episode_0056

Towards the Cemetery

“Grooooan…”

“Oh my~ Zeke-nim? Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Well…”

Well… because of you… We were heading towards Grovel and had just left Provelitu when night fell, so we set up a tent and were sleeping inside… or so I thought. This feeling… it’s been a long time since I’ve felt it, probably because I usually just pass out when I sleep. Aria hadn’t slept and kept watching me. So, I hadn’t been able to sleep in a long time.

“Well, because you keep staring at me…”

“Hehehe… But I just can’t fall asleep without looking at Zeke-nim’s face, you know?”

“…You don’t usually sleep anyway…”

“Oh my…! You even knew that…! Zeke-nim, you’ve been watching me secretly a lot too, haven’t you?!”

“…It’s just a feeling I had…”

I’ve already seen it… Aria had always watched me while I was sleeping. Whenever I couldn’t sleep, I’d slightly open my eyes and see Aria like that, so I already knew she did that. But then…

“Hehe… You don’t have to lie, Zeke-nim~ Because I… already know everything! That you open your eyes a little to look at me!”

“Sigh… That’s ri- Wait?!”

When Aria said she already knew everything, I was greatly shocked and instinctively scrambled to the corner of the tent. What?! She knew everything?! I didn’t even make eye contact?! And I really opened my eyes just enough for her not to notice…

“H-How?!”

“Hehehe… For me, who loves Zeke-nim, it’s quite simple, you see? Ahh… how happy I felt every time! Zeke-nim, you care about me even when you’re sleeping…! Thank you for worrying about me, Zeke-nim…!!”

…No, it’s true I was aware of you… but not like that, okay? I was just bothered by your gaze being too overwhelming while I was trying to sleep, not looking at you out of worry… But wait a minute…

“Aria? Aren’t you sleepy?”

“Hmm? No! When I look at Zeke-nim’s face, I don’t feel sleepy at all!”

‘Something’s strange? Last time, she still looked a little tired…’

“Hmm? Oh! That’s what you’re curious about!”

“What…?”

“Hehehe… As expected of Zeke-nim… you’re very observant…! That’s right, Zeke-nim! Before, I did feel a little tired, but not anymore! It seems that the words Zeke-nim said to me when we fought the World Tree… Ahh… becoming intoxicated by the ecstasy of those words, I feel like… I don’t need to sleep for a year!”

…What? So… I have to endure this gaze for a whole year…? Does that mean I can’t enjoy a refreshing morning anymore…? Realizing that I’d have to sleep as if passing out for a year because of Aria’s stare, my mouth hung open.

“To say you’d stay with me even if we died…!! My heart is pounding, and this feeling of my whole body being wrapped up on its own…!! It’s simply indescribable…!!”

‘Wha… What is this ominous feeling…!!’

“Ahhh… I don’t think I can hold back anymore, Zeke-nim…!!”

“W-What?!”

“After the World Tree incident, I can’t control these feelings anymore…!! Even before, when Zeke-nim dyed my hair again… when Veronica was talking to Zeke-nim…!! And even now!!”

‘…C-Could it be… the Halo of the Sacred Ring… that it amplified Aria’s feelings?! Indeed, Aria’s face right now doesn’t show even a hint of fatigue, and her reactions are somewhat stronger than before… or rather, have become seductive…!! She’s e-even starting to drool!!’

As Aria, whose reactions had become even more intense than before, began to approach me, I started racking my brain. How could I escape this situation?! I glanced around, then saw Aria already right in front of my nose, and stopped thinking.

“Aaaahhh!! Aria!! C-Calm down!!”

“Ahhh… These feelings I’ve held back for four months… I’ve finally failed to control them, Zeke-nim! I’m sorry… But… don’t worry…!! I’ll try my best not to make Zeke-nim uncomfortable!!”

‘I… I’ve felt this before!! It’s a little similar to how the Alraunes inside the World Tree tried to seduce me, is it my imagination?! D-Damn it, it’s do or die!!’

“Zeke-nim!! Aria is su-?”

The moment Aria tried to pounce on me, I extended my palm towards her and unleashed demonic energy. The demonic energy I emitted wrapped around Aria, stopping her. As I poured out all my strength to unleash demonic energy to save myself, Aria suddenly swayed her hips… and said with an ecstatic expression.

“Aaaah…! This feeling!! Yes! The feeling when Zeke-nim helped me during the fight with the World Tree!! How much I’ve yearned for this feeling…! And Zeke-nim’s energy reaching every nook and cranny of my body…!!”

‘Aaaahhh! What’s wrong with her?! Ever since she became the Halo of the Sacred Ring, her common sense feels very warped?! W-Wait a minute.’

Thinking about it… I’m currently completely blocking Aria’s movements with demonic energy… but Aria is swaying her body right now…?! When my restraint didn’t work on Aria, I was greatly shocked and poured in more power. To survive… And so, the next day dawned. I was sprawled on a fallen log, and Aria was kneeling beside me with her hands raised.

