Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: I'll Remember This Moment for a Long Time
Before entering the winter forest.
I sneaked into the café where all the spirits were asleep and carefully shook Pristine awake.
"Pristine... Pristine..."
Pristine, who had been wearing a dazed expression upon waking, spotted me and immediately expressed her joy with her whole body.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Pip!!! "Shh... Shhh...!"
I quickly pressed my index finger to my lips and glanced around at the other spirits.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Zzz... Pip... - Zzzz... Piii... Fortunately, the other spirits didn't wake up from the noise.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Pip...! [‘Pristine’ copies you by bringing her finger to her lips.] Having grasped the situation, Pristine made a gesture promising to stay quiet, and I got straight to the point.
Whispering...
"I found a place you'd really love..."
"Wanna go together... without telling the others...?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Pip...! At my words, Pristine nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Then she began circling around me, sprinkling frost crystals everywhere.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [‘Pristine’ can't hide her joy, saying she really wanted some ‘time just for the two of us’.] It had been bothering me that since Pristine was born, we'd never spent any time alone together...
‘...I should have made some time for her.’
Seeing how happy she was, I felt a pang of guilt.
"We have to go... now...!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Pip...! Finally, Pristine and I slipped out of the café without a sound, just like spies in a movie.
The forest was shrouded in thick darkness.
The only sounds were the eerie whisper of the wind and the crunch of twigs underfoot.
The night forest was chillingly silent.
Tremble, tremble...
Because of that... my legs started shaking uncontrollably.
This wasn't some courage test.
What was I thinking, coming into the forest at night for glory and riches...
‘...I should have just waited until morning!’
I'd gotten so excited about the goal that I'd rushed out without thinking...
Apparently, I'd gotten too carried away...
Who in their right mind enters a forest at night?
Tremble, tremble...
As my legs shook so badly I couldn't move forward or back.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Pip!! Suddenly, something cold touched the nape of my neck.
"Eek...!"
The moment I shrieked and huddled up,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [‘Pristine’ declares she'll take out anything that jumps out right away.] [‘Pristine’ strikes a reliable pose, insisting she's strong and that I should trust her.] Under that glow, Pristine was furrowing her brows in a pose like a bodybuilder.
"Haha... What kind of pose is that...?"
Laughter burst out of me in an instant.
The moment I saw Pristine's bizarre pose, the fear vanished just like that.
‘Right, that's true.’
Pristine was right by my side.
I'd been so consumed by fear that I'd even forgotten she was there.
"Thanks, Pristine..."
With such a sturdy little guardian standing firm beside me,
the dark forest no longer felt scary.
‘By the way.’
How was I supposed to find the way to the winter forest in this pitch blackness where I couldn't see an inch ahead?
‘Ah... right!’
I could use my skill...!
The thought hit me, and I immediately raised my weapon.
Then I spread a wide-area Heal zone right in front of me.
Whoosh—
My vision brightened in an instant.
Thanks to that, I could clearly see where I was
and which direction to head.
‘Yeah. To achieve the goal quickly, I need to save even sleeping time.’
I nodded once,
then laid down Heal zones like stepping stones as Pristine and I ventured deeper into the forest.
How long had we walked?
‘Looks like it's just ahead?’
Just like the day I first discovered the winter forest,
we arrived at a spot where a bone-chilling cold made my body tremble.
Probably, one more step and a snow-covered forest would unfold.
‘I wonder what kind of reaction Pristine will have when we enter the winter forest...’
I turned to Pristine with tense anticipation.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [‘Pristine’ scans the surroundings with sharp eyes.] [‘Pristine’ immediately goes on alert at the sound of a falling twig.] ...That guy over there pouring frost crystals on an innocent twig seemed to have no interest in anything but protecting me right now.
"Pristine! We're here, come on!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Piiip!! I lightly placed the hurriedly flying Pristine on my shoulder
and took one step toward the winter forest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ‘Argh! So bright!’
The sudden intense light made me squeeze my eyes shut.
Snow falling in early summer, no less.
The sun shining at night, too.
This place clearly didn't follow normal logic.
After keeping my eyes closed for a while, I started to adjust to the light.
I cautiously lifted my eyelids.
Snow piled thick on every branch.
