episode_0246

why? No, how else?

Those two questions filled my head.

“No… .”

Maybe I was so tired that I saw something wrong. I took a shaky breath and raised my head again to look at her.

Blood-red hair, bright red eyes, and unique vertically slit pupils.

She looked very different, with her long hair now bobbed and her appearance much more mature than before, but she was clearly Charlotte.

That day, it was Charlotte La Rochelle who fell down a cliff and died. It was her who I couldn’t save.

“… How?”

The words I managed to get out of my confused mind were so random and random, but for now, just getting myself started with those words was enough.

“… … .”

Because it wasn’t just me who was confused.

I slowly opened my mouth, looking into Charlotte’s violently trembling eyes.

“Don’t you think it’s a story worth telling here?”

“… I think you’re looking at the wrong person.”

Charlotte, whose complexion changed in an instant and whose eyes became calm, walked past me and walked down the stairs.

I let Charlotte pass me by, and as soon as she stood next to Hermel, she took off her cloak.

Because my appearance was striking and one of the things I was best known for during my 10 years as a saint, it naturally attracted the attention of people eating breakfast in the restaurant on the first floor of the inn.

Among them were Hermel’s eyes filled with astonishment and Charlotte’s gaze filled with wariness.

-Saint… ?

-you idiot… ! Shouldn’t I add you… !

-She is a real saint… !? What, no, why are you here… !!

Before the commotion got any louder, I put on my cloak again and smiled slightly as I looked at Charlotte who was frowning.

“I would like to talk to you for a moment, can you spare some time? The hero of Barth’s poetry.”

Hermel looked at Charlotte and me alternately at my words, and only when Charlotte nodded, chewing her lips, did he slowly open his mouth.

“… It seems too noisy to talk, so I think it would be best to move.”

“Yes. That would definitely be better.”

Hermel looked at me for a moment, then turned his back and left, and Charlotte followed Hermel out of the inn building.

“If a big man with a scar running diagonally across his face comes looking for me, tell him I went to meet a hero.”

“Yes? Ahhh. Yes, yes, I understand, saint!”

I smiled slightly and nodded lightly before leaving the inn later than the other two.

Fortunately, the two people were waiting for me near the inn entrance.

“I thought I would leave while it was late… . Did you wait for me?”

Hermel burst into laughter at my words and tilted his head to one side.

“Ha. You reveal your identity in the first place, tie me up, and then ask me if I waited?”

“I’m sorry. I felt like if I didn’t do this, they would never talk to me.”

“I did something for which I am sorry――”

“Hermel.”

Charlotte raised her hand to stop Hermel, who was showing his teeth and growling fiercely, and Hermel gritted his teeth and took a step back at the light restraint.

When Hermel stepped back, Charlotte looked at me, and naturally, her eyes were full of hostility and distrust.

“… First, let’s move from place to place. The story comes next.”

“I’ll follow along. Because we were the ones who caused trouble first.”

The two people walked quietly without any response to what I said, and I followed them.

Some people might ask, “What on earth do you believe in and follow these two people?”

However, I have already prepared some preparations, and I have prepared safety measures by revealing my identity first, so there will be no major problems.

of course… . If it were me in the past, I would have followed the two people with the sole intention of having a conversation, but at least not now.

“… … .”

10 years wasn’t such a short time even for me.

As I walked, gathering my emotions and clearing my mind, I soon arrived at a deserted alley.

The moment I followed them into the alley, Charlotte stopped walking, looked back, and waved her arm.

I felt like something was rushing in, but it wasn’t an attack or anything, I just felt magic touch my skin as my senses became extremely sensitive while I was nervous.

As I trembled and looked back, I felt that the entrance to the alley I had entered was blocked by a thin layer of magic.

“I didn’t know it would appear so suddenly. You always surprise me.”

When I turned around at the sound of that voice, I made eye contact with Charlotte, who had taken off the cloak she was wearing and revealed her face.

