Chapter 63: Those Who Can Never Be Forgiven (14)

After dismantling the tent and sorting through essential and non-essential items, we finished our preparations and began walking down the snow-covered path.

Though calling it a “path” was a bit of a stretch.

Ahead loomed the towering World Tree, a sight impossible to miss.

As time passed, the wind began to pick up again, and I could hear the sound of snow accumulating.

The cold wasn’t severe enough to call it a blizzard, but the chill that touched my face was sharp enough to notice.

Thankfully, nothing unusual had happened yet, but I knew that staying alert was crucial. In the White Mirage Forest, you could end up anywhere without warning.

It was hard to believe the forest’s barrier merely disoriented one’s sense of direction.

In the game, entering the forest without the Blessing of the Guide or help from the Elves meant your map wouldn’t even activate.

The region was vast, and not having a map was a significant penalty.

Moreover, certain sections would randomly shift your position, leading to countless moments of frustration that made me want to throw my mouse.

Honestly, apart from the “romance scenes,” the game was kind of garbage.

…Well, I guess for those scenes alone, it could be considered a “masterpiece.”

At least today’s weather wasn’t as unnaturally calm as it was yesterday.

Absolute silence can be more unnerving than chaos, especially in the White Mirage Forest.

Yesterday’s tranquility was likely a rare occurrence in this place.

“Serah, how long are you planning to wear that headband?”

“Oh, this? It’s surprisingly warm.”

The temperature was dropping, but I was fortunate to have a few pieces of cold-weather gear I’d brought from the capital.

The headband with dog ears—while it didn’t seem particularly warm at first—proved effective in harsher conditions.

It was funny how gear’s usefulness became more evident in extreme situations.

With its soft, twitching ears, it was honestly a fantastic piece of equipment.

I even considered thanking the store clerk who recommended it if I ever made it back to the capital.

However, Natalia seemed unable to adjust to my appearance and cautiously spoke up.

“Heh, it really looks like dog ears. It’s enchanted to block wind, right?”

“…It looks perverted, though.”

I froze at the unexpected comment. What? Perverted? From the mouth of Natalia—the walking definition of inappropriate? My mind reeled.

It wasn’t like I wore it for any other reason than utility.

The headband did a great job blocking the cold wind. And yet…!

“…Stupid mutt,” came an unpleasant voice muttering from behind me.

Since the warrior and Natalia were walking ahead, the voice could only belong to Laura.

Between their snide remarks, I couldn’t help but lower my head in shame.

Perverted? A mutt? Really?

“I-I’m only wearing this for its functionality! Why are you all misunderstanding?!”

“Serah… Never mind…” Natalia let out a sigh, clearly unimpressed by my self-defense.

If even Natalia reacted this way, I didn’t want to imagine what Laura was thinking.

Glancing back, I saw her muttering to herself. Creepy. What’s wrong with her?

Then again, considering what happened to Laura’s homeland, it hadn’t been that long.

She must still be mentally shaken. I decided to be understanding and focused on walking again.

The warrior had offered to carry me if I got tired, but I was determined to endure as much as possible.

Everyone was struggling in their own way, and I couldn’t keep relying on them.

“Wait a minute… The World Tree looks fine, doesn’t it?”

“The World Tree? Why?”

“Oh, no reason… It’s just hard to explain right now.”

“Is it something we shouldn’t hear?”

“No, it’s not like that… It’s just a matter between the warrior and me. I’ll tell you when the time is right.”

“…Alright.”

That was reckless of me. Talking about the game here was a bad idea.

To Natalia and Laura, this world wasn’t some artificial game—it was real.

What would they think if they learned they were just characters in a story?

Even though I promised to explain later, this was a secret I might have to take to my grave.

But the sight of the intact World Tree felt off.

So far, it seemed like we hadn’t lost our way, but seeing the tree in its pristine state was… strange.

In the game, the warrior’s party only entered the White Mirage Forest after the Elves’ sanctuary was attacked by demons.

By then, the World Tree was already damaged.

Had we arrived too early? But considering the timeline, we should’ve been late instead.

The warrior, too, seemed to sense something odd as he stared silently at the World Tree.

“Kaellia…” he muttered.

If the World Tree was intact, that meant the demons hadn’t attacked yet.

What about Kaellia, the Elf heroine? In the game, she was a captured Elf who helped guide the party after her homeland was destroyed.

But now, everything seemed out of sync.

The divergence from the game’s story wasn’t new, but this was far more confusing.

