episode_0191

“Ugh… I’m sorry. I showed you all a bad side of me because I was feeling so sad…”

“Ah… it’s alright, Village Head. We were also sad to hear about the passing of former Village Head Karizan. Especially, we couldn’t tell Revo about Akada’s fate…”

“Yes? I wasn’t particularly sad, Zeke-nim. There was nothing we could do, right?”

As Kelly, who was guiding us back to Karizan, apologized for showing us a side of herself she didn’t want us to see, I was about to tell her that we felt the same way. But then, Aria, who was next to me, said she wasn’t that sad and couldn’t understand why Kelly had been crying so much. I looked at Aria with a stern expression. Did she really have to say that right now? And besides, I was actually really sad…?! The moment I frowned at Aria’s words, Saphia leaned in close to Aria’s ear and whispered.

“So, what this means is… that Aria-nim didn’t know Zeke-nim had passed away, until you heard it from Rubaea several years later…”

“…!!! I can’t allow that…!!! I didn’t know about Zeke-nim’s death for years… Uaaaah… It’s just horrifying to imagine it, I’m tearing up… Ugh…”

“…? Uh… huh?! Sa… Saintess-nim?!”

“Uuuuugh… Zeke-nim, I’m so sorry… I wasn’t good enough to protect you… And I didn’t even know about your death for years… That can’t be, that can’t be…!!”

Not understanding what Saphia had said, I was caught off guard when Aria started saying strange things and showed signs of distress. I quickly hugged Aria to comfort her. What did she hear that made her tremble and burst into tears?! And did I just die? What was that about…? Seeing that I was clearly flustered by Aria’s reaction, Saphia, who was just as flustered, caught my eye. I turned to her with a stern expression and asked,

“Saphia, are you telling me I died, just as an example…?”

“Uh… I’m sorry… I didn’t realize she would react this strongly…”

“I didn’t realize Aria would react like this either… I should be more careful next time…”

I didn’t expect Aria to react so strongly to my death just as an example. I thought to myself that I needed to explain things better to Aria next time, and I shouldn’t use my death as an example. As Aria sobbed in my arms, she seemed to calm down a bit and looked at Kelly with swollen eyes.

“I understand a little now, Kelly… why you were crying so much…”

“Hohoho… I’m a little embarrassed that I showed such an unsightly side… I just thought that Akada would have been so happy to hear the news… I was so heartbroken that I couldn’t control myself. I suppose that’s what sorrow is…!! Oops… I ruined the atmosphere because of me. We’ll be arriving at Karizan soon, everyone. Please walk a little further.”

Kelly, after explaining her sadness, apologized for ruining the atmosphere and told us that we would be arriving at Karizan soon.

You seem to be still confused… Seeing you so bewildered…

Following Kelly’s lead, we silently walked forward. Then, Kelly suddenly stopped, turned around, and spoke to us.

“We’ve arrived. This is the entrance to Karizan.”

“…? The entrance? There’s nothing here…?”

I looked around in surprise when Kelly said this was the entrance to Karizan. I couldn’t see anything resembling Karizan, not even a small structure. There were only trees and the ground. As I found it hard to believe that there was an entrance to Karizan here, Aria seemed to sense something and suddenly turned her head to the right and began to search through the bushes. What is it? Is there something inside there? As Aria started searching through the bushes, I became curious and approached her…

“Ah… there’s something here, Zeke-nim. There’s a small door-like thing on the ground.”

“What? A small door…? Oh, really…?”

When Aria said there was something like a small door in the bushes, I sat next to her and carefully looked through the bushes. And as Aria said, I was amazed to see a small wooden door on the ground. But… the size was just enough for a fairy to open and enter…? And isn’t Karizan a village on the ground, not underground? Then what’s this door…? As I was puzzled by the door in the bushes, Kelly seemed to read my thoughts and smiled at me.

“As Aria-nim said, that’s the entrance to Karizan, Zeke-nim. I’m sure you’re puzzled about how a door is on the ground, even though Karizan is a village on the surface, right?”

“Kelly, you read Zeke-nim’s mind so well…!! Pfft… But to be precise, you’re also wondering how we’re going to pass through a door that’s the size of a fairy.”

