episode_0129

Facility Exploration Routine

“Mmm….”

“Hee hee hee hee hee….”

“….. I’m sorry, Zeke.”

It must have been around 10 PM…. From then on, Aria began using the camera with a mischievous cackle. As a result, click sounds continuously rang out from everywhere, and when I turned my head in that direction, I saw Aria hiding and aiming the camera at me. Unable to withstand Aria’s pressure, Dio V Runner, who had eventually explained how to use the camera to her, apologized to me.

“…. Honestly, if I hadn’t told her, Aria would have clearly shown immense obsession… it might have been an unavoidable outcome anyway.”

“Actually…. in the era where that item existed, most of those who showed obsessive tendencies towards their loved ones used that item. You can even print the photos captured by the camera onto paper…”

“…. It’s fortunate Aria doesn’t know that method yet…. Surely all those people….”

“Yes…. I heard they would stick the printed photos all over their rooms…. enough to show just how terrifying obsession can be….”

When Dio V Runner quietly revealed to me that photos saved on the camera could be printed, I guessed how those severely obsessive people Dio V Runner mentioned used the printed photos. As Dio V Runner then revealed that all those people engaged in such manic behavior, sticking printed photos all over their rooms to show how terrifying obsession was, I sighed and said,

“I hope Aria doesn’t do something like that…. If she found out, she’d surely make a whole book with those photos….”

“You had the same thought, Zeke…. Still, it’s a relief Aria is only at this level. A commonality among those with severe obsession was…. that they would mix their own blood into food for their loved ones and give it to them….”

*Spits out water* “What… what did you say?! Es-tur-nim said they would even kill if it got severe, but they do such bizarre things too?!”

I was drinking water when Dio V Runner said that some people with severe obsessive tendencies would mix their own blood into food they made for their loved ones as a gift. I immediately spat out the water I had in my mouth and was greatly shocked. Dio V Runner then looked at Aria, who was grinning behind me, looking at my photo captured by the camera, and chuckled, saying,

“I can’t guarantee Aria won’t do such bizarre things…. but as long as you’re here, I have a premonition she won’t. To Aria, you are practically the world itself…. Well, it’s just my premonition, so don’t believe it completely.”

“Huh?! What kind of advice is that, trying to evade responsibility?!”

Dio V Runner was about to give me advice, then suddenly tried to evade responsibility by saying it was just his premonition and not to believe it completely. I shouted in confusion. Dio V Runner then turned his head to avoid my gaze and began to cackle, and thus, the time for preparing for bed passed with me being the only one not laughing. After finishing our preparations for bed, we turned off the lights and spread out our bedding on the floor, getting ready to sleep. Dio V Runner seemed very tired and quickly fell asleep, and Aria also closed her eyes and drifted off.

“Mmm… hmm…? What’s that sound…?”

Then, in the middle of the night, when she heard a sound, Aria opened her eyes. She saw me next to her, creating a small light with a fire stone and writing something. She rubbed her eyes and crawled over to me, asking,

“Yawn… Zeke-nim, aren’t you sleeping?”

“Ah, I’m just doing something. It’s fine if you sleep first.”

“Mmm…? Isn’t this the document Dio V Runner-nim found earlier?”

Aria, confirming again that I was lying down and writing something on two pieces of paper on the floor, realized that one of them was the document from this facility that Dio V Runner had found, and asked me. I then showed Aria the paper on which I had transcribed the deciphered contents with Dio V Runner’s help, and said,

“That’s right. So I was studying the language used in this facility. I don’t know how to read it, but if I can just interpret it, I can do it alone even if Dio V Runner-nim isn’t here.”

“But can you learn the language just from those documents? You don’t know how to read it, and you don’t know the grammar either….”

“Roughly. If there are repeating words, it’s easy to figure out. Of course, it might vary depending on spelling, but I’m studying with that in mind too. So there’s a possibility of failure…. but I’ve come this far, so I don’t want to give up.”

“Mmm… I see….”

Aria, realizing that I was trying to learn this world’s language by myself without Dio V Runner’s help, stared at Dio V Runner, who was sleeping far off, leaning against the wall with a blanket draped over him. Then she grinned, got up, retrieved something from her backpack, and then lay down next to me, pressing close, and said,

“Then I’ll study too. It’s better to study together than for Zeke-nim to study alone, right?”

