episode_0083

To the Herlos Region

“Hoo… that peaceful Kriton region… Swoop… Right, it wasn’t peaceful after all. No.”

While crossing the forest of the Kriton region, I recalled what had happened there. Although there were no monsters in the Kriton region, it certainly wasn’t only peaceful things that had occurred. Right… the hardship was clear only up to Probelitu, and after that, the Fairies and spirits were very good races, so I had an easy time… But… but now…

“Haa…”

“Hmm? Zeke-nim, sighing so heavily the ground could cave in again… Is something wrong?”

“If we go to the Herlos region, monsters will appear again… Besides, I know nothing about the Herlos region. I’ve only heard the name; I don’t really know what’s inside it, so, haa… What should I do?”

“Indeed… without a map of the Herlos region, Zeke-nim must be feeling quite helpless. But… I can guarantee that no matter what monster comes, if it passes through these hands, it will become delicious food!”

“…Yes, I think I can guarantee that too.”

Aria said that she could use all approaching monsters as cooking ingredients, and I instinctively agreed. In places other than the Kriton region, she had mercilessly dismantled monsters that tried to attack us… By the way, Aria doesn’t seem to think it’s her fault anymore, even when I sigh deeply. It makes me feel good that our journey together seems to be having a positive effect on Aria.

“Hmm… Lately, I’ve been a little disappointed not finding any meat that could help Zeke-nim’s health… But when we go to a new region, there will be plenty of meat that fearlessly charges at us, right?”

‘…That doesn’t sound like something a Saintess should say… Well, I guess… Aria is the Black Saintess, so let’s just accept it…’

I was flustered by Aria, the Saintess, continuously treating monsters as meat, but since it was Aria, I decided not to think about it further. It was useless to think more…

“But Zeke-nim. Do you really know nothing about the Herlos region? I thought you might know at least a little…”

“Nope. Nothing at all. Even though the Herlos region is next to the Tania region where Todrua is located, it’s too far from Todrua, so I don’t know anything about it. Plus, Herlos is the widest region, so it would take a lot of time to learn everything about it.”

“…!! That means… if there are no obstacles, Zeke-nim and I could be alone for several years…!!!”

Aria started to smile brightly at the thought of being with me for several years, and I let out a wry laugh because I had already expected such a reaction. Then, I suddenly became curious about something and asked Aria.

“But why do you think other women would like me?”

“…What?! What do you mean by that?!”

“Honestly, I don’t really have any charm, do I? Who would like me, someone who’s only focused on exploration and has no interest in romance? If there really was someone like that besides you… they’d be a truly strange person.”

“Eh… Achoo!!!”

The moment I told Aria that if there was anyone in this world besides her who liked me, they must be a strange person, Cecilia, who was staying in Grovel, sneezed while wiping a tombstone and then started picking her ear. Merzel then asked Cecilia.

“Is something wrong, Cecilia?”

“Ah… No. That’s odd… Why is my ear so itchy? And I sneezed too… Did some dust from the tombstone get in?”

“Should I check your ear for you?”

“Hmm… No. It seems to have passed. It’s fine now.”

As her ear stopped itching, Cecilia took her finger out of her ear and wondered why it had been itchy. Meanwhile, I, heading towards the Herlos region, saw Aria sigh deeply after hearing my words.

“Haa… Does Zeke-nim not realize how charming you are?”

“No, I’m really not charming! I wasn’t that popular even in the village I lived in… At least no girl ever confessed to me!”

“That’s because their standards were simply too low. One needs high standards to truly appreciate Zeke-nim’s charm. Hehehe… Hearing that now, I realize I can love Zeke-nim all by myself… No one’s interference… Ah.”

Aria, realizing the high probability of having me all to herself, suddenly made a terrifying expression, as if something unpleasant had sparked in her mind. Why did her face suddenly twist as if she were enraged…?

“Damned demon… I should have killed it after all…”

“…What?”

“…Nothing at all! Come on! Let’s set off for our new destination right away!”

I hadn’t heard what Aria mumbled, and when I asked about it, Aria snapped out of it and, pretending not to know, unfolded a map and headed towards the Herlos region. What on earth was she thinking…?

“Hmm… The Herlos region is wide, so if I explore all of it, I might use up all the remaining pages in this exploration journal… If we find a village, I should buy a new book first… Oh, right. Aria, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes? What kind of favor? Just say anything!”

“If we get out of the Kriton region and find a village… no, before that, could you check for any signs of people around?”

“Hmm… That’s simple. But I’m curious as to why.”

“Ah… Well. If external races find out we’ve come out of the Kriton region, what do you think they’ll think of us? I feel like we’ll draw attention as humans who survived living in a confined space. That’s why.”

“Oh! So, Zeke-nim, who dislikes being the center of attention, wants to avoid people and safely enter a village, right?”

“Exactly.”

As Aria accurately guessed my thoughts, I gave her a thumbs-up. Aria blushed shyly and seemed pleased, and I took out my exploration journal from my bag and said to her.

“Certainly, there were those in the Kriton region who tried to harm me, but somehow, it was resolved well. Besides, there are still things that haven’t been resolved there, and I received the favor of obtaining important information, like Iruvan and Nerha, that must never be leaked to other races. So I don’t want external forces to interfere with the lives of the creatures in the Kriton region just yet. There’s the reason of not wanting attention, and there’s this reason too. That’s why I’d rather not publicize too much that we came out of the Kriton region.”

“…Why do you rate yourself as uncharming when you’re like this?!”

“…Uh… huh?”

When I said I didn’t want to inconvenience the people I was indebted to in the Kriton region, Aria suddenly grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me hard. I spoke with a bit of embarrassment.

“Ah… No, isn’t everyone capable of doing this? It’s not something only I can do…”

“No one can do that?! You forgive your enemies, and even when you leave, you think of those you’ve been indebted to… You shouldn’t do such things carelessly!!”

“Eh… Eh?! Why?! Being kind is the best…”

“That’s why women start appearing around Zeke-nim!!! Zeke-nim!! It’s not that women didn’t confess to Zeke-nim before you left on your journey… it might be that they *couldn’t*!!”

“What are you talking about?! No… more importantly… M-my shoulders! S-stop shaking me!! Uwaaaaaaah!!!”

Aria’s words and actions were so chaotic that my head started to spin. What’s so bad about being kind that she’s reacting like this…? No, more importantly, my shoulders… Seeing that I was in a lot of pain in my shoulders, Aria finally took her hands off me.

“Ugh… What on earth was all that about? No, I’m unpopular, so no one ever confessed to me! I never had a single opposite-gender friend, you know?!”

“…What?”

“You’re my first opposite-gender friend, and everyone used to treat me as strange because I wasn’t interested in dating… Huh?”

Aria, realizing that I had never had a single opposite-gender friend before, and that she, whom I met after setting out on my journey, was my first, began to blush intensely. Steam started to rise from her suddenly reddened face, and Aria asked me in a trembling voice.

“M-m-m-m-me… m-my… my first o-o-o-o-opposite-gender friend?!”

“Uh… Right? Well… I didn’t have many friends in general.”

“…I’m… so… so happy… I could lose my mind… Hee… heeheehee…”

“…She’s doing it again.”

Seeing Aria frozen in place, utterly immersed in happiness, I sighed deeply and waited there until Aria calmed down. Six minutes later, I set off with Aria, who had regained her senses, towards the Herlos region. Then Aria asked me.

“Zeke-nim. I’m asking because I don’t know… How many regions are there in this world?”

“There are four regions: Magrion, Kriton, Herlos, and Tania.”

“Hmm… But what are they divided by?”

“I don’t know that myself. But perhaps we can find that answer on this journey. This exploration began precisely to discover such things… Huh?”

I started to feel excited at the thought of researching the history of the world later. Just then, something familiar caught my eye. I immediately walked towards it, and as I suddenly veered off course, Aria tilted her head and then started to follow me. I went between the trees and found something completely unexpected there, letting out a wry laugh.

“Hah… Why is this here too?”

“Oh my? This is a wooden statue of Goddess Camilla. I never imagined it would be in the Kriton region.”

“So a priest visited this region? Hmm… That’s strange. A wooden statue of Goddess Camilla in the sparsely populated Kriton region…”

Puzzled by the presence of a Camilla statue in the Kriton region, I immediately recorded its existence in my exploration journal. Hmm… Is there a religion that worships Goddess Camilla here too? But nowhere in the Kriton region seemed suitable for humans to live. At least, the humans from Arjel who recently migrated here didn’t worship Goddess Camilla either… Then what on earth is here…?

“Hmm… Zeke-nim. This looks like it was recently built, doesn’t it? Seeing as there’s not much moss, it might have been built by the priest Nerha-nim saw before.”

“Really? Then… we might find a clue in the Herlos region. Let’s go for now.”

