episode_0098

Stories I Hadn’t Known Until Now

“Hmm. It’s delicious, as expected. I really can’t say anything you make tastes bad, Aria.”

“Hehehe… Of course, it’s because my love went into it!”

“Hahaha… If I weren’t asexual, I might have already fallen for you…”

“…..”

As I ate the stew Aria had cooked at the table and mentioned I might have already fallen for her if I weren’t asexual, Aria’s face began to turn red. Then, steam started to come out of her head, and she collapsed in her seat, just like Yuria had done moments before… Why is she doing this again?

“Aria? Are you okay? Yuria, do you know why Aria is…?”

The moment I turned my head to Yuria to ask why Aria was like this, I was even more flustered to see Yuria bowing her head, trembling while clutching her spoon. Why is she like this now…?

“Yu… Yuria? Why are you…”

“Waaah….. sobbing…”

“….?”

Wait… What’s that sound…? The moment I listened closely to Yuria, I was flustered to hear her making a sound with her head bowed. It was the sound of Yuria crying. The moment I realized what the sound was, Yuria lifted her head, shedding copious tears, and said.

“It’s the first time I’ve eaten food made by someone else… sobbing… And it’s so delicious my tears won’t stop…”

“….Aria’s food truly is…”

“A-ah! I didn’t make it for your enjoyment, you know?! Why are *you* getting emotional?!”

“But… sobbing… it’s the first time I’ve had such warm food… I do have a brazier at home, but until you arrived, I lived by chewing on cold ice… or frozen fruit…”

Aria and I were greatly astonished by Yuria’s words. So Yuria had been eating hard ice or fruit all this time?! Without eating any warm food?! Is it… because she’s a Snow Woman…?

“In other words, you haven’t been able to eat warm food until now…”

“Since I started disliking warm things, I hadn’t even thought about making them… But… after eating this food, my body and mind feel warm… I’ve learned how much the Saintess loves you through this food…”

“Of course! It’s food that will become Zeke-nim’s flesh and blood… Naturally, it’s right to put all my love and devotion into it!!”

“….Thanks to this, I think I’ve realized my place… No matter what I do, I don’t think I can win against that Saintess… Maybe it’s good that I gave up beforehand…”

“Hehe!”

As Yuria sighed deeply, saying she could never overcome Aria’s love, Aria looked at me triumphantly. What is it? Does she want praise? There’s no need to foster competitiveness with something like this, you know…?

“Ri… Right… Aria truly is amazing… But you know… something popped into my mind because I remembered you saying you liked me earlier. I’m curious about it.”

“Huh…?”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know this, but… Aria, Cecilia doesn’t just like me, you know? That… what was it… I just can’t understand what it is about me that made you and Yuria fall for me… It’s making my thoughts complicated.”

“!!!”

“….Cecilia? Who’s that?”

When Cecilia was suddenly mentioned, Aria became greatly flustered, and Yuria, who didn’t know who Cecilia was, asked me who that was. Yuria still doesn’t know who Cecilia is… Wait. But didn’t Aria just get startled…?

“….No way… Aria….”

“Zeke-nim!! Are you saying that damn devil already confessed to Zeke-nim?!”

“….Huh? ….?! Wha… what?! Cecilia did too?!”

“H-ha…!!”

The moment I, guessing from Aria’s reaction that Cecilia had also fallen for me, asked Aria about it, Aria, as if she already knew everything, blurted out that Cecilia liked me. Then, when I was greatly astonished that it was true, Aria realized she had confessed and hurriedly covered her mouth, shaking her head, but it was already too late…

“….No, what charm do I even have for everyone to be like this?!”

“No, um… Zeke? That… who is Cecilia…?”

“Ah… Ah, right! It’s a joke, Aria, isn’t it? You just joked to scare me, right?!”

“Ah… Ahahaha… Yes… Yes… that’s right! It’s… it’s a joke! Ha… haha…!”

That flustered voice… and Aria’s appearance, avoiding my gaze and wearing a flustered expression… It’s certain… that what she just said was true. No, what in the world is going on?! I’m asexual!! What charm could I possibly have for this to happen…?

“Zeke!!! So what does all of that mean?! I know nothing and I’m going crazy from frustration, so won’t you tell me?!”

As Yuria, who was utterly frustrated from knowing nothing, shouted for me to tell her, Aria and I, who had been flustered, snapped out of it and took a deep breath. Then Yuria sighed deeply and asked me.

“So… there was someone else you saved by comforting and encouraging, and that person was Cecilia, right?”

“….Not a person… As Aria said earlier, Cecilia is a devil. A real devil.”

