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

88 – Reunion (1)

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The impact that a name made up of those two words had on Alice was enormous.

Confusing thoughts and emotions grew bigger and bigger in Alice’s mind, and soon they rushed into Alice’s head like a huge wave that toppled her huge body.

That overwhelming destructive power sweeps away reason in an instant.

Like a solid tree that Alice clings to to keep from being swept away by her waves, she stands motionless as if nailed in place and looks at the words on the tombstone once more.

Lila Staff.

Oh my god.

Alice took a deep breath.

She could not believe her own eyes.

Maybe she just didn’t want to believe it.

The sight of the name engraved on the cold tombstone, which still remained in her memory in the form of a tiny baby walking around, was a sight that was no less realistic.

But unfortunately, her eyes were completely fine.

The vision was so clear that it was cruel.

Alice slowly stretched out her hand towards the tombstone with a mesmerized expression.

Her hands, which had been fine despite the terrible scene she had seen in the basement where Balder’s staff was hiding a few months ago, were shaking like crazy just by approaching the tombstone.

She grasped her trembling wrist with her other hand and slowly swept the tombstone.

Rough texture.

The monument, which was beaten and ground with chisels and sharp iron, had a clean taste and a sense of care, but it could not be considered the work of an expert.

She brought her trembling hand to her side and touched the headstones of her men.

It felt exactly the same texture as Lila’s headstone.

“It was shaved by the same person.”

The man wearing the mask at the lakeside.

He apparently said that he found his body and buried it.

In that case, it was clear that he was the person who created this monument.

They probably didn’t take the tombstones that were stuck somewhere else and recycle them.

“…Wait, no… No, wait…!”

A truth that can be recognized even without thinking deeply.

That simple truth came like a tidal wave, and Alice’s sand castle-like reason was helplessly destroyed.

Alice tried to piece together the barely remaining fragments of reason and refine her thoughts.

Because there can be no misjudgment.

“Name…”

The names of her subordinates were not engraved on their tombstones.

It is natural.

How would you know the name of an unfamiliar corpse?

Isn’t it impossible to ask a dead person what his or her name is?

However, Laila’s tombstone had both her name and surname engraved on it.

That means that the person who created this tombstone knew Laila.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that they had the same name, but the surname Staff completely denied even the slightest possibility.

Moreover, the date engraved under the name was about 6 to 7 months ago.

It was almost the same day Ash and Lila escaped in the carriage.

“…That man… No way.”

Alice recalled the man she had been with for the past few days.

The man who was probably the one who created this monument.

The man who wrote that Lila was her sister.

The man who is Lila’s older brother.

Alice finally acknowledged that this man was the one she had been looking for.

As if to drive a wedge into that thought, Alice slowly followed along with her eyes and read the words engraved at the bottom of the tombstone.

A wonderful daughter and lovely sister. She will always miss you.

“Ash…”

Laila’s older brother, Maria’s younger brother.

Alice’s fiancé.

Ash Staff.

“Maria! “Your brother… was still alive.”

Alice quickly turned her waist and looked behind her.

It is not too late.

It is not too late at all.

Of course, it would have been great if I had found out sooner, but I can confidently say that I am glad I found out now.

Because I didn’t go to the devil’s castle without knowing.

“… I didn’t recognize it.”

It’s not my fault.

We haven’t seen each other for a long time.

I haven’t seen you since I entered the academy…

I haven’t seen you in almost seven years.

It’s just that it’s not recognizable.

In my memory, Ash was still young.

And you didn’t recognize me either.

No, you didn’t look at me at all. This bastard.

Stupid Ash.

Why are you covering your face?

Then I could have noticed it sooner.

What kind of disease did you get from Maggi?

If I had known you were Ash, I would have definitely corrected you. You idiot.

Ash has been like that since long ago.

You should have asked for help, but you tried to do it on your own and ended up doing strange things.

If you can’t reach a book high up in the study, you can just ask for it to be taken out, but I ended up getting crushed by a fallen bookshelf while trying to climb up.

Of course, I was a little angry when you threw a lizard at me the next day because you couldn’t save me quickly because you were laughing at that.

Thanks to you, I still hate lizards.

You know what?

Looking back now, it’s all a funny memory.

You idiot.

If you had told me in advance, you could have spent last night looking back on those memories.

No, no.

It’s not that much.

Rather, we could have held hands and gone home together.

You remember too, right?

That beautiful plain of Goldfield.

It’s not as beautiful as it used to be due to poor harvests, famine, and the tyranny of the idiot lord, but the view from that hill is still nice.

Don’t worry.

I kicked out both Balder and the idiot lord.

There is no one to chase Ash anymore.

I have to go catch the devil, but you can wait there in peace.

Ah, Ash.

Ash…

The more I think about it, the angrier I get, you idiot.

Wait.

Because I need to grind some honey chestnuts.

At that time, Alice was trying to move quickly with her steps, muttering to herself something she couldn’t understand.

In the distance, a figure slowly appeared between the trees.

Alice stopped and looked at someone who suddenly appeared.

It looked like a person with his arms and legs stretched out.

“…What is it?”

Alice glared closely at the person, wondering if she was a remnant of her demons who had appeared to spy on her.

She was a woman with messy, dull blonde hair, and wearing a strange piece of cloth stained red with blood.

She has no horns.

Aren’t they demons?

However, it made no sense for an ordinary woman to walk in a forest filled with demonic energy.

