Chapter: 414
Lina, having received memories from her fragment during vacation, leaned back in her chair with a goofy grin.
The memories within her fragment were filled to the brim with sheer happiness.
Lucy with a bright smile.
Lucy drenched in sweat after a grueling training session.
Lucy curled up, with a gloomy gaze.
Lucy revealing her disgusted emotions with her entire body.
Lucy wailing uncontrollably.
Lucy with a slightly puffy face from crying too much.
Lucy, who had become more beautiful after having her face adorned by the Apostle of the Arts Church.
Lucy, possessing a divine presence that made those who believed in the goddess send their prayers.
The images of Lucy were so beautiful they could steal the majesty from the forest’s owner, making Lina yearn to be by her side instead of being a mere fragment.
“Lucy is hugging me like a doll!”
Fidgeting around with endless embarrassment and the happiness she felt while browsing through memories, Lina slammed her face onto the desk.
Since the personality of the fragment was also Lina’s, she wasn’t entirely pleased about being caught by Lucy Allen.
She could tolerate doing strange things first, but it was hard to accept when the other person approached actively.
Because it was just too embarrassing.
How could she endure being petted by the most beautiful and cute pinnacle of beauty the forest’s owner had in her long life?!
Even in the moment she was reading the fragment’s memory, Lina’s cheeks were flushed red.
If just receiving the fragment’s memories was this overwhelming, what would happen if she actually hugged Lucy? Would she be so happy and embarrassed that she’d die?
“…I really want to go in person.”
As she slowly lifted her gaze to observe Lucy’s bunny girl painting hanging on the wall, Lina thought about wanting to escape this dull forest.
The title of the forest’s owner, in itself, proved the majesty of existence, but in reality, the forest owner did nothing worth mentioning in the forest.
Their duty was strictly to protect and maintain the forest.
The forest owner’s role, which wasn’t even allowed to interfere with the forest’s ecosystem, was simply to watch time pass by in a daze.
Lina had been the first to form a contract with the academy despite others’ objections, and that was the reason.
She felt like she’d die from boredom, so she made a trade with them and gained much enjoyment from it.
However, the greed of living beings, once realized, only grows, rather than diminishes.
Gradually, the forest owner, Lina, found herself wishing to be by Lucy’s side.
“Lina!”
Lina’s expression turned cold at the voice that resembled a wolf’s howl from outside the house.
Why is that bastard here? I was just getting in a good mood!
Even as Lina grumbled at her desk, she couldn’t ignore the voice coming from outside.
The being calling for her outside was one of the powerful beings among the nature spirits guarding the forest.
“Can’t you hear me?!”
“It’s okay to stop calling, Myrrh.”
Myrrh.
A wolf protecting the northern forest and the beast with the sharpest fangs in the world.
A spirited guardian of the forest, more enthusiastic than anyone else about his duty.
“Were you working on something? I informed you while entering the forest, but you didn’t seem to hear.”
“Sorry, I was focused on something.”
“Was I a bother?”
“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
As fellow forest owners, Myrrh, who seemed to recognize her as a fellow, smiled at Lina’s response.
“So, what brings you here, Myrrh?”
“Oh, there have been disturbing events occurring in various forests recently. I’m just checking things out.”
Myrrh’s expression, speaking of troubling matters, wasn’t bright.
Seeing his drooping wolf ears, Lina guessed something was wrong. After all, it was only in one situation that he would show sadness.
“Did someone die?”
“Yes. The guardians of the Mebida and Dermogul forests have departed to nature.”
Upon hearing the names of Mebida and Dermogul, Lina recalled the guardians of the forests in her memory.
Both were still young, having obtained their intelligence less than fifty years ago.
They targeted the weak.
“Whose doing is it?”
“The ominous energy of black magic mixed with the evil god’s energy. They must have teamed up.”
When Lina heard the terms black magic and evil god, the face of the girl she had been thinking about just before came to her mind.
However, the image that popped up in her head was not merely beautiful, but also solid and reliable.
Reflecting on that image, Lina felt a strange certainty that this disaster wouldn’t last long.
“You’re someone I know won’t easily crumble, but please be careful. The situation on the continent hasn’t been great lately.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
“It’s nothing. Just a bit of concern among comrades.”
