episode_0055

The Open Forest, Provelitu

“Ugh… I’m so tired…”

After going through so many incredible events, and holding back Aria who was trying to punish the elves, I had been utterly exhausted. As soon as I lay down on the bed, I fell asleep. When I woke up in the pre-dawn hours before the sun rose, I rubbed my eyes and went out through the back door. Ugh… my mind is too agitated. I should calm down a bit before going back to sleep. I stepped outside and slumped down on the ground, leaning against the wall. Then I mumbled, looking at the moon in the night sky.

“Yawn… Ugh… Stopping the World Tree… stopping Aria… there’s just too much to stop… Haaah… Anyway, to think I ended up saving the world… If I record this in my exploration journal, will anyone believe it? I believed I’d have a safe journey… to think I’d get caught up in something like this…”

Thinking about it, it seemed I was always caught up in dangerous situations. We saved the Fairy sisters who would have gone down an irreversible path if we had been late. Then, in the burnt-out Bosca, we encountered 20 mana, and I was kidnapped by Artyun, who was searching for the whereabouts of those 20 mana. On the way to Kartun, Tess saved me from the brink of death after we were ambushed by Beastfolk.

“Come to think of it, there were many close calls in the Magrion region too… To get caught up in even more dangerous things in the Kriton region… Is this a trial for exploration?”

“…Can you tell me more about that story?”

“Huh?”

At the sudden voice, I turned my head to the side. Veronica yawned, then sat next to me and began rubbing her eyes. Why did she suddenly wake up? Alten had put her on the bed earlier since she was curled up sleeping while clutching Trahan.

“Your story. I want to hear it in detail.”

“Why?”

“Because I owe you a debt of gratitude, but I know nothing about you… all I know is that you’re an explorer and the Saintess adores you. Could you perhaps show me your exploration journal?”

“Uh… okay. But… is that really the only reason?”

“Oh… you’re perceptive. I learned yesterday that I was human. I’ve never even been outside Provelitu. So… I want to read your exploration journal and imagine what the outside world is like.”

“…I’ll show it to you for now… but it’s still better if you experience it yourself.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve learned a lot by going through things myself. Reading or seeing other people’s experiences is good, but unless you experience it directly, you can’t say you’ve truly gone through it. The experience you gain firsthand is the most valuable. Here.”

“Oh… thank you… Okay. Now I’ll be able to go outside Provelitu… Uh…”

Veronica took my exploration journal and was about to open it, but suddenly stopped her hand and her expression began to look troubled. Why is she acting like this again?

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to read it?”

“…Well… what should I do now?”

“What?”

“I already fulfilled my father’s wish to make the elves stop thinking of all humans as evil beings… So what do I do now? Should I live here with the elves? Or… since I’ve learned I’m human, should I go outside?”

…That is a pretty serious problem. For Veronica, who is human by birth but was raised in Proposne, the elf village, it must be a huge dilemma. Should she live a human life… or an elf life?

“There’s no set answer to any life. Whether you live a human life or an elf life. There won’t be a wrong answer. If nothing held you back… what kind of life would you want to live?”

“I… I… I…”

Veronica tightly clutched my exploration journal and began to think deeply. Her hand holding the journal started to tremble, and her anxious eyes were now closed. Ugh… Uncle Prosh would have been really worried if he saw this… Right… there’s no need to make her choose right away. The moment I was about to speak to Veronica, she snapped open her eyes and spoke to me.

“I’ll stay in this village. To be precise… I’ll stay in this village for five years, and then I’ll try going outside.”

“What’s your reason for thinking that?”

“Even though I didn’t know I was human, I owe a lot to the elves of Proposne. I hope that through me, the elves will gradually let go of their wariness towards humans. And after that… I want to experience the outside world I’ve dreamed of and imagined through your book.”

“I see… Oh, I haven’t even explored half of Krentid World yet, you know? I’ve almost finished the Magrion region, but the Kriton region is still…”

“Even if you say ‘Magrion region,’ I don’t know what that is. So… I’ll find out through this book.”

“Hmm… okay. Then I’ll look at the sky and clear my head a bit…”

“Yes. Thank you, Zeke.”

I chuckled, seeing Veronica take a deep breath and open the book, and then looked up at the sky. Tormented by elves, tormented by Alaune, tormented by the World Tree, tormented by Aria… What a busy day it was… Will future journeys also be this arduous?

“Ugh… The air is quite cold… Is it because it’s still spring?”

“…You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? By the way… do all humans outside live like this?”

“Huh? Well… something like that?”

