I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess

145 – The Forgotten Forest (1)

A room left alone with Sirien.

As soon as the two people disappeared, Sirien slumped down on the sofa.

It must be hard.

Because it was like being caught up in an incident out of the blue.

I also sat down next to Sirien and rubbed her palm.

“Good job. You saved a life.”

“I told you, it’s not that bad… … Heh. If you’re going to do it, do it for my waist too.”

“Yeah, yeah. Lie down properly.”

Sirien chuckled and lay down on the sofa.

I climbed on top of him and pressed his waist with both hands.

I’ve done it a few times in the past, and now it seems like he’s gotten a taste for it.

From the waist to the back. As I stretched my body up my spine, I heard a snap- snap- sound.

Sirien let out a soft moan and closed her eyes gently.

Her feet were moving around, as if she had no intention of sleeping.

Sirien floated up with her face slowly melting.

“I didn’t say this because I didn’t think it was necessary to say it.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“That woman named Ellis. She had a peculiar way of reacting to divine power.”

“Is it unusual?”

The red eyes narrowed.

A face that seemed to be pondering for a moment. Every time my hand pressed against Sirien’s skin, she made a ‘ss’ sound.

Even though it took quite a bit of effort, it didn’t feel bad.

Sirien’s skin was so soft that it was satisfying to the touch, and the moans she made were quite cute.

It’s also quite funny to see the tips of your fingers and toes twitching.

Anyway, Sirien, who had chosen her expression, continued speaking.

“It felt like my body was storing my divine power away rather than accepting it. It was like pouring water into a large bucket.”

“What does that mean?”

“Usually, when you use divine power for healing, there are no traces left. The human body is quite greedy, so it uses up all of its power. However, a little bit of my divine power remained.”

Traces of divinity that can be noticed only by Sirien.

It was a phenomenon in which divinity remained that had not yet been exhausted.

“Isn’t it because it’s a disease that can’t be cured by divinity?”

“No. No matter how much divinity you pour into a disease like that, it won’t get better. The body will eat up the divinity like crazy.”

“Hmm.”

“Well, I thought it was just my nature, so I just left it alone. It’s not that big of a deal.”

The body that the heroine possesses.

Besides, since she is chosen to be the Saint of Light, her constitution may be a bit unusual.

If you look closely, aren’t the stains of mana caused by each person’s different constitution?

It wasn’t that surprising, considering the special case of a person with supernatural powers.

At that point, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“You know, Sirien. If… … .”

* * *

The next day.

The Crown Prince returned early in the morning with the awakened Ellis.

We stayed in the capital for some time after that, but without much success.

Even in the Pantheon, the records of the old gods were nothing special and did not differ much from what we have discovered so far.

If the Pantheon is in this state, it is obvious that the Imperial Library will be in the same state.

So our first investigation ended with only a new homework assignment: ‘Ellis’.

Well, this is more my homework than ours.

The current Ellis is at least a year away. It won’t be a lot of free time, but it’s not like she can just depend on Ellis in the capital right now.

The report on the Eligos expedition to the imperial court has been completed, and the sale of the Red Magic Stone has also entered the final stages.

There was no need to remain in Edelmarion any longer, so we headed to our next destination.

A little north of the Grand Duchy of Illencia.

From the imperial perspective, there was an unnamed coniferous forest in the northwest.

A land with a wide expanse of dense coniferous forest, but which no one covets.

The only human intervention is cutting down trees on the outskirts, and now even the name is not properly known.

The carriage headed to a place called the Abandoned Forest or the Forgotten Forest, sometimes called the Demon Realm.

“It feels weird. The thought of going back there gives me goosebumps.”

“Don’t worry too much. It won’t be as dangerous as it was then.”

“Still, it’s a painful memory. You almost died there. Even now, when it comes up in my dreams sometimes, I can’t breathe and can’t even scream.”

“I didn’t know that. It was my fault back then.”

Sirien grabbed my arm tightly.

As I got closer to the forest, memories that seemed quite old began to surface.

When I realized Count Roxen’s betrayal and left the cabin.

Behind us, pursuers relentlessly pursued us, and in front, ferocious monsters sought our lives.

In particular, the giant encountered near the sanctuary of Hybras was a problem.