The reason Alice came to this forest alone in the first place was because even trained priests could not survive in this kind of demonic energy.

Sensing something unusual about her, Alice carefully pulled out her sword.

The unidentified woman standing in the distance slowly approached Alice.

Her shiny red eyes blazed like evil flames amidst her flowing hair.

In the dark forest created by the shade of the trees, red eyes snaked like snakes.

Alice’s heart suddenly began to work violently.

Her whole body became burning hot.

“Pfft! “What is this…!”

The hot heat of divine power gathered and burst out from Alice’s eyes.

Divine power gushed from her eyes like hot spring water, as if trying to wash away a foreign substance that had entered her eyes.

Alice clutched her eyes and fell to one knee, groaning as she fell to the floor, feeling as if her eyelids were all on fire.

“What is this! Now this… Why…!”

At that moment, with the sound of the wind blowing, Alice felt her vision greatly rolling.

Her head was cut off and lying on the floor.

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She worked all day and the sun was setting before she knew it.

I was on the roof all day today to find and fix the rainwater leak.

For some reason, her back hurt and her buttocks hurt as if they were going to split, but the view of the lakeside from a higher place than usual was a beautiful sight enough to provide some relief from the pain.

However, there was not a single human shadow to be seen in this wonderful scenery.

A cold wind blew from somewhere.

“Sniff, ha… I’m lonely.”

I said, sniffling.

This cold and fearful loneliness, where I felt the emptiness of others, was very painful, but the emptiness I felt after someone came and then disappeared again seemed to be just as painful.

This was something I realized anew after sending away the Heretic Questioner who had been appearing every night for the past few days.

Of course, the point of contact between me and her was not extremely close.

She would visit me late at night while exploring the forest every day, and we would chat a few words, and she would fall asleep right away.

However, I cannot possibly explain in words how much comfort the faint sound of other people’s breathing in my sleep brought to my lonely and boring life in the forest.

Although it only lasted a few days, the impact was devastating.

If I had left Sylvia’s cabin without being cursed, would she have felt this way too?

If you are more than me, you will be more, and you will never be less.

“Starting today, I’m alone again.”

I muttered that out loud to soothe the emptiness.

Then, Pia quietly spun in place at my feet, and flames bloomed all over her body.

It was as if he was asking me to look at him.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Pia. “You are not alone.”

When I lifted up the cute fox with a shy smile, the fox’s flames avoided me and gathered towards her tail.

The fox whined and tapped my chin with the tip of its nose.

I smiled as I placed my forehead against Pia’s head at the cuteness that melted my heart.

“I’m glad I have you. Really…”

Winter was already approaching, and my thin clothes could not protect me from the cold in the middle of the night when the sun had set.

Thanks to working hard all day, the roof was about halfway fixed.

I put Pia on my shoulder with a satisfied face and then slowly went down the roof.

“Ugh, it’s cold. “Let’s go in quickly.”

I hurriedly ran into the cabin.

It was getting colder by the day, so I couldn’t handle it on my own, so after the interrogator left, I dug into the floor in the middle of the living room and filled it with dirt to create a kind of makeshift furnace.

It wasn’t a particularly elaborate device, just putting firewood in the dirt and starting a fire, but it was still enough heat to get through the night.

When we repaired the roof, we made a hole for the smoke to escape, but since we didn’t build a chimney, we couldn’t make the fire too big.

If you do that, the whole house will be filled with smoke and soot.

“Pia. “Please light a fire.”

I thought that if I started a fire with magic, it would spread enormously, so I asked Pia to do it.

Pia gently placed her flaming tail on the firewood, then moved away slightly and quietly curled up next to the fire.

I sat down next to Pia and muttered.

“I need to eat something, but there’s nothing else to do.”

Fortunately, I wasn’t very hungry.

This may be thanks to the fact that I munched on small fruits while I was working.

As it got cold, everything became a hassle, so I decided to wait until dinner.

I slowly hugged my knees and sighed.

I’m starting to talk to myself again.

The emptiness in my heart and the emptiness of this shabby hut without any furniture was so great that I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t even talk to myself.

“Mr. Sylvia.”

Ha,

I said anything, but this came out.

I buried my face in my knees and laughed.

Did Sylvia leave this forest?

I wonder if something happened.

Should I leave her forest and look for her?

But if you meet someone…

Her complicated mind wavered here and there like a burning flame, unable to find her way.

Even though you could hear the crackling sound of dry firewood burning, the world was truly quiet.

It felt like everything other than the sounds people made was just passing by my ears.

The sound of the interrogator breathing while he was sleeping was more audible.

I could hear Sylvia’s heavy breathing in my memory better than the sound of the wind in reality.

It was then.

Jeopuk, Jeopuk,

I heard footsteps.

I raised my head.

When countless sounds of nature just pass by your ears, this sound comes deep into your ears.

I wondered if I had misheard, but seeing as Pia perked up her ears and looked out the cabin door, it seemed like I had not misheard.

What is it?

“Mr. Heretic Questioner… Aren’t you gone?”

I hurriedly found the mask I had left in the cabin and put it on her face.

I groaned for no reason at the frustrating feel of the tree pressing down on my face.

“What, you made it seem like you would never come again?”

As I said that, a smile kept forming on my face.

The footsteps were coming straight towards the cabin.

I slowly lowered my head and opened the door.

“You said you wouldn’t come,”

“Ash.”

…Huh?

“Didn’t you miss me?”

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