Chapter 303 – Chapter 303 ― The One Who Doesn’t Run (2)
Episode 303 ― The One Who Doesn’t Run (2)
“It is sudden.”
It was the forest fairy duke’s evaluation of Roan’s letter.
It wasn’t as splendid as the forest fairy’s meeting room that Roan had heard before, but it was an elegant conference room with a quiet atmosphere.
Fiora, who was sitting leaning against an antique chair in the small room, answered the forest elf’s duke, Amelie, who was reading a letter.
“It deserved it.”
Fiora’s voice was mixed with laughter.
“The magic bird can’t come.”
The Dark Forest is protected by magic. When a magic bird comes here, the bird immediately returns to magic. Deliveries will naturally be lost.
“And it was also an urgent call.”
Upon hearing that Fiora had arrived at the edge of the forest, Amelie hurriedly rode her deer across the forest to the edge of the Dark Forest in West Blood in one day.
It was the day the forest fairy’s Duke was farthest from the center of the forest in hundreds of years.
Standing by her side, Iris had a worried expression on her face, but as if she had no intention of interfering with their conversation, she quietly stepped back and was wary of her surroundings.
“Yes. Indeed… That’s right.”
Amelie’s face was dark not just because she suddenly went out.
‘How can this man know this…’
It was a secret that never went out of the woods.
No, it’s a secret that even most of the forest fairies who live in the forest don’t know about.
Things that are full of dark energy sometimes fall, and the forest fairy’s duke blocks them.
That there are several such spaces in the Dark Forest.
But this man talked about it.
Besides, he warned of what was to come.
“… Roan must have said something great.”
Amelie was taken aback by Fiora’s murmur.
She is a forest fairy who never tells lies. So she wasn’t used to hiding her expression or gestures.
Fiora shrugged her shoulders.
“He seems to be recognized by the goddess much more than you thought.”
Amelie took her eyes off Roan’s letter and looked at Fiora.
“And me too.”
“Is that so.”
“What he’s going through is now in the power of the gods.”
“God? Like Goddess Laurecia?”
It had been hundreds of years since Amelie had asked something about her so innocently. If there were any other forest nymphs nearby, she would be surprised.
“Okay.”
Fiora recalled what Roan had been saying.
The story of the future that has become the past.
God’s gaze he stole. Conversation with God.
But what really makes him great is what he does, not what he sees.
Death is painful
Fiora knows that well. Even if it was thousands of years ago.
It is not easy to stand firm in the face of death.
The same goes for my own death and the death of others.
Isn’t this an example of a dragon that betrayed itself for fear of the death and extinction of a mere human despite having such noble thoughts and will?
‘A stupid lizard.’
Fiora, who swallowed the short curse, admired the existence that might be stronger than that dragon.
He said he had already met death once.
Maybe it’s because he’s dead.
And just a few days ago, he met another death here.
— Why don’t you let go?
Fiora had asked.
— In this country, there is no loyalty to the demons. If it’s a future that even its owner, the original Roan, has gotten out of hand, then it just stays with us until the end.
But Roan shook his head.
— I’m not going to run away anymore, Fiora.
He seemed determined.
— I’ve already died twice, so this is purely a bonus life. This time, I want to live the way I want to live.
— Is this really the life you want to live?
Fiora asked.
She didn’t know her own voice was wet.
— Is the life of cutting yourself down for the expectations of others for you? Of course, you can defeat ‘greed’. I will do my best for your victory. But you don’t even have to be Laurecia’s instrument.
Fiora was angry.
He was angry that this poor life was trying to finish what he hadn’t finished.
He was angry at Laurecia for not being able to properly tie the knot with the power he gave, at Wültz for betraying him, and at himself for failing on the spot in the end.
— What to do…
— It is a special experience to meet someone who believes in me and depends on me. Fiora.
Roan hugged Fiora.
Fiora bit her lip.
Of course, he knows the specialness of the experience.
His own people entrusted their lives and future to him.
And Fiora could not bear the weight and collapsed.
Still, Fiora sympathizes with the feeling.
The uplift that trust gives, and the belief in your own existence that comes from it.
— I’ve never lived my life with so many people who love me.
Roan laughed.
Surely he is surrounded by women who love him. Including Fiora herself.
There are loyal servants,
Above all, there is Laurecia who relies on Roan. But is there a creature she doesn’t love, having become a goddess?
— That’s why I want to throw away at least one more life. Life right now is so wonderful.
— … That’s stupid.
Maybe Laurecia read this human’s true ability and brought this person?
If everyone is given a chance, can a person really do this for his own good?
Not like that.
Such a decision is never easy.
It is the nature of life to preserve one’s own life.
He worked hard for the cause, but it was not easy to go against his instincts. So Fiora felt sorry for Roan, loved her, and got angry when she saw him.
“… Miss Fiora.”
Fiora, lost in thought, turned her head only after Amelie, the duke of the forest fairy, called her name for the third time.