“Understood~”

Although I felt a little uneasy, I decided to move towards the Herlos region. Swoop… I hope this feeling isn’t for nothing… Well… It should be fine. Alten and Veronica, and Village Chief Akada-nim and the spirits can protect themselves. I trusted the bonds I had made and moved forward… Huh?

“…What is this now… The forest ends and…”

“Oh my… There’s no path?”

The sight that unfolded after the forest ended was a rock canyon. Water flowed far below the high cliffs, and between the cliffs… there was no path. Not even a bridge… Could it be…?

“Could it be that the people of the Herlos region realized the Kriton region was dangerous and cut off the path… something like that?”

“Hmm… It’s quite deep below. Even with water, at this height, one could die if they fell.”

“Haa… Nerha’s map only showed the end of the Kriton region, so I never imagined there would be a canyon like this. Hmm… What should I do… The gap is too wide, there’s no way to cross… Should we go around?”

“Hmm… Should I smash it with my strength?”

“Don’t.”

As I looked helpless about crossing the canyon, Aria clenched her fists and said she’d smash it with her strength, and I immediately stopped her. Otherwise, this canyon could completely collapse… Besides, even if there was a bridge, it would be a headache… People would surely pass through such a place and realize we came from the Kriton region… As I pondered deeply, Aria poked my shoulder with her finger and called me.

“Zeke-nim.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Could you hug me from behind with both arms?”

“…What?”

Seeing Aria suddenly spread her arms and ask to be hugged, I couldn’t guess what she wanted to do. Then Aria estimated the distance between the canyon walls by eye and said to me.

“Looking at the distance between the canyons, I think we can cross. To do that, Zeke-nim needs to hold me… Ehehehehe…”

“…”

As Aria suddenly started grinning broadly, I realized. Aria definitely had the intention of helping me, but… she also had another ulterior motive… Well, given the situation, there weren’t many choices… I was also worried about what I would do if Aria suddenly lost her mind again, but for now, I hugged Aria with both arms. When I suddenly hugged her, Aria’s face began to blush again.

“Ah… Ahahaha… Hehehehe…”

“So, what do we do now?”

“Oh, I… that… Ehehehe… Just! Just hold me tight!”

“…This feels ominous… You’re not thinking of… No… Uwaaaaaaah!!!”

Holding Aria, I suddenly had a premonition of what she was about to do and felt a great sense of foreboding. And at that moment, Aria suddenly started running rapidly towards the canyon. I, who was clearly hugging her but ended up clinging to her instead, cried out in a hurry as Aria’s actions matched my prediction.

“You’re not seriously thinking of… Uwaaaaaaah!! …lightly jumping across the canyon?!”

The moment I screamed, Aria powerfully leaped from the edge of the canyon. And… she jumped so high that the other side of the canyon was visible, and I was greatly shocked by the sight.

‘Uwaaaaaaah!! It was this after all!! I knew Aria’s physical abilities increased due to the Saint’s Radiance, but… to cross a canyon like thiiiiis!!!’

“Hold on tight!! We’re landing!!”

“Uwaaaaaaah!!”

Aria, who had jumped high, landed safely on the opposite side of the canyon along with my scream. My legs were trembling so much that I collapsed on the spot as soon as we landed. Aria was greatly flustered when I suddenly fell.

“…?! Z-Zeke-nim?! Why are you suddenly like this?!”

“Pant pant… I… I expected it… but I never thought you’d actually do it… W-what was that just now… H-how did we cross…?”

“Hmm… I did it because I thought it would work. If it didn’t, I had a second plan to just die myself and send Zeke-nim to the other side of the canyon.”

“…D-Don’t ever make… such plans… in situations like this… Ugh…”

“Z-Zeke-nim?!”

After hearing Aria say she had made a terrifying plan, I fainted on the spot. I was unconscious for a while, then I awoke to a fragrant smell. Holding my head, I looked around, and my jaw dropped at the incredible sight.

“…What is this now…”

“Oh my~ Zeke-nim! You’re finally awake! While you were sleeping, I prepared something to eat! It’s lunchtime anyway!”

Under the midday sun, lying on the canyon floor, I was flustered to see giant monster bones of no less than three different kinds around me. And even more perplexing was Aria happily preparing an enormous amount of meat dishes among the piles of giant bones. Skewers, roasts, stews…

“Aria… What is all this…?”

“You hardly ate any meat in the Kriton region~ Since there were monsters charging at us, I cooked them all~”

…Listening to Aria, I thought. In the Herlos region… I might lose consciousness from overeating.