"Again, like I said, I didn’t do anything." Austin tried to inform Rowena that he didn’t deserve the praise she was showering on him, but Rowena simply smiled and explained further.

"I know you didn’t take the poisonous air away from the forest. The dragon lady did."

"She did?" This discovery genuinely shocked Austin.

"Yes, she did. I don’t know why she decided to help us, but since she said she saved you because you saved her, it only makes sense for me to thank you as well, because if it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have removed the poisonous air from the forest."

Austin remained silent, because he never could have imagined that helping the dragon lady would yield so many positive effects.

"So did she say what caused the poisonous air in the forest? And what about the dragon corpse rumoured to be in the forest, did she say anything about that too?" Austin asked, and Rowena shook her head in response.

"Like I said, I don’t really know why she decided to help us, because she won’t talk to anyone aside from you. She’s made that very clear since she brought you here, so I’m hoping the two of you can talk and find out what happened within that forest."

Austin nodded in understanding before asking. "I understand, but since you said the air there has cleared, can’t your knights check the forest to see if there’s really a corpse there or not?"

"They have, but Commander Aldren and his men saw nothing resembling a corpse, aside from a really large dead death worm. I believe that must have been your doing, not the dragon lady’s?"

"Yeah."

"I knew it, but I never took you to be someone strong enough to defeat a death worm."

"Yeah, neither did I." Austin smiled as the two walked over to take a seat on a nearby couch.

"Well, for a beast that’s at level three, you really did a great job defeating such a monstrosity. Anyways, most of my men were too scared to venture any deeper into the forest, because of the other death worms living further in. Aside from Commander Aldren, who is strong enough to defeat a death worm on his own, the others wouldn’t fare well against such a monster, and I would simply be sending them to their deaths if they ever encountered a death worm nest. So for now, I’ll be happy to wait for whatever you find out about the forest."

"Yeah, I’ll see what I can do about that." Austin replied calmly.

Strangely enough, he had been worried the dragon lady would be a really frightening person to approach, but from what he had been hearing about her so far, Austin felt she might be a lot more approachable than he had initially thought.

Now the room fell silent as the two of them had run out of things to talk about, but Rowena suddenly realised something and asked with a worried look on her face.

"Have you eaten anything since you woke up?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"You’ve been unconscious for five whole days. You must be hungry."

"Famished, actually."

"Oh, I’ll ask the maids to get you something to eat." Rowena instantly rose to her feet.

Since her friend was starving, it was only natural for her to make sure he had something to eat.

"What would you like? Just tell me and I’ll have the maids get it ready for you in a jiffy."

"Anything that doesn’t involve green tea is fine with me." Austin suggested, and Rowena couldn’t help but giggle cutely.

It was the first genuine giggle he had heard from the beautiful Countess, and it really made him happy to see her opening up to him more.

Meanwhile, Rowena maintained the beautiful smile on her lips as she wiped the invisible tears from the corners of her eyes. "So you really hate green tea, huh."

"Yep. I don’t really know what you all see in it."

"Well, it’s healthy for your body, and as your friend, it’s my duty to look out for you. So maybe the maids could add a drop of honey to the tea. How does that sound?"

"Still won’t drink it." Austin playfully crossed his arms and looked away, and Rowena couldn’t help but smile before nodding in understanding.

"Alright, I’ll let the maids know you won’t be having green tea with your meal."

"Thanks, you’re the best friend in the world." Austin smiled, and Rowena suddenly felt something stir in her chest.

She didn’t know what it was, but it felt really warm, and it came immediately after she noticed his smile accompanying the words he had said.

"Y-you’re welcome."

Austin smiled and stared at the ceiling as he reclined further into the couch. "Oh, I hope I won’t be eating alone." Austin stated as his forehead creased slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you’ll be eating with me, right?"

"Y-yeah, I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning."

"Good. I would much rather eat with my friend than eat all by myself."

Hearing this, a warm smile appeared on Rowena’s face as she asked Austin to wait while she informed the maids of what her friend would like to eat.

The maids immediately responded to their Countess’s request.

Strangely enough, their beloved Countess was a lot more particular about what she wanted for dinner that evening, which was a little different from her usual demands.

The air around her also seemed different.

Yes, it was a change from the usual demeanour they were more accustomed to, but it was still refreshing to see nonetheless.

As for what could have prompted such a change, the maids couldn’t help but wonder, but since their Countess had given them a task, they immediately decided to focus on that and nothing else.

Yes, it might have been late in the evening, but if the Countess was hungry, they were going to do their very best to satisfy her, and so the maids finished cooking within half an hour.

Now, Austin and Rowena found themselves sitting in the dining room with a small spread of food laid out in front of them.