WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈

Chapter 74: Fear - 3

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Vera’s face filled with bewilderment.

Why did you do that?

Unable to find an answer to her reproach, Vera stood still for a moment. Then he thought that Rene must not yet know the full course of events and began to explain.

Todd, the King of the Third Kingdom, had used dangerous spellcraft to target Dovan. It was not just Dovan. Todd was also targeting the kings of the other four kingdoms, and Vera could not stand aside knowing that. If he had, the people in the village beneath the mountains would have been the first victims.

He explained each point, trying to persuade Rene.

“...That is why I thought going alone was for the sake of everyone else, so I...”

“That!”

Rene’s shout cut him off.

Vera’s eyes widened. Her words, her expression, the strength of the hand clutching his clothes. The emotion in them all was so plainly anger.

With tears streaming down her face, Rene drew ragged breaths and spoke again.

“What does that matter?”

Heat rose to her head.

Vera’s excuses were so absurd that they made her furious.

“You were hurt, Vera. You were in danger. You could have died...”

Squeeze.

Rene bit her lip. Sorrow had risen in her as she spoke.

“...You could have died.”

I could have been left all alone.

Seeing Rene pour out her emotions, Vera was at a loss. Flustered, he added quietly,

“...I am sorry. But as you can see, this Vera is standing here perfectly fine. There is no need for the Saintess to worry...”

“What about next time?”

“...Pardon?”

“If this happens again, can you guarantee that you will be fine then too?”

Vera’s body flinched.

Next time.

If an enemy like Garthea appeared again, could he return unharmed?

His battle with Garthea passed through Vera’s mind. Garthea had been an opponent he could not defeat. He was, after all, a legion commander of the Demon King. With his current strength, Vera could not have won by ordinary means, which was why he had drawn power by offering his soul as collateral.

Fortunately, he had returned safely and awakened. But if there were a next time, he could not promise that he would be all right again.

Even as Vera hesitated, Rene continued.

“No, you were not fine. You came back half dead. If Sir Norn had not been there, if he had not found you there, if he had been even a little later bringing you back, you would have died. And you want to say you came back fine? How can you even say that?”

Rene still remembered clearly.

She remembered Vera’s condition when Norn carried him back on his back three days ago, how utterly miserable he had looked.

“I...”

The memory fed the flames of her emotions. As though someone had thrown more firewood onto a roaring blaze, her emotions began to rage.

“Do you know how worried I was? You did not wake up for three days. No matter how much divine power I used, no matter how I treated your wounds and all your internal injuries, you would not wake up. I thought something terrible had happened to you. I thought you might never open your eyes again...”

Rene’s lips trembled.

Her emotions were too intense for her to continue, and her face was full of a tearful expression.

Only then did Vera realize how serious his condition had been.

He also realized that he had awakened thanks to Rene, who had cared for him for three straight days.

“I am sor...”

“No.”

Looking at Vera, who was about to apologize again, Rene cast aside the thought that she had wanted to hear those words before he woke.

“Do not do this again. Do not go anywhere alone. Do not go somewhere dangerous. If you must go, you have to take me with you.”

Rene never wanted to go through such a frightening experience again. She never wanted to tremble again with the fear of losing Vera.

Her head burning with emotion, Rene continued without knowing what she was saying.

“No, do not go anywhere at all. Just stay by my side. All day, today, tomorrow, and the day after that. Stay only with me. Answer when I call for you, take my hand when I reach out, just...!”

As her emotions grew stronger, her words became a shout.

Rene drew several sharp breaths, then steadied herself and finished.

“...Just stay beside me. Please...”

Thump.

Rene’s head fell against Vera’s chest. Her whole body trembled faintly.

Feeling his chest grow wet and her trembling against him, Vera could not say anything. His face went blank.

He needed to stop Rene from crying. He needed to calm her down. But Vera did not know how. He had killed people who were crying before, but he had never comforted one. He stood there for a long while, only twitching his fingertips.

The action he finally managed was to place a hand on Rene’s cheek. He brushed her damp cheek, wet with tears.

It was an awkward movement.

A rough movement, without a trace of tenderness.

“...I am sorry.”

Even the words that came out were the same as always.

“I was thoughtless.”

Words of comfort were far too difficult for Vera.

Wiping away someone’s tears was something he had never done before.

So, with a deeply furrowed brow, Vera repeatedly formed words only to swallow them. At times, he could only apologize.

“I will do as you say, Saintess.”

Vera reproached himself.

He reproached himself for being so focused on upholding principle that he had failed to care for the feelings of those he needed to protect.

Although Vera had considered that Rene might be in danger, he had never considered how much pain she would feel because he was hurt.

A heavy feeling rose within him.

Being worried over by someone else felt unbearably heavy. The thought that someone might grieve over his misfortune squeezed at his breath.

It was the weight of a life lived for others.

The weight of protecting those behind him.

It was also a weight Vera had never felt before.

At that moment, Vera realized that protecting someone was not simply about keeping their body whole. It meant caring for their heart as well.

* * *

Overheated after several days without proper sleep, Rene cried for a long time before falling asleep as though she had collapsed.

Rene woke again the next morning.

The first thing she did after waking was kick the blanket away.

Thump!

“Aaaah!”

Once she had properly rested, her cooled head recalled what had happened the day before.

Rene felt as though her whole body were twisting at the things she had said.

-Do not go anywhere.

Thump!

-Just stay by my side.

Thump!

-Stay only with me.

Thump!

None of those were things she could simply overlook.

Rene thought,

‘Th-this is totally...!’

A confession.

“Kyaaaah...”

She was embarrassed. Ashamed. She wanted to die.

Rene flopped onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow again and again, letting out shrill cries.

Why had she done that?

As that thought crossed her mind...

‘...No!’

Rene decided to think positively.

Maybe this was an opportunity. Yes, was this not the kind of event she had always wanted? Of course, she never wanted to see Vera go out alone and come back half dead again! She never wanted to go through something like that a second time! But since it had ended safely, could she not see it as an opportunity?

Because of this, maybe! Maybe, maybe, maybe! Vera might begin to see her differently!

Two people growing closer through a dramatic event. In the end, their feelings would finally reach each other!

...As Rene entertained those thoughts, she suddenly recalled what she had done the day before and flinched.

She had fallen against Vera’s chest, crawled across the floor, run straight toward him the moment she heard his voice, wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her head against him, and then...

‘V-Vera...’

He had stroked her cheek.

Flush!

Rene’s face turned red.

Her hand moved to her cheek on its own, brushing the spot Vera had touched.

Thump. Thump.

Her heart began to race.

As the corners of her mouth kept lifting and she smiled to herself, Rene remembered once again what she had said.

-Just stay beside me. Please...

She drove her head into the pillow once more.

Thud!

Her scream came out muffled by the pillow.

“Gyaaaah!”

Right beside the bed, Aisha, who had come to wake Rene, watched the sight with lips tightly sealed.

It was fortunate that Rene seemed to be feeling better.

* * *

Dovan’s forge.

Dovan sat before the anvil, looking at Vera.

Vera had already made a complete recovery and looked full of energy. A smile naturally came to Dovan’s face. The worries that had plagued Dovan for the past few days seemed to vanish in an instant.

Even so, Dovan felt that there was something Dovan had to say to Vera.

“I am sorry.”

Dovan could not shake the thought that Dovan’s words had encouraged Vera.

“I think I spoke without understanding and pushed you into this. I wish to apologize.”

Vera studied Dovan’s expression for a moment before shaking his head.

“There is nothing for you to apologize for. Rather, I wish to thank you.”

Vera lowered his head.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I have gained an understanding.”

It was not perfect. Foolish and lacking as he was, he had chosen to face Garthea alone in that moment. Because of that, people had worried for him.

Still, something had changed.

Vera had become someone who could consider what he himself could do.

He could understand a little more about what it meant to protect someone.

He had gained confidence that he could become a better person.

He would not repeat the same mistake. If something like this happened again, he would not think it over alone.

With his head lowered deeply as he repeated that resolve to himself, Vera offered an apology.

“...And I am sorry.”

“What for?”

“The sword...”

He meant the Demon Sword he had taken to fight Garthea. He was apologizing for shattering it.

“...It broke.”

At the sight of Vera coming all this way just to apologize, Dovan let out a hollow laugh, then shook his head.

“What does a mere lump of metal matter? Seeing you recover and rise again is enough to ease my mind.”

Seeing that Vera still had his head lowered, Dovan added,

“Raise your head. I wish to thank you as well.”

Dovan’s lips moved, and a smile appeared on Dovan’s face. It was a smile of relief.

When Vera raised his head and tilted it at that expression, Dovan let out a hearty laugh and continued.

“It was a sword I could never have completed. I know that better than anyone. I did not have the Intent I wanted to place within that sword, so I probably would have failed to complete it for the rest of my life.”

In the end, Dovan had only clung to that sword out of lingering attachment.

Only after learning that it had broken did Dovan realize it, through the relief that rose within.

“Thank you for freeing me from that attachment.”

Dovan felt grateful to Vera, who had cleared away that attachment and, moreover, allowed Dovan to discover the Intent Dovan truly wished to place in the sword.

“Sir, would you wait a few days?”

“...What do you mean?”

Dovan’s gaze turned toward the Proden resting on the anvil.

“I believe I can finish it.”

Dovan had discovered the Intent Dovan truly wished to place within it. Dovan felt able to fulfill a long-held wish.

Looking at the cold blade of Proden, Dovan smiled faintly.

“I will give you my finest sword.”

There was not the slightest hesitation in the firm certainty within those words.

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