Chapter 71

Yohan obediently followed Irolwel’s orders. After returning to the warehouse and gathering a few provisions, Irolwel softly whispered in his ear.

“Yohan, try giving it yourself.”

“Me, I…?”

“Don’t be afraid, Yohan. You can do it.”

“But… I was just trying to kill Skaface…”

“It’s fine. As long as you don’t do it again from now on. If Yohan tries to give love to those wolves, Skaface and his family will gladly accept it, right?”

The strong bestow virtue with sincere devotion.

The weak receive such blessings with gratitude.

This is the way to envelop this Demon Forest with love. Probably.

This was something Irolwel always told Yohan.

“Come on, hurry.”

Irolwel gave Yohan a little pat on the buttocks.

After hesitating for a moment, Yohan gathered his courage from that touch and stepped out from the bushes.

“Huh? Grrr!”

Yohan’s massive frame blocked the sunlight, casting a shadow over Skaface and the wolf pups. Startled, Skaface stepped forward in front of the pups and howled.

It was only natural. Yohan had an unmistakably brutish and barbaric build, and Skaface had much to protect. Realizing this situation, even though Skaface regarded him as an enemy, Yohan did not show any hostility in return.

Instead, he put down the provisions he had gathered as Irolwel instructed, placing them in front of Skaface.

“Grrr? Grrr!”

Skaface barked even more fiercely, contrary to what Irolwel had said about him gladly accepting it.

“Yohan, come here.”

Irolwel, standing like a wardrobe behind, called out to Yohan. Yohan trotted back to Irolwel, leaving Skaface alone.

“…Grrr?”

Skaface barked in confusion, seemingly not expecting Yohan to retreat so easily.

“Whimper, whimper…”

But the confusion didn’t last long. The young wolf pups, having eaten all the food Skaface had stolen and now hungry, started to cry.

Skaface looked around, searching for more food for the pups. That’s when he noticed the meat Yohan had left behind.

Slowly approaching the meat, Skaface sniffed it a few times to check for poison. Then he cautiously bit into the end to taste it himself.

“…”

“Whimper, whimper…”

There was no problem at all, meaning there was no poison. Though Skaface couldn’t understand why that barbarian would give him meat, feeding his pups was the top priority right now.

Munch munch munch…

The clueless pups happily tore into the food given by their parents. Though worried, with nothing else to do, Skaface could only lick his eating pups with his tongue.

Yohan and Irolwel were watching them carefully from behind the bushes.

“How about it? Yohan.”

“Not sure.”

“What?”

“…My heart feels strange. Like my chest is getting warm.”

“That’s a good sign. Treasure that feeling.”

Barbarians find it hard to accept the virtues of civilization.

Still, Yohan was fascinated by this woman named Irolwel and tried to accept them.

And Irolwel was carefully adorning Yohan with the virtues of civilization.

If only Irolwel had more time…

“Cough.”

“Irolwel?”

“Ugh, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, Yohan.”

“Are you really okay? Irolwel, your complexion doesn’t look good.”

If only Irolwel hadn’t exhausted herself injecting divine power into Yohan when he was half-dead…

Perhaps Yohan and Irolwel’s future could have been different.

“…Gasp! Cough, cough!”

“Irolwel! Irolwel! What’s wrong suddenly!”

Suddenly, a spurt of crimson blood erupted from Irolwel’s mouth. At the sight of the blood spraying everywhere, Skaface barked in surprise, and Yohan quickly supported the collapsing Irolwel. Yohan’s dark complexion turned pale.

***

The Demon Forest is a forest of the Demon Realm.

In other words, a forest full of mana energy that repels holy power.

When Irolwel first expressed her intention to visit the Demon Forest, it wasn’t without reason that the devout followers of the Holy Kingdom strongly opposed it. To Saintess Irolwel, whose very blood was made of holy power, the Demon Forest was practically toxic land.

To begin with, the only beings in the Demon Forest capable of defeating Saintess Irolwel were the Five Kings. It meant that no matter how many monsters attacked in a group, they wouldn’t pose a threat to Irolwel. If the only danger to human life were beasts, the followers wouldn’t have opposed so strongly.

However, even someone as strong as Irolwel couldn’t overcome ‘the environment’.

Every breath caused a stinging sensation in her lungs, and drinking the Demon Forest’s water made her stomach uneasy for days. Every day felt like living hell, and she grew weaker with each passing day.

Anticipating this situation, Irolwel had brought as much continental provisions as possible to last as long as she could in her magical bag.

But then she met an unexpected young barbarian.

The continental provisions that Irolwel could consume without any side effects ended up being consumed by the boy instead.

Of course, if Irolwel explained later, the boy would go back to eating Demon Forest food eventually.

But Irolwel didn’t do that.

Since she had come prepared to die in this Demon Forest anyway. There’s only so much food available.

It was simply that her predetermined death had been moved up a bit earlier.

That’s how it was for Irolwel.

For Yohan, who knew nothing, it was sudden news like a bolt from the blue.

Irolwel wanted to remind Yohan of the act of “giving”.

And to understand that act, one must first experience receiving it. One must feel the warmth and nobility of giving from the receiver’s perspective to finally gain the vision to share with others.

Just like how young Irolwel grew up receiving love from the priests of the Holy Emperor’s Palace.

As an adult, Irolwel wanted to give love to the boy who followed her.

She firmly believed that the love she gave would become the driving force for the boy’s life even after she was gone.

The “Lord” that Irolwel believed in was such an existence.

Thus, she couldn’t bear to stop Yohan from eating the continental food. It had far less toxins and mana energy than Demon Forest food, and tasted much better. While Yohan indulged in the continental food, Irolwel ate the Demon Forest provisions instead, giving up her rights.

Not only that. When Yohan fell off a cliff and faced mortal danger, Irolwel poured all her divine power, which should have been used for resisting mana energy, into saving him.

All these events led to the present moment.

“Irolwel.”

“Why… are you… Yohan?”

“Don’t die…”

When Yohan was first discovered by Irolwel, the bed where Yohan lay became Irolwel’s now due to her frail condition.

After collapsing and vomiting blood, Irolwel couldn’t get up anymore. The backlash she had suppressed burst forth like an active volcano. Lying there like a drooping plant, Yohan grasped her thin wrist and murmured gloomily.

“I… don’t want Irolwel to die…”

“It’s okay, Yohan.”

“But…”

“Fear not. There is nothing to fear in this world.”

Though Yohan still couldn’t fully understand Irolwel,

He loved her incomprehensible form now.

He couldn’t imagine a future without Irolwel. He wanted to eat her cooking again. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to enjoy exploring the Demon Forest together.

The fact that she could barely take care of herself now branded all those desires as impossible dreams.

“Did you visit Skaface today?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Is Skaface following Yohan a bit now?”

“Uh-huh, he let me pet him.”

“That’s good news…”

Her words lacked strength.

Realizing that sad reality, Yohan kept stroking her thin wrist repeatedly.

Yohan, growing stronger every day, had surpassed his past strength immensely. Probably now, no beast in the Demon Forest could harm Yohan.

Moreover, thanks to Irolwel’s affinity, Yohan was gaining support from the surrounding beasts and was even being considered as the next King.

“Something strange happened with Skaface.”

“What… did he say?”

“Do you know Dragon King Endros?”

“Well, I didn’t investigate that much before coming to the Demon Forest.”

“Endros is moving. His subordinates are starting to appear around the forest, Skaface said.”

“Dear… finding food will be harder for Skaface.”

“…Irolwel.”

“Yes?”

“Why does Irolwel worry about Skaface? You should worry about yourself. Your condition is much worse.”

“Haha… I’m fine, Yohan.”

“What’s fine? Your face is pale blue. I’m not a fool anymore.”

“You’re still a fool, a young fool.”

Irolwel raised her hand and patted Yohan’s head. Yohan accepted the gesture silently.

“Should I clear them all out?”

“Yohan? What did you just say?”

“The monsters of Dragon King Endros. If we leave them roaming around, they might harm you. You shouldn’t be shocked now.”

“Don’t do that, Yohan.”

“But… I’m confident. Just a few punches will do. I’m strong now.”

“Yohan…”

“I know you’re strong better than anyone. But…”

Irolwel’s hand touched Yohan’s face. It was a rather small hand compared to his tanned, sunburnt skin.

“Great power is not something Lord intended for us to use recklessly.”

“Yohan… my most beloved child in the world.”

“You should love life and cherish the world. You have special blood. Lord gave you special blood for a reason. It’s not meant for trifling matters.”

Saying so, she cupped Yohan’s face with both hands and lightly kissed his forehead.

The warm kiss made Yohan feel happy. Smiling gently, he matched Irolwel’s cheerful smile.

“Irolwel.”

“Yes?”

“What am I to you?”

“What, the most beloved…”

“Child, huh?”

Their eyes met.

Deep brown eyes crossed with sky blue eyes in the air.

“I… love you, Irolwel.”

“How could I not know, when you’re so obvious.”

“Irolwel taught me words about love. Love between parents and children, between friends, between lovers… There are various kinds of love.”

“What do you want to say?”

“I… love you, as a lover.”

“…”

Irolwel smiled and moved her small lips.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“I love you too, Yohan. But I mustn’t be attached to anyone.”

“Why?”

“When I was in civilization, I completely blocked the love of the believers. How could someone who blocked believers’ love shamelessly share love?”

“But no one’s watching here. We can kiss when we’re alone, right?”

“Heaven watches, earth watches, and Yohan you see me too.”

“I’ll keep quiet. Heaven can’t talk. Earth… I’ll crush it if needed. Can’t be done? I can do it.”

“My heart is watching too.”

“…”

“Yohan, this is the path I chose. Please respect it. Human hearts aren’t something that can be restrained by mere doctrines after all. Even the most devout believer could fall for someone and plant beautiful seeds of love. I won’t blame that. I feel emotions for you right now too. But I mustn’t.”

“Ugh, ugh…”

“I changed the doctrine. And going back… Sorry, but I can’t allow that. If I ran away back to the empire, they would attack this beautiful forest, thinking the Demon Forest must be eradicated. You don’t want that, do you?”

“Even if I die, I must die here. The fact that I accepted death to protect the Demon Forest will impose constraints on the empire’s actions. That’s my martyrdom.”

Irolwel’s words were difficult. Empire, doctrines…

Yohan, who had just learned to speak a little, couldn’t fully comprehend them.

But he seemed to understand one thing.

That he was yearning for an unattainable love.

The boy’s heart ached at this sad realization.

Yet he was already too deeply in love with the woman to let her go.

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