episode_0134

Unraveling Questions

“Hoo… I just wish she wouldn’t come back…”

As Yuria went outside to fetch Tiavel, Aria sighed deeply, wishing Yuria wouldn’t return. But Yuria had even left a crystal mark to pinpoint their location, so I knew for sure we’d come back here. I let out a hollow laugh and said.

“Hahaha…. But she already left a mark, didn’t she? She’s definitely coming back to where we are, isn’t she?”

“…! Then if I erase this mark right now…!!”

“Even if you do that, it’ll be impossible. Besides, time flows faster outside than in here, so by now she’s probably already….”

Before Yuria could return, Aria hastily tried to erase the crystal mark Yuria had left. I told her it would be impossible. And at that very moment, Yuria returned through the hole she had made in the ceiling, carrying Tiavel in her arms. Aria spoke with annoyance.

“To actually come back, how annoying.”

“Don’t be so serious… Can’t you see Tiavel in my arms right now, Saintess-nim? Are you trying to teach bad words to a child?”

“Then why are you interrupting my precious time with Zeke-nim, Snow Woman-nim!!!”

Yuria pointed to Tiavel in her arms and asked if she was trying to teach Tiavel bad words. Aria, as if dumbfounded, began to seethe with anger. As Tiavel arrived, she looked around, then when our eyes met, she cautiously raised her hand and waved, expressing her greeting to me. I too secretly waved back to Tiavel, hiding it from the enraged Aria beside me. Aria, noticing it immediately, sharply turned her head and said to me.

“Zeke-niiiim…? Don’t just wave at Tiavel, say something too, Zeke-nim…!! Is it really okay for only our time to be interrupted like this?!”

“I’m too scared to say anything…”

“Huh?!”

When I said, as if resigned, that I was too scared to speak, Aria looked utterly bewildered and then her body froze. Was it really that shocking to her…? Then Tiavel, having left Yuria’s embrace, trotted forward to me and Aria, then bowed to greet us. I gave an awkward laugh and said to Tiavel.

“Ah, hello. Uh… it’s been a while, hasn’t it? It has been a month for us, so yes, it’s been a while. You went to Yuria’s house, right?”

When I asked if she had gone to Yuria’s house, Tiavel nodded, answering my question. Then she rummaged through a pocket in her clothes, searching for something, and pulled out a piece of paper, showing me the writing on it.

‘Mommy knows well that being alone is lonely, so she repeatedly asked me to come with her.’

“Ah, I see. You seem to have learned to read too?”

“I did teach her a bit. But Tiavel is so smart that what I taught her was nothing special; she learned it all herself…”

Oh, right. Tiavel is a genius who learned how to live just by observing people. Moreover, she could even make dolls with ease just by watching people… The moment I acknowledged the truth in Yuria’s words that Tiavel did everything herself, Tiavel stared blankly at Aria, who was frozen in shock by my words. She then pulled out a heart-shaped doll from her pocket and showed it to Aria. Aria, seeing the doll, opened her mouth and asked Tiavel.

“…? What is this?”

When Aria asked about the doll, Tiavel placed her heart-shaped doll into Aria’s hand, then began searching for another piece of paper in her own pocket. She then pulled out a paper and showed it to Aria.

‘A charm hoping for Saintess-nim’s love to come true.’

“A charm hoping for love to come true…. Ugh… *Ahem*… Even without something like this, I will succeed in my love with Zeke-nim… but I’ll accept it for now.”

When Tiavel revealed that the doll she had given was a charm for her love to come true, Aria pouted and stealthily put the doll Tiavel had placed in her hand into an inside pocket of her clothes…. How could you fall for just one sentence like that, Aria…? Well, it doesn’t matter since Tiavel didn’t give it with bad intentions.

“Hmm… I don’t have complaints like Aria, but what are you two doing here?”

“Us? We owe you from before. So we’re here to help with your exploration. Of course, we might not be able to help every day because I sometimes need to educate Tiavel….”

“Just quietly educate Tiavel, Snow Woman-nim. We don’t need your help.”

“…. How cold, Saintess-nim…”

Aria, who had been secretly delighted to receive the charm from Tiavel, stiffened at Yuria’s words and treated her harshly. I let out a hollow laugh, not knowing what to do. No, if you react so hypersensitively, Aria, I’ll have no face to show Yuria…? Seeing my troubled expression, Aria, who truly considered Yuria a thorn in her side, finally seemed to give up and sighed.

“Haaah… Since Zeke-nim is uncomfortable, there’s nothing I can do… In the past, even if Zeke-nim was uncomfortable, I would have stubbornly stopped you… But instead! Please investigate a little bit away from Zeke-nim, alright?”

