The Reincarnated Girl Will Live Quietly

 

The sun was high up in the sky when the hunter moved the curtain aside to look out the window. 

 

On the bed behind him was a bow and a quiver of arrows. After checking over them once more, the hunter grabbed his coat off of the chair and left the bedroom. 

 

There was the smell of stew in the air as he walked out into the living area. Upon noticing him, the hunter’s wife wiped her hands on her apron and handed him a small sack with the distinct aroma of dried meat. 

 

Accepting the sack, the hunter moved to the doorway to lace up his boots. With his bow and quiver slung over his shoulder, the hunter stepped out onto the snow. 

 

He made his way through the village, taking the same route that he always took. It did not take him long to reach the forest and his figure disappeared from sight. 

 

The vision ended there. 

 

Sable was staring at the forest, directly at the spot where the hunter entered when she heard footsteps crunch in the snow behind her. 

 

Turning around, she saw Isaac looking at her with wide eyes, questions evident from his expression. Behind him, in front of the house, was the Grand Duke and the hunter’s wife, both looking just as puzzled as Isaac. 

 

To the others, it appeared as though Sable entered a trance-like state before moving with an unsettling speed. Her actions indicated that she was following someone, but neither the Grand Duke nor Isaac could see anyone there. Occasionally, she would stop and inhale deeply or fixate her gaze elsewhere. 

 

For Isaac, he was now confident that Sable had some kind of ability. Throughout her entire trance, a faint trace of mana was emitting from her body, and he was able to keep up with her because of it. 

 

Sable glanced at Isaac. 

 

“I promise I’ll explain everything later.” 

 

Isaac stared back at her for a moment, before finally nodding his head. 

 

Sable let out a breath and walked back to the Grand Duke and the hunter’s wife. 

 

“Does your husband always take the same route there?” Sable pointed in the direction of where she saw the hunter. 

 

“Yes, how did you…?” The hunter’s wife blinked in surprise, but Sable shook her head. 

 

“We should get back to the investigation, Your Grace.” 

 

Seeing her serious expression, the Grand Duke quickly thanked the woman for her time, and along with Sable and Isaac, the three of them headed back to the village chief’s house. Prior to entering the village chief’s house, Grand Duke Lione asked Sable a question. 

 

“What exactly did you do back there, Sable?” 

 

“I can track him, Your Grace.” Sable answered. “But if you want to find him, then you’ll have to take me with you.” 

 

Grand Duke Lione frowned but did not say anything else. 

 

Heading inside, they saw the knights and a few hunters gathered around the map of the area. A few new markers were placed slightly northwest of the flag. 

 

“What’s the situation?” 

 

“Your Grace.” The knights moved aside for him. 

 

“We’ve searched these areas, but we’ve been unable to find any sign of him.” The female knight, who was part of the first search party, explained. She pointed at the new markers around the flag. 

 

Grand Duke Lione ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the map. 

 

“What about this area here?” He pointed to the area east of the flag. 

 

“We plan to check that area next, Your Grace. Once the hunters are ready.” 

 

“What about the unexplored region?” Sable raised the question. 

 

The knight gave her an odd look and shook her head. 

 

“The hunters know to avoid the area, and they have markers set up on the trees. It’s unlikely that he would be there.” 

 

“Unless something drastic happened that forced him to go there.” Sable responded. 

 

“...Yes, unless something drastic happened, then maybe he could be there, but we still need to check the other areas.” The knight disagreed, shaking her head. 

 

Sable grew silent. There were only so many times that she could tell them to go to the unexplored region. That was the most likely place for something to happen, but if they didn’t believe her…

 

“...Perhaps it’s time to act on my own.” 

 

However, before she could think about doing that, Grand Duke Lione spoke to her, dispelling her thoughts. 

 

“Sable, what you said before, were you telling the truth?” His serious countenance made her stiffen her back, but she nodded. 

 

“Everything I said was true, Your Grace.” 

 

“Very well.” Grand Duke Lione turned to the knights. 

 

“Percival, we’re changing the plan. Have the knights split into two squads. One squad will join the search party and search the eastern area, while the other squad will be joining Isaac, Sable and I in searching and scouting the unexplored area.” 

 

“Are you sure, Your Grace?” Percival raised a brow as he glanced at Sable. 

 

Grand Duke Lione grimaced. 

 

“We’re running out of time, Percival.” 

 

“Understood, Your Grace. I will inform the hunters.”

 

Percival saluted and left. 

 

Some of the knights were looking at Sable, not bothering to hide their curious gazes and, for a few, their disapproval. They were busy enough as is looking for the hunter. They did not need the added responsibility of taking care of a child. 

 

The person in question, however, was ignoring their gazes. Sable would need her focus if she was going to be using her ability. 

 

Sable was confident that they would find the hunter. 

 

...Or what was left of him. 

