The Paladin Owns the Relic

175 – Forest Knight (5)

The forest queen hugged her knees. She closed her eyes and sang softly.

A song that fell asleep in the corner of my memory. These days, there are many times when I bring out old memories.

But is it fun?

That wasn’t it. The Queen stopped singing. She beans-and banged her head on a tree.

“…Why…Why…”

The long-awaited time is approaching. The day she will truly hold him in her arms.

She did a lot to make it happen. She killed a human and obtained the Tears of Yggdrasil. She kills the elves and uproots the remaining saplings of the World Tree just in case.

She’s doing it even more because he asked for it himself…

“…Why.”

Why are you hesitating now?

“Your Majesty.”

The Queen turned her head. The forest knight was on her one knee.

“I brought some fruit.”

It doesn’t come from nearby. A rare fruit that can only be found in a few places in the ancient forest.

The queen squinted her eyes involuntarily. She was funny and at the same time something sad.

Her own feelings for Duran, the incarnation of the World Tree, were a kind of unrequited love.

Though he showed a lot of emotions, he never did himself a favor. I feel like they take care of me at least because they just follow me.

He was a free man. He was a man who did not belong anywhere and put his reasons first.

But why was it that I was drawn to it anyway?

“…Duran.”

The Queen raised her head. She slipped her arm over her fruit.

Her chewed mouth was sweet. To the point that she thinks she wants to keep eating.

“Thank you.”

My articles have changed. But that difference isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

On the contrary, it felt strange. In these days…

I can’t look straight into his face.

. . .

“I’ll give you the outline, but you have to do the rest.”

“…Trembling.”

“I can’t help but feel nervous. Be patient.”

I glanced at the map of the Ancient Forest. Perhaps thanks to his trust, he clearly brought a map to the structure inside.

To think they handed this to me, who was like a prisoner of war.

How naive is that?

“…Don’t make guarantees wherever you go.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There is such a thing.”

This confession operation definitely had to succeed. If you can’t change the Queen’s heart, it’s like a being who doesn’t know where to come to the troublesome ancient forest.

“Which place does the Queen like the most?”

“…It seems to be a lake at night…”

“Really?”

“Should I bring flowers?”

“Burden. Cub Burden. Confession is the best to be honest and plain. You just have to wipe your mouth. It doesn’t matter exactly when, at what moment, what you say.”

“…How do you know so well?”

“Everything appears in the drama.”

I prepared diligently. I helped him come up with a plan, reviewed it, and put his head together.

“It’s like this… at the right moment… okay?”

“Okay. Understood.”

”And this…”

“Zahard.”

Duran looked at me intently.

“What are you looking at so seriously?”

“Thank you.”

“…What?”

“To be honest…I thought you were cheating on me. Even when I was pushed on my back, I had a little doubt. But…”

The knight of the forest lowered his head slowly. He got close enough to hit his head on the ground.

“I never imagined that they would go this far for me, my enemy. If everything goes well… It’s all thanks to you. If it doesn’t work out, I won’t blame you.”

“…No. How far…”

“I was just complacent. If I followed her will, I thought that would be my happiness. But no. It wasn’t like that. I’m still a knight But even so, I love the lord I serve… From the bottom of my heart.”

Duran raised her head. She looked at me and gave a small smile.

“It is all thanks to you that I was able to face my true heart. Zahard. You are like my benefactor.”

‘Is there anything you can’t say to a prisoner of war?’

“When everything is over, I will ask His Majesty separately. Is there no way for you to be released?”

“Don’t forget those words. Ruler.”

I pushed Duran on the back.

“Come on. If you fail, you fall behind.”

“…I will be back.”

Duran took a deep breath.

And quietly took a step forward.

. . .

The forest queen looked at the lake quietly. It was no coincidence that she stayed up late at night.

He called himself. Duran. An article that has become very close these days.

I used to be by his side, but I just thought of him as a doll. A doll resembling the incarnation of the World Tree, which was created to his own will and does not deviate from expectations.

But these days, sometimes…

I felt he was truly alive.

