“Ooh…”
I let out a faint groan as I slowly moved my fingers.
I meant to leap off the back of the beast—unsure whether it was truly a wolf or something else entirely—but all strength had drained from my body.
I had no choice but to grip its fur tightly so I wouldn't fall.
The wolf carrying me bounded lightly down a steep slope, then landed firmly on level ground.
Lowering its body, it gently let me roll off onto the earth.
Thud.
Blades of grass brushed against my cheek, and the earthy scent of soil rose to my nose.
Where am I?
…It seems this is the other world.
I must have fallen from the cliff and died, and that marvelous white wolf I had somehow seen despite my blindness was surely a guide leading the dead to the afterlife.
“Thank you for saving me.”
With those words, I forced my hand upward and gently patted the wolf’s head.
The wolf quietly closed its eyes at my touch, then turned and walked away.
My consciousness began to slip away once more.
Watching the wolf’s retreating back, I slowly closed my eyes.
“…Hey!”
After some unknown stretch of time, I regained consciousness to a hand shaking my shoulder.
“Mmh…”
I couldn't tell how much time had passed, but it was cold enough that my shoulders were shivering, and the hoot of an owl echoed nearby.
Night had fallen completely while I was out.
What is this?
Wasn’t I dead?
I could have sworn I had ridden a white wolf down the road to the afterlife.
“Are you awake?”
At the sound of a voice right beside me, I gasped sharply.
My heart felt as if it had stopped dead.
“Try to move slowly. You might have broken something.”
“Who are you?”
Though his tone sounded gentle, my response came out bristling with caution.
The terror of what had almost happened to me moments before was still vivid in my mind.
The stranger seemed to watch me in silence for a beat before answering calmly.
“Hmm… Would you believe me if I said I was just a passing traveler?”
“At this late hour?”
“I got a little lost in the woods.”
I'm finished.
There was no way to know whether this man was truly a passing traveler, or the one who had tricked me earlier.
Being entirely blind, I couldn't afford to act rashly.
In the midst of this overwhelming helplessness, I tried with all my might to push myself up.
My legs wouldn't cooperate, however, and every attempt ended with me collapsing back onto the ground.
The man, watching me quietly, spoke with care.
“Shall I help you?”
“No, don't come any closer!”
“Ah.”
I sensed him halt in his tracks.
“I didn't mean to frighten you. You really don't want any help?”
“I don't need it! Go somewhere else!”
“…If you insist.”
The man gave a reluctant reply.
“The way out of the forest is in that direction.”
He pointed toward a direction I couldn't see.
Then, I heard his footsteps moving away.
Right, keep walking away.
Perhaps this was for the best.
Surrounded by the stillness of being alone again, I gasped softly for breath.
A short while later, however.
Once even the hoot of the owl faded, a terrifying darkness enveloped me.
A dread like being stranded alone in an endless void.
Only then did it hit me: the man who had just walked away was, right now, the only person capable of helping me.
“W-Wait…! Don't go! Come back!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs in the direction he had disappeared.
“I told you to come back! Come back this instant, you jerk!”
“Yes, I'm here.”
“Ah! You scared me!”
I jumped, flopping like a fish caught on a hook.
“W-When did you get back…? I didn't hear any footsteps…”
I muttered, clutching my chest where my heart was pounding violently.
“When I saw how frightened you were of me, I only stepped back a little. I was keeping an eye out to see if you would leave safely.”
“A-All right, but step back just a bit.”
At my request, I heard his footsteps slowly retreat.
“All right. Is this far enough?”
As if marking the distance, he tapped his foot lightly against the ground.
He seemed to have realized in those few moments that I was blind.
“Were you being chased?”
“What?”
“There is a man lying over there. Was he chasing you, and then both of you tumbled off the cliff together?”
At the mention of a man lying nearby, blood drained from my face, and I took an unsteady step back.
It was definitely the man who had tried to kidnap me and fallen alongside me.
“Don't worry. That man is certainly dead.”
“How can you be so sure? I fell too, yet here I am alive.”
“…Well, it's like this.”
In an even, measured voice, he began to explain.
“His neck is twisted at an unnatural angle, and his insides have ruptured so that fluids are leaking everywhere, and especially near the head, where his brains have spilled out…”
“Stop, stop! There's no need to explain!”
Is this man truly insane?
Either way, if what he said was true, the person who had tried to kidnap me was dead without a doubt.
Yet instead of feeling any grim satisfaction, a shiver ran down my spine at the realization that I had almost shared the exact same fate.
“How did I fall and come out completely unharmed like this?”
Perhaps the white wolf I had seen while drifting off was some sort of guardian spirit, or something along those lines.
Regardless, knowing I had miraculously survived brought relief, though my legs still trembled beneath me.
“Well then, shall we stand?”
The man spoke up again.
“This area is crawling with dangerous beasts; spending the night here is not a wise choice.”
He was right.
If I stayed in the woods until dawn, I might end up prey to a monster, or die of hypothermia.
Not to mention the distant animal cries that had been filtering through the air for some time now, heightening my anxiety.
Just then, my hand brushed against something cool.
“Ah!”
“It's the strap of my bag. I assumed you wouldn't want to hold my hand.”
"…"
I hesitated, not daring to grasp what he had offered me.
From the way he spoke, he didn't seem like a bad person.
Then again, who ever said villains walked around with ‘I’m evil’ written on their foreheads?
Besides, I had almost been kidnapped today by someone pretending to be someone else.
“I…”
Ugh, my head felt ready to burst.
What should I do?
Can I trust him?
While I tore my thoughts apart, I ultimately found myself reaching out toward him.
In truth, I had no other choice.
I couldn't get out of this forest without relying on the help of someone whose true nature I did not know.
“If you're worried, I will only accompany you to the edge of the woods.”
With that, he began walking ahead.
Grasping his bag strap firmly, I started walking carefully behind him.
Contrary to what I had feared, the man was much kinder than I thought.
“There is a stone in front of your feet.”
He didn't pry or ask me questions.
He paused from time to time, speaking only what was necessary.
Thanks to his attentiveness, I gradually set aside my doubts and followed in his footsteps.
‘Even so, don't let your guard down completely. He hasn't made his identity clear.’
I reminded myself, keeping my senses sharp.
“Um, by the way…”
I called out cautiously, attuned to the rhythm of his steps.
“What brought you to this forest…?”
“Hmm, I was on my way to a nearby temple.”
“To a temple?”
“Yes. Passing through the woods cuts the journey down considerably.”
Oh, so there are people who visit temples even at such an hour.
Was he deeply devout?
“…Were you going to pray?”
“You could say that.”
The man fell silent for a brief moment.
“Afterward, though, I intend to head to the Rivannion Duchy.”
The Rivannion Duchy…?
“You mean the Rivannion Duchy?”
“Yes. I received an invitation there.”
An invitation?
We hadn't received any notice from the head housekeeper about an important guest arriving at the estate.
Could he be a traveling merchant who visits from time to time, or someone who had come for a similar reason?
