After I purified the black swamp, we went to the closest village to the slime forest.
The sun was already setting by the time we reached the village since we had gone all the way to the black swamp.
We stopped there for two nights and after finishing our preparations, we will head back to the capital.
The black swamp had already disappeared, so not many demons showed up.
The way home was a bit lively since we had completed our task.
During breaks, everyone would quarrel about Head Magician-sama's AOE magic and my 【Saint】technique.
The knights from the 2nd Knight Order were especially hyper since it was their first time seeing the technique up close.
How do I say this…? They started preaching about the 【Saint】cult, and it felt like people were going to start worshipping me.
Stop worshipping me!
Our journey was peaceful, but I felt somewhat depressed.
The scene I saw after the black swamp had disappeared was stuck in my mind.
The deeper we went in the forest, the more dead trees there were, but there were barely any dead trees around the swamp.
After the black swamp was purified, only those few trees and the bare ground remained. It was a terrible and lonely sight.
I heard that a lot of medicinal herbs grew deep in the forest and it was greener in the past.
My heart broke because the scenery was different from what I had imagined.
The black swamp was gone so new slimes won't spawn.
The forest would probably return to its former glory after some time passes.
This is wishful thinking, but one day, rare herbs might grow there again.
I think but……
"What's wrong?" A voice called out to me, and I snapped out of my thoughts.
I looked towards the voice and saw Captain-san looking at me worriedly.
"Nothing…… I was just thinking."
"I see. If you're tired, then you can retire to your room."
"Thank you very much."
Captain-san relaxed when I shook my head as if nothing was wrong.
I can't make him worry about me.
I should enjoy the party in front of me for now.
We will have a full party once we reach the capital, but they decided to have a party here to celebrate our success.
It was only a village, so there weren't any big inns or dining rooms, so it was a simple party where everyone gathered around the bonfire outside.
They also prepared alcohol and food.
But, I also ended up cooking with them, so the food is a bit luxurious.
It was great that the mercenaries supplied us with meat on the way home.
My efforts paid off, and my food had an excellent reputation.
"Sei?"
"Ah…… Sorry."
I tried my best to focus on the party after Captain-san spoke to me, but I was worried about the forest after all.
I carelessly blanked out, and Captain-san spoke to me twice.
The reason why I was so deep in thought was probably because of the alcohol as well.
I'm also full, so let's call it a night here.
"Excuse me, I'll take you up on your kind offer and return to my room first."
"Okay. I'll walk you there."
"Thank you."
"Don't worry about it."
Even if I want to call it a night, the mercenaries and knight are all strong, so it doesn't seem like they've drunk enough.
I would feel terrible if they have to end early because of me, so I decided to go back to my room first.
Captain-san wanted to walk me to my room when I told him that I would be retiring for the night.
Is it because he's a knight?
It was a short walk to the room I was staying in.
Unlike Japan, night here was dark and scary, so although I felt bad, I accepted his proposal.
We didn't speak as we walked to my room.
It might be because I was thinking.
However, the silence wasn't unpleasant.
When we reached the entrance of the room, Captain-san stopped and looked back.
I looked up at him and saw that he was looking at me softly.
"Thank you for walking me here."
"It's fine. Rest well tonight."
"I will…… Mm."
I stopped Captain-san as we bid our farewells.
He was about to turn to leave but stopped.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Erm…… I have a favour to ask you……"
I wasn't sure if I should say it even though I had stopped him from leaving.
But, I felt extremely uncomfortable leaving things as they are.
So, I told Captain-san about what I was thinking about at the party.
Next Day.
We returned to the slime forest with fewer people than the previous day.
I talked to Captain-san about what I was worried about last night, and he let me revisit the slime forest.
However, there were many conditions.
And one of those conditions was the number of people who would be accompanying us.
It was well-known that the 【Saint】technique could purify demons.
But hardly anyone else knew about the other effects.
Because the upper echelons of the Royal Palace wanted to keep it a secret, so they issued a gag decree.
And the purpose of today's visit was to use the 【Saint】technique for something other than purification.
To tell the truth, I don't know if it will be useful or not.
Therefore, I didn't tell Captain-san my real goal and just told him that I wanted to try the【Saint】technique.
Nevertheless, he seemed to understand that I wanted to use it for something other than purification.
We arrived at our destination quite quickly despite the small number of people.
We arrived at the edge of an area with trees and weeds.
If we walk a little further, then the ground will become bare.
It's that place.
"What are you doing?"
"Ermm…… Well……"
Head Magician-sama was looking at me in excitement.
The ones who accompanied me today were all elites, so of course, Head Magician-sama would be here.
It probably wasn't my imagination when I felt that he could come along no matter what the conditions were.
This is inevitable since it's about the【Saint】technique.
I felt a heated gaze from Head Magician-sama as I concentrated on activating the technique.
It felt like his gaze was fixated on my face, but I need to concentrate. Concentrate……
I probably imagined it when I felt my face go a little red.
Slowly, I started recalling all my memories with Captain-san.
I thought about all the most recent events first before recalling past events as if I was tracing back time and when I remembered about our first encounter, magic flowed from my chest.
The golden magic that flowed out from within me rushed towards the depths of the forest like a wave.
More, more……
In normal situations, I would typically activate the technique with this amount of MP, but I kept pouring more out.
As far as possible……
And, revive the forest somehow.
My head gradually got heavier, and I activated the technique when I was falling forward.
"Hey!"
"This is……!"
The entire area was filled with golden light.
And with it, a green carpet gradually spread into the distance.
It was impossible to sprout plants from nothing, but I could grow plants that were already there and extend them as far as possible.
I'm glad it worked……
This was all I remembered.
I'm getting really sleepy, I thought as my body leaned forward and my conscious faded into darkness.
Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam