episode_0130

Exploring Alone

It had been about 40 days since we arrived here. We had seen many documents and many machines. Of course, the documents weren’t much, but they were still important to Aria and me. This was because, for Dio V Runner, who was busy translating the text alone, we needed reference materials to study the language used in this facility, and those documents were the best references for us. And the result…

“Let’s see… This is a guide to laboratory usage guidelines.”

“Th-that’s right…? Z-Zeke, did you just read that?!”

When I was able to read the document I was holding, Dio V Runner became greatly flustered. I then translated everything written on the document and told him, and Dio V Runner let out a hollow laugh upon hearing it and said to me,

“Ha… This is absurd. Aria, the Black Saintess with immense power… And you, Zeke, who somehow managed to perfectly interpret a new language you’ve never learned, seen, or even knew how to read. What’s your secret, Zeke?”

“Ah, Aria and I studied every night. Launcher-nim always gave us the translated versions. So we compared those with the originals and studied the language a bit. Well… I still can’t *read* it, though.”

“Unbelievable. To perfectly grasp the language of this facility with just that… Both of you truly possess terrifying abilities, Zeke.”

“It’s nothing special. We found a dictionary while investigating this place, so we picked it up surprisingly quickly.”

“…A dictionary is useless if you don’t know the language of this place, Zeke…”

When Dio V Runner said that a dictionary was also useless if one didn’t know the language of this place, with a bewildered laugh, I felt a bit embarrassed. Well… As Dio V Runner said, Aria and I initially faced many difficulties. There were a few similar-looking words, and some words were even grammatically inflected, making it complicated at times. But we didn’t give up, pouring in a lot of effort, such as practicing every time we found documents. And as a result, we finally developed to the point where we could even interpret the dictionary used in this facility.

“R.S has an interpreter… a device commonly known as a translator. Of course, I have one too, but unfortunately, it broke when I came here, so I couldn’t give it to you. But to think you were hiding such amazing abilities…! So that’s why. The reason Aria wasn’t tired every morning, but only you were strangely exhausted.”

“Yes. Aria can eliminate her own fatigue with her ability, but she can’t cure mine. So Aria was fine, and I felt like dying every morning when I woke up.”

“So that’s it… Hmm… In that case, it might work… Hey, Aria! I have something to say!”

Dio V Runner, having realized that Aria and I had learned the language of this place, began contemplating something. He soon made a decision, calling out to Aria, who was rummaging through a box behind him. Aria heard his call and walked over to where we were, and once Aria was gathered with us, Dio V Runner explained.

“Zeke, Aria. As you both know, this place is massive. It could take years to investigate all of it. However, now that I know you can read the language of this place, I can make the proposal I’ve been pondering… Well… you might have a bit more difficulty, though…”

“Me?”

Suddenly, Dio V Runner pondered that if he made the proposal he was considering, I might have a harder time. I, who had no idea what he was going to propose, was bewildered. What exactly was he going to suggest? And why would *I* have a harder time? Eventually, Dio V Runner seemed to make up his mind again and explained to me.

“If we keep investigating together like this, we might waste a long time here. So, I thought the most efficient way to investigate this place, where hitting a dead end is common, would be to split up and explore. However, since you didn’t know the language of this place, I had to translate, so that wasn’t possible… But now that you’ve gained the ability to translate the language here, I think I can make this proposal. Zeke, Aria. The two of you will investigate the west, and I will investigate the east. That way, we can save time, and you’ll be able to leave sooner and explore the world.”

“Hmm~ So, you’re suggesting we split into three: Zeke-nim and me, and you alone, to explore this facility? If I can be with Zeke-nim, then I’m all for it!”

“…!!! Ah, so that’s why…”

Now I understood. Why Dio V Runner had apologized to me. Normally, I could have just explored alone with Aria, but the problem was that this place was full of new artifacts. In other words, Dio V Runner, who was relatively knowledgeable about the new artifacts here, could have deceived Aria into thinking that an artifact she found suitable for herself was something else. But now, that was no longer possible…

“Hahahaha… Finally, I can explore this facility with Zeke-nim… Finally…!!!”

