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

83 – Mask (2)

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I was walking through the forest with a mask on.

I couldn’t get used to the sight with the mask on.

Thanks to this, the sun was already going down through the trees even though we didn’t go very far.

It’s a shame, but I think I’ll have to head back for today, so I slowly turn back towards the direction I had walked from.

The mask rattled again.

It may sound obvious, but wearing a mask was more uncomfortable than I imagined.

I expected it to be stuffy, so I made it a little loose, but it rattled loudly with every step and the eye sockets kept shifting, which is normal. Even though I made it loose, it was slightly uncomfortable to breathe.

Not only was my face sore from the hard wood, but the fact that I had to take in the breath I had exhaled was even more unpleasant than I thought.

Once again, I was able to realize how much discomfort Sylvia was enduring when she first met me.

Was it not just because she was worried that her curse would spread that she tried to rush me away, but also because she felt extremely uncomfortable wearing a mask?

However, I had no intention of taking off the mask.

This is because I did not make this mask from the beginning with the intention of making it.

Perhaps it was the revelation of the goddess, or the will of the green woman, or perhaps it was the whispers of various spirits mixed in nature.

I don’t know exactly, but as I made the mask because of a revelation that suddenly came to me one day, I was convinced that there must be a reason why I had to wear it.

For example, adventurers may come to investigate the demonic energy that suddenly surrounds this forest, or someone who is fearless and slow to hear may come to pass through this forest.

I put my rattling mask back on and slowly caught my breath.

It would have been a big deal if it got dark on the way back, so I took out my phone in advance.

As usual, it popped out of my palm, spun around in the air, and then slowly landed on the floor.

“You remember the way home, right?”

Pia waggled her tail and slowly walked forward.

Just like the day she brought me to the spirit world, I often walked around the forest with Pia’s guidance.

Pia was my guardian spirit, but she used to find her way much better than me, probably because she was already used to this forest.

It was quite cute to see Pia’s butt, which was shaking with a burning flame, twitching as she walked.

Not to mention the tail that swayed left and right every time he walked.

I walked slowly, following my cute guardian spirit.

It seemed like I walked for several hours going back and forth, but when I walked down the path that Pia found, the lake appeared in only an hour.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m a Gilchi.

In the first place, rather than having a destination in mind, my goal was to use my demon-damaged body as a detector to find places where the demon energy had faded.

But, perhaps knowing how I felt, Pia looked at the large tree stuck in the middle of the lake, then turned around and lifted her chin.

I got down on one knee and gently scratched Pia’s chin.

The guy seemed to be in a good mood, shaking his body and scattering sparks in all directions.

It was then.

In an instant, Pia’s body stiffened, and the fire in her entire body surged upward, like a startled cat raising its fur.

I could feel it too.

There is someone at the lakeside.

“No way, Sylvia?”

I raised my head, just in case.

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Although it was clearly invisible, I could clearly sense its presence.

In the first place, the other person didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding.

The sound of clanking footsteps was heard from somewhere along the lakeside.

It was definitely the footsteps of someone wearing armor.

As far as I know, Sylvia’s armor melted when I burned down the cabin.

Then, is it not Sylvia?

I quietly turned off Pia’s light and lowered my posture.

In case the mask fell off, I held it tightly over my face again and slowly walked forward one step at a time.

If you meet someone other than Sylvia…

Maybe the other person will be fine thanks to the mask, but I will go crazy.

However, I couldn’t avoid going in.

Even if I was at a level where I could be active, I didn’t want to sleep while drinking the magic energy that was all over the lake.

I already almost died doing that, so I had no choice.

“Please, I hope Sylvia is right…”

I muttered softly and fixed my gaze on the ground.

As long as my face wasn’t visible, it didn’t matter if the other person found me.

The problem is that the other person comes into my field of vision.

Even if I run into someone and have a little conversation with them, it won’t be the worst if I don’t look at them.

The sky was already dark, Pia had turned off the lights, and her head was down on the ground, so my vision was practically useless.

Even though I couldn’t see it, the topography of the lakeside where I lived alone for a month was clearly visible, so I slowly made my way to the cabin, muffled by my footsteps.

“…!”

The sound of clanking metal footsteps coming from afar suddenly stopped.

I also stopped walking and lowered my head further.

What, what happened?

“Who is there!”

“Oh my,”

A low, firm woman’s voice.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Sylvia’s voice.

