The Devil Who Grants Wishes

120 – to the sky (2)

A short time later, Arn approaches Irene, who shakes her head and turns her back on the ignorance of her descendants.

Irene noticed from afar that Arn was approaching, but she did not pretend to know.

“Uh, over there… Sir Irene…”

“…Aren’t you going back to the great grove?”

However, no matter how much you pretend not to know, you cannot help but answer the question.

Aren looks at Irene anxiously as she speaks, and Irene speaks very kindly to the young elf, unlike the elders she has just spoken to.

“That… It’s too late to go back now… Ah, ah, of course, that’s not the main reason. I think Irene-sama is right.”

“is it.”

“…”

Conversation cuts off abruptly.

This is because, in general, a conversation is cut off if the other party does not show any reaction, no matter how good the conversation is on one side or how strong the will to continue the conversation is.

Arenne, who has always been treated kindly, is at a loss for what to do with Irene’s cold reaction, and Irene doesn’t say much even though she feels Arenne behind her back.

Right now, Irene isn’t in a good mood enough to have someone take care of her.

Irene is refraining from talking as much as possible, as she feels more keenly than anyone else that bad things will happen if she goes against her emotions and expresses them forcibly.

“Irene-sama… Why don’t you go back to the Great Forest?”

However, Arn continues the conversation while deliberately ignoring Irene’s feelings.

Of course, I didn’t do this to be ignorant or to make fun of Irene on purpose.

It was just because Arn instinctively felt that something unusual would happen if Irene was left alone.

Although it is not known for sure whether that extraordinary event was an extreme act of taking one’s own life, or exterminating the elves who betrayed the gods.

“…”

“Ah, ah… I’m just curious about this. What I’ve realized through conversations with Irene-sama so far is that Irene-sama was definitely born in the Great Forest. But even the oldest elder in the Great Forest knows Irene-sama. You didn’t know. I’m curious about that.”

Arn, who saw his wide eyes with dark circles pointing at him, took a deep breath and was surprised, but soon calmly collected his mind and continued talking.

I was a little nervous and surprised, so I don’t feel like I just said anything, but this is really close to expressing Aren’s curiosity as it is.

No one in the Great Forest knew Irene, since the Irene whom Arn had watched as they walked together so far was obviously born in the Great Forest.

“…”

“…?”

“… haaa.”

In the end, it was Irene who raised the white flag first.

I was a little nervous and scared, but the emotions in Aren’s eyes were so innocent.

It’s not mature enough to just recklessly express one’s feelings to such an innocent and young elf, so Irene finally opens her mouth.

“…He was born in the Great Forest. It’s a story from a very long time ago.”

Arwen nodded, vaguely guessing that a long time ago must have been many times older than he thought.

Anyway, my body is exhaling a lot of the musty smell of rotten wood. If this is not proof, then what is it?

Probably at least 5,000 in 1,000 years-

“…”

“Ah, keuheum. That, so?”

Irene, who instantly saw what Arenne was thinking, glared at Arenne with a disapproving expression with her eyes half-closed. Begging for more stories.

“It’s just, the reason I’m not going back is simple. I was punished by Gaia-sama that I can never go back to the Great Forest.”

“Directly to Gaia-sama…”

“Isn’t it funny? To the extent that even though the devil is roaming around like this, Gaia-sama doesn’t intervene and is punished for intervening.”

After hearing the elves’ remorse that Serapia intervened in the world and Gaia did not intervene, Irene mentioned it here as if it was a shock.

Arn shuts his mouth, realizing that Irene’s answer is not asking for consent, but just talking to herself.

“…Anyway, I don’t think the punishment will work anymore. Such an empty ending… hahahaha.”

“Yeah…? Suddenly, what the hell—what?!”

Arwen is embarrassed by Irene, who suddenly says strange things, and asks why, and instead of ringing her vocal chords, Irene replies by raising her hand and pointing at the sky with her finger.

“What is that…”

Arn, who followed Irene’s fingers, was astonished.

The sky is white.

Clearly, despite the cloudless weather, and despite the fact that there should be a blue sky, the pure white sky, as if soaked in bleach, is rushing toward us from the edge of the horizon.

It was clearly pointing at us, no, at the Great Forest behind us.

“That… what the hell is it?”

“Seraphia, Gaia is coming to finish off the elves of the Great Grove, whose faith has faded. Serafia hates other gods.”

“To finish it, I can’t believe it…”

“Yes, Serapia takes the position Gaia-sama had among the elves. The elves will continue to serve Serapia.”

“What will happen if you serve Serafia?”

“It’s just Serapia’s energy battery. With your brain pickled with divine power and losing your free will. The Great Forest and the World Tree will not be a nest to hold life, but a gigantic temple that serves Serapia.”

“…”

Realizing that this is not normal, Arn keeps his mouth shut. If you leave it alone, your hometown will be dominated by pagan fanaticism, and no one in the world wants that.

But even so, since a lowly mortal could not properly defend against such an attack by Cerapia, Aren would have to watch his hometown pass away feeling helpless.

“Ah, Irene-sama… Is there any way to get rid of those lights…?”

“How? What way? This is what they chose. Serafia didn’t brainwash anything, they made the choice to abandon Gaia and serve Seraphia? Whatever it is, since it’s not brainwashed, I can’t do anything about it.”

“I can’t…”

“But, there is still a way.”

We have to go to Faust.

Hearing Irene’s last words, Arn just held his breath and looked into Irene’s eyes instead of answering.

Even though he poured out all kinds of mean words toward the elves of the Great Forest on the outside, seeing Irene thinking of the best way to save the Great Forest on the inside, Aren expresses his gratitude to Irene inside.

**********

“Hmm…”

“Faust, are you having any problems?”

On a late night with a huge full moon in the sky, I am on the roof of the building where the children are sleeping, looking at me with all sorts of worries, Aigo says.

“If it goes as planned, shouldn’t we finally go to defeat Seraphia tomorrow?

He confesses his worries to Aigo.

It’s because I can’t hide my worries even from Aigo, who has been helping us by Lucia’s side until now. Above all, Aigo has a high level of insight in his own way.

“You think that Miss Lucia and her companions won’t help.”

“Yes, rather, as much as I have to devote my mind to protect it, I will be at a disadvantage when fighting Seraphia. But if I leave it on the ground, no matter how well I train, I’m afraid that Serapia will take advantage of the gap where my protection is gone.”

“Wait until everyone grows up… it’s impossible. Serapia won’t wait for that. It’s terrible to think that all parts of the world are in crisis like Aileuze.”

Aigo shook his head in amazement at the possibility that people who would become the precious food of the demons could be slaughtered indiscriminately.

As Aigo said, if the holy power bombs fall simultaneously like Aileuze all over the world, then even if you defeat Serapia, you won’t be able to achieve your goal.

The purpose was to let Lucia live comfortably without any worries.

If the world is half ruined, Lucia will never be able to enjoy such a life, so such a future must be prevented.

What should I do-

“Then… How about increasing the number of people when going to Cael?”

“personnel?”

“Yes, the people who can protect the party, the people who will die in place of the party.”

“…”

At that moment, Aigo comes up with a solution that can solve my troubles surprisingly easily.

To save those who would die for those dear to them, a plan that could be considered extremely devilish, a plan that I had never been able to think of, or didn’t want to think of, at all costs until now.