episode_0097

“…..”

“Zeke, are you alright? You look unwell… Was your bed uncomfortable?”

Waking up, I was sitting at the table for breakfast, and Yuria looked at me from the opposite side, concerned. Yuria misunderstood that I hadn’t slept well, asking if my bed was uncomfortable or if I’d slept poorly… but I couldn’t possibly tell her about the nightmare I’d had the night before. How could I tell her I’d dreamed of Aria, her face flushed, seeing me tied hand and foot to the bed…?

“…It’s nothing… By the way, did anything happen to you because of Aria while I was out?”

“Ah… that… Ha… hahaha…”

I had a hunch that Aria had definitely done something to Yuria while I was asleep, so I asked her if anything had happened. When Yuria’s expression suddenly darkened and she let out an empty laugh, I immediately knew. She must have threatened her again… Haaa… Yuria probably doesn’t love me as a lover or anything, so I feel bad that Aria reacted so excessively… Anyway…

“The blizzard isn’t stopping today either… Is the weather always like this in Ter?”

“Yes.”

Seeing the blizzard still raging outside through the window, I realized I couldn’t go out today either and let out a deep sigh… Wait. Isn’t this underground? Then why is there a…

“Yuria, how did you install a window here? This is the basement of that cabin.”

“Oh, that? The back of the cabin is a cliff. So we carved out the rock face to make a window.”

“Oh… I see. But you… your expression is brighter than yesterday? Yesterday, you clearly maintained a cold expression the whole time… Can you even smile?”

“Uh… u-uh-uh?!”

Unaware that she had been smiling with a bright expression, Yuria touched her face with her hand and began to blush. Was she that embarrassed…? Well, it makes sense… If you’ve been showing a cold expression all the time and then realize you’ve unknowingly made such an expression, it could be embarrassing. I thought nothing of Yuria’s reaction, thinking it was understandable, and Yuria covered her face with both hands, thinking.

‘Oh… what should I do?! Looking at Zeke’s face made a bright expression appear on my own without me realizing it… Is it because Z-Zeke melted my frozen heart…? Ugh… what… what should I do… if Zeke finds out how I feel like this…!!’

“….Are you alright?”

“Huh? Ah… hahaha… Uh… yes… I just got a little embarrassed… But Zeke… I’m curious, that coat… have you been wearing it the whole time?”

The moment Yuria couldn’t lift her head from embarrassment, she spotted the coat I had draped over the chair and pointed at it with her finger, asking. I then lifted the coat slightly and said,

“Huh? Oh… this is a coat Aria prepared for me in advance. If Aria hadn’t prepared this coat, I probably would have frozen to death here.”

“I… I see… Ha… hahaha…”

After learning that my coat was one Aria had prepared in advance, Yuria’s expression darkened again, just like before, and she started letting out empty laughs. Why is she acting like this again? Did something else happen? The time rewinds to this morning, before I woke up.

“Ugh… Mmm… Why was I sleeping sitting on a chair? Ah.”

Yuria, who had fainted from fright due to Aria’s threat the day before, couldn’t remember why she was sleeping on a chair instead of the bed, so she tried to recall. Remembering that Aria had threatened her, she sighed.

“….That Saintess… she was seriously trying to kill me… Ugh… I wanted to leave this snowy mountain and open my heart to travel with Zeke, but it seems there’s no way as long as that Saintess is firmly by Zeke’s side…”

Yuria, whose frozen heart had melted for the first time in centuries after receiving comfort the day before, actually wanted to travel with him, but she was too afraid of Aria to find the courage. So, Yuria sighed deeply again, then stood up and stretched her arms overhead to loosen her stiff body.

‘Ugh… I never imagined guests would come here… Still, I’m glad I left a guest room before I completely froze my heart. Otherwise, I would have had to make both Zeke and the Saintess sleep on the floor… Well… the Saintess must be sleeping by now, so I should go wake her up…’

Yuria stretched, then rubbed her eyes and left the room to wake up Aria and Zeke, who were still sleeping. Still sleepy, she yawned in the hallway, then realized she had yawned freely and was surprised, thinking.

‘…! Did I just yawn…? I’ve never yawned with my mouth wide open like that before… But it feels good… Is it because Zeke melted my heart…? Huh? Wait…’

The moment Yuria rejoiced that Zeke had melted her heart, allowing her to do things freely, Yuria, standing in front of the door to Zeke and Aria’s room, stopped her hand from reaching the doorknob when she heard a sound from inside.

‘What’s that sound…?’

“Hmmph… Haaaa… Hehehe…”

‘…Whose voice is that…? Where…’

When a familiar voice came from inside the room, Yuria transformed a part of the door into ice so she could see inside. Looking through the ice, Yuria saw what was happening inside and froze on the spot.

