episode_0179

“Hahaha…!! This is truly a coincidence! No, should I call this fate…? I never imagined everyone would know the Black Saintess and Zeke…!!” “…It’s incredibly baffling how all such people gathered here in Grovel, mourning the demons… Starting with Dio V Runner and Yuria, even this person in unusual attire…”

As Sarzohn burst into laughter, saying he hadn’t expected people who knew Zeke and Aria to gather like this, Merzel wondered, with a perplexed expression, why such people had gathered in Grovel. Then Yuria, who was drinking lemon tea beside them, nodded in agreement.

“That’s certainly true. I was also surprised when I first learned that Cecilia and Merzel were connected to those two. And to think that this new human I’ve seen is also connected to Zeke and Aria… You said you fought Aria at a festival called the Luam Last Point Tournament, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Truly… the Black Saintess possessed immense power. I felt like I couldn’t possibly win, so I withdrew midway through.”

“Furthermore, it’s truly astonishing. Currently, most humans outside are enchanted by Goddess Camilla’s divine power, and the world is going crazy… Yet you’re in such a sound state.”

Just as Sarzohn was saying that when he previously fought Aria, he immediately recognized her strength and promptly withdrew, Dio V Runner marveled at him being in such a sound state in this world gone mad. Then Cecilia, who was also drinking lemon tea beside them, placed her teacup on the table and spoke to Dio V Runner.

“The world hasn’t gone completely mad to that extent. There are already human villages that noticed the signs and rejected them. That’s why I usually go to their villages to buy things. The mountain village in the Tania region seemed fine too, didn’t it?”

“Oh… that might be my hometown. I’m actually from the Tania region myself… By the way, I was surprised, Dio V Runner. To think you came from another world… And that the others also met Zeke and Aria, and aren’t even human…”

“Tiavel and I are still human, though. However, I’m a variant Snow Woman, and Tiavel was once a doll.”

As Sarzohn was greatly surprised that those who knew Zeke and Aria were either of different races or beings from other dimensions, Yuria and Tiavel giggled, replying that they were still human. Then Cecilia, who had been laughing similarly upon hearing that, turned to Sarzohn and asked.

“Speaking of which, Sarzohn. What exactly did you spend your time doing with Zeke and Aria? As we mentioned earlier, except for Dio V Runner, we all spent time reflecting thanks to Zeke and Aria.”

“Ah… now that you mention it, everyone did say that. That thanks to Zeke and Aria, they’ve been spending time reflecting on their past misdeeds, and are still reflecting even now.”

“That’s right. Haaaaaaah… Before gaining enlightenment from those two, truly… I almost died at Aria’s hands. Didn’t everyone?”

“Right, right. That’s how it was. Every time we saw Zeke, we would scare him immensely… Ugh… remembering it again gives me chills…”

“Ugh…”

When Cecilia mentioned almost dying at Aria’s hands before gaining enlightenment through Zeke and Aria, everyone except Dio V Runner and Sarzohn agreed with her, and felt a shiver as they recalled how Aria had scared them previously. Seeing everyone flinch, Sarzohn began to let out a hollow laugh, and Dio V Runner, who also knew Aria’s terrifying side like them, sighed deeply and asked Sarzohn.

“So, what exactly is your connection with them, Sarzohn? Did you also gain some kind of enlightenment from those two, like these guys did?”

“It’s highly likely that’s the case, isn’t it? Especially Zeke, he loves helping others…”

“He really loves it. I know him well. Not only because I’m his uncle, but also because I used to be very close with Zeke.”

“Right… so…? Wait… what did you just say?! Uncle?!”

Cecilia, who had been predicting that Sarzohn, like them, had received help from Zeke and Aria, was startled by his revelation that he was actually Zeke’s uncle, and the others were also greatly surprised. Then Yuria leaped to her feet, emitting cold air from her hands, and shouted at Sarzohn.

“Don’t lie!! Zeke never told me he had an uncle!! Besides, your surname is completely different from Zeke’s!”

“No, it’s true…!! Sarzohn is a pseudonym I used to hide my real name, and my real name is Gid Looprian… If you still don’t believe me, I can explain everything about Zeke…”

“….. Huh?”

As Gid expressed great embarrassment, offering to explain everything about Zeke, Yuria, who was about to unleash cold air at Gid, froze in embarrassment. And so, Gid began to explain everything he knew about Zeke to everyone. That Zeke and his hometown was a village called Todrua in the Tania region. That Zeke had been full of adventurous spirit since childhood. And finally, that Aria truly loved Zeke, but Zeke found Aria’s love burdensome. As Gid revealed almost everything about Zeke, Yuria, who had been bewildered, immediately prostrated herself on the spot and apologized to Gid.

“I’m sorry…!! It seems I’ve become someone who acts without thinking!!”

“…Ah… hahaha… Given the current state of the world, I understand why you’d be suspicious, so there’s no need to apologize. By the way, I had no idea you all received so much help from Zeke… It also makes sense why you all muttered about feeling Aria’s jealousy earlier, doesn’t it…?”