“It’s regrettable that there are still places that use slaves…”

“Still, there are quite a few humans who dislike the system of slavery. Something big happened this time, so there’s a chance slavery might disappear.”

“You mean this place called Bosca? But… it says this man who destroyed Bosca… his identity is unknown. If it were known, he would have been famous among the elves… It’s a shame.”

“Ah… that… I actually do know.”

“What?! Then why did you write ‘identity unknown’ in your exploration journal?!”

“Well… because the ‘otherworld’ might become a huge topic of interest. I wrote it down so I wouldn’t take something that significant lightly. I wanted to confirm if he was truly an otherworldly being before writing it down. Besides, if I just wrote ‘self-proclaimed otherworldly being,’ people would think a madman destroyed Bosca, wouldn’t they?”

“…That’s true… But does the otherworld really exist?”

“There’s no evidence, so I thought it didn’t… But seeing as the World Tree mentioned an otherworldly being…”

“I-It might exist?!”

“Yeah. The H.S.A the World Tree mentioned… that also seems to be something related to the otherworld. Oh, speaking of which, Uncle Prosh heard the story of the man from Bosca and told me to go to a cemetery called Grovel if I ever got out of here.”

“Father did?”

“Yeah, do you know what Grovel is?”

“Hmm… I’ve never heard of it. As I said, I’ve never been outside here, so I don’t know what’s out there. But my father, who lived a long time… might have known what was out there. So, is that our next destination?”

“I guess so. I had originally planned to pass Kroa Spring and then go there, but… since even the World Tree mentioned the otherworld, I’m a little curious.”

“Okay, here.”

Veronica handed me the exploration journal, and I took it and put it in my backpack. But then Veronica handed me a piece of paper, and I took it and unfolded it. Oh… this?

“Is this a map of Proposne?”

“Yes. I thought an explorer like you might need it.”

“And this blue feather wrapped around the map…?”

“It’s a Phoenix wing feather, given as a token when one becomes an elf soldier. I’m giving it to you.”

“What?! Are you sure?!”

“Thanks to you, I was able to say my final goodbye to my father.”

“Final goodbye?”

“A moment ago, I had contact with the last fragment of my father’s soul remaining in Trahan. It was by chance, but… I was able to share my true feelings with my father in the end. Thank you.”

So that’s why Veronica was sleeping while clutching Trahan… Uncle Prosh must have been very satisfied to be able to talk to his daughter on his final journey… Veronica seemed to have the same thought as me, as she said with a gentle smile:

“Father said he had many things he wanted to tell me, but when it came down to it, he couldn’t think of anything. Honestly… I felt the same way. There were so many things I wanted to tell Father then, but I couldn’t say them all… Isn’t that strange?”

“Not at all… Honestly, it would be strange if your mind was calm in a situation like that…”

“Haa… Zeke, there’s something I want to say.”

“Hmm?”

“If… if it wouldn’t be a bother… I’d like to join you on your journey…?!”

“Gasp?!”

The moment Veronica was about to say she wanted to join my journey, something pierced through the wooden wall and shot past Veronica and me. Uh… wait. This color… these decorations… This… isn’t this Aria’s staff?! Veronica also realized what the object next to her was and started to shriek in terror.

“Ahhhhhh!! T-This, surely…!!”

“Uh… uhhh…”

At the sudden appearance of Aria’s staff, my entire body froze. And as Aria’s staff slowly retracted inside, Veronica and I unconsciously swallowed, and at that moment, the back door opened, and Aria began to appear. But… A-Aria smiling like that in the middle of the night… She was… horror itself…!! Veronica started to hiccup, as if she had goosebumps. Because Aria was smiling, but the hand holding her staff was gripping it incredibly tightly…

“You are being an *ex*treme nuisance, aren’t you?”

“Hiccup…”

“A… Aria…? How did you know I was here…?”

“Hehehe… You know, after transforming into the Holy Radiance yesterday, all my abilities grew even further… Now I can even sense the foxes next to Zeke-nim! Even what kind of conversations you’re having…!!”

“Fo… fox…? Me…? Me?!”

“Yes~ Where… are you trying to seduce Zeke-nim…?”

“A… ahhh… No, it’s not like that, I… I…”

“Wait…”

Looking at Aria’s chilling smile, I suddenly remembered something and slowly turned my head to the side. This hole Aria made… no, how did she make a hole? Spes’s house is inside a giant tree. And the wall thickness from where we are to the inside is about a span of an adult man’s hand thick… She pierced through that?! In one go?!

*Could it be that her physical abilities also increased after becoming the Holy Radiance…? If Aria has become this strong… how am I supposed to deal with her now…?!*

“Only I belong by Zeke-nim’s side. If Zeke-nim were to get a companion… I’d use this staff to…!!”

