episode_0045
by fnovelpia
In the end, the midterm exam ended without the identity of the light being revealed until the end.
Afterwards, we met and questioned students from other teams and found that our team was not the only one who saw the light.
One team saw the light while fighting a golem, and thanks to this, they were able to safely defeat the golem and obtain the flag.
I heard that the academy also investigated because an outsider intervened in the test, but they found no clues.
In addition, an investigation was conducted on the belief that someone with strong divine power had appeared in the temple, but the results were the same.
What was that light?
With the help of Teresina, who had a premonition of a new event, and with permission, he personally conducted a separate investigation, but it was highly unlikely that he would be able to discover anything after the two organizations had already passed by.
“… Do you care that much?”
“Of course.”
Even excluding the event, if we make a mistake, we could all be killed.
It’s a shame because it was a recovery magic that an unidentified person had activated at that time. It’s scary what would have happened if it had been a holy attack magic.
I can be resurrected at least once, but if Sera dies, she can never be resurrected again.
“Based on my long experience, such people usually become enemies. Besides, I’m even more worried because Sera is weak to the goddess’ divine power.”
“… I see.”
Sarah raised the corner of her mouth slightly and lowered her head as if she was embarrassed and avoided eye contact.
She, who had been alone all along, seemed glad to be in this situation where someone was worried about her safety.
“But don’t worry about it now.”
Obsessing over things you cannot understand will only waste your energy.
She calmly continued, saying that what can be done now is more important than obsessing over hopeless tasks.
That was probably Sarah’s own experience.
These words of Sarah, who had spent almost her entire life in Theresina’s mansion, which was almost like a den, were something that touched my heart.
“… That’s right. Actually, there are more important issues right now.”
One of them is power enhancement.
Since the end of the exam, we have leveled up to enter unexplored territory.
As a result, I was able to raise my level to 36, and I succeeded in raising Sarah’s level to a whopping 25.
The average level of monsters that appear in unexplored areas is around the early 30s.
Simbu is in his late 30s, and the dungeon to obtain the Insect Queen’s Scepter is in his mid 40s.
It’s not that there are no elements of anxiety, but at this rate, even if you enter an unexplored area, you won’t die in vain from a single attack.
“I plan to pay as much attention as possible to Sarah’s safety, but it may be dangerous, so it’s okay to stay in the model garden or academy.”
“… No, I’ll go with you. If you have to, you can just raise your level a little at the outskirts of the forest.”
Maybe it’s because he spent a few days with me, but his awareness of the level was slightly tilted towards me.
“Then do it. However, when entering the dungeon, I would like you to wait in the model garden.”
“It’s okay. The bee is cuter than I thought, so I don’t hate it.”
“… … .”
Although it had only been a few weeks since I met Sarah, I definitely felt different than before.
My expression became softer, and unlike in the past when I was in a hurry as if I was being chased by something, my mind became more relaxed.
“Why are you acting up?”
Are those thoughts revealed on your face?
Sarah must have laughed inadvertently, tilting her head and asking me.
“I just think Sarah has changed a little. If so, did Sarah change after meeting me?”
It was intended to be a scolding to stop cheating, but rather than saying such a thing, Sarah nodded slightly in the affirmative.
“Yes, because we are human, we can change. I have no intention of denying that it is thanks to you. No, it’s thanks to you.”
“… Is that so?”
“Yes, since you changed the person, I believe you will take responsibility. You said with your own mouth that you are a man who lives with only responsibility, right?”
“… That’s right.”
“Then I don’t have to worry.”
Saying that, Sarah sipped from the teacup in front of her.
The car was probably hotter than I thought, and I could feel the sweet citrus scent in the hot breath I was exhaling as I frowned slightly.
The sight of him blowing on a steaming teacup felt somehow strange, so I brought up another topic to change the subject.
“Oh, Chris said we’re having an after-party to celebrate winning first place. Do you want to go together?”
“… No, I hate noise.”
“Then I’m alone… .”
“Stay with me.”
“… … .”
“I don’t like being alone.”
*****
The dazzling sunlight pouring down from the sky pecked at Elise’s eyes as if scolding her for fainting during the exam.
