How to Tame That Gentle Hero - Chapter 10.10

He spoke casually.

The white divine beast perked up its ears, attentively listening to his words. Eldis smiled at the divine beast and continued.

“I love Resena. And I’m also hiding from her that I am Vernas. Of course, I’ll tell her later, but I can’t bear another man entering her heart. That’s why I keep delaying revealing that Vernas is me.”

The divine beast gazed at Eldis with serene eyes. Seeing its tail gently swaying, Eldis continued.

“When I think of her, it feels like my chest is burning inside. No words can suppress my feelings for her. I’m somewhat relieved that she seems to love both versions of me, so I don’t get jealous when she acts friendly with others. But… if Resena falls in love with someone else while I’m gone, I would…”

Hmm. The white divine beast shook its head.

“Woong.”

After snorting, the white divine beast began walking ahead, clearly directing him to follow. Seeing this, Eldis couldn’t help but smile.

Walking beside it, he continued.

“You don’t seem to think Resena would take another into her heart instead of me. How can you be so sure? You haven’t even seen her directly…”

The white divine beast wagged its tail and slowly licked Eldis’s hand. Seeing this, Eldis finally burst into laughter. The divine beast was comforting him as if such a thing would never happen. Its innocent manner gently touched his heart.

“Right. It’s probably needless worry. You’re right. Resena’s heart is currently so full with two versions of me that there’s no room for anyone else.”

Eldis spoke lightly, but he could feel those words spreading through his heart, gently comforting himself. Eldis soon smiled broadly and scratched the back of the divine beast’s head.

“Thank you, Lirameki. For comforting me. Thanks to you, I feel stronger. Actually, Resena is someone who can clearly give me any advice if it’s the right counsel, regardless of the situation. She’s definitely someone I must not lose.”

Someone precious who couldn’t be lost, both as a lover and as an advisor.

“I miss her. Once I finish the trials here, I want to go straight to Resena, meet her first, and tell her what happened here. While telling her about these experiences…”

As he walked while talking, they reached the cave entrance. Seeing Matis curled up sleeping inside the cave, he couldn’t help but laugh. He felt relieved knowing that Matis had acted with complete obedience to his words.

“Matis. I’m back.”

“Aah! You’re back before evening!”

Come to think of it, the sunset wasn’t yet in the sky. Checking the pocket watch he carried, it was about 4:40 PM. It seemed to be thanks to having departed before noon after breakfast.

Eldis spoke gently.

“Then let’s eat dinner early and go inside the cave before nightfall. Since we don’t know what creatures come out in the holy land at night, it seems best to avoid them as much as possible.”

And seeing that Lirameki never went outside the cave at night, it was clear there must be traps or monsters to be wary of.

Of course, he had slight doubts.

This was a holy land receiving the power of light, yet actual monsters appeared in the trials instead of mental hallucinations. He was curious about what structure it was made of.

‘Or were most of the monsters I faced mental hallucinations?’

But if they were mental hallucinations, the sensation transmitted to his fingertips when cutting monsters wouldn’t be this vivid. Eldis shook off his idle thoughts, thinking they should proceed as safely as possible. When Lirameki started walking again, he called Matis.

“For now, follow me, Matis. It seems Lirameki wants to guide us.”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

Matis hurriedly followed behind Eldis. Walking alongside Lirameki, Eldis looked around the hills. After walking a bit further, they saw a bush with red berries on top of a small hill.

“Wild raspberries?”

As Lirameki headed that way, both approached with curiosity. As they got close to the bush, Lirameki sniffed and stuck out its tongue toward the berries.

The berries fell skillfully into its mouth. Lirameki blew air through its nose while chewing the sweet-tasting berries. That action seemed to say, hurry and try some too, making Eldis reach for the berries.

“Delicious.”

Though slightly different from wild raspberries as they had no seeds inside, the refreshing sweetness moistening his throat felt good. Eldis instructed Matis to pick only as much as they needed. Matis nodded eagerly and began picking berries enthusiastically.

