Chapter 44

“Nun, Nun.”

“Yes?”

“What did you do today?”

“…I didn’t really do anything.”

“Did you rest well?”

“Um, I guess?”

Holding the hands of the children, we walked towards the forest. The atmosphere was quite different from the morning as Ellie bounced alongside me and asked.

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Just because. I hope you rested well while we weren’t around.”

Her slightly ambiguous response seemed to hide something while also revealing a strange sense of anticipation.

“Is that so?”

I chuckled softly, contemplating Ellie’s words. I tried to respond as calmly as usual without showing too much, but the moment I saw Ellie’s sparkling eyes, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Nun! You must keep your eyes closed from here on!”

“Yes?”

“You have to keep them closed until I say you can open them!”

“Why?”

“Because there’s a terrifying monster right up ahead, and if you don’t keep your eyes closed, you’ll turn to stone!”

I tilted my head slightly, maintaining a light smile at Ellie’s rather playful words.

“But how do we move forward if we all keep our eyes closed?”

“We’re fine. That monster only turns adults to stone.”

At this point, I couldn’t pretend not to notice that the children were up to something. Their claim that they couldn’t build a base camp seemed to be a lie, and their real plan was probably to take me somewhere specific.

“Oh, I see… That could have been a big problem.”

As I reached a conclusion that was almost certain, I began to slowly purse my lips to hide my expression. I never imagined they would come up with such an adorable plan without me knowing… That’s why they went camping without me…

“You can’t even peek! Got it?”

“Yes─. I won’t open my eyes even if the sky falls─.”

I figured the one who came up with this plan was Aizen. It must have been something he thought of on the spot that morning.

Because he was the one who first said he wanted to go camping, and the reactions of the children afterwards seemed much more natural than they were now. Until that point, none of the kids would have known what Aizen was actually planning.

“Hehe….”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

For a plan devised on the spot, it was quite intricate and elaborate, but the children were still too young to completely deceive an adult. Especially when it came to someone like me, who was particularly perceptive.

But since this was the first surprise gift prepared for me by the children, I decided to hide my expression as much as possible and follow them silently. The more I pretended to be fooled in situations like this, the more satisfying it would be for those who prepared it and for me, who was being surprised.

“Nun, we’ve arrived─.”

“You can open your eyes now.”

Lost in my own thoughts as we walked, I had unknowingly reached our destination. The hands of Ellie and Rune that I had been holding naturally separated, and the whispering voices of the children became louder around us.

“Can I open my eyes─?”

“Yes.”

The two lips, still tightly shut. My heartbeat quickened. With great anticipation, I carefully lifted my eyelids that had been closed.

In that moment, an absolutely unexpected scene unfolded before my eyes like a miracle.

“Gasp!”

All sorts of tools were scattered haphazardly around where I was standing. Completely shattered firewood and a grotesquely torn tent.

And the only tree trunks left were stumps with broken equipment strewn about. A desolate place enveloped in a cold atmosphere with no flames in sight revealed itself.

My body stiffened momentarily at the sight of the chaotic landscape.

“…?”

I clasped my hands at my mouth, preparing a surprised expression. But as the totally different, disastrous scenery unfolded before my eyes, I found myself blinking in confusion, unable to do anything else.

“I’m sorry, Levi… I tried to make it somehow, but maybe it’s because it was my first time and it didn’t go well….”

“The campfire isn’t even coming together… How do you make firewood…?”

An immense disappointment surged from deep within my heart. For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

“What’s wrong, Levi…? Were you disappointed because we messed up too much…?”

“…….”

Aizen’s cautious question made me quietly lower the hands I had raised to my mouth.

“No… I kind of expected this…”

“I’m sorry, for real….”

What had I expected, exactly? The children really did need my help when they called for me.

When I didn’t know anything, I thought it was just fortunate that I could go camping with them… But now that this unexpected situation was right in front of me, I couldn’t hide my rapidly rising disappointment.

“W-Well, let’s start by making a campfire….”

However, I couldn’t just express my disappointment to the children. Because this was my misunderstanding.

I had gotten my hopes up and ended up disappointed all by myself; how could I blame it on the kids?

“I’ll help you, so let’s try making it again….”

“Thank you….”

The children stood helplessly amidst the destruction. Perhaps the one feeling the most down right now wasn’t me, but Aizen instead.

“We decided to change our location since this place is too messed up….”

“Don’t be too gloomy about it. Mistakes happen….”

“But Levi’s expression looks so disappointed….”

“I’m just a bit tired today. Don’t worry about it….”

The atmosphere grew awkward in an instant. At times like this, it was my job as their guardian to console the kids. But I didn’t know why I felt so low.

For some reason, my eyes felt a little moist…

“This is the new place we decided on….”

“Okay. I’ll help you and then go back to the church, so don’t be too gloomy and enjoy your first camping trip.”

With that one statement, I took a deep breath and started picking up the scattered firewood that lay messily on the ground.

Most of it was too badly damaged to be reusable, but some of it seemed usable enough.

“No, you don’t have to go back to the church.”

At that moment, Aizen’s sudden, soft remark reached my ears.

I perked my ears up and gently raised my head towards him while I was picking up the firewood.

“Yes?”

“Are you disappointed too, Levi?”

Aizen’s words, which I couldn’t understand at all, made my expression even more puzzled.

Moreover, just moments ago, I was clearly slumped with a gloomy expression, but now I was sitting up straight, and my expression had even turned playful.

“Actually, we already made everything.”

“…Huh?”

“At this point, you should notice. Look, the lights are clearly visible over there.”

As I carefully turned my head in the direction Aizen pointed, several lights that I hadn’t noticed before began to faintly emerge beyond the dark underbrush.

As I approached the lights, the scene that unfolded was completely opposite to the messy place I had first encountered; it was surprisingly well-prepared.

“W-What is this….”

This time, I was at a loss for words for a different reason.

It felt less like a campsite and more like a cozy resting space for enjoying a forest bath.

In the center of the ground was a campfire, and on either side were long logs placed carelessly.

Food was beautifully arranged on the tent that was spread wide like a blanket on the ground, and small lamps surrounded it, wafting a gentle fragrance that made the atmosphere even cozier.

Though there were some rough and clumsy parts, it was hard to believe it was a space made by the kids.

“This is the workspace we created to make the place you first saw!”

“…….”

“I made the campfire and set up the logs. Ellie cooked the preserved foods we brought again.”

“…….”

“Iris lit the fire at the campfire, and Rune used herbs to make it fragrant!”

“…….”

“This is our little space we made for you, Levi, because you always work hard for us!!”

In the end, what I had initially predicted turned out to be absolutely spot on.

Now I was left speechless in admiration, wanting to say something to the children, yet for some reason, no words came out.

Maybe it was due to the twist of fate or the pure hearts of the children being conveyed to me…

I could only stare at this astonishing scene, gaping in awe.

“We really worked hard on this! Our hands are all black!”

“This is the first time Aizen has made a good plan.”

“At first, we were a bit confused, but now that it’s completed, I feel proud….”

Seeing how much the kids had put into preparing this space for me, I had no idea what to say.

A mix of emotions, gratitude and joy surged within me.

“I-I’m really touched… I didn’t know this would happen….”

“We figured you would roughly catch on when you got here, Levi. So we couldn’t help it.”

With all of them looking a bit dirty and grinning widely, they all genuinely felt proud of the result they had created together for me.

“We have one more gift prepared for you, Nun.”

Just as I was trying hard to suppress the overflowing emotions that were threatening to spill over, Iris, who had been smiling confidently among the cheerful children, suddenly raised her hand and softly spoke.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

With that, Iris dashed into the underbrush.

Watching her go, I tilted my head slightly as I stared in that direction, but the kids, already aware of what it was, continued their lively chatter and began clapping their hands one by one.

“…?”

After about a minute, a silhouette slowly emerged from the bushes where Iris had gone.

All the children clapped their hands faster in anticipation of Iris, but the identity of that silhouette surprised everyone in a completely unexpected way.

“Tada! The other gift Iris prepared for you, Nun, is me─.”

A strange man appeared, carrying a flailing Iris like a sack on his shoulder.

At first glance, he looked quite suspicious, and the fact that he was squinting made me frown even more.

“This isn’t what I prepared─!!”

To make matters worse, the man had pointed horns blatantly sticking out of the sides of his head.

He was clearly a member of the Demon Tribe.

---