I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

47 – Aftermath (2)

＊

Sylvia, carrying both the tattered bearskin Ash had used in training and the half bearskin she hadn’t used yet, over her shoulder, began to run vigorously.

As the bear was very large, the hide was large enough to hold any number of items.

The bearskin itself was a little heavy, but not enough to be a burden to Sylvia.

Rather, it was the heart that was heavier than the shoulder.

Sylvia was running through the forest with a heavy and complicated heart.

Ash’s despairing expression he had just seen could not be erased from his mind.

Naturally, he had no choice but to face his shameless behavior in front of Ash as well.

A pitiful figure who has no courage to reveal the truth to the subject who forcibly covered his mouth, unable to bear the self-blame of Ash, who had done nothing wrong.

Downfall, no, to the point where you could call it a fall.

But no matter how much he hated himself, no matter how fed up he was with his shamelessness, it was far better to be corrupted than to find out the truth.

Honestly, if possible, I’d like to bury it forever.

Beyond Ash’s painful expression flickering in front of his eyes, the tactile feeling of the ecstatic kiss he had tasted last night slipped into his mind.

“Crazy Year”

Sylvia dared to speak out loud and cursed at herself.

Ash, who is kind as a fool, is suffering so much because of himself, but I am reminiscing about kissing him that was sweet!

But I couldn’t help it.

Every time I see Ash’s sad face, I feel a heavy sense of guilt, but it was because the inside of her body was already filled with the happiness and joy she felt last night.

No matter how much she regrets her mistakes and blames herself, the scent of ash that lingers on the tip of her nose, the touch of ash that lingers on the tip of her lips, and the taste of him etched deep in her tongue continue to roam and warm her head, like fragrant medicinal bath in a boiling pot. .

To be honest, the world seemed beautiful.

It was a morning that was not much different from usual, but it was as if I had said everything because even the dust and particles swimming beautifully in the sunlight looked beautiful.

I was so sorry, and it was so painful, but it seemed that this excitement would never go away.

Sylvia didn’t know what to do because she hated herself so much and at the same time was so proud of her.

“Let’s focus.”

Sylvia shook her head and made up her mind.

Without the courage to reveal the truth, the only atonement he could do for Ash would be to faithfully fulfill his request.

Slowly remembering Ash’s request, she vigorously kicked the ground and made her way through the forest.

“Ash… Come to think of it, yesterday…”

As she ran through the forest, the image of Ash she saw in the forest the day before naturally came to Sylvia’s mind.

Shocked after brutally killing five people, Ash muttered frantically incomprehensible words all the way to the cabin.

It was so shocking that most of the words that came out of Ash’s mouth consisted of leaky sounds and muffled gibberish nonsense.

To be honest, it was almost an incomprehensible scream, but fortunately Sylvia was able to understand some of it somehow.

She slowly replayed Ash’s muttered words in her mind.

“…I said Hardy. Uncle Hardy.”

Most of Ash’s murmurs were miserable pleas for forgiveness.

Ash’s eyes were frighteningly empty as he mumbled an apology in a cracking voice to his parents, brothers, the people he had killed, and many others.

And of all the people Ash begged for forgiveness, one of the names he could barely understand was Uncle Hardy.

As I slowly retraced Ash’s words, I guessed that Hardy was probably the coachman who brought Ash and Laila into the forest.

On the day Ash first came to the cabin, Sylvia traced Ash’s footsteps and found the wrecked wagon and Laila’s body.

And obviously at that time, no other corpse could be found wherever I looked around.

So, naturally, Sylvia assumed that Ash would sit in the driver’s seat and hold the whip.

I don’t think there was a coachman.

‘It might be fortunate that I didn’t find it then.’

It was the name Ash apologized for in a trembling voice.

It is sure to remain a big burden in his heart.

If he could find the body and give it a respectful funeral, the burden on Ash’s heart might be lessened a little.

I’ll have to look more carefully today than last time.

Sylvia, who had returned to the scene of the carriage accident, made that promise.

＊

‘When did Ash come to me? a month ago? Two months ago?’

Exactly how much, she didn’t know.

Sylvia didn’t count the days since she came into this forest and started living.

It was too painful to count the days that passed so slowly.

Naturally, Sylvia lost her sense of date.

All Sylvia knew was that enough time had passed to get used to the days with Ash.

And, that amount of time was enough time for the beasts, monsters, and various insects in this forest to devour a corpse.

Sylvia opened her eyes and searched the area within a kilometer radius from the accident site, but the driver’s body was nowhere to be seen.

Well, since it has already been neglected for quite some time, it might be natural that there are no corpses left.

“…Damn it, there’s no way I’ll stay.”

No, but it was strange that there were no traces like this.