I was really close to death back then.

If Edwin hadn’t intervened and saved her at that time, it was clear that she wouldn’t have even left a body.

Sirien cried so desperately.

– I clearly said I wouldn’t do that. Hiccup! Rajen lied to me!

– I was so scared. I thought I was losing you too… … . I was so scared, thinking you would disappear from me like Oppa and Hannah.

– You almost died! You almost died. If the man in black hadn’t shown up, you definitely would have died. Now, you’re the only one I have.

I thought I had overcome everything since I had defeated Count Roxen, the mastermind.

Some memories seemed to bring back pain just by recalling them.

I never wanted to have a similar experience again.

The mood suddenly became tense as we both recalled those memories.

Sirien sighed, “Haa.”

“Okay. How is that your fault? I was protected back then. I was just too scared.”

“… …Are you angry?”

“I’m not angry. I’m not mad… … But for now, please hold my hand for a little while.”

“Here. I can hold your hand as much as you want.”

Hands clasped together as if intertwining fingers.

The force that was applied a little stronger than usual seemed to indicate Sirien’s condition.

Maybe I was too indifferent.

It was only when I pulled Sirien close and hugged her that the strength in my hands began to loosen a little.

Our eyes met by chance. There was no one around to look at us, so we locked lips.

The soft and tender meat melted in my mouth.

Sirien laughed at the end of a slightly stretched thread of saliva.

“Pheh. ​​But soon, the two of you will be hanging out together. I’m looking forward to that.”

“We didn’t have much time alone for a while. It’s not like I wanted to be in a place like this.”

“I thought you would always be with me when I returned to the Grand Duchy. If I had known this would happen, would I have just run away?”

“You must have done well.”

“I guess so? It was destined to end up like this.”

The coachman pulling the carriage now was scheduled to return when he reached the forest.

This was what Edwin had asked us to do when we left the sanctuary.

Do not reveal the location of the sanctuary to outsiders.

Whether he wanted it or not, Edwin was a life-saver and, especially to me, a second mentor.

It is impossible to repay kindness with enmity. It was especially unlikely that Edwin would ask for an unnecessary favor.

Even if it’s a bit inconvenient, I think it’s right for just the two of us to go.

If there are no records in the Imperial Palace or the Pantheon, you will have to look in an unexpected place.

Edwin in particular was a swordmaster whose name could not be found even after searching through all past records.

Considering the skill of Sir Carlton, it is incomprehensible that someone as skilled as Edwin is not even known by name.

In the end, we had no choice but to conclude that Edwin was a man from long ago.

So much so that I can’t even tell what era it is.

“I don’t know if I remember the way there. It’s only been a few years, but it already feels like a long time ago.”

“Back then, I didn’t even know which direction to go, so I just ran straight east. So, this time, why don’t I just run the opposite way and go west?”

“… … Are you really thinking of doing that?”

“Ahaha. Of course not. I know the general route. There were one or two people going back and forth from the sanctuary.”

After Sirien became the Saint of Hybras.

From the moment I recovered and left the sanctuary, our journey together began again.

All we knew was that this was the Demon Realm in the northwest of the empire.

Edwin was unable to leave the sanctuary, while the others in the sanctuary were either powerless to leave or had work to do.

In the end, we chose the most ignorant and simple way.

Anyway, if you go east, you will find the empire.

Well then, I’m not sure, why don’t we just go straight east?

Thinking back now, it was a pretty stupid method, but it worked anyway.

“That’s right. Do you remember? When we first came out of the forest, there was a really old abandoned house.”

“That’s right. Weren’t you scared at that time that you thought a ghost might appear?”

“Me, me when? I’m not someone else, I’m the Saintess of Hybras. There’s no way I’d be afraid of something like a ghost.”

The first thing I saw as I emerged from the forest was a very old, abandoned house.

It was a place where a lumberjack might have lived a long time ago, and that was only inferred from the unused firewood lying around.

Sirien at that time was more timid than she is now, so she was quite scared.

I imitated Sirien’s speech.

“La, Lazen. The atmosphere over there seems a bit strange. Should I not go in? I’m scared because I think a ghost might appear… …”

“Be quiet!”

The ruins of that house came into view.

We returned to the forgotten forest.