Myrrh, appearing healthy and with work still to be done, was about to take his leave when he suddenly stopped.
“Lina, you’ve always liked beautiful things, right?”
“Yes, I have.”
“How about this? I received it from someone affiliated with the Arts Church on my way here.”
What Myrrh pulled out from his embrace was an unassuming pendant at first glance.
Though crafted well and possessing a certain dignity, it was just that.
It didn’t meet Lina’s rigorous standards at all.
“Open the pendant. They say it contains what they poured the most effort into.”
Lina, examining the pendant, opened it upon hearing Myrrh’s advice.
The moment she saw the drawing inside, Lina froze on the spot.
The painted image of the praying girl inside the pendant was undoubtedly that of Lucy Allen, the girl Lina treasured most.
Was her astonishment written all over her face? Myrrh lightly chuckled to himself, pleased he had brought it.
“I knew you’d like it. Even someone like me, who doesn’t know much about art, found it captivating, so you surely won’t dislike it.”
Before he finished his sentence, Lina, having hurried over to Myrrh, looked at him intensely.
“Is there more?”
“Huh? What?”
“Are there any more? Ones with Lucy drawn on them.”
“The character from the painting is said to be named Lucy.”
“Answer me, Myrrh. Are there more?”
“…Uhh, there are, but those are for others.”
“Give them all to me. Right now.”
Myrrh wanted to resist Lina’s demands, but defeating the owner of the forest staying in the forest was impossible.
The beast with the sharpest fangs in the world became just a fluff-ball of fur after being stripped of everything by the fox handling magic and left the woods.
*
As they say, ominous imaginations tend to be spot on. The story Luca had passed on to me turned out to be true.
The Arts Church had been making items related to me, spreading them across the continent just not long after I left.
It might sound like they were just carelessly selling items, but the madmen of the Arts Church were not the kind to violate their pride.
They had produced items that rivaled or exceeded the various trinkets they had previously created in just a few days, even calling them prototypes and looking for improvements.
For an Arts Church that was already famous for various art pieces, it was only natural that the continent’s fancy folk would pay attention to this.
Adding to the attention, another event had arisen concerning these items.
A rumor spread that wearing trinkets related to me would bring good luck.
The start of this rumor was from a merchant.
By chance, he had obtained and worn one of the trinkets, and he survived an accident during business.
The merchant felt as if the trinket he owned protected him and began recommending the Arts Church’s trinkets to those around him.
Similar fortunes began to happen to others as well.
From trivial matters like finding money on the street to making a big fortune. Everyone ended up grasping good luck.
Thanks to this, the Arts Church’s trinkets had reached a point where they were sold out, as I had learned from the back alleys.
“My teacher left a message saying to send him one too.”
“…They say the one who’ll soon become a grandma is being rather foolish.”
After making Jackal’s face awkward, I left the back alleys, hoping the trend of the Arts Church wouldn’t reach the academy.
However, my hopes were dashed. Not long after, among the new students entering the academy, many were found wearing the Arts Church’s trinkets.
“Lady! If you had this, you should’ve told me earlier! Finding out about it later made it a pain to get!”
When Joy showed the pendant she claimed was hard to get, I literally felt my sanity slipping away. I wanted to snatch it and throw it somewhere out of sight.
But when she pouted after I physically took it, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away and had to return it.
“How stingy. I also want a pendant.”
“I also agree with Lady Kent. Joy. I think it’s unfair. You could’ve gotten one for us, your friends.”
“I would have if I could! But the situation doesn’t allow it right now!”
Frey and Phoebe teamed up to tease Joy, and I, watching with resignation, was contemplating whether to contact the Perverted Apostle to ask for one when I shook my head.
Just having Joy is dizzying enough; if the other two had those too, I’d really feel mortified. I would accept them getting their own, but I couldn’t bear to hand them over.
[Lucy. Just slightly tilt your head to the right.]
‘Why? Is there something there?’
Hearing Grandpa’s words, I obediently tilted my head and spotted someone glancing my way from afar, which made me tilt my head in confusion.
Why is Visi just standing alone? What happened to Adri, who usually accompanies her?
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