Vol 1 Chapter 17 – Her Excuse

I can tell that boy is getting closer.

How did things end up like this? It is my fault, without a doubt.

I wanted him to be happy. That much, at least, is no lie.

Even though I hate everything—hate it so much I can’t stand it—I still couldn’t throw away my affection for them.

I should have known my arrogance and indecisiveness would end up casting that boy down to the very depths of the underworld.

I love that boy so much. That is why I am surely destined to fall into hell alongside him.

Nine. My sweet, adorable Nine.

Nine, who could never escape his starvation for maternal love. He has yet to truly grow up.

If you knew the truth, I am sure you would never forgive me.

I was so afraid of that. In the end, up until this very moment, I remained unable to tell you the truth.

Ah, I will no longer beg for forgiveness.

So, at the very least, allow me to fulfill my promise to you.

Because that is all I can do.

Am I eagerly awaiting that boy, or do I wish for him not to come?

Even I do not know.

But, Nine. If only you… if only you hadn’t said those things back then.

I didn’t want to know such things, but you had to go and tell me.

Though I have no right to resent that boy.

The one who made me cross the threshold of fate was, without a doubt—

Vol 1 Chapter 18 – The Moment the World Warped

Ten years ago in Nile Village, northern Ista.

A small battle occurred in the land now known as the First Lost.

However, rumor has it this was the very beginning of the demon invasion.

The village was peaceful and carefree. It lacked tourist attractions or anything of the sort. The locals lived a lifestyle that hadn’t changed for over a hundred years. But then, one single thing changed.

The missionary work of the Saria religion finally reached them.

A priest was sent from Seneca, the suzerain state of the religion, and a church was built.

Spirit worship was deeply rooted in this village, so the locals initially resisted the new religion. However, the entirety of Ista soon bowed to pressure from Seneca and established Saria as the state religion. Financial aid was provided to towns and villages that supported the church. Nile Village accepted these teachings just to reap those benefits.

The only ones who couldn’t accept this were the village elders and, above all, the spirits said to reside in the Forest of Un-giving.

Losing the faith of Nile Village, their final stronghold, obviously weakened the spirits’ power immensely. They vented their frustrations on the village shaman. The unfortunate current titleholder already lacked the aptitude of past shamans. He couldn’t withstand their wrath and died.

This terrified the locals. While a few villagers still supported the spirits, the vast majority sought salvation from the priest. They begged for the protection of their new god.

Whether it was good or bad fortune is uncertain. However, that priest possessed such unwavering faith and mastery of holy arts that it seemed strange he was sent to a frontier like Nile Village. He successfully erected a barrier over the village, entirely rejecting the intrusion of the spirits.

Then, he told the villagers this:

“Those who dwell within the Forest of Un-giving are demons that bewilder the hearts of men. You must never go near them.”

The elders who had lived alongside the spirits refused to accept those words. But with their faith already fading and having witnessed the miracle of the barrier firsthand, most villagers devoted themselves to the Saria religion.

Amidst all this, a certain young boy frequently went to the church to listen to the priest’s teachings.

The priest was highly pious, but he was quite clumsy at navigating the world. Surprisingly, this meant he excelled at breaking down the word of God. He flexibly conveyed it to people of different ages and values.

In other words, he likely ended up exiled to this frontier because he was terrible at speaking formally. Regardless, he made every effort to convey God’s teachings to the boy.

Surprisingly enough, this boy was quite a contrarian. He gave the priest a hard time.

If he stated that God created the earth, the boy would reply that the earth wouldn’t solidify without the spirits of the land.

If he stated that the sacred inland sea was the footprint of God’s heel, the boy would claim it was the work of the water spirits.

Perhaps he spent too much time with the long-winded neighborhood elders who still followed the spirit faith. Either way, the boy simply refused to swallow God’s teachings at face value.

Even so, the priest patiently continued their conversations. Likely aided by his own natural virtue, the boy gradually began to understand and accept his words.

Eventually, the boy became able to recite the Saria scriptures by heart, even if it seemed driven purely by a thirst for knowledge. The priest found joy in this. Even in such a frontier, he had gained a fine young believer, even if the kid couldn’t exactly be called devout.

But a child is still a child. The boy eventually wandered into the very forest he had been taught never to enter, forcing the entire village to search for him. The priest prayed to God for the boy’s safety.

In the end, the boy was found safe and sound. He earned a knock on the head from his father in what turned into a laughing matter. But he said one thing that lingered in the priest’s mind.

“There weren’t any demons, you know.”

After that, the boy stopped coming to the church.

Whenever the priest spotted him in the village and asked why he stopped coming, the boy would just silently shake his head. He never gave an answer. However, when the priest made small talk with the boy’s mother, he managed to hear a reason.

“Because God told a lie.”

In the end, the priest lost his life in the disaster of the First Lost. He never learned the true meaning behind those words.