episode_0032

The old wolf gazed at the collapsed statue in front of him in the cave for a long time, reminiscing about the past. When he was still a vibrant young wolf, this statue didn’t look like this, so terribly collapsed. The first time he saw this statue was when he was very young. The chieftain of that time had brought him here and told him about it. He had told him that he would be the one to protect this statue. At that time, the young wolf couldn’t understand what that meant. It was only when he underwent the coming-of-age ceremony that he came to understand its meaning.

The chieftain of the past, who was as old as he was now, decided that the one who had successfully completed the coming-of-age ceremony would be the next chieftain, and not long after, he breathed his last, weary breath. It was a sudden death, without even time to properly teach him.

“Was it because he knew he was going to die that he brought a wolf pup, small enough to be held in one hand, here?” For the young wolf who had just completed his coming-of-age ceremony, the position of chieftain was burdensome and heavy. He had to take responsibility for his clan, and lacking experience, he had barely managed to carry out the mission of protecting this forest from the Eraths, going through countless trials and errors. Even the words of the former chieftain, that what they truly had to protect was not the forest but this statue, became buried and vanished in the busy daily life and sense of responsibility. Then came one day. As usual, the Eraths came, targeting this forest, the trees, and they prepared to hunt so that the Eraths would not harm the forest.

There was no problem. As always, they made them let down their guard and hunted those who were habitually harming the forest. The problem occurred in the next moment.

“Escape into the forest!” When an Erath shouted, the Eraths all began to run into the depths of the forest at once. The young chieftain was flustered. Up until now, no Erath had ever tried to go deep into the forest. But those Eraths ran as if it didn’t matter. Unaccustomed to this situation, he led his clan, urgently chasing and hunting the Eraths, and some were confined to the cave, but the stamina of the Eraths was beyond imagination. While the wolves quickly grew tired as time went on, they continued to run. Perhaps he had underestimated them and let down his guard at the sight of them, who were no match in simple speed. None of the clan dared to imagine that they could run for so long.

“It was clearly a lack of experience.” He recalled that time and muttered gloomily. It was a deeply bitter and fatal mistake. Because what awaited him when he returned to this cave that day was the sight of the statue he had to protect, terribly collapsed. And what he found was the bead he gave to Usher. Having failed to protect the statue, he meticulously examined the pictures carved on the cave wall, which only the chieftain could enter, things he hadn’t paid attention to before. He had hoped that there might be a way to restore the collapsed statue. However, all he could learn was that once the statue was collapsed, it could never be restored, and about the owner of the forest they protected.

“Platani, Agapia, Kabusius.” They were all words referring to the girl. That young Erath doesn’t know at all how great a being she is, or what kind of being she is. Not even how much undeserved love she receives. As he lay his tired body on the ground, his eyes saw the paws of a wolf with silver fur.

“You’ve come, Velichye.” “I have completed what you ordered.” “Is that so.”

The only wolf with such conspicuous fur color was the one he had designated as the next chieftain. Fortunately, he was given time to teach him after his coming-of-age ceremony, and he taught him as much as possible so that he would not make the same mistakes he did. What wolves value most is not strength, but wisdom. While strength is important for leading the wolves who usually live separately, they would have quickly gone extinct without the wisdom passed down through generations. That is why they have inherited wisdom from their ancestors.

“You’ve worked hard listening to this old man all this time.” He was a fellow whom he had taught so strictly that he himself thought it was excessive, so that he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Yet, this fellow accepted everything without complaint. He felt sorry for that and worried about him even more.

“You may leave now. I want to be alone.” By the time he returned here, he would no longer be here. He said this, feeling his dying flame, but the pure white paws showed no intention of moving even after hearing his words. At that, the old wolf rolled his clouded eyes, trying to see Velichye’s face. However, his blurry vision did not allow even that. Nevertheless, it seemed as if Velichye’s face was being superimposed on the blurred image.

“What makes you so sad?” “….” Even at the old wolf’s question, he did not answer. Thinking that he was a taciturn fellow as always, he slowly closed his eyes. And the last thing he faced was the beautiful golden light that saw him off at the lake where two moons faced each other last night. Soon, the faint ember crumbled, leaving only pure white ash.

“Indeed, you are excessively kind.” The long-standing guilt and responsibility that had just been weighing him down finally released him.

“What is that sound?” Usher, who had woken up after spending the night, looked around as if he heard the sound of a mournful wolf howl coming from somewhere, but all he could see was the white shining sky, rustling grass, and colorful fish swimming above it. He was currently inside the lake with Belka to explore the inner part of the lake, which they hadn’t finished yesterday. The only sounds he heard were the sound of bubbles and the dull sound of water filling his ears. As nothing else seemed to be happening, he was about to continue exploring the lake.

“Belka?” When he turned around because the girl who had been moving around inside the lake with him wasn’t moving at his movement, he saw her standing there blankly. Usher felt a sudden fear at her distant eyes, as if she was looking somewhere far away that he couldn’t fathom, and her faded presence.

