“If we’re going to spend the night here, we should at least wash ourselves first. At this rate, we’ll get a skin disease.”

After finishing her story, Amy grumbled while looking down at her body, which was covered in rotten blood, saying she definitely needed to clean up.

“Especially you, Hilde. You really need to wash. You’ve got a bunch of leftover scratches from fighting, right? If you leave them like that, you could catch an infection.”

“That’s true…?”

Infection, huh? It was a reasonable point.

Undead blood is basically a festering mound of pathogens. If it seeps into a wound, the chances of getting sepsis or necrosis skyrocket.

Brunhilde’s body was said to have strong resistance to infectious diseases, so it wasn’t likely to happen, but…

‘…It’s better to be careful, right?’

Resistance isn’t immunity; it implies exceptions or limits.

There was no need to test those limits. If I end up sick, it would only be my loss.

So, I agreed with Amy’s suggestion to wash up.

The problem was…

“Even if we wash up… is there a water source around here?”

If it’s just wetting some cloth to wipe off, we could manage with drinking water, but to really wash, we’d need at least a decent stream.

However, it was uncertain whether there was such a source in this small forest.
I hadn’t seen any, and now, wandering through the woods looking for a stream seemed truly ambiguous.

I had decided to rest for a bit before joining the paladins, intending to stay in this cave until tomorrow morning, but if I had to spend that time wandering around looking for water, it’d be counterproductive.

“There wasn’t one nearby….”

Friede, who had been listening, chimed in quietly.
There was some snow piled up near the ruins, but around here, she said there was only a shallow and narrow trickle of mud that was barely ankle-deep!
In other words, bathing was out of the question.

“Who said we’d wash in a stream?”

However, Amy smirked like she was worried over nothing, took out her magic book, and waved her staff at me.

“Uh, Amy?”

She seemed ready to cast an attack spell on me at any moment.
I reflexively halted my hand that was reaching for the hilt of my sword and asked her intent in pointing the staff at me.

“I’ll clean you up, so just stay still. If you move too much, it’ll disperse.”

Amy looked at me with a calm face, whether she knew I was about to have my neck sliced off or not.

“Purgo.”

The next moment, power surged from the magic book, wrapping around me before transforming into a swirling vortex of water.

Whooooosh!

The water whirlwind spun quickly, penetrating even through my armor.
The blood and filth that clung to my body and clothes were swept away, dissolving into the whirlpool.

It felt like being trapped in a drum washer.
This was a non-combat spell recorded in Amy’s magic book, ‘The Book of Adventures.’ It was a cleansing spell.

When did she learn such a spell?
It didn’t seem like she could use it last time… Maybe she had improved a bit and could now learn more types of magic.

About a minute passed like that.

Splat!

Once the washing was over, the thoroughly soiled water tornado detached from my body and splashed into the corner of the cave like a water balloon.

Phew….

I sighed in relief, feeling a refreshing sensation from my clean and fluffy clothes.
Although it wasn’t a proper bath since I only used water without soap, it wasn’t too shabby.

The foul stench of rotten blood vanished completely, and I couldn’t help but blurt out in admiration.

Ohh, a wizard, ohh.
Not only was it a washing spell, but it also dried perfectly. The water whirlpool that had cleaned me collected and dispelled any remaining moisture from my body and clothes.

“How was it?”

Amy grinned confidently and asked for my thoughts.
“Uh… thanks. I didn’t expect there’d be a method like that.”
I noted the clothes now crisp and slightly rustly and expressed my gratitude.

“Oh, and while I appreciate it… just give me a heads up before doing stuff like this. I got a bit startled at first.”

I added a piece of advice.
If she was going to use a cleansing spell, she should’ve informed me before pointing the staff at me. I was close to drawing my sword.

When a mage points their staff at you, it’s basically declaring they’re going to fire a spell at you.
Given that I had somewhat befriended her, I managed to hold back. If it had been someone I just met, I probably would have pulled out my sword right away.

“Hilde, you splashed water on my face too, right? Let’s consider it even.”

Of course, Amy didn’t realize that her life was on the line and just chuckled, thinking it was a joke.

◆◆

After setting her staff down and finishing washing her body, Amy mentioned she had depleted her cleansing spell uses and was about to put the magic book away.

She casually turned away from Friede, who was covered in sweat and blood just like us.
“…is that really all of them?”

“Um… well… I guess?”
Amy trailed off, turning her head.

It was obvious. She could still use it at least once, but was teasing us, pretending she couldn’t.

“I’m… I’m okay, Miss Hilde. I mean, Amy just started her adventurer work… no, she’s still a rookie, right…?”

Friede chuckled and shook her head.
She was squinting and smiling, probably trying to show the composure and consideration of someone slightly older.

“Not being capable… It’s only natural, so I can bear it. As a senior.”

Because of her youthful face, she looked just like a kid bragging about her grades, which I found adorable.

“No, I can do it?!”

