Tears traced down pale cheeks and fell like holy signs.
Luman was smiling more brightly than ever.
Ren was not someone who suited the royal castle. If he stayed here, in this place full of wolves who only cared for their own interests, Ren might wither away. So this was a good thing.
Outside the glass greenhouse, the rain was falling as though it would never stop.
***
At the edge of the capital of the Kingdom of Setoran, where the royal castle stood, there was the “Aked” Forest.
The Aked Forest, where a sacred tree was said to live, held a mysterious power.
It was said that if one lived in that forest for just one month, every trace of the place they had stayed before could be erased. However, the condition for the forest erasing those traces was that afterward, they must not commit a single act of killing.
And so, criminals hoping to wash their identities clean, and people with deep circumstances who had no other choice, would often hide themselves in the Aked Forest. Rumors were widespread that the mysterious Aked Forest, where even weapons could not be brought in, was home to monsters that could never be dealt with barehanded. So they said that, rather than people who erased their traces and came out alive, there were far more people who were eaten by monsters or died after clashing with the others who had hidden inside, never to emerge.
That was why people would say this to those headed for the Aked Forest.
Unless you were someone who had committed a serious crime and could no longer set foot in the kingdom, never enter that forest.
It was a forest beautiful enough that it was hard to believe it held such frightening stories.
I blinked as I looked at the entrance of the forest, then shouted.
“Whoa!! Amazing...... Old man! Old man, did you just see that?”
“Ren, come here.”
In the Aked Forest, where the sacred tree lived, one could not enter while carrying weapons. As though proving that, the sword the knight held softened and melted down.
The expressionless knight’s eyebrow twitched. The knight had been the one who explained the Aked Forest to us, but it seemed he had not known that weapons would disappear in that way either.
“Old man, isn’t it incredible?”
The old man held my hand with his large hand.
“Ren, do not leave my side unless there is no helping it. Do you understand?”
The old man said, looking at me with deep eyes. My heart pounded at the affectionately called name.
The knight had said I should be called “Lucia,” but I did not know what conversation he had with the old man, because even when the old man called my name, he only looked over and did not stop him.
“I understand! I told you earlier too...... Cough! Cough, cough!”
Phlegm boiled in my throat. When I coughed as though my breath would stop, the old man poured something into my mouth.
“Ugh......”
“Are you done?”
At some point, I was held in the old man’s arms. He rubbed my back and examined my complexion.
“I’m all right.”
What was tormenting me these days was coughing!
Because the old man gave me medicine right away each time, it did not last long, but every time a new symptom appeared, I sighed. No, there’s still more pain left?!
There had not been any seizures like last time, but I was suffering from small illnesses.
Whether my body had gotten better or worse, I had now reached the point where I could no longer tell.
I had grown tired of being driven around in the carriage, so coming to a forest like this felt so good. Once the promised date passed, I would leave the kingdom and head for the sea. Whether I would still travel together with the old man then was probably something I would have to think about.
“This way.”
The knight, who had gathered the luggage, held a handbag and gestured.
“Do not, under any circumstances, move more than one step away.”
The knight warned sternly and walked ahead.
Holding the old man’s hand tightly, I set foot in the Aked Forest for the first time.
Beyond a short stretch of wasteland, the forest spread so vast that the end of the land could not be seen.
When they stepped into the forest, the first things that greeted them were damp, wet air and the smell of trees.
At the thick scent, strong enough to make the tip of his nose sting, Ren blinked and looked around.
Bird calls like whistles and signs of something taking flight came from every direction. The branch of a tree to their left swayed greatly and moved roughly.
When Ren turned to look, Veron pulled on his hand.
‘Amazing. If the branch shakes that much, doesn’t that mean it’s a huge bird? Is it bigger than the crow I saw at the royal castle?’
He remembered the crow whose pitch-black feathers had gleamed with shine. Was that crow doing well?
Ren’s steps, as he walked through the Aked Forest behind the knight leading them, were nothing but cheerful.
He had heard frightening stories, but Ren was not afraid of this forest.
Because from the moment he set foot in it, he felt that this Aked Forest welcomed him.
‘I should ask the old man later.’
Because no matter what Ren said, the old man would not laugh at him.
But it seemed the terrifying rumors about the “Aked” Forest had not been made up.