“Ah… ahaha… I see…”

Aria, who knew my thoughts even better than Kelly, put her hands on her waist and shrugged, accurately explaining my thoughts. Kelly was embarrassed and gave an awkward laugh. Then, Rubaea and Saphia, seeing my stern expression, were greatly surprised that Aria had read my mind so accurately. Saphia then asked Aria.

“You’re amazing, Aria-nim!! How can you read Zeke-nim’s mind so accurately?”

“Huhu… Because my love for Zeke-nim is special. And… if you stay by his side, you get a good sense of what Zeke-nim is thinking…!! Huhu…”

“Don’t brag with such a suggestive look… By the way, Village Head. As Aria said, we are also wondering how we can pass through this door…”

“We’ve sought various methods to avoid the Order’s eyes. I created several devices to make Karizan the last refuge for those who seek shelter. Of course, I inherited the device that Akada designed to allow Karizan to escape from the danger of a gigantic being, like the World Tree… Thanks to discovering many things in Akada’s death room, we were able to prepare for this. Of course, I didn’t expect that she would be brainwashed by her…”

“Hmm… I see. Then what is this device…? Wait a second… Is this perhaps…!!”

As Kelly explained that she was able to safely hide Karizan from the Order by inheriting Akada’s design, I was suddenly reminded of when Akada had shown us her workshop, and I realized what the door was. Before, when Akada had guided us through a secret passage to her workshop… I’m sure she had put a teleportation magic circle in the middle of the passage…!! As I realized what the door was, Kelly nodded.

“You’re probably right, Zeke-nim. Since Akada designed it. Now… since you know how to get to our village, we should prepare to go inside, right? Both of you, please just stay there. I’ll… where was it?”

“Village Head. We have it too, can we give it to you? You told us to keep it for emergencies…”

“Don’t worry, Rubaea, I’ll find it. Hahaha… I guess I’m getting old. My appearance is that of a young fairy, but my mind continues to age… Now… Ah! Here it is!”

Kelly said that she was getting old too. She took out several bundles of paper from her pocket and started unfolding them one by one. Aria and I didn’t know what Kelly was looking for, so we looked at each other and shook our heads. Then, Kelly unfolded two bundles of paper and said with a big smile that she had found it, and placed the paper bundles on the ground in front of us. Huh…? Is that a magic circle…?

“This is a magic circle inscribed with the same magic that Akada used on Karizan. Would you like to step on this paper?”

“…!! Ah… is this it? I feel like I haven’t felt this in a while… Wanna hold hands and do it together, Aria?”

“I’d love to! Okay… one, two!”

Following Kelly’s explanation, we realized the magic circle’s identity, held each other’s hands, and confidently stepped onto the magic circle. Then, our bodies instantly shrank to the same height as the fairies. I realized this magic circle was the same magic that shrunk the size of those who had entered Karizan before, and I smiled at the feeling I hadn’t felt in a while. Ah… it’s been a while since I’ve felt this…

“Now. Would you like to go inside? If you don’t believe us…”

“Would that happen? And we already believe your words, so our bodies have already shrunk… Is there anything else we shouldn’t believe?”

“…!! Zeke-nim!! You should believe me more!!! If you believe other women more…!!”

“Ha… Hahaha… I won’t say anymore, Zeke-nim. Anyway… thank you for believing us… And now, I’ll guide you to Karizan.”

“I’ve opened the door, Village Head!! Come inside quickly!!”

As Rubaea urged us to come in, saying she was opening the door, Kelly nodded and went inside first. Then, we and Saphia also followed her inside. When Rubaea, who had entered last, closed the door, darkness instantly fell on the descending staircase. Then, Aria lit a light from her staff and complained to Kelly.

“What is this…!! It’s so dark that Zeke-nim might misstep…!! I need to be by Zeke-nim’s side, right?”

“Hahaha… I am sorry about that, Aria-nim. Because we’re arriving soon… By the way, do you understand why we made the method of getting to Karizan so complicated?”

“Hmm… Okay. I’ll admit this. To think you would use the fairies’ body size to create such a small passage… I heard there was a fairy Saintess among the Saintesses earlier, but as long as there aren’t any more, this place should be safe.”

