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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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They say yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend.
‘How can you be friends with someone you fought with?’
That’s what I would have thought in the past. But now, perhaps because of the scene unfolding before my eyes, the idea that yesterday’s enemy could become today’s friend felt… plausible.
…Of course, it seemed like a one-sided friendship.
“Hey! That’s mine! I was going to eat that!”
“We made up, so why are you being so stingy? Finders keepers. If you wanted it, you should have grabbed it first.”
“Wow! You’re so shameless!”
Danuel, having regained her composure, sat on the picnic blanket, devouring the food I had prepared.
Devouring was the right word.
Her ragged appearance was clearly no accident, she must have been starving.
“Hey, is there any more? Why is there so little?”
Bang! Bang!
Danuel slammed the empty food containers on the ground. The children’s reactions were frosty.
“That… that beggar… she has no conscience, Mister!”
“Her behavior is utterly vulgar. I refuse to dine with such a person.”
Hare and Saten glared at Danuel with cold eyes. Not only had she intruded on their picnic, but she had also devoured their food.
Their reactions were understandable.
Just then, Estia walked slowly between Hare and Saten. Estia’s expression was as solemn as a general going to war.
Approaching Danuel, Estia quietly said,
“…Stop eating.”
“Huh? What are you-“
“Stop eating, you pig! Do you not fear the Saintess’s words?! I showed you mercy because you looked hungry! Are you going to repay me like this?!”
“S-Saintess?! Oh, I apologize…!”
Thud-
Danuel, who had been acting so entitled, immediately knelt before Estia.
Estia, seeing this, puffed up with a triumphant air.
“T-This is who I am! I’m the Saintess! So stop eating! That’s an order from the Saintess! Understand?!”
“Y-Yes, Saintess…!”
Danuel bowed her head in subservience.
Seeing a top-tier adventurer groveling before the drug-addled Saintess made my head throb.
“Even for a religious person, isn’t she a little too subservient to the Saintess? Ugh, this is giving me a headache…”
“Mister, I have a headache too! How can she be the Saintess?! More importantly, why did you let her eat our food?!”
Luna seemed more upset about the food than Danuel’s claim to sainthood.
I brushed a grain of rice from Luna’s cheek and said,
“…I told her to wash up. She came back soaked, her stomach rumbling. I couldn’t just ignore her.”
The image of her brother, Daniel, being brutally killed also flashed through my mind. I couldn’t bring myself to be harsh.
Luna nodded in agreement.
“That makes sense! Mister, you’re kinder and more thoughtful than I thought!”
“So you thought I was unkind and thoughtless?”
“N-No! More than I thought! Kinder than I thought! Ha, haha…”
Luna laughed awkwardly, trying to defuse the situation.
Anyway…
“If there wasn’t enough food, you should have been patient. There’s more for dinner, so you can eat your fill then.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll wait! I’m generous, after all!”
Luna shrugged and returned to the other children.
I approached Danuel to finish our interrupted conversation.
“Now that you’re full, we have things to discuss, Danuel.”
“Oh, right. Sorry for attacking you earlier… How about we talk while we walk? You were heading to the summit, right? My cabin is there. We can talk there. Why I’m here and… why I’m like this is a long story.”
“You’ve always been ‘like this,’ as far as I’m aware.”
“…Fine. Forget I said anything. Anyway…”
The meal was delicious.
“I can see why Daniel praised your cooking so much. Sorry for being out of my mind.”
Fanatic Danuel.
She bowed her head apologetically. Now that she had witnessed the Saintess herself, she should be sane for a while.
I checked on the children, who had finished their meal.
“I didn’t eat much, but… it… it was delicious, Mister!”
“Kimbap? And… inari sushi? I’ve never had them before, but they weren’t bad.”
“Right! Fit for Saintess Estia!”
Despite Danuel’s interruption, they seemed to have enjoyed their lunch. It seemed the classic picnic foods were a hit in this world too.
As I packed up the empty containers, a smile touched my lips.
