Since starting my life in the cabin with Sienna, the thing I focused on the most was, surprisingly, eating.
“Eat up!”
My body had barely clung to life for three years.
First, I needed to eat as much as possible to regain weight and muscle.
That’s why I devoured every meal Sienna prepared for me.
“There’s more, so you can eat as much as you want!”
Fortunately, despite living in the forest for two years, this cabin was well-stocked, so there was never a shortage of food.
Apparently, Sienna regularly went hunting and sold the spoils in nearby villages.
Thanks to that, I was able to eat excessively until I regained some weight.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s delicious.”
Most importantly, the food tasted great.
“Hehe, that’s good to hear.”
When I first woke up, my emaciated body had worried her.
But now, as I sat there eating, Sienna ladling more stew into my bowl, she practically radiated a holy glow.
Was she actually a devil?
She could make me willingly offer up my soul.
[Did I go about this the wrong way?]
After stuffing myself with nearly five meals a day, I would then—
“Phew… I’ll try walking.”
“Yes, yes!”
—I practiced walking in the yard.
At first, I moved using Aura to support myself. But I had to get used to moving without it to regain my strength properly.
In my past life, I knew that patients who had been bedridden for long periods often found walking awkward.
But since I had continued fighting in the simulated space…
Tremble.
“Phew…”
“You can do it!”
Walking itself wasn’t unfamiliar to me. Once I regained the muscles in my lower body, I’d be able to return to daily life quickly.
Since my body had already built muscle before, I should be able to recover even faster.
“Shall we stop here for today?”
“Yes! I think I’ve recovered quite a bit now.”
After circling the yard a few more times—
Woof! Woof! Woof!
—I played with Whitey, who came bounding toward me.
It was hard to believe this was the same tiny puppy from before.
Had he grown so big? His entire body rubbed against me, radiating warmth that was oddly comforting.
“Whitey! Time to go hunting!”
As I petted Whitey, Sienna reappeared, ready to head into the forest.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yes, I’ll be back early.”
Hunting was essential to gather food and buy supplies in the village.
Sienna went hunting regularly for that reason.
“That bird…”
“Oh, a new friend I made.”
A hawk was perched on Sienna’s shoulder.
…Had she tamed another animal in the meantime?
Last time, I saw her raising a wild predator from the forest.
It seemed she trained carnivores while hunting herbivores.
Well, herbivores were easier to hunt.
And more importantly, their meat was delicious.
“Alright, I’ll be back! Whitey, hurry up!”
With that, Sienna disappeared into the forest with Whitey.
Thud.
Left alone, I sprawled out in the yard, basking in the sunlight.
“Ah…”
This was nice.
Eating my fill.
Doing simple rehabilitation exercises.
Playing with Whitey.
And even getting some sun.
It was the perfect life.
[You’re being carefree while the kingdom is collapsing.]
Of course, as that devil said, the Adel Kingdom was falling apart. The situation was far from good.
But for now, this moment was peaceful, so I intended to enjoy it.
I needed to recover anyway.
My body had to be back to normal before I could think about what to do next.
Honestly, staying in this forest forever didn’t seem like a bad idea.
After everything that had happened, I had no idea what to do next.
And this peaceful scenery was too nice to let go.
[I almost feel bad for showing you an illusion since you seem to be enjoying this so much.]
Wait, what?
[Do I have to spell it out for you, foolish beast?]
Hearing the devil’s voice, laced with amusement, I shot up from my spot.
…An illusion?
You’ve got to be kidding.
[Yes, I’m joking. Now lie back down.]
“You son of a—”
That scared the hell out of me.
With my heart pounding, I slowly laid back down.
[You acted like you’d never leave the mental world, yet you break so easily.]
…There’s a limit to training, you know.
From Viscount Bellermark’s territory to that place…
I had endured one grueling event after another.
So now, it was time for a well-earned, sweet rest.
So, as I lay there comfortably, gazing up at the sky, I decided to test my power while I was at it.
The moment I raised my hand, a dark crimson energy surged forth.
Ziiing…
Beyond the glove on my hand, I could see the dark crimson aura swirling.
How much can I do with this right now?
Of course, I couldn’t use it the way I did in that simulated space.
But still…
Shhhk—
I could immediately form a dagger-sized spike.
Enough to catch an opponent off guard in an emergency.
[You refuse to become an Apostle, yet you use that power so freely.]
“If I have it, I might as well use it.”
I spent three years in that place training hard to master it.
It would be a waste not to.
Of course, I couldn’t use it openly in public.
But if my life was on the line, I wouldn’t hesitate.
