They say yesterday's enemy becomes today's friend.
*How can you become close with someone you fought against?*
That's what the old me would have thought.
But perhaps because of the situation unfolding before my eyes right now,
I found myself thinking that yesterday's enemy could indeed become today's friend.
...Though it seemed like only one side was thinking of the other as a friend.
"Ah, aah!! That's mine! I was going to eat that!"
"We made up, so why are you being so stingy? First come, first served. If you're upset, put it in your mouth first."
"Wow!! You're completely shameless!"
Danuel, having regained her sanity, sat on the picnic mat and was inhaling the food I'd made.
Literally inhaling.
It wasn't for nothing that she looked like a beggar—she was clearly starving.
"What, there's no more? Why is the portion so small?"
Bang bang-!!
Danuel slammed the empty food container on the ground.
The children's reaction to this sight was cold.
"That, that beggar... she has no conscience, mister...!"
"Every single thing she does is vulgar. I can't eat with someone like that."
Hare and Saten glared at Danuel with icy stares.
Not only had she intruded on their picnic and disrupted it, but now she was gorging on their food.
It was an understandable reaction.
Just then, Estia slowly walked between Hare and Saten.
Estia's expression was as grave as a general heading to war.
Approaching Danuel slowly, Estia quietly murmured:
"...Stop eating."
"Huh? What are you—"
"I said stop eating, you pig! Don't you fear the Saint's words!? I showed mercy because you looked hungry! And you act like this!?"
"S-Saint!? Ah, I'm sorry...!"
Thud—
Danuel, who had been causing a scene, immediately fell to her knees before Estia.
Watching this, Estia spoke with a triumphant expression, seemingly feeling superior.
"Th-this is me!! I'm the Saint!! So, stop eating!! It's the Saint's command!! Got it!?"
"Y-yes, Saint...!!"
Danuel bowed her head in loyalty.
Seeing a top-ranked adventurer act so submissive before a drug-addicted saint,
my head began to throb with pain.
"Even for someone religious, isn't she too weak before the Saint? Haa, my head hurts..."
"Mister, my head hurts too!! What kind of Saint is that! More importantly, why did you let that woman have our food!!"
Luna seemed angrier about allowing the food than about the Saint.
I picked off a grain of rice stuck to Luna's mouth and said:
"...I told her to wash up. When she came back soaking wet and her stomach was growling, I couldn't just ignore it."
The image of her brother Daniel's gruesome death also flickered in my mind.
I couldn't bring myself to be too harsh.
Luna nodded in agreement.
"That's true! Mister, you're kinder and more thoughtful than I expected!"
"So before, I wasn't kind or thoughtful?"
"N-no! Than I expected! You're kinder than I thought! Ha, haha..."
Luna deflected the situation with an awkward laugh.
Anyway.
"If the food was insufficient, be patient. There'll be more for dinner, so you'll be satisfied then."
"Well, then I'll be patient! I'm generous after all!"
Shrug—
Luna said she understood and returned to where the children were.
And I approached Danuel to finish the conversation we'd been having.
"Now that you've filled your stomach, we have things to discuss, Danuel."
"Ah, right. Sorry for attacking first... Anyway, shall we talk while walking? You were heading to the summit, right? My cabin's there, so let's talk there. It's a long story about why I'm here and why my mental state is like this. And..."
"I thought your mental state has always been the same."
"...Fine. Never mind that. Anyway."
The meal was good.
"I can see why Daniel praised you so much. Sorry for being out of it."
The Fanatic Danuel.
She bowed her head to me in apology.
Having witnessed the Saint's presence directly, she'd probably stay sane for a while.
I sat on the picnic mat and checked on the children who had finished eating.
"We couldn't eat much, but... i-it was delicious! Mister!"
"Kimbap? And inari sushi? It's my first time eating these, but they weren't bad."
"Right! They were perfect for Saint Estia to eat!"
Despite Danuel's interference, they seemed to have finished their lunch happily.
Picnic staple foods definitely work in this world too.
Thinking that, I cleaned up the containers the children had emptied.
For some reason,
I felt a smile appear on my lips for the first time in a while.
"When was the last time I felt pleased seeing a finished meal..."
