episode_0064

“Right? I held you all night, so you must have slept soundly and comfortably!”

‘… ‘

…That’s right. Aria had hugged me from behind all night and wouldn’t let go, and I had passed out from suffocation in her embrace. Now, however, my common sense was starting to twist so much that I found it absurd to think that passing out and falling asleep was actually an opportunity for me to sleep soundly.

“…. Sigh…”

“Hmm? Zeke-nim? Why are you suddenly sighing so deeply? Is it because I’m lacking in some way…?”

“There’s no woman more terrifyingly perfect than you… When I look at you, I even think you might be able to kill a god.”

“Is that what you wish for? If Zeke-nim desires it, I can bring you the head of that ‘god’ right now.”

“Don’t say scary things…. But do you have a dream, Aria?”

“A dream?”

“You know that my dream is to explore this entire world…. What’s your dream? I’ve never asked you, so you haven’t told me yet.”

When I asked what her dream was, Aria lightly rested a finger on her chin and began to ponder deeply. To show such a reaction… Aria, you didn’t have a dream, did you? I hope you gain one as we explore together….

“Hehehe…”

The moment I wished for Aria to gain a dream, she suddenly lowered her head and let out a sinister chuckle…. It was a laugh that gave me a strange feeling. This… This feeling, I’ve felt it many times before…. The moment I sensed something strange, I saw Aria’s face, hidden by her hair, turning red through the gaps. And then…

“Hehehe… Marrying Zeke-nim… Hehehehe… A one-year honeymoon…. And children…. Ah, yes. Six children… Two boys? No, wait… it would be better to have three boys and three girls, half and half…. And where should we live? Ah… yes, wouldn’t a quiet forest be good? A quiet forest without anything to disturb Zeke-nim and me…”

‘… ‘

As soon as I heard Aria muttering her dream, I immediately turned my head and tried to forget her mumbling. That… That must be real… I need to be careful… If Aria truly can’t control her feelings again… Ugh… something terrible might happen…

“Hehehe… And always together…. We can always be together, right? And what plans should I make? Livelihood. Livelihood is… I’ll sell my body… *Gasp*?!”

The moment Aria was about to say she would sell her body, I quickly covered her mouth with both hands. Aria’s face flushed crimson, and she spoke to me in a flustered voice.

“Ze-ze-ze… Zeke-nim? Wh-why are you suddenly…?”

“You idiot!!”

I sincerely whacked Aria on the head and shouted. Aria clutched the top of her head with both hands and just stared at me, bewildered and truly flustered. Sigh…. Does she really not know?…. This made Aria’s recent muttering seem more pitiable than scary.

“Zeke-nim…?”

“You’ll sell your body?”

“Ah… you heard it all… For Zeke-nim, I would…”

“You foolish Saintess!!”

When Aria nonchalantly said she would sell her body again, I hit her head again and shouted. Then I saw Aria starting to tear up slightly.

“Ze… Zeke-nim… What did I…?”

“Don’t you know?! You’d sell your body?! Are you really saying that so casually, Aria?!”

“Bu-but… even if… even if it comes to that, I would only have Zeke-nim in my heart…”

“That’s not the problem, you foolish Saintess!!”

When Aria tried to defy me again, I hit her head and shouted. Then, grabbing Aria by the collar to draw her closer, I shouted in great anger.

“Listen carefully!! If you sell your body for my sake, I will truly leave you!! And I will never return!!”

“What…?! Why… why?! Why would Zeke-nim…. Wh-what did I do wrong…?”

“Because you don’t value yourself!!”

“What…?”

“If you don’t think you’re valuable, why would I think of you?! If you do something like that, do you think I’d gratefully accept your favor?! Don’t do that, Aria. You are valuable to yourself, and you are a precious companion to me! Understand?!”

“…. Zeke-nim…”

As Aria became dumbfounded by my words, I calmed down and let go of her clothes. Then I sighed deeply and muttered.

“Ugh…. I haven’t gotten so heated in a while. I was too harsh, Ari…”

The moment I turned around to apologize to Aria, scratching my head, Aria wrapped her arms around me. Then she buried her head in my chest and, chuckling, said:

“Hehe… Zeke-nim. Can I stay like this for a little longer?”

“Ugh… J-just a sec, I need to breathe… Huh?”

As Aria had buried her head deeply, I was suffocating and was about to push her head away when I felt my clothes getting increasingly damp. I realized Aria was laughing while shedding tears. Realizing this, I chuckled and stroked Aria’s head, saying:

“Don’t ever say you’ll make such extreme choices again. Understand?”

