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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptbismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 45: The Ancient Tree Forest and the Girl (2)
The vice-principal and Hamel walked side by side down the hallway.
The vice-principal walked ahead, telling Hamel various things about the place they were going to.
"The mandrake farm is about half a day's walk from here. And the people out there now are Professor Aran and his students..."
"Before that, I have something I'd like to ask, Vice-principal."
Hamel, who had been listening silently, suddenly interrupted the vice-principal after walking for a while.
The vice-principal stopped and turned to Hamel.
Perhaps she was in a hurry.
Along with puzzlement, there was a hint of impatience in her eyes.
"Yes? Feel free to ask. And you can call me Agnes."
"Then I will. Agnes."
Hamel nodded briefly and continued his question.
"The Intermediate Curse Herbology class. Is that the class you're in charge of?"
"...Yes?"
Agnes, faced with a completely unexpected question, looked momentarily blank.
Then she nodded, looking slightly displeased.
"That's right, but... is that relevant now?"
"Well, that's what we're about to find out."
Hamel replied calmly, tapping his finger on the scabbard of his sword.
Something felt off.
And he had a rough idea of what it was.
But to confirm it, he needed someone who wasn't here.
"Do you know where Lena is now?"
"Lena?"
Agnes's expression became more and more distorted with the increasingly unpredictable conversation.
But she soon sighed deeply and nodded.
"If nothing happened, she should be back in the dormitory by now. It's almost dinner time."
"I need to see her."
"...Alright then."
Agnes gritted her teeth and nodded.
Her role was to assist Hamel and the other order personnel, and to monitor their actions from the side.
She was faithful to her role.
They moved to the Magic Tower's dormitory and looked for Lena.
But she was nowhere to be found.
"Where could she have gone at a time like this?"
Just as Agnes was getting flustered,
A student approached and spoke cautiously.
"Excuse me, Vice-principal."
"Yes? What is it?"
"I heard you were looking for Lena. I think I saw her going outside earlier..."
"At this hour? Are you sure?"
"I'm not so sure..."
Just as the student shrugged and shook his head,
Hamel interrupted their conversation.
"You're probably right. I have a rough idea where she might be."
"Yes? Suddenly? No, that's not important... Where is it?"
Agnes asked with wide eyes, and Hamel hurriedly started walking, replying,
"The Ancient Tree Forest. She probably went there."
***
Lena walked into the forest.
According to the priest from the order, the children would be inside.
'So it was bullying...'
She had no idea.
To think that even those kids who talked to her at the academy weren't her friends.
It was a bit of a shock.
What should she say when she meets them?
Why did you bully me?
Did you have fun all this time?
Well, what did it matter now?
'Reflecting on oneself is admirable, but sometimes the answer doesn't lie with you.'
Lena wasn't shaken.
The priest's words had given her strength.
She simply wanted to see them.
She was curious about what they would say, and more importantly, there was something she had to do.
Lena walked on calmly.
Then, she suddenly felt an unfamiliar sense of discomfort.
This was the Ancient Tree Forest, a place she had visited countless times.
But somehow, the atmosphere of the forest felt strange today.
'Something is different...'
The air felt damp and sticky against her skin.
Has there always been this much green moss on the trees?
'More importantly...'
Why couldn't she hear any birds singing?
It was silent.
Except for her own footsteps, the forest was devoid of even the sound of falling leaves.
Realizing this, goosebumps erupted on her neck.
Something was wrong.
Just as Lena hesitated and stopped,
A boy appeared in the distance, stumbling towards her.
A familiar face.
The boy who had told her the location of the Blue Moonflowers.
The one who always followed Melanie.
His name was...
"Charles."
"L-Lena? Thank goodness."
He rushed towards Lena.
Looking closely, he was in a terrible state.
His clothes were torn, and his robe was covered in dirt and leaves as if he had rolled around in the mud.
More importantly, blood was flowing from various wounds on his body.
Had he been attacked by something?
As Lena wondered, he knelt before her, sobbing.
"Lena, save the others. Please..."
"What happened?"
Lena quietly grasped her staff and asked,
Her voice was calm, but her hands trembled slightly at the unexpected situation.
Unaware of this, or perhaps not caring, Charles continued, his head whipping back and forth frantically,
"We went to play in the forest as usual, and then suddenly a monster appeared..."
"How can you ask me to help you with a monster that even you couldn't handle?"
"O-only Andrew brought his staff, and he was the first one to get attacked!"
"..."
Lena was speechless for a moment, staring at him in disbelief, then shook her head.
"Still, it would be better to call for help..."
At that moment, Charles suddenly screamed,
"The others will all die by then!"
"...Ha."
After a moment of contemplation, Lena let out a short sigh.
Then she lightly pushed Charles' back and said,
"Lead the way."
"R-really? Thank you, thank you so much."
Charles repeatedly bowed his head and led the way.
After walking for a while,
A shabby building came into view in the distance.
It was one of the abandoned magic tower buildings.
"Is that it?"
"Yes, l-let's go in."
"Wait, before that, tell me what kind of monster it was."
"...Huh?"
Charles blinked with an uncomprehending look.
Then he stammered,
"L-Lena, this is not the time. We have to hurry..."
"No."
Lena interrupted firmly and replied with an expressionless face,
"I can't go in there without knowing what kind of monster it is."
"L-let's go in."
"Explain first... What's wrong with your eyes?"
Lena stopped and looked into Charles' eyes.
