-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Territory Declaration
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Th-the forest is also the first line of defense. Its environment is, is unique, so it’s not easy to destroy… It’ll be, be more troublesome later on.”
Cesar muttered with a gloomy face.
“I don’t feel anything yet, but…”
“It’s okay! Neither do I!”
Even with my reassurance, Cesar couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.
As I tried to think of something else comforting to say, I glanced at Rose.
“But why do we need a magician? We have you. Don’t you have the power to burn things?”
*You’re a phoenix, aren’t you?*
I swallowed the rest of my thought.
Rose shrugged.
“I can warm up your cold corn.”
“…”
I sullenly stared at the corn, which was now steaming as if it had just been roasted.
Still, it was a gift from Kivrin, so I took a bite. Just then, I heard Cesar’s voice.
“I don’t even have a power like that…”
*No, I don’t think a power like that is particularly necessary.*
Just as I had eaten about half the corn, the carriage came to a stop.
True to its name, the Waning Moon Forest was somehow grim and ominous.
As a place treated like a demon realm or a dungeon in **, it was shrouded in such a thick darkness that it seemed certain we would get lost if we went inside.
Cesar, holding a lantern, spoke.
“I can finally feel the presence of the monsters.”
I also sensed the unusual atmosphere, but let’s just pretend I don’t know…
Even if his position was a handout, he was still the captain of a ducal knight order and the son of Marquis Silentium, yet Cesar’s image just kept getting more and more pathetic.
After finishing his preparations, Cesar asked Kivrin.
“This area is far from the garrison, so we haven’t made a separate path. Are you still going in?”
“Looks like the Young Lord plans to. You’d better follow along so you don’t fall behind.”
Rose answered for him and lifted me into his arms.
It seemed my waddling, even on flat ground due to my thick clothes, had been on his mind.
Far from getting angry, Cesar nodded with a grim determination.
“Yes.”
Although the forest was darker than outside, Kivrin led the way.
*He’s not getting lost at all, even if his hearing is good.*
“Young Lord, have you been in this forest before?”
“J-just for a moment, wh-when the monsters swarmed like this.”
Something was strange.
“What did you do in the forest for just a moment?”
Kivrin was still young and didn’t even own a personal weapon.
There was no way Winter or Menelik would have brought Kivrin along when monsters were swarming.
Cesar also looked as if this was the first he’d heard of it.
Rose reassured me as I grew flustered.
“Maybe he just soothed the monsters and sent them on their way?”
Just as I was about to ask if that was even possible, the ground rumbled.
I could hear what sounded like a tree falling.
“It’s not exactly soothing them… but it’s, it’s similar.”
A short while later, Kivrin stopped. He turned to look back at us.
“I’d, I’d like you to wait h-here.”
I tapped Rose’s arm.
Rose set me down.
“I’m going with you.”
“It’s not exactly a, a p-pleasant sight to see.”
“Then I’m definitely following you.”
“…”
Kivrin stared at me intently.
*What… what! Your piercing gaze won’t work on me! If you do anything reckless, I’ll stop you on behalf of your parents!*
As I glared, Kivrin, with a look of not knowing what expression to make, clarified.
“I, I meant I’d hold your hand… so you don’t fall.”
Aah. So that’s what he meant.
Only then did I see Kivrin’s outstretched hand.
I sheepishly took his hand.
I didn’t say a word as Kivrin and I walked together.
Strangely, the silence with Kivrin never felt uncomfortable or awkward.
Soon, an open space appeared between the trees.
Kivrin let go of my hand, took a few more steps, and removed his gloves.
Then, as if he couldn’t let it go, he murmured to me.
“You can turn around, you k-know.”
“Not a chance.”
*I won’t even blink.*
“…You don’t have to glare like that. I, I won’t run away.”
Kivrin, barely suppressing a laugh, continued his work.
As I watched intently, one of Kivrin’s hands began to transform, changing into the foot of a raptor twice the size of his body.
The claw dug deep into the earth with a crunch.
It felt as if he had struck a vein running through the ground.
