episode_0040

“What the hell are you trying to do?”

He asked, looking at the relic of the goddess on his right index finger.

In the work, the goddess can speak directly to the human wearing the holy relic and can even read the thoughts of the human wearing it, so the goddess of sorrow would also be able to hear all of Aion’s thoughts and words.

He knew this well and was desperately trying to suppress his anger that was about to explode.

Those who take on the trials of the goddesses have their trials made up of memories and recollections they have accumulated throughout their lives. Since Aion, whose name is the goddess of sorrow, took on the trials, it was thought that something like this could happen to her as well.

In the case of trials given by the Goddess of Wrath, one could strike or kill those one hated, but the Goddess of Sorrow could only watch.

Of course, this might be easier than the trials of other goddesses. Those who take the trials only have to watch without taking any action.

Aion groaned in pain as it filled his head and he collapsed on the spot.

He underwent the ordeal without any bruises or cuts. He was neither poisoned nor hypnotized.

But even so, Aion couldn’t even get up because of the pain that felt like his head would burst at any moment.

He began to shake like a man in a panic as his breathing became ragged and his vision began to blur.

This unpleasant and scary feeling. Aion, who had been dealing with monsters for a long time and spending happy days with them, had forgotten about it.

How much pain he had suffered in the past.

The air feels like it’s getting thinner and thinner, and the once wide field of vision feels like the lights are being turned off one by one.

And at the same time, the emptiness and fear of feeling like I was the only one left in this world.

Aion was left in agony, as if he had been abandoned in a space where he could neither hear nor smell anything.

His symptoms showed no signs of improving over time.

Was it because the pain he had forgotten was coming back? He was in pain, breathing heavily as if he was about to stop breathing at any moment.

He groaned in pain, clutching his heart as if it would burst at any moment.

Aion was in so much pain that he thought he might really die if he continued like this.

As the sensations he had been feeling gradually began to disappear one by one.

[……….]

A tactile sensation was felt on his arm as he groaned in pain.

Feeling this, Aion touched something on his arm with his other hand to find out what the strange feeling was.

Aion, who had touched an unidentified object, soon realized what it was and his breathing began to stabilize.

The unidentified object on his arm was a cheap bracelet that he had bought at the market with Danawa and Fre.

Aion, who realized this, felt his heart, which was about to burst, gradually calming down for some reason.

As he continued to touch the bracelet, his heart gradually began to sink as time passed and his vision began to recover.

Aion, who had been breathing heavily as if he would have difficulty breathing at any moment, began to relax little by little.

“Haa…haa..!”

He seemed relieved to see the sight gradually returning and just sat down with a thud.

The pain that had been tormenting his body until the brink of death gradually subsided and soon disappeared.

“………”

As the pain that had been plaguing his body disappeared, Aion gradually regained consciousness and began to breathe more steadily.

Soon, his dark vision returned and he finally came to his senses.

When I came to, I was groaning in pain in the middle of a field of stone statues of goddesses.

Was it because he saw the image of his parents, whom he had never wanted to see or remember? Or was it because it was so painful? He was in pain even though he had not suffered any trauma.

After groaning in pain for a long time, he stood up, shaking his wobbly legs, and looked at the black bracelet on his arm.

Went to the market with them and bought a bracelet.

The bracelet on Aion’s arm was a deep black color, as it symbolized each person’s hair color.

At that time, it was a bracelet that I bought without thinking about it, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that it saved Aion’s life today.

If it weren’t for the bracelet on his arm, Aion could have really sunk into the abyss of nothingness, or if he was wrong, he could have suffered a mental breakdown.

But the cheap bracelets that matched theirs helped Aion.

Realizing this, he ran home on trembling legs without a moment’s hesitation.

***

Aion arrived home after such a long time.

Normally, he would have been able to get home much faster than that, but perhaps due to the side effects of the goddess’s ordeal, his legs were shaking so much that he had difficulty walking, so he had to gather all the strength he had left in his legs to barely make it home.

The familiar door and house I’ve always seen.

Aion ran with all his might to where they were waiting.

Soon he reached for the doorknob with a trembling heart and held out his trembling hands.

[Clang-]

As he turned the handle he was holding, the sound of metal clashing echoed around him.

He opened the door with a trembling heart and went into the house.

And welcoming him as he entered the house.

“Are you here?”

They were there.

For some reason, their clothes were covered in stains and their faces and arms were covered in what looked like colorful paint.

Aion was surprised to see them like that and asked them what was happening.

In response to Aion’s reaction, they smiled innocently and showed Aion something they had been hiding behind their backs.

They proudly showed Aion the stained paper.

The paper they showed had cute drawings of them and Aion.

They proudly held out the picture to him and said:

“How is it, Master? We were all working hard until you came!”

Hine showed the picture in front of Aion’s eyes with an innocent expression.

In the picture drawn by Hine, five people including him were all smiling happily.

The pictures she drew would have been nothing more than a joke to those who didn’t know, but Aion was so moved that he couldn’t speak while looking at the pictures she drew.

He hugged them tightly, covered in stains.

“Ah..Mister…?!”

They looked at him with wide eyes, as if surprised by Aion’s sudden actions.

Aion remained silent in response to their questions, simply holding them.

Aion didn’t want to miss out on the small but warm warmth he felt from them, so he hugged them with all his might.

“Mister, what’s wrong?! Did you eat something wrong?!!”

Dana shouted at Aion’s actions, but her face was as red as her red hair.

Aion received an unexpected gift from them.

After regaining his smile at their surprise gift, he came to his senses and started making various dishes using ingredients he had at home.

That day, unlike other days, Aion smiled a lot.

Aion, who used to laugh every day while listening to their stories, continued to laugh as if something was making him so happy.

They were also a little surprised to see Aion like that, but they were also happy to see Aion smiling.

And that night, Aion asked them.

“Do you want to sleep in my room with me?”

Aion suggested that they sleep together, and although the house almost flipped upside down because of Aion’s bombshell remark, they ended up sleeping together in Aion’s bed.

“Then sleep well.”

So they ended up sleeping together in Aion’s bed.

Even though Aion had a very wide bed, the space was limited when five people were sleeping on the bed at once.

Eventually, they were able to get into bed together, their bodies touching each other.

Aion slept in the same bed with them for the first time.

He thought as he stroked their heads as they lay next to him.

I know what greed is. This was just my personal greed, and I knew very well that this was not a good thing to do.

“Hehehe..”

Aion stopped worrying after seeing their smiling faces.

Now, Aion just wanted to feel their warmth.

Aion and the girls, who had been playing and joking in the same bed, soon fell into a deep sleep, closing their eyes while leaning on each other.

Aion and the girls slept in the same house every night.

That night we were together was particularly warm, unlike other nights.