Ch.47Aftereffects (2)

*

Sylvia, with both the worn-out bear hide that Ash had used for training and the unused half of the bear hide draped over her shoulders, began running vigorously.

Given the enormous size of the bear, the hide was large enough to hold plenty of items.

Though the bear hide itself was somewhat heavy, it wasn’t a burden for Sylvia.

Rather than her shoulders, it was her heart that felt heavier.

Sylvia was running through the forest with a heavy and complicated heart.

The image of Ash’s despairing face that she had just seen wouldn’t leave her mind.

Naturally, she was also forced to confront her own shameless behavior in front of such a devastated Ash.

Unable to bear Ash’s self-blame when he had done nothing wrong, she had forcibly silenced him—yet she lacked the courage to reveal the truth. What a pathetic sight.

It was a fall, or rather, a corruption of character.

But no matter how much she came to hate herself, no matter how much she recoiled at her own shamelessness, corruption was far better than letting the truth be discovered.

Honestly, if possible, she wanted to bury it forever.

Beyond Ash’s pained expression that flickered before her eyes, the exquisite sensation of last night’s kiss subtly resurfaced.

“Crazy bitch,” Sylvia cursed herself aloud.

While the foolishly kind Ash was suffering so much because of her, here she was reminiscing about their sweet kiss!

But she couldn’t help it.

Though heavy guilt enveloped her body whenever she saw Ash’s sad face, her inner self was already filled with the happiness and joy she had felt last night.

No matter how much she regretted her wrongdoing and blamed herself, the lingering scent of Ash on her nose, the touch of Ash on her lips, and his taste deeply etched on her tongue kept warming her mind like a fragrant medicinal brew in a constantly boiling pot.

To be honest, the world looked beautiful to her.

It had been a morning not much different from usual, yet even the dust and specks swimming beautifully in the sunlight appeared lovely—that said it all.

She felt terribly sorry and equally tormented, but this elated feeling would never disappear.

Sylvia didn’t know what to do with herself—she hated herself so much, yet at the same time, she was so proud.

“Focus,” Sylvia shook her head to collect herself.

Since she lacked the courage to reveal the truth, the only atonement she could offer Ash was to faithfully fulfill his request.

She recalled Ash’s request and vigorously pushed off the ground, making her way through the forest.

“Ash… come to think of it, yesterday…”

As she ran through the forest, Sylvia naturally recalled the image of Ash she had seen in the forest yesterday.

After brutally killing five people and suffering from shock, Ash had been frantically muttering incomprehensible words all the way until they reached the cabin.

The shock must have been immense, as most of the words coming from Ash’s mouth were incoherent ramblings with slurred pronunciation, like the sound of leaking wind.

Honestly, they were closer to unintelligible howls that would normally be impossible to understand, but fortunately, Sylvia had managed to make out some of them.

She slowly recalled the words Ash had been muttering.

“…Hardy, he said. Uncle Hardy.”

Most of Ash’s mutterings were pitiful pleas for forgiveness.

Ash’s eyes had been frighteningly empty as he mumbled apologies in a cracking voice to his parents, siblings, the people he had killed, and various others.

And among the people Ash had begged forgiveness from, one of the names she could barely make out was Uncle Hardy.

Thinking back on Ash’s words, this Hardy person was likely the coachman who had brought Ash and Layla into this forest.

On the day Ash first came to the cabin, Sylvia had tracked his footprints and discovered the crashed carriage and Layla’s body.

And at that time, she certainly hadn’t found any other bodies in the vicinity.

That’s why Sylvia had naturally assumed that Ash had been sitting in the driver’s seat, holding the whip.

Who would have thought there was a separate coachman?

‘Maybe it’s better that I didn’t find him then.’

It was a name Ash had apologized to with a trembling voice.

It must be a heavy burden in his heart.

If she could find the body and give it a proper burial, it might ease some of the burden in Ash’s heart.

Today I need to search more thoroughly than last time.

Sylvia made this resolution as she arrived at the carriage accident site.

*

‘When did Ash first come to me? A month ago? Two months ago?’

She didn’t know exactly how long it had been.

Sylvia had stopped counting days since she began living in this forest.

It was too painful to count each day that passed so slowly.

Naturally, Sylvia had lost her sense of time.

All she knew was that enough time had passed for the days spent with Ash to become familiar.

And that period was sufficient for the beasts, monsters, and various insects in this forest to dispose of a body.

Sylvia searched thoroughly within a 1km radius of the accident site with wide eyes, but there was no sign of the coachman’s body anywhere.

Well, it’s only natural that no body remains after being abandoned for such a long time.

“…Damn, I guess there’s nothing left.”

