episode_0082

Aria and I, having once again eaten the stew Aria made for dinner, decided to spend the night at Nerha’s house. Before going to sleep, I showed my adventure logbook to Iruvan and Nerha. Seeing its contents, Nerha let out a wry laugh and said,

“Ha… haha… Zeke-nim truly… has experienced many things… And now I understand why the Saintess-nim likes Zeke-nim so much.”

“Everyone who sees my logbook says that. I’m used to it now…”

“Then, Hyung-nim, how many days have you spent on your expeditions?”

“Hmm… It’s been over 100 days. There aren’t many notable villages in the Kriton Region, so I often camped out. Well… if I had explored alone, something truly disastrous might have happened.”

“But now I’m here to protect Zeke-nim reliably… So no one can ever harm Zeke-nim~”

Aria confidently boasted that she was protecting me well. Well… except for the Cecilia incident, Aria always protected me… To the extent that she single-handedly crushed Robdom, who kidnapped me out of anger… Excluding Estur and Ricand.I.Lu, and their 20 mana, who we met before, it had become a given that anyone who dared to challenge Aria would be in big trouble. And Iruvan and Nerha, having heard all the events so far, also let out a wry laugh, seemingly sharing my thoughts.

“Hahaha… R-Right… We shouldn’t upset Zeke-nim…”

“Yes~ You know well~”

“…Noona. I think I’ve learned something important again… that you shouldn’t carelessly flirt with women…”

“It’s a relief you know now, my dear brother…”

As Iruvan had a great realization, Nerha sighed and said it was a relief. Then Aria shrugged her shoulders and spoke to the siblings proudly.

“Of course! There is only one person in this world who can flirt with me! Only Zeke-nim is allowed!”

“…Even if it were possible, I wouldn’t flirt with you… That kind of personality is something I’d decline, actually…”

“Hehehe…!! That’s why I like Zeke-nim too!”

“…Just pick one, Aria…”

As Aria gave an ambiguous answer, making me wonder if she wanted me to flirt with her or not, I sighed and stroked her hair. Then, I suddenly noticed something and looked closely at Aria’s hair. Discovering a problem with it, I took out a comb from my bag and said,

“Aria, there’s a tangled spot in your hair.”

“Huh? Oh. It really is. Wait…”

“Ah, it’s fine. I already took out the comb. So just stay still.”

“What? Oh… No! I’ll…!!”

As I stood up, Aria flustered, starting to look for a comb. But realizing that I was already behind the sofa she was sitting on, comb in hand, Aria froze rigidly, staring straight ahead. Then, as I began to comb her hair, her expression started to soften, seemingly pleased.

“Heh… hehehe…”

“Feeling good?”

“Yes… This is truly heaven… Hehehe…”

“She always says it’s heaven…”

Seeing Aria’s expression always soften as if she were in heaven whenever I did something for her, I chuckled softly and continued to comb her hair. Then, as if all strength had left her body, Aria leaned back against the sofa and collapsed right there. Iruvan and Nerha, watching this, thought:

‘…..If humans are truly similar to spirits… then why… why are Hyung-nim and Saintess Noona like this…’

‘Why aren’t Zeke-nim and the Saintess-nim dating?! That look is definitely not one-sided love!’

“Ahhhhhhh… Zeke-nim’s touch is so comfortable…”

“Don’t fall asleep on the sofa just because of that. You’ll hurt your back, you know?”

“Yesssssss…”

‘No, that’s definitely not the look of a man and woman in one-sided love?! Why on earth?!’

“Alright. Stay sti… Huh?”

As I was combing Aria’s hair, I glanced at the siblings. The moment I saw the truly astonished expressions on their faces, I tilted my head and asked them,

“Why are you two making those faces?”

“Ah… No! Hyung-nim, what exactly is your relationship with Noona?!”

“Huh? We’re just travel companions, you know? Doesn’t it look that way?”

“No!! It absolutely does not look that way!! Rather, you two look like you’re dating!”

“!!!”