‘Before, when Mom offered to cook instead, she threatened with a kitchen knife.’

Gid, who could somewhat understand why Cecilia and the others had felt fear earlier, recalling Aria’s jealousy, turned serious and scratched his head, saying, when Tiavel showed him a piece of paper stating that Aria had previously threatened Yuria with a knife.

“It was that extreme…? Dio V Runner, was it true?”

“Hmm… She never threatened me with a knife, but… I vividly remember Aria constantly giving me the side-eye… Speaking of which, I’d like to explain in detail how Yuria and I explored an otherworldly facility with those two… Could the others also explain their stories with those two, in more detail than before?”

“Of course. Because no one here could ever forget those two.”

As Dio V Runner recalled Aria constantly giving him side-eyes at the Levarud facility, perhaps wanting to hear others’ stories as well, he asked everyone to explain in detail everything that happened with Zeke and Aria, and since it wasn’t an unreasonable request, Merzel nodded and agreed. Thus, the people there began to explain in detail what conversations they had with the two, or what incidents they became involved in. Then Cecilia, slumped in her chair, spoke in a drained voice.

“Sigh… My heart isn’t willing to keep telling others about such a garbage past… My heart is too heavy; it feels overwhelming to even speak now.”

“Perhaps it’s the same for everyone? Well… except for Dio V Runner, Merzel, and Gid.”

“Hmmmm… Something… something is very… strange, isn’t it?”

“Hm?”

Just as Yuria empathized with Cecilia, who struggled to keep explaining her unpleasant past to others, Gid, who had been listening to their stories and thinking something intently, sensing something amiss, said with a serious expression that something was strange. Then Cecilia, who had been slumped over the table, straightened her upper body, bewildered, and Dio V Runner, who likewise didn’t understand the meaning of Gid’s words, tilted his head and asked Gid.

“What’s strange, Gid?”

“Consider this, Dio V Runner. The commonality among those who received salvation from Zeke is that… except for Tiavel, they are all beings somewhat removed from humanity, aren’t they? Furthermore, including Tiavel, a commonality is that they all destroyed a village or a group.”

“Well… that’s true, isn’t it? We all had such a past, and thanks to Zeke forgiving us, we resolved to live on.”

“Although I am alive now thanks to receiving salvation from Cecilia rather than that person, if that person hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to receive salvation from Cecilia either… So, in a way, I am alive thanks to that person.”

As Gid said that they were all individuals with a history of destroying a village or group, Cecilia, agreeing that Zeke had saved them, nodded and replied that they were such beings. Then Merzel, beside her, indirectly agreed, saying that although she had received salvation from Cecilia, if Zeke hadn’t saved Cecilia beforehand, she wouldn’t be alive like this. And Yuria, having heard all these words, began to think about something, tapping the table with her fingers.

“Certainly… If not for Zeke and Aria, we might not even be living in this world; we might have attacked other places, filled only with resentment in our hearts. I, too, originally intended to cross Mount Ter and attack other places.”

“I also intended to eliminate all living things with poison. Our resentment was that severe, after all… But is there a problem with that, Gid?”

“No… I’m just wondering if it’s too much of a coincidence. That everyone received hatred and resentment from others, and became monsters to exact revenge on them… No matter how harsh the world might be to create cases like yours… To think there are more than three of you in this world with such similar pasts… Doesn’t it feel strange?”

“Hmm. So… are you saying that their pasts might have been manipulated by someone intentionally to turn them into monsters, Gid?”

“What…?!”

In response to Cecilia’s question of what problem there was with their pasts being undeniably abnormal due to bitter resentment, Gid said that the extremely similar pasts of the three felt incongruous, and Dio V Runner, seemingly understanding Gid’s words, looked at Cecilia, Merzel, Yuria, and Tiavel beside him, and asked if someone had deliberately given those four such pasts to turn them into monsters. At that, the four flinched in surprise and froze, and Gid nodded, looking at the four, and said.

“That’s right. Think deeply about it. Didn’t all four of you receive blame from others? Although Merzel-nim’s past involves being deceived by other angels… The other three all share the commonality of having received blame from someone.”

“I, from angels and other races. Yuria, from humans of her own kind… Lastly, Tiavel, from humans of her own village… It’s definitely too similar…”

“Furthermore, a commonality among the four of us is that we all lived long lives. Not as long as us, but Tiavel lived a long life because she became a doll… Moreover, all of us became objects of fear for others.”

“I became an object of fear for demonfolk like Cecilia… While our pasts aren’t completely identical… We all shared the commonality of regretting our pasts…”

The four, who had listened to Gid’s words and thought deeply, realizing that they indeed shared the commonality of regret, were perplexed by the fact that they had all done things significant enough to deeply regret. At that moment, Dio V Runner, who had been intently thinking about something while watching the four, was startled, and slammed the table, speaking to Gid.

“…!! No…!! That’s not a commonality unique to those four, Gid! Aria… Aria also has a similar past!!”

“…!! Now that you mention it, Zeke once explained about Aria, who was sleeping while he was calming me down… He said that Aria had once decoded something she absolutely shouldn’t have, causing her own kingdom to be ruined…!!”