“Alright. If those are the terms, then fine. Honestly, I also wish for you and Zeke to do well.”

“Hmph..! As if you couldn’t say that…. Let’s go, Zeke-nim!”

“….”

When Yuria said she wished for me and herself to do well, Aria, as if annoyed, sharply turned her head and went outside. Then I noticed Aria secretly making a slightly satisfied expression behind Yuria and Tiavel’s backs, and realized that Yuria’s words just now had pleased her a little…. Aren’t you too simple, Aria….

“Th-then… Yuria. You probably don’t know the language here yet, so please collect every piece of paper you see.”

“Got it…? Wait… so you guys know the language here?”

“Uh… yes…. I studied it myself. And I happened to come with someone who can translate the language here.”

When I asked Yuria, who didn’t yet know the language used in this facility, to just find papers for now, she realized we knew the language here and became greatly flustered. Then, she was even more shocked by my words that I had learned it myself, and turned her head to Tiavel, saying.

“…. Somehow, almost everyone around me seems to be a genius…. Except for me.”

“Huh….?”

Yuria gave a hollow laugh, as if feeling disheartened, and muttered that everyone around her was a genius except for herself. Unsure what Yuria meant, I followed Aria to another room, while Tiavel, as if wanting to comfort the dejected Yuria, tightly hugged Yuria’s leg. Meanwhile, Aria and I arrived at another laboratory and began to look around, seeing the same atmosphere and similar tools and devices as the labs we had seen so far.

“This place also has the atmosphere of being hastily abandoned. Or perhaps it was always like this…”

“If what you say is true, then the engineers from the other world weren’t as neat as those in our world… But I think the former is more likely. Even if they weren’t neat, tools and devices wouldn’t be this broken if they were still in use. And there’s also the corpse we just found….”

As Aria speculated, given the messy interior, that the engineers from the other world had either fled in a hurry or were simply untidy, I thought the former was more likely based on what we had seen so far. Then, seeing all the tools here broken, I spoke, feeling helpless.

“This is bad. I didn’t expect such severe damage…. Are we going to end up without salvaging anything?”

“I don’t think so, Zeke-nim. This….”

“….?”

The moment I, seeing all the items without exception shabby and broken, worried that we wouldn’t be able to salvage anything, Aria picked something up from the floor and refuted my words. I turned my head to Aria. Then Aria showed me the paper that had been on the floor….? Huh…? Wait, that’s….

“…. What? Wasn’t this an otherworldly facility? Then why…. why is that here?”

“As Zeke-nim can see, the writing on this paper is the common language used in our Krentid World. It seems… there were people who entered this place before us.”

“…!!! Wait… you said time is different here, didn’t you? Then….”

Now, the clues slowly began to fall into place. The reason why the Spheres of Heavenly Light were here before us, and even the fact that they were intentionally arranged. It was impossible to understand before, but now that Yuria had told us that time here was different from Krentid World, the pieces began to fit.

“…. Zeke-nim. Perhaps… the reason those Spheres of Heavenly Light were here is because some being had already entered this place before, and that corpse was killed by that being’s power? And lastly, the reason the interior is so messy is because….”

“Uh… I had the same thought. The reason it’s so messy is probably because that being realized the true nature of this place and intentionally made it like this…”

“…!! I thought the same thing, Zeke-nim! *Hehehe*… See? Zeke-nim and I are connected, aren’t we? Shouldn’t you admit it now?”

“Haha…”

Aria, realizing that I had the same thoughts as her, was absolutely delighted and asked if I wouldn’t admit that we were connected. I couldn’t refute it, feeling that she had a point, and simply offered an awkward laugh. Are we really going to keep thinking the exact same thing from now on… Ah, wait. This isn’t the time for this.

“For now, we’ve just been speculating based on the presence of Krentid World’s language here. The important thing is what’s written on that paper.”

“Ah… that’s true. Then I’ll tell you what’s written on this paper… Where is it…? Ha…. Hahahaha…. Whoever wrote this is really making me angry…!!”

“Ugh… Huh?”

Aria, looking at the writing on the paper written in Krentid World’s language, suddenly flared up in anger and clenched her hand with enough force to tear the paper. Seeing this, I was greatly flustered. Wh-what on earth is written there to make Aria so angry…? Before Aria could tear the paper, I hurriedly rushed to her side and read the text on the paper she held in her hand.