When Nerha shouted that Aria and I looked like we were dating, Aria was startled by her words and began to blush. I, unable to understand at all, tilted my head.

“Eh? Really? I don’t see it at all…”

“No, Hyung-nim, what on earth… Hyung-nim, be honest. Have you ever spent time with another woman besides Saintess Noona!?”

“If such a person existed, I would have dismembered them, so you don’t need to worry, Iruvan-nim…”

“…..”

Aria, who had been on the verge of blissful death, suddenly flashed a chilling smile and declared that if there had been another woman living with me, she would have dismembered her. At her words, everyone present instinctively fell silent in the chilling atmosphere. Phew… It’s a good thing there wasn’t anyone… If there had been, even I wouldn’t have been able to stop her…

“Th-Then, Noona… I was going to ask earlier… If I had kept flirting with you…”

“Ah~ In that case~ Th…”

At Iruvan’s question, a truly chilling answer began to pour from Aria’s lips. It was so chilling that Iruvan fainted midway, and Nerha was terrified to the point of almost losing her mind. Seeing this, I was flustered and quickly clapped my hand over Aria’s mouth, which was delivering the terrifying response without restraint, and said,

“N-Nerha. First, I would have done my best to prevent that from happening, so d-don’t worry… It’s late now, so why don’t you take your brother and go to bed…?”

“Ah… Ahaha… Yes… Yes… Th… That’s right… We should go to bed… U-Uhihi… G-Good night…”

Nerha, who had almost lost her mind, heard my words, half-madly lifted Iruvan, told me good night, and leisurely went into her room. Perhaps it was because she’d lost her wits… to lift Iruvan, who was larger than her, like that… Anyway…

“?”

“Haa…”

Not understanding this situation at all… or rather, not even trying to understand, Aria, the main culprit of this incident, tilted her head when I looked serious. I sighed and scratched my head. After that noisy pre-sleep period passed, we went into our room, lay down on our respective beds, turned off the lights, and prepared for sleep.

“Yaaawn… The Herlos Region, huh… It’s a far region from Todlua, so it’s unfamiliar to me… I can’t believe we’ve already explored two out of the four regions.”

“Why not?”

“Well… I expected it would take at least 20 years of travel to explore everywhere. But we’ve already explored two regions… Of course, both have one incomplete spot. And from what I hear, the Kriton Region was quite small, allowing us to explore it quickly… So the Herlos Region will probably take longer, right?”

“Whether it takes 1 year, 10 years, or 100 years! I will always be with Zeke-nim, so don’t worry~ I will do my best to ensure Zeke-nim doesn’t get hurt during that time.”

…When Aria said she would be with me even if the journey took 100 years instead of 10, I felt something chilling…? Huh? Wait… Did Aria just say…

“Aria, did you just say ‘do my best’?”

“Yes! Even if it costs my life…”

“What’s wrong? Usually, instead of saying ‘do my best’… wouldn’t you say ‘I’ll absolutely not let such a thing happen’? What’s gotten into you?”

Aria, for once, said she would “do her best” rather than “absolutely not let such a thing happen,” so I asked her why. Aria remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly opened her mouth and answered me.

“You see… As I traveled with Zeke-nim, I vowed again and again that I wouldn’t let Zeke-nim get hurt. You even encouraged me, telling me I didn’t have to go to such lengths, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“However… After realizing that we had conquered the entire Kriton Region… while Iruvan-nim and Nerha-nim were reading Zeke-nim’s adventure logbook, I realized that until now… I haven’t been able to protect Zeke-nim perfectly.”

“…”

Indeed, just as Aria said, until now I had been dragged away and beaten by Robdom, had my body pierced by Aria when she was controlled by Cecilia, and sustained several injuries while fighting the World Tree. I thought such incidents would have deeply wounded Aria… but it seems she’s been holding onto them all this time.

“I… I learned that I’m not perfect from my encounter with Estur. So… since I’m not omnipotent or anything… Zeke-nim…?”

“Whoops… I’ll borrow this spot for a moment.”

“?!”