I couldn't remember exactly,
but I knew it had been a very long time.
While it took a long time from the entrance to the midpoint, it didn't take long from the midpoint to the summit.
"Not that way. There's a shortcut."
Danuel said she'd lived in the Deep Mountain of Repentance for quite a while and knew every path.
Thanks to that, we reached the summit before the mountain grew dark.
Luna and Estia looked at the setting sun from the mountain peak and shouted:
"Yahoo! I've conquered the mountain-!!"
"Saint Estia has conquered the mountain-!!"
Not lions roaring from a cliff,
but two puppies enjoying the joy of reaching the summit.
Hare was looking around, and Saten was examining plants.
As each enjoyed the joy of reaching the summit in their own way,
Danuel stood in front of the cabin and said:
"Well, as you can see... it's cramped and shabby. Come in for now."
Danuel scratched her brown hair, looking embarrassed.
Unlike her hesitation, I opened the cabin door without reservation.
"Hey! Isn't that too sudden!? I haven't even cleaned up, you have no consideration!"
"...You really haven't cleaned. Do you live here?"
"Well, yeah... I had no choice but to live here to survive."
Danuel seemed to have some story.
Enough to have to come into the deep mountains.
She seemed to be involved in something.
I pulled over a chair lying around and sat down.
Crash-!!
"Oh, did it break from not being used? I have another chair I made, should I give you that?"
"...I'll just stand."
How did she make a chair that breaks so easily?
There are too many dangerous parts, so I'll have to put the children to sleep outside as planned.
Thinking that, I asked Danuel:
"So, Danuel. Why are you here?"
"Hmm, it's a long story... First, let me close the door."
Creak—
Thud—
Danuel closed the door for soundproofing, as if the kids shouldn't hear.
Then she sighed in relief and said:
"Phew, first, I'll ask the questions. What were you thinking coming to this mountain?"
"I came for a picnic."
"Aha, for a picnic with the kids? I didn't know you'd been living like a nanny since that incident."
"...You don't need to mention that."
"Fine, relax your expression. You look scary."
Danuel answered looking not scared at all.
It was quite an irritating face.
"But at least I know you're not from the Church. You didn't come to find and kill me."
"...Is the Church trying to kill you? Why? It doesn't make sense for them to try to kill you when you believe in the same religion."
"When even the same species easily kill each other, what does religion matter?"
...That's a fair point.
Still, it's surprising.
Danuel, who showed insane faith and earned the nickname Fanatic,
is being hunted by the Goddess Church.
What could be the reason?
"Why is the Church after you?"
"I don't know if I should tell you this... but well, you're involved, so I can tell you, right? The Goddess's representative follows you, so I'll tell you. There's only one reason."
The corruption of the Goddess Church.
And betrayal.
"The reason my mind is messed up is also because of that Holy Water—"
"No, your mind was messed up from the start."
"...My mind got 'more' messed up because I drank that Holy Water once, and because I know in great detail how corrupt the Church has become. That's why I'm hiding and living here."
"Are you talking about the experiments the Church is conducting?"
"If you know that, this conversation will be easier. Actually, that's not the end of it."
Danuel began listing the information she knew, one by one.
That the Church had become corrupt and was selling Holy Water to make money,
that they were running orphanages to supply experimental subjects,
and that they were working with Grimoire—she spoke of all this without hesitation.
"I wondered why the flow of Holy Water was strange recently, but it wasn't the Church—you had the Saint? That's good. Devout Goddess Church believers like me were suffering because of that Holy Water. It's too addictive."
"That's true. So ultimately, the Goddess Church and Grimoire joined hands because of money?"
"Partly because of money... but more because their interests aligned."
"Interests?"
"The Goddess Church wanted money, and Grimoire wanted something, but I don't know what. Hey, more importantly, how do you have the Saint?"
How do I have the Saint?
I can answer that quite simply.
"I kidnapped her."
"What?"
"I kidnapped Estia from the Church."
"I-I see. Kidnapped... Then the other children there..."
"Some of them are kidnapped children."
"..."
At those words, Danuel closed her mouth.
With a look of contempt toward me as a bonus.
It felt like she was looking at me as a criminal.
My heart felt a little sad, having had no choice but to kidnap them.