“Uh… let’s see…. ‘There are many materials for the Spheres of Heavenly Light here. Therefore, bring the Saintess and the priests, gather the necessary materials, and create a colossal Sphere of Heavenly Light. Then, the Sphere of Heavenly Light will act as a kind of obstacle, preventing anyone from uncovering the truth of this place…’ Um…. Th-this is…”

“*Kaaaaak*!! This is a dispatch from those who created the Spheres of Heavenly Light, the ones who made me feel disgraced in front of Zeke-nim!!”

As Aria explained that the paper in her hand was someone’s dispatch ordering the creation and deployment of Spheres of Heavenly Light to prevent the secrets of this place from being uncovered, I looked at the enraged Aria beside me and thought.

‘Well… Aria was certainly very angry because of these spheres…. She even destroyed that enormous sphere… By the way, it seems those who entered this place were indeed priests and Saintesses who could create Spheres of Heavenly Light… But why on earth did they enter this place? And why…’

I couldn’t understand why they had entered this place, and why they had created and deployed the Spheres of Heavenly Light to keep the secrets from being known outside. But still, realizing through this paper that people from Krentid World had entered this place, I began to feel an ominous premonition.

“…. It seems there’s something here that goes beyond my imagination.”

“But as long as I’m here, nothing can harm Zeke-nim….”

“I know well enough that you’re strong enough to even take down a dragon… but let’s not let our guard down. Do you remember how many times we’ve suffered greatly because we let our guard down?”

“…..”

When I brought up the memories of us suffering greatly because we had let our guard down before, Aria, as if agreeing, began to ponder with a serious expression. It was true that there had been unexpected incidents, like suffering from Cecilia’s abilities or being unable to pinpoint my location because of the Spheres of Heavenly Light. So, Aria finally nodded in agreement with my words and said.

“Understood. I will never let my guard down, Zeke-nim.”

“…. Well… but thanks to that, things might go your way.”

“Huh? What do you mean…. Ah!”

When I said that not letting my guard down might actually make things go her way, Aria tilted her head, about to ask me what I meant. But then, as I took her hand, Aria finally understood what I meant and spoke with a beaming smile.

“It means I can stick close to Zeke-nim like this…!! *Ehehehe*….”

“Uh… but… it’s a little overwhelming… Haha… I-I’m hungry. Let’s go eat, Aria.”

When I said I was hungry and suggested we go eat, Aria said she understood, excitedly swinging the hand I held, and headed out through the secret passage. She forgets that she used to get angry when I held her hand and is this happy now… But lately, I also feel something different than before. Previously, holding Aria’s hand didn’t bother me at all, but now, when I hold her hand, I find myself unconsciously smiling. What is this….

“Oh? You guys are here? I was cleaning up what looked like a kitchen nearby.”

“Good heavens….”

Led by Aria’s hand, I went outside and couldn’t help but be astonished at how immaculately Yuria had cleaned the kitchen outside…. No, it was so clean it looked as if everything had been replaced with new items. Uh… before, even after cleaning, it would still be a little dirty…. What on earth is this…

“Zeke… I also lived alone and managed a household. Do you think I can’t clean a messy place like this immaculately?”

“But this is…. beyond our abilities already…”

“…!! I can do this much too, if I put my mind to it, Zeke-nim!!”

As I stared dumbfounded at the incredibly clean kitchen, Aria, as if jealous, shouted that she could also do this much if she put her mind to it. Then, pouting her cheeks as if in a huff, she took ingredients out of the refrigerator and began to cook.

“Hmph…!! But when it comes to cooking, I…!!”

“…. Ahaha… I feel bad for doing this, it seems I made a mistake…. Ah, Zeke. I surveyed the surroundings earlier, you know? Anyway…. I gathered every single piece of paper, just as you asked.”

Yuria felt a little sorry for unnecessarily angering Aria, then she showed me the papers she and Tiavel had collected, saying she had gathered every single piece of paper as I had asked. I checked the papers collected by Yuria and Tiavel, and realizing they were all just like the safety regulations often seen outside, I sighed and said.

“Haaah… As expected, everything outside is just about safety regulations… Still, thank you for gathering them, Yuria.”

“It’s nothing… Huh…?”

“….?”

When I thanked her, Yuria, who had been modest, looked closely at the safety regulations scattered on the desk. She tilted her head, as if she had found something. I wondered at Yuria’s reaction, and Aria, who had been cooking behind me, turned off the stove and came over, asking.

“Did you find anything, Zeke….? Uh, wait…?”

“Huh? You too?”

Aria, who was intently examining the safety regulations scattered on the desk, also looked puzzled as if she had discovered something, just like Yuria. Seeing that Aria had also found something, I was bewildered and looked at the safety regulations like them. What on earth did they see that’s causing this reaction…?