So far, the key characters had all appeared as expected. If we couldn’t meet Kaellia, how were we supposed to progress?

I had felt a bit excited wearing the headband, but now the unease was creeping back in.

The realization that things weren’t aligning with the game’s events left me anxious.

Rustle—

Suddenly, snow fell from a distant tree. It could’ve been the weight of the snow causing it, but the snowfall wasn’t heavy enough for that.

Something—or someone—must have disturbed the branches.

The warrior’s party quickly turned their attention toward the sound.

“Is that… a human?”

“An Elf…?”

From behind the tree emerged a girl clad in thick fur clothing.

She was about my height, carrying a bow almost as big as her, and held a small animal in her hand.

Her golden hair peeked out from beneath her fur hat.

An Elf. Without a doubt, one of the beautiful, otherworldly beings who lived in this forest.

And what that meant was…

“Catch her!” I shouted.

“Huh? Wha—Oh, okay!”

The rest of the party stared blankly at the Elf girl, unsure of what to do.

I immediately issued the order to capture her. Everyone understood we couldn’t navigate the forest alone, so taking drastic measures seemed like the only option.

The Elf girl panicked, screamed, “Don’t eat me!” and turned to run.

“Kaellia…?” I muttered.

The distinctive, timid voice was familiar. It had to be her—the naive, clueless heroine who had once foolishly trusted a slaver.

She matched every description.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed through the air toward the warrior.

Without even seeing her draw her bow, she had launched a perfectly accurate shot mid-escape.

The warrior reacted instantly. With me behind him, dodging wasn’t an option.

He drew his sword in time to deflect the arrow. Despite the windy conditions, her arrows flew with precision, but neither the warrior nor Natalia faltered.

The Elf’s divine blessing of the Wind allowed her to shoot with remarkable accuracy, her arrows guided by the wind itself. Another arrow flew—silent this time—likely aimed from a hidden spot.

The warrior again deflected it with ease and turned to Laura.

Laura nodded and began channeling mana into her staff.

The key was to control the power. With a resounding boom, her spell detonated, shaking the snow-covered forest.

The Wind’s blessing could mask sound and scent, but the Elf couldn’t have gotten far.

Kaellia’s defiance meant little in the face of Laura’s magic.

Through the dissipating smoke, I saw Kaellia trembling, her hands barely holding onto her bow.

Her terrified eyes revealed she’d lost the will to resist. She had no arrows left. The battle was over.

“P-please don’t eat me… I’m not tasty…” she stammered.

“Sorry for scaring you. Are you alright?” the warrior asked, stepping toward her.

For goodness’ sake. This clueless Elf… Always spouting nonsense.

In the game, she was tricked by slavers into captivity.

She was as naïve as they came.

Some might call it charming innocence; I’d call it pure idiocy.

The warrior approached her, offering his hand with a gentle smile.

He’d even sheathed his sword. Seeing him act so kindly to someone who just tried to kill him made me uncomfortable.

“Warrior, it’s only natural for her to be scared of a man suddenly approaching her. I’ll handle this—please rest for now.”

“Oh, alright. Thanks, Serah.”

Good. I’d stopped the warrior from interacting with Kaellia directly.

If she fell under his Charm Eyes, who knew what might happen? Keeping them apart was definitely the right call.

No ulterior motives at all… really.

“Y-you’re a beastkin…?”

“Oh, no, this is just a headband. It’s warm and… um, never mind. Anyway, we mean you no harm.”

I suddenly realized I was still wearing the headband.

Though it had been great for blocking the cold, I quickly removed it.

Kaellia, however, looked at me in astonishment.

“Beastkin can… remove their ears?”

Oh, for crying out loud… How am I supposed to explain things to someone this dense?

No matter how many times I tried, Kaellia seemed lost in her own delusions. Either she lacked understanding, or her intelligence was just… lacking.

Probably the latter.

“Kaellia, you said you were going on patrol. What is the meaning of this?”

A calm voice interrupted. From the trees emerged a tall Elf man with flowing golden hair—Ariel, the captain of the western forest’s guard.

“Ariel! These humans are trying to eat me!!”

“Kaellia, I’ve told you many times—those are just fairy tales.”

Sighing at her ridiculous outburst, Ariel dismissed her concerns and turned to address us with a polite bow.

“Greetings. I am Ariel, captain of the western forest’s guard. How may I assist you?”

At least he seemed reasonable. I decided to ignore Kaellia and explained the situation to Ariel instead.