 

~~~

 

Sable frowned. 

 

After leaving the village with the search party, it was quickly found out that Sable was struggling to keep up with the hunters and knights, who were used to moving in the snow. As a result, she was now being carried by Isaac, much to her chagrin. 

 

A few of the more experienced hunters volunteered to come along with the Grand Duke. Some of them shared Sable’s suspicion that the missing hunter may have fled to the unexplored region. 

 

With the hunters leading the way, the search party was quickly able to find the marked trees at the boundary of the unexplored region. It was then that the hunters moved back and allowed the knights to lead. 

 

It was also at this time that Sable activated her ability. At her request, Isaac did his best to keep her steady while carrying her. 

 

The search party moved at a steady pace, but not a single person spoke. They were now in uncharted territory and they would need to keep their guards up. 

 

For a few minutes, nothing happened. The search party continued forward, unable to find any signs of life, human or otherwise. 

 

The entire forest was deathly silent. 

 

Isaac was scanning his surroundings when he felt a light tug on his shoulder. He looked up to see Sable pointing to the northeast with a grim expression. 

 

She had sensed something. 

 

“Your Grace.” 

 

Isaac called out to the Grand Duke, who turned and nodded when he saw Sable. The search party quickly changed their direction and started moving in the direction that Sable was pointing at. 

 

A few of the knights were doubtful of her but soon changed their minds. The knights placed their hands on the hilt of their swords, and the entire search party became alert. 

 

The scent of blood was heavy in the air. 

 

As they moved closer, the metallic smell of blood grew stronger. Reaching a clearing in the trees, the search party finally laid their eyes on the source of the scent. 

 

It was a horrific sight. 

 

Blood was splattered all over the snow, and bits and pieces of flesh could be seen scattered around the area. Whatever it was that had been ripped apart was impossible to identify. 

 

That was until one of the hunters, who could barely look at the sight, spotted a small sack drenched in blood. Stepping forward, he leaned down to pick the sack and upon opening it, his face paled. 

 

Inside were a few strips of dried meat and a waterskin. 

 

They had found the hunter. 

 

“Be on your guard.” Grand Duke Lione had a grim expression. “Whatever did this could still be nearby.” 

 

The knights drew their swords and formed a perimeter as the Grand Duke and the hunters examined the gruesome evidence. 

 

“...Your Grace, this blood is more than a few hours old.” The hunter continued in a quieter voice. “He likely died last night.” 

 

 Grand Duke Lione clenched his jaw in frustration, but before he could speak, he heard Sable scream. 

 

“Isaac, move!” 

 

Isaac quickly dived forward, holding Sable protectively against his chest. He felt the wind rush right past where his head was, only a moment ago. 

 

Sable gripped his uniform tightly. The strong stench of blood had made her lose focus, and she barely heard the beast rushing towards them at the last second. 

 

A few more seconds and she might have been too late. 

 

The knights quickly reacted and pointed their swords at the beast that attacked Isaac and Sable. However, they couldn’t help but be surprised at what they saw. 

 

It was a wolf. And not just a single one. 

 

Moments later, two more wolves appeared from the treeline and circled the knights. The knights gripped their swords tightly as the wolves growled and bared their bloody fangs. 

 

It was clear that they were responsible for killing the hunter. 

 

Upon closer inspection, however, Sable found something odd about their appearance. The wolves were foaming at the mouth and their eyes flashed with a faint red light. 

 

She wasn’t the only one to notice something strange. Isaac could tell that the wolves’ mana was running rampant in their bodies and he could see them twitching in pain. 

 

Setting Sable down, Isaac drew his sword and moved her behind him. 

 

The frenzied wolves growled and approached the knights. 

 

“Get ready!” Grand Duke Lione yelled, readying his sword. 

 

One of the wolves lunged forward, attempting to bite the knights. The knights were quick to react and dodged to the side while slashing their swords at the wolf. 

 

Normally, this would be enough to deter a beast, but the wolf seemed to become even more frenzied. The knights struggled to hold it back. 

 

A second wolf attacked them from a different direction and now the knights were forced to split apart in order to deal with it. They needed to dispatch the wolves quickly. 

 

“Isaac, keep her safe!” Grand Duke Lione ordered. 

 

Isaac was trying to keep Sable out of the fray, and they kept a distance from the knights who were fighting. All of the knights and hunters were preoccupied with keeping the wolves at bay. 

 

Sable could do nothing but stay close to Isaac and watch the fighting unfold. There were cuts all over the wolves, but some of the knights had also taken a few wounds, although not enough to incapacitate them. 

 

Sable was suddenly yanked backwards by Isaac. Caught off guard, she stumbled and fell. 

 

Looking up, she saw Isaac holding back a wolf’s claws with his sword. A fourth wolf had shown up. 

 

“Isaac!” 

 

“Stay back!” He grunted in exertion from the wolf pushing against him. It clawed at him several times and a few cuts were appearing on his body. 

 

Sable stood up, frantically trying to figure out something that she could do to help him. The rest of the knights were busy dealing with the other wolves, so it would take some time for them to come to Isaac’s aid. 

 

However, as capable a knight as Isaac was, he would not be able to fight the wolf on his own for long. Especially one that was in a frenzied state. 

 

Sable’s mind raced. She needed to find a way to distract the wolf. 

 

Gathering a handful of bloodied snow, Sable ran to the side, making sure to keep her distance from the wolf. Once she was close to a tree, she threw the snowball as hard as she could at the wolf. 

 

“Over here!” 

 

However, the wolf paid no attention to her, intent on attacking Isaac. He was slowly getting overwhelmed. 

 

“No!” 

 

Memories flashed through her eyes. She couldn’t let someone die in front of her again. 

 

As she was about to take a step forward, she heard several branches snapping behind her. Something large was approaching the clearing. 

 

Sable’s heart sank. 

 

“Is this where I’m going to die?” 

 

A large, black mass moved in front of her.