“I… I’m sorry…”

“…”

Throughout the dawn, I kept using demonic energy to stop Aria from pouncing on me. As a result, I couldn’t sleep until morning, and Aria returned to her senses. Seeing that she was fine while I was exhausted and collapsed, she remembered what happened at dawn and was standing in punishment beside me. This was because I had scolded her as soon as she remembered it…

“Aria… I told you that if this happened, we might have to sleep separately, didn’t I…?”

“B-But I thought Zeke-nim would like it… No, I just felt that way…”

“…You’re still saying that even after seeing my current state…?”

“Waaahhh… I’m sorry… Please don’t abandon me…”

“What do you mean ‘don’t abandon me’… Are you an object? Haaa… Don’t do that next time…”

“Ughhh… Yes…”

“I need to sleep for a bit… With this physical condition, I absolutely can’t move… Wake me up around lunchtime…”

“Yes…”

“You can stop standing in punishment now… Yaaawn…”

Leaving Aria, who was still sniffling, behind, I fell asleep right there on the log I was lying on. I had nearly died from using so much demonic energy to stop Aria, and finally, I could rest. Then, a certain smell stimulated my nose, and I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I saw Aria boiling some stew beside me, and I looked at the sky to check the time.

“Ugh… Is it lunchtime? The sun is high in the sky…”

“Hmm? Oh, Zeke-nim! I was going to wake you when the cooking was done… Hehe…”

“Ugh… It’s fine. But what’s this smell? It smells delicious, doesn’t it?”

“Ah…! It’s a hearty meat stew to boost your energy! I only used good meats for energy, and I also added a few gifts Mr. Alten gave me.”

“Alten gave you gifts? I didn’t know that…”

“Yes~ He gave me some fruits that are good for energy recovery. They’re a bit sweet, so I tried putting them in the stew, but I’m not sure if the taste will suit Zeke-nim…”

“Sigh… Still, I trust your cooking. Give me a bowl. Smelling it made me really hungry, actually.”

“Ah… Yes!”

When I said I’d eat, Aria quickly ladled the stew into a bowl and handed it to me. Let’s see… What kind of meat is this, anyway? It doesn’t seem to be chicken, pork, or beef. Otherwise, there’s no way the meat would be so white and opaque… Although I was a little suspicious, I put the stew in my mouth… This… This taste?!

“No… the meat is so tender…? And this taste… it’s delicious, isn’t it? It’s easy to eat, just slides right down…”

“Oh…! Does it suit your taste?!”

“Uh… But what kind of meat is this? There are several kinds of meat? You said ‘meats,’ so you meant you used various kinds?”

“Yes! I used dried Crimson Boar meat, and even the meat from those snakes you saw last time! I asked the elves, and they told me those snakes are good for energy recovery!”

You’re probably the only one who could make such a healthy meal using monster meat… But the food is definitely amazing. I was a bit sleepy just a moment ago, but after eating the stew, I feel completely invigorated… I never expected Aria’s cooking skills to improve this much. Now she could probably win every cooking competition held in the entire Crentid World, couldn’t she? Oh, and the broth is so rich…

“Aria, is there more? Maybe it’s because I haven’t had food like this in a while, but I’m still hungry.”

“Ah… Yes! I’ll get it right away!… Um… Zeke-nim…”

Aria moved the stew to a bowl, then suddenly called me. I turned my head towards her, and I saw her hands trembling. Why is she suddenly like this?

“Th-That… early this morning… I couldn’t help it… My emotions suddenly flared up…”

“Stop talking about it. It seems you were temporarily out of your mind due to the aftereffects of the Halo of the Sacred Ring. It’s fine, just don’t do it next time. The sudden pouncing, I mean.”

“…! Zeke-nim…!”

“So, let’s just eat together, Aria.”

“…Yes!”

When I said it was fine, Aria finally smiled brightly and began humming a tune as she transferred the stew back into the bowl. Well… I nearly died, but… let’s forgive her. Especially since Aria also saved the world… And so, I smiled as I watched Aria cheerfully humming and transferring the stew into the bowl. When Aria handed me the stew, I picked up my spoon and ate the stew with her.

“Hmm… It’s good that I’ve regained my energy… But where are we now?”

“Well… Should I scout the area?”

“No, it’s fine… Or how about you transform into that form again and fly through the sky?”

“Hmm… Yes. I’ll try, Zeke-nim! Just trust me!”

“Good! I’ll trust you!”

“…!!”

At my words of trust, Aria put the empty stew bowl aside and began praying with both hands clasped together. Ohh…! Will I be able to see that form again?! But… if she transforms into that form again… at night… Oh, wait.

“Sl-Sleep…?”

“…Oh my…”

Realizing instinctively that if Aria transformed into the Halo of the Sacred Ring again, tomorrow’s night would surely become brutal, I hastily tried to stop Aria from transforming. But Aria opened her eyes as if something was strange and looked over her body, and I also felt something strange, just like Aria, and tilted my head.

“Huh? Why isn’t it transforming…?”

“What’s wrong, Aria? Don’t tell me…”

“Ugh… Aaaahhh… No! Transform! Zeke-nim trusts me!!”

