Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

23. Village in the Sea of Trees (3)

Translated by: S3

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When they exited, light streamed through the gaps in the thick branches and leaves of the tall trees, and the area in front of them was densely overgrown with grass up to their knees.

「Hey, Gin, where exactly are we?」

「Inside the Nogre Sea of Trees. This way. There's a path here.」

「It doesn't look like it?!」

Gin took Lily's unsteady hand and quickly advanced along the animal path.

「Wait, Gin. Wait up.」

He slowed down to match Lily's panting pace, but if he did that, it would take a long time to get back to the royal capital.

「Don't you want to get back quickly?」

「I do, but I've been working non-stop since last night!」

「That's... right. My bad.」

Gin made Lily, who was exhausted, sit down and wracked his brain. The treatment fee owed to Lily, by a rough estimate, would require quite a few years of service. Furthermore, there was a possibility that they might need her help in the future. He reached the conclusion that Gin would likely be serving Lily for the rest of his life.

If she were someone he disliked or found uninteresting, he would be thinking of ways to pay it off early and return to the village, but the person was Lily.

(She gives rare things as an exchange price, and she even treated the dragonewt's egg that the Elder couldn't save. It's fun to be around her)

— Then, I guess it's fine.

Gin resolved in his heart to serve Lily as his lifelong master, living his life while paying the debt.

「Lily. Let's form a Master-Servant Contract.」

「A Master-Servant Contract (Shujū Keiyaku)?」

「It's a contract where Lily is the Master and I'm the Servant.」

She couldn't think of anything with her tired brain. Lily half-heartedly gave permission, saying that if Gin wanted to do it, then he should go ahead.

Gin's tribe, the wolf beastmen, form a contract with a chosen individual when they find a Master (Aruji) outside their community. Gin immediately started the ritual.

「I'll tell you my True Name (Mana). And please place your hand on my forehead.」

「Mana?」

「It's my real name. It's a name only I and the one who named me know.」

Then, Gin whispered his True Name into Lily's ear.

「Don't tell anyone.」

「Okay.」

As told, when she placed her hand on Gin's forehead, a pattern she had never seen before faintly appeared on the back of Lily's hand, and then it disappeared as if being sucked in.

「With this, no matter where I am, I can find Lily. If Lily calls, I can go to her rescue.」

「I see.」

Seeing Gin smile broadly, Lily nodded, thinking it was good that he was satisfied.

「Alright, wait a moment. I'll carry Lily.」

Saying that, Gin enthusiastically moved a little away and got down on all fours. In an instant, he transformed into a shining white wolf.

「Hiiiiiie!」

Lily recoiled in terror as the wolf became so large. Even though she knew it was Gin, it was honestly terrifying.

「What's wrong? Don't be scared! That hurts!」

「Sorry. But, but, you're so big.」

「Oh, come on! I can't let you ride on my back unless I'm this big!」

「Eh, I'm going to ride! On that?!」

「Don't call me 'that'!!!」

With the reluctant Lily on his back, Gin, who had transformed into a white wolf, started running along the animal path at an incredible speed.

「Hold your tongue! You'll bite it off!」

「Hiiiiiie!」

Lily intensely regretted forming a Master-Servant relationship with Gin. Gin ran down the slope with momentum, but he suddenly leaped, kicking off a tree trunk, and climbed up onto the branches.

「Gin! That was scary! That was scary just now!」

Lily pleaded with teary eyes, as she was nearly thrown off.

「My bad. No. Something was below. It was black and round. Was that a Slime?」

「Slimes are translucent, right? I've never seen a black one.」

She peered over Gin's back. Several black objects could be seen below.

「Ugh. What are those? They're disgusting.」

「I think they are the ones that appeared in the village yesterday. They look like Slimes.」

「They do. They look like Slimes in shape.」

The things wriggled and moved; they were black, ominous, and looked dangerous. Some of them were preying on small animals nearby, making her instinctively look away.

「I can't believe something like this was released from the Holy Aurum Kingdom.」

「We'll know when we get closer. Let's go!」

「Eh, wait, wait. Kyaaaaa—」

Gin leaped and connected from branch to branch, moving forward. Lily firmly clung to his neck so as not to be thrown off. After running through the Sea of Trees for about thirty minutes, they reached an area of open plain.

「Hey. Look at that. It's in a terrible state.」

Gin, who spoke in a somewhat cheerful voice, must have a different way of feeling and thinking than humans.

「This is not funny, Gin. What is that?」

When she saw it with her mother, Emma, before, a faint, rainbow-tinged dome shape was visible in the sky above the royal capital. But now, that dome was stained black and reflecting the sunlight, and the black Slimes they had just seen were wriggling in places on the ground leading from here to the royal capital.

And—

「Wow! A Dragon! This is my first time seeing one!」

A Dragon was circling in the sky above. An excited Gin was vigorously wagging his tail.

「This isn't the time to be impressed, Gin! This is serious!」

「What's serious?」

She was speechless when asked. Lily didn't really understand either. But she knew that things were different from usual.

「Anyway, let's get closer. We have to see it with our own eyes first.」

「Understood! Hold on tight! We're breaking through!」

Gin kicked off the ground and started running, rapidly approaching the royal capital. The closer they got, the more malicious black Slimes there were everywhere, and their numbers seemed to be increasing.

「Hooray! I'm glad I came with Lily after all! There are so many things I don't know!」

「Geez! Gin, don't act like it's someone else's problem and enjoy yourself! From my perspective, this could be a major crisis for my own country!」

No matter how angry Lily was, Gin probably couldn't take it seriously with the same urgency, as it was a matter concerning another race for him.

(It's my country. And the families of the uncles from the Western Fortress live here too. And besides—)

Noah, Daniel, and Arthur were also there.

Without realizing it, they too had become people Lily cared about.

「I have to go help them.」

Even if Lily wasn't liked, she liked them, so she didn't want them to get hurt or sick.

— My Light Magic blossomed because I wanted to make everyone well.

I will do the best I can with what I have.

The heart-wrenching pain that had tormented her was completely gone now.

「Alright. We've arrived! So, what now?」

The end of the Protection Wall (Protect Wall) was located on the ground dozens of meters from the royal capital. The area where people passed through was cut out in a semi-circle, and the rest was covered by the Protection Wall right down to the ground.

Black substances were constantly flowing out from the bottom edge closest to the ground, and a large black puddle was spreading beneath it. It was confirmed that the black Slimes were being born from that puddle. When she cautiously approached a newly born one, it approached Lily as if it had a will, so she ran away.

「No, what is that!」

She observed it nervously. Then, she recalled something with a similar presence.

「It's similar to a curse. But the mist that floated bove the Protection Wall should have been dealt with by Olivia-sama...」

Olivia was trying to disappear the Impure Mist. She was trying to vanish it, not purify it.

「Does this mean it... didn't disappear?」

If the Impure Mist that was faintly lingering in the sky above didn't disappear but instead flowed out—that would be a major incident.

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