“Yes… Thank you, Zeke-nim. Truly, thank you…. This Aria is happy to feel Zeke-nim’s kindness again…”

“Yes, yes… My words were too harsh, weren’t they? I’m sorry.”

“Hehehe… Still, getting scolded by Zeke-nim doesn’t seem so bad…. It’s warm and… gentle, I like it…”

“…. My scolding wasn’t that gentle…. Bu-but Aria… my… my head… I… I can’t breathe…..”

“Yes… Huh? Yes?!”

Aria, belatedly noticing that I was suffocating, hurriedly lifted her head from my embrace and shook my shoulders vigorously. I… I wasn’t dying that much….

“Uwaaaaaah! Zeke-niiim!!”

“Ugh… Ughhh”

Just now I felt like I was suffocating to death, but now Aria was shaking me so violently that I felt nauseous…. Aria shook me with all her might for two minutes, and I merely flapped like a piece of paper. Feeling dizzy from Aria’s hands, I couldn’t get up until lunchtime. At some point, I must have passed out. When I regained consciousness and sat up, I scratched my head, noticing Aria was nowhere to be seen.

‘Oh? Aria’s gone? Aria wouldn’t just leave me suddenly…. Huh?’

As I scratched my head and looked around, I found a note on a fallen log and immediately checked it. Surely it wasn’t a note saying Aria had been kidnapped… No.

‘Zeke-nim. It’s Aria. Since Zeke-nim has collapsed, I’ll go find some medicinal herbs and also check what’s around here.’

“She went to find medicinal herbs….. No… This smell?!”

As I read the note, I smelled delicious food and hastily turned around. There, a pot sat over a campfire, and inside, stew was deliciously simmering. But the stew wasn’t the important part… This meat smell emanating from the stew… This was…!!

‘Garuda meat?! *Drool*…. That looks delicious…. Hmm… I should eat it with Aria when she gets back, right?’

I drooled profusely, with the slowly maturing Garuda meat stew before my eyes. And no wonder… Aria’s stew-making skills had improved even further since we embarked on our journey. Aria’s culinary talent had become so remarkable that she could even control the tenderness of the meat, to the point where I could guarantee no one could match her.

‘I even taught myself how to cook Garuda meat…. But her… she’s so skilled she can even remove toxins from lizard meat…. Damn it, though…! This makes me feel like I’m useless…!’

Continuing to marvel at Aria’s cooking skills, I recalled what was written in the note and checked it again, thinking.

‘…. But even if Aria figures out what’s nearby…. I can’t call it exploration unless I confirm it with my own eyes. There might be objects I’ve never seen before…’

“Oh! Zeke-niiim! You’re awake!! I made your favorite Garuda meat dish for lunch!!”

“Yeah, I saw it! Than— Huh?”

When I heard Aria’s voice, I immediately turned my head, and the sight before me left me speechless. Aria had returned carrying a lot of things. What’s all that… Mushrooms, plants…. Are there even animals…? Aria, who had come right up to me, put everything she was carrying down on the ground and began to explain what she had brought.

“This is a Tuulla mushroom, Zeke-nim! It’s a medicinal herb known for its efficacy in treating headaches. And this is a Gurugel mouse that only lives here….”

The things Aria had brought were animals and plants that lived or grew in this immediate vicinity, as well as various stones. Seeing all of them, I chuckled and muttered in admiration that Aria had brought three of each so that I could easily record them.

“… Aha… So there’s a way like this…”

“Yes? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Let’s eat… I’m hungry.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”

Aria smiled brightly as she took the stew from the pot and transferred it to a bowl. When she handed it to me, I smiled faintly and ate the stew Aria had made with relish. Then, a sudden question came to mind, and I asked Aria, who was eating with me.

“Hey, Aria. Did you believe everything Estur-ssi said?”

“Hmm? For me… it didn’t matter even if I knew, so I just let it pass. What’s important to me is…”

“My information, right? Hmph… I envy you. As you know, I was suspicious. And then Estur-ssi hit me with the truth…. It’s true that I tend not to believe things that are too surreal…. But I also can’t believe it’s real…”

“Don’t worry about it, Zeke-nim. That’s not your fault. It was information that was hard to believe anyway. So don’t… Oh my…”

Aria, who had been encouraging me, suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and began to smile shyly. Why is she laughing again so suddenly? Her face is also red… This feels a bit ominous…

“…? Why?”

“Ah… it’s not that. Hehehe…. It’s just that I feel like I’m returning the words you used to encourage me earlier, Zeke-nim.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“…. Zeke-nim. That’s not your fault. You also shouldn’t undervalue yourself. It was information that would have been hard to trust even if it wasn’t you.”