‘Seeing that the aura isn’t moving, there’s no poison.’

Soon his hands were full of berries. Since Eldis had picked about the same amount, he said, “I think this is enough now.” The white divine beast glanced at both their hands and called out again.

“Woowong.”

Then Lirameki returned toward the cave. Its slow walking appearance couldn’t have looked more reassuring. Matis suddenly remembered rushing at Lirameki with a sword when he first crash-landed in the holy land and wore a gloomy expression.

‘I shouldn’t have done that then.’

Even now, if that Lirameki appeared, he wanted to draw his sword and apologize. Since it was a divine beast, and this was the holy land of light, perhaps the wounds of Lirameki, the divine beast of light, would heal quickly if the sword was removed.

But while Matis was suffering from guilt, Eldis could see something in front of the cave.

“Hmm? There’s… something in front.”

Lirameki, with a sword stuck in its back, was blocking the front of the cave, blinking its innocent eyes. Seeing the white deer-like figure with horns rising on both sides, Eldis lightly tapped Matis’s arm.

“Matis. This is your chance to apologize. Don’t miss it, do it properly.”

“Ah, understood.”

Matis hurriedly ran toward Lirameki, standing in front of the cave. When he brought his palm full of berries to Lirameki’s mouth, Lirameki began munching on the berries. A gesture of reconciliation? After chewing about half, Lirameki snorted, “Hmm,” and Matis quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry. I just thought you were a white deer… I’m truly sorry. I’ll pull out the sword now.”

“Woong.”

“Then, I’ll pull it out.”

Matis held the berries in one hand and pulled the sword out of Lirameki’s body with the other. For an instant, white liquid spurted out, but soon Lirameki’s body began to heal. Once the wound completely disappeared, Lirameki blinked its innocent eyes and continued eating the berries from Matis’s palm.

After eating frantically, Lirameki called out happily. Then it rubbed its face all over Matis’s arm. Matis’s face also brightened. He stroked Lirameki’s face and then offered the remaining berries. But Lirameki raised its head as if it had had enough.

“Hung.”

Lirameki left Matis there and slowly moved away. Matis said, “Goodbye! Thank you!” and it looked back slightly, but afterward, it disappeared beyond the plain.

“That’s good. Making peace with Lirameki.”

“Yes. Really… really fortunate. If I hadn’t made peace, I might not have gotten the sword back and might have incurred more hatred, possibly becoming a plaything for some monster.”

Eldis smiled faintly at those words. Instead of answering, he beckoned Matis and shared his berries.

“But, wouldn’t Your Highness the Crown Prince have too little to eat?”

When Matis asked with an apologetic face, Eldis shook his head. Then he spoke in a gentle voice.

“We can go back and pick more berries. And I plan to eat this amount plus other things. Of course, I’ll share with you, but you’re not small in build, so you need a lot to eat. So there’s nothing to thank me for when I’m giving you this in advance, before you go out alone to pick berries because you can’t stand hunger.”

“…Ah, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“If you’re really grateful, I’d like you to hunt for fish again after eating these berries. There are more than 3 hours left before sunset, so we have plenty of time to make grilled fish.”

“Ah, understood. Leave the fish catching to me!”

Matis chewed the berries, somewhat satisfying his hunger. Eldis also informed Lirameki that Matis would catch fish while he would gather twigs to make a bonfire. Lirameki nodded, wagged its tail, and calmly followed Matis.

It seemed collecting twigs was acceptable. Eldis smiled slightly as he pushed through the surrounding thickets, picking up fallen branches under the bushes.

“The fish are really biting well today. But I should only catch enough to fill our stomachs…”

Perhaps because they had few natural predators, the fish in the holy land were plump, most with bodies as thick as an adult man’s forearm. Matis, who had caught four fish, used his sword to scale and clean them. Having his sword back and being able to use it immediately was incredibly convenient.