Volume 2
Chapter 1
We Entered the
Forest
Translator : PolterGlast
Right now, Akana-san
and I are traveling in a a horse-drawn carriage..
We're heading to a
village near the [Extremely Dangerous Forest Ruins] where Chrisya-san is—a
place ranked S in terms of danger.
Why are we going
there? Well, for starters, I thought I'd ask Chrisya-san for her advice to
establish a future direction.
Since Kakyouin-san is
gone. If it were just me, I thought I might hole up in the forest where I first
arrived—the [Forest of Calamity] ranked S in danger—but with Akana-san in my
care, I can't really do that. First, I need to listen to her opinion and
respect it.
But, Akana-san herself
is...
I looked at Akana-san,
the red-haired girl sitting next to me.
Akana-san herself is
in no condition to give an opinion.
Right now, Akana-san
is sitting cross-legged with her eyes glazed over like a dead fish. It's as if
her heart has withered away.
I don't know what to
do on my own. So, for now, I'm going to ask Chrisya-san.
That's why I got in the
carriage and started moving.
But then, another
problem arises. And the cause is Akana-san again.
Since then, Akana-san,
for some reason, won't leave my side at all. Whenever I try to move, she always
grabs the hem of my clothes and starts moving with me. She's really determined
not to leave me.
But that's a problem
in the [Extremely Dangerous Forest Ruins].
Whenever I go to the
ruins, there are always golems wandering around.
Chrisya-san said,
"You like to fight, don't you? Consider this a reward. Have fun fighting
as much as you want."
Usually, I would be
very grateful for that, but in this case, it's completely backfired.
There's no way I can
protect Akana-san from the attacks of golems with annihilation effects. I might
be able to escape at first, but there are places along the way where I'm forced
to fight, so it's absolutely impossible.
But Akana-san is
absolutely determined not to leave my side. What should I do I wonder?
Maybe it would be
easier if I just abandoned her, but if that's the case, I should just stay in
the forest from the beginning, and above all, it would be bad to go back on my
promise.
I don't really
understand how women think. Maybe it's because we're different genders.
My image of women is
that they can do things that make you wonder if it's normal to go that far.
Frankly, I'm afraid
that things will get even more complicated later on.
What should I do...
I sighed as I looked
up at the sky.
□□□
After that, the
carriage arrived at the village, and we got off the carriage and entered the
village───or rather, we went
straight into the forest.
No, seriously, we
can't. We can't go into the village in this state.
The village was abuzz
with talk about one thing in particular───the Gilmburg family.
I don't know who
started the rumor, but the villagers were saying bad things about the Gilmburg
family like fish that had found water, saying that the Gilmburg family was
going to fall.
I can't possibly take
Akana-san there. I'm sure we'll get noticed. It's definitely going to be a hassle.
So, we avoided the
village───and somehow, we ended
up walking through the forest with Akana-san.
Worst case scenario,
I'm thinking of having Akana-san wait in a conspicuous place in the forest.
It would have been
easier if In-san or those other women who adore Akana-san had come out to talk
to us, but they said they were “watching over us” and we didn't know where they
were. Why don't they come out?
I might as well have
her wait at the entrance to the ruins.
This forest has
surprisingly few monsters, and I can probably persuade her to wait in an
easy-to-find place or at the entrance to the ruins. In fact, I think that would
be the safest thing for Akana-san.
"..."
Alright, I've decided.
Let's walk to the
ruins for now.
If I find a good place
on the way, I'll have Akana-san wait there, or if not, at the entrance to the
ruins.
It won't take more
than a day to talk to Chrisya-san, and since there aren't any monsters, she
should be fine on her own during that time.
If anything happens,
In-san and the others are there, so most things should be fine, I think.
But, I'll be putting a
burden on In-san and the others instead.
But this is necessary,
so I'll have to ask them to put up with it.
So, Akana-san and I
continued through the forest.
Akana-san still won't
leave my side.
She's walking behind
me, holding the hem of my clothes.
There's no trace of
the strong Akana-san I used to know.
She's completely
disheartened and has given up thinking.
I never knew that a
person could change so much.
But my job doesn't
change.
I will guarantee her
safety until she becomes independent again. That is all I have to think about
until she changes her request.
Since Akana-san
doesn't talk to me, I won't ask her anything.
That's best.
I think Akana-san's
heart is full of wounds right now. Her heart is like a piece of glass with
cracks that could collapse if touched lightly.
In such a situation, I
don't know what would hurt her.
I can't understand
people's hearts. Even more so in this situation. I have no idea what's going on
in Akana-san's mind.
So, I won't say
anything unnecessary. I'll just maintain the status quo. That way, I won't get
into any trouble.
This is fine. The way
things are now is fine.
Well, since I'm not
doing anything, it's likely that the request period will be longer... but it's
better than trouble, I guess.
While I was thinking
that,
"……?"
A strange sensation
crept over my skin.
It's not just that.
Suddenly, my field of
vision changed.
There were still trees
lining up, and there should have been no open space, but now Akana-san and I
were standing in an open space that had never existed before. It was as if we
had been transported to a new place.
In this open space,
there was a wooden house, and near the house, there were two white chairs and a
round table. It was a space filled with a sense of daily life in the middle of
the forest. It was an unusual place.
I know this place.
I came here before
when I was looking for Kakyouin-san.
………。
That's right.
This person was in
this forest.
"I never thought
you'd show your face here again. ...Honestly, I didn't want to see you,
kid."
The old man who had
made Kakyouin-san lose her composure and had proven to be superior to
Kakyouin-san was sitting in the same chair again, glaring at me.
Apparently, I had
unintentionally intruded on this old man's private residence once again.
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