself; Daoelf had warned them countless times never to touch unknown objects.

  Glenn studied it briefly, then picked up a stick and prodded it cautiously.

  The scene felt strangely familiar to Little Leaf— she soon recalled seeing classmates poke at beast droppings the same way when she was small.

  After a bit of tentative prodding, Glenn determined it was safe enough and picked it up.

  It felt cold—metallic. Even the ruby-like ornament was safe to touch.

  Soon he discovered the cylinder had a spot that could be opened. He pried it gently with his fingernail; the thin lid lifted to reveal densely etched magical runes packed tightly within.

  Uncertain what he was looking at, he handed it to the two girls—who were far more knowledgeable than he in this field.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The girls pressed their faces together, examining it closely, then shook their heads.

  “It’s all jumbled. I can’t make sense of any of it,” Little Leaf said.

  “This looks like advanced rune-weaving… we haven’t learned this yet. If only Lucas were here—he’s definitely studied it,” Little Mushroom added.

  Glenn nodded; there was no solving this mystery now. He tucked the object into his pack.

  Lunch came to an end. After a long enough rest, Glenn gathered their belongings and set out once more.

  Whenever they passed through a town, he stopped to stroll around, letting the two girls—on their first long journey—see the world a little.

  Thus they traveled leisurely onward, leaving behind the populous regions and stepping into the true wilderness.

  Though the landscape resembled any ordinary stretch of rugged hills, this was a place where countless wild nonhuman tribes gathered— goblins, kobolds, and many others roamed freely here.

  No one ventured into these lands unless they were seeking deliberate training. For most, entering this territory was simply courting death.

  It had also become a haven for fugitives, heretics, and dangerously extreme individuals. It was no surprise the three dark mages had chosen such a place to settle.

  It was no longer Glenn explaining things to the girls; this was his first time in such lands as well.

  The girls, though inexperienced in travel, possessed abundant theoretical knowledge. Along the road, no matter how bizarre the creatures they encountered, the two could always name them and describe their habits— expanding Glenn’s knowledge greatly.

  As he listened to their chatter, he pondered a troubling matter: how on earth he was going to haul away the entirety of the mages’ belongings. A single deer cart would never suffice.

  What a blunder… he sighed internally.

  Suddenly, a sharp cry shattered his thoughts.

  Looking up, he found that at some point, a horde of goblins—hundreds strong—had gathered ahead.

  Small in stature, clad in coarse burlap, brandishing crude weapons, they leered wickedly at the oncoming deer cart.

  “Wow! So many goblins! What are they saying? I can’t hear them!” Little Leaf leaned over Glenn’s shoulder, craning her neck.

  “And what if you could hear them? Would you even understand their language?” Glenn asked with a smile.

  She flushed in embarrassment. “Teacher did teach us… but I didn’t want to learn…”

  “Perfectly understandable,” Glenn said, still watching the front. He remembered how painful English lessons had been for him as a child— it seemed every kid resisted foreign languages.

  “I learned it. I can understand…” Little Mushroom murmured from his other shoulder.

  “Oh! Right! Mushroom is the studious one—of course she can understand them!” Little Leaf exclaimed.

  Languages aren’t that simple, Glenn thought. Reading doesn’t mean you can understand spoken words, little one… He wasn’t very hopeful.

  The deer cart stopped, and the goblins immediately surrounded them.

  A slightly bulkier goblin stepped forward, hefting a spike-studded club, and barked a string of guttural phrases at Glenn.

  “What did it say?” Glenn asked Little Mushroom.

  She frowned, thought for a moment, then said, “It said we all need to get down, line up, and not resist… or… or they’ll beat us.”

  Glenn raised a thumb in surprise— she had truly understood it.

  Little Mushroom blushed and scratched her head.

  The goblins below grew furious when they saw the humans ignoring them and whispering among themselves. With a enraged cry, the leader ordered its companions to rush in and teach these insolent humans a lesson.

  But moments later, only goblin screams filled the air.

  Glenn held the leader—now the smallest in spirit despite its size—dangling in one hand, considering what to do with it.

  Behind him, Little Leaf burst out, “Whoa! Glenn, you’re so strong! That flying kick was amazing! Can you teach me?!”

  She had thought Glenn would be helpless without magic and had been prepared to cast spells to protect him— but instead, his movements were clean, swift, and overwhelmingly powerful, leaving both girls gazing at him with renewed awe.