Two years ago, before Tristan went missing, my comrade was cursed by a high-Level monster. At that time, I hadn't learned <Holy Magic> until Lv 7, the necessary Lv to unlock a skill that could cure a curse.
The only hope was on Tristan to advance her <Four Elemental Magic> to Lv 8 and learn <Fairy's Banquet>, a skill that gave immunity to any ill effect for a few seconds. That could lift the monster's curse and save our comrade.
It was also the reason why she took many missions alone or with another party. But… our comrade, Tristan's best friend, fell to the curse first before Tristan managed to reach Lv 8 <Four Elemental Magic>. No magic item could save her, making the magic idiot and weapon idiot blame themselves too.
That was what happened, and I was able to move on from my guilt of not being able to use <Holy Magic> to lift the strong curse. However, it seemed like Tristan still blamed herself even after a long time. 12 years had already passed for her since that happened.
Because it was too hot standing under the sun, I moved under the shade of a tree near the forest while holding Tristan over. I also sat down and let her continue weeping while hugging me. As a result, my clothes were stained by her tears and snot, but that could be cleaned easily with <Purification>.
After a few minutes, Tristan finally stopped crying, and the <Fairy's Banquet>'s effect ended. The eight Fairies disappeared into thin air after waving their hands.
"Are you alright now?" I asked worriedly, stroking her head softly. She was still burying her face in my chest, refusing to look up.
"Un… Don't look at my face… It must be ugly." She replied, lowering her head further.
I chuckled at her words, "Why? Because your face is covered in tears and snot?"
"Shut it!" She shouted loudly, punching my chest. It hurt a bit, but not to the point it decreased my HP.
"You've become quite a crybaby." I chuckled as I stopped stroking her hair.
From my palm, a soft light appeared and covered her body. I used <Purification> to clean everything, even drying the elf tunic she wore and also my clothes.
"Now you're good to look up," I said.
"No." Tristan refused. "Not right now."
Saying that, she turned around and leaned her back against me. She hugged her knees, still seemingly to be down.
Her emotion was still a little unstable, thanks to earlier. I was glad that she used the skill with me. If she was alone, then I couldn't imagine how she would manage her emotions.
I might sound like a selfish bastard, but tomorrow was the party day, and I couldn't imagine if she wasn't there as she seemed to look forward to it too.
The figure sitting between my legs looked rather fragile and frail. I knew that she was stronger than before, but at the same time, she was also weaker emotionally due to what happened when she first arrived in this world.
"My bad…" Tristan suddenly spoke in a weak voice after being silent for a few seconds. "I am fine now."
"Have you calmed down?"
"Yeah…" She nodded her head softly. "My bad… I was so excited and then suddenly cried. It seems that I still blamed myself, hahaha…" Her laugh was strained by guilt.
"You're kind, after all," I answered, raising my head. Silence descended once again between us. Sunlight peered through the gap between leaves that swayed from the summer wind.
Like Earth, this world also had four seasons, which always came in the months first, fourth, seventh, and tenth. However, it wasn't influenced by the wind movement or something like Earth, but because the Goddess made it like that.
Judging that summer was the second season, it meant the world had just entered the fourth month of the year. It was hot, and I'd like to dip into the sea in this kind of weather.
Thankfully, both of us wore something simple and made from breathable material.
If I wore my paladin uniform again like yesterday, where I was tortured to deliver five exact same speeches in different locations while standing under the sun, I would probably complain to the Goddess and make her change the weather to winter.
Talking about winter… That meant there would be snow.
"I am looking forward to it," I muttered, my lips curled up into a smile.
"What are you muttering?"
Tristan finally looked up at me. Her eyes were red from crying earlier; not even <Purification> could erase that. I could cure it with <Heal>, but I didn't think that was necessary.
I smiled gently at her.
"I miss the snow," I said.
I was expecting her to say that she missed it too, but no.
"… I am not."
She sounded more dispirited. I had stepped on another landmine. How could I not think about this? I was a fool.
For a few years, she was jailed and was enslaved in the Sin Kingdom before she finally freed herself using items in her inventory.
Not only was summer hot for her, but winter must also be really deadly. I imagined the scene where she, as Isabelle, curled up in the corner with the other girls, sharing their warmth. Using magic items in that kind of situation would only lead her to be punished, so that wasn't something good to do.
Just like the hot sunlight, my anger rose immediately. I didn't forget my promise to wipe that city off the surface of this world.
But I held it back. I shouldn't worry Tristan more right now. My chance would arrive when Duke Bluerose extended his invitation later. And I also still needed to investigate the appearance of the strange people on the other side of the secret entrance.
Taking a deep breath, I locked eyes with Tristan and apologized.
"Sorry."
I was confident in curing her trauma, but it wasn't as simple as it was.
On top of what happened in Horizon Online, there were also those matters that happened to her once she arrived in this world.
Out of curiosity, I used <Appraisal> on her.
Her body flinched slightly, noticing my use of skill. Her face somehow turned red, but she didn't say anything. She turned around once again and surrendered her body weight against me.
And a blue window appeared in front of me, showing Tristan's status.
---
Name: Tristan (Mild Trauma)
Race: Human
Lv: 91
Sins: 0
Virtues: 0
Status:
HP: 100/100 (MAX 100)
MP: 100/100 (MAX 100)
STR: 86 (MAX 100)
VIT: 84 (MAX 100)
AGI: 97 (MAX 100)
DEX: 95 (MAX 100)
INT: 86 (MAX 100)
LUC: 50 (MAX 100)
---
Skills:
[Lv 9 Archery] [Lv 8 Swordsmanship] [Lv 8 Mana Manipulation] [Lv 8 Four Elemental Magic] [Lv 5 Holy Magic] [Lv 4 Dagger Mastery] etc
---
Titles:
[Horizon Online's Survivor] [Castitas Church's Knight] [Paladin's Loved One]
---
I first noticed that her (Mild Trauma) hadn't disappeared yet. As I expected, giving her happiness couldn't really cure that. My skills were also useless as this side effect was caused by past experience and not ill status.
Then I noticed her new title.
"[Paladin's Loved One]?"
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