“Damn it,”

The sound of stopped footsteps began to be heard again.

It was coming toward me, running quickly.

“Answer me, who are you?”

Sereung, the clear and sharp noise of metal rubbing against metal,

The sound of a sword being drawn is heard.

Adventurer? Or maybe it’s an article.

I said with my eyes tightly closed.

“I… Live here.”

“You live in this forest? Do not lie.”

Well, if you knew what kind of place this forest was, it would be reasonable to be suspicious.

I pointed toward my cabin with my hand and lowered my head even more.

If a third party saw me, I looked so servile that it might have seemed like I was begging for my life.

“It’s real. “I’m staying in that cabin over there.”

“A cabin? “Are you talking about the tree house that’s falling down?”

“…”

Although it was a bit unskillful, it was still built not long ago.

I was heartbroken by the blunt assessment that ‘everyone is falling apart.’

Although a little bit of sadness bloomed in my heart, I nodded and continued speaking slowly.

“Yes, this is where I stay.”

“Huh, I thought it was a barn that was already in ruins.”

“…”

I had nothing to say so I kept my mouth shut.

When I remained silent, the woman also fell silent.

Neither of us said anything for a while, but those few seconds of silence were enough for me to feel it.

Her suspicions and hostility toward me are still unresolved, and she is ready to swing her sword at me at any time.

The woman opened her mouth again without withdrawing her sword.

“You probably know what kind of place this forest is, but why do you live here? “

“…That,”

“I’m waiting. “Say it.”

“…There are circumstances.”

“I guess so, otherwise I wouldn’t live in a place like this.”

She pushed me hard.

Her growling voice proved that her suspicions were growing.

If I can’t resolve my doubts like this, my head may fall off with a single knife.

Well, I wonder if there will be any problems if I die…

At that moment, the mask shook as if it would fall off, so I quickly grabbed it and pressed it to my face.

“Don’t move!”

“…Yes,”

I slowly calmed down my excitement as I smoothed out the wooden texture of the mask.

It doesn’t work.

It was foolish to think about dying here.

If I had known from the beginning that I would die here like this, I would not have sacrificed the green woman in the first place.

There was only one reason why my fragmented soul, which had survived through countless sacrifices and countless accidents, was barely able to cling to this world.

I want to meet Sylvia again.

Until then, I could never die.

I mustered up the courage to open my mouth.

“So… Who are you? “Seeing as you’re in this forest, I guess you’re not an ordinary person.”

“Heresy inquisitor directly under the Pope of the Goddess Church.”

“…”

Goddess Church? Inquisitor?

What does this mean?

If so, it also explains walking through this forest filled with demonic energy.

Of course, no matter how holy he is, he cannot stay in the demonic energy for a long time, so he must have found this lake while looking for a place to rest.

By the way, he is a heresy inquisitor directly under the Pope.

Aren’t all heresy inquisitors in the Goddess Church part of the Heresy Inquisition?

This woman may be lying to deceive me.

“I have never heard of the position of heresy inquisitor directly under the Pope.”

“It happened recently, a week ago to be exact.”

The woman answered my question straight away.

There was no sign of slowing down.

It means that a lie has been prepared in advance, or it is the truth.

I could feel cold sweat gathering inside the mask.

“Why is such a high-ranking person here…?”

“I came to investigate the demonic energy that occurred in the forest of lying trees. “There were also people who were looking for it.”

“…”

Looking for someone?

I wonder who a high-ranking member of the Goddess Church would be looking for here.

Oh, did you come to look for Sylvia?

After finding out that the hero wasn’t dead?

I clenched my fists and asked in a trembling voice.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Two missing people. And five of my men who were searching for that missing person.”

“…”

Oh, aren’t you here to look for Sylvia?

Wait, five?

I felt as if the number I heard in my ear was stuck between the folds of my brain.

Ah,

Oh, sh*t.

Five people.

I don’t know about the two missing people in front, but there was something to be said about the five men.

Now that I think about it, the last person who died by my hands that day was the one who exerted his divine power and struggled until the end even though a knife was stuck in his neck.

Divine power.

Ah…

“I didn’t expect to find him alive, so I tried to collect the body, but I never thought I would meet a living person in this hellish place filled with demonic energy.”

“…”

“I can’t help but have doubts.”

I could feel the tip of the knife aimed at my trembling body.

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