WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈

Chapter 18: Seven Days and Nights of White Night - 4

──────

One more day passed.

Once again, Rene walked as she listened to footsteps following behind her.

Whenever her cane struck the ground with a sharp tap, a footstep followed with another tap. With every step she took, the presence behind her followed.

Would it be an exaggeration to say she had already grown accustomed to that steady rhythm? For some reason, the thought amused Rene, and she let out a quiet, awkward laugh.

The paladin who had introduced himself as Vera was an exceedingly taciturn man.

One could call it knightly, or perhaps fitting for a clergyman, but Rene felt that his manner was somewhat different from either.

Perhaps Vera was simply bad at expressing himself.

That was what she had begun to think.

Rene recalled their conversation from the day before.

When she had asked why he had become a paladin, he had answered with such emotion.

There had been a burning feeling in his words, something that could be called longing.

What had made him that way? What did the Protecting Sword, that light, mean to Paladin Vera? What meaning could it hold for him to carry such fervor within him?

As those thoughts arose, the footsteps followed again. Before she even realized it, Rene found herself speaking.

“What kind of place is the Holy Kingdom?”

She had not even realized she wanted to ask.

Only after the words left her mouth did Rene realize what she had said. She thought, Oh no, before deciding that since she had already asked, it would not hurt to hear the answer.

Vera answered after Rene had taken about three more steps.

“…It is a place no different from any other.”

His voice was low.

Rene stopped walking and turned toward the sound. Turning toward someone's voice was something Rene did out of habit when she wished to show that she was listening closely.

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. There are people, houses, and communities formed from them.”

“Hmm, does it not have any special features? Something that can only be seen there?”

Silence followed her question.

Had she asked something wrong? Was it a difficult question for him?

As Rene began to worry, Vera finally answered.

“…It would be fitting to call the people eccentrics.”

“Eccentrics?”

“Yes. There are a few whose way of thinking falls outside ordinary bounds.”

Rene tilted her head at that.

“What kind of people are they?”

“…They are not people you would benefit from knowing in detail.”

The words sounded firm.

Judging by his words alone, one might think he harbored ill feelings toward them. Yet Rene could tell that there was no negative emotion in his voice.

He must not dislike them.

Vera would have been horrified if he had heard that thought, but Rene had no way of knowing that.

“Hmm... Now I’m even more curious.”

“…They are not people with evil intentions, but it would be more accurate to say there is no need to go out of your way to associate with them.”

They were rather biting words.

Were they not clergy? Pilgrims who had devoted their lives to the gods? What sort of people could make him speak of them that way?

Vera spoke only because he did not want Rene to grow close to them, but such was the way of the world. There was no reality where everything happened as one wished.

Curiosity about those Vera called eccentrics began to settle within Rene.

“Ah, what else?”

“…Every building in the Holy Kingdom is white.”

At those words, Rene barely managed to swallow a smile.

There had been a faint irritation in Vera's voice.

Does he dislike white?

Even as Rene thought that, Vera continued.

“I believe those who built the Holy Kingdom must have been idio... No, they surely possessed a way of thinking unlike others.”

Ah, he almost snapped.

Vera held back a curse as he continued speaking, and Rene felt another laugh threatening to escape. Hearing him reveal emotion for once, she spoke with a touch of playfulness.

“It sounds like you dislike white.”

As she said it, Rene touched her hair.

Then,

“Absolutely, absolutely not.”

His reply came quickly.

“I do not dislike white. I simply believe there should be moderation in all things, and I do not enjoy excess. White is... something I absolutely do not dislike.”

Deep embarrassment seeped into his words as he rambled on. He repeated himself, even emphasizing it.

Then came another rustle, and Rene could only think that Vera was truly a clumsy man.

“I was teasing.”

Rene answered with a small smile. Then she thought about why Vera treated her with such respect.

...It was probably because of the Holy Mark that had descended upon her.

Even if she pretended not to know, was it not obvious?

He had come looking for her despite her having not the slightest connection to the Holy Kingdom. He followed her around because there must have been some way for him to know that a Holy Mark had descended upon her.

He must be certain that she possessed one. That was why he treated her so formally.

The thought suddenly made Rene feel stifled.

She did not want to think about it, yet she had thought about the Holy Mark again.

Sticky emotions welled up inside her. Feeling them, Rene moved her cane again to drive away those thoughts.

Tap.

Another tap followed behind her.

* * *

Having something taken from you was not something anyone could call good, even as a joke.

