Maggie finally caught up with Nesser. When she looked at him again, he had put away his sad expression, but you could still vaguely see his slightly red eyes.
The atmosphere was so quiet it was suffocating.
Maggie was awkward and didn't know how to start the conversation, while Nesser pretended to focus his attention on the golden leaves that were about to appear. At least his gaze was directed towards the top of the Elf Tree. As for his true thoughts, only he knew them.
After a while, as dusk fell, a faint golden hue began to appear among the leaves, interspersed among the dense foliage.
The quantity is very small, and the sun will soon set completely, requiring extremely rapid collection.
Furthermore, you cannot touch the golden leaf with magical creations, because it will dissolve the magical creation, that is, absorb its magic power.
This leaves only two options: either pick them by hand or use magic to manipulate creatures to obtain them.
The elves are most skilled at using vines and thorns, which are perfect for picking golden leaves.
However, achieving perfect control over the vines is not easy for elves.
But Maggie discovered early on that Nesser's control over the vines was terrifyingly strong, as if they were her own limbs.
Therefore, Maggie often hallucinates that Nesser is the reincarnation of the forest god.
In the original manga, the human form of the forest god possessed an extraordinary talent for manipulating vines.
The same thing happened now. In just a few minutes, Nesser had already picked most of the gold leaves. As for the rest, there wasn't enough time, and the sun soon set.
The shimmering light of the golden leaves also disappeared, and the inability to locate them meant that they could not be picked.
Maggie could only watch regretfully as the specks of golden light disappeared before her eyes.
These are all genuine treasures that can be used as gold coins.
Meanwhile, Nesser, who had plucked the accompanying golden leaves from the vines, was standing under an elven tree, holding a pile of golden leaves in his hands, quietly looking down at them.
I have no intention of going to see Maggie.
I don't know if she's afraid of being disliked, or if she simply doesn't want to get close to Maggie.
Maggie looked away and just then saw this scene.
The last rays of the setting sun had vanished, leaving only a somber hue in the forest, and Nesser, not far away, seemed to have melted into the darkness.
She touched her nose somewhat awkwardly, then sighed helplessly and slowly spoke to the gray-toned Nesser.
"Let's talk."
Actually, Maggie has been feeling awkward these past few days, not much better than Nesser.
She's just good at pretending.
The moment Maggie came of age, she suddenly realized something terrifying.
That is, she has an almost pathological protectiveness, a desire to satisfy, and some inexplicable compensatory psychology towards Nesser.
But was it really because she simply wanted to be good to Nesser?
Maggie initially thought so, but the moment she saw the adult version of Nesser, she realized it wasn't true.
Because all those morbid emotions vanished in that instant, and even the adult version of Nesser felt strange.
This is not normal at all.
To put it nicely, she was raising Nesser like a son; to put it bluntly, she was raising a pet.
She was probably more focused on satisfying herself than on doting on Nesser.
So after she realized that Nesser probably no longer needed her help, she actually developed many almost evil thoughts about Nesser.
She didn't even want Nesser to grow up; she wanted him to stay a cub forever, always needing her protection.
For various reasons, she once seriously studied psychology for a period of time in an attempt to save herself.
Therefore, she was well aware that something was wrong with her condition. This pathological psychological state would be called 'White Knight Personality Syndrome' in modern times.
'A personality disorder that attempts to save oneself by saving others.'
An extreme, pathological White Knight will exploit vulnerability to control others, seemingly offering redemption and help, but in reality, the White Knight does not want those he helps to truly get better.
This realization left Maggie somewhat bewildered.
She didn't even realize when she had fallen ill.
She almost became the perpetrator.
As a result, she had no idea how to deal with Nesser, and these days she would avoid him.
They even tried to force Nesser away with sarcastic remarks.
But just now, she saw Nesser cry.
Although the feeling wasn't very clear, she felt a pang of sadness in her heart for a moment.
She wasn't without feelings for Nesser; even a pet would develop feelings after being cared for for so long.
Besides, Nesser is a living, breathing intelligent being; he has thoughts, he feels sadness, and he can softly call her "sister."
So Maggie thought that running away was not the solution; it would only make the problem worse.
No matter what, Nesser is innocent; she's the one who made things worse.
Nesser was unaware of Maggie's thoughts. Upon hearing Maggie's words, his body trembled almost imperceptibly for a moment, and a strong sense of despair surged from him, like a patient awaiting a death sentence.
Even so, he still chose to obey Maggie's words, turned around, and walked in Maggie's direction.
Nesser was afraid; he wasn't sure if Maggie's words meant she wanted him to stay in the Green Forest and stop following her.
Maggie now only shows him indifference.
Maggie looked at Nesser, who was standing obediently in front of her, his color becoming increasingly gray and black, and reached out his hand.
Her hand paused above Nesser's head for a moment, but eventually fell down.
Just like before.
I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have treated you like this, but I can't get used to you suddenly growing up.
Maggie tried to organize her thoughts, but her hands moved somewhat stiffly.
She was having some trouble getting over that mental hurdle, the hurdle she had to overcome herself.
"Nesser... I'm sorry, I hurt you..."
Maggie spoke slowly, thinking as she spoke about how to apologize sincerely, but her tone was firm and she didn't try to evade the issue.
Nesser froze for a moment, then looked up at Maggie with disbelief.
He seemed unable to believe that Maggie's request to talk was actually an apology to him.
He was waiting for the final judgment with a heart full of despair, but he never expected to receive a completely different result.
"Sister, are you not angry anymore?"
Nesser asked cautiously.
"...I have never been angry."
Maggie withdrew her hand, her expression somewhat unnatural. She hadn't actually been angry with Nesser, but she had struggled with herself.
There's no need to tell Nesser any of this.
"Then why..."
Nesser pouted; even though he had become a huge size, he still looked like a pitiful little kid.
“It’s my fault. I don’t want Nesser to grow up, that’s why I’ve been avoiding you for so many days.”
Maggie always readily admits her mistakes; she has the utmost contempt for stubborn, prideful people.
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