Chapter1
It's been a while since I last went out shopping and encountered a heavy rain.
So Astreya thought while advancing in a way without road in the mountain. Because of the rain, the footings and visibility was worse, and the walking difficulty was the worst. Even so, this is the the forest she lived for about four hundred years. Where was she walking to? She understood about that much.
(......But, it's already been four hundred years. All this while, I thought it were about three hundred fifty years)
She noticed that on the way she purchased things, because there was a『Saint Festival • 400th commemoration』voice announcement.
『The Saint Festival』finally counts its 400th time this year, a festival that worshipped a single witch who saved this country which once suffered from the horrors of war.
About four hundred years ago, the Kingdom Astreya lived in sustained a large scale invasion by the neighboring Empire.
Many soldiers turned into corpses, villages were destroyed as well, and people become pessimistic.
However, at that time the figure of a witch appeared in history.
The enemy army called her『The Devilish Girl』, and later the Kingdom army called her “The Patriotic Saint”, and this girl――
(Then again, if it was known that it was just a young girl like me, I wonder what in the world will the history critic gentlemen would say, ne)
However even for Astreya, the fact that she'll live ‘till now or something like that――and that she'll remain young, she didn’t see that coming.
The saint festival wasn’t counted after the following year of the end of the war. But several years after its cessation, and with the sudden disappearance of the Saint, the exhibition was held.
That was why for Astreya, that exhibition equaled to the number of years she lived in the forest. When she thought ‘How many years have I spent in the forest?’, it would become easy to find out. Nevertheless, since she almost never thought about such things in ordinary days, and went to town just once every year, if the timing of her outing didn’t match, there were cases where she wouldn’t notice.
“Well, it can't be helped if I become immersed in my memories, but…...still, there is really a terrible rain today, ne”
In this case, I should've went shopping another day, she thought.
The weather was bad enough that it made her think so.
No matter how much rain fell, Astreya's clothes and luggages weren’t the least bit wet.
That was because Astreya produced a slight layer of wind in her surrounding, averting the raindrops that hit her.
That was a simple trick for a witch, and Astreya had not the least bit of intention in being a splendidly dripping girl. She would just be lame.
But even if she wasn’t wet, she still couldn’t prevent herself against the poor visibility.
(If I were to use a wind magic, I could see better, but it’s a pain to especially use two varieties of spells simultaneously)
In the first place, if I have to go with this bother, I could simply return as fast as I could by jumping in the sky while defending against the rain.
That was a bother, but she still kept walking.
( I thought that I still have a bit more time before the rain falls, I was too naive)
‘In this case, I should have completed the weather foretelling before my departure’ was what she ended up thinking.
Even though she said it’s a weather foretelling, but it’s just feeling the essence of the earth and signs of water, and she should've generally landed the foretelling. It was a failure, though.
There was still a little bit of distance to the cabin Astreya lived in.
Let's lie down with ease after returning. Anyway, if it continued like this, it would rain tomorrow too. If so, then it’s better to lie down with ease――
When she thought that, even while she was under the rain, a thunderous sound that wouldn’t lose to anything resounded in the vicinity.
Astreya was surprised, to the level that even her heart skipped a beat after so many years.
“.......What?”
‘I have a bad premonition’. Astreya who thought so, immediately changed her direction.
What made that sound was going toward the cliff.
It’s a bit far from here, but there's a crossing road ahead.
Don’t tell me――Astreya who thought so run towards that place, and over there, where there was a horse-drawn carriage that slipped down because of an avalanche, entered her eyes. Astreya threw away her luggage and rushed over to that place. With how the coach was seriously damaged, it was obvious at a glance that she shouldn’t have any expectation on the safety of the passengers.
(Even so, the sound was made just a little while ago. They might still be alive!)
She could see the horse moving even though weakly. However, it was losing a large quantity of blood, and it’s head was bended in a slightly strange direction. And then, right after that, she discovered the figure of a person on the side in an unconscious state. From his head was flowing red blood that covered half of his face. She thought, ‘in this situation, he must have other injuries apart from that, right.’
“But, he still hasn't died…..!”
As Astreya shouted that, both of her hands heaped up and she put force in them.
When she did so, a light was born from those hands, wrapping the whole neighboring places in light. It’s warm, yet strong.
Even in the darkness of the forest, it was a light that brighten the place in an instant.
After a little while, the light disappeared before long. What remained over there was a seriously damaged coach and the horse that stood up on the side and the figure of a youth that even though he was hit by the rain, he breathed more calmly than before. He still had blood on his face, but if you wiped the blood, it would look like he is only sleeping.
It seems like I was able to save a life――and so Astreya felt relieved, but in the next moment, she felt a dull pain, and felt like she was suffocating. That was the price to pay for turning his destiny over.
(As expected, the spells used several hundred years ago are tiring)
It would've been fine to use a simple recovery spell but, unfortunately witches don't have the ability to heal other people.
The magic that is able to narrowly heal consisted of transferring the witches’ physical strength to the other party, taking over that injury to themselves, and that spell―― in case of a person in a critical condition, their own body would be proportionally burdened. To put it in another way, if it wasn’t for Astreya’s immortality, it would be doubtful whether she could recover both the person and the horse without dying.
‘Ah, now that I think about it, it was that type of spell’, or so she recalled after using it. However, recalling at such a late time wouldn't do anything.
(I mean, it was an emergency, and I was surprised. It couldn’t be helped…..More importantly, this. I saved him but, what do I do now)
The youth’s life should have escaped the crisis but, if he was left as he is in this place, he might not be able to get up because of the earth and sand that crumbled.
In the first place the possibility that his injuries haven’t recovered completely is high. Actually the wound on his head seemed to not have been cured, as blood is still oozing a bit.
She helped the youth who looked to be in his dying moments but, Astreya’s lifestyle was that, with the exception of purchasing clothes, she did her utmost not to get involved with other people. At present state, if she thought that he wouldn’t die right away, even though she saved him, she would feel reluctance.
(What should I do. I want to leave him be. Good things will never turn out from this)
Even though she was thinking this way, her feet didn’t turn back.
Astreya deeply sighed at herself.
Without realizing, the wind spell she used to cover herself had dissolved. Thanks to that her clothes are clinging to her body, it made her feel disgusting. It's the worst. While brushing off the hair clinging to her face, as if giving up Astreya opened her mouth.
“.....Hey, will you cooperate?”
The horse which Astreya spoken to, replied with a nasal breath that looked as if its fighting spirit was elevated.
Look like the 『he's too heavy to carry so I should leave him be 』 excuse, was negated by that horse's reply.
Tn:Naoriel
Ed:Ally-el
Nao's lil corner
Hey hey hey!!! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))
What do you think of this novel? Was the "I am the heroine but I want to hand that role over" more of your tastes? Or this one sparked more interest?
Based on your comments on my site where I posted the teasers, I'll choose between these two.
Once I have published 5 chapter for the two story, we'll decide which I'll continue translating!
(Next chap will be published once edited!)