Overlord: When Human Meets Inhuman

Chapter 11: A walk in the woods...kinda

"Oh, perfect timing!" 
I turn around as I'm about to open my room's door and Shalltear is looking at me with a smile. 

I'd say me and her have been getting along pretty well these past months. 
She almost seems happy to see me.
Almost. 

"Oh, good afternoon, Lady Shalltear. What is it?" I ask and smile back. 
"Uh, don't you think "Lady Shalltear" or "Miss Shalltear" is a bit too formal?" 

Not really...I never thought about it actually. 

"Well, if you want me to address you in a different way, I'll be glad to." I say politely and take my hand off the door's handle. 
"Hmm...just Shalltear is a bit too...friendly. But there's nothing in the middle…" She thinks to herself. 

Oh, I've got one. 

"How about I call you "boss"?" I ask casually. 
"Boss…I like it! And how do you want me to call you?" She asks surprising me. 
"What? However you want, just not something embarrassing. Mark is fine." I say contradicting myself. 
"Alright, Mark. I know it's your free day, but I have a kind of important job for you." 

Okay…

"What is it, boss?" 
At what I said, Shalltear raises her eyebrows and grins pleased.
"Sounds nice…anyway, you know your way around weeds and berries and plants, right?"
"Yeah. I'm not a pharmacist or something, but I know a thing or two." I answer and smile happily.
"Great! Then here…" 
She hands me a piece of paper with some names of...weeds and herbs on it. 
"So…?" I start and raise an eyebrow.
"Right. Go in the woods near Nazarick and get some of the things on the list." 

Alright, I won't ask questions. 

I stuff the list in my pocket and give Shalltear a salute. 
"You got it, boss!" I say and turn around and start walking to get out of Nazarick. 
"Mark." 
I stop walking and turn around to look at Shalltear. 
There's the usual sassy look on her face.
"Don't go too far. And be careful. And don't get noticed. You wouldn't wanna disappoint your boss…" 
I crack a smile and nod. 
"I surely don't." 
Shalltear suddenly takes a basket out of nowhere and hands it to me. 
"You might need this." 
I nod again and start walking out of Nazarick. 
After a few minutes I get out of the ruins, and I see the woods aren't very far from here. 

A matter of a few minutes of walking. 

The sun's up, I hear birds singing in the distance, and there's a cool winter breeze flowing by. 
I approach the closest treeline and I start walking around the woods, looking for the herbs on Shalltear's list. 
I find some near some tree roots, under some bushes, on top of rocks…

A lot of places. 

"Okay, now I just have to find some...ferns?" 

Ferns. What does she need ferns for?

I walk around a bit and I end up in a very small clearing. 
I look around for a bit and I see…
"Ferns. There you are." 
I rush to the plant and kneel down to pick it up, when I hear footsteps behind me accompanied by some chatter. 
"Hey, kid, are you lost?" A voice says behind me. 

Shit. I didn't need to run into people right now. 
I can sense 5 of them. 

"I'm...looking for herbs." I say without turning around. 
"Hmm…Detect Magic." Another voice mutters. 

Okay, there goes the "don't get noticed".

"G-guys...that's a vampire…" 
I hear some surprised murmurs, then the sound of swords being drawn.
I get up and look at the 5 of them, with a disappointed expression.
"Can you just leave me alone? I'm not in the mood for this…"