“Hahaha… But it’s not over yet… Over there…”

As Aria admitted that it would be difficult for the Order to target this place if there were no more fairy Saintesses, Kelly suddenly pointed her finger forward, saying it wasn’t over yet. Then, Aria and I looked forward following her finger, and we were startled to see what seemed to be five branching paths. What is that again?! Is that…

“This passage is a maze. So, if you go down these stairs, you have to pass through an underground maze. But we’ve already moved somewhere in the middle. So, only I know where this maze is located, and it’s very deep.”

“…!! Now that you mention it, I feel like it’s gotten more humid… But then, the air can’t circulate, and how can we breathe like this? It feels like we are in a very deep underground place, so humid…”

Kelly said that this was a deep underground place somewhere, and I realized that the humidity had definitely increased. I suddenly wondered. I know that the deeper you go, the harder it is to breathe… How can we breathe even in a place where there is a lack of air? At my words, Aria also took a deep breath and was surprised that there were no problems breathing. Kelly giggled and said,

“Akada is truly amazing. This is also one of the devices Akada devised over many years. If you look around, you’ll see stones with certain patterns carved on them.”

“Oh? Really, Zeke-nim. There are green patterns here…? Just a moment. When I get close to this stone, the air… feels a little fresher.”

“What? Uh…? It’s true… Wait, where have I seen that pattern?”

When Aria found a stone with a green pattern and said that the air became fresher as she got closer to it, I became curious and went over to Aria. As I really felt the air become fresher, I carefully looked at the pattern. The pattern had a familiar mark, and I began to remember. Where did I see that pattern…?

“Oh my… You’ve already met the spirits, Zeke-nim. That pattern is a pattern that emits air with the help of the wind spirits.”

“…!! Ah, right! I saw it in the spirits’ village at the Croa Spring…!! Ah… so that’s why the air was so fresh even though it was so deep underground…”

“Yes. Ah…!! You said you were going to keep a record of your adventures… Can you keep this passage a secret? Even if the situation is resolved, I don’t want to remove this device in case of any possible thieves.”

Kelly asked me to keep this passage a secret, and I nodded and answered that I understood. It’s an important secret, so there’s no choice. Knowing about the secret passage, we started again to Karizan, following Kelly. After 3 minutes passed, 6 minutes passed… 9 minutes passed… 12 minutes passed…?

“How deep did you dig this maze, Kelly!!! Zeke-nim is starting to get tired!!”

After passing through the maze for 20 minutes, we started to get tired. Aria, seeing that I was getting tired, shouted at Kelly. What is this maze so deep…?! And there were also six branching paths… Is this maze… a maze made by connecting several mazes?! Did they prepare this thoroughly?!

“We’ll arrive soon, don’t worry, Aria-nim. We have to do this to protect Karizan~!”

“Don’t you think this is too much?! Even if I wanted to protect Zeke-nim this much… this much…”

“You would.”

Aria, who was complaining and denying that she wouldn’t have made this much of a maze even for me, suddenly averted her gaze and said nothing when Rubaea said with a smirk from the side that she would have. Why can’t you speak…? Are you going to do this too…? When I was baffled by her reaction, Aria shouted at Kelly again.

“Then, if I destroy the wall, won’t the maze disappear?!”

“It will. But the underground will collapse as well, and you might be buried here forever. But Aria-nim, if you concentrate, you’ll realize that you can’t feel the surroundings.”

“Huh? What do you mean…? Oh? Really…? The surroundings aren’t being detected… It’s like something is blocking the divine power… It doesn’t seem like the Sphere of Heaven…”

When Kelly asked if she couldn’t feel the surroundings, Aria began to concentrate her divine power to detect the surroundings. But as Kelly said, she said the surroundings weren’t being detected as if something was blocking it. Kelly nodded and explained to us.

“This place is protected by a protective formation created by Akada. Especially, the power that rejects divine power is strong. So, from the outside, you can’t detect the situation of this maze, and from the inside, you can’t detect the surroundings. What do you think? Akada did a great job, right?”

“…I think you overprotected Karizan… But doesn’t that mean fairies sometimes get lost…?

“Hohoho…!! That’s why there are guardian fairies with maps in some of the mazes. That was also Akada’s idea. So, rest assured…”

When Kelly said that guardian fairies with maps were placed to prevent other fairies from getting lost in the maze, I realized. Former Village Head Akada… She was really determined to protect Karizan from the Order… We went to Karizan with a baffled expression, realizing Former Village Head Akada’s excessive love for Karizan.