I entered the tent carrying a dented pot filled with stream water.
In one corner of the tent was a small stove for brewing tea, which also served as a fireplace in the winter.
I lit the stove and placed the well-dried dandelion flowers into the pot.
Just a few minutes of boiling, and the dandelion tea, capturing both health and taste, would be ready.
Dandelion tea, as delicious and nutty as green tea.
Would the girl actually like the tea I brewed?
Worryingly, I stared at the vigorously boiling pot until I was startled.
There was no reason for me to worry about the girl’s assessment.
‘If she says it’s not tasty, I’ll just drink it all.’
It would only be a loss for those who refuse something good because of taste.
After pouring the finished dandelion tea into cups, I stood there blankly.
When would the girl come?
Just as I felt frustrated with the cooling tea, familiar footsteps approached from outside the tent.
“Gyeoul, can you come out for a bit?”
“Yes.”
I walked out of the tent holding two cups of tea.
In the girl’s hands were several unfamiliar items.
“Look, I’ve bought lots of barbecue supplies.”
“Barbecue?”
“Yes. I thought it’d be nice to grill meat while listening to the stream.”
“Ah…”
She might have a strange personality, but she knows romance.
I was worried about the expense of the items she brought.
If it was for her own satisfaction, then I had nothing to say.
“Can you help me set it up near the stream?”
“Yes, but the tea is getting cold…”
“Oh. Right! Let’s drink the tea first.”
She took one of the cups from my hand.
Her adventurer-like demeanor of drinking the hot tea without blowing was impressive.
“How is it?”
Looking up at the girl with the cup’s rim at my lips, I felt a mix of anticipation and worry.
It was the first time someone tasted the tea I brewed.
“Mmm… It’s nutty and sweet. You brewed it really well?”
“Really?”
I thought she was just a foolish witch.
Does she know enough to appreciate the taste of tea?
I felt an inexplicable relief and blew on my tea.
“Mmm.”
Dandelions are indeed delicious.
As I savored the tea with my eyes closed, the girl suddenly let out a strange exclamation.
“Huh? Gyeoul, this…”
“Yes?”
The girl, with eyes wide as a horned rabbit, fidgeted with her hands.
Wondering if there was some problem, she checked herself over.
“Why does this have a doping effect…?”
Doping?
Isn’t that what athletes secretly take before a competition?
As I tilted my head in confusion, I sensed someone approaching from the nearby forest.
Thud-Thud-
Through my sensitive ears, I could hear the heavy footsteps of a four-legged animal.
The sporadic grunting confirmed it was the creature that had tormented me for years.
I needed to run away quickly.
But what about the girl?
In a panic, I stamped my feet and shouted at her.
“A-a pig! A pig!”
“A pig?! I’m quite slim, though…?!”
“No, not you! A wild, fierce wild boar-!”
Perhaps my explanation was too poor, as the girl’s mouth fell open in shock.
She even patted her own stomach, looking down.
“Uh, I am strong, but not to the extent of being called a wild boar…”
Was she playing around in this critical situation?
I’m angry at her playful attitude, but given the circumstances, I hastily grabbed the girl’s hand and dragged her to a shelter inside the tent.
‘This is bad.’
The shelter could only accommodate one person.
Only one of us, either the girl or me, could enter it.
In the frantic situation, I opened the lid of the shelter and pushed the girl’s head inside.
“Hurry, get in!”
“Uh, okay?”
The girl entered the shelter without resistance.
Just as I was about to close the lid, she stuck her head out and hit it.
Thud-!
Despite the loud noise, she blinked as if nothing had happened.
“Gyeoul, what’s happening?”
“A wild boar is coming!”
The wild boar was getting closer.
I wasn’t sure of the exact distance, but it was probably about three hundred meters away.
As the distance to the creature decreased, my whole body trembled more intensely.
“A wild boar? I didn’t feel anything.”
“I heard footsteps about three hundred meters away.”
“Three hundred meters?”
The girl’s eyes turned towards my ears on top of my head.
Reacting to her gaze, my ears fluttered uncontrollably.
“Wow, Gyeoul, your hearing has improved so much?”
Even in a critical situation, she was intent on investigating my transformed body.
She truly was a crazy witch.
A bit angry, I used my whole body to press her head down.
“Stay hidden here until the pig leaves. I can escape up a tree.”
“Gyeoul, wait a moment.”
Ignoring my pressing, she suddenly stood up from her spot.