episode_0155

“So… after looking around the surrounding terrain and comparing it with the map, you realized this place is the northern part of the Magrion Region?”

“Yes, Zeke-nim…!! Oh…! Your touch, Zeke-nim… It’s truly been a long time, and I’ve missed it so much…”

“…Right… You said it’s been two days since I fainted…? I understand you really, really want your hair dyed quickly, so… stop feeling me up now!!!”

As soon as I regained consciousness, Aria badgered me so much that I was in the middle of dyeing her hair. She kept feeling my touch through her strands, and I yelled at her, flustered. But despite my shouts, Aria was humming and smiling, clearly enjoying the situation.

“Hehehe… But it’s been a long time since I’ve felt Zeke-nim’s touch like this. Plus, we’re finally alone, so this Aria is really happy, you know?”

“…You got a camera, so you might have gained a lot from that Revarud facility… but me… haaa… I’m really uncomfortable thinking whether that experimental girl had to sacrifice herself then… or if there might have been a better way…”

While Aria was happy to be alone with me like this, I was still uncomfortable, remembering the experimental girl who had smiled at me before jumping into the vortex. That child had only just begun to enjoy freedom… The thought that we had acted too complacently, allowing Stein to make one last desperate move, and that the experimental girl had sacrificed herself to save us because of it, filled me with guilt. At that moment, Aria took my two arms and said,

“Zeke-nim is truly kind, you know. Kind enough to show compassion to others. But that very heart is holding Zeke-nim back… Seeing that, my heart aches too.”

“…If only I had done something then, just like I saved you before…”

“But Zeke-nim. You must know this one thing. There is such a thing as ‘the best one can do.’ I, Zeke-nim, and Launcher-nim. Everyone simply did their best then. And that experimental girl also did her best to rescue us. So we must be grateful for the lives that girl saved and move forward.”

“…Aria…”

When Aria advised me that we should move forward so that the experimental girl’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain, I looked at her with a greatly surprised expression. But it wasn’t because I was moved by Aria’s words… it was because I had no idea Aria could say such a thing…!! Ah… Aria is saying this?! As I stared, surprised by her words, Aria puffed out her cheeks and spoke to me, as if she could read my mind without even seeing my unseen face.

“I can say things like this for Zeke-nim’s sake, you know?! Have you forgotten that I’m also a Saintess?!”

“Ah… That’s right… Yes… But what exactly were those Saintesses? What was that stone statue made of Tiavel… And… what exactly did Saintess Krischa say to us…?”

Remembering Saintess Krischa, whom we had reunited with at Revarud, telling us that we were moving according to their plans, I felt frustrated, unable to grasp what the Saintesses and priests were plotting. We were moving according to their plans…? Does that mean they know our every move…? Just as I was trying to understand the meaning of Saintess Krischa’s words, Aria grabbed my arm again and said,

“Zeke-nim…? Are you thinking about another Saintess right in front of me…? I absolutely cannot tolerate that!!!”

“Huh? Oh… it’s not like that… Ugh… No, it’s not. I’m going to keep dyeing your hair, so stay still, okay?”

“Hmph… Alright. But! If you think about another Saintess again… even Zeke-nim won’t be forgiven!”

“Alright, alright…”

Aria, displeased that I was even thinking about another Saintess, huffed and warned me. I chuckled at her reaction and continued dyeing her hair. After five minutes, when I finished dyeing her hair, Aria looked at her hair color reflected in the lake, smiled brightly, then rushed at me, wrapping her arms around me and saying,

“This is it!! The yellow hair that bothered me so much during the battle with Omega is finally gone again…!! As expected, the black color Zeke-nim first dyed for me seems to suit this Aria the best!!”

“Indeed… You really hated your hair color changing because of the Holy Ring’s radiance… You must have thought about that a lot while fighting Omega… Haaaah…”

“…? Zeke-nim? Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Why did you suddenly lie down…?”

Agreeing that Aria must have been bothered by her hair color during the battle with Omega, I finished dyeing her hair, then let out a deep breath and collapsed onto the grass. Aria, not understanding why I had suddenly lain down, eventually lay down beside me. I then recalled everything that had happened so far and said,

“Well… all sorts of things happened in the Herlos Region. It would have been great if only one thing had blown up, like in the Krition Region, but with Eli’s situation and the Revarud facility incident exploding too, my body feels utterly exhausted… and my mind is a mess…”

“Hmph… In that case…”

“…?! A-Aria?!”