“….? What? No way, is she a race with wings on her back and horns on her head? No… But that race already went extinct… No way, is it real?”

Yuria, who didn’t believe Cecilia was a devil, saw my troubled expression and guessed that what I said was true. Then, when I nodded my head, confirming it, Yuria was greatly astonished and cried out.

“A devil?! You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?!”

“….You also have prejudices against devils, don’t you? I’ll explain everything, so steel yourself.”

“What?”

At my words, telling her to steel herself because she also had prejudices, Yuria looked bewildered. Then, as I explained what had happened so far by showing her the contents written in my exploration journal, Yuria seemed to be greatly shocked, her mouth hanging open in astonishment.

“And so… that’s how it happened.”

“So… the devils are actually the victims… and this Saintess was truly able to keep going thanks to your comfort and encouragement… And in the Kriton region, the World Tree was resurrected… and you guys teamed up with the elves to send the World Tree back to the other side… Is that the story?”

“Yeah.”

“….. Ugh… Humans truly have no redeeming qualities from beginning to end… They make up false legends to cover their own mistakes… May humans be ruined…”

After hearing everything, Yuria seemed to feel hollow, letting out a hollow laugh and beginning to curse humans. Um… but Aria and I are humans, too…? And it wasn’t humans who spread distorted legends about devils, but angels…

“Anyway… if the Saintess cared for and loved you that much… then I’m truly nothing compared to her… Even thinking about it again…”

“Of course! The time we spent together is different, you see! Well… it’s fortunate that you know your place, because if you hadn’t known your place and kept confessing to Zeke-nim… your abdomen might have been pierced by this staff…!!”

“Ah… I guess it’s not scary anymore since it won’t happen… But, separate from that, I also need to repay Zeke’s kindness… Plus, hearing about the outside world was, well… interesting, Zeke.”

“That’s why I’m writing the exploration journal. It’s because of the anticipation and curiosity of encountering mysterious things that I embarked on this journey. But are you going to stay on this mountain?”

“Yes. I still can’t fully control my power. If I go outside, I’ll only create a second Ter. So I plan to train here to control my power. Even if it takes hundreds of years again.”

Yuria clenched her fist, vowing to work hard to control her power. So she hadn’t thought of doing that before. Furthermore, those words meant that Yuria had never left Ter until now…

“Then you’ve never been outside this mountain until now?”

“Hmm… Actually, whenever I feel restless, I sometimes go outside and fly around. Snow Women can fly in the sky, you see.”

“But then your uncontrolled power…”

“So I go out when my power is at its weakest, during winter. Well… at that time, I didn’t care if humans got caught in heavy snow, but it would get annoying if humans swarmed into Ter to capture me.”

It’s a relief that Yuria goes outside occasionally, after all. It means she still had the desire to freely roam the world in one place. Since I also wish to explore everything in the world, I thought we might get along well if we traveled together, but…

“Huh? What’s wrong, Zeke-nim?”

It would be impossible with Aria around, wouldn’t it…? I had been thinking it might be okay to take Yuria along on our journey, but seeing Aria’s face, I decided it was impossible and let out a deep sigh. Then Yuria tilted her head and asked me.

“What’s wrong, Zeke? Did you remember something you forgot?”

“No, nothing. Well… staying here any longer would be a nuisance… I should probably get going soon.”

“Ah, Zeke. I have something to say.”

The moment I stood up to pack my things to descend Ter, Yuria suddenly reached out to me, saying she had something to say, and stopped me. Surely she’s not asking to join us, right…? Aria would never tolerate that, and I wouldn’t be able to stop her…

“Joining us, no….”

“Zeke… you don’t know what’s happening outside right now, do you?”

“…? What do you mean?”

I had expected Yuria to ask to join us, but when Yuria said something else, I was dumbfounded. Wasn’t she about to ask to come along? And something’s happening outside? As I wore a bewildered expression, Yuria explained to me.

“It’s true that I’ve killed people who set foot in Ter until now… But… all those people were priests or saintesses.”

“Priests or saintesses…? Then kill more… Wait a minute….”

The moment I was about to say that priests and saintesses were not people who should be killed, I remembered something and cut myself off. Come to think of it, my experiences so far have proven that my knowledge might be biased. I learned that it’s better to leave room for doubt rather than think definitively… If I were to say now that all saintesses and priests are good, I’d be no different from a fool who hasn’t changed at all.

“Keep telling me, Yuria.”

“Yes. They visited this place to install a statue… or perhaps a monument. Naturally, I found it very unpleasant to have a statue or monument of some being installed here, which is essentially my home. But… there was another reason why I absolutely couldn’t leave them be.”

