I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 20 - “The Forest That Bewitches People”

The forest was thick and overgrown, so even though it was midday, it was dim.

The trees grew tall, and their branches and leaves blocked out the sunlight.

In this eerie atmosphere, I, Prince Lawrence, and Louis moved forward in silence.

Now and then, we took breaks as we headed deeper into the forest, but suddenly, I felt something was off.

(…What…?)

I looked around again, but just as I thought—nothing in sight.

…Strange.

I glanced at Louis. He must have noticed it too.

With a furrowed brow and a tense expression, he gave a small nod.

I asked Prince Lawrence, who was walking ahead.

“…There are no animals here, are there?”

“They were probably affected by the magic particles. That stuff affects all living things.”

“…When you’re tainted by magic particles, decay starts at your fingertips, and eventually you lose your mind, attacking anything around you… That’s what normally happens. So this forest is different from normal magic pollution?”

“…I can’t say for sure. I don’t know if something has been placed in this forest, or if the forest itself is the cause. I can only guess.”

Prince Lawrence had said he wanted to resolve this issue quickly.

I thought he knew exactly what was happening here since he asked me, a Saint, to purify it—but it seems Arcana is also still figuring things out.

Maybe Prince Lawrence came here to scout and investigate.

In my country, it’s unthinkable for someone like a prince to do intelligence work.

But Arcana is always different from the norm.

Not only is he walking around other countries alone, but despite being smaller than Victoire, they have overwhelming military power.

We still don’t know why Arcana is so strong militarily.

“Have you been here before, Prince Lawrence?”

The way he walked without hesitation made me think he’d been here a few times before.

When I asked, Prince Lawrence nodded.

“Yeah. That’s why… I decided we needed your power as a Saint.”

“What did you see here?”

“…A seal. Or the source of the magic particles. Either way, it’s beyond what we can handle.”

A seal, or the source of magic particles…

Those are two very different things.

Just as he said earlier, he doesn’t really know for sure.

Prince Lawrence is only speaking based on guesses.

“…Why aren’t you affected by this forest?”

I had a feeling already, but I asked him anyway.

Like him, I could guess, but I wasn’t sure if I was right—and to be honest, I didn’t really know the specifics.

Prince Lawrence glanced back at me.

Then he answered.

“Like I said before—because I have a power that opposes yours.”

“…Can’t you give me a clear answer?”

“…I can’t say. There are restrictions.”

He had been dodging questions before, and now he says, “I can’t say.”

I didn’t expect him to just tell me everything about Arcana’s secrets.

‘You probably don’t trust me enough yet.’

It’s not just that—it’s simply hard to trust him in a situation like this.

Most likely—Arcana’s overwhelming military power is related to this power he calls ‘opposite of holy power.’

I don’t know what exactly that means, though.

After that, we kept walking—how long had it been?

“Something’s wrong.”

It was Prince Lawrence who said that.

At his words, Louis and I stopped walking.

“What do you mean, wrong?”

“May I speak?” Louis asked Prince Lawrence.

Prince Lawrence nodded.

“By how it feels, we’ve already been walking for about three hours.

It should be around noon now, and the sun should be at its peak. But the sunlight hasn’t changed at all.”

At that, I looked up.

The thick branches and leaves still covered the sky, so we couldn’t see anything above.

Even so… if the sun is at its peak, the light should be at its strongest right now—was that what Louis meant?

I wondered if maybe the sunlight had gotten stronger, but it just wasn’t obvious because of the branches.

Still, if he said so, then he must have had a reason.

As if to answer my thoughts, Louis explained:

“I got used to mountain walking during military service. It’s hard to tell, but… the sunlight hasn’t changed since we entered the forest. …What do you think, Prince Lawrence?”

At some point, Prince Lawrence had taken out a pocket watch.

When Louis asked him, he gave a short nod and said:

“Yeah… You’re right. The time is now twelve twenty-six. It should be the brightest time of day. …We’ve been caught.”

Prince Lawrence spoke with certainty.