Even if the flesh and intestines had all rotted away and disappeared into the stomachs of beasts and insects, at least a few pieces of bone might remain, but even that is nowhere to be seen.

Maybe a big beast bit him and took him to his nest.

If so, unfortunately, there was no way Sylvia could find it.

“… under.”

Sylvia sighed and slightly bit her lip.

I should have looked around a bit more the last time I found Lyla’s body.

Why couldn’t I find the coachman that day?

Maybe it was because he didn’t have much thought about Ash, so he did a rough search.

no.

No matter how corrupted Sylvia now is, at the time, she risked her life and decided to help him because of Ash’s will, which had reached her.

Hero Sylvia was a person who never refused requests for help.

If so… why…

…ah

“Ah… it was. Lila…”

That day, Sylvia found Lyla’s body.

and it had collapsed

The poor little girl who lost her life reminded her of the children of Millwood she had murdered.

Even the wolf’s fingernail marks and teeth marks left on Laila’s corpse looked like scars left by Sylvia’s fear.

“…ha… no luck or support.”

This would not have happened if the coachman’s body had been found that day before Lila’s body was found.

At that time, Sylvia forcibly emptied her crying heart and head in order to minimize the shock to her heart.

As the little body of the girl was lifted back to the cabin and buried in the cemetery, she mechanically wiped away the tears that flowed incessantly with a dazed expression.

Then, after quietly returning to the cabin, she nursed the dying Ash as best she could.

As if he wanted to atone for the children of Millwood he had killed.

In fact, he should have thought of leaving valuables in the wagon.

Before Ash went to find it yesterday, Sylvia should have already brought it.

However, Sylvia at the time couldn’t afford to think like that.

Only the sense of duty to save this poor boy, who might be the poor girl’s family, was moving her body.

Without even thinking that there would be more corpses.

“…hahahaha, from one to ten, it’s all my fault.”

Sylvia smiled self-deprecatingly.

Then, in an instant, she screamed loudly and slammed her fist into the tree next to her.

thud!

With a loud roar, the tree began to fall slowly.

The place Sylvia’s fist touched had disappeared in a circle.

“I… am so pathetic… I have no face…”

Sylvia couldn’t afford to look at Ash’s face.

＊

Contrary to the expectation that it would soothe the broken heart of Ash, Sylvia, who did not receive any income, went to the place of yesterday with faltering steps.

I hadn’t even gotten that close yet, but the bloody smell was very strong.

Sylvia frowned and approached the corpses.

Fortunately, monsters didn’t come in, but there were a lot of flies that ate corpses.

Sylvia muttered as she looked at the size of the flies gathered around her.

“Has it already started to rot this much, it’s a bit fast.”

Sylvia made fire with her fingertips and threw it at the bloody grass.

The flying insects were frightened by the heat and quickly ran away.

Before disposing of the men’s corpses, Sylvia rummaged through their belongings first.

Half a potato, it was inedible, so I threw it back.

There is not enough reading in prayer books and huts. keep it

Flint, no need.

Undergarments, spare underwear, let’s use it as Ash’s pajamas.

A map, this forest is clearly known even without such a thing. If you take it for nothing and use it when Ash escapes, it will be a big deal, so let’s throw it away.

Sylvia suddenly stopped rummaging through her luggage and smiled.

oh my god.

Do you still think that way?

How can I hold him?

Sylvia roughly crumpled the map with one hand and started searching through the other backpacks.

“What is this?”

A small handkerchief was folded, and there was something like powder inside.

Sylvia carefully put her nose to the end of the handkerchief and sniffed it.

The spicy aroma cooks and stings the nose.

“…it’s pepper.”

This smell was definitely pepper.

It was a very small amount as it was a precious spice, but it was something that might help Ash change his mood.

Sylvia nodded slightly and actively rummaged through the backpack containing the pepper.

Soon, a small bottle the size of a finger popped out of the backpack.

The bottle was filled with white grains.

Sylvia opened the cork of the bottle and dropped one of the kernels.

There was no smell, so I carefully brought my tongue to it.

The strong salty taste pierced the tip of the tongue.

“salt!”

It must have been rock salt, seeing as it was quite large and had a bit of soil mixed in it.

I don’t know whose backpack it was, but it must have been someone who was dissatisfied with the tasteless food they ate while camping.

Sylvia raised the corner of her mouth slightly.

“Ash will like it.”

Sylvia began to rummage through the rest of her rucksack with anticipation.

But unfortunately, this was all that could be salvaged from the men’s luggage.

Prayer books were in every knapsack.

Apparently, these men must have been dispatched from the Goddess Church.

To think that the people of the Goddess Cult were sacrificed by the demon lord’s curse,

under,

An irreverent thought flashed through Sylvia’s mind.