“Belka.” “…Did you call?” As he carefully called her name again, he was relieved at the girl’s presence, which quickly returned to normal, and he spoke as if he didn’t know anything.

“Let’s take a look over there too.” The place he pointed to was filled with aquatic plants growing in the water, as if it had always been a part of the lake. As they moved around in the water with an ambiguous feeling, somewhere between walking and flying. He discovered something strange.

“What is that?” Although it was hard to see, covered in aquatic plants and moss, he found a line that seemed to have been artificially carved on a slightly revealed part, and he approached it. As he swept away the aquatic plants covering the surface with his hand, what was revealed were lines forming characters. And Usher remembered where he had seen them.

“I saw this in the magic book!” Because those characters were the same as the characters he had to draw with his hand when using magic in the magic book. Among them, a character drawn simply like a fish standing vertically and a character drawn simply like a table standing sideways were carved largely. The girl next to him stroked the rock with the characters carved on it and said.

“Otilla and Perth.” “You can read it?” “Yes, it seems like they were really in a hurry when they made this.”

Saying that, Belka placed her finger on the end of the character she called Perth.

“Usher, match my speed and follow that character.” “This?” Usher put his hand on the end of the character called Otilla as the girl asked and followed the character at the speed she moved. However, he failed because he ran out of breath in the middle. He was disappointed at the rock that remained motionless, but only for a moment. Belka pressed her lips to his and carefully breathed air into him.

“I’m sorry. Because of me.” “It’s okay.” When he tried again with the girl after receiving the breath from her, he knew that they had succeeded. Because the rock that seemed stuck and wouldn’t move began to tremble and then suddenly sank down. So, he was only surprised for a moment. As the place sucked them in, they fell forward.

“Keuak, what in the…?” Then he realized that he could breathe. Surprised, he looked around and saw that the water had gone down to their waists, and the sight of a cave filled with strange writings could be seen. Usher felt a bit tired of thinking ‘another cave?’, but this cave was different in some ways. Walls filled with countless characters were visible. Moreover, the things that looked like individual bricks seemed familiar to him from somewhere.

“Books?” Their shape, reflecting light smoothly like the surface of the lake, was long and thin. Their appearance was like that of books, so Usher pulled one out. Usher, who had pulled out the book, tried to read the contents, but he couldn’t. Because what he thought was a book was not like a book at all.

“What is this?” Its shape was close to a book, but it was strange to call it a book. The neatly book-shaped object had no uneven parts anywhere, except for one side engraved with characters whose meaning he couldn’t understand. Excessively so. It wasn’t written, and there was no space to write content, it was just that, like a brick. Yet, to call it a simple brick was strange considering how it was stored, wasn’t it like books? He had never even touched an object with a texture this smooth, slipping without any feeling of obstruction when he touched it.

Even a neatly fired brick or a well-finished piece of wood felt rough or bumpy, but this had none of that. He wondered if it was just this one, and took out others one by one to look, but they were all frighteningly the same shape, made of an unknown material, just unknown objects. If they were something like books, he could have understood them being stored like this, but no matter how he looked, they didn’t seem like books. He finally sighed, having found out nothing, when Belka’s voice was heard.

“Relics.” “Relics?” At her words, Usher felt like he could grasp what these were. Could it be, these are from the era the girl told him about.

“Magic tools?!” Belka did not deny his words. She seemed to examine the book-like things he had casually pulled out, and then picked out two of them.

“Okay, let’s go back now.” “But.” He hesitated due to the regrettable feeling of having to leave behind so many of these things, which might be magic tools, most of which were said to have been lost.

“We can’t carry all of this.” As she said, it couldn’t be helped. This cave-like place was the smallest among the places Usher had entered, but it couldn’t be considered truly small. Even if they were magic tools, he had no idea how to use them, and carrying all of them was definitely impossible. He had to take only the two that the girl had set aside. The way out of the lake after leaving the cave they had briefly visited. The bottom of the lake was still just like the ground, as if it wasn’t underwater, and therefore, it was an even more beautiful place.

The sight of the green foliage cast in the water, transparent and clear like air, and the fish swimming among them, was a sight that made it hard to take one’s eyes off, so they swam around in the water a little longer before leaving the lake. Usher felt a pang in his chest thinking that he might never see that sight again, but they couldn’t stay here forever. As he changed his wet clothes and lay down on the ground, the fresh green grass rustled and tickled his ears, and the forest breeze swept over him, drying the remaining water on his body. As the wind slowly dried his wet hair and he was watching the blue sky, he remembered the things they had brought from the small cave.