“Esrad Kingdom…!! Indeed, Aria once explained to me that she was the one who caused the Esrad Kingdom’s demise… Hmph… Earlier, Tiavel told me about her past, which made me suspect something… but I don’t know if it’s accurate?”

“What is it?”

As Cecilia explained Aria’s past, which she had heard from Zeke earlier, Gid, recalling having directly heard from Aria in Luam what she had done previously, said he had a suspicion, and Yuria asked what it was. At that, Gid nodded and began to explain his conjecture to everyone.

“If someone, for some purpose, intentionally inflicted hellish torment or despair upon you… no, upon humans or other races with strong potential abilities like yours… Then I think there might be more beings like you in this world. Furthermore, the one who brought about these terrible nightmares for you… I have a feeling it might have been the same entity…”

“What…? What exactly are you talking about? If someone intentionally gave us these terrible nightmares, and it was all the same entity… Are you saying it could be the doing of a long-lived non-human race?”

“That’s right, Cecilia. And I suspect that it might be… Goddess Camilla, whom the people outside are currently worshiping mindlessly.”

“What?!”

At Gid’s words that the mastermind who inflicted terrible nightmares upon them might be none other than Goddess Camilla, whom the humans outside were strongly worshiping, everyone was startled and froze. Then Tiavel hastily began to write on a piece of paper, and soon showed the completed text to Gid.

‘But why did Goddess Camilla do that to the Esrad Kingdom, which worships her, and to Aria Unnie? Her own worshipers…’

“As for that… even I… perhaps my conjecture might be wrong…”

“No. Gid’s words are entirely plausible. In my home dimension where I was born, a heartless fellow named Creative once transformed other races into his own kind and used them as his tools. If Camilla is also someone with the same personality as that fellow… Then it would be natural for her to have inflicted terrible nightmares upon you for some purpose, and it would also make sense that she used Aria and the Esrad Kingdom…!! Ah, yes…!! Yuria!! Why don’t you explain your conjecture to everyone?!”

“Ah… Ah, that’s right!!! I completely forgot!! Everyone… listen carefully!! The Camilla Cult seems to be…”

Dio V Runner, who had been explaining that something similar had happened in his hometown as well, recalled Yuria’s own conjecture which she had explained to him previously while he was explaining, and shouted at Yuria to explain it, and Yuria, hearing that, was greatly shocked, saying she had forgotten it, and began to explain her conjecture to everyone. At that, everyone froze, deeply shocked to the point of turning pale, and Cecilia sprang from her seat and shouted at Yuria.

“How could you tell us something so important only now?! That means Gid’s and Dio V Runner’s conjectures from earlier might also be correct!!!”

“Besides, even if we were to leave right now to find them… With this number of people, finding those two in this vast Crentid World would be extremely difficult, Cecilia. Unless we receive help from individuals across the Crentid World…”

“Crentid World… and beings who might have similar pasts in other places…!!! Wait a minute…!! I’ve got a good idea, everyone!!”

As Cecilia, who had fallen into confusion upon hearing Yuria’s shocking conjecture, became even more confused by the mention that finding those two with the current number of people was insufficient, Gid suddenly thought of something, sprang to his feet, and gathered everyone’s attention, saying he had a good idea. At that, Dio V Runner tilted his head and asked Gid.

“What’s the idea, Gid?”

“There’s a way to find them quickly. Yes… with Zeke’s personality, he surely would have done that… If so…!!!”

“Hey, Gid? What on earth are you thinking…?”

“Please find out what is enchanting the people! I will quickly go out to find them… no… to see if there are people who can help us!!”

“…?! Hey, Gid!! What on earth did you realize!!”

Dio V Runner, seeing Gid abruptly trying to leave the hut, speaking only to the point without answering his question, was greatly perplexed and followed Gid out. At that, the remaining four looked at each other, bewildered, then they too hastily followed the two outside, and just as they were heading towards the main gate…

“….? Wait a minute, Yuria. There’s someone outside the main gate.”

“What… what? Surely not more people who received help from Zeke…”

“No… This feeling is… It definitely doesn’t feel like beings who received help from those two…!!!”

“…!! Those… those humans…!!”

At the moment they were chasing Dio V Runner, Merzel said there was someone else outside the main gate, and Yuria guessed if it was surely more people who had received help from Zeke. However, Merzel, sensing something, said it definitely wasn’t those kinds of people, and was greatly shocked by something she saw, and Yuria, who likewise saw someone standing outside the main gate, immediately recognized who those humans were and froze. No. Everyone immediately understood who they were. Because they were all wearing Saintess or priestly robes. And Gid, recognizing the Saintess in silver armor with purple tied-back hair standing in front of them, broke out in a cold sweat and forced a smile, saying.

“Wow… I never expected to see you in a place like this? It seems this is the first time since I saw your face at the Last Point Tournament five years ago… Viola Blossom.”

“Swordsman Sarzohn… I’ve heard much about you from other Saintesses and know your story well. However, at that time, I had no idea you were such a person… You, who have continuously hindered us for nine years.”