episode_0067

“Let’s see… a culture that developed using dyes and honey obtained from flowers, right?”

“Yes.”

After listening to Saphia describe Karizan’s culture and admiring the goods, I began to learn about Karizan’s culture and history. Hmm… so the Fairies who settled here, where beautiful blue plants grow, obtained and provided many things from the plants to create various items.

“I see. To think you can even make clothes by processing what comes from the plant stems. That’s amazing to hear again. So your clothes too…”

“Yes. The plants here grew to withstand heat and cold. So… if you wear these clothes, you can endure any weather.”

“I see. That would be good…”

“Yes… but the small size is a problem for Zeke-nim…”

I sighed, looking at the Fairy clothes that were far too small. Of course, such good clothes would definitely be helpful for exploration… It’s just so sad that I can’t wear them because we’re different species. At the moment I was feeling disappointed about the Fairy clothes, one of the items Saphia took out of her basket caught my eye.

“Oh? What’s this, like a ball of yarn?”

“Ah, this? Do you perhaps know what happens when honey is aged, Zeke-nim?”

“When honey is aged? Isn’t that what the honey you gave me was like?”

“That’s similar, yes. But that was edible tree sap mixed with pollen and aged. But do you know what happens if you age it one more time?”

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

When I said I didn’t know, Saphia chuckled and began taking something out of her basket. As Saphia showed me a translucent lump she had taken out of the basket, I tilted my head, beginning to guess what it was.

“Don’t tell me that’s aged honey?”

“Yes, that’s right. When honey is aged, it hardens like this.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that… But what does that have to do with honey?… Oh? Look at this?”

I poked the aged honey Saphia placed on my palm with my fingernail. Contrary to my expectation that it would be soft, the aged honey was as hard as a stone. How on earth could honey become so hard when aged?

“This is quite hard, isn’t it? Like a stone.”

“Right? That’s why you can’t eat it without an awl.”

“An awl? What would you do with that?”

Saphia smiled brightly and pierced the center of the aged honey lump with an awl. Then she put her hand into the hole created in the honey lump and began to stretch it out. What on earth was she doing? I couldn’t understand Saphia’s actions at all.

“If you weave and stretch it like this, it becomes four strands… then eight strands…”

“Oh? It’s getting thinner?”

As Saphia continued to weave and stretch the honey lump, the stretched honey lump gradually became thinner. After repeating this about 14 times, the honey lump suddenly became as thin as the ball of yarn I had seen earlier. Saphia tore off a handful of the honey lump, now thin as thread, and began to clump it together.

“Ta-da! This is how it’s made!”

“Oh… this is amazing? Can I try eating it?”

“You can… but are you sure? It’s a relief that you could still taste the honey from before… but this one, I really doubt you’ll be able to tell the difference…”

Indeed, as Saphia said, the snack Saphia made was only the size of a grain of sand for me, a human. But since my tongue could properly taste the small amount of honey before… surely this would be alright too? I put the snack Saphia placed on my palm into my mouth and began to chew.

“Hmm? What is this taste…?”

“Ah…! Can you taste that properly too?”

“…It just tastes like chewing on a single grain of sugar…”

Perhaps because the taste was weakened, my tongue couldn’t properly taste the snack Saphia had made. Realizing that the snack she made barely registered in my mouth, Saphia scratched her head and said.

“We’ve had almost no interaction with other species, so everything is made to our species’ size… I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright. Aria and I just appeared out of the blue like this.”

“Yes… but Zeke-nim. Behind you…”

“Huh? Why are you two like that?”

Saphia pointed behind me, and I spoke in a bewildered voice, seeing Aria and Rubaea behind me, crouching down and looking frustrated. Why were they crouching there with such blank expressions…? As I looked bewildered, Rubaea, who had been poking the ground with a twig, let out a hollow laugh and said.

“Hoo… hehe… To think you would shatter the heart of a Fairy who takes pride in cosmetic manufacturing like this…”

“Ha… haha… to say it’s useless to this Aria… How am I supposed to capture Zeke-nim’s heart…?”

“Hehehe… No… It seems our Fairies’ cosmetics were just nothing at all…”

At Aria and Rubaea’s hollow laughter, I instinctively took a step back. Saphia, standing next to me, also seemed to flinch, overcome by an unknown fear. Then, Saphia whispered into my ear.

“Wh-why are those two doing that?”

“I… I don’t know either.”

“Did those two do something to Zeke-nim? I didn’t notice, as I was busy explaining our culture to Zeke-nim…”

“Ah… Earlier, Aria kept asking me how she looked. But it was just Aria’s face, so I just said she was pretty.”

“…What? Just a moment, Zeke-nim.”

Upon hearing my words, Saphia immediately flew over to Aria. Then she asked Aria.

“Saintess-nim. Could you please lift your head and show me your face?”

“…? Why are you asking?”

“!!!”

