Chapter 7 : A beauty in the forest

While William went back to his training, Erec went exploring the forest to look for anything that might be useful.

He learned from Hina that the forest was once populated by primitive tribes and that they had left behind ruins of what seemed to be temples.

However, their descendants still lived in a village in the forest, and the presence of any outsider was forbidden from their beloved temples.

Erec wasn't planning on stealing their legacy nor was he willing to start a war, so he enhanced his senses to travel silently in the shadow by muffling the noises that would've made him spotted.

Soon after, he arrived at what seemed to be ruins of an ancient civilization, he could tell by the sight of the temples and habitations that these tribes weren't that primitive.

They had barely any cracks, save for some lichens, the wooden buildings stood still against the signs of time.

The well-preserved city featured edifices from oak that went up to three floors and which was parted in the middle by three perfectly identical sanctuaries that formed a triangle.

Erec first wanted to verify that the buildings did not contain anything valuable or that could be useful, but unfortunately, he only found basic living necessities.

So he headed to the temples, curious about what would these 'primitive' tribes leave behind, so as he stepped into the first one he was greatly surprised to see a young woman attached in the entrance of the building.

"Who are you ?" Asked the woman in an agressive tone, "you're not from my village so why are you here?"

Erec pondered for a moment before answering, "Well I'm just passing by, sorry to disturb." Then he just walked away, aware of what she wanted from him.

She panicked and reached out for him instantly, "Hey come back. D-don't leave me here! I'm the daughter of the chief and I'll give you whatever you want, money, treasures, lands, just untie me!"

Erec, who wasn't planning on leaving her here, still wanted to tease her a bit, "Sorry but I'm perfectly fine without it, have a nice day!"

She panicked at first, wondering why would someone refuse such an enticing offer, and he just had to untie her!

Then she thought that he was doubting her saying as he had no guarantee that she would respect her promise, "I-if you want, I can swear with my blood, oaths of blood are sacred in my village, If I break one I might be cursed by my ancestors."

Erec answered in a calm voice witnessing that she was falling right into it, "I never said I didn't believe you I'm just not interested in money...or treasures...or lands..." Then he proceeded to 'analyze' her, looking for anything that might explain her situation.

She was well dressed, and except for her messy hair and some dirt on her robes, there was nothing to testify mistreatment or abuse. Her long hair was blonde, she had a beautiful face and a well-shaped body, a real beauty like we rarely see.

He stared at her pondering why would a beautiful woman, the daughter of the chief on top of that, be tied up in the temple, with no signs of abuse.

"Who are you ? and why are you attached in a temple ?" her situation had caught his interest.

'It must be a tradition or something like that...' thought Erec.

"My name is Nestra" said the young woman, "and I just turned 16, the legal age for marriage, so I started going out with a few men in my village and they started fighting over me, and because I couldn't choose one it continued for three days... So, to prevent any more damage, my father tied me here and said that I was dead."

'Fighting over a woman...what a bunch of idiots...' sighed Erec.

"H-hey, if you really don't want money or fame, I...can give you myself..." declared Nestra, with a hesitant tone, determined to leave this temple at any cost.

"So you're telling me that you're willing to give me money, fame, treasures, and even yourself. And I just have to untie you?" asked with an innocent face.

Nestra, who couldn't sense the sarcasm, nodded in approval.

Erec was genuinely smiling, he waited his whole life for this moment...

"I refuse."

'W-what... literally everyone was willing to die just to marry... yet he refused like I was nothing... is the outside world really filled with so much woman like me... or maybe he's not really a man... or maybe he loves "differently"...' multiple questions beset the mind of Nestra, who was trying to find a plausible explanation for his refusal.

However, to her surprise, Erec took out a knife and cut the ropes that imprisoned her.

"W-why are you-"

"I refused your offer but I never said that I won't help you" Erec winked at her in a friendly way as if they went from strangers to close friends in the blink of an eye.

"Anyway, The sun will set in an hour at the best, so I'll need to go back as soon as possible, I don't feel like fighting nocturnal predators," said Erec, before turning around and making his way back to Hina's house.

He wasn't surprised when he noticed her following him, she was technically 'dead' in her tribute so she couldn't return to her hometown, and she had nowhere else to go.

The two of them started chatting and quickly got to know each other, Erec was quite interested in her life in the tribe, especially their traditions and legends which have been passed down from generation to generation since the dawn of time.

He was listening attentively to her tales of demons and gods, her tribe believed in multiple deities and often sacrificed precious resources to ask for their protection.

'What a waste of wealth...' sighed Erec inwardly, however, he respected their beliefs and kept his opinion for himself as it would've greatly offended his companion.

When they arrived, Erec managed to shortly explain how he met with Nestra and her situation to Hina, then asked if she could stay here until she can fend for herself.

Of course, Hina couldn't refuse something to him, as he saved her as well as her son and her maid, besides, she wasn't the type of person to ignore helpless people.

Meanwhile, back to the warmth room, started preparing the next and last lesson, the most important one since it will be decisive in whether or not William wins his match. He was sitting on the wooden desk used by William for his studies, with a quill in his hands and an inkwell handy, drawing multiple body positions on the blank pages.

This was an important moment, as he was going to teach him how he has dealt with all his responsibilities in his past life.

On the cover of the book was written: "The art of dodging".