[Then at least offer a sacrifice if you’re going to use it.]
“You gave it to me freely, so I’ll use it as I please.”
Sacrifice?
How many times do I have to say I won’t become an Apostle?
[You fool. Do you think only Apostles offer sacrifices? I’m saying I can let you use even more power.]
…Even without becoming an Apostle, I could gain more power?
It was a tempting offer, of course.
“But no sacrifices.”
If I started offering sacrifices, how would that be any different from being an Apostle?
No matter how slyly it tried to coax me, I wasn’t falling for it.
[There will come a time when you need my power.]
“Then I’ll become an Apostle at that point.”
[…Shameless brat.]
Anyway.
As I lay there chatting idly with the devil, I started feeling drowsy.
“Rain! Wake up!”
When I opened my eyes, I saw the red evening sky and Sienna looking down at me.
“It’s time for dinner.”
From the cabin, I could already smell something delicious.
It seemed she had finished cooking and then woken me up.
“How was the hunt?”
“I caught a rabbit today, so we’re having rabbit stew for dinner.”
“That sounds great.”
With that, I followed Sienna into the cabin.
“This is delicious.”
“Right?”
As expected, dinner that night was just as good.
**
I continued living in the cabin in the same routine.
Eat, sleep, rehabilitate, nap, eat again.
As I gradually regained weight and muscle, I started helping around the house.
“Oh, I can do that.”
“I can at least handle the laundry and dishes.”
Sienna was much better at hunting, especially since she trained animals.
So, I took it upon myself to handle the chores in the cabin.
Not that it was particularly difficult—just washing dishes by the stream or doing some light laundry.
“Whoa, this is huge…”
“I-I’ll take care of my undergarments separately!”
“Oh, uh, yeah… okay.”
Of course, living together led to a few minor awkward moments.
But overall, life in the cabin remained peaceful and uneventful.
Days passed quickly without anything particularly special happening.
After several dozen days, I had recovered enough to resemble a full-grown man again.
Then, one day—
“I’m heading to the village today. Do you want to come with me?”
Sienna made an unexpected offer.
“The village?”
“Yes! Today’s market day.”
She had a basket strapped to her back.
Now that I thought about it, I had seen her neatly stacking leather into the basket yesterday.
“Should I…?”
A village, huh…
Going once wouldn’t be a bad idea.
I could already navigate the forest alone, so learning the way to the village wouldn’t hurt.
From what I’d heard, it was a fairly large village with frequent merchant visits.
It sounded like a good chance to get some fresh air.
More importantly, I should go with her to help carry things.
“Alright, let’s go!”
And so—
For the first time since waking up, I left the forest and headed toward the village.
“What’s the village like?”
Walking side by side through the woods, I asked Sienna about it.
“Hmm… everyone is really kind.”
“Really?”
“Yep! Even though I’m an outsider, they don’t treat me with suspicion at all.”
Sienna pulled her hood down tightly as she spoke.
Since her striking hair—mixed with green and black—stood out, she always wore a hood when visiting the village.
Even then, her dazzling appearance wasn’t entirely concealed.
…That was probably why everyone in the village was so friendly to her.
Not to mention, every time she visited, she brought back a haul of game from her hunts.
No one would dare think of messing with her.
“That bread we had last time—the village lady gave it to me, saying it turned out really well….”
Anyway.
As we continued walking through the forest, chatting about the village and its people—
“Huh?”
In the distance—
More precisely, from the direction of the village—
“Smoke…?”
“Something’s happening.”
I could see smoke rising.
A thin plume of smoke curled up into the sky.
I had heard that this was a peaceful village.
Was there a fire?
“L-Let’s hurry.”
“Yeah, we need to check it out.”
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but if something had happened to the village, we needed to find out.
As we quickened our pace toward the village—
— Aaaahhh!
— Aghhh!
We heard high-pitched screams from that direction.
– Kill all the men!!
And amidst the terrified cries, a rough, guttural voice.
…I had a good idea of what was happening now.
“Let’s run.”
“Ah—okay!”
Breaking into a sprint, we finally emerged from the forest—and the first sight of the village was—
“Aaaahhh! Please!”
“Spare the children!”
Houses engulfed in flames.
“Come here!”
“Take everything!”
Brigands, slaughtering adult men indiscriminately and dragging away children.
“Hand me the axe.”
“…Here.”
The moment I saw the scene, I reached out, and Sienna passed me a throwing axe.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I hadn’t expected my first real battle after rehabilitation to come this soon.
(TLN: Hiatus by author until April 20th.)