When Saphia spoke, Aria lifted her head and showed her face to Saphia. Saphia was then utterly shocked upon seeing Aria’s face. Thanks to Rubaea’s makeup, Aria had become even more beautiful, to the point where even Fairies would call her a beauty. Saphia, seeing Aria’s even more beautiful face, was speechless, then suddenly shouted at me.

“Zeke-nim! Don’t you feel anything even after seeing this face?!”

“Huh?! Why are you suddenly like this too?!”

“L-look at this face! How beautiful! She’s become so beautiful that even I, a woman, was instantly captivated, yet you’re not captivated by this Saintess-nim!?”

“Uh… It’s just Aria’s face. It’s the face I always see…”

At my words, Saphia seemed greatly shocked; her mouth hung open, and her face froze. Aria let out a deep sigh, bowed her head, and began poking the ground with a twig just like Rubaea… Was it because I didn’t understand a woman’s heart, or what was it…?

“The face I always see… Aria’s face… It seems I can’t become any more beautiful than this, Rubaea-nim…”

“Ha… haha… No, that’s not it… It just seems our cosmetics were useless…”

“Why are they acting like that…?”

“…It’s all because of you, Zeke-nim…”

“What?! My fault?!”

When Saphia said that the reason Aria and Rubaea were acting like that was my fault, I was extremely bewildered. Knowing that it was my fault without knowing why, I was so confused that my face froze. When I made a truly clueless expression, Saphia shouted at me.

“Yes! Rubaea had pride in Fairy cosmetics, but Zeke-nim didn’t react much when he saw the Saintess-nim all made up, so she’s like that. And the Saintess-nim dressed up like this for Zeke-nim, but since Zeke-nim had no reaction, she got frustrated!”

“…That’s how it is?!”

“Yes! Why do you show such a lukewarm reaction even after seeing the Saintess-nim’s face?!”

“Uh… because Aria is pretty. Aria is pretty even without dressing up or anything… so it’s the same whether she wears makeup or not.”

“Eh…?”

“…Zeke-nim…?”

“…?!”

At my words, Saphia’s face suddenly began to flush red, and Aria’s and Rubaea’s faces behind her also began to flush red like Saphia’s. But I wasn’t wrong, was I…?

“Wh-what did you just say…?”

“…Yes… I didn’t need such cosmetics… Zeke-nim thought I didn’t need to be more beautiful…!!”

“Uh… yes, you’re right.”

“!!! Ahhh… I am so happy…”

Aria, who had been frustrated with a blank expression just moments before, began to make an ecstatic face after hearing my words. Seeing Aria’s face, Rubaea and Saphia began to whisper to each other.

“G-good heavens… I… I’ve never seen a human like that… no, a man like that, Saphia…”

“I know, right… To say she doesn’t need makeup… But why on earth does the Saintess-nim like a man like that…? He’s so clueless when it comes to romance…”

“…What did you just say?”

Aria, who had been listening to Rubaea and Saphia whispering secretly, suddenly summoned her staff, stood up abruptly, and glared at the two. Seeing Aria’s chilling smile, the two immediately shrieked in terror.

“Eek!”

“Are you mocking Zeke-nim for being clueless about romance just now…?”

“Ah… no!”

“No, what do you mean I’m clueless…?”

“It’s true that Zeke-nim is clueless when it comes to romance, but to say it so openly… I didn’t fall for that side of Zeke-nim; I fell for his kind demeanor…!!”

‘B-but that…’

‘And you’re saying that right in front of me?’

Saphia and I were horrified, seeing Aria do the very thing she was angry about – openly saying in front of me that I was clueless when it came to romance. At that moment, Aria slowly raised her staff and said.

“This won’t do… Such disrespectful remarks towards Zeke-nim…”

“It’s fine, just leave it… And you admitted it was true too…”

When I put my hand on Aria’s shoulder and told her to stop, Aria grinned widely, placed her staff next to a tree, and embraced me with both arms. Rubaea and Saphia then gasped for breath, starting to feel relieved.

“I… I thought I was going to die…”

“Y-yeah… I guess we have to be careful even when whispering now…”

“Right… Aria’s hearing is incredibly sharp. Saphia, did you bring anything else?”

“Phew… Well, there was too much, so I only brought half, you see? So I’ve only shown Zeke-nim half so far… I think I’ll have to go back to Karizan.”

“Oh, really? Perhaps…”

“It’s not overdoing it, so I can bring it. Can you wait a little longer here?”

“Uh, alright… Huh? Hey, Aria. You, this…”

“Yes?…!!!”

I looked closely at Aria’s hair, and a few strands of yellow hair among her black hair caught my eye. And when I showed her those strands, Aria shrieked in terror.

“Kyaaaah!!! The hair Zeke-nim painstakingly dyed for me, again!!! Wailed loudly!”

“…?! Z-Zeke-nim, why is the Saintess-nim suddenly like this?!”

