The Gloomy Saintess Obsessively Clings to Death

When I turned around, a forest quite far away came into view.

At a glance, it was just a serene and peaceful forest.

But…

I immediately knew.

That this was the source where ominous energies heavily intertwined.

The moment I paid closer attention,

An ominous aura constricting my whole body rushed over me.

It felt like an invisible hand was choking my neck, making it hard to breathe momentarily.

“……”

A bone-chilling sensation and burning feeling came from my right arm.

I quickly came to my senses and looked down at my arm.

Without noticing, I had opened a Pocket Dimension and grasped my weapon.

I hurriedly put the weapon down and closed the Pocket Dimension.

‘Should I be grateful that I was demoted?’

I didn’t expect that the pain from the rejection reaction would end up being this helpful.

I stared at the forest again.

While it still appeared tranquil on the outside, the oppressive sensation emanating from within it, as if giving a warning, grew stronger.

‘…Moreover, someone seemed to be staring at me just now.’

That gaze didn’t come from the forest.

Instead, it was closer.

But still somewhat distant.

I swiftly scanned the surroundings, but the only things I could sense were small creatures presumed to be animals.

‘…Though very persistent, that gaze didn’t feel like it came from an animal.’

Perhaps if I ask the Saint directly, she’d know.

I turned my head to look at the Saint.

At that moment, the startled Saint started tearing up.

“Why are you crying, Saint?”

“Aaah…. M-Mr. Death, it’s a… a skeleton…. Skeletons….”

…It wasn’t the forest, nor the strange gaze, it was me?

That’s deflating.

In contrast, the pale Saint completely disregarded the dusty floor, collapsed, and began sobbing.

“Aaah…! I, I… my strength has harmed Mr. Death…”

“That’s ridiculous!”

I quickly removed my mask and helped the Saint up.

Her face was smeared with tears and dirt, completely disheveled.

When our eyes met, her eyes full of sorrow instantly filled with confusion.

I sighed and took out a wet tissue from my Pocket Dimension to gently wipe her tears.

“You shouldn’t collapse here. Your clothes are all messy now. If I hadn’t removed my mask, you might have inhaled all the dust.”

“…Mr. Death… normally? Just now, the skeleton… …Is it, is it? Hallucination?”

Looking at the shell-shocked Saint, I regretted my oversight.

I hadn’t considered it.

To a person who saw my real face, wearing a mask might seem terrifying.

‘How was I to know? This has never happened before.’

This mask was a tool for fulfilling my duty as a Grim Reaper.

With the importance of image in my profession, it was designed so that a soul would immediately recognize me as a Reaper and follow without resistance.

And…

In the world I oversee, a grim black figure holding a large scythe, which is perceived as a typical Reaper, is well-known.

It’s understandable that a god who suddenly turns into a skeleton would be surprising.

The Saint was still trembling her frail body.

While trembling, she carefully stretched her hand towards me, so I gently took it.

The Saint’s hand was ice-cold.

Thanks to that, the heat from my right hand was fading when,

The Saint seemed to be examining something by gently touching my hand.

I offered an apology first since I already knew the reason.

“I apologize. I didn’t consider that the mask might startle you, Saint.”

“…Mask?”

“Yes. I use it for work—it’s an implement that makes me look the part of a Reaper.”

“Never wear it agaaaain!”

The Saint interrupted me and started sobbing.

Perplexed by her sudden reaction, I could only blink in confusion.

“Why use it when you’re already Mr. Death? I was really scared. Because of me, because of me… I thought something was wrong… aaa!”

“…Ah, I sincerely apologize. I wore it because of the dust.”

“…Dust?”

The Saint stopped crying and looked at me with tearful eyes.

I nodded while wearing a slightly awkward expression.

“Yes. Because dust flies around while cleaning. Even if I am Death, my respiratory system isn’t that strong. Well, it’s stronger than a human’s, but I still cough….”

“…Is that true? Really because of dust?”

“That’s right.”

To confirm, I wore the mask again.

My entire body transformed into a skeleton, and the Saint flinched.

She then started gently prodding my hand again.

“Warm and soft… doesn’t feel like a skeleton at all…”

“Of course not. Even though I look like a skeleton, my body is still intact.”

The Saint slightly nodded her head, then carefully touched my face.

“Eh? The face feels hard?”

“I’m wearing a mask.”

“Ah…”

The Saint’s cheeks turned slightly pink, seemingly embarrassed.

Seeing that, I almost burst into laughter when,

A strange sensation on my neck made me suddenly feel a shiver.

I stepped back in surprise, and the Saint looked puzzled as she showed me her hand.

“Sorry. When I saw your neck was all bones, I just wanted to check if it was warm….”