When I said I was lying down on the grass because my body felt too tired from experiencing so many major incidents in the Herlos Region, Aria grinned, then suddenly, while still lying down, tightly hugged me and buried my head in her embrace. I was greatly flustered, and Aria, seemingly enjoying my reaction, smiled brightly and said,

“Hehehe. In that case, it’s only natural for this Aria to embrace a tired Zeke-nim, isn’t it? Shall we rest like this until tomorrow morning?”

“Whoa…!! W-Wait!! Isn’t this… isn’t this too close?!”

“Hehehehe… I actually think this is better, you know? It’s been a long time since I could cling to Zeke-nim like this, so how could this Aria… miss such a precious opportunity!! Hehehehe…!! I’m going to unleash all the aegyo I couldn’t at the Revarud facility, so be prepared, Zeke-niiiiim?”

“You already did a lot before fighting Stein… Wha… what?! W-Wait, Ariaaaahk!!”

It seemed she had suppressed her aegyo towards me due to the appearance of Stein and Omega, and as soon as the Revarud facility incident ended, Aria, reaching her limit, clung to me and absolutely wouldn’t let go. After an hour of struggling… or rather, a non-struggle, I finally managed to escape Aria’s embrace. While I turned my back, blushing, Aria pouted, as if still unsatisfied, and began to complain.

“Tch… I’m not satisfied yet… No, wait… Since there’s no one else around again, if I get another chance next time…”

“…Please don’t tell such scary stories…?”

“I can’t do that!! Not until this Aria becomes Zeke-nim’s sole source of vitality…!!”

*Groan*… Why did the conversation suddenly turn this way again…? No… it’s not that, it might be that I somehow let Aria’s true nature out into the world again… I almost lost my mind again from Aria’s strong, strong aegyo, which I was experiencing again after a long time. *Phew*… She was so strong, I almost couldn’t get free forever… By the way, I’ve never been this flustered when hugged by Aria before… Hmm… Have I changed somehow?

“Ugh… So tired… Anyway, this is the Magrion Region, huh? Hmph… Shall we quickly figure out what’s around here?”

“Huh? I already checked what’s nearby, Zeke-nim? And you just woke up from a long sleep; if we leave right away, your body won’t be able to handle it.”

“Is that so… But there’s so much to know…?”

When Aria advised that if we left now, my body wouldn’t be able to handle it since I had just woken up, I still tried to insist on leaving, saying there was too much to find out. At that moment, my stomach rumbled so loudly that it echoed, and I blushed with embarrassment. Aria, perhaps finding my expression cute, chuckled and said,

“See~? Zeke-nim’s body is screaming for rest, isn’t it? I’ll go get some food nearby right away, so Zeke-nim, you just rest here.”

“…It’s been a while since I’ve seen you cook with monsters from the surroundings… Plus, this is the Magrion Region, so…”

“Hmph! I’ll get some Garuda meat right away, so wait for me!”

Aria, staff in hand, entered the forest, shouting that she would get the meat quickly and for me to wait. I chuckled and lay down. Sensing something, I immediately covered my ears, and then an explosive sound began to echo from somewhere. Hmm… Aria is knocking something down… Just as I was predicting Aria’s actions by the sound, she came running back towards me, dragging a fainted Garuda.

“Zeke-niiiiim!! Luckily, there was a Garuda!!”

“…As expected of the Magrion Region. I heard it was a region with many Garudas… but I didn’t expect one to be right around here…”

When Aria came dragging the fainted Garuda with a bright smile, I was greatly surprised that she had found one so quickly. Afterward, Aria began to butcher the fainted Garuda with a knife, and then started simmering a delicious stew with the butchered meat. Meanwhile, I began checking my record book, which contained all the records so far. Aria, who was cooking, noticed my record book and said to me,

“Your record book is almost full already? Do you have any spare books?”

“Ah, yeah. Writing down everything that happened in the Herlos Region has already filled this much… And now I might have to start writing about Magrion again… This isn’t some regression…”

“Regression… it is, isn’t it? Here, Zeke-nim! For now, eat while you work!”

