Taming the future Mafia King

The Wanderer's Gift

Chapter Six: The Wanderer's Gift

Iris swung her hand, holding the stick back as she was about to throw it. The adorable and harmless dog only wanted to play. And so, that is what Iris will exactly do.

“Here boy, catch!” Iris commanded the dog as she threw it farther than she imagined. The dog’s ear immediately went up as he barked excitedly at Iris before running away at full speed, leaving Iris and the man alone.

Iris then looked up as he stared at the man with a weary expression and tone of voice. Just how long was he there? She asked herself.

“You can come down now. I’m pretty sure that it won’t be back shortly.” Iris assured the man who was still clinging to the tree with her hands on her hips.

The man then took a second as he stretched his head in the direction where the dog ran off to. After confirming that the dog was indeed far from them, the man slowly climbed down the tree. As he planted his feet on the ground, his knees gave up on him seeing as he collapsed down on his knee with a hand on the tree to support himself. It looked like he was still pretty shaken up by the whole thing.

“F-finally… Thank you, kind stranger.” The weak looking man then thanked Iris with a shaking tone of voice WIth a hand on his chest, he tried to calm himself. It looked like he was up there for quite some time now. Now Iris felt bad for him.

Curious, Iris then raised a question at the man as she squatted down on the ground without a care that it's very unlady-like. “Pardon me for asking, but why are you so scared of a dog?”

She asked as her expression changed into a look of interest. Iris had a prior conclusion that maybe he was bitten by a feral dog when he was a child. That's why he is that scared of dogs.

“Well, let’s just say that I have a bad history with those kind of ferocious animals…” He responded with a miserable look on his face as if he remembered something he always wanted to forget. Shivers went into his spines afterward, seeing that he shaked uncomfortably.

With that downcasting response, Iris then completely swatted down on the ground, making herself comfortable as she said in an exhausted tone of voice. “Eh. At least you are not being chased.”

She said as she ruffled the back of her head. Making her shoulder length hair even more messed up than it already was.

The man then raised his line of sight to Iris as he asked with a sympathetic smile on his face., “Rough day too, huh?” he asked with a sympathetic tone and expression as he glanced at Iris.

Hearing that, Iris couldn’t help but vent to someone she barely knew. She then groaned before answering.

“No s**t. I don’t know where the heck I am. My stomach is growling and my feet f*****g hurt from these damn heels!” She grumbled as she took off the two inch heels she was wearing the entire time.

Upon seeing how red and used her poor feet are, out of spite, she threw the shoe not far from where she was sitting. She will still need that later so she decided to not just mindlessly throw it somewhere far away. It would be a pain for her to walk in one show in the dark and cold forest. Both of them awkwardly stare at the lonely shoe that was in the distance.

To change the depressing atmosphere both of them created. The man then showed a delighted smile knowing that he could help Iris with her problem. “Oh is that so? You should have told me sooner. I have food here. Have some. It is at least what I could do for you as a thank you for saving my life.” He said as he took off the big camping bag from his back, whipping up some fruits and water from it.

Upon seeing that, Iris couldn’t help but stare at the fruits laid out before her. Her eyes were shining as she could feel herself drooling. Earlier, Iris was cursing seeing that there were no fruits that could be seen in the forest. What kind of forest would this be without any tree that could produce at least something edible? She remembered asking herself earlier.

“Saving your life is an overstatement, but I won’t decline with that offer!” She immediately accepted the offer as she grabbed an apple and shoved it in her mouth without any second thought.

Iris knew that taking food offered by a stranger is not a good idea. But she was too hungry to care.

….

“So you came into this world after falling in that shallow lake?”

The man asked Iris, just to be sure. With his arms crossed, he then put a finger on his chin as if he was thinking hard.

“Uhuh. Crazy right? I understand if you won’t believe me. I mean, I wouldn’t too.” Iris responded, reassuring the man before her after she took a big gulp of water from the water container given to her by the man.

As the night entered, Iris decided to camp out outside. Oddly, she found comfort and reassurance being with this stanger. Just talking with him could make Iris instantly see that he doesn’t have any bad intentions with her. That was why she decided to tell her story of how she came into this world. Hoping she could get some information about this new world.

“I believe you. Being in this world full of monsters and mythical creatures. I wouldn't be so surprised if there were other worlders roaming here too.” The man said calmly as he stared at the bonfire in between them. He then kept quiet for a few seconds as his face suddenly became serious. On the other hand, Iris was still eating like a gluttonous person.