Chapter 5

The Enchanted Forest where Alexei was killed and his body discarded is located about ten days' journey by carriage from the imperial capital. The route is a desolate wasteland, almost uninhabited by humans. Occasionally, large numbers of monsters emerge from the Enchanted Forest, so there are four garrisons of knights specialized in monster slaying located to the east, west, south, and north of the forest.

Alexei was killed just before he reached the Enchanted Forest, and his body was carried there by slaves. The slaves were killed by monsters the moment they entered the forest.

On the other hand, the green-skinned woman who came to be called Pai by Alexei came to the Enchanted Forest on her own. She was born into a large family of poor farmers, but because of her pale green skin, she was considered repulsive even by her family and was never given a name. Over time, she became known as a monster without anyone specifically calling her that.

She was quiet and gentle, and worked hard from a young age. However, as she grew older, her skin turned a deeper green, became even more flabby, and her face and body became unrecognizably human. Feeling guilty for causing her family to be ostracized by the village, she quietly left at the age of twelve.

After that, she wandered alone and eventually found her way to the Enchanted Forest, as if guided. In the forest, she befriended the monsters and enjoyed living in the forest with them. She had always loved animals since she was a child.

"Animals are great. They don't fear me."

She didn't understand the difference between animals and monsters. To her, both were kind creatures that didn't discriminate against her. Strangely, neither animals nor monsters ever attacked her, as if they could communicate with her.

Life in the forest was much easier than in the village. She even found a family among the monsters.

"I'll be your family. I'll be the mother, and you'll be the children!"

She treated the monsters as if they were her children, seeing herself as their mother.

Life in the forest was very comfortable. She lived in a cave, ate the forest's bounty, and even wove rough cloth from wild hemp.

Here, no one looked down on her. Only her beloved new family.

She found Alexei about ten years after she began living in the forest. She immediately took a liking to the plump Alexei with his silver hair and clear blue eyes.

Their life together passed with her taking care of Alexei.

It was the happiest time of her life.

"Ham-chan, you're always so cute. What are you doing?"

One day, while Alexei was drawing pictures of himself and her on the ground to pass the time, he also wrote the words "Me and Pai." She was very pleased when she saw this.

"Is this me and Ham-chan? What's written below? What does it say? Ham-chan can write, can't he? That's amazing. I've never met anyone in my village who could read. Even the village chief can't, so I heard he asks the important people in the neighboring town."

"Huh? I learned that the literacy rate in the empire is higher than in other countries. Half the population can read and write. They also taught us that increasing literacy rates strengthens the country and reduces social disparities."

"I don't understand complicated things. But is it good to be able to read?"

She looked at Alexei curiously.

"Yes, it is. If you can't read, you can't read books, and if you can't read books, it's hard to learn things."

"That's true, I guess. I don't really understand, but I get that Ham-chan is very smart."

She patted Alexei's head. Alexei, who had been given a strict education and had never been praised, was happy to be complimented. He had already received an education equivalent to that of a prestigious academy by the age of six.

"It's nothing much."

"No, it's not! You're amazing, Ham-chan. You're cute and smart. You're a genius!"

"Really, it's nothing much. Anyone can learn if they try. Even you can write, Pai."

Her eyes, almost hidden by her skin, widened.

"Really? Can I learn to write too?"

Alexei smiled.

"Yes. I'll teach you the letters little by little. There's no paper or pen here, so we'll write on the ground with a stick."

"That's fine! Thank you, Ham-chan. Oh, in this case, you're the teacher, right? Teacher Ham!"

"Stop it, just call me Ham-chan."

Alexei was happy that he was no longer just being taken care of and protected.