Sylvia slowly looked back.

Suddenly, all the flies ran away from the fire.

Now, it was my turn to collect the items directly from the corpse.

Sylvia put her hands together and bowed her head.

It was a ritual I always did whenever I was ‘picking up a corpse’.

Sylvia slowly opened her lips.

“I will use it carefully. thank you Best of luck.”

Sylvia recited those three words every time she picked up a corpse.

It was the least polite way to treat the dead as a human being, and to express gratitude to them for helping him survive.

But today, Sylvia added one more word at the end.

“… sorry.”

Sylvia bowed her head deeply once again, then slowly raised her head.

He approached the corpses and began to undress them.

“… But, I got some new clothes for Ash.”

There’s no way Ash would want to wear the clothes of the men he killed, but he had no choice.

The clothes Ash had been wearing for the first time were in a state where he could no longer wear them.

The wagon accident had ruined it, but yesterday’s fight had ruined it to such an extent that it could no longer function as a garment…

I soaked it in water to remove the blood, but the blood was not a problem.

Then the only thing Ash could wear was the tunic he was wearing.

No pants, just a thin tunic.

Sylvia thought of Ash from last night.

Ash was hugged to himself with only a thin tunic on.

With just a slight lift, his defenseless skin was exposed.

no.

The cold or the cleanliness… Well, there might be those problems, but before that, it seemed that Sylvia herself couldn’t stand it.

He didn’t have the confidence not to pounce on Ash, who was walking gently beside him in such a defenseless outfit.

No matter how you endure it, the days you have to live enduring your desires with Ash by your side,

As much as I’ve endured so far, maybe the days will be longer and more painful than that.

Sylvia thought about that and slowly began to pack clothes to wear.

These corpses also rarely wore intact clothes due to the aftermath of the fierce fight.

In particular, the clothes of the man whom Ash first ran into were in no condition to wear both top and bottom.

Sylvia patiently continued to work.

Some corpses had relatively intact pants, while others had relatively intact tops, so in the end they were able to somehow get a pair of tops and bottoms.

There was a smell of blood and the stench of rotting corpses, but it was nothing.

The only way to get clothes in this forest is to remove them from corpses, so there is no choice but to wash them thoroughly until the smell is gone.

Sylvia found a few more items in the bodies of the corpses.

Lamp oil or long swords and daggers.

Things like leather protectors worn on the arms.

In particular, the long sword was a great advantage.

Now you can train Ash in swordsmanship.

Sylvia unfolded a relatively intact new bear skin and put the corpse and all the items she found in her backpack on top.

The old leather that Ash used for training was intended to be used to contain the corpse.

“…now there’s only one left.”

Sylvia slowly approached the last remaining corpse.

It was the corpse that Ash ripped off his head at the end.

No matter how much she persuaded Ash to wear new clothes, she was sure that she would never wear this person’s clothes, so Sylvia put off this corpse for the last time.

Sylvia closed her eyes in front of the corpse with nothing hanging over her shoulders.

Sylvia let out a deep breath like a slow sigh and knelt down in front of the corpse.

In terms of the quality of the clothes they were wearing, this corpse was the best.

I’m sorry, but I had to give up.

Sylvia decided to be content with the damaged clothes she had retrieved from the other corpses as well as scraps of fabric.

It was then.

Sylvia found something rustling in the body’s bosom.

“letter?”

It was a letter envelope made of luxurious material.

Looking at the nice pattern drawn on it, I could tell at a glance that it was sent by a high-ranking person.

The pattern stamped on the sealing wax that sealed the letter was also familiar to the eye.

A symbol that embodies the shape of a shining sun.

It was a symbol of the Goddess Church.

“…It’s kind of ominous.”

A bad feeling passed through Sylvia’s head.

It seems that these men are not ordinary priests.

Sylvia slowly took out the letter in the envelope and read it.

It was covered in blood, but not to the extent that I couldn’t read it.

precept.

Target, the 2nd Blue Wing Priests of the Goddess Church. Melbourne Phillips

content, search missions.

Duration, 3 weeks.

A search mission order from the Goddess Church.

Did the Goddess Church send these people to this remote area because there was something to be found in this forest?

Could it be that the Goddess Church noticed that the hero was still alive?

Sylvia read slowly with anxious eyes.

Beneath the letter was the name of the person being searched.

Judging from the phrase, “If you are already dead, I will definitely bring you a corpse,” it seems that you are looking for someone very important.

Sylvia’s pupils went down a little further.

And she just stopped breathing.

Her red eyes stayed on the letter as if nailed to it and could not leave.

There, a name very familiar to her was written in sperm.

Ash Staff, the eldest son of the Staff family, and Lyla Staff, the second daughter.

And a very familiar surname.

.