I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

111 – Secret Talk (3)

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“Why, do you like Sylvia?”

Sister Alice asked slowly, but looking straight at me.

To be honest, I was a little embarrassed.

You’re not even asking me if I like you, you’re asking me why I like you.

I asked back to try to figure out what the question was about.

“why?”

“Yeah, so why do you like it?”

“Well…”

I thought I could answer easily, but when I actually opened my mouth, it just wouldn’t come out.

If you asked me if I liked Sylvia, I could have answered yes a hundred or a thousand times, but when you asked me why, even I couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

Only guesses that this might be the reason came to mind and were quickly denied.

Is it because you saved me?

No, this feeling was not something as simple as gratitude.

Because your face is pretty?

Although Sylvia is beautiful, I didn’t want to give such a vulgar answer.

Because it’s strong?

Isn’t this an even more bizarre reason?

Could it be because we were alone for quite some time?

No, if I said it like that, it would sound like it didn’t matter if it was anyone other than Sylvia.

I felt like countless thoughts were spinning around in my head, juggling each other.

It just passed through my consciousness without any clear explanation that I could understand.

I was troubled as I looked at the sparks scattering as dizzyingly as my consciousness.

“well…”

“…”

I had to give some answer to dispel Alice’s suspicions that I was being held captive by Sylvia, or that I was being brainwashed by a curse or something similar, but I couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

Rather, it made me feel confused.

Yeah, why me, Sylvia.

When did you start liking it?

As I was deeply troubled by a problem I had never thought about before, I made a clear statement to Sister Alice.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not like Sylvia brainwashed me… or anything like that.”

“… haha,”

“I understand that you don’t trust Sylvia, but…”

“Yes, I understand. You love Sylvia.”

“…huh,”

Sister Alice said with a bitter smile.

“Sylvia, who survived leaving Maria behind?”

“My sister’s death… I can’t say it was Sylvia’s fault… More than anything, I didn’t want to blame her even more after I found out how cruelly she tortured herself.”

“… under,”

Alice nodded, bursting into laughter.

And then he said in a slightly playful voice.

“What if I had a fiancée?”

I waved my hands, unable to hide my bewilderment at her sudden words.

“Ah, no, that was just talk, we weren’t even officially engaged yet… My sister didn’t really want to marry me either…”

“I was fine.”

“…uh?”

“It’s okay, living with Ash.”

I slowly moved my lips as I listened to Sister Alice’s tone of voice, which seemed to be longing for a future that had already disappeared.

Actually, I did that too.

Even though he might not feel the burning, passionate love for his older sister Alice, the idea of ​​a hypothetical future where he could have started a family with her didn’t seem so bad.

Of course, she probably doesn’t love me as a romantic interest either.

However, since we were childhood friends and had such a close relationship, she and I had been like family for a long time… no, we were almost like family.

A sense of stability, peace, and an ordinary, quiet routine that will continue forever.

A future with her would probably look like this.

As I was picturing that scene in my head for a moment,

Sister Alice said with a smile.

“It would have been fun if we lived together.”

Apparently, she too was recalling the same scene.

I nodded too.

“… Yeah, that would be nice.”

“I’ve been extremely busy with my studies and the chaos caused by the Demon King…”

“huh.”

“So the engagement was postponed a bit, but I still had no intention of rejecting him. It’s not that I disliked Ash or anything.”

“I didn’t think about that… I thought I would naturally marry you.”

“…haha,”

Sister Alice burst into laughter and slowly leaned her head on my shoulder.

Her body, which was in close contact, constantly felt a very subtle vibration.

Instead of a heartbeat, I could hear the rough sound of breathing mixed with the hum of machinery.

Her chest, which is probably melting without rest even at this moment.

Her overwhelming divine power, which was beyond the normal category, was probably due to the power of the mechanical device within her.

Although I was not knowledgeable enough to know the details, it was clear that her body would be greatly affected.

I listened to her labored breathing quietly, then opened my mouth as if I had made up my mind.

“But now… I like Sylvia.”

“…even though she is the woman who trampled on her fiancée several times?”

Sister Alice’s voice was calm, but somehow the deep sadness hidden within it was clearly felt.

But I closed my eyes tightly and nodded slowly.

“I’m sorry… I… I’ll make sure to apologize somehow. I’ll apologize over and over again, and if I have to pay the price, I’ll pay it too…”

“…”

“But, even so, I like Sylvia. I want to live with her, be with her… That’s what I felt and thought.”

Sister Alice asked, tilting her head slightly from my shoulder.

“A woman who is restrained by handcuffs?”

I answered calmly.

“…You may not believe it, but today is the first time. It’s never happened before.”

“…”

“Really.”

“Ha, I guess I did that because I was afraid you’d follow me. You cowardly b*tch.”

