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

115 – Let’s go back (2)

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Was it because I couldn’t prevent my colleague’s death?

Or maybe it was because the end result of all that suffering was being imprisoned in this forest.

It was not difficult to see Sylvia not being too fond of her shackles as a warrior.

To me, a mere shabby sorcerer living in a corner of a room, there were times when she, a warrior with legendary achievements, seemed so dazzling, and there were times when I couldn’t hide my excitement at the fact that she was my lover.

However, whenever Sylvia saw my reaction like that, she would smile a little awkwardly.

To be honest, there were times when I found Sylvia’s humility a bit annoying.

Because to the eyes of a weak person like me, it felt a little, really, just a little bit like a deception to see a being with such great strength and ability not encounter that joy.

But now I know.

Strong force, shining majesty.

The fact is that overwhelming power that far surpasses the common sense of ordinary people never demands a reasonable price.

While I was with Sylvia, I heard about her past.

A monster created by an environment so harsh that countless people were killed and even those who survived lost their minds.

That was Sylvia’s past and her secret.

Then, what about Alice, the older sister who fought with Sylvia like that?

Sister Alice had a very normal childhood.

Beautiful memories that I also share.

She was one of the heroines who jumped into that memory.

It was by no means normal for her to appear with such a strong divine power that she was able to survive Sylvia’s terrible violence.

Then, of course, it means that the price that Sister Alice paid was also unreasonable.

Sister Alice, who was sitting next to me now, also seemed to be not accepting her present situation as happily as Sylvia.

Despite having the extraordinary title of Inquisitor under the Pope of the Goddess Church, I saw her begging me with tears in her eyes like a child.

I felt a stabbing pain in my chest and a fear of the harsh price she must have had to pay.

“Let’s go back… like before… we…”

“…”

“Ash…”

Like Sister Maria, Sister Alice was a very strong sister to me.

It’s still the same for me, who’s only twenty years old, but the four-year age gap feels even bigger at a young age.

Compared to me, she was always mature, always smart, and always strong.

That’s why I think I was more shocked than I thought when I first saw Sister Alice’s tears.

I couldn’t answer at all.

“It’s so hard… so hard,”

“…”

“We want to go back… neither Maria nor I… We weren’t going to the academy or anything…”

What on earth is so difficult?

I wonder what happened to my sister.

I couldn’t figure it out.

I didn’t even have the courage to ask.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I just nodded my head in agreement to her suggestion to go back with hasty consolation.

To be honest, I don’t know if I could go back even if I wanted to, and I don’t think that even if I did, the peace we had before would return.

I don’t know anything.

What happened to my older sister.

The price my sister paid.

The place, or the time, that my older sister wishes she could return to.

I didn’t know the answer because I didn’t have the courage to ask.

All I know is one thing,

It turned out that my vague and narrow-minded idea that people with strong abilities would be happy was completely wrong.

Both Sylvia and Alice were having a very hard time.

The sight of the two people being mercilessly swayed by the power they possessed, the destiny they had achieved, and the ending they had arrived at, to me, a weak person, dare I say, looked like a pair of fragile, staggering girls.

So, I could do nothing but silently hug her shoulders.

“…”

“…ugh, gasp,”

“Sister.”

A voice that was surprisingly affectionate and soft came out of my mouth.

The name she used to call her was the same as when she was young, but her voice was low and thick, without a trace of innocence left.

Sister Alice buried her head in my arms, as if seeking comfort in that voice.

I silently grabbed her shoulder gently.

“…”

Fuck,

I really don’t know what to say.

Since I didn’t know where her pain came from, I didn’t know how to comfort her, and my soulless, vague sympathy couldn’t possibly soothe her pain.

But I couldn’t ask my sister what happened right now, so I could only remain silent.

“Ugh, ugh,”

As I listened to Sister Alice’s cries leaking out through my teeth, I suddenly looked up at the sky.

Even today, the pitch-black night sky, with not a single star visible, seemed like an endless expanse of darkness with unknown depth.

A darkness so ominous and terrifying.

Unlike the ordinary night that blocks our vision but somehow embraces us with warmth, this ominous darkness seems to emanate cold malice and murderous intent.

A disgusting fog created by the Demon King surrounded our small lakeside.

“Sylvia… Alice…”

brave.

The Pope’s direct Inquisitor.

Two people who were sent to capture the Demon King, and who are staggering with their hair tied by their fate.

There’s one b*stard named Ash Staff who can’t even provide comfort to two people.

I’ve thought about this before, but shouldn’t we give better rewards to the warriors who save the world?

I thought again about how twisted their fate was.

“fate…”

At that moment a small breeze blew from the lake.

The wind brushing past my ears seemed to be whispering.

A very soft and kind voice passed through my head.

‘You came to my forest in that rattling carriage. It was like fate.’

I looked up in surprise at the huge tree standing in the middle of the lake.

The tree that was the green lady.

The voice that came into my head was definitely hers.

As soon as the green woman’s voice came to mind, all the things she had said began to come back to me uncontrollably.

“Are you still looking at me…”

“…Ash? What is that…”

Even though she had exhausted all the power she had accumulated as a spirit who had been managing this forest for a long time and had become a tree, she still seemed to be looking at me.

“Sister.”

“Ash?”

“You can go back.”

“…uh?”

My sister was listening to me, wiping away tears.

I looked at my sister.

A few weeks ago, when we still didn’t know each other’s identity.

Sister Alice clearly stated that she was dispatched to capture the Demon King.

Judging from the way she was subdued by Sylvia, her powers were clearly inferior to those of the warrior.

But now she looked so healthy that it was hard to believe she had been a piece of meat just a few hours ago.

Truly tremendous divine power.

What else can you call a being with such great divine power if not a saint?

“Haha… hahaha, fate…”

“Ash?”

Thanks to the Green Lady’s breath, I definitely remembered.

The story of how, for some unknown reason, fate twisted and the saintess did not appear, and because of that, I was not able to become a member of the warrior party, and because of that, all my companions except for the other Sylvias died…

But the warrior party was not completely destroyed.

The warrior Sylvia still remained,

Sister Alice, who possesses immense divine powers that could be called a saint.

And even I, a spirit shaman who can communicate with spirits that only appear in fairy tales.

“There were three of us.”

“What are you talking about?”

The green lady had spoken clearly.

If you wait at this lake, the warrior will appear on his own.

As she said, Sylvia came back to me, and I stalled for time until now under the pretext of making armor for her.

And thanks to that, I also got to meet my older sister Alice.

The green lady said I should lead the warriors.

Perhaps this great queen of spirits knew.

The people I had to lead, the warriors I had been waiting for, were two people.

Sister Alice looked like she didn’t understand what I was saying.

I looked at my sister and said.

“Let’s go back, Sister.”

“… Will you come with me? Okay, then let’s go out of this forest…”

“no.”

I moved my gaze into the distance.

Towards that loathsome being that cannot be seen, but that clearly exists somewhere beyond this darkness that obscures our vision.

“Let’s catch the Demon King, get rid of this damn curse, and go back. Sylvia too.”

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