The dense forest flickered with black flames.

They blazed even more fiercely in the pouring rain.

“How much should I show you to earn your trust?”

Johan flicked his finger lightly. The black flames in the forest exploded, and the krollins were swept away.

Kwaang—Bang!

At every spot where the black flames bounced, a massive explosion was heard.

It was a monster that the Imperial Knights were dispatched to capture.

‘That krollin…’

Johan was slaughtering them.

I unknowingly furrowed my brow at the sound, sensitive to it, and Johan covered my ears.

“It will be over soon.”

The krollin engulfed in black flames rolled on the ground in agonizing screams, but the black flames did not go out.

“Kwaaak—!”

Until it became a handful of ashes.

Although the scene was chilling to behold, strangely, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I asked Johan, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

“Is this… all right?”

“What scares you?”

Johan asked, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m getting rid of everything that could harm you.”

My gaze was caught by Johan’s wildly swirling energy. His dark magic, unrestrained and unleashed, ran rampant without pause.

“It seems like you’re pushing yourself.”

It was the krollin that we had just captured with difficulty. Moreover, this is a monster forest, and exerting this much power wouldn’t be easy.

“Plus, you haven’t recovered for long…”

And back then, there was even protective magic.

Without protective magic now, I could hardly imagine how much pain Johan must be in.

Johan chuckled and draped his coat over my shoulder.

“I’m more worried about you. It’s ragged, but it’s better than not wearing it at all.”

One sleeve was missing, and Johan’s coat was covered in monster blood, but I could still feel his warmth, and it was comforting.

“We can go back now.”

Johan picked me up in that state, and I snuggled quietly in his arms.

The black flames blazing in the pouring rain, the devastated forest, the cracked ground, the screams of the burning monsters.

‘It feels like the world is about to end.’

Only Johan and I were unscathed.

Johan moved in a different direction, unconcerned about such chaos.

How long did we walk? Far away, a group of knights on horseback was approaching.

They all bore the flag of the Blanchett Duchy.

(This is a time divider.)

The krollin monsters were not all there was.

Suddenly, incidents related to monsters were erupting all over the Duchy of Blanchett.

Fortunately, the Duchy of Blanchett itself was safe. It had been prepared because it was a family that had experienced many things.

Of course, it was also because Johan had dealt with the krollin monsters all at once.

‘Why does it seem like the krollin’s target is me?’

I couldn’t explain it, but strangely, I thought so.

‘Perhaps because I’m a fairy?’

[Dash]Are fairies related to monsters?

[Dash]I don’t know. If fairies are of divine lineage, monsters are beings of chaos opposing the divine. Maybe that’s why.

[Dash]But nothing has happened so far.

[Dash]Yes. We find that strange too. Even if it’s a monster forest, it shouldn’t happen…

The trees seemed to know little about this situation.

[Dash]The monster forest trees are trees that we can’t communicate with. They’ve lost the blessing of summer because they’re too stained with polluted land.

[Dash]Blessing of summer?

[Dash]Yes. The prayer we made to heal you. We shared our summer blessing with you.

The blessing of summer.

A primal blessing that the gods gave to the trees.

[Dash]But was it okay to give me such a precious blessing?

[Dash]You worry too much about everything. Sharing it wasn’t a big deal at all!

[Dash]Yes. Besides, the blessing of summer was originally a gift that fairies gave to the trees. We’re actually very happy to use it for you.

Although trees and fairies seemed to be close beings, it was hard to hear information about fairies from the trees.

[Dash]If you were so close, why doesn’t anyone know the details?

[Dash]I don’t know. We don’t know either. Maybe because we are trees, we forgot…
[Dash] We knew we had been waiting for someone, but we didn’t know who it was until the moment we met you. And we realized it the moment we saw you.

[Dash] We’ve been waiting for you all this time.

‘Something seems to be a secret.’

I was lost in thought for a moment when Johann hurried me.

“Estelle, ah.”

“Alright. Here.”

I fed the ailing Johann soup again. Johann, bandaged and bare, obediently accepted my touch.

‘It feels like taming a wild beast.’

The circumstances under which I ended up caring for Johann were as follows.

When we arrived, the duke’s mansion was turned upside down.

‘No. Master, what’s going on!’

‘Get the doctor right away! The Master[Dash]’

The only master of Blanchett, Johann’s condition was critical.

I could see serious internal injuries beyond the visible wounds. But Johann insisted.

‘Examine Estelle first.’

‘…Yes? But the Master’s wounds are more serious[Dash]’

‘Do you not hear my command?’

Thanks to Johann’s best efforts, I was unharmed.