episode_0211

Different Races, Same Bonds

“Ah… that… so… in that situation… Ahh…”

Having received Cecilia’s encouragement and the forgiveness of others, Viola sat on the floor, receiving lessons from Tiavel. Tiavel was teaching Viola something with a doll and paper she had made, and Viola wore a troubled expression, perhaps finding the lesson a bit difficult. Seeing this, Yuria chuckled and spoke to Dio V Runner and Cecilia beside her.

“I never knew Viola’s personality was like that. I’ve only seen Aria stumble like that as a Saintess… And Tiavel must have held a lot of resentment towards the Saintess, yet she’s properly teaching her about conscience… By the way, is Viola really learning about conscience from Tiavel because she genuinely doesn’t know? And why did she want to receive lessons from Tiavel?”

“Though Viola has improved a lot, she still fears adults. That’s likely why she wanted to be taught by Tiavel… After all, Viola started her Saintess training when she was about four years old. She received the Church’s incorrect teachings for 29 years, and was even manipulated emotionally by Camilla… Her heart must still be like that of a four-year-old. It’s thought that adults instilled fear in her because they were the ones who made her that way. I’ve seen such people before, so it’s probably true.”

“You might be right, Runner. Look at Viola’s face. Tiavel’s lessons seem so difficult for her that she looks like she’s about to cry.”

Dio V Runner speculated that Viola’s heart might have been stunted at four years old due to the Church, and since she herself had crushed her dreams because of adults, she feared them and thus wished to learn about conscience from Tiavel. Cecilia responded that Dio V Runner’s guess might be correct, seeing Viola struggling with what would be easy for them, almost on the verge of tears. As the three secretly watched Viola and discussed her, Tiavel wrote words on a piece of paper and showed it to Viola.

‘So, in that situation, you have to divide the bread according to the number of people and eat it! Why do you keep trying to argue?!’

“Th-that… so… that… Ugh…”

‘And if you’ve sinned, you shouldn’t hide in a corner; you should act to atone, right? You said you wanted to protect the world from the Church? What was the reason you gave?’

“To… protect others’ futures… And to atone… But it’s too scary…”

‘We decided to forgive Saintess Viola… no, Viola Unnie…’

“Ugh…”

Viola couldn’t look directly at the paper with the written words, bowing her head deeply in fear and starting to tremble. Tiavel handed her a doll and stroked her head. Seeing Viola like this, Dio V Runner sighed deeply and spoke to the two.

“Having met others with the same symptoms before, I know for sure… this will last a long time. If we don’t keep encouraging her by her side, her spirit will break.”

“…. Seeing such a pitiful sight makes me feel a bit sorry for having doubted her all this time… Viola said she experienced the screams and pain of the victims, didn’t she?”

“That’s right. She definitely told me that. But every time I asked how she experienced it, she was too terrified to answer.”

Cecilia recalled Viola previously stating that she had come to her senses after experiencing all the lamentation and wailing of the victims, and she affirmed Yuria’s words. Thus, the three began discussing Viola again, while Viola stared blankly at the cute bear doll in her hand and asked Tiavel.

“Th-this doll…? Is it for me…?”

‘Unnie, you always seemed like such a loner, so I felt really sorry for you and made a doll. If you ever feel lonely or self-reproachful again, hug the doll. It’ll make you feel a little better.’

“…. Can I really accept something like this…? It’s the first time I’ve ever been comforted like this by someone… Am I truly… Am I… *sob*…”

As Tiavel comforted her and handed her the doll, Viola, uncertain if she was worthy of accepting such a precious thing, stared blankly at the bear doll in bewilderment before finally bursting into tears, bowing her head deeply and sobbing uncontrollably right there. Just then, Veronica, who happened to be passing by and discovered the scene, cautiously asked Cecilia, who was watching from behind a wall.

“It’s true, isn’t it? Others were saying a Saintess had returned to her senses… But why is she crying like that?”

“Ah… she’s confused like that because she’s doubting her own worth… Come to think of it, you’re the human who came with the elves, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yes. I’m Veronica.”

“I didn’t know an elf would be living with a human. Provelitu has something that’s dangerous to Zeke…? Wait… have you met Zeke?”

Cecilia, who knew that something in Provelitu made going into that forest dangerous, recalled having warned Zeke and Aria about it before. She then stared intently at Veronica and asked if she had ever met Zeke and Aria. At the mention of Zeke’s name, Veronica was startled, and Dio V Runner, who had already seen the content in an adventure log, sighed and said to Cecilia.

“Did you forget what I said before, Cecilia? That they felled the World Tree in that forest? They even made contact with the elves…”

“…. I forgot again… Anyway… It’s nice to meet you, Veronica. We are all people who have had connections with Zeke and Aria.”