Amy frowned at the word ‘unable,’ pointing her staff at Friede.
“Purgo!”

There she goes, she could indeed use it.
I leaned against the cave wall, casually watching the water whirlwind directed at Friede’s face, chuckling at the sight.

Their bickering looked like a cat and a crow fighting, which was enough to make me smirk just from watching.

◆◆

After Amy cast her spell to wash herself, we filled our bellies with what little provisions we had and rested for six hours, soothing our weary bodies.
Amy sat leaning against one wall, eyes closed, meditating, while Friede clung to my side, polishing her large sword and armor while rambling casual conversation.

“Hey, Miss Hilde, do you have a favorite food? I, uh, like roasted duck….”

“I don’t particularly have any preferences… if I had to choose, I prefer meat over bread or fruits?”

People need to eat meat to gain strength.
Strength is muscle. Muscle is meat. As a warrior living off my blade, I firmly believed I should be tearing into meat rather than munching on bread.

“So, once we finish this quest and return to the city, what will you do…?”

“Well, I suppose I’ll look for the next quest?”

Things seemed to have gone awry with my luck, so I thought I should look for something a little safer next time.
To avoid the hellish experiences from this quest.

I had completed my original goal of leveling up as an adventures, so I figured there was no harm in focusing on living safely from now on.

Honestly, I thought this quest would be safer than usual since the paladins were with us.
‘Safe, my foot. Those paladins? Utterly useless.’

I’ll never accept another quest from those goons again.
As if they were zealots, they lost their minds the moment they saw the fake Abyss Priest and left their main forces.

They didn’t even show up until I finally struggled to take down the corpse giant.
Looking back, their absence during combat ended up being a stroke of luck for me.

However, at that moment, I had been in such a dire situation that I desperately needed their assistance.
‘My thinking was too shallow.’

As I took a moment to relax and reflect, I realized that if those paladins had joined our party, it would have led to utter chaos.

Just like Gerda discovered who I was, it’s possible some of those paladins recognized me from my appearance or fighting style.
If that happened, they would all turn against me, capturing me and dragging me off to the city.

What happens after that should be self-evident.
The goddess’s sect wouldn’t just let someone who betrayed the hero appointed by her roam free.

They’d either drag me straight off to the Kingdom of Rhine or lock me in an underground prison in their headquarters, torturing me until I become whatever it is that Hilde becomes.

So I had to ensure I concealed my face in front of their sect members. If I couldn’t cover my entire face, at least some part of it.

To be honest, I had been a little lax lately.
I thought that even if I showed my face, it wouldn’t be enough for them to recognize me. There are plenty of women with blonde hair and blue eyes.

However, after experiencing betrayal from my party member just a day after revealing my face, I couldn’t help but feel alert.
Ah, some will recognize me after all.

Gerda’s betrayal served to bring tension to my previously relaxed mind.
While it can’t be helped that Friede and Amy have already seen my face, I think I need to stay hidden from others for a while longer.
At least until years have passed and Brunhilde has turned into a name that is half-forgotten in everyone’s minds.

◆◆

Anyway, after resting for about six hours, my body which had been worn out by continuous triggering of skills and the effect of paralysis poison regained some vitality.
With the assurance that I could manage to escape should anything happen.

…That should be enough rest.
As the sun began to set, I stretched my weary body and started preparing for our camp.
Things like laying my cloak on the ground to set up a makeshift sleeping place or cutting logs to erect a simple barricade at the cave entrance.

With Amy’s alarm spell, I’d know if someone approached immediately, but… one can never be too careful, right?
Putting up something at the entrance seemed like it would allow for a more secure sleep. Both psychologically and physically.

Afterward, we laid down on the cloak and tried to sleep.
Actually, it was just Friede and Amy who fell asleep, while I remained wide awake for several hours past midnight.
I was still trying to gauge the last thing Amy might attempt while pretending to sleep.
I hadn’t completely shaken off my suspicion of her.
I had managed to shake off about eighty percent of it, but to fully eliminate the remaining doubts, I needed to keep observing her for some time.
That was really the reason I was in this cave for a day.
If I had moved right after waking up, I would have had enough time to find the paladins, but then I wouldn’t have had the ability to respond if anything happened.

In the worst-case scenario, Amy could very well say, “That girl over there? She’s Brunhilde!” as soon as we joined the paladins, meaning I needed to recover as much of my physical state as possible before that happened.

If I was back in top condition, even if the paladins turned against me, escaping would likely be possible.

So, after getting enough rest to restore my stamina, now I’m pretending to sleep while keeping an eye on Amy.
…….
Surprisingly, nothing happened at all. It felt like it’d reached three in the morning.

…Was I overthinking things?
If Amy had planned to target me while I was asleep, she would’ve started acting long ago. The fact that she hasn’t responded at all makes me think I can relax for now.

So, I let my guard down and sank into the land of dreams.
It was a peaceful night.
As if the fierce battles from last night and the dawn, and through the morning were all just a lie.