CH 39

I couldn’t hide my bewildered look and asked the branch manager.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Hm?”

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

The branch manager said as if it were natural.

“You have to go back to the capital. They said they treated you, but since you were seriously injured, it would be better to go to the capital and see a doctor.”

When I hesitated without answering anything, the branch manager quickly put on an expression that she noticed something.

“Ah, is this because you can’t go to that village?”

“…Yes.”

“After hearing from others, it seems like you said you were going to see a friend, but you should take care of yourself first.”

“…”

“There’s nothing good about being sick on the way to meet a friend.”

The words full of common sense and the thoughtful consideration contained in them made me feel like I was going to cry. Really.

As I stood there with a blank expression on my face without answering anything, the boy called Ivan came up to me and asked.

“Aren’t you originally with the merchants?”

“Ah, yes.”

A sigh rose to the top of my throat. I was worried since I heard that the monster appeared yesterday, yet in the end it turned out like this.

“I was going with them because I had something to do in the village they were going to.”

“Where were you going?”

“What was its name… Ronen Village?”

“The village right next to the Magic Tower?”

“Yes.”

When I answered with a complicated expression, the boy made a puzzled expression as if he was wondering what to do.

When he asked how long it took to get here and I said it took about a week, his bewildered expression changed to a pitiful one.

For some reason, the sympathy made me even more saddened, but I didn’t have the energy to say anything. Especially since he told me that one of the merchants had come and packed my things beforehand.

In a state where I couldn’t control my expression, I thought I’d only worry others, so I went into the shade of a nearby tree and leaned against it casually.

Apart from being distraught, the weather was really awesome. It seemed to be the clearest day out of all the weather I had experienced when I came here.

Under the clear weather, the people of the merchants packing up and preparing to return to the capital seemed harmonious. As if yesterday’s bloody scenery was like a lie, I sighed and lowered my head.

It was thanks to the people of the merchants that I was able to go early, and not suffer alone. I thought I was lucky in many ways, but seeing how it turned out, it wasn’t necessarily like that.

Who would have imagined it. To think that a monster would suddenly appear and destroy the entire carriage.

Come to think of it, I think I vaguely overheard people talking about the Master of the Magic Tower when the monster appeared.

“…Hmm.”

Come to think of it, did Dante lead to this situation?

Of course, I can’t fully believe what he said because I just heard it in passing, even though this journey itself is because of Dante. Anyway, that’s what I thought.

I might have to ask him again later. Did you do anything to the monster using some strange magic while I was gone… No, this is also a story if we can meet each other in the end.

I distanced myself from people in order to somehow evoke my troubled mind, yet there was no progress at all. I stopped leaning against the tree and just sat there.

It seemed that the delay was longer than expected due to the twist of events. Because I have to go back to the capital and then come back again…

Ah, but it was all luck that I was able to ride the carriage of the merchants like this. Just because they arrive in the capital, will the people of the merchants try to start again right away? Surely it will take some time to reorganize, won’t it?

Maybe, because they can’t go through the road attacked by monsters again, they can postpone the schedule and cancel it altogether. Then would it be better for me to find a way to get to the Magic Tower by myself?

No matter how much I thought about it, it couldn’t be good. I should have gone to the Magic Tower as soon as possible, yet I was in a position to return to the capital. It was a waste of time to even think about it.

If that’s the case, I’d rather just…

“Shall I just walk?”

“Pardon?!”

Ah, that surprised me. When I turned my head, the boy I was talking to earlier was standing next to me with a surprised expression. I thought his business was over with the conversation earlier, yet it seems that he was still snooping around.

As if embarrassed by his sudden outburst, the boy awkwardly shut his mouth.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“No, I don’t… But what did you say earlier?”

If you had nothing to say, why are you here? Staring at the boy who interrupted my alone time, she turned her head again.

Let’s see if he’s bored.

“What did I say, I wonder. Ah, that I should just walk?”

“Yes.”

The boy nodded his head coldly. I was just talking to myself, but I don’t know why he could hear that. I shrugged my shoulders once.

“I was wondering if I should at least walk after what happened anyway. Well, it seems like it will take too long.”

“Are you walking? Where, to Ronen Village?”

“Yes.”

The boy jumped up like someone who had heard some nonsense.