The emotionless eyes, similar to before, brought back memories of that day and sent goosebumps down my spine, but I didn’t feel the same poison as before.

okay. Now I knew. The woman she is now is very different from before.

“A lot has changed.”

It was not a story about strength, but a story about character. Back when Charlotte was still a student at the academy. There was an indescribable venom in her eyes.

But there is no such thing now. It’s not something to say at all, but the poison left in her now was only at the level of burned embers.

Charlotte, who was glaring at me with her eyes wide open at my words, soon sighed and looked elsewhere.

“I don’t think we’re close enough to talk about what’s going on, but let’s put aside the unnecessary chatter and get to the point. What do you want?”

“Sharing stories. That’s what I want.”

“Have you never thought it was funny to show up first, put a leash on him, and then ask him to talk?”

I bowed my head at the sharp words like a knife.

“I’m sorry. But if I didn’t do that, I would never have shared the story.”

“Ha… . A saint who wants to talk to a witch. Isn’t it funny when you think about it?”

“It’s not funny. I came here because I really wanted to talk to you.

“… If you, who know very well what kind of person I am in the first place, said that you came to me because you wanted to talk to me, do you think I could believe you?”

“You won’t believe it… . But Charlotte, I really didn’t know you would be here. I just came to see Hermel.”

When I said this with a bitter smile, Charlotte must have been shocked to see me like that, so she laughed and brushed her bangs.

“Okay… . There would be one of two reasons for me to say this so openly. Either the goal is to really talk to me, or it is to tie my feet and wait for the soldiers to kill me.”

Charlotte crossed her arms while saying that, and Hermel began to sharpen his power at Charlotte’s words.

After taking a moment to swallow her dry saliva, Charlotte put her hand on Hermel’s shoulder to calm her down and opened her mouth again.

“But it’s probably not the latter. When you saw Hermel, you looked genuinely surprised, and when you saw me, you looked truly shocked.”

“Wouldn’t that alone be enough for you to believe in me?”

“Ha. That sounds interesting. Who said I trust you? Don’t be mistaken, because after considering all the circumstances, we just decided that you can’t harm us, and we can’t harm you.”

After saying that, Charlotte shook her head and looked straight at me.

The eyes, which had become soft due to the poison, did not shine like before. It was just calm and deep, like a deep lake.

“But… . That’s right. I’m willing to share at least a story if you promise to keep my information confidential.”

It was Hermel, not me, who reacted to those words before me.

“Charles. I think it’s too dangerous to trust just a promise.”

Although I said it first, I was thinking the same thing as Hermel, so I quietly looked at Charlotte.

Charlotte let out a long sigh and opened her mouth.

“If you kill Ceria for safety here, it would be a problem because of the information that the saint and the hero met, and the method of erasing the memory with a curse would not work on the saint. Other methods also carry great risks that will ultimately force you to give up your current daily life.”

“Then in the end… .”

“That’s right. In the end I… . All we can do is believe. It’s difficult, but it can’t be helped.”

I don’t want to let go of this peaceful life right now. Charlotte said that and uncrossed her arms.

“Yes. I promise I will never reveal what happened today.”

“Ha. Maintaining a relationship where you can never trust the other person means trusting each other. It’s a really bad joke.”

Charlotte burst out laughing and sat down on a nearby wooden box and touched her forehead.

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly because I knew that to her, my very existence was a threat to her life.

Charlotte, who had been silent for a while while holding her forehead, lowered her hand that was resting on her forehead and looked at me.

“So. Tell me what you came here to talk about.”

After hesitating for a moment, saying something like this was ridiculous and made no sense, but I thought there was no point in worrying about it, so I decided to just say it out loud.

“I want to know something about you.”

Let the silence continue for a moment. Charlotte made a helpless sound with a bewildered expression on her face.

“… Huh?”

“No! Charles is mine!”

I scratched my head as I looked at Hermel, who was growling at me while holding Charlotte, and Charlotte, who was blankly blinking.

uh… . It wasn’t really that kind of story.