After biting his trouser leg and pulling him here, Fou let go and dashed toward the church on his own.
Thanks to that, Roland stopped where he was and quietly admired the scene before him.
Standing at the end of the woodland path, where the view suddenly opened up, the classical church with its stained-glass windows easily gave one a sense of peace.
All the more so now that dusk had fallen. With no trees blocking the light, everything from the patterns on the cross above the church to the reliefs on its walls took on a three-dimensional quality beneath the faint shadows.
In the glow of the setting sun, fiery red hues spread, blending with the shadows and the church as though melting together.
Yet faced with this beautiful, striking scene, Roland's gaze remained firmly drawn to the figure below the church.
In terms of size, that figure was completely out of proportion to the church, and she was not even doing anything special. Yet simply by standing there, she seemed to turn everything around her into a backdrop.
The brilliant sunset seemed to lose the sun's blessing, turning a dusky shade like a crimson moon.
The sacred symbols on the standing church were also shrouded in shadow, making it look more like an ancient castle.
Indeed.
A crimson moon and an ancient castle-those were the natural accompaniments for that figure who radiated nobility.
"Just like a pitch-black phantom."
Despite that observation, once his gaze focused on the figure, it soon became clear that this phantom was no illusion born of a leyline, but a girl who looked only fourteen or fifteen.
Long hair, black as ink, cascaded like a waterfall down to her ankles.
Pale skin stood in stark contrast to it.
The girl's figure was slender and