“Okay. Amelie.”
“As the king of the demons requested, I will greet him at the promised place on the promised day.”
“I get it. I will tell you that.”
“Come on, Miss Fiora.”
Amelie cautiously called out to Fiora as if she was sorry. Fiora’s deep pink eyes shone coldly.
“Why.”
“Why does Fiora-sama and Goddess-sama rate the king of demons so highly?”
I know you have the ability.
You can see that he is working hard now.
However, the basis for judgment lies in the past.
Trust is not built in a short moment.
And the forest fairy’s duke had no choice but to give more weight to the past 20 years that Roan had lived so far than the one year he had lived.
“He ruined his country. You can see that he’s doing his best for the demons now, and that he has plans to include humans and forest fairies as well… Why do you two trust him so much?”
“Then on what basis did you decide to join hands with the demons?”
“The reason I believe in him is because I trust the eyes of Goddess, Fiora, and Aina. I haven’t made my judgment yet.”
Fiora’s eyes narrowed.
However, this deep vigilance and suspicion is also what made the remaining forest fairies survive in the forest.
Those in charge of the clan should not be bold.
Especially if it is a clan that is perishing.
Therefore, Fiora could understand her Amelie. But most of all, Fiora was on Roan’s side.
“He is strong. To the point of getting me into trouble.”
“… Yes?”
Fiora said playfully and swallowed a laugh. When I thought of the memories of being tormented by him the night before, I felt both happy and bitter at the same time bittersweet.
“But only strength… His appearance is not all he has.”
There was sincerity in Fiora’s words as she spoke with a slightly flushed face.
“He wants to change. He knows the wrongs he’s done, he’s willing to get away with it even a little bit, and he’s willing to be a better person.”
“Ah…”
Amilie shut her mouth.
He knows better than anyone how hard it is.
Because Amelie lived in stasis for hundreds of years.
“I know it’s not easy.”
At Fiora’s words, Emily suddenly raised her head.
“But he shouldn’t be afraid of change as he pendulums on other people’s lives. Then he’ll just die together. Leaders are all to save the rest from a dying fate.”
Fiora laughed bitterly.
“Of course, in that respect, I am failing my own people.”
“Miss Fiora.”
Amilie didn’t know what to do with her body.
Fiora turned her body away from her.
“The affection and trust you receive is not only for your contemporaries, but also for future kin. You said that Roan’s existence is the Goddess’ tip and opportunity. You know very well that opportunities don’t always come in the safe direction.”
Fiora left the room.
**
Meanwhile, Roan was meeting with Bishop Sermo in Sprouse. It was the same flow as before.
The moment the bishop realized that the luggage he had packed was useless and was about to go back to lighten his burden. Roan called him.
“Bishop Sermo.”
And he said something he hadn’t said before.
“Before we depart, I have something to ask of you.”
There was a light question in the pupils behind the bishop’s glasses.
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Please contact Count Hilfe.”
Roan handed over the letter.
Sermo’s wrinkled eyes widened as he received the letter.
Count Hilfe was not involved in politics, but if I had to distinguish him, he was close to Princess Grünent.
Now that the princess is gone, he’s been told that outside Sproth, he’s out of society and only in his own ranks.
This man is from Evirzio.
How do you know that
Could it be that this was also according to the advice of Her Highness?
I heard a series of questions, but originally, the role of religion is to listen, not to ask.
Even Helen, who stood beside him, was listening to him as if it were natural. That would mean that the conversation between Her Highness Princess and Helen had already ended before he arrived.
Thinking so, Sermo nodded his head.
“All right. However, I am the body that His Holiness is watching over. If I send someone to the aristocratic family, the story will go directly to His Holiness.”
Doesn’t matter.
Because the church is too worthless for the royal family to hold hands with the church. There is no saintess, and the sacredness of the church has fallen to the ground due to rumors that the saintess was imprisoned.
Even when Bishop Sermo leaves the church, the church becomes more and more a third party. Hilpe is powerful enough to keep the church in check.
“I know. It is an act with that in mind.”
Then the bishop nodded his head and kept his letter in his bosom.
“Then, I’ll come back in the afternoon.”
Leaving Helen and Sermo at the temple, Roan headed to the shabby inn where he was supposed to meet Anmut and Urtellia.
It was a place I frequented at the beginning of the game, and it was actually a place I came to for the same purpose a few months ago. Roan’s steps towards the inn did not hesitate.
However, Roan, who was so quick and unstoppable, opened the door of the inn and stopped.
“Oh, you are here!”
Urtellia, who hid her face under a wizard’s hat, approached.
Roan covered his mouth with one hand for a moment.
The last time Roan saw Urtellia came to mind.
A corpse lying dead with her lifeless body.
Her last memory of her was her little back, crumbling like a marionette with her strings cut off.
“You came earlier than expected…”
“Urtellia.”
“?!”
Roan hugged Urtellia tightly.