When Aria handed me the stew, telling me to fill my stomach first, I chuckled, took the stew, and immediately began to eat. Ugh… it’s not a steak, but Garuda meat is always delicious no matter when you eat it… Plus, perhaps because it’s Aria’s cooking, I feel somehow fortified…

“Hmm… you’re right, maybe resting was a good idea. Eating while resting, my mind feels like it’s clearing up…”

“Right?! But the reason Zeke-nim feels that way is, of course… the… towards Zeke-nim in the food I made…”

“You can stop saying that now… I can already feel it from when I started eating…”

“…Hehe…!! But what can I do, I still want to emphasize it~!”

When I said I could predict what she was going to say, Aria smiled bashfully and replied that she just wanted to emphasize how much love she poured into her cooking. And so, Aria and I enjoyed a rare, happy meal together, just the two of us. After finishing our meal, we immediately packed our belongings and set off to explore the surroundings.

“Hmm… So around here… there’s a lake… and forest… forest… only forest comes up…”

“How about looking at your records and comparing what’s around here?”

“…Hmm… I had a map where I marked what was around here before… It seems I left it at the Revarud facility…”

When Aria asked how about checking what was around through my record book, I replied that I had left the map, which I had used to mark the surroundings, at the Revarud facility. Aria thought for a moment, then began rummaging through my backpack. She pulled out my record book, opened it, and showed it to me, saying,

“Then I’ll hold it like this, and how about Zeke-nim figuring out what’s around here?”

“Hmm… It might be a bit difficult… but I guess there’s no choice. Alright. Let’s proceed and figure out what’s around us.”

When Aria offered to help me, I decided this would be better, even though I didn’t know how much time had passed in Krentid World. As we walked through the forest, whenever I saw a landscape or structure I had recorded, I immediately marked it on the map. After about 20 minutes of wandering around and figuring out what was on the map, I suddenly discovered something and was greatly flustered.

“Wait… the cave nearby… and the waterfall in front of us, and finally, that enormous tree… If I put these together…!!”

“…? Zeke-nim? Why are you suddenly like this? Did you figure something out?”

“…Ha… hahaha… Looks like we’re about to have a long-awaited reunion, huh? Aria! Let’s head straight north!”

“Huh? H-Huh…??”

Comparing the records and the map, I realized what was to the north. With a joyful heart, I grabbed Aria’s arm and hurried north. That’s right…!! There was a lake near that river. And around it, there was also a cave and a waterfall…!! And clearly, around that river…!!!

“…!! Zeke-nim!! Danger!!”

“…!! Whoa!!”

Just as I was joyfully leading Aria and running continuously north, Aria suddenly sensed something and urgently pulled my arm, causing me to be flung backward by her pull. At that moment, a spear fell and pierced the ground where I had been standing. Aria looked at the spear and exclaimed, startled,

“Wait… I think I’ve seen this somewhere before…”

“…Oh… I didn’t expect this… Could it be that the problem still hasn’t been resolved…? It shouldn’t be like that…”

“Huh? Wait… are you saying… this place is…?!”

As I troubled over whether the problem still hadn’t been resolved, Aria seemed to realize what kind of place this was and grew flustered. At that moment, another spear shot out from between the trees. Aria immediately snatched the spear, slammed it into the ground, and frowned. Then, a woman’s voice echoed from somewhere.

“Humans, listen!! You have invaded our territory!! Leave this forest at once!! Otherwise…”

“Hmph… You talk a lot for someone who attacked while hiding…!! How dare you throw a spear at Zeke-nim!! I won’t let you get away with th….”

“…? W-Wait? Zeke…? Then, could that voice be… Aria?!”

“…Huh? Do you know us…?”

When Aria mentioned my name, the owner of the threatening voice was startled and asked if the person who shouted was Aria. Aria, greatly flustered, asked if they knew us, and at that very moment…!! Something burst out from between the trees and appeared before us. Then, the brown long-haired beast-woman who had appeared before us began to sob, slowly approaching us and saying,

“Zeke… Aria…!! You really came back…!!”

“She recognizes us…? Aria. Do you know anything about that beast-person?”

“Of course not… I don’t know who she is, but knowing Zeke-nim… is truly unpleasant.”

“What…?! No, it’s been a long time, and you’re acting like this?! It’s me!! You traveled with me a long time ago!! It’s me, Karina!!!”

“…Huh?”

“Wha… what?!”

When the brown long-haired beast-woman who had appeared before us said she was Karina and seemed very hurt, Aria and I were greatly astonished to hear it. No… The Karina we remembered had short brown hair and was about 13 years old in height… but she’s almost as tall as us now!!! How much time has passed in Krentid World while we were fighting in the Revarud facility?!