The Cursed Forest Where I Was Exiled Had Somehow Been Designated As A Sanctuary. - Awakened to the Purification skill, I, Surrounded By Divine Dragons And Great Spirits, Become The King of A Nation - Episode 11

According to Flora, it takes about a day and a half to walk from the Great Tree to the Dwarf Village.

In terms of straight-line distance, it’s not much, but since this is a forest with poor footing, there are rivers and cliffs along the way, and we have to detour several times.

Flora, with a wry smile, recounted that it took about three days one way when she was in the elf village.

Naturally, during the journey, we will be leaving Yggdrasil’s barrier, and the risk of being attacked by monsters will also follow us.

To the worried Zess, Yggdrasil offered a faint smile.

“If it’s Zess, it’ll be fine.”

“Even if you say it’s okay, I’ve never met a monster before.”

In my education as the crown prince, I have learned how malevolent monsters can be.

The power to manipulate shadows and darkness pierces through simple armor.

The only ones who can compete are the chosen individuals or a refined group.

Zess protests, asking what basis there is for saying everything will be fine when he has virtually no combat experience.

However, Yggdrasil, with a cool expression, brushed it off and stared intently at Zess with his jade-colored eyes.

“I’ve said it before. Zess’s ‘Purification’ is the highest-level anti-evil ability. …Don’t worry, you’ll understand when you encounter a demon.”

Yielding to Yggdrasil’s confident words, under Flora’s guidance, Zess and the others decided to head to the dwarf village.

By the way, Yggdrasil doesn’t seem to want to leave the barrier, so it’s staying behind.

It seems that Haku will be watching over us from high above.

“Don’t overdo it.”

Zess, having been informed of this by Yggdrasil, was inexplicably saying such words to Haku.

“Growl!”

Haku rubbed his nose against Zess’s forehead happily.

◆　◆　◆

We set out early in the morning. After walking all day, the sun had already begun to set.

We found a nearby river with a gentle current, so we decided to camp by its side.

“—《Cleansing》”

The light of Zess’s bubble envelops Peter.

Peter, with a look of pure bliss, lets out an ecstatic voice.

“Wow, as expected, Zess-san’s ‘cleansing’ feels so good. The unpleasant sweat just disappears, and even though my body is tired, it feels strangely refreshing.”

“Hehe, right? Right? You can get as dirty as you want! In fact, get really dirty! I’ll clean you up!”

With a smug expression, Zess casts “Cleansing” on himself.

Although physical fatigue doesn’t go away, the momentary relief from the sticky feeling of sweat clinging to my body is quite refreshing.

“Huh? Where’s Flora?”

“They said they were going over there to get some firewood.”

“Got it. Since we’re at it, I’ll also give Flora a ‘cleaning.’ I’ll leave the fire starting to you.”

“Yes!”

Since Haku is not here, I entrusted the task of securing the fire to Peter.

Among his chef skills, he has the ability to create embers.

Even so, it seems that people who live in this great forest can start a fire from scratch.

While resolving to eventually master Zess as well, I search for Flora’s figure.

“Hmm, this is…”

When I walked in the direction Peter indicated, I could hear the sound of the river.

When I turned towards the sound, I saw something white hanging from the nearby branches.

I approached and picked it up.

It’s a long piece of cloth. It has shoulder straps, a hem, and a collar.

“Wait, this is the outfit Flora-san is wearing!”

In a hurry to return it to its original place, something falls with a flutter.

What fluttered down to the ground was a simple white piece of underwear.

I hurriedly picked it up and hung it back on the tree branch.

Zess, having guessed what Flora was doing by the riverbank ahead, immediately tried to leave the place—he was curious.

“Y-Yeah, it will be over in an instant.”

Muttering an excuse, Zess picks up the clothes he had put on again.

I used “cleaning” on Flora’s clothes, which were dirty with sweat and mud from the whole day.

“Ah… satisfied, satisfied.”

As I was nodding while admiring Flora’s newly cleaned clothes, a voice suddenly came from behind me.

“Zess-san… what are you doing?”

“…Ah”

When I reflexively turned around, I saw Flora hiding in the shadows of the trees, watching me.

Water was dripping from her long pink hair, and her skin was peeking through here and there.

Zess hurriedly hung his clothes back on the branches and shouted with both hands raised.

“Y-Yeah, it’s fine! I cleaned all the sweat stains and mud marks!”

“～～～! Th-that’s not what I meant!”

◆　◆　◆

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t show enough consideration. Yggdrasil often tells me this too. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

The next day. The group set out from the campsite early in the morning.

Even on the way, Zess kept apologizing to Flora, who was walking ahead.

“I already understand. It was my fault for not telling you, Zess, that I was going to take a bath… and, well, I know that you wouldn’t do something like that.”

Peter, walking next to her, peered into Flora’s face, which was slightly flushed as she replied.

“Besides, if you received Zess’s ‘cleansing,’ you wouldn’t need to take a bath.”

“Peter…!”

Flora’s face turns bright red at her brother’s words.

However, Zess placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Peter, I understand Flora’s feelings very well.”

“Huh?”

“I want to clean my own things. Peter, you prefer cooking to being cooked for, right? It’s the same thing.”

“I-I see…”

“……sigh, that’s enough already……”

At Flora’s resigned voice, Zess and the others turned to each other, puzzled.

In the meantime, having crossed the last difficult terrain, a small hill, the dwarf village was approaching.

“Beyond these trees, there is a mountain that leads to the mine. The dwarf village is at the foot of that mountain—”

Flora, who had been explaining, suddenly comes to a complete stop.

Zess was puzzled, but he understood the scene ahead as he peered over her shoulder.

It was a shadow, and darkness.

In the forest with poor footing.

An otherworldly being that seems to blend into the shadows cast by the trees stands before Zes and the others.

What can barely be understood is that it has four legs.

The pitch-black figure is standing on its head, facing Zess and the others.

If I had to compare it, it would be a black wolf. However, the pressure emanating from the real thing is incomparable to that of a wild wolf.

Peter gasped, and as Flora barely whispered, “Let’s escape,” Zess took a step forward.

“Oh, I see. So, this is what Yggdrasil was talking about.”

“Uh, Zess-san?!”

Flora hurriedly calls out to Zess, who has started walking towards the monster.

However, Zess continues to walk at his usual pace.

It’s true. To me, it just looks like dirt…

Both Haku and Yggdrasil, who were afflicted by the divine curse, and the attack of the black leaves she unleashed, as well as the pitch-black space that appeared within the Great Tree Sea.

In front of me, a monster lets out a growl like a curse.

To Zess, it appeared merely as a stain on the fabric of the world.

And his instincts whisper.

――I have to clean this dirt.

With a deafening roar, the monster lunges at Zess.

Flora and Peter’s screams can be heard from behind.

In the midst of it all, Zess simply raised his hand in front of him.

“—Purification”

That’s it. Just like that, one stain on the world disappears.

The roar that seemed to shatter eardrums was drowned out, and the monster’s body was enveloped in light.

And then, the darkness was engulfed by the pure light and vanished into the void.

“Hmm? Ah, Haku is such a worrywart. Well, I was a bit surprised too, but it all worked out.”

Suddenly, a shadow appears at my feet, and when I look up, I see Haku descending rapidly from above.

Flora and the others were watching Zess, who was smiling at Haku, with astonished expressions.