“……”

The Queen of the Forest threw a pebble into the moonlit lake. The ripples that arose did not stop and went far.

It is a calm day with no wind blowing. There is not a single cloud in the sky.

A night that is hard to see because it is clear and transparent.

The queen caught her breath slowly. It was Duran who called her, but for some reason she hadn’t shown her face until now.

The queen thought that, without realizing it, she wished he would disappear like this.

Because…

She thought she too would die of a heart attack.

Basrak.

The Queen was startled. She turned her head slightly to where she heard her voice.

The bush swayed, and the knight of the forest appeared. Contrary to what I thought, it was a sinister look.

The Queen blinked at her as she looked as if she had been doing something a while ago.

“…Duran? What have you been doing?”

“Your Majesty.”

Duran stood beside her. She gazed at the lake and silently placed her hand on her sword.

Stay silent.

Normally, the queen would have spoken first. But even she couldn’t say anything now.

I just hoped that this silence would pass quickly. He didn’t want the beating of her heart to reach him.

“……”

“……”

In an unknown amount of time, the sound that popped out first was not hers.

“Your Majesty. Do you remember that time?”

This is the first time.

Duran starts talking first.

The Queen caught her breath. She was afraid until the silence was broken, but after it was broken, she was more comfortable than before.

“When?”

“When you first saw me.”

“…Ah.”

At that time.

The first time she owed him.

It was not long after I parted ways with the incarnation of the World Tree. By the time he died at the hands of humans and returned to her original mental body, the forest queen was driven mad by her loneliness.

So I made it. Forming the fragments of the body he left behind, Duran looks the same as before.

But he wasn’t him.

Is that why? The first feeling I showed him was…

“…The moment I was disappointed in you?”

Are you trying to blame me?

The queen squeezed her clothes tight. She turned her gaze and she looked at the lake.

The forest knight opened her mouth.

“Your Majesty. I swore to become a knight for the first time then.”

“Is it because you were born as a knight?”

“Your Majesty made me. You breathed life into me and helped me to wield a sword.”

Duran turned his head.

“But that’s not all.”

“…Yes?”

“Your Majesty. I had a thought before I swore to become a knight. In the emotions Feha felt when he first saw me, I felt a different emotion.”

Duran walked slowly forward. I dipped my feet in the lake.

The moonlight broke in the ripples. The water rushed left and right, making the sound of small waves.

The very center of the lake.

Duran spun inside.

“Your Majesty. I understand how you feel.”

“…Duran.”

“My shell resembles him. It is also natural to be disappointed when you see me. He’s different from me. He is nobler and greater.”

“That, I don’t mean that.”

“Your Majesty. It’s okay. I too have lived that way. Even if it doesn’t satisfy His Majesty’s remaining feelings, I kept my mouth shut because I wanted to at least be of help to His Majesty. I was also running away.”

Duran reached out.

Ripples rippled over his body and began to slowly push the waters of the forest outwards.

“But… Not anymore. Your majesty.”

The rushing water wets the dry land. And in an instant, the entire surroundings begin to be colored with bright moonlight.

The Queen involuntarily covered her mouth. She opened her eyes wide.

A dry clearing.

Various flowers begin to bloom in what was thought to be an empty place. Asrai blooms with moisture, whispering the beauty of each one.

“Your Majesty. I am…”

Everyone.

Each of them was a flower that she had told him she liked.

Everywhere you look is full of beauty. There is no empty place. As if expressing supreme and pure love, everyone is spewing out ecstasy.

“Your Majesty…”

His clumsy hands, which must have planted flowers one after another, bent down.

Respectfully.

Like an endless article.

“I am in love. Not as Duran…As me.”

Time has stopped for the Queen.

“I don’t want to run away anymore. I want to see Your Majesty even closer next to Your Majesty.”

Be honest.

It’s infinitely honest, to the point of bringing tears to my eyes.

The queen bit her lip. She looked at him slowly.

I knew.

I expected this to happen right after I was called here.

“Your Majesty.”

He calls himself.

“Would you like to hear the answer?”

The Queen opened her mouth. She tried not to tremble in her voice.

“I… Am…”