episode_0128

My mouth feels numb. This was because there was more red pepper paste than expected, perhaps to relieve the sour smell of the rice and the taste of the spoiled vegetables.

I opened my mouth and tried to soothe the pain by saying “hehe”, but there was no water in this room, so there was nothing that could soothe the pain in my tongue.

As I was moaning with tears in my eyes, the box that the goddess was stroking came into view.

Buried memories that everyone has. The treasure chest that contains it.

What was in that box? Honestly, he said it was his memory, but I’m not interested in that. There won’t be many people who can turn their heads and say.

There may be shameful memories, shocking memories, or memories that have been treasured but faded by time, so it was clear that it was human psychology to want to open it before fully knowing what was inside.

It’s curiosity. Even though I knew it could be poisonous, it was inevitable that I would approach it without realizing it.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil between Adam and Eve in the Bible.

Pandora’s box seen in Greek mythology.

Wasn’t it a scary thing that all started out of curiosity? Don’t you know very well what happened as a result of that?

Curiosity can always be toxic, but not knowing means lacking, and to fill that lack, people continue to crave something they do not have or do not know.

And it was no different for me.

“No traces of being opened… ?”

I was curious. Curiosity increases.

[Child, I have granted what you wished for. He gave me a body that couldn’t taste because I didn’t want to feel the taste, and I gave him a body that could heal even if I got hurt because I didn’t want to get sick. And also, he gave me someone to love and protect, just like the person you envied.]

But God did not answer the question I asked.

The goddess simply told me everything she had done for me in a kind voice.

[3 is a perfect number. So God loves perfect numbers. So, since you granted that many wishes, I think this is the life you have longed for so much.]

The goddess listed what she had done for me.

In fact, no matter how many times I said thank you for making my wish come true, I couldn’t say enough.

I wonder if I had hoped for the last wish, but I couldn’t believe that I had hoped for it, so I just kept my mouth shut and listened to the story.

Nevertheless.

“I don’t think I wanted a life like this… ”

[so?]

I nodded.

[Anyway, I can open this box. How do you feel?]

“… … .”

It was time to worry again. The question of whether I wanted to know about this box, which was thrown again and again, only felt sweet. It was as if he was using a kindness to let me open the door, but I wondered if it would be a good idea to accept the kindness.

May you sigh like that.

I shook my head again.

As expected, when I remembered the word arrogance that I mentioned at the beginning, I thought it was unreasonable to be more greedy, so I decided it was best to shake my head.

[so? are you okay. Asking three times is actually normal. Since humans are not perfect, there is such a thing as change of mind.]

I guess there is no such thing as a change of mind in God.

After all, we are beings that draw the future like a picture, so what more do we need?

Changing one’s mind is something only people who can be sure of the future do.

There would no longer be a chance to open the box.

There’s probably no chance of finding out who opened it.

But it was okay. I hoped this choice would not be wrong.

I wondered if I had wasted a great opportunity by overinterpreting what God had said, but since I couldn’t help but interpret God’s words in front of him, I thought this was my best and hoped I wouldn’t regret it.

After exhaling, God’s mouth opened.

[Then now is the time to decide.]

The goddess snapped her fingers, and the treasure chest in front of her disappeared.

And in that place, I saw a figure with a noble appearance that seemed to be staring at me.

[Do you want to stay?]

This was also an opportunity.

There are three chances, so even if I decline here, I might still get one more chance.

But I had already decided on the answer.

“… I want to go back.”

[to home?]

“No, to where Kylon is… ”

[Have you changed your mind?]

“Yes.”

A place where spoiled bibimbap is served, and a place where triangle gimbap that has passed its expiration date is served.

A place where you have to play games you don’t know if are fun or not, a place where strange memories lie dormant.

Was the house I drew like this?

[Oh my.]

“Yes?”

[If you need my strength again, wish for it earnestly. Then I will lend it to you at any time.]

In fact, I have never done anything to be loved by God.