When Elise woke up, frowning as hard as she could, the curtain of night had receded beyond the horizon and the sun’s grace had filled the whole world.
When I looked around, blocking the sunlight with my hand, I saw that the hand, with only the white bones sticking out of the ground like bamboo shoots, had long since disappeared without leaving a trace.
A small hole a few meters away proved that the scene I had seen last night was not a hallucination or a dream, but actually happened.
What was that thing you saw last night?
As a noblewoman, this was the first time she had seen a corpse in person, but seeing a corpse in the forest was not particularly uncommon.
There are no monsters in this forest, and it is not particularly deep.
However, that did not prove that there had not been a single death in this forest for a long time.
It would not be strange if someone, exhausted from a long journey, died of starvation after being lost in the forest.
Originally, Elise would not have thought it was a big deal.
Unless a strong light suddenly emitted from the corpse or the body disappeared the next day.
Elise stood up, shaking off the dust from her body, and as she did so, she realized that the small wounds all over her body had disappeared.
Her skin was strangely shiny, as if she had poured oil all over her body.
Feeling a sense of discomfort throughout my body, I looked at the hole where the bone had protruded last night with a little fear.
The hole was neither deep nor wide, and it seemed like an arm could barely fit through it.
What was unusual was that the ground around the hole was flat, like a deflated balloon, and it looked like a person, which made me feel bad.
It may not have been a coincidence or a matter of mood.
When we actually dug the extinguished ground with our hands, we found that the soil particles were finer than the unexcavated soil, suggesting that something was buried there.
‘What on earth…? .’
I don’t know what it was, but Elise felt an inexplicable discomfort and ran away from the forest.
Of course, when I came out of the forest, the exam was already over.
It is said that Gus’s team was disqualified and returned to the royal capital one step ahead, leaving Elise behind.
Normally, if she had been abandoned by a colleague, she would have shed at least a single tear, but Elise did not feel any emotion.
I didn’t think of him as a colleague from the beginning, and it wasn’t particularly strange if he was Gus.
“Did you by any chance see something like a strong light last night?”
As I returned to the tent and prepared to return to the royal capital, Tyrone suddenly came to visit Elise and said those words.
Intense light.
It was a vague statement, but it was definitely referring to the light that emanated from the corpse last night.
There was no reason to hide anything, but for some reason, Elise, who felt that she did not want to find out what happened last night, shook her head and said that she had not seen it.
Tyrone seemed suspicious, but when he was separated from the team and ran away, he fell on a rock and fainted, so Tyrone had nothing to say.
‘Why did you lie like that?’
Although she felt uncomfortable with her actions, Elise returned to the royal capital without correcting her statement until the end.
What awaited Elise when she returned to the royal capital was her father’s harsh reprimand.
Every time she saw her father criticizing Elise, saying that he had heard from Gus that she failed the exam because of you, Elise’s heart grew cold.
‘Whose father are you?’
Holding back those words from coming out of my mouth, I responded appropriately as always, bowed my head, and waited for this time to pass.
It was several hours later that Elyse was able to escape the scolding from her father, the Marquis of Rondovel.
When I returned to the room, it was already night.
It was time to go to bed, but I couldn’t close my eyes because I thought I would dream that dream again.
However, there was no way Elise’s weak body could overcome the oncoming water horse, and she fell into sleep.
That day, Elise had a dream.
Elise reflexively flinched at the vividness that did not seem like a dream, but what she saw that day was quite different from before.
It was a dream in which a woman dressed in pure white clothes, like a shroud, wandered the world aimlessly.
A woman wandering the world in search of something was constantly shedding tears and apologizing to someone.
Every time she looked at her from afar, Elise was overcome by an indescribable anxiety.
I couldn’t keep looking at that pitiful sight because I felt like it might become my future someday.
However, in this dream, I was not allowed to turn my head or close my eyes.
All Elise was allowed to do was watch.
An unknown woman’s long journey of penance.
When time passed and I woke up, the bed was covered with tears that Elise had shed all night, and there was an unfamiliar object placed on her small chest.
A faded Rosario that shows traces of time.
When she held it in her hand, Elise heard that voice that night in her ears.
[…] You also bear the same karma as me.]
“You… .”
[I am Elena. I’m just a sinner… .]
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