Chapter 40.2

Chapter 40 – Part 2

“Are you that surprised because I said you are cute?”

Ignis was quite surprised by my brazenness.

[ Are you two together? ]

“But… Can I hear your voice just like this?”

[ You can because I allowed it. What can’t I do? ]

Ah, what an extremely arrogant being…

I would have tackled it had it been a higher-class spirit, but since it was the Spirit King, I would let it slide.

Just then, someone emerged out from the grass.

With his messy hair, his clothes were torn, and one of his shoes was missing so his feet were full of wounds. Not only that but his face was wet with tears, and it was still running down his cheeks. It looked like nothing good had happened to him.

Noticing us, the man ran to us while screaming desperately.

“Please, hel… help me…”

As the slim-looking man asked us for help, something popped out from behind him. It was a man in a black robe this time, whose face was covered with a hood and only his lips were visible. The unidentified person, who seemed to know me at a glance, gasped and took a step backwards.

“Sa, Sai—eup!”

Before his startled voice could be heard, someone snatched that person and disappeared from our view in an instant. Seeing that, I hurried to the man who was being pursued and gave him holy power.

I was not a cowardly person who would be afraid of being discovered as the Saint as I heal someone. But still, I shouldn’t be discovered as the Saint, so I only healed him to the extent that he wouldn’t die in order to serve as a priest, which was still lacking.

Fortunately, it didn’t appear to be life-threatening. There were no signs that he was attacked except for the injuries he got while running.

“Uh…?”

“Even though we are lacking, we have someone who serves God.”

“Ahh… So, you were a priest!”

Putting his hands together, he shed tears as if he had met his savior. Even though he had already cried a lot, he started crying again.

“I-I thought I was going to die! Uwaaaa!”

“Shall we go to the village first?”

“Ye, yes!”

Helping the man and signaling at Frey, he pointed his finger in the direction where they [ the man in a black robe ] disappeared as if he was saying he had already sent Ignis there. I was trying to help the man stand up though Frey grabbed the man’s arm with one hand and lifted him up.

Standing up so suddenly, the man and I exchanged glances in surprise.

The moment the man tilted his head as he glanced at the color of my eyes, Frey mercilessly pulled him back. Because of that, his face suddenly slammed on Frey’s chest, which made his face turn red. He came out quickly, though.

I stretched my crouching legs, raised them before staring at the man.

…How dare you touch the firm and solid chest I myself hadn’t had a feel yet? …No, no, wake up. I shouldn’t be feeling that way.

I gently straighten my crooked posture.

Standing tall in front of me, Frey lowered his hood, leaned towards me, put his face on my ear and whispered in a low voice.

“Your eyes can be seen. You should be careful.”

He then tilted his head and smiled softly so that I could only see him. Standing up as if nothing had happened, Frey looked at the man and asked him.

“Can you walk alone?”

“What? Ah, my legs are a bit…painful…”

“Then, follow me.”

…Didn’t he say his legs were hurt?

Nonetheless, Frey carefully held his back with no intention of helping him.

As I glanced at the escort knight and signaled him with my eyes, he supported the man. Even though he survived, the man stumbled a lot as his legs had lost strength, but the escort knight held him stable. He repeatedly said thank you.

Arriving at the inn, the innkeeper placed a glass of warm milk in front of him. His name was Aideen, a young man living in this village.

“What happened to you? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I survived, thanks to these people.”

We just happened to pass here by chance. We caught the culprit trying to kidnap him and ran away. He looked nothing like a normal person.

“Does kidnapping frequently happen in this place?”

“No. It was the first time something happened to me like this, so I was also surprised.”

He said that he was on his way back after digging some medicinal herbs from the mountains as usual, but someone suddenly attacked him from behind. While he tried to run away, he couldn’t overpower the person, so he struggled and accidentally/i>… yes, he said that he was able to escape by kicking ‘that place.’

“… You must have been fortunate.”

“Haha~ That’s true, and one of the people was a bit strange. He hesitated to kidnap me, so the two of them fought with loud voices.”

He laughed awkwardly and explained the situation in detail.

The man recounted that he started running away when they fought though they noticed him and chased after him right away. And in the end, he ran into me and Frey when they were about to catch up.

“It felt like I’ve finally met my savior.”

“It’s embarrassing for you to say that. You can report it once your body recovers.”

I may not come back to this place again since I was already seen, although this incident has already happened. It would be good to have an investigation and prevent this from happening again in the future.

Aideen took a sip of his milk and nodded his head.

“But, what are you doing in this secluded place? This is a place tourists don’t often pass by.”

“I have something to find.”

Aideen’s eyes widened at my words, wiggling his fingers and opening his mouth carefully.

“If it’s alright with you, can you tell me where you are going? It is easy to get lost in this place so I can guide you….”

“No.”

Before Aideen could finish his words, Frey cut him and added.

“We can go on our own, so we won’t need guidance.”

Contrary to his friendly face, Aideen stiffened in his firm tone and then bit his mouth.

“That… yes…I just wanted to repay you somehow.”

“What do you mean to repay? That’s alright.”

I deliberately patted him on the shoulder with a bright voice. I somehow felt so sad as I looked at his eyes filled with tears. He looked more pitiful with the tattered clothes he was wearing.

“I will give you one of my knights, so you go report it and go home.”

Because there’s no need for me to go with you.

“Ah, it is alright here!”

“Don’t let your guard down. What if they were targeting Aideen all along? You can trust in my knights.”

He hesitated, then nodded his head and thanked me.

“Thank you for your generosity.”

You don’t have to do that so…

__