It is true that I have lived a difficult life, but if you exclude selfish thoughts, it was not so extreme that I could feel pity or sympathy for it.

It’s not like I’m the most suffering person that stands out to God.

I wondered why this happened.

But is it okay to just be thankful that there is an opportunity?

“… Well, I want to ask you something.”

Gratitude came later.

As expected, I couldn’t understand why they put me in this world.

Isn’t this meant to remind us of the painful life of eating things like this?

It was questionable why the king searched for a saint and sent her to a world where people cut her with swords, telling her she would gain immortality, and why he opened her eyes as a saint.

If they just put it in because it meets the conditions, wouldn’t that be strange?

“Why did you put us in that situation… If it’s God, something like this… ”

[Do you know balance?]

“Yes?”

[It is impossible for God to always create good stories. If there is something good, there must be something you don’t like, and if there is something created, there must also be something that disappears. So, if I gained something from the body I gave you, I have to cut out something else to that extent.]

“… … .”

What is equivalent exchange?

So what did I pay?

mentality? mental? trauma? I couldn’t understand.

I just stand here, blankly, with my mouth shut.

[Now, go.]

And at the same time, my vision is distorted.

In an instant, the landscape drawn in front of me seemed to be distorted along with the gods, and then quickly centered around a black dot.

I saw a scene in front of me that twinkled and disappeared. I closed my eyes and opened them again, and Kailon’s face came into view in front of me.

“… Veronica.”

As soon as he saw me, I saw tears in his eyes and I groaned, wondering what was going on.

It’s not an oyster. It didn’t seem like he opened his eyes immediately after falling, nor did he open his eyes after fainting for a moment.

It seemed to be the ceiling of a room or inn, so it must have been quite some time.

“… … Kylon.”

“Are you okay?”

“… Yes, it’s okay.”

I felt like my throat was a little hoarse.

Still, if I tried to answer, there was nothing I couldn’t do.

There was no problem with lying down and looking at each other and having a conversation, so I just called him that, and after that, Kylon’s voice came closer.

“Next time, let’s not use that much force… ”

I couldn’t figure out why this was what they said they did as soon as they woke up, so I opened my eyes wide and looked at it.

In the end, everything was good, but why?

No one got hurt. No one got sick.

It’s not like I went into that monster’s mouth and had my body torn apart and burned repeatedly.

It’s a power that doesn’t require anyone’s sacrifice, so why?

“… Why?”

question.

And his answer came back.

“It seems like Veronica is no longer Veronica… ”

I didn’t know what they were talking about when I stopped being myself.

However, the atmosphere in Kylon was neither joking nor teasing.

It seemed like he was really reaching out to me, so I could barely wet my skinny lips with my tongue.

“It’s true that everyone was saved thanks to you. However, it seems like Veronica is getting strange when she shoots an arrow into the air, claiming to be a referee even though the monster is dead… ”

“… … .”

At that moment, something crossed my mind.

The voice of the goddess asks if you know balance.

Gaining is the power of God, losing is… .

“But… ”

However, if you can live thanks to it, wouldn’t you be able to take that kind of sacrifice into account?

It was clear that if he died, he wouldn’t be able to be saved even if his spirit was cut off next time.

Yes, if you die anyway, you will end up with nothing. So wouldn’t it be better to somehow solve the problem by taking just a little bit out of our lives?

I cautiously opened my mouth because I wanted to say that in response to what Kailon had said, I still came back and that it was okay because the results were good.

Before I could even begin to say those words, the words I started to rhyme with were cut off.

“I definitely received help, but I don’t think it’s enough strength to use in the future. Yesterday I completed my fourth strengthening. Now I can use the real power of the holy sword, so… You can rest now.”

“Shirani, Kailon… Everyone risks their lives like this… ? Just me?”

“You just woke up after falling down yesterday.”

“What are you talking about… ”

At Kailon’s words, I narrowed my eyes, raised my upper body, sat down on the seat, and looked at the sky shining through the window.

I could only cast a bewildered gaze at the red-tinted sky.