WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈
Chapter 44: To the Great Forest
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The day Rene’s journey began.
Before Elia’s gates, Rene and the Apostles were in the midst of saying their farewells.
Standing before the carriage, Vargo spoke first.
“You must always put your health first. Try not to skip meals, and if you feel unwell during the journey, be sure to tell that fellow. Do you understand?”
“Ah, yes.”
His words were full of concern. Rene answered with a small smile, then bowed her head in farewell.
“Then I’ll be going. Everyone, stay well.”
“Krek is healthy. The Saintess must also be healthy.”
“Marek is good at staying healthy.”
“My, the Saintess has already grown so much...”
After the twins’ tearful words and Rohan’s emotional remark, Trevo spoke softly.
“Travel safely. Always take good care of your health...”
His voice trailed off toward the end.
Wondering why, Vera turned to look at Trevo. He found Trevo staring at Rene’s arm with a face full of regret, smacking his lips.
A thought naturally came to him.
What kind of irreverent behavior was that, even at a time like this? Had all those beatings taught him nothing?
Vera glared at Trevo with bloodshot eyes. Startled by the look, Trevo, who had been smacking his lips, quickly hid behind the twins.
He was sly beyond belief.
Vera clicked his tongue at Trevo’s behavior before bowing to Vargo.
“I’ll send letters whenever we stop by a city.”
“Good. Take proper care of her.”
“Yes.”
After the brief exchange, Vera climbed into the carriage with Rene’s hand in his and ordered Norn to depart.
The carriage lurched, then began moving forward with a rumble.
* * *
Three days after the journey began, with two days left until they reached the Great Forest.
Sitting in the carriage, Rene suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and let out a despairing thought.
‘I can’t think of a way!’
Naturally, it was because of Vera.
What if Vera fell head over heels for the elves? What if he declared that he would not leave the Great Forest? What if she dragged him out by force, only for him to run back to the Great Forest?
Over the past few days, her thoughts had stretched without end until they finally entered the realm of delusion.
That was how delusions born from anxiety worked. If someone remained trapped in those thoughts all day, they eventually began to feel real.
A week was enough time for Rene to picture Vera utterly captivated by the elves, and the elves laughing mockingly at her.
As a result, Rene’s hostility toward the elves she had never even met soared as though it would pierce the sky.
‘Y-You thieving cats!’
I liked him first! We have only held hands so far! Why are you taking Vera away when you showed up so late?!
Rene’s tightly clenched fists trembled.
It was a truly pitiful sight, but there was no one beside Rene to point out her delusions. There was only Vera, watching the trembling Rene with concern.
“Saintess, are you uncomfortable? I’ll tell Sir Norn to stop so we can rest for a while.”
“N-No!”
Rene’s body jerked as she answered.
With trembling movements, she forced up the corners of her mouth and answered with the brightest expression she could manage.
“I-I’m nervous because it’s been a while since I went out...”
“You have no need to be nervous. I am here to ensure you feel as little discomfort as possible. If there is anything troubling you, please tell me at any time.”
You are what is troubling me.
The words rose to the tip of her tongue.
Rene desperately swallowed down the words struggling to escape, then nodded.
* * *
That evening, they arrived at the last city on the road to the Great Forest.
Vera passed through the city gates and followed the main street before stopping the carriage in front of an inn. Then he spoke to Rene.
“Saintess. We have arrived in the city. I thought we would stay here tonight and leave again tomorrow afternoon. What do you think?”
“Ah, that sounds good.”
“Yes, then we will do that.”
They had stopped at their first city in nearly three days, having traveled by the fastest route to the Great Forest.
Camping for three days must have been difficult for Rene, who had spent all her time within the Holy Kingdom.
Since they had come to a city, Vera thought he should make the conditions as comfortable as possible for Rene to rest. Recalling the information he had researched before leaving the Holy Kingdom, he continued explaining.
“I hear this is the largest inn in the city. It has a particularly good reputation for its food. Is there anything you would like to eat?”
“Hmm... I’m fine with anything. What about you, Vera?”
“I’m not particularly picky about food either... Shall we leave the order to Norn and go to our rooms first?”
“Yes, please do that.”
As Rene continued giving affirmative answers, she kept thinking.
‘Why is he being so nice to me?’
Of course, it was a ridiculous suspicion. But Rene, already swallowed by her delusions, found all of Vera’s kindness suspicious.
She remembered something the attendants had said in the Holy Kingdom.
“Married men become kinder than usual when they have done something wrong to their wives!”
“Ah, right! I heard that when they cheat, they feel guilty and treat their wives better than usual. Isn’t that ridiculous? They should just treat them well in the first place.”
Those words made considerable sense when applied to the present situation.
...Or so Rene thought.
There were several facts Rene had overlooked in her immediate anxiety.
First, Vera was not her husband. Second, Vera had always treated Rene with utmost care. Third, Vera had not even met the elves yet.
It was such a baseless misunderstanding that it was difficult to know where to begin correcting it. But to Rene, who was already convinced that Vera’s heart had wandered elsewhere, that did not matter.
After entering the inn, unpacking in their rooms, and heading to the first-floor dining hall after being told that dinner was ready, Rene continued to watch Vera closely.
Without realizing it, she gripped his hand more tightly than usual.
“Dinner’s here.”
At Hella’s words, Rene, who had been focusing all her attention on Vera until that moment, jolted and answered.
“Yes!”
Her voice boomed through the room.
Several travelers at nearby tables turned to look at Rene. Vera drove away those looks with a threatening expression, and only then did their meal begin.
As they ate,
“Ah, Sir Vera?”
Norn began.
The atmosphere at the table was somewhat awkward. Thinking that someone had to ease the tension, Norn continued.
“How about a drink? Um, just enough to enjoy ourselves.”
Normally, that would not be something said by the person responsible for escorting others, but Vera and Norn were not ordinary people.
Those with divine power could drive away intoxication whenever they wished. Even if they became drunk, their training was not so shallow that it would dull their senses.
Of course, they could stumble around drunk if they wanted to, but in the entire Holy Kingdom, Rohan was the only oddball who would do such a thing.
Vera briefly considered Norn’s suggestion. Then, deciding that he should allow Norn and Hella some rest since they had arrived in a city, he nodded.
“Very well. You may stop now and eat. I will take care of the Saintess’s meal.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rene raised her head and turned toward Vera.
Her already depleted mind had begun another strange delusion.
‘Alcohol...!’
Vice! Juvenile delinquency!
There was nothing wrong with Vera, already an adult, drinking alcohol. Still, Rene, who had been worrying herself sick for days, did not like it for some reason. Clenching her fist, she asked,
“Vera, are you going to drink?”
“Yes, I thought one or two glasses would do no harm. Why do you ask?”
Rene’s body jolted again. She had no answer to his question.
Her mind began spinning. She searched for a suitable excuse, something that would stop Vera from drinking.
But there was naturally no logical reason to stop him. Rene groaned as she thought, then eventually chose self-destruction.
“I-I will too...!”
“Pardon?”
“I want to drink too!”
She had blurted it out without thinking deeply, overwhelmed by sudden panic. Her idea had been, I’ll drink all the alcohol Vera was going to drink.
...But Vera, unaware of her inner thoughts, merely thought that her adolescence was acting up and shook his head.
“You are underage, Saintess.”
“Ugh...!”
Rene’s mouth snapped shut at Vera’s reasonable words.
‘What should I do?’
Her thoughts sharpened more than ever. She needed an excuse that would stop Vera from drinking, that would keep him from touching a single glass even if it was placed before him.
Naturally, no such excuse existed.
Unable to find an answer, Rene let out a pained groan. Then she waved her hands about before firmly grabbing Vera’s arm.
“I-It is an order!”
She abused her authority.
Silence fell over the table.
Norn, holding a freshly served glass of alcohol. Hella, receiving a glass from Norn. Vera, sitting across from Rene.
Everyone froze.
As the atmosphere around her suddenly fell quiet, Rene finally realized what she had done and her body jolted.
“Uh, um...”
Cold sweat ran down her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut again.
‘...Idiot!’
Her mind, which had finally cooled down, made her realize the disgraceful behavior she had shown.
Her head had cooled down, so why did she feel so hot? If it had cooled down, shouldn’t she feel cold instead?
While Rene continued her pointless thoughts,
“...As you wish.”
Vera spoke.
He looked at Rene with a hint of pity in his eyes and continued thinking.
‘Suppressing her is not right.’
What if suppressing her today left behind resentment, and Rene began living in the grip of alcohol later? What if she became Rohan’s drinking companion?
Besides, although she was still underage, there were probably few children her age who had never tried alcohol.
Vera concluded that if Rene made a mistake, he would simply take care of it. Then he placed a glass of alcohol in her hand.
Rene felt even more embarrassed.
Although she could not see Vera’s expression, she could vaguely sense his feelings through his voice.
Trembling from the shame rushing through her entire body, Rene made a decision.
‘I-I have come this far!’
She would shamelessly see it through.
“Then we should order another glass.”
“No!”
“...Pardon?”
“Since this is my first time drinking, Vera, please stay sober today.”
There was no logic. Only an order.
In truth, she could have simply said that from the beginning, but Rene did not have the presence of mind to think of it now.
Her insides burned.
She was embarrassed.
If there had been a mouse hole, she would have wanted to crawl into it.
Self-loathing filled her entire body.
Feeling that self-loathing, Rene tipped back her glass.
Since things had come to this, she thought she might as well find out what alcohol tasted like.
What happened next was... obvious.
Rene had never been taught how to drive away intoxication.
In other words, when she drank, she simply became drunk.
Like many children drinking for the first time, Rene did not know her own limit and kept drinking. In doing so, she created an embarrassing memory that she would regret for the rest of her life.
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