Source
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As the full moon rose into the night sky.
Serena and I had been riding for several hours.
The night breeze brushed against my cheeks.
The lights of the capital had already faded into the distance behind us.
We barely spoke.
We had to find the Night-Traveling Moon as soon as possible.
That was all I could think about.
“Alt san,”
Serena, riding beside me, pointed ahead.
“I can see it now.”
I turned my gaze in that direction.
There, stretching out before us, was a deep forest bathed in moonlight.
Jet-black trees.
Dead silence.
Not even the sound of insects could be heard.
It was as if the entire forest were holding its breath.
“So this is the Forest of Moon Shadows?”
“Yes.”
Serena reined in her horse.
“We can’t go any further on horseback from here.”
“Ah.”
I dismounted as well.
The moment I stood at the entrance to the forest,
a chill touched my skin.
This wasn’t just any forest.
I realized that immediately.
“It’s quieter than I expected.”
“There are almost no monsters in this forest,”
Serena said, gazing into the depths of the forest.
“But that doesn’t mean there’s no danger.”
“We’d get lost, wouldn’t we?”
“Yes.”
“The Moonlit Forest changes its form only on nights of the full moon.”
“Paths that are only visible in the moonlight appear,”
“and at the same time, you start to see paths that don’t even exist.”
“That’s a hassle.”
“That’s exactly why—”
Serena looks at me.
“Please don’t stray from me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m counting on you, Serena.”
As I said that,
Serena’s eyes widened just a little.
And then,
she gave a small smile.
“Yes.”
“Leave it to me.”
We stepped into the forest.
◇
At first, it looked like an ordinary forest.
A single path winding through the trees.
Fallen leaves underfoot.
A full moon overhead.
But.
It was after we’d been walking for a few minutes.
“…Serena.”
I stopped in my tracks.
“Haven’t the paths multiplied?”
The path that had been a single trail just a moment ago.
It had split into two without us noticing.
Right and left.
Both were bathed in the same moonlight.
Serena nodded quietly.
“It’s begun, hasn’t it?”
“Which one is the real one?”
“The one on the right.”
Her answer was unwavering.
“How do you know?”
“There’s a small mark in the moonlight.”
“A mark?”
I squinted.
But I couldn’t see anything.
It looked like nothing more than a regular path.
“I can’t make it out.”
“It’s a mark that only clergy can read.”
“In the church, it’s passed down as the knowledge needed to enter the Moonlit Forest.”
“I see.”
I nodded in agreement.
“So we really do have to rely on Serena, then.”
“Yes.”
Serena smiled, looking slightly pleased.
“I’ll definitely guide you.”
We turned onto the path on the right.
◇
We ventured further in.
The number of paths increased again.
This time, there were three.
Then four.
And then.
Five.
Six.
Before I knew it, countless paths stretched out before us.
They all looked the same.
The shape of the trees.
The way the fallen leaves were scattered.
The way the moonlight filtered through.
Everything was so similar.
“This is…”
She let out a breath without realizing it.
“If you don’t know this, you’ll definitely get lost.”
“Yes.”
Serena carefully scanned her surroundings.
“The Moonlit Forest isn’t a forest that harms people.”
“It’s just—”
“It’s a forest that tests you.”
“Tests?”
“Only those who truly need it can reach its deepest depths.”
“That’s what the legend says.”
“That’s a pretty mean forest.”
“I suppose so.”
Serena gave a wry smile.
“But the Night-Blooming Moon is such a precious medicinal herb.”
“If it were easy to harvest, it would surely disappear in no time.”
I could see the logic in those words.
That’s exactly why.
That’s why this forest protects it.
The flower known as the Night-Walking Moon.
So that only those who truly need it can reach it.
“…The clouds…”
Serena looked up at the sky.
A thin veil of clouds was beginning to cover the full moon.
At that moment.
Serena stopped in her tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
“When the moonlight fades, the markings disappear.”
“So?”
“We can’t move right now.”
Hearing that, I looked around.
Sure enough, the path that had been bright just a moment ago…
Now, every part of it looked equally dark.
I didn’t know which way to go.
“Don’t panic,”
I said quietly.
“Let’s wait until the clouds pass.”
“But—”
Serena bites her lip.
“We’re running out of time…”
“I know.”
“But if we make a mistake here, we’ll lose even more time.”
“…Yes.”
Serena gave a slight nod.
The moon was hidden by the clouds.
The forest grew dark.
It was supposed to be just a moment.
But it felt strangely long.
The girl’s anguished face flashed through my mind.
Her mother’s tears, too.
Serena must be thinking the same thing.
She was clenching her fists.
“Serena.”
“Yes.”
“It’ll be okay.”
“We’ll definitely make it in time.”
I had no basis for that.
But.
That was all I could say right now.
Serena looked at me.
And then.
Her expression softened just a little.
“…Yes.”
Soon.
The clouds drifted away.
The light of the full moon once again poured down into the forest.
Serena immediately looked ahead.
“I see it.”
“Which one?”
“The second one from the left.”
“Got it.”
We started walking again.
Believing that ahead of us,
there was a place where the Night-Blooming Moon blossomed.
◇
As if guided by the moonlight,
we continued deeper into the forest.
Before long,
the trees gave way.
Spread out before us was a small lake.
The lake’s surface was as still as a mirror,
The full moon was reflected perfectly in it.
There was no wind.
No birdsong.
It was a silence as if all sound had vanished from the world.
And then.
At the lakeshore.
Bathed entirely in the light of the full moon.
A single flower bloomed quietly.
A pale blue.
Translucent petals.
It was as beautiful as if a fragment of the moon had turned into a flower.
“…The Night-Walking Moon.”
Serena exhaled as if relieved.
“We made it in time.”
I, too, found myself staring at it without thinking.
“So this is the Night-Walking Moon…”
“It really is beautiful.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen the real thing, too.”
Serena slowly approached the flower.
She knelt down.
She offered a silent prayer.
“Please, allow me to borrow this life.”
As she murmured those words,
she carefully plucked only the flower, taking care not to damage the roots.
It was at that very moment.
The Night-Walking Moon glowed faintly.
Overlapping with the moonlight,
a gentle light enveloped Serena.
Her golden hair sways in the breeze.
Her white nun’s habit.
The Night-Traveling Moon held to her chest.
That scene.
It was just like a painting.
“……”
I stopped in my tracks without thinking.
“Alt?”
Serena turned around, looking puzzled.
“No.”
I gave a wry smile.
“That flower is beautiful, of course, but—”
“You, right now, looked kind of like a goddess.”
As soon as I said it,
I realized I’d said too much.
Serena’s eyes widened.
“Eh…?”
Her cheeks flushed red before my very eyes.
“I-I…”
She couldn’t find the words.
Only her heart was pounding wildly.
Alt tilted his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-no!”
Serena frantically shook her head.
“It’s nothing!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
She answered, still looking down.
Her chest felt tight.
She was so happy.
And so embarrassed.
She was so happy she felt like crying.
[You looked like a goddess.]
Just those single words.
They kept repeating over and over in her head.
“Let’s go home.”
Alt smiled.
“Yeah.”
“A girl and her mother are waiting for us.”
“…Yes.”
Serena held the Night Moon close to her chest.
The heat on her cheek…
It never once cooled until they left the Moonlit Forest.
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