In order to make a place where they could set up a tent and stay, they searched through the forest very carefully. One hour had already passed. The old man was carrying Ren, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, on his back.
And the number of corpses they had seen in that hour alone exceeded ten. Looking at the bodies, it seemed they had not been dead for very long. A fight for territory had clearly taken place around here.
When they searched the corpses and the nearby traces, it seemed they had died without even putting up proper resistance.
“Wait a moment.”
At the ominous corpses, the knight tried to change direction, but Veron blocked him. His pitch-black eyes showed not even a hint of surprise even after seeing the corpses.
“Let us go on as we are.”
“The owner of this handiwork may be here.”
“If we turn back, we will run into them.”
If someone was killing in a forest where killing was not permitted, then it was obvious they would be dangerous if encountered.
From the moment one entered the forest, no blade of any kind could stand properly. The corpses were so gruesome that it seemed it would have been cleaner to be cut down by a sword. Not running into them was the wise thing to do.
The knight decided to listen to the mysterious old man who had appeared at a necessary moment.
The deep wrinkles carved into the old man’s face, and the quietly shining pitch-black eyes, made him look not like a physician, but like a sage.
He would never be an ordinary physician. The unavoidable feeling one had when facing a strong person sometimes brushed the back of the knight’s neck.
“Understood.”
The knight did not stop walking.
The full view of the “Aked” Forest was reflected in Veron’s pitch-black eyes. Black magic scattered and stretched out through the forest in every direction like a spiderweb. The densely packed trees, the damp earth and air, the grass and stones catching at their feet, the sky visible in small pieces between the thick trees, and the sunlight shining down through those gaps.
The forest overflowing with vitality was only silent.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
Ren’s scream rang out in the forest.
The Aked Forest felt mystical and full of life. Ren felt that his condition was much better than when he had been outside. His body was light too, and he could even run a little! Recently, his stamina had become so poor that walking for even a little too long tired him out, and yet he could run! Ren thought that if this was the condition of an ordinary person’s body, then every single day of life must feel joyful.
“Ren, what is it!”
The problem was that Ren, who was excitedly roaming around, screamed more than a dozen times a day!
“S-s-s-sna, sna, snake! Snake!! It’s a snake! A snake!”
Screaming in a panic, Ren froze in place and only his head jerked.
The old man, who had run out at Ren’s scream, let out a hollow laugh and picked up a tree branch. But without even needing to use the branch, when the old apothecary appeared, the snake slowly turned its head and then went away at high speed.
“Haa, haah...... Huaaah. I was totally, totally startled. A snake, it was sticking out its bright red tongue like hsssss, ugh!”
As though just explaining it was frightening, Ren shuddered.
“Ren, I told you to walk only nearby, yet you have come all the way here again?”
The old apothecary spoke as though scolding him.
Ren wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled awkwardly.
“No, that’s...... I’m sorry.”
Ren, watching the old man’s reaction, asked for forgiveness.
But, how should he put it? Running around the Aked Forest was something beyond his control.
He was so excited! It felt like it would be fine to just live here!
It was only a forest full of nature, without a single interesting thing, but a healthy body in itself brought Ren joy. Ren felt as though he now finally understood what the joy of being alive was.
The fresh smell of the forest filling his lungs, and the cool, damp air, seemed to purify his body.
“Old man! Then, is it all right if I go together with you?”
Ren asked with a bright smile. The smile blooming wide was so clear and clean that it made one’s chest ache instead.
“Yes, let us do that.”
The knight had gone briefly outside the forest for communication. The Aked Forest was a place where no communication magic of any kind worked.
Ren held the old man’s large hand and walked through the forest.
Leaves of different shapes glittering in the sunlight, caterpillars crawling over them, insects eating those caterpillars, and birds flying up leisurely.
The chirping cries of the birds came like music.
“It feels like walking on a blanket.”
“Ren, do you like this forest?”
“Mm! I totally love it!”
It makes me wonder if this is how it feels to be born healthy—!
Ren held back the words he wanted to shout after that. Because he did not want to make the old man sad.
Instead, Ren smiled brightly.
“Huh? Why?”
Veron tugged lightly on Ren’s hand and stopped.
“Would you like to take off your shoes and walk?”