For a brief moment, his eyes looked strange.
Something seemed to be moving within his green pupils.
"M-my eyes?"
Charles fumbled and touched his eyes.
He rubbed his eyeballs with his fingers as if cleaning glass.
The action was so bizarre that Lena unconsciously stepped back.
Seemingly unaware of this, Charles continued to mumble,
"L-let's go in. Save the others, Lena."
"..."
"I-I like you, Lena. Let's date."
He wasn't in his right mind.
Even someone as clueless as her couldn't miss it now.
Lena slowly raised her staff, pointing it at Charles, and said,
"No."
"N-no?"
Charles's bewildered expression faltered and then froze.
A moment later,
"...Why? Why?"
Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why?
"Why?"
A monotonous voice, impossible to believe it was human, came from his mouth.
In an instant, Charles's face turned red and distorted like a demon's.
And above all, his eyes.
His eyes swelled and wriggled, a mix of green and white.
It was as if a giant caterpillar was inside his eyes.
At the same time, he reached out and lunged at Lena.
But Lena had already finished her incantation long ago.
"Cotuntito Leoratia."
As the magic was cast, a rock erupted from the ground and struck Charles' body.
Charles's body, defenselessly hit by the rock, was instantly slammed to the ground.
Lena approached him, holding out her staff.
Charles's limbs were bent at odd angles, as if his bones were broken.
But he didn't seem to be in pain, flailing his arms and legs as he tried to get up and shouted,
"We have to go in, we have to go in, we have to go in..."
He repeated the same words over and over like a broken alarm clock.
Lena looked down at Charles's wriggling eyes with an expressionless face.
Leucochloridium.
A parasitic creature said to be found in snails.
It looked exactly like that.
But she had never heard of it parasitizing humans in such a form.
Then there was only one answer.
"Demon."
Lena raised her staff.
Scuttling!
Insect-like demons began to crawl out of the abandoned building in droves.
A cockroach larger than a wild dog waved its long antennae and then closed the distance in an instant with its hairy legs.
"Cotuntito Leoratia."
The rock that erupted at the swing of her staff crushed the cockroach.
With a crunching sound, the cockroach was easily crushed and died, spilling its insides.
In the process, something fell from the wing case on its back.
An egg sac in the shape of a pouch with round eggs attached.
"..."
Even Lena couldn't help but grimace.
She slowly backed away.
First of all, there were too many of them.
On the other hand, her magic consumed a lot of mana.
They wouldn't attack her one by one, but even if they did, her mana would run out first.
Just as she was about to retreat,
Kyaaa! Get away!
Piercing Ice Spear!
She heard the screams of familiar people from inside the building, along with the flow of mana.
Melina and her friends were still alive.
Lena gritted her teeth.
If she ran away now, she might be able to survive.
But if she tried to save her friends?
'I'll die.'
That was an undeniable fact.
Let's retreat.
Why should she die with the kids who bullied her?
Her mind made the decision without a shred of hesitation.
"..."
But why?
Her feet wouldn't move.
Her gaze kept returning to the building.
While she hesitated, the monsters emerging from the building had closed the distance considerably.
Cockroaches, woodlice, centipedes, and camel crickets.
It was like a collection of all things disgusting.
Her number one way to avoid dying had just changed.
'I never imagined dying surrounded by these things.'
Lena swallowed a sigh and took a step forward.
Charles, who was still mumbling in front of her, reached out his hand.
"L-let's go in, let's go in..."
Crack!
Lena stomped on Charles's head without hesitation, crushing it.
Then she swung her staff repeatedly and advanced towards the building.
The erupting rocks smashed the approaching monsters one by one, opening a path.
But it was only for a moment. Soon, Lena was surrounded by the insects.
'Just a little more.'
The building was right in front of her.
If she could just get inside, she could avoid being surrounded by them.
Just as Lena frowned and was about to move forward,
Flutter!
A brown cockroach flapped its wings and flew at her from the side.
"It flew...!"
Lena, who hadn't expected the cockroach to fly, couldn't cast her spell in time.
As it collided with her, Lena fell backward.
Scuttling!
The cockroach that had landed on Lena pinned down her arms and legs.
Her staff had flown far away.
Its long antennae poked at Lena's face.
Its jaws clicked open, and viscous saliva dripped down.
'Ah.'
Lena didn't scream.
Because she knew this would happen.
She simply watched the countless insects swarming towards her and waited for her death.
Just as she was accepting her fate,
Whoosh!
Azure flames.
A dazzling, blue light, so pure and clean it was almost blinding, bloomed.
"Keeek!"
A cockroach, a dagger now embedded in its back.
It thrashed, the azure flames erupting from its wound, and fell away from Lena.
Its frantically twitching limbs gradually shriveled, finally crumbling into ash.
Scuttling!
The surrounding insects recoiled as if burned by the flames.
But Lena, who was closest to the fire, didn't feel any heat at all.
What was happening?
It didn't take long to find the answer.
Slash!
The head of an insect flew into the air, spraying its characteristic white blood.
And there, the priest she had greeted earlier approached, wielding his sword.
Cutting down dozens of monsters in an instant, the priest asked calmly,
"Are you alright?"
"..."
The priest, asking so, took off his robe, which was dripping with insect fluids, and extended his hand.
His silver hair shimmered in the moonlight, even within the shadows of the forest.
Lena thought it was incredibly beautiful.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptbismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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