“Eeeeeek….. Ugh….”

She… she fainted…!! Veronica was so terrified by Aria’s chilling smile, cast by the moonlight, that she fainted, and I was flustered. But then, seeing Aria about to strike Veronica with her staff, I hurriedly stopped Aria.

“Ahhhhhh!! Stop it!! Aria!!”

“No…!! Obstacles must be removed immediately…!!”

“Ahhhhhh!!”

I definitely understand now. I am still saving the world right now. Saving the world from Aria… That night, I used all my strength to stop Aria, and collapsed onto the bed, utterly exhausted. Now, more than worrying about what trials await us, I’m worried about how to stop Aria. Since Aria’s power has grown stronger after becoming the Holy Radiance…

“Ugh… My back hurts…”

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Zeke?”

Alten asked me, seeing me clutching my head and gently patting my lower back with my fist. Did he not know what happened in the early morning yesterday…? Veronica screamed so much… Wait a minute.

“Alten, where’s Veronica?”

“Hmm? Veronica? Well… she must have had a nightmare or something, as she won’t come out from under the blanket. She was just mumbling apologies and trembling, so I left her alone. She contributed greatly to defeating the World Tree, so there should be nothing to fear now… Oh, wait. There is.”

Alten pondered why Veronica was scared, then sorted out his thoughts after seeing Aria slowly emerge from behind me. I don’t know if he said that truly knowing, but… Veronica is like this because of her, that’s for sure…

“Zeke-nim…? I-Is your back bothering you…?”

“It’s because of you… *Sigh*…”

“What…?! Am I a burden…? I-I’m sorry… If I’m going to be hated by Zeke-nim, then I’d rather…”

“…I don’t even have the strength to stop you anymore, so please just stop…”

As I let out a hollow laugh and lost my composure, Aria began to shake me. And Alten, witnessing this situation, quickly fled. Yes… fleeing is the best choice, Alten… The chaotic morning passed, and it became noon. I showed Spes my exploration journal, and Spes looked at it with interest before returning it to me.

“My, my… you’ve certainly been caught up in tremendous things, Zeke. Although it’s sad that humans still use slaves… through you, I understand that not all of them are like that.”

“Oh? Were all humans in ancient times like that?”

“They were. But seeing that they’re gradually improving makes me incredibly happy.”

“I see… But are you still the Grand Elder-nim? Even though he was threatened, the Grand Elder-nim also became Alaune’s pawn.”

“Ah… I tried to step down from the Grand Elder position myself to take responsibility… But this morning, all the elves rebelled, you see… I was going to hand over the Grand Elder position to Captain Alten…!”

“Huh?! Are you talking about me?!”

“Indeed. Elders of an old era like me are no longer needed. It’s always been the young ones who usher in new eras. But since things turned out this way… I guess I’ll have to do it until I die…”

…That sounds like he really doesn’t want to be Grand Elder… Hearing the Grand Elder’s grumbling, I let out a hollow laugh and said nothing. Then, Alten suddenly tapped my arm and handed me something. Oh… this?

“What is this long feather? Wait. A blue feather?”

“This is a Phoenix tail feather, Zeke. It’s the symbol of a Captain, received by elves who take on the Captain position. Thank you very much for your efforts for our elves.”

“What?! This kind of thing…”

“It’s fine. We only received various kinds of help from you. So, I give you this as a wish for only good fortune on your journey.”

“Oh… oh… Thank you, Alten… Oh, Grand Elder-nim!”

“Hmm? I also have such a feather…”

“No, not that! Do you happen to know a cemetery called Grovel?”

“Grovel? Hmm… I don’t seem to know that cemetery, I apologize for that.”

“If even the Grand Elder-nim, who has lived for 1,600 years, doesn’t know… then this must be a place only Uncle Prosh knew about.”

“If Prosh told you to go there, it must be a trustworthy place. Prosh often went outside.”

“…Understood… Aria! Let’s go!”

“Yes, Zeke-nim! I’ve packed everything!”

“Are you leaving already? You can stay longer…”

Alten said, stopping Aria and me who were about to leave Proposne. It’s true we should investigate this place, but the elves haven’t completely let go of their wariness towards humans yet. This place is like Kartun. It’s one of the places we’ll definitely return to.

“I’ll come back later. By then, the elves’ minds will have changed, right?”

“…Yes, trust us. We will change Proposne so that you can spend a night here feeling at ease. We will open Provelitu and meet various other races. So… please trust us.”

“Of course. Especially after receiving such a gift. Still, you did give me a book about elf culture.”