“…. Yes… that’s right. And as you said, you’re literally returning my words to me.”

“Right? Hehe…. Ah, Zeke-nim. I have a dream now.”

“…. If it’s that, I already heard it earlier….”

“Not that one. My real dream.”

“Your real dream?”

When Aria said she had a real dream, I tilted my head. Then Aria smiled sweetly and stood up. She then spread her arms and turned her body as if dancing, then approached me and asked:

“Zeke-nim, you said before that you weren’t interested in love, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Uh… I did say I wasn’t interested in romance, right?”

“Hehehe…. So, my dream is… to make Zeke-nim fall in love with me! To make Zeke-nim say ‘I love you’ to me without using any methods you dislike, that is my dream!”

…. Oh-ho…. So, she means to change me without using methods I dislike…. That is, without using extreme or coercive methods? Hearing Aria’s confession, it was almost the first time in a long while that I was satisfied with Aria’s opinion.

“So… you mean you’ll try to change me without using methods I dislike? You’re saying you’ll take on the challenge, right?”

“Yes…!”

“Hmm…. I wonder if you can really change me? Most temptations don’t work on me, you know? Even when Dryads tried to tempt me, I actually felt disgusted… Can you really do it?”

“Hehe…. Just you wait…. Once I achieve that dream, I’ll move on to the next step…!!”

“Alright. Go on and try, Aria. Let’s see if you can truly succeed.”

I admired Aria’s determination and new goal, provoking her. When Aria made a resolute expression, I was truly satisfied. After Aria’s confession, having finished our meal, we were taking down the tent and putting out the campfire. As I folded the tent, I watched Aria tidying up the cooking tools near the campfire and thought:

‘Aria’s expression and determination just now. It was much better than her previous words about making me like her by any means. It makes me feel good that Aria seems to be improving…. Of course, if she can’t control her patience again, she might try to pounce on me like last time…. Still, it’s pleasing to see Aria’s condition improve this much.’

“Huh? Zeke-nim? Is something wrong?”

“Ah, I was thinking about how to organize the things you brought. Seeing that some magical beasts are found here, I realized this place isn’t that safe.”

“Ah… Right… This mouse I brought is indeed a magical beast, even if it’s the weakest. But have you finished recording everything?”

“No. I was eating, so of course I couldn’t. I’ll do it after I’ve tidied all this up.”

“Yes~ I’ll tidy it up quickly!”

Aria began to quickly tidy the tools with a very happy expression. Did she feel relieved? I’ve hardly ever seen her so happy… Well, still… it’s a relief that Aria has a clear goal now… a safe goal…. I secretly felt happy that Aria had fortunately gained a safe goal and tidied the tent. Afterward, based on the things Aria had brought, I began to organize the flora and fauna inhabiting this region.

“Hmmmm…. There are no particular distinguishing features. This place is pretty much similar to the forest near Todrua.”

“Shall I bring more?!”

“Hahahaha… That’s enough. Let’s get going now…. Let’s see… has it been four days since we left Grovel?”

“Yes, Zeke-nim.”

“Let’s go. I want to explore everything in the Kryton region and move on to another area quickly.”

“Yes… Oh my…”

As I took her hand and set off, Aria shyly held my hand with both of hers and followed me. We continued walking through the trees, heading towards the Kroa Spring. Hmm… according to the map Merzel-ssi gave me….

“We’re halfway there now. See that hill over there?”

“A hill?”

When I pointed to a high hill visible through the trees with my finger, Aria nodded and replied.

“Yes, I see it.”

“According to this map Merzel-ssi gave us, there was that hill halfway along our path. Did you not know there was such a hill when you were exploring the surroundings?”

“Ah… I went all the way there.”

“…. What?! You explored all the way here and came back?!”

“Yes.”

…. She went so far… Well… given Aria’s enhanced physical abilities due to the Holy Radiance, she could certainly come all the way here and return quickly…. In that case, there’s no need to go to that hill. So… it means we can just keep going straight like this.

“It’s certainly convenient thanks to you… But still, let me explore too.”

“I couldn’t help it then. Hehe… I’ll keep that in mind, Zeke-nim.”

“Th-that…. Huh?”

The moment Aria’s face flushed crimson and she replied with a laugh, I saw a light before my eyes and stopped mid-stride. Aria then carefully watched what I was stopped and looking at, and said to me:

“Zeke-nim. That’s a fairy. It seems to be a fairy living in the Kryton region.”

“A fairy? Like Riera? Hmm…. A fairy… You said fairies live in the Kryton region, right? Good…. Shall we explore it?”