“Haaah… Well, it seems Aria wished for this to happen… Anyway, Zeke. I don’t know what will appear later, but let’s meet alive.”

“…Yes, Launcher-nim. Haaah… I should pray that Aria doesn’t find any more tools like cameras…”

When Dio V Runner wished me good luck, I secretly hoped Aria wouldn’t find any more objects like cameras. Over the past 40 days, Aria hadn’t neglected her studies with me, and thanks to that, she had perfectly mastered how to use a camera. And because of that, I had been photographed tens of thousands of times by Aria… So I had a feeling that if we were alone, Aria would go even more berserk…

“Hehehehe… Photos taken alone with Zeke-nim… Hehehe… And… and also…”

“Ugh… I hope we meet again without any trouble, Zeke… Well then…”

“Yes…”

As Aria fidgeted with a camera beside me, imagining how she would take photos with me later, Dio V Runner, who was watching from the side, straightened his face and wished me good luck again. Afterwards, Dio V Runner headed east as promised, and we headed west. Thanks to reading the language so far, we knew what kind of rooms these were, and we didn’t forget to draw blueprints whenever we found a room. And so, Aria, who was exploring this place alone with me for the first time…

“Ehehehe… Hehehehehe…”

“…”

She began taking pictures of me freely. No, she hadn’t cared about Dio V Runner’s gaze in the first place, but since I often asked Dio V Runner many questions, Dio V Runner had been reluctant to be photographed with me. So now, with Dio V Runner not around me, Aria could freely take photos with only me in them, and she went berserk.

“…Aria, calm down first…”

“Such a new artifact is most welcome…!! A device that can keep capturing Zeke-nim…!! And what’s more, Launcher-nim isn’t by my side, so no matter how I take the pictures, Zeke-nim will always appear!! Hahahaha… Yes…!! This is the fun of my exploration!!”

“Alright, calm down… If you want to take pictures together later, just tell me, and we’ll take them.”

“…!! Photos where Zeke-nim takes them with me comfortably!?”

When I told her to calm down for now, promising to take pictures with her later, Aria began imagining herself comfortably taking photos with me in the future. Her face began to turn crimson, and seeing that, I chuckled and said,

“Still, let’s finish our daily tasks first, and then we’ll take them together. Alright?”

“…If it’s for Zeke-nim willingly taking pictures with me, then I will gladly!! Try to endure it!!”

“Thanks for understanding, Aria… By the way, here… *inhales*…”

When Aria promised to endure for now, for the sake of taking pictures with me comfortably later, I expressed my gratitude to Aria. Then, I turned my head back to the dark corridor visible through Aria’s light and spoke, looking at the nameplates next to the doors on either side.

“Most of the places we’ve found were just storerooms, rest areas, and kitchens, right?”

“Yes. And even those didn’t have any people inside, only documents or machines that would be used in this facility.”

That’s strange. If this place truly is a research facility, as Dio V Runner said and as written in the documents found so far, then there should be at least one or two laboratories visible. Even if it’s an otherworldly facility, there should be at least one or two workshops for research, like witches such as Akada, the village chief living in Crentid World. I had already had the same suspicion before, but since the scale of the research facility was so vast, I had dismissed it as us simply not having found them yet…

“Hmm… Aria, can you perhaps use your ability to search this area? Like… when you found the cave before.”

“I’ve been using that ever since we came in here. But nothing special was detected, so I thought there were no secret passages.”

“So that’s how it is… Indeed, you would have used that ability long ago. That means there might still be places we haven’t reached yet…”

When Aria revealed that she had already used her ability and there were no secret passages here, I thought there might still be places we hadn’t reached, and that the laboratories would be there. But even so, we had spent over a month here and hadn’t found a single laboratory…

“…Why are there documents but no laboratories? Or rather, why were research documents placed in a rest area in the first place…?”

“Those were ultimately documents containing trivial content like safety regulations. There certainly were documents indicating this was a research facility, but as Zeke-nim said, the laboratories themselves weren’t visible.”

“Exactly. Even Dio V Runner felt that something was strange about this. It seems like something is indeed hidden… Aria, could you perhaps use your ability again to search this area?”