‘….Hmph.’

“Hehehe… I never thought I’d come to such a snowy mountain… but it was good I bought it in advance after all… I even received praise from Zeke-nim… Is this what they call… killing two birds with one stone [a proverb about achieving two things with one action]? It seems so… Hmmph…”

‘That’s… what Zeke was wearing…?’

The scene that greatly shocked Yuria was Aria burying her nose in the brown coat Zeke had worn the day before and sniffing it. And with a flushed face at that. For Yuria, who hadn’t seen such a sight in centuries, Aria’s actions came as a great shock.

“Ahhh… It’s as if Zeke-nim is embracing me… Ah, yes…! To get that feeling, of course… hehehe…”

Aria, who had been deeply sniffing Zeke’s coat, smiled even wider as if an idea had just occurred to her. Then she put her arms into the sleeves and wore the coat, burying her nose in the collar again to sniff it. Satisfied, she finally lifted her nose from the collar and said with a bright smile.

“Ah…! Yes, this is it….!! This feeling, as if Zeke-nim is embracing me…!! I feel so good…. Hehehehe…..”

‘…..L-Let’s go back.’

Greatly shocked by Aria’s actions, Yuria seemingly couldn’t watch any longer. She changed the door back to its wooden form and quickly walked away from the spot with hurried steps. And recalling that, Yuria let out an empty laugh, thinking.

‘….I shouldn’t tell Zeke about this… He might be shocked too, so let’s just not tell him… It would probably be better for both Zeke and me if only I remember it… But… what is this feeling…? It’s something like envy… Ah… no!! I would never do something like that!!’

Yuria suddenly remembered something and began to shake her head violently, which made me a little flustered. What on earth did she recall to react like that? Ah, could it be… she’s thinking of her deceased parents again, and that’s why she’s acting like this… it’s a wound on her heart after all… Seeing Yuria shaking her head vigorously, I looked at her with a sympathetic gaze.

‘I can’t ask if she’s okay here… It would only make Yuria recall that memory, so I’ll just not say anything.’

‘Don’t tell… If I say something, I might also bury my nose in Zeke’s clothes and enjoy the scent, just like that Saintess… I’ll never do that! I’m a Snow Woman!!! I-I’ll harden my heart!! No… if I freeze my heart again….’

“Anyway, I’m glad you’ve opened your heart again, Yuria. If you hadn’t been able to open your heart, I wouldn’t have been able to confirm that the legend was wrong. Thanks to your courage, I was able to learn the truth. Thank you.”

‘….’

The moment Yuria was thinking of freezing her heart again so she wouldn’t do anything strange, I smiled and expressed my gratitude. Seeing my face, Yuria looked stunned, as if greatly shocked. Then from Yuria’s head… huh?

“Yu… Yuria? Are you alright? From your head….”

I was greatly flustered seeing steam rise from Yuria’s head. And Yuria’s face… she’s a Snow Woman, but it turned red…?! I was greatly flustered by Yuria’s reddened face, and even more so when Yuria collapsed in her chair.

“Yu… Yuria?! Are you alright?! What’s wrong, suddenly?!”

‘Ah… that’s right… Zeke didn’t care if I was a Saintess or a Snow Woman… I realized it about Zeke from the moment I received comfort… And just as the Saintess said… Zeke… comforts others by choosing the words they want to hear… because that’s the strongest selfless feeling he possesses…’

Yuria greatly empathized with Aria’s words from the day before and collapsed on the spot. Wh-What should I do about this?! Why did Yuria’s face suddenly turn red?! Is she sick?! Th-Then, if it’s the same illness I had before, can I nurse her the same way?! As I was at a loss, wondering what to do with the collapsed Yuria, she suddenly came to her senses and slammed her fist on the table, startling me.

“….? Yu… Yuria…?”

“Zeke… Actually… actually, there’s something I need to confess…? Don’t be surprised, and listen carefully…”

“A confession…? C-Could it be!! Other acquaintances besides your parents, to those villagers….”

“It’s not that!!!”

I had expected Yuria to confess about something else from her past, so when Yuria shouted that it wasn’t that, I hiccupped and was greatly flustered. Yuria then took a deep breath, looked straight at me with a flushed face, and swallowed hard. And then…

“I… actually… I… think I’ve fallen for you…?”

“…..Huh?”

A completely unexpected statement came from Yuria’s mouth, and I froze on the spot. While I was greatly shocked that Yuria would say such a thing… I also knew the identity of the gaze I kept feeling from behind me, and that made me freeze. At that moment, someone flung the door open from behind and thrust a staff towards Yuria’s side. It was Aria.