“What is it?”

“As I came to understand the Snow Woman’s powers, I acquired the ability of ‘insight.’ I pierced through them and saw that they possessed a deep, dark heart, like an abyss. They were beings as if darkness had been wrapped in beautiful, elaborate white cloth. At that time, I realized by intuition. I couldn’t let them be.”

After hearing Yuria’s story, I crossed my arms and thought deeply. Insight… I heard it was the ability to see through someone’s true nature. Indeed, with the ability of insight, no one can hide their true nature… But…

“But why couldn’t you see through Aria’s and my true nature? Did we also have evil natures, which is why you attacked us?”

“No. The Saintess’s power was too strong, so at that time, I couldn’t pierce through your true natures with my insight ability. I was simply jealous of that warm atmosphere back then, that’s all. I can see it now, but… I don’t want to see the Saintess’s true nature as much…”

Yuria suddenly looked at Aria and became serious, saying she didn’t want to see Aria’s true nature anymore. Is Aria’s true nature really… like that? Seeing Yuria’s reaction, I thought I should absolutely never look at Aria’s true nature. No… that wasn’t what we were talking about right now.

“Anyway… so there are such priests or saintesses outside right now, right?”

“Ah, Zeke-nim. You know… do you remember that Holy Knight you met in the final match of the Last Point Tournament in Ruam?”

“Ah, the one who fought you equally? I remember.”

“That woman was also a Saintess.”

“….What?”

I was greatly flustered by the fact that Viola, the woman who fought Aria in the Last Point Tournament finals, was also a Saintess. Were Saintesses originally people you could just run into on the street like this? Saintess Krischa, whom I met a long time ago, and Saintess Viola… I don’t know what’s going on, but…

“But well… I’m not worried… because…”

“Yeah… the strongest Saintess, who can twist people to death with her bare hands… is right next to you…”

When Yuria agreed with my statement that I wasn’t worried, Yuria and I turned our heads to Aria. Then Aria smiled brightly, looking at me, and upon seeing that smile, I could be certain. No Saintess could ever defeat Aria…

“Anyway… let’s get ready then. I’ll accompany you until you descend the mountain. That way, I can block the blizzard.”

“Then I will assist you from the side. However, if Zeke-nim should have even a shred of worry because of you… with these hands…!!”

“Alright, just stop with those chilling threats already…”

As Aria clenched her fist again and threatened, Yuria, now scared and fed up, shouted, pleading for her to stop. Haha… Right… With Aria by my side, I don’t have to worry about dying… but I end up worrying about the lives of those around me… While Aria and I were finishing our preparations to descend with Yuria’s help, someone in a certain forest was breathing heavily.

“Haaaah… I’m really exhausted to death… Saintesses are one thing… but for priests to come too… It was hard enough with just you earlier… I really almost died.”

“….”

“Why no answer? Ah… already dead, huh?”

Gid, breathing heavily under a tree, sighed deeply upon seeing a Saintess lying collapsed with two swords plunged into her back. Then he pulled the two swords from the Saintess’s back, wiped the blades with a cloth, and muttered.

“Well… I don’t know your purpose… but seeing you radiating such murderous intent to kill people, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary matter, does it? Moreover… seeing such a large number of people, it seems they’re moving in groups.”

Gid looked at the twenty corpses on the side, killed by his sword’s stabs or slashes, and guessed that the Saintesses and priests, who were acting strangely, were doing something together as a group. Then he stood up, put one sword into its scabbard, and held the other sword up towards the sun in the sky, saying.

“I don’t know who you are… but this uncle will have to help his nephew travel the world safely, won’t he? Zeke. Don’t you worry about a thing. This uncle will take care of it.”

Gid vowed to help Zeke, then put his sword back into its scabbard and leisurely left the forest, leaving the Saintess and priests collapsed on the ground behind him. Meanwhile, Aria and I were able to descend safely with Yuria’s help, and we were talking with Yuria, who was seeing us off before we left Ter.

“Yuria, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to write down what lives on this mountain, or what kind of terrain it has.”

“It’s nothing. And… thanks to the Saintess, I was able to use my power to block the blizzard, so isn’t it thanks to the Saintess?”

While descending, we were able to see various flora and fauna with Yuria’s help. Also, thanks to Yuria’s guidance, we learned what beautiful terrain Ter had, and I recorded all of this in my exploration journal. Well… if Aria hadn’t told me beforehand, I would have just passed by it…

“That’s true… It was Aria who told me I’d forgotten to record things about Ter. Thank you.”

