CH 7.2

Chapter 7: Crossing the Forest (Part 2)

A few hours pass as we continue to walk in silence.

The time was about ten o'clock but the same awkward situation remained between us. 

It's not that I really care, but I turn around to check on Spica, who is following a little distance behind me. 

Spica looks up at me and tilts her head while her bangs sway gently.

… Such a defenseless reaction.

I notice that her eyes are red. Was she crying silently?

A lump of air holds at the back of my throat. I turn around and scratch my cheek with my finger even though it doesn't itch.

"What's wrong?" 

"...I-it's nothing.” 

"Okay.”

I don't know when it started, but instead of the cold tone of the demon lord in the ending of the game, Spica's tone has become more appropriate for her age. 

Well, it's a good thing.

But it will be nice if I can break this silence.

I look at her again.

"What's going on with you?"

"... No, I've been traveling alone for a long time, so it's refreshing to walk with someone. If you get tired or thirsty, just tell me.”

"Okay. I'll tell you right away if I get tired or thirsty.”

She replied with a beautiful smile on her face, making me a little embarrassed. I wonder if I was worrying too much. When I turned to face her, she replied bluntly, "Hey.

"What kind of places have you traveled to so far?”

"Well... I've been to places where the sun never rises and it's night all day, castles at the bottom of lakes. I've also been to ruins full of ancient artifacts, and oceans of sand as far as the eye can see.”

As I close my eyes, the scenery and adventures come to life. This world is really interesting.

"But the one that made me the most terrified was the moving forest.”

"What do you mean by Moving forest? I don’t get what you are saying.”.

"It was about this time last year...”

I heard a story in a bar in a city.

A hunter went deep into the forest to hunt a phantom beast. He camped out there for the night, and when he dozed off, he found himself in a meadow.

There was not a trace of the forest where he had been.

In the end, the hunter returned to his base without being able to hunt the beast.

The person who told me this story said with a laugh that must have been under the spell of a magic demon.

"It's exciting, isn't it? Doesn’t that make you want to go there?"

.

.

… Instead of a reply, I got a cold, unspoken stare.

"Of course, I've been there, but I found a forest in a very different place than the one I was told about.

“I used magic to make sure the trees weren't demons and camped out in the woods as I'd heard."

After taking a small breath, I continued.

"At midnight, when the moon had risen to its peak, the trees around me suddenly pulled their roots out of the ground like limbs and began to walk freely.”

When I was startled, the trees called out to me and said, "Human, don't be surprised.” 

And as I looked at the tree impatiently, I saw a small mouth and eyes on it’s trunk. It was alive... that forest."

Spica looks at me suspiciously.

"I don’t believe it.”

"It's true! I can take you there if you want. From then on, when I see the trees, I sometimes talk to them…. ‘ Hey, how are you doing?"

I tapped the trunk of the tree to my right... Unfortunately, there is no response

It's a shame.

Anyway, it was almost nightfall and we could see the village of Parose.