“You… I clearly warned you, didn’t I…? I’ll twist you to dea—”

“W-Wait, Saintess… I have more to say…”

“If it’s something to say before you die, very well.”

When Aria, with a murderous glare, allowed her to speak her last words, Yuria unconsciously swallowed. And sensing this situation, I let out a deep sigh and covered my face with my palm. Haaaaa… What is all this…?

“Zeke… I think I’ve fallen for you from the moment you comforted me… But… I don’t intend to become your lover… because I’m also at fault…”

“…..”

“I even made you bow down… and froze you… but you embraced me instead… For me to ask you to date me… that would be too shameless…”

“And knowing that, you confess to Zeke-nim? Your last words are enou—”

“I’m asexual anyway, so I don’t feel anything… Aria, that’s enough. Sit next to me.”

“But Zeke-nim…!!”

As I gestured for her to stop, Aria turned back and shouted at me as if she had more to say. But when I showed her a smile, Aria, as if there was nothing she could do, moved her staff away from Yuria and sat beside me. Then I patted Aria’s shoulder and said,

“You said that knowing Aria was watching everything from behind, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“So… what do you have to say?”

“….You’re not angry…?”

“Not at all?”

There was absolutely no reason to be angry, but when Yuria asked if I was, I shook my head and replied. Yuria then swallowed hard and spoke to me again.

“Anyway… I feel too shameless to go with you… So… I’ll just keep this feeling to myself. That way, my heart won’t freeze again. So… thank you, Zeke. For everything…”

“….I didn’t really do anything… But… you should thank Aria, not me.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

When I suddenly said she should thank Aria, both Aria and Yuria were greatly flustered. But… isn’t that just obvious?

“Because if it weren’t for Aria’s abilities, I would have died. Then I wouldn’t have been able to melt your heart either. Furthermore, if Aria hadn’t rescued me from that blizzard, I would already be dead and wouldn’t have met you. When you think about it, Aria did pretty much everything! Thank you so much, Aria!!”

“Z-Zeke-nim… Ha… haha… Of course! Just leave all such matters to this Aria!”

When I praised her, Aria finally relaxed her expression and pounded her chest with her fist, proudly proclaiming that they should leave everything to her. Well… it’s true that I was able to survive thanks to that spirit of hers, so I can’t really argue. Then, Yuria, who had been dumbfounded watching us, chuckled and spoke to us.

“I see… I guess I really missed this warm atmosphere. I never expected to experience such an atmosphere again in a place like this… Oh, right. There’s something I need to tell you, Zeke.”

“Huh?”

“…Actually… I think I can stop that blizzard now.”

“….What?!”

When Yuria revealed that she could stop the blizzard raging outside, I was greatly flustered. Then, seeing Aria next to me suddenly grip her staff harder, I became even more flustered.

“Then you… have you been keeping it a secret all this time just to keep Zeke-nim here longer…?”

“No… this is thanks to Zeke too. I realized it this morning. Thanks to you melting my frozen heart and making me feel at ease, I can control my abilities better than before. It seems a Snow Woman’s powers move according to her heart.”

“….So we can leave now?”

“Yes. But it will take a little time. Because it’s an act of defying natural weather.”

“….!! Wait… that means… your strength could be completely drained?! That’s…!!”

Realizing that defying natural weather would take immense strength, I was greatly shocked and tried to stop Yuria. Yuria then smiled brightly and raised her index finger, saying,

“You see… I’ve always helped others to receive praise. But… for the first time… for the first time from someone other than my parents, I received a genuine, warm heart. So, I want to repay that feeling. I don’t want anything else. Because I’ve already received something from you. A true heart…”

“…But that’s too much…”

“Hmph! It’s troublesome if you think you’re the only one, Yuria. Seeing that Zeke-nim cannot enjoy his journey because of this blizzard, how can I not help?! I will assist you so you don’t overexert yourself. However! You must understand that this is for Zeke-nim, not because I’m worried about you!”

“Yes. I know. And it’s also because you know Zeke would be sad if I collapsed, right?”

“….How did you know that?!”

“Pffft… You said you and I are the same.”

When Yuria instantly saw through her thoughts, Aria was greatly surprised. Then, as Yuria laughed as if truly amused, saying that she and Aria were the same, Aria made a displeased face and scratched her head. What on earth did those two talk about yesterday…? Well… perhaps it doesn’t matter… Still, what’s fortunate is…

‘It’s fortunate that Yuria, who always maintained a cold expression, can now smile so brightly.’

I felt relieved seeing Yuria’s bright smile.