“Are you sure? I said that, but it’s pretty difficult, and my head is getting complicated right now…”

“Hee hee hee…. It doesn’t matter to me, because I’m studying like this, pressed close to Zeke-nim. And isn’t studying originally something that complicates your head? I know that well too. Just as Zeke-nim devoted himself to studying for exploration…. I also…. to become a Saintess…. and even after that, due to the responsibility of holding the position of a Saintess, I devoted myself to studying….”

“…..”

As Aria spoke about how she, like me, had previously devoted herself to studying for something, she recalled her time as the Saintess of the Es-rad Kingdom, and her face suddenly darkened. It still bothers her, Aria… The moment I, realizing that Aria still carried that in her heart, was about to look at her with pity, Aria suddenly put on a mischievous grin, turned her head to me, and said,

“Hee hee hee hee hee…. But now…. hee hee hee hee… I’m devoting myself to studying Zeke-nim…. I keep in my heart that it’s more fun and valuable than the studies I did to become a Saintess, so now, hee hee hee hee hee hee….”

“…. Alright, just don’t make that sound…. It’s scary.”

Aria said that she was now devoted to studying me, and that it was the most enjoyable and valuable study of her life, making such a mischievous grin that she was practically drooling. I, feeling an unknown chill, straightened my expression and told Aria not to make such a sound. Yes… now, for Aria, I guess… I’m more important than that….

“Anyway, I’ve prepared paper and a pen too…. What should I start learning first?”

“Hmm…. So I think this word means ‘exploration,’ perhaps? If you look at the interpretation Dio V Runner-nim gave me, it says here…”

And so, every night, Aria and I began studying the language used in this facility. Sometimes we would pull all-nighters, and in the morning, Dio V Runner, upon waking up, would be startled to find me in a terrible state. Of course, Aria was unfazed because of her Saintess characteristics and didn’t feel fatigue, but Dio V Runner, seeing only me in a wretched state, straightened his expression and asked me,

“You like Aria, Zeke?”

“Huh?”

“My comrade, who witnessed a similar situation before, told me to ask if I ever saw this…. Did you guys do it?”

“…. What do you mean, ‘did it’…?”

Dio V Runner said that his comrades had told him to ask what had happened if he ever witnessed such a situation, and then simply asked us if we “did it.” I was bewildered and asked Dio V Runner in return. What did he mean by “did it”…? Anyway, sometimes when I woke up in the morning, Dio V Runner-nim would see my terrible state and misunderstand. And then, at lunchtime, we would begin our investigation…

“….”

“…..”

“Hee hee hee hee hee…. Hee hee hee hee hee….”

Then, Aria’s barrage of photos…. what was it called, her photography time, would begin. No… it was already ongoing since morning, but when lunchtime arrived and we seriously began exploring the facility, we had to go to many different places, so Aria would indiscriminately snap photos of me in various locations. When the click of the camera, sounding as if she took ten shots a minute, continued to ring out, Dio V Runner sighed deeply and said to Aria,

“Hey, Aria…. That camera isn’t omnipotent, you know. It can’t hold that many photos.”

“….?! What?! So a million shots aren’t possible?!”

“That’s too many….”

When Dio V Runner explained that the camera he had wasn’t omnipotent and couldn’t hold many photos, Aria asked Dio V Runner if even a million shots were impossible. Dio V Runner then, looking dumbfounded, straightened his expression and said it was too many, and I, too, sighed deeply as I rummaged through documents in various places. Thanks to that, Aria’s photography slowed down a bit…. But perhaps because of that….

“….? Didn’t I just hear the camera click, Dio V Runner-nim?”

“…. You heard it correctly, Zeke…”

“But Aria isn’t visible nearby…???”

“Hee hee hee hee hee…..”

Aria began photographing me while perfectly hidden. At some point, she even started taking photos without making a sound… that is to say… she started doing candid photography, as Dio V Runner had taught her. To think that the camera, a new invention, would be the most suitable tool for Aria… Thus, I found myself being photographed by Aria many times without realizing it. And in the evening, we would synthesize the various clues we found during our investigation to unearth the secrets of this place. However, as the documents and devices we had found so far were quite unsatisfactory, Dio V Runner sighed every day and said,

“Sigh… This is just another insignificant document. Like a manual telling you what to be careful of while using the facility. Most of what we’ve found so far are manuals or documents… but none of them contain clues that reveal the identity of this place… And the devices are mostly just home appliances that would generally be used in such a facility….”

