episode_0135

Uncover the Secret

“What on earth did you two find that makes you so curious? I can’t see anything….”

As Aria and Yuria found something that piqued their curiosity, I stared intently at the safety guidelines, wanting to know what they had discovered. But no matter how many times I looked, I couldn’t find any pattern within these safety guidelines, so I asked them in frustration.

“What did you two find?”

“…. Hmm… About this, Zeke… it seems like the Saintess also knows about it…. Right, Saintess?”

Aria groaned. “To think you also knew about this…. It would have been better if Zeke-nim was the one who found it first… This is uncomfortable.”

As Yuria revealed she knew something I didn’t, Aria’s expression hardened, genuinely uncomfortable. I still couldn’t grasp what the two of them had found, so I sighed deeply and asked Aria.

“Alright…. Just tell me already…. I’m so frustrated my heart feels like it’s going to burst.”

“Understood, Zeke-nim. Ahem… From long ago, we Saintesses have hidden important things in various ways. For example, objects were hidden in secret places… and very important dispatches were also made by mixing various texts so that only we could understand them.”

“Mixed them?… So these safety guidelines contain some important information?”

Listening to Aria’s explanation, I realized that these safety guidelines were hiding some important information and that they were all encrypted. Yuria nodded, seemingly agreeing with Aria, and pointed to some text with her finger as she explained.

“Our village also used to hide important information in a similar way. For example, we’d make it so you could decipher it by taking the first letter of each densely written sentence. But looking at this, it feels like something is hidden in a similar way here. Look at this, Zeke. I can’t read the text, but I can tell that the sentences are the same, right? But even though the sentences are the same, aren’t the pictures drawn on the paper quite different?”

Yuria pointed to two safety guidelines that contained the same content but somehow had different pictures. I then realized something was definitely suspicious, and as I finally caught on, Yuria nodded and said.

“Right? But from here on, I don’t know the language of this place, so I can’t figure it out. How about we try to decipher it together after we eat?”

“Sounds good. Aria, let’s eat quickly and then uncover the secrets of these papers together.”

“Understood, Zeke-nim.”

Aria nodded at my suggestion to finish eating and then try deciphering, agreeing with Yuria, and went to finish cooking. The moment we sat around the table, Aria brought the food with a confident expression. Tiavel began to drool at the incredibly delicious smell, and Yuria and I couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Wow… is this really monster meat…? You really grilled it deliciously….”

“Right? Probably no one in this world can beat Aria’s cooking….”

Aria chuckled. “Hehehe…!! For Zeke-nim’s health and palate, this is only natural! Go on, have a taste, Snow Woman! Then you’ll realize you’re inferior to me!!”

“…I already realized that after tasting your cooking before… Let’s see…!!!!”

“Mmph!!”

Yuria, who had already tasted Aria’s cooking, said as if she knew everything. The moment she and Tiavel put a piece of sliced meat into their mouths, both Yuria and Tiavel froze, forks in their mouths, clearly surprised. What… what is it? Why are they both like that all of a sudden?

“Ah… Aria, surely you didn’t add poison only to their food, like you tried to do to Karina before?!”

Aria’s eyes welled up. “…. I stopped doing that… but Zeke-nim suspected me….”

“!!!”

When I cautiously asked Aria if she had added poison to their food, it seemed to strike Aria with great shock. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she became downcast, upset that I had suspected her. Ah… dammit! I must have been crazy for a moment…!! Realizing my mistake, I immediately hugged Aria desperately and apologized.

“I-I’m sorry! I must have lost my mind for a moment! I’ll be more careful with my words next time….?”

Aria giggled. “Hehehehe… ehehehe….”

…. The moment I hugged Aria, I heard her suddenly cackle, and I realized. Aria had anticipated this would happen and had deliberately welled up with tears. And when I realized I had completely fallen for Aria’s trick, my fist instinctively clenched.

‘…. It’s true I misspoke, but… I feel a little choked up inside…? ‘

“Hmph… Anyway, I didn’t put poison in their food. Those two are probably….”

“Probably…?”

“S-So delicious…!!!”

As Aria explained that she hadn’t poisoned Yuria and Tiavel’s food and gestured towards them, predicting the reason, I looked up at the two of them. When I saw Yuria and Tiavel eagerly cutting and eating their steak, I asked Aria with a serious expression.

“They were just shocked because it was delicious?”

“Hmm…. Zeke-nim said my cooking skills improved even more than when I cooked at Yuria’s house before. So perhaps they were just momentarily overwhelmed by how ‘even more’ delicious the food was…. Hehehe… How about it, Snow Woman!! Will you admit that I cook better than you?”

“I admit it, so tell me how you make it!! I want to make delicious food like this for Tiavel too!!”

“I refuse!! My cooking is for Zeke-nim! My dishes will never appear on a table where Zeke-nim isn’t present, so give up!”