No, but it was strange that there wasn’t even a trace.

Even if the flesh and organs had rotted away and disappeared into the stomachs of beasts and insects, there should at least be bone fragments left, but even those were nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps a large beast had carried it off to its nest?

If so, unfortunately, Sylvia had no way of finding it.

“…Ha.”

Sylvia sighed and bit her lip slightly.

I should have searched the surroundings more thoroughly when I found Layla’s body last time.

Why didn’t I find the coachman that day?

Could it be that I searched carelessly because I didn’t think much of Ash at the time?

No.

No matter how corrupted the current Sylvia might be, back then she had decided to help him, valuing Ash’s will that had reached even her, risking his life.

Hero Sylvia was someone who never refused a request for help.

Then… why…

Ah…

“Ah… that’s right. Layla…”

That day, Sylvia had discovered Layla’s body.

And she had broken down.

The sight of the poor young girl who had lost her life reminded her of the children from Millwood Village whom she had killed.

Moreover, the wolf claw and teeth marks all over Layla’s body looked like wounds left by Sylvia’s sin.

“…Ha… just my rotten luck.”

If only she had found the coachman’s body before discovering Layla’s that day, this wouldn’t have happened.

At that time, Sylvia had forcibly emptied her howling heart and mind to minimize the shock.

While carrying the girl’s small body back to the cabin and burying her in the cemetery, she had mechanically wiped away the tears that flowed ceaselessly with a blank expression.

Then she quietly returned to the cabin and nursed the dying Ash with all her might.

As if trying to atone for the children of Millwood Village whom she had killed.

In fact, she should have thought about checking the carriage for valuables.

She should have collected them before Ash went to look for them yesterday.

But at that time, Sylvia simply didn’t have the mental capacity for such thoughts.

Only a sense of duty to save this boy, who might be family to that poor girl, was driving her body.

Without even thinking that there might be more bodies.

“…Haha, from beginning to end, it’s all my fault.”

Sylvia laughed self-deprecatingly.

Then suddenly, she shouted loudly and struck a nearby tree with her fist.

Bang!

With a tremendous sound, the tree slowly began to fall.

The spot where Sylvia’s fist had connected was completely gone, leaving a round hole.

“I’m… so pathetic… I’m ashamed…”

Sylvia couldn’t bring herself to face Ash.

*

Contrary to her hopes of comforting Ash’s broken heart, Sylvia trudged with heavy steps to yesterday’s location, having gained nothing.

The strong smell of blood was terrible, even though she wasn’t that close yet.

Sylvia approached the bodies with a frown.

Fortunately, no monsters had gathered, but flies feeding on the corpses were swarming around.

Looking at the size of the flies gathered around, Sylvia muttered:

“They’re already decomposing this much? That’s rather quick.”

Sylvia created fire at her fingertips and set the blood-soaked grass ablaze.

The insects, frightened by the heat, quickly fled.

Before disposing of the men’s bodies, Sylvia first rummaged through their belongings.

Half a potato, inedible, so she threw it away.

A prayer book, the cabin lacked reading material. She kept it.

Flint, unnecessary.

Underwear, spare undergarments perhaps, could be used as pajamas for Ash.

A map, she knew this forest thoroughly without such things. Better to leave it behind lest Ash use it to escape.

Sylvia suddenly paused her rummaging and chuckled.

Good grief.

Still thinking such thoughts,

What right do I have to hold him back?

Sylvia roughly crumpled the map in one hand and began searching the other backpacks.

“What’s this?”

A small handkerchief was folded with some powder inside.

Sylvia carefully brought the edge of the handkerchief to her nose and sniffed.

A spicy scent sharply pricked her nose.

“…Pepper.”

This smell was definitely pepper.

Though it was a very small amount, befitting a precious spice, it might help improve Ash’s mood.

Sylvia nodded slightly and eagerly rummaged through the backpack where the pepper had been found.

Eventually, a small bottle about the size of a finger joint popped out of the backpack.

The bottle was filled with white granules.

Sylvia opened the cork stopper and dropped one granule.

Since there was no smell, she carefully touched it with her tongue.

A strong salty taste sharply penetrated the tip of her tongue.

“Salt!”

Judging by the rather large granules and the bit of soil mixed in, it was definitely rock salt.

Whoever owned this backpack must have been someone who disliked the bland food eaten during camping.

Sylvia slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

“Ash will like this.”

Sylvia began searching the remaining backpacks with anticipation.

But unfortunately, these were the only worthwhile items from the men’s belongings.

Prayer books were in every backpack.

These men were undoubtedly dispatched from the Goddess Church.