“…Ah, it’s fine. You’ve sufficiently confirmed that I’m alright, haven’t you?”

“Yep. Sorry.”

“And you’re reassured, right?”

The Saint nodded softly and smiled.

Then, it was my turn to resolve my doubts.

“By the way, Saint, did you sense something strange outside?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“An unfamiliar strange energy, or perhaps an unusual gaze, something like that.”

The Saint thoughtfully pondered for a moment, then tilted her head slightly and replied.

“I don’t know. I didn’t feel anything unusual at all…”

“Maybe someone visited this place?”

“Yeah. Once a month, they bring food and take away those who can’t fight anymore. But there are still more than a week left…”

The sensation was too vivid to be a mere hallucination.

I distinctly felt someone watching me with an obsessive gaze.

‘Regretfully, I should have marked the area to identify it later.’

My expression must have looked grim.

The Saint touched me with a worried look on her face again.

“What is it, Mr. Death? Did you sense something strange?”

“…Ah.”

I hesitated for a moment and then confessed honestly.

“Earlier, I felt a very persistent gaze watching me.”

“A gaze?”

“Yes.”

Due to focusing on suppressing the rejection reaction, my response speed was slower than usual.

That brief pause was frustratingly regrettable.

If I had pursued it immediately, I might have at least seen the tail.

Anxiously scratching my head, I sighed.

“Saint, do you have any guesses?”

“…Sorry, I don’t know. This place is pretty much abandoned, so I don’t think anyone would deliberately check here…”

Was it a careless comment?

The Saint’s shoulders shrank, and a hint of anxiety crossed her face.

I cautiously patted her head and said.

“Don’t worry about it. It might just be an illusion.”

“…Illusion?”

“Yes. Maybe it was just some wild animal.”

Did my cover-up seem unnatural?

The Saint suspiciously stared at me with narrowed eyes.

It got increasingly awkward under her gaze, so I tried to shift the topic while avoiding her eyes.

“T, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask, Saint.”

“What is it?”

“Um, what is that forest over there?”

The moment I pointed at the forest, the Saint’s complexion turned pale.

Her expression was fraught with anxiety.

She looked back and forth between me and the forest and tightly gripped my hand.

She gripped it so hard that I could feel the pain in the joints of my fingers.

I slightly frowned.

“…Saint, if you grip too hard, my hand won’t make it.”

“S-sorry.”

When I made a half-joking remark, the Saint finally eased her grip.

However, she didn’t let go of my hand.

“…H-Hey, did you feel the gaze from there? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of checking it out?”

“No. I don’t have any such intention…”

The Saint observed me closely.

It felt like she was scrutinizing my face to read my true intentions, which made me feel rather uneasy.

…Then, the Saint let out a sigh of relief as if confirming the truth.

“Mr. Death, you must never go there. Don’t even go close—it’s dangerous.”

“…Yes. It definitely looks dangerous.”

“Yeah, it’s a really dangerous place. It can drive you insane within a short time after entering. And if you stay long enough, your body can deform grotesquely.”

…Deforms grotesquely?

From what I know, such occurrences usually involve magic or curses. Or perhaps…

‘…Chaos.’

The memory of the sensation while detecting the dense negative energy surged.

There was definitely something in the center emitting strong negative energy.

It was unsettling to the extreme,

And it fiercely threatened my detection as if rejecting it.

‘…But it felt somewhat different from Chaos.’

As I contemplated re-detecting it, the Saint grabbed my hand.

Then she extended her pinky finger with the other hand.

“…Saint?”

“Is this right? Promise me! Promise you’ll never go near that place!”

The Saint’s expression was filled with earnestness.

Strange, it was making me want to laugh despite feeling silly.

Gathering the remaining laughter, I asked,

“Saint, is this… making a promise, like last time?”

“Yes! Hurry up!”

The Saint raised her voice and extended her pinky finger.

I sighed and hooked my pinky finger with hers.

“Understood. I promise not to enter that forest.”

“Really? You must keep it. Otherwise… I’ll really get mad.”

If you got mad, you’d still look cute.

But if I said that, she’d probably get upset, so I didn’t say it out loud.

Instead, I smiled faintly.

“Yes, don’t worry. I will definitely keep my promise.”

“…Okay. I trust you.”

“By the way, you’re not hesitating today?”

“……Eh?”

I was curious to ask, but the Saint’s face suddenly turned bright red.

She quickly withdrew her hand and turned away.

Her flushed neck was visible, causing me to chuckle softly.

‘And yet, sometimes you do far more intimate things without flinching.’

Such thoughts crossed my mind, and for some reason, my face started to feel warm too.

I quickly turned my head toward the door.

Feeling the cold breeze that blew by, I managed to calm down my mind.