“Tsk… that’s mean…!!”

When Yuria asked for the recipe, wanting to make such delicious food for Tiavel, Aria naturally refused. Seeing the two of them like that, a smile somehow crept onto my face, and so we were able to finish a cheerful meal in this dark facility. After finishing the meal, Aria and I, who were examining the safety guidelines….

“…. Hmph… Damn it…!! I can’t figure out what other rules there could be….”

Aria groaned. “It is quite complex. Perhaps it’s because there are words we don’t know….”

We struggled to find the secret within the safety guidelines but could only find a few things. Taking the first letter of each line revealed some numbers, and looking diagonally revealed the phrase ‘Facility’s Door’, but we couldn’t figure out anything beyond that. In frustration, I pounded my chest and shouted.

“Aargh! What kind of cipher structure are these things?!”

“On the contrary, because it’s such a complex cipher, no one would have thought these were clues related to a code. But still, to make it this difficult….”

Aria admitted that the cipher hidden in the safety guidelines was indeed difficult to decipher and was at a loss for how to solve it. Then, Tiavel, who was drawing nearby, wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to us.

‘How about you sleep today and try again tomorrow? Mister Zeke looks tired right now.’

“….? Oh… now that you mention it, my head does feel dizzy…. Is it because I’ve been thinking too much….”

When Tiavel asked if I wanted to sleep today and try to solve it tomorrow, saying I looked tired, I realized I was indeed exhausted and agreed with Tiavel. So, we decided to get some good sleep today, as Tiavel suggested, and everyone went to their sleeping quarters. In the early morning, as everyone was asleep, Dio V Runner, who had been investigating elsewhere, was lost in thought while looking inside the secret passage.

‘…. This structure is similar to the lab in the Station…. But it feels a bit more old-fashioned, I suppose…. Anyway, it’s a place that’s lacking something. If so…. the secret must have been arranged just as shoddily… What on earth is the identity of this giant orb?’

Dio V Runner was lost in thought, looking at the immense orb in front of him, which was larger than himself. Meanwhile, a small light shone somewhere near where Zeke and his companions were sleeping. Aria was uncovering the secrets of the safety guidelines while everyone else was asleep.

‘…. No matter how much I look, I still don’t know what other rules there are…. I wanted to organize it more comfortably for Zeke-nim…. Just sitting here doing nothing…!!’

The moment she was racking her brain all night to uncover the secrets of the safety guidelines for Zeke, Aria felt a presence nearby. She immediately grabbed the staff beside her and thrust it towards the approaching presence. Yuria, who barely avoided being poked by Aria’s staff by a hair’s breadth, covered her mouth with her hand and internally screamed. Realizing the presence was Yuria, Aria’s expression hardened, and she asked.

“What are you doing, not sleeping?”

Yuria gasped, panting. “G-Gah… You startled me… I expected you’d be uncovering the secrets hidden in those papers tonight for Zeke…. So I thought I’d come to talk and help…”

As Yuria explained that she had also woken up this late to help, Aria leaned her staff back against the desk, turned her body to look at the safety guidelines, and spoke to Yuria behind her.

“…. I don’t need help, Snow Woman. Go get some sleep….”

“Hmph…. I know you’re trying to do it all by yourself to get praise from Zeke, you know?”

“….? W-What are you doing? I clearly said I don’t need help….”

As Aria naturally refused her goodwill, Yuria sighed deeply, pulled a chair over, and placed it beside Aria. As Yuria sat down to look at the safety guidelines together, Aria was startled and continued to try and refuse Yuria’s offer.

“I know you’re working hard, but… if you push yourself this hard alone, won’t Zeke worry about you? You know Zeke’s personality well, don’t you? How much he cares for others.”

“….”

As Yuria looked at the safety guidelines and asked if she didn’t know Zeke’s personality well, saying Zeke would surely worry if he saw her like this, Aria didn’t offer any rebuttal, seemingly acknowledging it. Then Yuria turned her head to Aria and said.

“Right?”

“…. Your personality has changed a lot. Before, as a Snow Woman, you had a cold and aloof personality.”

“Ah… Raising Tiavel made my personality change, you know? When you have a child, your personality naturally changes. I wonder if your personality will change too if you have Zeke’s child?”

“…. Eh?!”

When Yuria said that if Aria were to have Zeke’s child, her personality might change like her own, Aria’s face turned red, and she became greatly flustered. Then, as Aria imagined how she would change if she had Zeke’s child, just as Yuria had said, Yuria chuckled and said.

“You really love Zeke, Saintess.”

“O-Of course!…. Z-Zeke-nim’s child…. Building a family with Zeke-nim…?! Hehehe…..”

Yuria smiled awkwardly. “…. It seems you’re more concerned about that than your personality, after all…?”

As Aria focused on having Zeke’s child and building a family rather than her personality changing, Yuria smiled awkwardly, as if she had already expected it. Then Aria straightened her back and proudly told Yuria.

