Agnes had done something she wasn't supposed to do. She had crossed the river and gotten close to the forest.

The grown-ups had told her not to get close to the forest, that it was dangerous. But they also told her not to run too fast, or not to climb trees; that doing those was dangerous too. They always seemed to prohibit the things that are fun the most, so Agnes had started to turn a deaf ear to them.

The trees here were far longer and far larger than the ones in the village. Agnes was getting excited by merely looking at them.

Green mosses were draping over the bark of the trees like a green blanket, glistening in the sunlight, and colorful mushrooms were huddled around their bases, varying in size. The vibrant rays of sunlight were infiltrating the forest from the gaps between leaves, providing a dim lighting.

It looked like a place sprung straight out of a fairy tale, like the ones her father used to tell. It looked beautiful.

How was such a beautiful place labeled as extremely dangerous, so much so that even grown-ups wouldn't come near it?

Well, it didn't matter now. She was too excited to run in and play around.

She briefly checked her surroundings before running into the woods. She didn't care why no one wanted to come near it. She simply enjoyed the idea of having the whole forest for herself. It was a forest meant to be hers. It was Agnes’s forest.

That’s what she thought. But funnily enough, it didn’t even take half a minute for her thoughts to be refuted.

“Hey, little lady, didn't your parents tell you that it’s dangerous to enter the Gloria Forest?”

Her smile froze on her face as she recoiled against the voice of a young man.

She quickly turned around, trying to determine its source, but failed. Slowly, she felt her heart sink, and sweat stream down her forehead.

It was too quick!

…

Despite being filled with thrill a second ago, she couldn't help but think of the worst for a moment. After all, she was still a child. Beneath her brave front always laid latent fear. She might not heed her parents’ warnings, but they were always on her mind.

This was just the thing she feared the most, yet had brushed aside.

But the voice chuckled in contrast with her worries, talking soft and friendly.

“Don’t be scared. I'm up here. Look up.”

She slowly turned her head up, and saw the owner of the voice.

It was a young man with sky-blue eyes and messy raven hair sitting on a thick branch. He was wearing a black robe over a casual attire. He had a kind smile, and was looking at Agnes with a visible curiosity.

“My name is Astra,” he said, as he did a little bow on the place he sat,

“And what should I call the little lady?”

Although seeing the man and learning the voice wasn’t coming from some kind of monster relieved her a bit, she was still anxious. So she was backstepping little by little as she answered.

“I-I’m Agnes.”

“Ah, Agnes, huh? Both of our names start with an ‘A’, it’s cool right?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Agnes nodded her head.

Astra scrutinized her face a bit, and slightly pushed himself off the branch, falling freely down.

Agnes’s eyes widened before the view, and she was about to scream until Astra’s fall gradually slowed down before hitting the soil. He gently perched on the ground, and shook off the dirt on his back.

“W-what happened.” Agnes inquired in a quivering voice.

“It’s a magic trick. How do you like it? This way, you don't have to worry about falling down a tree.”

“M-magic?”

“That’s right.”

“So… So you are a priest, right?”

Agnes didn't know about magic. All she had heard was that the only people who could use magic were the people blessed by the Sun. Her parents were also followers of the Sun.

“Do I look like a priest to you?” Astra asked, amused. He did a little spin to show his attire.

“A sun priest wouldn't wear a black robe like me.”

Agnes was confused. She had already forgotten the caution and the fear she had towards Astra, and the only thing that remained was wonder and curiosity.

“So what are you?”

“Can’t you really tell, Agnes? You seem like a smart girl.”

Agnes fidgeted with her sleeve as she pondered. But it didn’t take long for her to reach a conclusion, and her eyes widened as she took a defensive stance, ready to bolt any second.

“Y-you are..!”

“Yes, I am..?”

“You are a warlock!”

Agnes’s hands scrambled to grab dust and pebbles from the soil beneath her, and she hurled them towards Astra.

Astra blocked them with his arms while chuckling.

He was a warlock. Warlocks and witches were heretics who defied the Sun, and were evil people who kidnapped kids who refused to go to their beds, and wandered too far off from their home.

I am sorry, mom, and dad… I should’ve believed you.

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she apologized to her parents from her mind, but when she opened her eyes to look, she didn't see an evil boogeyman who was trying to abduct her. Rather, Astra was laughing loudly at her face.

“What are you laughing at!?”

“Hahaha… Oh, man. Well, I should’ve known. You are still a kid, after all.”

“I don’t understand!”

Astra wiped his tears from his intense laughter, as he walked up to Agnes and crouched in front of her.

“Tell me, Agnes. Am I that scary?”

Agnes was petrified on the spot she was standing on, and also she knew even if she were to run, she wouldn't be able to flee from a warlock. So she didn't move away when he approached.

“Am I?” Astra pressed further, still having a gentle smile on his face.

“The-they said-”

“Who?”

“——Grown-ups said that warlocks are evil heretics that eat children and-”

“But you are not a girl who strictly abides by or believes what grown-ups say, are you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here today.”

“...”

Astra stood back up, turned his back to her, and started walking. As he walked, beautiful flowers emerged from the places he stepped, leaving a floral trail on the way he walked. He asked:

“Is this evil?”

Agnes stayed quiet.

Astra smiled as he waved his arm parallel to the ground, and various branches started protruding from the roots that were gripping the ground, coming together to form an exquisite wooden table with two chairs sitting on both ends of it. Astra pulled one of them for himself and sat down, and gestured to the other.

“Does this seem evil?”

Agnes hesitated for a moment before walking up to the table. She sat on the chair across Astra, eliciting another chuckle from him.

“So… Are they lying about warlocks and witches? Why?”

Astra waved his index finger side to side.

“Nope.”

“T-then-”

“However, they aren't telling the truth either. They just don’t know.”

Agnes gave him a puzzled look.

Astra pulled out two metal cups from inside of his robe, and poured something in them from his bare hands with magic. He put one of them in front of Agnes as he took a sip from his cup.

“Tell me what they told children about Gloria Forest.”

“They told me that it’s dangerous.”

“The other kids believe that and don't come near here, do they? But you came here and saw that it isn't that dangerous yourself. The grown-ups are the same as those kids. They only believe what they are told without knowing.”

Agnes felt that she understood, but Astra continued.

“Although, it really is dangerous deeper inside and you shouldn’t go there but let’s move on now.”

“Wha-”

“We are moving on!” Astra cut her off, and continued.

“Anyway. What I mean is most people settle on believing what they are told instead of seeing for themselves. They don't lie, but they are doomed to live in darkness.”

He took another sip from his cup.

“But you are different, right? That’s why you came here in the first place.”

Agnes held her cup with both of her hands and drank from it as she contemplated the things he said.

“So let me ask you, Agnes.” Astra pulled Agnes out of her reverie, staring deep into her eyes with enthusiasm.

“I’ll ask this once, and I’ll ask this only to you. I’ll ask this because you are different.”

He joined his hands on the table, and asked:

“Do you want to know?”

“Do I want to know what?” she replied with another question. But she already knew what he meant.

Astra’s eyes were smiling as he clarified,

“Magic. Do you want to learn magic?”

Asking that question at that moment, in that place, Astra had already known the answer. So knowing that answer already, he still eagerly waited for a response.

——Not to his surprise at all, the answer was the same as the words he was anticipating.