Unmarked Path

--AN) 38+ advanced chapters on https://www.patreon.com/invayne--

Morning came, and the sounds of Mei's moans filled the forest. The poor fox girl was not only being sucked dry of her blood but also eaten from below but a cat girl. Shizuku licked her lips as she looked at Mei, who was now struggling to stand, and grinned. "Seems that I overdid it a little. Miyu, watch over Mei. You both can stay here, but if anything happens, you are to use our connection and run to me, got it?"

"Yes!" Miyumi nodded as she licked her fingers, which were still sticky. "I will help Mei get dressed."

Shizuku hated giving orders, but if she did not, if she moved too far away, it would be them who suffered until they were close enough again. Shizuku smiled and gave both girls a peck on the cheek before running off into the forest. She could sense a few monsters around. What they were, she did not know, but she figured they would make a good breakfast. She wanted to try to save some of the food they had for later. At first, she was fine with eating it, but after thinking about it last night while she watched, she figured it would be nice to have a decent meal every so often.

After searching for a while, Shizuku stumbled upon a massive bear monster that was three times her size. "Oooo!" And she was not scared one bit. In fact she was thrilled to see such a monster since it was different from what she saw in the dungeons. She had been trying to put together a kind of encyclopedia of monsters she had fought thus far, so any time she saw a new one, she got excited. "Now, what kind of attacks can you do?"

*Boom!*

A few minutes later, many trees were now lying on their side. Shizuku was now sitting on top of the massive bear, writing in her little book what she learned. "It used mana to enhance its strength. But I do not think this is a skill…. Mmmm… I will need to investigate this more later. If mana is able to enhance your strength, then maybe I can make use of that. At any rate, this was at least level 25, which is not too bad for a forest, I guess."

As she sat and mumbled to herself, blades of blood still spun around her. Only when she was done noting down everything she had seen did she begin dissecting the massive bear and storing the meat and useful parts. When she was done, she made her way back to camp.

"I got some bear meat!" Shizuku cheered as she walked over to see Miyumi tending to the fire, boiling some water. 

"Perfect timing. I have already begun stewing the mushrooms. Mei checked, and they were safe to eat and even help with digestion." Miyumi explained.

"Okay, I will chop up some meat for you girls then. I already extracted all the blood out of it. Also, from now on, you both can move freely. This is an order. It would be bad if something happened and you couldn't escape due to restraints." Shizuku did not know why she did not think of this before. 

"As long as I am still bound to you, I am fine with anything," Miyumi replied.

"As long as I can be with Master." Mei was the one who was the most dependent on Shizuku. Her world revolved around the one person who saw her as a person and not some kind of discarded trash.

"We will be together forever." Shizuku grinned as she pushed a bunch of meat into the pot. 

Mei and Miyumi both ate a big breakfast, and the group broke down camp and left, heading back out toward the road. They had only gone about five miles when they came across a dirt path. Miyumi looked confused: "The map doesn't show this road." 

"Then let's walk down it!" Shizuku turned and began walking down the road without a second thought. She was in this new world and was doing new things. She was also not in a hurry, so there was no point in just sticking to the path ahead. While yes she had a destination, that did not mean she was unwilling to adventure a little.

"Wait for me!" Mei hurried to catch up while Miyumi chuckled, rolled up her map, and put it away before jogging after them. She was happy. Not only was she able to be with the girl she loved, but she also did not have to hide her own feelings anymore. She could be with Shizuku openly and not have the world looking down on her. 

They traveled down the side road that cut into the forest for quite a ways before hearing shouting from not to far off. "Why do you keep coming every day!? Our village can not survive if you keep taking all our food!"

 "If you do not want to give us food, then give us some women!"

"We can't!"

Shizuku and the girls slowly made their way around the bend to see an old man standing his ground to five burly men in typical bandit outfits. The leader even had a scar over one eye. 

"You have no choice. It is either food or women. If you do not decide in five seconds, it will be both!" 

"How about I just kill you five now, and then they won't have to give you anything?" Shizuku's cold voice came from behind the men, causing them to all turn around.