The moment Aria was explaining the reason, I got up and lay down on Aria’s bed. Aria was so startled she stammered, and I stroked her surprised head as I said,

“Is that why you made such chilling remarks? To make sure they couldn’t retaliate anymore?”

“Th-That…”

“And for some reason, you said you’d sleep in another bed… So that’s what was bothering you all this time, huh? And because of that, you couldn’t guarantee anything, so you said you’d ‘do your best’.”

“…Yes.”

“Well… indeed, until now, I’ve been struck by Artyun, had my body pierced by you when you were controlled by Cecilia… And inside the World Tree, I was separated from you and nearly encountered several major incidents… But you didn’t give up. I can tell you for sure, Aria. You are consistently putting in effort.”

“Zeke-nim…”

Aria, as if deeply moved by my words, shed a single tear and stared intently at me, muttering. Then I scratched my head with my finger and said,

“Well… sometimes you do say chilling things, but…”

“…Hehe… But I will absolutely never do that to Zeke-nim while in my right mind. Truly.”

“I believe you… So, let’s sleep together specially today… Though, even if I say that, you’ll still sleep beside me afterwards, won’t you?”

“Hehe… As expected, only Zeke-nim truly understands me, don’t you?”

“Yeah… After traveling together for over 100 days, I guess it makes sense… Haha…”

When Aria said I was the one who understood her best, I let out a wry laugh. Then Aria took the hand I was using to stroke her hair and asked me,

“Zeke-nim. On the day you and I first met… what did you think when you first saw me?”

“…Well, seeing someone covered in wounds and with messy clothes trapped in a cage, of course, my first thought was that I had to save her. What else would I think? I just thought I had to save her quickly.”

“…You see… Actually, I thought Zeke-nim was a slave trader from a different organization than the ones who tried to sell me as a slave.”

“…What?!”

At the shocking truth that Aria had actually thought I was a slave trader the moment she first saw me, my expression hardened. Then Aria held my hand, enveloping it with both of hers, and said,

“So, at that time, I didn’t care if I became a slave since the kingdom had fallen because of me anyway… And outside, it was full of bad humans regardless, so I didn’t feel any value in living in such a world. But… Zeke-nim acted differently than I expected. So I became a little curious and decided to learn more about Zeke-nim… And then… Zeke-nim… said such words… such comforting words… *hic*…”

As Aria spoke of her thoughts from when we first met, she recalled the events of that time and began to shed tears. I felt Aria trembling through my hand, and she continued to speak to me, her tears not stopping.

“Such comfort… *hic*… I never expected to receive it… Because Zeke-nim… saw me as a person…”

“There you go crying again. I told you I would remember your pain, didn’t I? So…”

As Aria continued to cry, I wiped the tears from her eyes with my hand and pulled her into my arms. Aria was so surprised that she stopped crying, and I continued speaking to her.

“So you just need to remember that there’s someone who understands your pain. That you struggled in agony when you realized you attacked me while controlled by Cecilia, and that you suffered many emotional wounds when we were separated. I understand all of it. During those 100 days we traveled together, I remember your pain, so let’s stop crying now.”

As I comforted her, Aria finally seemed to relax, taking a deep breath and hugging me with both arms.

“…Yes… Thank you.”

“Yeah… but… you’re… hugging too strongl… Agh…”

“Huh…? Ah?! Z-Zeke-nim?!”

When Aria hugged me tightly, I fainted on the spot. As I suddenly fainted, Aria began to flail around in a panic. And Iruvan and Nerha, who had been watching through the crack in the door, looked serious and thought the same thing.

‘Why on earth… why aren’t they dating?!’

“Z-Zeke-nim…? Who dares to secretly watch where Zeke-nim is sleeping…?”

Aria, who had been shaking my unconscious body, suddenly looked serious. Her red eyes slowly glowed as she turned her head towards the door. Startled by Aria’s words, Iruvan and Nerha desperately held back their screams, closed the door, and fled to their room. After that noisy night passed and morning arrived, we finished preparing for our next exploration and went out of Nerha’s house.

“Whoops… All my luggage is packed! Thanks for providing us a place to sleep, Nerha.”