“…haha,”

Sister Alice sighed deeply and asked briefly.

“Did you sleep?”

I answered honestly.

“Countless.”

“…transformation.”

“…”

As someone who clearly felt that our walls were slowly being twisted… no, they were being revealed during our usual sleepovers with Sylvia, I had no words to refute Sister Alice’s criticism.

In the end, I just smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of my head as I said:

“I had nothing else to do…”

“transformation.”

“No… It’s that forest.”

“…the forest.”

Why do you like Sylvia?

As we talked, it seemed like the answer to Sister Alice’s question was starting to come into focus.

Of course, I couldn’t be sure that this was really the reason I fell for Sylvia, but I stammered out the conclusion that had just occurred to me, still unrefined.

“…In this forest where everything is lacking, we depended on each other… and that’s how we slowly, as if seeping into each other. I don’t think there was any special reason.”

“…”

“Sylvia helped me overcome my crisis, and I endured Sylvia’s sadness with her… and then we came to a point where we couldn’t live without each other… isn’t that it?”

An embarrassing remark made with a blush on my face.

But Alice’s reaction was extremely calm and cold.

“…I wonder if that is true.”

“Sister?”

Sister Alice looked at the fire with sharp eyes and slowly closed her eyes as she spoke.

“Ash…”

“huh…?”

“The tomb you made.”

At those words, I couldn’t help but hold my breath.

“Is it true that the monster killed him?”

＊

“The graves of five unknown men, other than Layla. The graves where my men were buried when they were found dead.”

“… suddenly.”

I had completely forgotten about it.

How could I forget, it was so disgusting to me.

Anyway, I had forgotten.

No, maybe I wanted to forget.

My body is shaking violently.

Sister Alice asked again without even looking at me.

“It looked like he had been attacked by a monster and died, I thought.”

“…”

“Are you sure?”

grow.

I killed him.

Even though I knew that fact deep in my bones, I couldn’t move my lips.

It wasn’t because I didn’t want to talk, but because my face was literally convulsing with fear and guilt.

Of course, now that Sister Alice knows about my curse, she might not blame me directly.

At that time, I didn’t know that the other person was Alice, so I might be able to understand why I didn’t tell the truth.

However, that was a matter that only Sister Alice could decide.

Besides, in order to be understood, my confession had to come first.

“…that,”

My body was shaking like crazy.

They said they would share in Sylvia’s punishment, or apologize on her behalf.

I am so arrogant and shameless in spewing out such ridiculous nonsense.

I am a sinner.

How dare I, when I am a greater sinner?

I felt sick at my poor moral standards.

In the end, I ended up forcing forgiveness on Sister Alice by showing off my recognition and friendship.

The reason it was possible was because, although it was painful, my older sister Alice was still alive and well.

However, those five priests…

They couldn’t come back.

Because I killed it for sure.

“Ash.”

Her voice calling my name sounded like the voice of a judge sentencing me.

Although I did not live faithfully, I did not live blindly violating the doctrines of the Church of God.

As a child, I witnessed the execution of evil heretics who were enemies of the Catholic Church.

An official Inquisitor’s execution usually begins with the sinner reciting his or her sins.

Of course, Sister Alice wouldn’t execute me, but I had to confess my sins in front of her now.

He had to confess his sins before the Inquisitor.

“Sister…”

Compared to me, who had difficulty opening my mouth, Sister Alice opened her mouth slowly but steadily.

“Actually, it’s a little strange.”

“… No, that, that’s not it…”

“Whether it’s a curse, or being stuck in the woods, or both, when I meet someone who can help me… no, help me, it would be a normal reaction to ask for help.”

“…”

“You didn’t do that at all. You even lied to me.”

“… That’s right.”

“The Ash I know is like a snail, not a person suited to living in the forest, but it’s strange that he doesn’t ask for help even after seeing the Pope’s own Inquisitor.”

“To go to the city with a curse on…,”

“If you had explained the situation to me, who is directly under the Pope, wouldn’t there have been a way to resolve it without you having to go to the city with a curse on you? For example, after returning, I would have brought in the best veterinarian in the Vatican.”

“No, even you can’t break this curse…”

“You didn’t know that until a little while ago.”

Sister Alice leisurely refuted everything I said.

Why does every word she says sound like a giant guillotine blade heading towards my neck?

The sound of swallowing spit echoed loudly among the crackling of the campfire.

At the same time, Alice’s voice slowly began to point the blade of truth at me.

“From what I see, it’s not that you’re physically unable to leave the forest, but it’s that you’ve given up on trying.”

“…”

Sister Alice slowly opened her closed eyes and said.

“Ash.”

Her voice trembled thinly.

“Did you kill him?”

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