“Hehehe…”

“Ah, Zeke. Take this.”

“Huh?”

Yuria suddenly handed me something, and I took it. This is… a Snow Woman’s Tear, isn’t it? But… this Snow Woman’s Tear… it seems to sparkle more than the one I received from my parents before? The color is also deeper…

“This is…”

“That’s a gem I made myself. It’s my repayment for melting my heart.”

Somehow, I seem to be receiving gems from women… Cecilia gave me a piece of her soul, Aria gave me Magnod’s Tear, and Yuria gave me an ice crystal she made herself… Wait. But this…

“But this isn’t cold? And… it doesn’t melt.”

“It’s permafrost. Since it’s an ice gem made from that, it won’t melt or feel cold. Zeke… there’s something I haven’t told you… Right now, there are villages outside that have lost contact. I’m certain because I’ve sometimes flown in the sky and seen the number of traders decrease, so… ”

“It’s fine, Aria is here. Then… see you later, Yuria.”

At Yuria’s words, telling me to be careful because something else was happening outside, I said it was fine since Aria was with me. Then Yuria looked at Aria’s face, and seemingly reassured that Aria was by my side, she smiled and said to me.

“….Alright. Then… you definitely… have to come visit again, Zeke. Got it?”

“Of course! Once I’ve traveled all over the world, I’ll definitely come visit with the completed exploration journal!”

“….Then… goodbye.”

Perhaps a little regretful that I was leaving, Yuria forced a smile and waved to Aria and me. Then I looked back and waved to Yuria as I continued to move forward. As Aria and I disappeared from sight, Yuria looked around and then slowly rose into the air, thinking.

‘Even though the Saintess is by his side… I can’t be at ease. I might not be able to see Zeke up close… but at least I’ll go to another place and figure out the true identities of those priests and saintesses who might threaten Zeke…!’

Yuria flew in a different direction from where Zeke and Aria had gone, and began to move to figure out the true identities of the Saintesses and priests she had seen before.

BONUS: Mid-Chapter Chat 2

Hello, this is author Photon.

Since we’re nearing almost 100 chapters, I’m going to have a mid-chapter chat. Well… I’ll probably talk about various things again.

1. Yuria Yuria was originally a character planned to appear. …To be honest, I barely remembered if there was a character named Yuria before I even started uploading this novel online, haha. There are so many characters in the Dimensions series that some get forgotten… Nevertheless, she was a character destined to appear ever since I first serialized Black Saintess. Zeke’s father giving him the Snow Woman’s Tear as a gift was foreshadowing for her. And as I serialized the Mount Ter Snow Mountain Arc, where Yuria appears, I remember agonizing over what her costume design should be. Western style… or Eastern style…. After much deliberation, I decided on Western.

2. Jid Looprian It’s true that he appeared suddenly. Even so, I thought he might appear around chapter 80 back then… I agonized over how to make him appear. Then I thought of Aria participating in a competition to get Magno’s Tear and meeting him in a completely changed form… Even now, I don’t understand my past self for introducing him without any foreshadowing. Why did I make him appear like this? Jid Looprian’s current appearance is that of a wanderer, fitting for an Eastern-style wuxia novel.

3. Why did Akada suddenly die? Unfortunately… she was a character already destined for death. Of course, there have been questions asking if I couldn’t have just kept her alive… I’ve even heard people say, ‘Typical Photon, killing off characters.’ …But what can I do about someone who’s already dead?

4. Why isn’t the cover changing? I have changed the cover when new characters appear or when time passes. Unfortunately… I don’t have much time these days… Because I’m working on something else, I don’t have the time to draw a new illustration right now… Still, I’ll resolve it quickly and draw one.

5. You said your condition wasn’t good, will you go on hiatus after Part 2 ends? Hmmmm…. If it gets any worse than this… unfortunately, I probably will have to. Uh… Actually, I’ve been serializing the Dimensions series for over 230 chapters now. I’ve kept going without a single hiatus. However, this is a method of rewriting and uploading existing novels, so while it’s tiring, it hasn’t been *that* difficult. Still, if truly, my body can’t endure to the point where I can’t do anything at all, then I will take a hiatus. (If I’m in that state, I wouldn’t even be able to use a computer, would I?)

6. The story’s atmosphere has been good recently, will it stay this way…? …It will fluctuate.

7. How many chapters will Black Saintess have in total? It’s planned to be serialized for over 150 chapters. Well… Lately, my head has been dizzy, and I’ve been serializing with the help of music. Still, sometimes my condition returns to normal, and I can serialize smoothly… So, I’ll probably be fine. Probably.