In Terra, she is a hunter and a bad woman.

"Woo?"

"The diary mentioned that this place is a safe zone... If the problems in this forest are truly caused by those 'beasts', then this weapon, stained with the aura of the beasts, is the reason this place is a safe zone."

After observing carefully for a few times, Maria lowered her head and put the weapon back into the hands of the pitiful puppy girl who was about to cry.

After recovering the weapon, the puppy girl became obviously wary of Maria, holding the weapon tightly with both hands.

And it was because of this that Maria saw the words carved on the axe handle.

but……

"can't read."

Maria is a very smart woman, but... obviously, no matter how smart a person is, it is impossible to learn another language out of thin air, so she could only watch.

"Woo?"

"If this thing is related to you, then the carvings on it might be something related to you... perhaps the names of your relatives, or perhaps a record of your origins."

After stroking the axe hidden in the puppy girl's arms for a few times, Maria shook her head silently and said no more.

The matter was almost over here, and Maria had no intention of pursuing it any further. She just told the girl to keep the weapon well, then turned around silently and came to the camp.

There's also storage for weapons and some sharpening tools.

Although it is very fragmented, it is not a problem in case of emergency.

After Maria selected a fairly suitable long knife, she began to polish it slowly.

There is no place or tools to repair the gap, but at least the curled edge should be dealt with properly.

There are also dull areas that need to be polished again.

As she thought about it, Maria gradually became more focused.

For hunters, weapons are their lives. If they lose their weapons or don’t have suitable weapons, their lives will be shaky!

There is absolutely no room for carelessness in this matter!

When the puppy girl saw Maria's actions, she also watched subconsciously.

I am also very curious.

Soon, he followed suit and started using the rough stone to sharpen his axe.

However, compared to Maria's method, the puppy girl was much rougher. She just randomly scraped her axe with the stone.

After a while, Maria had polished her weapon.

The sound of iron colliding on the side also attracted her attention.

"..."

"Woo!"

The puppy girl took a stone and hit the front of the axe hard.

But she still looked serious.

It's a bit hard to understand.

But Maria could understand to some extent that the other party was learning about her.

After all, under the hierarchy of beasts, lower-level creatures will always unconsciously imitate and learn the behavior of higher-level creatures.

This is also part of the wisdom called inheritance.

only……

"Weapon polishing isn't done this way..."

"Woo?"

The puppy girl tilted her head and looked at Maria strangely.

Maria also slowly put the long sword into the scabbard, and then stretched out her hand.

Before the puppy girl could react, he held it in his arms.

The soft body separated by the stiff cloth only allowed the body temperature of the two people to be constantly exchanged.

Maria grabbed the puppy girl's hand with one hand, making her hold the weapon, and with the other hand, she controlled her and picked up the whetstone.

"There are rules for sharpening a knife. For a beginner, setting excessively high standards is obviously unreasonable. However, your actions just now would make even the most foolish layman faint with anger."

Maria spoke slowly.

Although the content was sarcastic, the gentle words did not contain any contempt.

Her voice was so soft, as if she was speaking right into the puppy girl's ear.

Although he looked cold on the outside, he was still warm on the inside. The breath he exhaled was long and dense, sweeping across the girl's neck and sneaking into her brain.

It's just like……

Like my mom...

"Woo!"

"Look... sharpening the knife, it's like this."

Maria didn't notice the puppy girl's gradually twisting legs and restless little ears. She just carefully grasped the girl's hand and guided her to slowly sharpen the axe.

Although for a heavy weapon like an axe, a slight dullness does not affect its use, it is only to a slight extent.

Rough tactics like the one the girl just used would only significantly shorten the lifespan of this seemingly extraordinary weapon.

This is not good.

After giving the puppy girl some guidance, Maria let go of her hand and signaled her to continue polishing on her own.

The puppy girl also showed some loss at this time.

She turned around, looked at Maria behind her, and then looked at the axe in her hand.

After thinking for a while, she widened her eyes and a look of ambition appeared on her face.

She reached out carefully, her muscles tense.

A little bit...

The stone and iron touched each other, making a rustling sound.

The puppy girl held her breath and tried hard to imitate the movements Maria had just taught her, moving forward bit by bit.

In the light of the fire that had just been lit in the camp, the little girl was studying seriously.

Chapter 9 The Lost Puppy

"Huh...huh..."

Inside the camp, the little girl was happily lying on the not-so-soft carpet and sleeping soundly.

Although she had slept in the first half of the night, this rest time was too little compared to the physical exertion.

So after polishing her weapon, she couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep on the ground.

Time also passes by.

I don’t know how long it took, until the sun was about to set, the puppy girl stretched lazily and climbed up from the stall.

He looked around with slightly blurry eyes.

"Woo?"

The same kind... disappeared?

She turned her head and looked everywhere, but couldn't find Maria.

This made her mood suddenly depressed.

As a result, the tail drooped a lot.

Gone...

My companion...is gone...

Sadly, she slowly walked out of the tent, holding the axe that seemed strangely familiar to her.

The camp still looked the same as when she arrived. The only difference was that Maria seemed to have tidied up the camp during the day. All the props that could still be used were selected, and the useless ones were thrown aside.

At the campfire, the wood had burned out, leaving only faint sparks still dancing.

"Sniff sniff~"

The puppy girl closed her eyes, tilted her little head back, and began to sniff the air around her.

A sweet and comfortable smell also lingered around her.

There is food!

Her eyes suddenly lit up and she looked in the direction of the fragrance again.

Right next to the campfire, the pancakes wrapped in simple parchment lay there quietly.

Because it was close to the fire, the food was still warm even at this time.

An expression of excitement suddenly appeared on the puppy girl's face.

But she was cautious and did not rush out. Instead, she covered her rumbling stomach and carefully observed her surroundings for a while.

After making sure there were no enemies around, she ran over excitedly, picked up the scone on the ground and started to eat it with the paper.

Because they still had some supplies, Maria was a little more generous this time, adding some sugar to the simple scones.

Although it wasn't much and the taste was very light, for the puppy girl, it was indeed a completely new taste that she had never experienced before.

When you take a bite, a light wheat aroma emanates, with a hint of subtle sweetness hidden in it.

This is good stuff!

It is difficult for a girl in the forest to taste sweetness. Even if she does, it is often mixed with various impurities.

Such pure sweetness is a rare delicacy for her.

In an instant, her eyes lit up!

She finished a scone in no time.

But when faced with the remaining pancake in her hand, the puppy girl felt a little conflicted.

The sweet taste rushed into her mind like a poison, leaving behind an indescribable taste of happiness. Her hungry instinct urged her to quickly eat the remaining scones.

but……

The girl looked at the thing in her hand with a confused expression.

At this time, Black Maria also slowly walked out of the forest nearby...

"Even if the crisis is over, you shouldn't be like that, defenseless."

Seeing the puppy girl struggling there, Maria's first words were a scolding.

But unfortunately, her slightly arrogant reminder was not understood by the puppy girl.

The other person just tilted his head and looked at Maria strangely.

Although I don’t know how she felt when she saw Maria again, but... the wagging tail showed her mood.

She is very happy.

After looking at each other for a few seconds, she gritted her teeth and reluctantly handed over the scone in her hand.

After straightening her arms, she forced herself to turn her head away and not look at the scone.

Obviously, it takes great courage for her to do such a thing.

This made the words Maria wanted to continue to say get stuck in her throat.

She had made these two scones for the little puppy girl to eat.

I thought the other party would eat it all.

did not expect……

And left one for yourself?