“Don’t mention it~ Well… there were some chilling moments because of various things, but…”

As Nerha suddenly avoided my gaze and let out a wry laugh, Iruvan also avoided my gaze and looked up at the sky. What on earth happened…?

“By the way, Nerha-nim. How do we get out of here? To enter, we just had to trust ourselves to the spring…”

“Ah~ About that. Would you mind stepping onto the brick floor with the spirit stone embedded in it over there?”

As Nerha explained how to ascend, she pointed to the brick floor with a green spirit stone embedded in it behind us. So, Aria and I walked onto it as Nerha instructed, and Iruvan added further explanation.

“Once you’re all on, try jumping right there, Hyung-nim.”

“Uh… like this…?! Whoaaaa?!”

As Iruvan instructed, Aria and I lightly jumped in place. Our bodies then slowly began to float into the air and ascend upwards. Below, Iruvan and Nerha waved their hands, seeing us off.

“Hyung-nim!! When you come next time, tell us your adventure stories!!”

“We wish you a wonderful journey!!”

“Uh… Oh! It was nice meeting you too! Iruvan! Nerha!!”

“If you two mess around again, I’ll truly make it happen for both of you.”

“!!!”

At Aria’s words, Iruvan and Nerha looked greatly flustered, as if something had stung them. What was it…? Did something really happen while I was sleeping…? Well… let’s not worry about it. Anyway… to the next region, the Herlos Region… Finally, we’re off!!! My heart pounded with excitement at the thought of leaving for the Herlos Region, which I had never heard of, and Aria smiled, seemingly happy at the thought of traveling with me again. As we excitedly headed out of the Kroa Spring, and were out of sight, Iruvan and Nerha began to breathe heavily.

“Pant… pant… N-Noona… It seems…”

“Yeah… The Saintess-nim… knew we were watching… Ugh… She’s a truly terrifying person… Let’s go too, Iruvan… Iruvan?”

Realizing that Aria had known they were watching them last night, Nerha exhaled deeply and called out to Iruvan. But when Iruvan looked greatly surprised by something he saw, Nerha tilted her head and called him again.

“Iruvan? What’s wrong?”

“Noona… Th-That…”

“Huh? Th-That… Oh…?”

Iruvan pointed at something with a trembling finger, and Nerha looked at what Iruvan was pointing at. Then Nerha’s expression also became greatly surprised, just like Iruvan’s, and her mouth hung open. What Iruvan saw was a red-haired human standing between the buildings. Meanwhile… In another dimension beyond this world. A sub-commander in the control room of a technologically advanced dimension answered a ringing phone.

“This is R.S. It’s an unfamiliar number… Who is this?”

“R.S? The coordinates shouldn’t have changed… Ah, I guess the name changed to that. Hello. Would you know code name Astronaut?”

“Astronaut…? What kind of code is that?”

When someone on the other end of the line said “code name Astronaut,” the sub-commander tilted his head and asked again. Then the voice on the other end said,

“Ah… You’re a new recruit. Well… it’s probably not just the organization’s name that changed… Ah, is Captain Revo there, by any chance?”

“…Captain Revo…? Who are you, really?”

When Revo was mentioned, the sub-commander began to interrogate the voice on the other end with a serious expression. Meanwhile, in a ruined city where corpses lay strewn across the streets and dark clouds hung heavy, a black-haired man chuckled from atop a pile of bodies and spoke into his phone.

“Well… the fact that I can contact you like this means there are H.S.A. survivors, right? So I was so happy that before I went back, I completely wrecked this dirty city, which had broken the law to its heart’s content. Since they said they’d never change the legal sentences… I practically annihilated those who deserved at least the death penalty, and there are both rescued individuals and criminals, so it would be good if you could send some personnel.”

“What…?! Who are you…!!”

“Estur, H.S.A. 2nd Unit member. My comrades previously said my name sounded like ‘Astronaut,’ so I got that alias… I thought you’d know if you heard that alias, but you’re a new recruit… Anyway, is this dirty work worth doing?”