People from the Goddess Church falling victim to the Demon King’s curse,

Ha,

An irreverent thought briefly crossed Sylvia’s mind.

Sylvia slowly turned around.

By now, all the flies had fled from the fire.

Now it was time to collect items directly from the bodies.

Sylvia first clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

This was a ritual she always performed before ‘body looting.’

Sylvia slowly opened her lips.

“I will use these items with care. Thank you. May you rest in peace.”

Sylvia always recited these three phrases when looting bodies.

It was the minimum courtesy a human could show to the deceased, and a way to express gratitude to those who had helped her survive.

But today, Sylvia added one more phrase at the end.

“…I’m sorry.”

Sylvia bowed her head deeply once more, then slowly raised it.

Then she approached the bodies and began removing their clothes.

“…At least I’ve found new clothes for Ash.”

Though Ash would likely not want to wear clothes from men she had killed, there was no choice.

The clothes Ash had been wearing when he first arrived were no longer wearable.

They were already in terrible condition from the carriage accident, and yesterday’s fight had damaged them beyond function.

She had soaked them in water to remove the bloodstains, but that wasn’t the issue.

This meant that the only clothes Ash could wear now was the tunic he was currently wearing.

Just one thin tunic, without even pants.

Sylvia recalled Ash from last night.

Ash in her arms, wearing only a thin tunic.

Just lifting it slightly had exposed his defenseless skin.

No.

Issues like cold or cleanliness aside, Sylvia herself didn’t think she could handle it.

She wasn’t confident she could resist pouncing on Ash if he walked around beside her in such a defenseless state.

Even if she somehow managed to resist, having to live with such an Ash beside her while suppressing her desires—

Those days might be as long and painful as what she had endured so far, perhaps even more so.

With such thoughts, Sylvia slowly began collecting wearable clothes.

These bodies also had few intact clothes due to the fierce battle.

Especially the clothes of the man Ash had first attacked were completely unwearable, both top and bottom.

Sylvia continued her work with patience.

Some bodies had relatively intact pants, while others had relatively intact tops, so eventually she managed to gather a complete outfit.

Though the smell of blood and rotting corpses was overwhelming, there was no choice.

In this forest, the only way to obtain clothes was to strip them from bodies, so she would have to wash them thoroughly until the smell disappeared.

Sylvia found a few more items from inside the bodies.

Lamp oil, longswords, and daggers.

Things like leather arm guards.

The longsword was particularly valuable.

Now she could train Ash in swordsmanship.

Sylvia spread out the relatively intact new bear hide she had brought and placed all the items found from the bodies and backpacks on it.

She planned to use the worn hide that Ash had used for training to carry the bodies.

“…Now one left.”

Sylvia slowly approached the last remaining body.

It was the body whose throat Ash had torn out at the end.

Convinced that no matter how much she persuaded Ash to wear new clothes, he would absolutely refuse to wear this person’s clothes, Sylvia had saved this body for last.

Sylvia tightly closed her eyes in front of the headless corpse.

After slowly exhaling a sigh-like deep breath, Sylvia knelt on one knee before the body.

In terms of clothing quality, this body had the finest.

It was regrettable, but she had to give up.

The damaged clothes salvaged from the other bodies would at least serve as cloth scraps, so Sylvia decided to be satisfied with that.

That’s when it happened.

Sylvia found something rustling like paper in the body’s inner pocket.

“A letter?”

It was an envelope made of high-quality material.

The elegant pattern drawn on it immediately revealed it was sent by someone of high status.

The pattern stamped on the sealing wax was also familiar.

A symbol depicting a shining sun.

It was the symbol of the Goddess Church.

“…This feels ominous.”

A bad premonition crossed Sylvia’s mind.

These men were apparently not ordinary priests.

Sylvia slowly took out the letter from the envelope and read it.

Though it was covered in blood, it was still legible.

Order.

Target: Goddess Church Second Blue Wing Priest Order. Melvin Phillips.

Content: Search mission.

Duration: 3 weeks.

A search mission order from the Goddess Church.

What could the Goddess Church be looking for in this forest that they would send these people to such a remote location?

Could it be that the Goddess Church had somehow realized the hero was still alive?

Sylvia continued reading with anxious eyes.

Below the letter was written the name of the search target.

Judging by the phrase “If already deceased, bring back the body without fail,” they seemed to be looking for someone very important.

Sylvia’s eyes moved further down.

And she froze.

Her red eyes remained fixed on those letters as if nailed in place.

There, written in clear block letters, was a name very familiar to her.

Ash Staff, first son of the Staff family, and Layla Staff, second daughter.

And a very familiar surname as well.