“What are you talking about?! It’s so far from here to there, though!”

“Can’t we just call it a walking tour?”

“Who’s going on a walking tour to such a remote place!”

It’s too dangerous in the first place! I nodded roughly as the frightened voice rang in my ears. Yeah, that’s ridiculous. I said so, knowing that it wouldn’t work for me either.

I don’t know if there are few dangers like the forest I lived in before, but this is a place where one’s safety isn’t guaranteed to the extent that monsters attack… If I don’t want to die and revive again, it’s right to just go back quietly.

Even though I know it’s impossible, I spit out nonsense as I don’t like the current situation.

While I was leaning against the tree and sighed, the boy, who had been standing some distance away from me, crept closer.

“…What do you want to do in that village?”

“Hmm.”

I cast my gaze again at the boy who had no sign of going, sighed deeply, and tapped on the seat next to me.

“Would you like to sit next to me? My neck hurts from looking up.”

“Ah, yes.”

The boy sat down obediently as I said. After lightly exchanging words, that child… No, Ivan asked the question again.

“So what are you going to Ronen Village for?”

“I’m going to visit a friend who lives there.”

I have to use the excuse of him being a friend again. The lies flowed more easily once I had been around.

If he asked for a more detailed explanation, I was thinking of telling the story as I did  in the carriage the other day. Yet the question that came next was unexpected.

“Is it really urgent to meet that friend?”

No one has ever asked anything like that.

What does that mean? I rested my chin on my hand and turned my eyes to look at the boy. He has been asking me questions since a while ago, yet I don’t know the intention behind it.

I’m beginning to doubt his purpose, but well. It’s not a very big story, and it’s not something to be honest about anyway, so I thought it would be okay to tell him a bit.

Or maybe he’s just asking out of curiosity. He may be wondering why I would even walk through a demon-infested remote place.

“I’m in a hurry. It’s a way to clear up a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”

In the midst of my frustration that someone kept asking me, I unknowingly confessed. I let out a sigh.

“My friend who lives there thinks I’m dead.”

“Gasp.”

Ivan drew in a breath.

“W-What happened?”

“Something happened where I used to live…”

When I blurted out, there was no sign of asking about me more. However, it seems that there are still other questions left, Ivan hesitantly asked.

“Can’t you send him a letter or something?”

“No one will believe you if you say you get a letter from a dead person.”

Ivan’s face instantly turned sullen at what I said insignificantly.

“Besides that friend, when he heard that I was dead, he was living like a madman. I wondered if my friend’s condition would be better if I went and showed him my face properly, but looking at it now, well.”

I threw my eyes at the people at the merchants who were busy packing their belongings, then added.

“It’s too late to go there quickly. There is no way I can get a carriage to go to that village from here.”

“…”

Looks like all his questions are now solved? No answer was coming back

I rested my chin again and looked over there. I miss Dante’s teleportation magic because I keep having trouble with the means of transportation. No, I missed it a long time ago. Actually, I don’t miss magic, but I miss the person who uses it.

I wish I could use at least one magic. Then, would it be less difficult…

Even thinking about the impossible, I met eyes with the person who was looking at me from afar. It was the healer who treated me.

Next to her was a stranger, probably a colleague of hers, as was Ivan sitting next to me. It looks like I’ve been away for a while.

It was the same as the fact that he was wearing glasses at first glance, and he was a person who gave off an intelligent atmosphere even with a cursory glance. He said something to the healer, then turned and looked at me, perhaps noticing that she was looking elsewhere.

Wow, your eyes are really sharp… What is it, why are you staring at me out of nowhere?

I reflexively frowned.

“Sister, Sister.”

But before I exchanged gaze fight with him, Ivan called me from my side. No, wait. What did he say?

“Me?”

“There is no one here whom I can call ‘Sister’ but you.”

Even though it was clear, to think that he called me ‘Sister’. I let out a laugh at the out of nowhere name.

Ivan’s face, which I looked at casually, felt quite different from before. It looked dark with a shadow over his cheerful expression, and for some reason, his expression was serious.

What the hell are you trying to say with a face like that? Yet Ivan called out first and said nothing.

I waited for a while for Ivan to continue, then I asked a question out of the blue.

“By the way, how did your group pass by here?”

“…”

Ivan looked at me without answering.