After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

"we are……"

"We are slave traders, and we are about to drag you out and sell you!"

Before the woman could answer, the burly man next to her spoke first with a strange smile on his face.

"If a little girl like you were sold to the north, she'd be worth a few gold coins. That's how we make money... Ahhhh—"

He didn't finish his words because the woman punched him and knocked him to the ground.

"Don't scare her! She's so weak, what if something happens?!"

Then she sighed, turned her head and said with a smile:

"Don't listen to his nonsense. We are adventurers hired to defeat the mountain giants."

“…Adventurer.”

People of Heidi's level have basically no chance to interact with adventurers and know very little about them.

But this chaotic equipment does give me the impression of an adventurer.

"I... ugh—"

Just as she was about to speak, a strong feeling of nausea almost made Heidi roll her eyes and fall over.

The recovery of the senses is not all good.

"...Uh, where am I?"

"The mountain giant's lair is a crevice hidden deep in the forest. It took us a lot of effort to find it."

The woman said, pointing upwards.

You can indeed see a crack, through which sunlight is coming in.

"We finally killed this guy, and when we were collecting the spoils, we found you. He, you're lucky. This guy has killed many people, and you're the only survivor."

"I……"

Heidi covered her forehead and shook her head.

The good news is that I am still alive.

But what should we do next?

The plan to lure the enemy that was formulated at the beginning has completely lost its effectiveness.

The Duke's Alliance must have figured out the purpose of their trip, so the road to Tafia would inevitably become extremely dangerous.

And I had just taken the first step, but I was already covered in bruises and in such a miserable state.

I don’t know how many dangers are waiting for me ahead.

The princess turned her gaze away, closed her eyes with a look of sorrow on her face, and fell into a state of bewilderment.

Of course, the female adventurer had no idea what Heidi was thinking at the moment. She just thought she was frightened and still a little shaken.

Then he said:

"This is not the place to talk. Let's go out first. We have a camp outside."

Chapter 19 Heidi's evaluation is that she is not as good as Aize

After being dragged out of the crack in the ground, Heidi followed the adventurers outside.

In the forest not far from the crack, there was a small camp where they had set up. The conditions were simple, but at least they could rest for a while.

It was only at this moment that Heidi saw the full picture of this team of adventurers for the first time.

Including the three people I met in the cave before, there are about a dozen people in total. For adventurers, this is already a very large team.

Although the equipment was varied, they were all of high quality. The woman known as the big sister was even wearing enchanted armor that could only be produced in the Holy City Workshop.

It should be a very elite team.

Heidi sat down by the fire, took the blanket handed to her and wrapped herself in it.

The camp was so poorly conditioned that there was naturally no place for the princess to take a bath.

As a result, the extremely unpleasant smell became more obvious after leaving the cave.

Various sticky liquids soaked the clothes and hair. As the temperature of the sun and the flames gradually dried, they turned into large stains that stuck the hair and clothes together.

For the nobles who pay attention to their image, especially the royal family, this is extremely disgusting.

I even wanted to die.

But putting aside the psychological factors, the warmth of the situation and the slowly relaxing mood still allowed Heidi's body to recover quickly.

Not only did the wound heal bit by bit, but even the arm that was shattered under the giant's weight was slowly able to move freely.

The protection of the toughest hero still protects her.

"Here, eat something."

The female adventurer disappeared briefly, then came back with two pieces of dry bread and a simple hot soup, and placed them next to Heidi.

To be honest, Heidi didn't feel like eating given her disgusting hygiene.

But reason prevailed. In order to recover strength faster, he had to eat.

"……Thanks."

After rubbing her dirty hands on the clean part of the blanket as much as possible, the princess suppressed her nausea and took a bite of the bread.

unpalatable.

It has no taste at all and is so hard that it can break your teeth.

Of course, she didn't show it.

And now, Heidi could finally see the adventurer's appearance clearly.

She is not young, probably in her mid-thirties, with light blond hair and well-proportioned facial features. Even though half of her face is covered by burns, she still looks beautiful, and there is an inexplicable sharpness in her eyes.

