Luke smiled with a satisfied expression as he looked at the artifact he had created—a key/sword/shadow.
He combined fragments from separate spaces into one.
This was equivalent in difficulty to gathering the shards that fell during the process of crafting a diamond and recreating a single diamond from them.
In simple terms, while it wasn’t that hard to come up with the idea, actually succeeding was exceedingly difficult.
However, Luke managed to accomplish it.
With just the formula he calculated using the computer borrowed from the lab, and a pinch of mana dust from the Academy.
Though it was only the size of a fingertip, this size was enough to open a space.
Once he confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the key, Luke soon rubbed that shard onto the Moonlight Stone to store it.
The fragment of space was a type of shadow shaped by using the Moonlight Stone.
Thus, it was possible to store the key he had created inside the Moonlight Stone.
However, some might wonder why Luke still had the Moonlight Stone necklace that he intended to return.
The reason was that Luke had intended to return it, but Shirud didn’t want to receive the gift back.
It’s said that receiving back something that was given as a gift doesn’t feel good, right?
Well, anyway, there was no reason to refuse Shirud’s request to take good care of it as a token of friendship, so he decided to gratefully accept the Moonlight Stone.
Instead, he resolved to prepare a better gift for that child’s birthday coming up.
However, more than that, Luke wanted to focus on opening the space right now.
‘If my belongings are still in the void, not only would that provide overwhelming resources, but I could also easily obtain materials and equipment to treat Yerna’s burns…’
In addition, this would finally be his first encounter with his traces after awakening in this era.
He couldn’t help but feel excited.
However, having a key didn’t mean he could just open any door.
Just like how one must prepare the meat before cutting it, to cut through space, one also needs space itself.
In the past, when Luke could directly specify the coordinates through the Circle, it wasn’t a problem to cut into space anywhere. But currently, that wasn’t the case.
To open a space, he had to find the exact corresponding coordinates himself.
Even if they were located underground, in the sky, or in the middle of the sea.
Fortunately, it was in the Luke Forest, not underground, in the sky, or in the sea.
Could it be that the forest’s name was derived from his name?
What a coincidental twist of fate.
—–
Deacon approached his colleague, who had a dark expression, and patted his shoulder.
“Sanson, how are you today?”
“…….”
“Come on, lighten up. How long are you going to be troubled by that incident? It wasn’t your fault.”
“…….”
“It’s been a month now. Are you still struggling to sort out your feelings?”
Despite repeated encouragement, Sanson remained silent.
Deacon sighed and looked up at the sky.
He wasn’t normally like this.
Certainly, the memories from that time must have been quite difficult.
If he had witnessed firsthand the scene of devastation in the Rienne Forest that resulted in a massive loss of life.
The events from that time were vividly etched in Sanson’s mind.
Every time he breathed, he saw the bloodied face of that child, with blood pouring from their small mouth, and their white shirt stained red, along with the faint heartbeat he sensed through his fingertips—everything was clear as day.
He had been a forest keeper for quite a long time, but seeing a child suffer such serious injuries and die was something he couldn’t forget.
Even the paramedic’s words echoing in his head.
They said that despite severe internal bleeding and with the heart having stopped, there was no hope for survival even if they reached the hospital…
After hearing those words, which came to him as a fleeting thought but echoed clearly in his ears, it had been a constant presence.
Sanson gritted his teeth.
He should have known about such a villain existing in the Rienne Forest.
If he had, that child wouldn’t have gotten hurt or died.
“Are you really okay going to support the Luke Forest in this state? There are many dangers there that aren’t in the Rienne Forest.”
At that remark, Sanson finally opened his mouth.
“Actually, that’s better. Being busy helps.”
Being idly free only lets him dwell on memories.
———–
Having arrived at the Luke Forest, Luke was warmly welcomed by the forest keepers.
Among them, Sorbi greeted Luke particularly enthusiastically.
“Luke! I heard you had a birthday last week!”
“Ah, right. I did.”
“Here, this is for you! A gift!”
However, Luke felt a bit worried about the gift Sorbi was handing him.
It seemed like she always wanted to put him in a difficult situation with her gifts.
When she once gave him a cell phone, it made him say embarrassing things (now saying ‘sister’ isn’t an issue, though), or she would give him clothes and have him wear a frilly dress and take photos…
Anyway, her gifts always had some quirky aspect to them.
Would this be any different?
‘This box is quite large.’
I hope it won’t have something pop out when I open it.
Or maybe it’s another bizarre scheme to play a trick on me.
Luke steeled himself to not be surprised by the contents of any gift and opened the box and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing its contents.
“Phew, it’s just a watering can and a trowel.”
“Oh? Your reaction seems a bit odd. Don’t you like it?”
He was just surprised by how normal the gift was; he didn’t dislike it.
His old watering can was quite worn out after long use, and it had areas that didn’t distribute water evenly.
The trowel was also designed for an adult forest keeper, making it uncomfortable for him to hold.
Thus, this gift was quite a considerate choice.