“Leave it to me, Zeke-nim!! If it’s your request, what objection could I have?! But! This time, I will search with an even more powerful ability than before!!”

‘A more powerful ability?’

When Aria straightened her shoulders and said she would search the area with an even more powerful ability than before, I was bewildered, utterly unable to understand what she meant. Then, Aria suddenly spun her staff above her head, plunged it into the ground, and began chanting a prayer.

“O Omnipotent One in the heavens. With your mighty power, illuminate those who wander. With your light, guide the lost and helpless ones who stray onto the right path…!!”

“…!! What in the world is this?!”

As Aria chanted the prayer without releasing her hand from the staff in front of her, Aria and the staff began to emit a yellow light. I was bewildered by Aria’s new, never-before-seen ability, and my eyes were dazzled by the light coming from Aria, so I hastily closed my eyes and thought,

‘W-what in the world is this?! Is this Aria’s new ability…? She didn’t use an ability like this when we got lost inside the World Tree before… So, is this an ability that manifested later?!’

“…?! Huh… Huh?!”

“…?”

Perhaps sensing something strange, Aria, who had been exploring the surroundings, made a truly bewildered expression, and the light emanating from Aria and her staff slowly began to fade. What’s wrong? Did Aria fail to use her ability…?

“What’s wrong, Aria? Suddenly making such a bewildered face…”

“Something’s strange, Zeke-nim… No matter how much I illuminate the surroundings, no matter how much I try to see through the walls, no secret passages are visible. This area only contains rooms almost identical to the storerooms and kitchens we’ve seen so far…”

“What…?”

When Aria, who had thoroughly searched the surroundings with her ability, explained that this area only contained rooms identical to the ones we had seen so far, and no secret passages were visible, I was bewildered upon hearing her words. Aria used a more powerful search ability than before, and yet not a single new location was found? What kind of…! Wait… could it be…?

“I’m sorry… It seems I’m insufficient…”

“No, Aria. This probably isn’t because your power is lacking… It seems there’s something in this facility.”

“Yes? Something?”

“Think about it, Aria. There were times before when you used your detection or search abilities, and they didn’t work well, right? If there’s a similar reason here…”

“…!!”

When I hinted to Aria that there had been times before when her detection or search abilities didn’t work, Aria recalled something upon hearing my words and became greatly flustered. Yes… There had been times before when Aria couldn’t detect things. That was when Eli kidnapped me. Eli had used a sphere of heavenly light to evade Aria’s detection… What if, similarly, something here is interfering with Aria’s search?

“Then I’ll have to find the passage with my own hands. To dare… to make me suffer such humiliation in front of Zeke-nim…!!”

“?! Aria?!”

When the possibility was raised that something might have interfered with her search, Aria seemed truly angry at having failed her search twice in front of me, and she began swinging her staff wildly. *Ughhh*!! Even if you’re angry, if you take it out on the innocent underground facility…?

“…Huh?”

The moment Aria swung her staff furiously, striking various parts of the wall, she hit a certain wall, and instead of a dull thud, a hollow sound, as if something inside was empty, resonated. Both of us were bewildered. And we were certain. That beyond the wall from which this sound came, there was clearly a secret passage. Realizing this, I immediately took out Trahan, and Aria prepared to swing her staff towards that spot.

“Aria, ready? On three, we hit it at the same time, okay?”

“Yes, Zeke-nim!”

“Alright… One… Two… Three!!!”

Having prepared our weapons towards the wall, we simultaneously struck the wall with our respective weapons at my signal. The iron wall dented and then pushed inward, and as a hole the size of one person appeared, we immediately entered. And the moment Aria emitted light from her staff again to illuminate the dark interior, we saw the inside and were certain that our hunch was correct.

“Zeke-nim… This is also…”

“Oh… It seems there was indeed a reason why you couldn’t search it… Although it’s quite large…”

As soon as we entered, what greeted us was none other than a sphere of heavenly light. However, it was tens of times larger than the sphere of heavenly light Eli had. A sphere of heavenly light large enough to fill all the storerooms we had seen so far… But why in the world is a sphere of heavenly light in a place like this? This place… should be an otherworldly facility, shouldn’t it…?