The earth writhed, and a strange wave began to spread from beneath our feet.
The trees vibrated as if electrocuted. Soon, a deafening roar, like that of large beasts fleeing indiscriminately, echoed throughout the entire forest.
*So he scares them away, not soothes them away?!*
I quickly straightened my hunched shoulders before Kivrin could see.
*It’s fine! This great Cheria is n-not scared at all!*
—*Then can you transform into a snake or other creatures?*
—*No…?*
—*That’s strange. Kivrin said he thought he could if he tried hard enough.*
Winter’s words were finally starting to make sense.
*I wonder if the monsters near Winter’s location ran away too?*
I waited for the vibrations to subside before checking on Kivrin.
His hand had already returned to its original form.
But black smoke was rising from it.
“Young Lord?!”
I threw down the corn I had been holding the whole time and ran to Kivrin.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt? Can I touch it?”
As soon as Kivrin nodded, I cupped his hand with mine.
The soot-covered hand was red, as if it had been burned.
“It’s, it’s like a territory declaration from the Temple… D-doing this will keep things quiet for about a year.”
“…I wasn’t asking if the forest was okay, I was asking if *you* were okay, Young Lord.”
“O-oh, I’m fine.”
*You don’t look fine at all!*
“Was this why you were burned before? Mother won’t be happy if she finds out you helped in this way. And neither will I!”
A strange smile formed on Kivrin’s lips.
“Th-then, before we get caught, will you make it not hurt, Cheria?”
Huh?
“Me?”
Kivrin stared at me with his big, round eyes.
“I, I told you it wasn’t a p-pleasant sight, but you followed… and you d-didn’t run away just now. So, I’d like you to heal me.”
It seemed strangely logical, but if I had that kind of power, I would have used it long ago!
“I don’t even have any bandages right now, so how…”
Kivrin spoke, completely unconcerned.
“Wh-when we escaped the Snake Pit, you said you could do, d-do anything, didn’t you, Cheria?”
…Kivrin was the one who drove the monsters away and burned his own hand, so why were tears welling up in my eyes?
I swallowed my tears and confessed the truth.
“Actually, that was a l—”
Kivrin cut me off.
“You can do it, Cheria. If you practice on me, you’ll be able to do all sorts of g-good deeds.”
“…”
“It’s much harder, th-though… It’d be faster… to just kill or destroy everything…”
“…”
“E-even if it sounds strange, p-please remember this.”
*Yeah, it does sound really strange.*
Practicing good deeds on Kivrin, of all people.
Still, Kivrin looked so serious that I had to try something.
I blew on his hand, *hoo, hoo*, and gently brushed away the ashes.
“Does it hurt less now?”
“It hurts just the same.”
*Of course it does…*
My face fell. Should I try putting some saliva on it?
*Rumble.*
Just then, the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The roaring, which had seemed to be fading, now felt like it was getting closer.
The vibrations were so strong my body trembled, and just then, Rose suddenly appeared.
“I have a rough idea of what you did, but can’t you control the direction? All the monsters are running this way!”
It seemed he had finally decided to drop the formalities with Kivrin.
Rose tucked me and Kivrin under each of his arms and took off running.
Even in this urgent situation, Rose was so careful about my safety that not a single branch poked me.
Without even covering my head, I sent Rose a look of admiration.
“Rose, you’re a great runner.”
“This is not the time to be impressed, you know?”
Rose looked at me as if I were absurd.
“Why not? You’ll protect me anyway. I feel so safe with you, Rose.”
“…R-really?”
Rose’s mood lifted in an instant.
He was truly a simple phoenix.
After running for a while, Rose leaped from a sloped surface.
The moment he landed safely in a stream bed, a pack of monsters that looked like large dogs stampeded by overhead.
Cesar, who had caught up without falling far behind, explained in a quiet voice.
“Those are tricky ones to deal with because once they bite, they never let go until they die. Their hearing and sense of smell are highly developed, but… they don’t seem to be in any state to find us right now.”
“Still, you keep an eye out, just in case.”
“Understood.”
At Rose’s command, Cesar promptly stood up.