Snowflakes drifting lazily down.
The exact same winter forest landscape I'd seen before unfolded before me.
The only difference was the spirit busily leaving footprints in the snow.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [‘Pristine’ is lost in the long-lost scent of winter.] "What do you think, Pristine? Do you like it here?"
Only then did Pristine finally turn to look at me.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [‘Pristine’ feels overwhelmed, as if she's looking at her homeland.] [‘Pristine’ marvels at how you found this place.] "I found it by chance, but I thought you'd love it... so I really wanted to bring you here."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - ......! I'd half-expected a barrage of messages about how happy and thrilled she was.
But for a while, no messages appeared above Pristine's head.
The moment I scratched my head in embarrassment,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Piiiiip!! Pristine let out a resounding cry and soared energetically into the sky.
Sparkling leaves bloomed along her path.
Pop, pop, pop—
The leaves that appeared in a row began blooming into flowers one by one, like piano keys being played.
‘So, it was because it wasn't cold enough that she couldn't bloom before.’
That could be it.
But...
Somehow, I thought, ‘Maybe Pristine has never been this happy before.’
I'd never seen her this joyful since leaving the gate.
‘I was the one who reached out and asked her to come with me...’
Pristine liked me for no reason at all.
Yet I'd been too busy to even think of spending time with her.
Even though nothing was listed under her preferences, I hadn't made any effort to figure out what she liked.
‘In contrast, Pristine...’
She'd disciplined the mischievous Lumina Spirit,
helped out eagerly with the café work.
She'd cleaned up trash in polluted gates without complaint,
and even protected the house painstakingly obtained by the Bloom Guild Master and the Full Moon woman.
Just now, too.
When I was so scared of the dark forest, she'd lit up with determination to guard me, vigilantly watching our surroundings.
‘Now that I think about it, all I've done is receive help from Pristine.’
Realizing that, my throat tightened up.
"Ahem."
I cleared my throat once
and offered Pristine a heartfelt apology.
"I've been neglecting you lately... I'm sorry, Pristine."
As if she hadn't expected me to say that,
the little one stared blankly at my face before crossing her arms with a "Pip!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [‘Pristine’ makes a sulky face, admitting she can't deny it.] [‘Pristine’ smiles prettily, saying she's just happy to be by your side, so don't worry too much.] "......"
As I read the messages floating above Pristine's head,
my vision gradually blurred.
I quickly wiped my eyes before she noticed.
Pristine, who had been flustered and unsure what to do, hurriedly plucked a single ice flower and placed it in my hand.
The cold sensation spread across my palm.
– That ice flower, did you bloom it?
– It's so pretty... To bloom such a beautiful flower. Amazing.
It felt just like the day we first met.
"Is this a gift? Thank you."
So I repeated the exact line I'd said when Pristine first gave me a flower.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - ..... . She must have felt something too, just like me.
Pristine gazed into my eyes without any messages, then floated to my nape and nuzzled my head for a long time.
"Haha, it's cold..."
I might remember this moment for a very long time...
Such a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "......"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - ..... . "Ahem..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - Pip, piii... ‘Ah... why is it so awkward...’
For some reason, Pristine and I...
had become a bit awkward with each other.
It seemed our emotions had run a little high.
As we exchanged awkward coughs while staring off into the distance,
we simultaneously stopped upon spotting a decayed tree rotting with a blue glow.
Then, for the first time, our eyes met.
"Why is this tree blue?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [‘Pristine’ is puzzled, saying it's her first time seeing a tree covered in ‘blue corruption’.] [‘Pristine’ wants to help the poor tree.] "I wonder if Purify will work...?"
I leaned forward to examine the tree's corruption more closely.
Then.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - @#!@#@$#@!!! - #$#@#$##$#!!!! A cacophony of voices started chattering noisily from within the rotten tree.
"......Huh?"
I jolted back in surprise, and the sounds from the tree stopped dead as if by magic.
‘Did I hear that wrong...?’
Just to be sure, I leaned toward the tree again.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - $#@#$#@#@!!!!!! - @@!@#$$!!!!!! Now I was certain.
The sounds from inside the tree were definitely human voices.
"...What the?"
Why were there human voices coming from inside there...?