“…I have no idea what this is used for.” He picked up one of the things placed nearby, held it up to the sunlight, covered it, and turned it this way and that to examine it, but the facts he could figure out were nothing special. Except for the part with the characters, it was incredibly smooth as if there was nothing there, and when held up to the sunlight, it reflected light, and when he put his face close, he could see his face. Nowhere did he see a part that seemed usable. As Usher held onto this for a while, trying to figure out what it was, the girl approached.

She seemed to have changed her clothes while he was examining the magic tool-like objects, wearing the white mourning dress over a dry dress and holding her mask. And sitting down beside him.

“Did you find anything out?” “No, I have absolutely no idea what it’s used for.” It was glossy, so it seemed similar to iron, but it was much lighter than the same weight of iron. Yet, it felt somehow different to call it stone. He couldn’t figure out what it was made of, let alone what it was used for. As he finally gave up and sighed, Belka chuckled.

“Unless this is another legacy left behind by them, it won’t be possible to interpret it.” “If that’s the case, you should have told me earlier.” “Because Usher seemed to be enjoying himself.” The girl poked his cheek lovingly. Perhaps because of that, he felt a tickle in his chest, so Usher, pretending to be annoyed, handed her the book-like object and avoided her gaze by pretending to look at the sky. While time passed like that.

“Owner of the Forest.” He heard the voice of a gray wolf and turned around to see not only the gray wolf, but also two brown wolves with slightly lighter fur colors standing behind her as if protecting her. Belka also looked at them.

“We have brought what you requested.” At her words, Usher noticed that the brown wolves were holding bundles rolled up in large leaves in their mouths. Perhaps that’s how wolves carry things. The girl seemed uninterested in such things and opened the leaf bundle that the wolves had brought. And there, there were.

“Herbs?” He could see the herbs that Belka had used for treatment when he was injured filling the large leaf. The girl put the other one into her bag without opening it, as if she knew it was the same thing.

“Because these herbs cannot be obtained outside the forest. I asked them to gather plenty.” At her words, Usher remembered that they had to leave this forest too. Many things had happened since they left the village, but they were still inside the forest. That felt different from leaving the village. The villagers, even though they lived in the deepest part of this forest, were very afraid of it, but to him, this forest was like his home. Even so, he knew little about the forest, but still more than about the outside.

“Usher.” But even the fear of such a strange place melted away like ice in the sun when he met those worried golden eyes. Yes, how could he send such a lovely girl outside alone? Usher didn’t answer Belka’s call, but took her hand. Leaving for the outside was scary, but it wasn’t as scary as being separated from Belka. As if realizing that they had finished all their preparations, the gray wolf’s words were heard.

“You are truly leaving the forest.” “It was something that was planned long ago. It’s just happening now.” Even at the gray wolf’s words, which seemed regrettable and sad, Belka replied in a flat voice. Even though the voice seemed to imply it had nothing to do with them, which might cause offense, the gray wolf spoke as if resigned, saying it couldn’t be helped.

“Geri, Freki. Guide them to the outskirts.” The brown wolves, called Geri and Freki, approached them at the gray wolf’s words without complaint, lowering their backs.

“This forest is harsh. Both for Eraths and for you now.” Her gaze, telling them to ride the brown wolves, was even pleading.

“And outside the forest, harsher things await you. So please.” How long did the gray wolf and Belka exchange gazes, like a staring contest? Finally, Belka nodded her head. At that, the gray wolf’s face brightened and she spoke, but.

“The Chieftain would see you off…” “There’s no need. He has already gone ahead.” The girl cut off her words. The gray wolf had a look of incomprehension, but ultimately could not stop them from leaving first. And so, they rode on the backs of the brown wolves and headed towards the outside of the forest. The wolves ran very fast, and when they came to their senses, they had already arrived outside the forest. If you were to ask how they knew this was the first place they had ever been outside, it was because of a very simple fact.

“There’s really nothing here.” The forest stopped abruptly as if cut off at a certain point. As they got closer to the outside, the trees became thinner, with only stumps remaining and other plants growing on top, and the number of such trees gradually increased until they reached this place where only shallow weeds grew. A few more steps forward, and grass no longer grew there. As if someone had cut it with scissors and set a boundary, from that point onwards, only an ochre-colored wasteland stretched to the horizon. The only noticeable thing in that landscape was a faint path where people had traveled.

Only that path was slightly different in color. For a moment, he was lost in the sight of the wasteland, only vaguely thinking that they should follow that path. He then remembered the brown wolves that had brought them and turned around, but.

“Now that I think about it, where are you guys?” “They already went back.” Without time for farewells, they had already returned to the forest they lived in, leaving only the luggage they had carried together. It was a pity that those kind wolves had disappeared so abruptly, but perhaps that was how wolves lived.

“Belka.” “Yes.” “Where are we going from now on?” “Well. I don’t know either. Only that it’s a very far place.” As he looked out at the endless wasteland, Belka’s words that she didn’t know couldn’t have resonated more. The place they were heading to, leaving the forest, was a world full of only unfamiliar things, far from what was familiar.