“…It’s fine, you don’t have to… It’s really fine…”

“Aaaahhh!!”

As Aria couldn’t transform into the Halo of the Sacred Ring no matter how hard she tried, I instinctively knew she would overexert herself and began to stop her. After about 10 minutes, Aria failed to transform into the Halo of the Sacred Ring, and instead, having used too much strength, she collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

“…I told you not to do it…”

“But… I wanted to be… helpful… I guess I’m just a burden… Sob…”

“Don’t disparage yourself like that… Anyway… if that’s the case, there’s no choice but to figure out where we are using a map… It’s a bit unsettling, but… I’ll have to use the map the Alraunes made.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t cry, stop.”

“…Then… while Zeke-nim is figuring things out, I’ll… Oh! That sword! I haven’t blessed that sword yet, have I?”

“Huh? You mean Trahan. That’s ri- W-Wait!!”

The moment I was pulling out the map to figure out our location, I remembered Alten suffering from the electricity that burst forth from Trahan and hastily tried to stop Aria. But Aria had already touched Trahan, and Trahan began to unleash an enormous electric shock.

“Th-This!! A-Aria!!”

“Yes~ Zeke-nim? Is something wrong?”

“…Huh?”

…What? Electricity was coming from Trahan, but Aria was smiling brightly as if there was no problem at all and talking to me. Uh… What kind of situation is this? Alten said that the electricity from Trahan causes pain not only to the body but also to the mind…?

“Are you okay? Electricity is coming from Trahan…?”

“Huh? Ah… Something like this… it’s nothing compared to the pain I’d feel if Zeke-nim hated me~ Indeed… I can’t live without Zeke-nim’s love!!”

“…Don’t subtly emphasize that… But are you really okay?”

“Yes~ Of course…”

Aria casually ignored the electricity coming from Trahan and began to chant a prayer. Then, light slowly began to emanate from Trahan. Suddenly, the electricity coming from Trahan stopped, and I was shocked when I saw it.

“Th-The weapon… gave up resisting…”

“Here you go, Zeke-nim! If you call it, it will come to you, just like the greatsword you used before!”

“…Uh. Thanks.”

I took Trahan from Aria with a bewildered expression. Alten had minimized the damage to reduce the pain… but Aria touched Trahan with her bare hands and was completely fine… If even the weapon gave up resisting, I suddenly started thinking that Aria right now might be stronger than the World Tree… No, is it a certainty?

“…It seems this one got scared by you too…”

“Is that so? Hehehe… Anyway, I hope my blessing can protect Zeke-nim again.”

“Alright. Let’s see… We’ve been heading straight north as Mr. Prosh said, but… I don’t see any cemetery…”

“Hmm… Both the Elder-nim and Mr. Alten seemed unaware of a cemetery called Grovel. How did Mr. Prosh know about such a place?”

“It seems like he found out about that place separately. Anyway, for a cemetery to have a name… that’s a bit unusual too…”

A cemetery with a name… The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. In the Crentid World, cemeteries usually didn’t have names. But that’s why I felt Mr. Prosh might have told me to go there. Could it be a place so significant that it has a name…?

“Grovel… What does that mean?”

“Hmm… It might be a language we haven’t seen before. Could it possibly be related to people from another world?”

“You’re right. Alright, let’s keep going.”

“Yes~ I’ll clean up all the dishes! Zeke-nim, you can sit and…”

“Ugh… You endured the electricity coming from Trahan when you blessed it earlier, so why are you trying to do everything alone…? I’ll help too. I keep telling you that you don’t have to do everything by yourself, don’t I?”

“Z-Zeke-nim will be with me…!!”

Aria and I cleaned up the dishes and packed up the tent. After putting all the luggage into our backpacks, Aria and I started walking out of the forest again. But… it’s just forest no matter how far we go… Will it take a few more days? It took a few days to meet the elves, so this might as well…

“Oh? Zeke-nim! Look at that!”

“Huh? Why…?”

I looked where Aria was pointing. Huh? On closer inspection, there was a faint path leading through the forest where no one seemed to have passed. Seeing the path where almost no grass grew, we immediately started following it. And finally… an eerie-looking gate appeared before us. The gate, made of iron bars between brick pillars… was exuding a terrifying atmosphere.

“Ugh… It really is here. The ominous atmosphere tells me it’s probably a cemetery…”

“Zeke-nim. It says ‘Grovel’ on the wall here. Mr. Prosh was right.”

“Right… But what could be here that he mentioned…”

“…!! Zeke-nim!!”

The moment I was about to look at the cemetery beyond the iron bars, Aria suddenly pushed me. I then saw Aria, who had pushed me, clashing with something that had burst out from inside Grovel, and I was greatly shocked.

“Wha… What was that, all of a sudden?!”

“How dare it try to attack Zeke-nim…!!”

As Aria knocked aside whatever came out from inside Grovel, the being slowly became visible. A gray-haired woman with her hair tied back opened her yellow eyes and glared at me and Aria, saying.

“Leave this cemetery. Immediately.”

“Wha… What is this person?!”