“I can’t remember the last time I felt this content seeing empty lunch boxes…”
I couldn’t recall exactly when, but it had been a long time.
It took a long time to reach the halfway point, but the climb from there to the summit was relatively quick.
“That’s not the way. There’s a shortcut.”
Danuel claimed to have lived on the Mountain of Repentance for quite some time, and she knew all the paths. Thanks to her, we reached the summit before nightfall.
Luna and Estia, upon seeing the setting sun from the mountaintop, shouted,
“Yahoo! I conquered the mountain!”
“Saintess Estia conquered the mountain!”
Not like roaring lions on a cliff, but more like two excited puppies.
Hare looked around, taking in the scenery, while Saten examined the plants with a scholarly air.
As each of them enjoyed the summit in their own way, Danuel stood in front of a cabin.
“Well, as you can see… it’s small and humble. Come on in.”
She scratched her brown hair, looking embarrassed. Unlike her hesitant demeanor, I opened the cabin door without a second thought.
“Hey! Don’t just barge in! So inconsiderate!”
“…You haven’t cleaned up, have you? Do you live here?”
“Well, yeah… I had to live here to survive.”
Danuel seemed to have a story to tell. Something that had driven her to live deep in the mountains.
I pulled up a nearby chair and sat down.
Crash!
“Oops, it broke? I have another one I made. Want that one?”
“…I’ll just stand.”
How poorly made was the chair to break so easily?
The cabin seemed full of hazards. I decided to stick to my original plan and have the children sleep outside.
“So, Danuel. Why are you here?”
“Hmm, that’s a long story… Let me close the door first.”
Creak
Thump
Danuel closed the door, presumably to soundproof the cabin so the children wouldn’t hear.
She breathed a sigh of relief and said,
“Okay, my turn to ask questions. What are you doing on this mountain?”
“A picnic.”
“Aha, a picnic with the children? I didn’t know you’d be playing nanny after… that incident.”
“…You didn’t need to say that.”
“Alright, lighten up. You’re scaring me.”
Danuel’s expression was anything but scared. It was quite annoying, actually.
“At least I know you’re not with the Church. You’re not here to kill me.”
“…The Church wants to kill you? Why? It doesn’t make sense for them to kill someone of the same faith.”
“People kill each other all the time, even those they call family. What does religion have to do with it?”
…She had a point.
Still, it was surprising. The Church wanted to kill Danuel, known for her fanatical devotion and nicknamed “Fanatic Danuel.”
What could be the reason?
“Why is the Church after you?”
“I’m not sure if I should tell you this… but… well, you’re involved, I guess. The Saintess is with you, so I’ll tell you. There’s only one reason.”
The Church’s corruption.
And betrayal.
“The reason I’m like this is because of that holy water…“
“No, you were always like this.”
“…The reason I’m more like this is because I drank that holy water once, and I know exactly how corrupt the Church is. That’s why I’m hiding here.”
“Are you talking about the experiments the Church is conducting?”
“Knowing that makes this conversation easier. Actually, that’s not all.”
Danuel began to reveal the information she knew.
The Church’s corruption, their profiteering from holy water sales, the orphanages used to procure test subjects, and their collaboration with Grimoire.
She spoke freely.
“I was wondering why the flow of holy water has been strange lately. So you have the Saintess? You did well. Devout believers like me are suffering because of that holy water. It’s too addictive.”
“It is. So, in the end, the Church joined hands with Grimoire for money?”
“Money is part of it… but their interests aligned.”
“Interests?”
“The Church wanted money, and Grimoire wanted… something. I don’t know what. Hey, how did you get the Saintess, anyway?”
How did I get the Saintess? That was easy to answer.
“I kidnapped her.”
“Huh?”
“I kidnapped Estia from the Church.”
“I… I see. Kidnapped… what about the other children…?”
“Some of them were kidnapped too.”
“…”
Danuel fell silent, her expression a mixture of shock and disdain. She looked at me like I was a criminal.
It stung a little.
I hadn’t kidnapped them out of malice. It had been necessary.
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