“Ah… that, w-wailed loudly!!!”

“I ruined the hair Zeke-nim painstakingly dyed for me again…!! I really think I’m a useless existence!!”

The moment I was about to answer Rubaea’s question, Aria tried to do something again, and I began to restrain Aria with my entire body. Then I opened my mouth and shouted to Rubaea.

“Ru-Rubaea!! Do you perhaps have any effective hair dye?! You said you take pride in your cosmetics!!”

“Ah… yes! We do, but… hmm…”

“Ah…”

I had forgotten again. Forgetting that Fairy items were too small to be effective for humans, I began to stop Aria with my entire body again. And at that moment, Rubaea remembered something and shouted to me.

“Zeke-nim! Wait! I’ll bring the concentrated solution! If you mix that with water, it should be enough to dye the Saintess-nim’s hair! Let’s go, Saphia!”

“U-uh… If we don’t go quickly, the Saintess-nim might go berserk…”

“Wailed loudly!”

Seeing Aria thrashing wildly, Rubaea and Saphia hastily returned to Karizan. And until they returned, I restrained Aria with my entire body, and when I finally collapsed from exhaustion, Aria began to worry about me.

“Uwaaaah?! Z-Zeke-nim!!”

“Haa… haa… haa…”

“Kyaaah! Wa-water!!”

Seeing me collapse from exhaustion, Aria frantically pulled out a water bottle from her bag and began to put water into my mouth. Thanks to the water Aria put in my mouth, I was able to regain consciousness, and as soon as I did, I let out a deep breath and said to Aria.

“…Did you really have to do that, Aria…”

“I-I’m sorry… I…?”

“It’s alright. Things don’t get better all at once.”

I comforted Aria, telling her it was alright, and hugged her. Aria then let out a relieved laugh and rested her face on my shoulder. At that moment, a surprised sound came from behind.

“Gasp!”

“Oh? You’re both here? Did you bring the hair dye too?”

“…Ah, yes! Do you perhaps have a bowl or something to put water in?”

“Yeah, I do. You can put water in it, right?”

“Ah… yes!”

I poured the water from the water bottle into the bowl and handed it to Rubaea. Then Saphia took out a bottle containing some liquid from her basket and began to pour the contents into the bowl and mix it… But…

“Aria, can I let go now?”

“Hmm… I guess I have no choice since Zeke-nim seems uncomfortable… Still… being in Zeke-nim’s arms is truly like heaven to me… Hehe…”

“Is that so? Anyway… just sit here. I’ll dye your hair right away once Rubaea and Saphia finish preparing the dye.”

“Zeke-nim! Our Fairy dye usually doesn’t wash out easily, so you won’t have to worry about re-dyeing. Here! It’s ready!”

“Oh. Thank you, Rubaea.”

I took the hair dye that Rubaea and Saphia had prepared and began to apply it to Aria’s hair. Rubaea, seeing me dyeing Aria’s hair, quietly spoke to Saphia.

“Hey, Saphia. Did you see it just now?”

“Yes. You mean how Zeke-nim warmly hugged the Saintess-nim, right?”

“Right. Even though Zeke-nim is clueless when it comes to romance… seeing him like that, and things like this…”

“Yeah… they really look like a couple.”

“You need to stay still, Aria? If the dye splashes on your skin, it’ll be hard to remove. So stay still.”

“Yes, Zeke-nim… Thank you so much, Zeke-nim. Aria is so happy to be with Zeke-nim.”

“Well… I always hear that, but… I’m glad you feel that way. Is it not cold?”

“No.”

Rubaea and Saphia, watching me dye Aria’s hair and converse, a harmonious scene, found themselves smiling unconsciously as they waited for me to finish dyeing. Then Rubaea said to me.

“Zeke-nim! That dye dries quickly, so you’ll need to work a bit faster!”

“Oh, really? I’m almost done, anyway. Show me the things you brought later!”

“Yes… Hey Saphia, you know… why doesn’t Zeke-nim have a lover?”

“I know, right… They really suit each other.”

Rubaea and Saphia tilted their heads, looking at me, and I tilted my head, looking at their reaction. And Aria, apparently having heard their conversation, began to smile shyly.

“Alright. It’s all dry now. It should all be dyed black now, Aria.”

“Ah… Thank you, Zeke-nim!”

“Alright… Rubaea! Saphia! Show me the things you brought!! Once I’ve seen everything, we’ll tell you our story too!”

“I see… You two kept carrying so much… I didn’t know a human would visit this place.”

“Huh?”

“?!”

At the sudden unfamiliar voice, everyone turned their heads in the direction it came from. A wizened Fairy woman could be seen walking towards them, leaning on a staff, and Rubaea and Saphia gasped in terror at the sight of her.

“E-Elder-nim?!”

“What?! The Fairy Elder?!”

“Hohoho… Greetings. My name is Akada. It is a pleasure to meet you, humans.”