All the more so when what had been taken was something that sent your entire life into the abyss.

Rene woke to warmth settling over her whole body.

She did not know whether it came from sunlight or from a fire burning nearby.

She could not see, so there was no way for her to know.

She could only sense the peaceful atmosphere around her and assume that nothing was wrong, that it must be sunlight.

...Whenever Rene realized that she could only perceive the world through sounds and sensations, countless emotions churned within her.

Her past tormented her again.

The light that had been taken from her one day without warning. The way she had become unable to take even a single step properly.

She remembered the miserable life she had been forced to live, piecing together the scenery she remembered with wherever she was now just to understand her surroundings. Fear that it might remain that way forever consumed her heart.

Rene had always been afraid.

She was afraid of the world she could not see, and she was afraid of the future where she would have to live like this forever.

And so, Rene had prayed.

There had not been a single day when she did not pray.

Not a single day when she did not wish for it.

Every day, every moment, she prayed for her light to return.

She wished for someone to save poor, pitiful her.

She had thought they were beings capable of granting at least that much.

...Then there was a moment when she thought her prayer had reached them.

Seven Days and Nights of White Night.

The High God's Authority and divine power.

Though Rene could not see, she felt them clearly.

She had never felt anything like them before, yet the moment they began to swirl within her body, she knew exactly what they were. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she simply knew.

Hope had filled her. Joy had filled her.

Ah, at last, my prayer has reached the heavens.

Overwhelmed by the emotion spreading through her, Rene had wept and prayed on the day she first felt divine power.

Please return my light to me.

Please return those radiant days to me.

It was a wish she had made while drawing out every bit of divine power she could not even handle properly.

Her divine power had been depleted until her breath came in ragged gasps.

Her head had felt as though it would burn from manifesting an Authority she did not even know how to use.

Yet she could not stop.

When she imagined her light returning, imagined herself finally being able to run again, she could not think of stopping.

So she had squeezed out everything within her and made that wish.

But nothing changed.

No matter how much divine power she drew out, no matter how she manifested her Authority, her light did not return.

The world was still dark, and Rene was still a blind person who could not take even one step without her cane.

Hope changed its face in an instant and took the form of despair.

Rene felt a sorrow that seemed to tear her apart.

That was when Rene first understood how miserable it could make someone to watch hope fade before their eyes.

That was when she first understood how deeply resentment could take root.

After that day, Rene no longer believed in the gods. Nor did she pray.

If the gods and the world only made her so miserable, then there was nothing left for her to give them except resentment.

To Rene, the gods were vile creatures who waved bread before someone who had collapsed from hunger and was dying. They were vile creatures who mocked her suffering and laughed at her.

So Rene resolved that she would never seek the gods again. No matter what they wanted, she would never follow them.

“Ah...”

A sigh escaped Rene's lips.

The thoughts that had come to her as soon as she opened her eyes sent her emotions flying in every direction.

Feeling those emotions stir within her, Rene squeezed her eyes shut and forced them away.

She had decided not to think about them, to ignore them completely. She could not give them even a single fragment of her feelings.

Her hands groped for her cane.

Her heart was too unsettled. She thought she needed some air.

After finding her cane, rising, draping a shawl around herself, and opening the door,

“…Have you risen?”

She heard a voice that had become familiar over the past few days.

The paladin from the Holy Kingdom. A servant of the gods she could not help but hate.

And yet, somehow, a strange man she could not bring herself to hate.

Rene turned toward his voice and greeted him.

“Good morning.”

“Yes. Did you sleep peacefully through the night?”

“Yes. How about you, Sir Paladin?”

“It was not bad.”

Rene smiled faintly at his reply and asked,

“Will you follow me today as well?”

“…I apologize.”

Why was he so apologetic? Rene let out a quiet laugh at Vera, who apologized like a parrot, then placed her cane on the ground.

The warm weather embraced her body. The cool breeze made her feel as though it were washing away everything negative inside her.

Rene let out a small breath. Then, as she heard the footsteps following her, a faint sense of guilt arose within her.

For the past several days, he had done nothing but follow her in order to take her to the Holy Kingdom. The moment he learned that she disliked the Holy Kingdom, he had never brought it up again.

She felt sorry for the clumsy paladin.

Biting her lip for a moment, Rene composed herself and settled her expression.

...I'm sorry, but.

No matter how much she thought about it, Rene did not want to become a servant of the gods.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried