WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈

Chapter 49: Edrin - 2

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It was a strangely grating sense of dissonance.

“There is another problem as well. My escort knight friend, do you remember the siblings you met before coming here?”

“...The Noier.”

“Yes, that is what you call those siblings. Well, that is not important. They are after Mother’s essence.”

Freide’s wistful voice did not rise or fall in the slightest as Freide continued the explanation.

As far as Rene knew, no one spoke so impassively when discussing a crisis directly tied to their own life.

One might say it was because Freide was an elf rather than a human, but Rene felt that Freide’s calm was fundamentally different from that.

“To speak a little of our internal affairs, those siblings ran away because of Mother’s coming disappearance. They are afraid of their lives ending.”

That was precisely it.

Freide spoke as though their own death meant nothing at all.

There was not the slightest fear of dying.

“So, before Mother’s life comes to an end, they wish to take Mother’s essence and extend their own lives. That is why we patrol as far as outside the Great Forest. To keep those siblings from approaching Mother.”

Naturally, a question arose in Rene’s mind.

Why did Freide speak of their own death so casually?

It was not only Freide’s own death. Freide spoke of the deaths of Aidrin, whom Freide called Mother, the other elves nearby, and even the siblings who had run away, yet Freide’s tone remained far too calm.

It was a calm better described as dryness.

Unsettled by this discordance that kept her from focusing on the story, Rene fidgeted with her fingers. Then, at the sound of someone calling her, she flinched.

“Saintess?”

“Ah, yes!”

“Do you roughly understand the situation?”

A lingering resonance. This time, there was a trace of mechanical amusement in it that she could clearly distinguish.

“Yes, so... Aidrin is in danger, and those siblings called the Noier are after Aidrin, right?”

“Mm, that is fortunate. It seems the meaning was properly conveyed.”

Rene gave an awkward smile at Freide’s words.

Freide smiled back upon seeing it, then continued, mentioning Mari.

“There is one way to end the current conflict: use Mari’s Authority to bring forth Mother’s seed. However, progress has been terribly slow.”

Rene continued her thoughts at those words.

She had heard about the Authority of Abundance from Trevo while she was being educated in the Holy Kingdom.

The maximization of life activity.

An Authority that temporarily maximized a living creature’s innate vitality, causing every metabolic function to exceed its limits.

Trevo had said that the Authority of Abundance could produce grain just three days after planting seeds.

Only then did Rene understand why Mari had been dispatched here.

She also understood why Freide said it was taking so long.

“It takes that much divine power for Aidrin to grow, doesn’t it?”

“Excellent. As the Saintess says, Mari’s divine power alone is not enough to complete Mother’s growth.”

There was no disputing it this time. Even an Apostle’s divine power was not enough.

She was trying to resonate with the soul of Aidrin, who had existed since creation. Naturally, Mari’s divine power could not bear such a burden after fewer than fifty years of life.

“I know something of the Saintess’s Authority as well. What do you think? Can the Saintess complete Mother’s growth?”

As Rene listened to Freide, she stroked the root of Aidrin beneath her.

She gently poured divine power into the root, assessing whether she could make Aidrin grow with her Authority.

“...It would be difficult.”

The answer was no.

Rene had devoted herself to learning the limits of what she could do throughout her time in the Holy Kingdom, so she knew.

With the divine power she possessed, she could not manifest an Authority of that scale. If she attempted it, her soul would immediately dissolve.

“It is impossible for me... to guide Aidrin’s growth to completion.”

In the pursuit when they had first headed for the Holy Kingdom, the result of Rene risking her life to use her Authority had been awakening Terdan.

Rene had collapsed unconscious merely from awakening a sleeping Terdan. She could not use an Authority powerful enough to directly affect the body of an ancient race.

As she recalled that, frustration suddenly surged inside Rene.

Though everyone praised her, she felt so pathetic for being helpless when faced with the world beyond the Holy Kingdom.

“Mm, that is unfortunate.”

Rene flinched at the mechanical emotion she sensed in Freide’s voice, then lowered her head deeply.

“...I’m sorry.”

“It is all right. There is nothing to be done. Since things have turned out this way, enjoy a little rest before you leave. Hmm! The last tourists to visit the Great Forest. Saintess, you will have quite a splendid title.”

Words delivered in an unconcerned manner.

Self-reproach over her own helplessness mixed with the dissonance caused by Freide’s dry words, leaving Rene’s mind in turmoil.

* * *

After the conversation ended, Vera walked through the Great Forest at Rene’s request to take a walk, reviewing their discussion.

There were too many questions that came to mind.

Freide was certainly still alive even ten years later.

Freide had not merely survived. Freide had remained hale enough to be considered one of the heroes who defeated the Demon King, and had pursued Vera to the very end before cornering him.

Yet, based only on what he had heard, Freide was clearly going to die soon.

Vera’s gaze turned to Rene.

The most plausible variable that could allow Freide to survive until then was Rene’s Authority, but Rene had just firmly said that she could not save Aidrin.

Vera’s brow furrowed.

What happened?

The original history could not have changed.

Mari had begun treating Aidrin before he had even received his Holy Mark, and his opinion had not influenced Rene’s decision to come here. It was certainly not a butterfly effect caused by him.

Rene must have come to the Great Forest in his previous life as well. Something Rene had done must have allowed the elves to survive until then.

The result was clear, but the process was full of holes.

Vera continued thinking quietly, but when no answer came, he considered things from another angle.

...What if?

What if Aidrin had ultimately disappeared, and only the elves had survived?

It was a guess, but not one without grounds.

Whether Aidrin had lived or died had never been discussed in his previous life, so he could not be certain. And during the earlier conversation, there had been mention of a way for the elves to live even if Aidrin died.

Aidrin’s essence.

The source of life that the Noier sought.

If they had that, the elves could continue living even if Aidrin were dead.

The elves showed no sign of coveting Aidrin’s essence now, but who could know what would happen later?

Vera knew. No matter how rational someone was, when death was right before them, they would ultimately prioritize their own life.

No one could know whether the elves, upon realizing that death was truly imminent, would betray Aidrin.

If...

If that assumption were true, Rene could be in danger. Since he had intervened in this life, there would surely be variables as a result.

He hoped it was merely needless worry, but with nothing certain at present, it was best to consider as many possibilities as he could.

As Vera sorted through the assumptions that came to mind and examined them one by one...

“Vera.”

Rene spoke.

At Rene’s words, Vera cleared away every thought he had been considering and answered.

“Yes.”

“What do you think? About Aidrin and the elves’ situation now.”

“I believe it is right to call it an urgent situation. The future of an entire race is at stake.”

“Right? But why is that...”

It was nearly a murmur.

As Vera was about to ask a question, Rene let out a long sigh and shook her head.

“No, never mind. I’ll think about it later.”

Vera tilted his head slightly as she muttered to herself, apparently having reached an understanding on her own.

Having finished her thoughts, Rene raised her head toward Vera and spoke again.

“Shall we head back soon? I think we have walked for quite a while.”

“...Yes.”

There was worry on Rene’s face as she smiled faintly.

* * *

“Oh my! Where have you been? Come on, eat!”

It was Mari’s lively voice.

Vera flinched at the sight of Mari cooking over a campfire built in front of Aidrin’s roots.

“...Is it all right to light a fire there?”

It was a question he could not help asking. No, it would have been stranger not to ask while someone was building a fire in front of tree roots.

Mari blinked at Vera’s question, then laughed heartily and waved a hand.

“Hm? This little fire won’t catch anything. Come sit down!”

As they spoke, Rene, unable to see what was before her, looked increasingly puzzled. Vera thought, Mari has lived here for ten years, so it should be all right, and led Rene toward the campfire.

Mari held out bowls of soup to the two as they sat down and continued.

“You two should know how lucky you are. There is nothing better for the body than the medicinal herbs that grow in the Great Forest!”

Soup made from medicinal herbs.

Vera caught the sharp scent rising from the soup and realized it was the smell of herbs. He nodded faintly, then spotted Hella watching him from beyond the distant roots and spoke.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“I’m fine. I ate the leftover dried meat, so I’m full.”

She avoided his eyes as she answered.

Vera roughly nodded at her answer, then lifted his spoon and took a scoop of soup.

He had not eaten all day, so he thought it would be good to eat something.

That carelessness led to disaster.

“...Urk!”

The moment Vera tasted the soup, nausea surged from his stomach and his body heaved.

It tasted awful. Not merely bad, but gag-inducingly awful.

Vera realized, to his shock, that he had unconsciously swallowed the soup. His expression twisted at once.

It felt as though the soup scraped every inch of his esophagus as it went down.

What kind of food was this?

As that thought crossed his mind, Vera recalled Hella’s meaningful behavior earlier and turned toward where she had been.

But she was already gone.

She had run away.

It was obvious. Hella had known what it tasted like.

“It’s a little bitter, right? Still, eat it. Bitter things are good for you.”

Mari’s words rang in his ears. Vera wanted to throw the bowl away and leave immediately, but he could not bring himself to be so rude, so he only gritted his teeth.

“Hm? It’s delicious.”

Vera startled and turned his head at Rene’s words. Her cheeks were flushed, and the dark expression she had worn on the way here had completely vanished. She spoke in an excited tone.

“It’s really delicious! It’s a little bitter, but that makes it addictive.”

“Is that so? Our Saintess isn’t even a picky eater. What a good girl!”

“Hehe...”

It was a series of words he could not understand at all.

For the first time in the three years he had spent with Rene, Vera frowned as he looked at her.

Something came to mind.

The way she had happily eaten pigswill porridge given to her as alms in his previous life.

That image overlapped with her current appearance.

Surely...

Only after living through one life did Vera realize that Rene’s sense of taste was distorted.

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