Not a barbarian warrior.

The girl couldn’t properly respond to the voice of her unnamed benefactor asking if she was alright.

She desperately wanted to tell him that she was alive thanks to him, to express her gratitude, but her body simply wouldn’t listen.

Everything in front of her eyes was blurry, and her body was stiff as a board, making it impossible to even speak properly.

The word she managed to force out with all her might was just a very strange pronunciation.

“Gah… Gaaaah…”

She instinctively wanted to cover her face, but she couldn’t even do that because her body wouldn’t move.

Her benefactor embraced her, stiff as she was on top of the pack animal, and headed somewhere.

For some reason, she felt a sense of comfort.

Her tension naturally eased, and her eyes closed in an instant.

Eugene carefully laid the unnamed girl down on the blanket spread out next to the campfire.

She now seemed to have fainted with her eyes closed.

Eugene took out the robe and sleeping bag he had been using and covered her body with them.

The sun had completely set, and night was falling.

The blowing wind was not just cool, but now chilly.

What she needed most, unable to control her body, was warm heat.

Eugene snapped well-dried branches and threw them mercilessly onto the campfire.

As the previously calm flames swelled up as if they had never been small, the surrounding temperature rose sharply.

‘This should be enough.’

Now he just had to wait for her to wake up.

Eugene moved to take care of the remaining tasks in the meantime.

It was time to collect the spoils from the wolves he had killed.

Eugene began to skillfully dismantle the wolf carcasses.

He took out a dagger, cut open the belly, and ran it along the gap between muscle and skin, smoothly separating the two.

After a while of scraping sounds, one wolf hide was completely skinned.

Of course, this wasn’t the end.

Besides the fur, the wolf carcass itself was excellent protein.

If Eugene had been on Earth, this would have been a food ingredient he wouldn’t even look at, wondering how it was different from dog meat, but in this world, any meat was good.

He cut the legs and body into appropriate pieces and put them in a sack, then dug a hole to bury the internal organs and head.

Only after repeating this process two more times did the collection of spoils end.

It didn’t take too long as it was a familiar task, but small beads of sweat had formed on his face.

Eugene returned to the campsite carrying three rolled-up wolf pelts and a sack full of chopped meat.

The campfire was still burning brightly, and a pack animal was now sitting on top of the girl’s body.

This beast, which looked like a mix between an ostrich’s body and a shoebill’s head, was preciously protecting its owner as if incubating an egg.

It still couldn’t meet Eugene’s eyes. It only made clicking sounds by moving its beak to threaten him.

“I’m not going to eat you.”

Eugene retorted gruffly to the pack animal and headed towards the campfire.

He separated some embers, placed a pot on top of them, and thought for a moment.

‘Alright, tonight’s dinner is dog meat… no, wolf meat stew.’

Freshly butchered meat, onions, carrots, potatoes, bay leaves cut to appropriate sizes, along with water and a bit of salt were thrown into the pot.

The aroma of the bubbling stew must have been quite appetizing, as the pack animal behind Eugene couldn’t take its eyes off the pot.

Just as the cooking was almost complete, with the meat tender enough, the fainted girl woke up with a low groan.

“Mmm…”

Eugene stopped stirring the stew and turned to the girl.

“Ah, you’ve finally come to your senses.”

Thanks to the campfire burning brightly even in the dark night, the girl could see Eugene’s face as he approached.

Her eyes transmitted Eugene’s portrait to her brain in an instant.

Black hair and eyes, exotic features with thick lines, sharp eyes…

‘A… barbarian?’

She wasn’t mistaken.

No matter how much she blinked, Eugene’s appearance remained the same.

Numerous thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.

They were mostly bad rumors about barbarians.

Things she had heard somewhere, like barbarians using young women as sex toys, kidnapping people to sell as slaves in the black market, or eating human flesh. trafficking, kidnapping, rape, slave contracts, cannibalism…

‘So he didn’t save me for nothing after all…!’

She screamed in despair inwardly.

Eugene, unaware of her inner thoughts, asked with a bright expression.

“How are you feeling? I just finished preparing dinner…”

The girl couldn’t open her mouth for a while in response to Eugene’s question.

In her eyes, Eugene’s face was already no different from an evil spirit.

Unable to hold back the surging sadness and fear, she sobbed and finally wailed.

“Pl… please spare my life… at least… Waaah!”

“Ah.”

The pack animal was startled when its precious owner suddenly burst into tears.

And it immediately realized that Eugene was the cause.

This time, the pack animal finally gathered its courage and pecked at Eugene’s head with its hard beak.

For some reason, Eugene’s chest hurt more than his head that was pecked by the pack animal.

He couldn’t understand why.

It took quite a long time for Eugene to calm the girl down and clear up the misunderstanding.

So long that the stew in the pot had reduced too much and needed more water added and reheated.

“Let’s summarize once again. I’m not a kidnapper. I have no intention of selling you as a slave, nor will I use you as a sex toy. I’m not that kind of bastard you’re thinking of. I’m not a barbarian from the Northern Continent either. I just look a bit like them.”

The girl found it hard to believe that Eugene wasn’t a barbarian, but since he said he wasn’t, she nodded and went along with it for now.

“I see… I’m sorry for misunderstanding you based on your appearance.”

“Well, it’s a misunderstanding I often get.”

“I’m really sorry…”

“It’s okay.”