“Of course! This personality of mine, which is for Zeke-nim, will never change!!”

Yuria chuckled. “Hehehe… I hope you maintain that personality, Saintess. Anyway… seeing you reminds me of the priests and saintesses I met outside. They’ve started their activities all over the world now.”

“As I told you before, if they ever harm Zeke-nim, I will not forgive them.”

“Even if they’re fellow saintesses?”

As Aria gripped the staff beside her, declaring she wouldn’t forgive them if the Saintesses and priests bothered Zeke, Yuria asked if she would kill them even if they were fellow saintesses. Aria turned her head to Yuria, let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded, and said.

“Hmph. Fellow saintesses? Being a Saintess is no longer important to me. If they bother Zeke-nim, they will all become my enemies, and I will show them they are destined to become chunks of meat by this staff.”

“That’s why Zeke trusts you….”

Aria chuckled. “…Hehehe. You keep speaking as if the obvious is surprising, Snow Woman.”

When Aria firmly stated that anyone who bothered Zeke would be her enemy, Yuria snorted, finding Aria trustworthy, and commented that this was why Zeke trusted Aria. Aria then straightened her back again, speaking proudly, and Yuria chuckled as she looked at Aria.

“Before, I also used to secretly deal with priests and saintesses so they wouldn’t obstruct your journey… But then I was the one who was cornered and almost died. But some red-haired otherworldly person saved me by spitting flames.”

“Ah, you mean Dio V Runner?”

“!!! What?! How do you know Dio V Runner?!”

“Dio V Runner is the one who came here with us.”

“What?!”

When Yuria recounted how an otherworldly person had saved her when she was in danger, Aria immediately recognized that person as Dio V Runner. Yuria was greatly astonished that Aria knew Dio V Runner and even more flustered that Dio V Runner was with them. Aria then glared at Yuria and said.

“It’s not that surprising, so let’s just figure out the secret. I’ve already discovered that if I reverse the order, words appear in parts, you see?”

“Ah… Ah… Right, of course. I’ll let you know if there’s any text with a similar structure.”

When Aria suggested they focus on deciphering the code again, Yuria pulled herself together, said she understood, and began to concentrate on the decryption with Aria. As the dawn passed and morning arrived, Tiavel was urgently shaking me awake.

I yawned. “Yawn…. What is it, Tiavel…. What’s so urgent that… Gasp?!”

Yuria groaned. “Ugh… Ugh… A-As expected of the Saintess….”

As Tiavel vigorously woke me with a worried expression, I yawned and looked around. I was greatly flustered to see Yuria collapsed beside the desk. Aria, who had been sitting in a chair beside her, doing something, noticed I was awake, turned her body, and smiled sweetly at me.

“Ah, Zeke-nim! Good morning!”

“Uh… What are you doing there… and why is Yuria sprawled out next to you?”

Waking up to an unexpected situation, I couldn’t understand what was going on. Yuria and Aria, who had gathered their wits, explained what had happened during the dawn, and I was flustered looking at Aria’s decoded text written on another paper.

“So… Yuria forgot that Aria has such good stamina and stayed up all night engrossed in decoding?”

“Yes, Zeke-nim. But… I apologize. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t find anything more…”

“…. So, combining the words in order of publication year creates a sentence…. Still, you’ve solved much more than yesterday. Well done, Aria.”

Aria giggled. “…! Hehehe…”

Aria smiled brightly and looked pleased, probably thinking her hard work in decoding the cipher the previous night was worthwhile when she received my praise. Well… thanks to Aria, I definitely knew that a sentence was being formed… ‘The facility’s door number is 428475.’… Something felt a little incomplete….

I inhaled deeply. “Sigh… I feel like I’m almost there…. Just a little more…?”

As I looked at Aria’s incomplete decoded text, thinking I could figure something out with just a little more effort, I looked at the safety guidelines on the desk and discovered something, my expression hardening on the spot. Seeing my reaction, Aria tilted her head and asked.

“What’s wrong, Zeke-nim?”

“Aria. Light up your staff. Make it brighter than a lamp.”

“Huh? Ah, understood.”

As I found something, Aria made the tip of her staff emit a light brighter than a lamp, just as I asked. I then held several safety guidelines up to the light coming from Aria’s staff, and when something began to appear on the back of the paper, I was surprised and added content to Aria’s decoded text. Yuria then looked at the completed decoded text, dumbfounded.

“What….. This was a place like this…?”

“…. I did think it felt a bit gloomy…. But to think it was a chilling place just as its atmosphere suggested…. ‘The bio-experiment facility’s door password is 428475…’.”

Finally, having uncovered the secret of the safety guidelines, I combined the words I had found with Aria’s decoded text. The result made me utterly dumbfounded as I realized this place was a bio-experiment facility.