I said, pulling out the book about elf culture that Alten had given me yesterday from my backpack. Alten chuckled and took my hand, saying:

“Understood. May good fortune be with you on your journey.”

“And I hope good fortune is with the Provelitu you’ll change.”

“Thank you.”

Aria and I quietly slipped out of Proposne, seen off by Alten, Spes, and Veronica. Because the elves would clearly still be wary of humans… As I was thinking that while leaving Proposne, a sound began to echo from atop the giant wooden wall guarding Proposne.

“Goodbye, Black Saintess-nim!!! Please come back!!”

“Huh…? They’re elves?”

“Zeke-nim, up on the outer wall…”

“…Oh, my goodness.”

I looked where Aria was pointing and was so surprised that my mouth fell open. The elves of Proposne were seeing us off from atop the outer wall… and it was an enormous crowd. At least a hundred elves were expressing their gratitude to us.

“Black Saintess-nim!! Thank you for protecting us!!”

“Farewell, brave humans!! We hope you come again!!”

Spes and Alten had said they would inform the elves that the human Black Saintess had saved them… To inform the elves at the very moment we were leaving… Well, it seems they told the elves that Aria defeated the World Tree by herself, just as I asked. Seeing as they’re only praising Aria.

“They’re praising you because you defeated the World Tree, Aria? Well… I guess it’s because Alten told them that.”

“But you prefer that, don’t you, Zeke-nim?”

“Of course. Anyway, it’s a relief that the elves have let go of their wariness towards us… Well, they probably haven’t completely let it go yet, and we’ve already left the village anyway.”

“But… are you really going to come back here?”

“I haven’t properly recorded everything, so I should… Alright, where shall we go next?”

“Yes!”

Yes… a journey isn’t just full of hardships. There are also joyful and pleasant moments, and things that make you laugh. On our next journey, we might have to save the world again. Or perhaps we might save someone. It would have been a heavy burden for an explorer like me… but I’m not alone now. With Aria by my side, I feel like I can accomplish even such arduous journeys. Now… what awaits us next?

**Part 1 Afterword**

Hello! This is author Photon!

The Black Saintess Part 1 has finally ended… finally.

There’s still a mountain of a long way to go, so this is just barely the end of Part 1, though…

Anyway, thanks to all my readers, I was able to safely conclude Part 1 of The Black Saintess!

Uh… so this time, I’m going to talk about the behind-the-scenes stories of the characters who appeared in Part 1! Well then!

**1. Zeke and Aria**

Originally, Zeke’s profession was going to be a priest, and Aria was going to be an ordinary village resident.

So Aria was going to follow Zeke on his pilgrimage and make things a little difficult for him, but…

The concept of the female protagonist being a strong saintess appealed more, so it was changed.

**2. Karina**

Originally, Karina was planned to appear as around 17 years old. However, a character was needed to represent the growth of beast-people, so Karina’s age was lowered to that of a child.

**3. Twenty Mana**

Actually, as the first otherworldly being, Twenty Mana was not initially planned to appear; another character was.

However, in the current story’s timeline, Twenty Mana, being a dimension traveler, seemed more fitting than that other character, so they were replaced with Twenty Mana.

**4. Demon Energy Used by Zeke**

Yes, the demon energy Zeke used also underwent a change. Initially, the idea was that Zeke would use Cecilia’s energy through the soul he received from Cecilia.

However, this was changed to Zeke acquiring it through memories due to later story developments.

**5. The World Tree**

Originally, the development was that Flora would absorb the World Tree’s seed and become the World Tree herself.

However, this was also changed due to later story developments to a structure where Flora, along with other Alraunes, voluntarily merges with the World Tree to aid its revival.

**6. Spes’s Survival**

Initially, it was a story of Spes sacrificing herself to give Zeke and Alten time to escape.

The difference is that while Spes was originally intended to die, there were acquaintances who told me not to kill her, so it was changed to her surviving.

…Grand Elder-nim, live long and prosper.

**7. Cecilia**

Originally, Cecilia was going to lose everyone in her hometown, lose her sanity, and go berserk.

However, the depiction was too cruel, and Cecilia was too pitiful, so it was changed to her taking revenge while still retaining her sanity.

So far, I’ve shared some anecdotes!

Well… there are still more differences from the initial draft, but… that’s for later!

Well… since Part 1 has concluded, I’ll take a short hiatus like other authors…

Aria: If you do, you’ll die?

Oh no… I’m already doing two simultaneous serializations, so if you could just let me…

Aria: You’ll die?

Oh no… damn it…

(Anyway, The Black Saintess will continue to be serialized, and Part 2 begins on Friday!)