“I sincerely apologize…”

“Alright. You can stop apologizing now.”

“Okay…”

Having barely cleared up the misunderstanding, the two sat in front of the campfire, eating stew while continuing their conversation.

The girl, who introduced herself as ‘Daisy’, seemed to have many questions for Eugene.

“So, where are you from, Eugene?”

“Hmm… It’s a place very far from here. Have you heard of Korea? That’s my hometown.”

“Korea? I’ve never heard of it.”

“That’s how far away it is.”

“How did you end up coming here from such a far place?”

When a difficult question to answer came up, Eugene quickly changed the subject.

“There are complicated circumstances. More importantly, Daisy, why were you wandering dangerously outside the village alone?”

“That’s…”

Daisy unfolded a long story to Eugene.

“About a week ago, a monster we had never seen before appeared in the village.”

It was a monster resembling a deer with long, pointed horns.

Unlike its appearance, it ate meat instead of grazing on grass.

Its prey was the pigs and sheep being grazed near the village.

The monster made strange sounds from the horns on its head.

The sound it made had a mysterious power to enchant animals.

The monster easily caught and ate the prey that approached on its own like that, then disappeared into the depths of the forest.

“That’s how three pigs and two sheep died.”

When the village’s precious common property disappeared like melting snow, it was truly an emergency.

“It was complete chaos. Everyone gathered with spears instead of sickles, saying they would catch that monster.”

The result was disastrous.

The strange sound the monster made had the power to enchant not only livestock but also people.

“Even though everyone fought with their ears plugged, it didn’t seem to help much.”

The dozens of villagers who bravely charged lost their minds to the monster’s sound and dropped their weapons.

It attacked the defenseless people indiscriminately.

“I saw people being gored by the monster’s horns, trampled by its hooves, and bitten… It was really terrible, but there was nothing I could do…”

“More than ten people died. Many of those who barely made it back were badly injured. My father was seriously hurt too.”

Daisy said she couldn’t just watch her father unable to get up, so she took one pack animal and slipped out of the village.

“I heard that herbs good for recovery grow in the forest nearby. I was so focused on looking at the ground that I didn’t notice the wolves approaching. I barely escaped from the forest, but I didn’t know they would chase me so persistently…”

The rest was what Eugene already knew.

Eugene, who had been quietly listening to her story, asked.

“So that monster is still around the village?”

“Probably.”

“We need to catch the monster quickly. You can’t keep the livestock inside that small village forever.”

“We’ve sent people to neighboring villages to find someone who can catch the monster… But along with that, the rumor that the monster killed more than ten of our villagers has spread…”

“Seems like no one is stepping up.”

“That’s right…”

“Hmm, how much is the reward for that monster’s head?”

“I think the village has shown as much sincerity as possible. It’s as much as twenty silver coins!”

“Hmm… Twenty, huh…”

As Eugene showed signs of contemplation, Daisy had a thought.

“Are you… thinking of catching that monster?”

“It’s not impossible, but the reward is too small. I should receive at least thirty coins.”

“Thirty coins? Thirty silver coins?”

“Yes.”

Tilting her head at the unexpected amount, Daisy asked Eugene.

“Why thirty coins?”

“Well… Because last year, when I killed that monster, I received thirty silver coins?”

Eugene was about to explain that the market price had been formed at thirty silver coins based on the law of supply and demand, but considering Daisy’s age, he answered in a way she could easily understand.

Instead of saying “Ah! I understand why you need to receive thirty silver coins!”, Daisy was simply surprised that Eugene had experience catching a monster identical to that one.

“Is that true? You’ve caught that monster before?”

Eugene nodded in response.

“Wow…! Eugene, you’re a much more amazing person than I thought!”

He, who until just a while ago was treated as a man-eating barbarian, felt awkward.

Daisy looked at Eugene with expectant eyes and said.

“Then could you please catch that monster…”

To this, Eugene cut off Daisy’s words decisively.

“No. That beast is much more dangerous than the wolves I caught today. If the compensation doesn’t match, I can’t do it.”

He couldn’t do such dangerous work that might cost him his life without proper payment.

At least on this point, there was no room for compromise.

“Oh… I’ll talk to the village elders about that reward. For now, could you come to the village with me tomorrow?”

“I was planning to take you to the village when the sun rises tomorrow anyway.”

“Ah…! Thank you. Eugene, you’re an amazing and kind person.”

When Daisy openly praised him, Eugene turned his head away awkwardly.

“It’s nothing. Now stop talking and lie down. It’s time to sleep.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep, Eugene?”

“I’ll sleep a little later, so the little one should go to sleep now.”

“I’m not a little one. Could you call me a proper lady?”

“Hmm… I’d say you’re an aspiring lady at best.”

“That’s mean. I take back what I said about you being kind.”

With that light joke as the end, Daisy smiled brightly and slipped into Eugene’s sleeping bag.

Then the pack animal naturally settled on top of the sleeping bag.

Eugene, who had been quietly watching this scene, couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked.

“…Isn’t that uncomfortable?”

“It’s fine! It’s a little bit suffocating, but it’s warm, so I like it.”

“Alright then. Good night.”

“Good night to you too, Eugene.”

While Daisy drifted off to dreamland, Eugene sat in front of the campfire, putting branches into it.

Looking at the burning red light, he thought about the monster.

‘A lurehorn… I hope it’s not an adult…’