Chapter Two Hundred and Seven: In the Underground Forest Too
“Sis, I had the Adventurers’ Guild restrain Mitra, so you don’t need to worry about that. So, how’d it go?”
Around the time Karen finished leaving the rest to Marian, Thor joined them. Marian apparently took on the matter of the audience and dealing with the aftermath of the rumors that had spread.
Karen had left Thor to handle Mitra, who was the greatest threat, and it seemed he had successfully subdued her. Since the opponent was an A-rank adventurer, there was nothing Karen could have done, so while she worried about Thor, she left it to him, and fortunately, it seemed he had been able to secure the Adventurers’ Guild’s cooperation.
“On my end, well, things settled down peacefully for now, but it went in a direction I didn’t really want, so I guess I’ll have to see how it plays out later.”
Karen spoke as if nothing had happened. Thor tilted his head slightly but seemed to accept it.
“…I figured you’d manage somehow, Sis, but I guess things don’t go that smoothly.”
“Not at all, Mister Thor. Lady Karen ascended the steps before the audience. Seeing her form, everyone gained conviction that her words were correct. To say that didn’t go well simply means her ideals are far too high.”
Harald said with flaring nostrils. Even Harald, who had ascended the steps before, apparently didn’t realize that Karen hadn’t been allowed to ascend them.
“Karen!”
Just as she was about to start walking, someone called out to her. When Karen turned around, Ahim was there.
“I want to talk to you. Do you have time?”
Ahim looked at Karen with glaring eyes as he spoke.
Perhaps Ahim had noticed that Karen had failed to ascend the steps. If so, she knew it would be better to talk immediately, if only to keep him quiet.
However, completely different words flew out of Karen’s mouth:
“I don’t have time right now, so could you come to the alchemy workshop another day?”
“…Another day, then. Fine.”
Though he seemed dissatisfied, Ahim backed down.
While feeling uneasy that postponing it might make negotiations to keep him quiet more difficult, Karen turned her back on Ahim.
“I wonder where Mr. Julius is.”
The words she casually uttered were more feeble than she’d expected, and Karen unconsciously covered her mouth.
To keep Julius away, she had given him a convenient excuse and asked him not to come here. And yet, right now, she wanted to see Julius more than anyone.
“If you’re looking for Julius, he’s over there.”
In the direction Thor pointed stood a tall man wearing a hooded cloak pulled low over his face.
Even before she could see his face, Karen’s eyes widened as she recognized it was Julius just from his stance.
“I told him to stay at the alchemy workshop!”
“But when you said that to him, he didn’t nod, did he, Sis?”
“Did he…?”
On second thought, while she remembered receiving a lovely smile, there might not have been an affirmative response.
If he had disguised himself inconspicuously to watch, just where had he been watching from?
Julius, noticing Karen’s gaze, lifted his cloak’s hood slightly.
Even from a distance, she could see his stern expression, practically glaring at Karen.
Karen approached Julius.
Drawing near, Karen asked in a casual tone:
“Why do you have that look on your face?”
“Your speech sounded as if you still had lingering feelings for Lyos—Karen?”
Seeing Karen suddenly burst into tears, Julius blinked rapidly as he wrapped Karen in his cloak.
“There are too many eyes and ears here. Let’s move.”
When Karen, who had started crying profusely, nodded inside Julius’s cloak, Julius began walking with Karen still hidden in his cloak.
“…I’m sorry, Mr. Julius.”
“Whatever your reason for apologizing, I’m sure I’ll forgive you. It’s what they call the weakness of being in love.”
Julius spoke in a terribly gentle voice.
It seemed Julius saw right through the fact that the reason Karen was crying and apologizing wasn’t about Lyos or anything like that.
The tears came when she felt relieved that the reason for Julius’s displeasure was Lyos. She was afraid of what Julius would think if he knew that Karen might have been disliked by the goddess. Julius might not want to be with Karen anymore if she had been disliked by the supreme being.
Julius had stopped a carriage without a crest nearby.
After boarding together with Karen and sitting in the seat next to her, Julius removed his hat and said:
“Our conversation here won’t leak outside. What happened?”
“…I couldn’t ascend the steps. I think it looked like I had ascended, but… at the end, the goddess took back what she had given me.”
“Indeed, I don’t see any signs of magical intoxication in you now.”
Recalling her past disgraceful bouts of magical intoxication, Karen almost gave a wry smile, but instead her eyes filled with tears.
“I might have been disliked by the goddess. I have an idea why. I asked too many questions. I talked back too. I might have asked things I shouldn’t have asked. And yet, I wanted to be with you, Mr. Julius, so I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. If you say you don’t want to have an ill-omened woman who might have been disliked by the goddess by your side, I—”
Julius’s finger pressed against Karen’s lips.
He peered at Karen, placed his hand on her cheek, and tilted her face up toward him.
With a faint smile, Julius narrowed his golden eyes.
“If it means being with you, I would go even to the Underground Forest.”
The Underground Forest was this world’s way of saying hell.
It was said to be a very, very dark place.
“Even if you say you want to go alone, I will never let you slip away, Karen.”
At Julius, who spoke with a somewhat dark smile, Karen’s tears retreated.
“I’ll do my best to make up for it—even if the goddess hates me—so that I can take you to the Goddess’s Garden, Mr. Julius!”
“That’s the Karen I know.”
The perfect smile that appeared on his refined features had an intimidating quality to it.
This person really might follow her to hell or anywhere else.
At the very least, even now, he was following her like this.
Somehow, Karen sighed in relief inwardly, glad that the whole issue about her speech had passed without further scrutiny.
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