He was quite tall and in great shape, and could be easily spotted even in his armor.

Compared to that, look at your own...it's better not to mention it.

After observing Heidi's appearance, the other party took the lead and asked:

"What's your name? And how did the mountain giants take you to their lair?"

"Uh……"

Heidi pretended to cringe, but was actually trying to figure out how to respond.

Real name, definitely can’t be told.

Her name and hair color basically made it impossible to deny her identity as a princess.

How will I explain myself then?

You can't tell others that you are being hunted, how different is that from giving yourself away?

"My name is... Elena."

In a hurry, Heidi decided to use the name of her confidant to fool people.

"My father is a businessman. This time, when I was doing business with him, he was attacked by a mountain giant. He, he... wuwuwu——"

As he said that, he put down the bread, covered his face with his hands and started sobbing.

Heidi is quite good at acting. If we just look at the performance itself, even someone as smart as Aize can't find any flaws.

Moreover, having a miserable experience can also shape your personal image so that you can get away with some sensitive issues later.

The female adventurer obviously had no doubts. After sighing softly, she didn't say anything more, but waited quietly for her to finish crying.

All of a sudden, it was several minutes.

"Feel sorry."

Heidi pretended to wipe her eyes, then looked at the other person and asked:

"Who are you and where is this place?"

"This is the forest near Limok. We are adventurers sent by Limok's lord, Earl Stevenson, to defeat the mountain giants."

As she spoke, the woman patted her chest.

"I am Captain Valeria."

"Well, that's it..."

Heidi nodded slowly and began to think in her heart.

Limok, a city in the western part of the kingdom.

Its lord, Earl Stevenson, had sided with Brian in the factional struggles within the kingdom.

With Brian's fall from power, he, like many other nobles who were Brian's followers, fell into an awkward position, so he wrote to Heidi early on, trying to build a relationship with her.

If I can convince this guy to help me, maybe I can reach Tafia smoothly?

Then we must act quickly.

Not to mention the tight time schedule, my current location shouldn't be too far from the riverbank. If the other party comes after me, I can't expect these adventurers to save me, right?

While she was thinking, the female adventurer who called herself Valeria asked again:

"So what are you going to do next?"

"I...I don't know..."

Heidi pretended to cover her face again. After a while of struggling with tears in her eyes, she raised her head, looked at the other person with tears in her eyes, and asked:

"If you guys...are going to Rimok, can you take me with you? I have an uncle who lives in Rimok. If we go there, maybe..."

"Miss, we are adventurers. Hiring us costs money~"

The burly man who had been chewing his tongue in the crack of the ground just now jumped out from the side and looked at Heidi with a smirk on his face.

Now it was Heidi who was penniless.

The gems he had brought with him when he left the city, and even the magic detection crystal that was his father's legacy, all disappeared in the water as he drifted down the river for a whole day.

Of course, even if you have money on you, you can't take it out.

Otherwise, wouldn’t my identity be exposed?

But thankfully, it seems to have been a joke.

Valeria gave the strong man a cold look and said unhappily:

"Andre, if you don't want to sweep the stables for a month, shut your stinky mouth!"

"Yes yes yes~"

The strong man called Andre smiled and shook his head, then sat down next to the fire.

Following him was the man with glasses whom he had just met in the cave.

The latter looked at Heidi, pushed up his glasses, and asked:

"Miss, I'm very curious about how you managed to survive in the mountain giant's food pile."

Heidi blinked:

"...food pile?"

"Yes. According to records, mountain giants would eat their prey on the spot after capturing it. They would then mash up the remaining meat and bring it back to their lair, where they would mix it together and wait for it to ferment and rot before eating it. There was no record of them capturing humans alive."

Are those things that look so scary, actually used for eating?

Heidi is a little hard to imagine.

At the same time, he was secretly glad that the ugly guy was not very hungry when he was caught.

Or maybe it has already eaten itself, but just found it too hard to bite?

Who knows.

The man with glasses said this, and he took out a notebook from somewhere and started writing quickly on it: