Volume 1 Chapter 59 Lydia, First Time Being Attacked By A Monster
Something wrapped around my leg and pulled me up hard.
"Hyuu, ahhh..."
The world flipped around me.
Hanging upside down, I saw Mr. Lucian below me.
My feet were caught by something like a plant vine, swaying near the ceiling of a deep cave formed by overlapping trees.
At the end of the vine was a huge green reptile. But around its face, red petals were blooming.
Vines twisted and stretched from the reptile's body, making it look like it had vines instead of legs.
It was a monster that blended in with the trees, almost invisible if it stayed still.
Its body was slimy, but the base of the vines and body were covered in moss, with red mushrooms that looked poisonous popping up.
"The King of Maboroshi Akadake..."
It looked like a poisonous mushroom that you shouldn't eat.
So the King of Maboroshi Akadake can move.
The reptile's mouth opened wide. A slimy red tongue stretched out and licked my exposed foot, which was hanging upside down.
"Nooooo, I'm not tasty! I'm not tasty, so don't eat me... Help, help, Mr. Lucian..."
"Lydia, it's a man-eater! Why is there a monster in a place like this... I'll save you now!"
Mr. Lucian smoothly drew his beautifully shining sword from his waist.
He easily slashed through the many vines coming at him as he ran toward me.
Every time the man-eater monster moved, my vision shook and swayed.
In the swaying edge of my vision, I see someone in a black robe.
That person is sitting on one of the thick vines, as if they are friends with the man-eater.
"...To think you're playing around here without even trying to fulfill our tragic wish. I hope you won't disappoint me any further."
In a hoarse voice, that person spoke.
Mr. Lucian, as if he didn't hear anything, slashed through the man-eater's vine and kicked the ground.
"Mr. Lucian, there is someone...!"
"Lydia, right now, I need to save you!"
"No, I'm going to be eaten...!"
The man-eater's mouth opened wide, trying to throw me inside as if it were a dance.
Inside the bright red mouth, there are no teeth.
It continues deep like a red cave.
I, released from the vine's restraint, am falling headfirst into the huge mouth that could easily swallow me whole.
"Lydia!"
I hear Mr. Lucian call my name.
With a light feeling of floating, I find myself in Mr. Lucian's arms.
The man-eater that was about to swallow me is sliced in half from the top of its head.
The cut body looks like a mix of plant and animal. The inside is green, and from the cut, plants sprout and grow quickly, reaching up to the ceiling.
"...Sir Lucian. Ever since you met that girl, you have changed. If I eliminate her, your illusion will end as well."
"Shut up."
While still holding me, Mr. Lucian lightly landed on the ground.
The person in the black robe, standing on the sliced man-eater, called out to Mr. Lucian.
A face as white as a doll, with 2 round holes for eyes. It looks like they're wearing a mask.
The giant man-eater, cut apart, falls down, shaking the cave violently.
As if in a last-ditch effort, vines stretch out and wrap around my body.
The ground where the man-eater fell crumbles with a loud roar. I, tangled in the vines, am dragged down with the collapsing ground, pulled into the crumbling earth.
"Help...! No...!"
It probably happened in an instant, but it felt like the scenery was moving slowly.
Right below the cave, which looked like a tangle of trees, there seemed to be a cliff.
As I was thrown into the air from the crumbling ground, I saw the man-eater's corpse falling into the deep forest below me and the blue sky.
──Am I going to die here?
I just started to enjoy being alive.
Memories from the past swirl rapidly in my mind, appearing and disappearing.
'Lydia. Friends double or triple your joy and cut your sadness in half.'
I hear someone's voice gently smiling as they hold my small hand.
'I am your friend. I will be by your side when you are sad.'
Who was that──?
I can't remember. I can't recall, but it must have been an important memory.
──I am sitting in a corner of the Rest priest's house, hugging my knees.
There is no place for me here. I think it's a blessing just to be set aside in a corner, looking out at the pouring rain through the window.
No matter where I am, it's cold. I feel useless and don't even know why I'm alive.
I whispered softly, "I'm hungry..." When was the last time I bit into a dried-up carrot?
When I close my eyes, the rain has stopped.
I am wearing a dress. Today, someone is coming to pick me up from the castle.
Sir Stefan is kind. I'm happy because on the days I'm called to the castle, I get to eat delicious food.
Sir Stefan is kind, but he always seems a bit angry.
'It's wrong that your existence is looked down on just because you have no magic. Right now, I'm talking to the Head Priest of Rest with my father. I'm asking him to let you live in the castle. Let's stay together, Lydia. I will protect you. I swear to protect you for my whole life.'
Always angry, Sir Stefan takes my hand and earnestly tells me this.
'You are not a failure, and you are not useless. If someone has looked down on you, it's okay to cry. It's okay to be angry, Lydia.'
Cry. Be angry.
What kind of feelings are those? I don't really understand.
'Let's practice, Lydia. Hmm, what would be good? How about we go see a play together? A sad story or an angry story. Reading a book is good too. Should I read, or will you read for me?'
Sir Stefan, who only smiles at me, tries hard to teach me about feelings.
But then, after 6 months, Sir Stefan's interest in me faded away.
It made me very sad that he started to like Francois.
Having learned to cry and be angry, I was cooking at Lobelia Diner House, crying and getting angry.
Mr. Lucian sat at the counter, watching me the whole time.
My cooking has a mysterious power, and I thought about trying to recruit the knights, but I never really forced anyone to do anything.
They just quietly watched me.
Even when I spoke badly about Mr. Lucian, he never got angry.
Maybe I relied on Mr. Lucian to listen to my complaints and whining.
So, when I wasn't feeling well, I worried him. Mr. Lucian had never skipped a meal before.
I wanted to cheer him up, so I came to the festival with him.
But now, Mr. Lucian──he's going to feel even more down.
"Lydia!"
When I closed my eyes, the tears spilled and danced in the air.
I heard Mr. Lucian's voice.
The impact of hitting the ground never came.
My body was free from the vines, and I was held in strong arms.
Below me, a deep forest spread out. The blue sky, the golden hair blowing in the wind, and Mr. Lucian's worried blue eyes.
"I'm sorry. Are you okay, Lydia? You must have been scared."
When I opened my eyes to his calm voice, I realized my body was floating in the air.
Mr. Lucian was holding something like a control stick. It was connected to a large dragon-like creature with wide wings beneath us.
This black dragon was a personal flying device called a floating magic stone device, powered by wind magic stones.
The black dragon lowered its altitude and descended into the forest.
On the single seat, there was a basket with mushrooms. The mushrooms were safe.
I was safe too.
"Mr. Lucian... I was scared..."
I cried softly in Mr. Lucian's arms. I thought I might die.
I feel like I remembered a lot of important things, but my head is kind of fuzzy, and I can't think clearly.
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