“Furthermore, this facility… it might be larger in area than the pit. I’ve been assessing the scale of this place using my abilities since yesterday… and it seems there are several more rooms beyond the pit.”

When Aria said that there seemed to be several more rooms beyond the pit’s area, Dio V Runner realized that this facility was larger and more extensive than the pit we had seen, and, feeling overwhelmed, he said to us,

“…. This is a big problem. I thought it would take a few months to fully uncover the secrets of this place… but if we make a mistake, it could take years. Zeke, I’m sorry to you…”

“I had originally intended to spend a lot of time on exploration. So don’t worry about it. And Aria…”

“Hee hee hee…. Did you forget that all I need is for Zeke-nim to be by my side?”

“….. That’s why I didn’t apologize to you, Aria. I’ve known it to the point of being sick of it now….”

Aria asked Dio V Runner if he had forgotten that all she needed was for me to be there. Dio V Runner retorted that he already knew it to the point of being sick of it, and that’s why he hadn’t apologized to Aria, and at his words, I burst out laughing. And so, in the evening, we had a debriefing and reviewed the day’s findings, and at night, Aria and I studied again. As more time passed, it was another lunchtime. After eating lunch, we resumed our investigation and began rummaging through a room that appeared to be a warehouse. While rummaging, Dio V Runner, who was squatting and going through boxes, asked us,

“Oh, right. There was something I forgot to ask…. What was it. Didn’t you say something happened before you came here?”

“Ah, yes. We… briefly stopped by a village called Dorgar. Protega-nim and Bivi-nim said there was something there, so we stopped by out of curiosity.”

“Hmm… So that’s why you were late. It just goes to show again that moving according to calculations is what fools do.”

Dio V Runner, upon learning that Aria and I had briefly visited a village called Dorgar, recalled how he had predicted our movements and calculated our arrival time to be here in advance, and then realized again that such actions were foolish. I then sighed deeply, recalling what had happened in Dorgar, and said,

“Sigh…. That’s not all… While I was asleep, Aria was fighting off an assailant who tried to ambush us.”

“An assailant? Well… it seems wherever you go, there are always beings threatening you. But I’m sure Aria annihilated them all…. The assailants Aria killed are almost to be pitied.”

“Sigh… Well, it’s a bit of a complicated story…. Would you believe it? The assailants who attacked us were actually corpses transformed into dolls, and the puppeteer controlling those dolls was also already controlled by someone else and had been transformed into a doll himself.”

I sighed and told Dio V Runner the story that Tiavel had been controlled by someone and turned into a doll, and that Tiavel, as a doll, had killed people and turned them into dolls. At that moment, upon hearing this story, Dio V Runner flinched, then froze, and asked me,

“Dolls? People turned into dolls? And corpses became dolls?”

“Yes. Sigh… Aria explained to me what she experienced…. It was truly horrifying. The people who became dolls could use their abilities from their lifetime without any hindrance… And when the strings attached to the puppeteer controlling the dolls were removed, the dolls turned back into people. If Aria hadn’t been there, I certainly wouldn’t have made it here.”

“…..”

“….? Dio V Runner-nim? Why are you suddenly like this?”

Dio V Runner, who had listened to my story without doing anything, suddenly scratched his head, sighed deeply, and seemed to be thinking profoundly about something. I was bewildered by Dio V Runner’s unexpected reaction and asked him. Dio V Runner then suddenly stood up and sighed deeply again, saying,

“Phew… So you witnessed something like that…. Could it be… that there are still survivors among them…. They certainly said they were annihilated…. Or perhaps….”

“Dio V Runner-nim?”

“Listen carefully, Zeke. Don’t tell anyone this story. Neither that there’s an ability user who can turn people into dolls, nor that there’s an ability to turn corpses into dolls.”

“….??”

Dio V Runner suddenly warned me not to tell anyone elsewhere about the dolls in Dorgar and Tiavel’s abilities. I was bewildered. But after that, Dio V Runner did not mention it again, and I only felt that Dio V Runner knew something. And so, with an uneasy feeling, I continued to explore this place. If food was scarce, I would go out with Aria to hunt monsters, investigate, and study….. That’s how 40 days passed.