“No, I really like it. Thank you so much.”
“Right? I picked it out together with Kirke and Daphne! Isn’t it really cute?”
Luke nodded while looking at the green elephant-shaped watering can and the yellow cat-shaped trowel.
He wasn’t sure why they had to incorporate such decorations, but still, as long as there were no disadvantages to having them, it was fine.
“Well… I guess it is. Thanks to Daphne as well. I’ll make sure to use it well.”
“Yeah.”
Having thanked Daphne as well, Luke suddenly realized that there were quite a few unfamiliar faces in the forest.
“By the way, there are a lot of unfamiliar faces. They don’t seem like newcomers… are they here for support?”
“Oh, you figured it out immediately? Quite impressive!”
Kirke stroked her chin, surprised by Luke’s insight.
“Actually, we’ve received some support from the Rienne Forest, which hasn’t had much work lately. While it’s not busy now, we need to train and prepare in advance for when we do.”
“Ah, I see.”
Just as he was nodding in understanding, a man with an annoyed voice approached Luke.
“Why is there a child in the forest?”
It seemed he was unhappy about a child being in the supposedly dangerous Luke Forest.
Daphne quickly and calmly began to respond.
“Oh, Mr. Sanson. This child is being protected by our leader, so it’s alright. Plus, he has a Circle in his heart, so he needs to absorb mana periodically.”
“Is having a Circle in itself enough reason to leave a child in this dangerous Luke Forest?”
“Well…”
Daphne made a bit of a troubled expression.
While it was true from a general perspective…
“Luke mostly lives in Commander Yerna’s lodging or office, so there’s hardly any danger. Besides, the forest keepers always make sure to know Luke’s whereabouts. Of course, if there’s a Wave or a special situation predicted, we won’t let Luke into the forest either.”
Yet, despite Daphne’s explanation, Sanson still looked incredulous.
“…However, even so, the forest is still dangerous. You never know what variables might occur.”
“That’s true, but…”
In fact, the greatest variable in this forest was none other than Yerna.
In any dangerous situation, everyone believed that as long as she was there, things would work out, which is why no one worried about Luke’s safety, who was directly protected by her.
After all, she was a forest keeper capable of one-on-one combat with the massive monster, Cyclops.
At one time, she even managed to defeat it.
Yerna must be counted among the top forest keepers in Aires, and if she were born in another era, she would surely have been known as a hero.
Moreover, Yerna was still a young elf with a long way to go in her prime.
It could be said that her skills had only improved since defeating the Cyclops; they certainly hadn’t declined.
‘Moreover… no ordinary monster dares approach Luke.’
Despite his appearance, Luke, after all, was a Chimera experiment subject with components different from a typical child.
Daphne recalled that Luke had once transformed into a being reminiscent of a “dragon,” straight out of a fairy tale.
Perhaps monsters with developed instincts sensed this essence and instinctively avoided him.
This fact was a secret, something she couldn’t disclose to this person.
At that moment, Luke interjected.
“Well, don’t be too harsh. She has a basis for her words. The Luke Forest at this time isn’t as dangerous as you might think.”
Surprised by the old-sounding tone coming from a child, Sanson hesitated for a moment but soon hardened his expression once more and said, “Kid, don’t interrupt adults when they’re talking.”
However, the child didn’t seem frightened at all and instead grinned and spoke back.
“I heard you came from the Rienne Forest? Is that right?”
“Yes.”
So, Luke thought he could claim that because he wasn’t yet familiar with the ecosystem of the Luke Forest.
Before he delved into a lengthy explanation that would make sense to Sanson, Luke wanted to express his gratitude first.
“First, I want to thank you.”
At Luke’s sudden bow and expression of thanks, Sanson’s firmly set expression finally crumbled.
“Thanks to a forest keeper like you, Yerna and I were able to be rescued from there.”
Rescue?
At that moment, a possibility flickered in Sanson’s mind.
“Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, you… were you the one back then…?”
“Oh, did you see me there?”
As Sanson examined Luke’s face closely, he finally gasped in recognition.
“Yes! It was you! You were that child back then!”
At that time, Luke’s face had been so covered in blood that he couldn’t immediately recognize it upon their first meeting.
But the child standing in front of Sanson was undoubtedly the same as that child from before!
“Were you not dead after all?”
“Me? Hm, well, I don’t know. I heard my heart had stopped for quite a while.”
Luke tilted his head.
Indeed, the deal with Sigarmata was a significant event.
It was considered quite a bargain if the breathing stopped for an hour or two.
“This is unbelievable… all this time, I thought you had died!”
Sanson dropped to his knees as if the strength had left his legs and took Luke’s hands, crying tears.
During all that time, he had not had the courage to find out whether the child had died or not.
Yet, quite by chance, this opportunity had come to him!
“Thank you, oh God…!”
Whether God truly existed was now uncertain, but still, he couldn’t help but pray.
How could he possibly convey this joy with words?
He had been saved.
Like someone who had finally seen light after being lost in profound darkness.