“….?! A demon… a snow fairy… and even someone from another world… all of them had connections with Zeke?! Ah… ah, wait a moment… I vaguely remember hearing something when Zeke told his story before…”

“…. They’re all the same… Well… Their journey was so long and extensive that it probably didn’t all get recorded in everyone’s minds…”

As Veronica, like the others, didn’t properly recall Zeke’s story, Dio V Runner understood their reactions, remembering how long Zeke and Aria’s journey had been. At that moment, Viola, hugging the small bear doll with both arms, walked over with Tiavel and bowed her head, speaking.

“I’m sorry… Although my emotions were being manipulated by divine power… I participated in terrible deeds in this world… I apologize…”

“Did you learn how to apologize from Tiavel, Viola? But I was going to forgive you anyway, whether you apologized or not.”

“Huh…?”

“Everyone knows Viola’s circumstances now, so aren’t they all thinking the same?”

Viola was greatly bewildered when Dio V Runner said he would forgive her regardless of whether she apologized or not. Then, Dio V Runner asked for the others’ opinions, and as everyone nodded, agreeing with Dio V Runner’s words, tears welled up in Viola’s eyes again. Feeling that everyone had completely forgiven her, Viola rushed towards Dio V Runner’s group and embraced them all with both arms, saying.

“I… I don’t know if I’m worthy of this… but thank you… Thank you so much…”

“…. It seems your heart has calmed down somewhat now, Viola. Can you explain to us what happened… and everything else?”

“…. Yes, Cecilia… I’ll tell you everything…”

When Cecilia asked her to explain what had happened and everything else, Viola nodded and said she would. So Dio V Runner’s group took Viola and entered a small conference room. Just then, Gid rushed in and explained to everyone.

“Everyone!! It’s the fairies!! The fairies came looking for us, saying they want to join us!!”

“Huh…? Fairies, you say… Could they be the fairies from Karijan?”

“…. This is truly fascinating. Various races coming together in person to form an alliance like this… It brings back old memories…”

As Gid announced that even the fairies had personally come to join the resistance, Veronica realized they were the fairies of Karijan and was astonished. Dio V Runner, who had previously experienced different races forming such alliances, found the situation intriguing. Just as Kelly, Arvina, and Alten entered the conference room, the three were startled to see Cecilia, a demon, and shouted simultaneously.

“….!! You’re the demon Zeke mentioned?!”

“…?! What, everyone knows me?! Just how much did Zeke talk about me?!”

“Oh my~! Protega, it seems there’s someone here who knows Lord Zeke and Lady Aria… Wouldn’t this also be a bond of fate?”

“It seems Zeke has become quite famous among humans… no, among other races too. It’s truly astonishing…”

“….?! Even the Dragonkin know Zeke?!”

The moment Cecilia was appalled that Kelly, Arvina, and Alten, who had entered later, knew about her, Protega and Bivi, who followed the three into the conference room, were greatly astonished that everyone gathered knew Zeke and Aria. Those in the conference room who were recently arrived and didn’t know much about Protega and Bivi were also appalled that Protega and Bivi, being Dragonkin, knew Zeke and Aria. However, Dio V Runner, who had already been present when Zeke’s group met the dragons, sighed deeply and asked Protega.

“This… it’s been a long time, Protega. Have you been well?”

“…!! You’re the human who was with Zeke. It’s a relief you’re alive and well.”

“Oh my. Are Lord Zeke and Lady Aria here now, by any chance? We wanted to repay them greatly for saving our son…”

“Whoa-ah-ah… Does that mean everyone here knows Lord Zeke and Lady Aria right now? This is truly an amazing connection~!”

“….? A box spoke…?”

The moment Protega and Bivi were looking for Zeke and Aria, a voice was heard from a box behind them, and everyone looked at the box in bewilderment. Just then, the box opened its lid by itself, and a purple-haired woman in a blue top popped out, startling everyone. The woman who emerged from the box, Rapien, grinned widely and greeted everyone.

“Hello everyone~! I’m Rapien, a variant of a trap mimic. I was planning to hide here, but I heard voices of everyone knowing those two, so I came here!”

“A… a monster spoke… no, wait… Protega, is this possibly the variant monster you speculated might exist…?”

“It seems so, Bivi…”

“I heard a voice from here…? What… could it be that everyone inside here knows Zeke and Aria…? N-Noona, what kind of journey were those two even on…?!”

“Hmm… indeed…. Hahahaha… And they’re almost all different races…?”

The moment Protega and Bivi realized Rapien was a variant monster, Iruvan and Nerha, who had been eavesdropping on the commotion in the conference room, were greatly surprised that so many people, enough to fill the small conference room, all knew Zeke and Aria. Some others were appalled that even spirits now knew the two, though they were not surprised, having already known that Zeke used spirit power. Finally, Riera and Merzel, who were heading towards the conference room, also heard the commotion and were quite bewildered.

“…. It seems that if we combine all their stories, we might get the adventure log that Lord Zeke used to write… Don’t you think so, Riera?”

“I… I agree, Merzel… Um… how about we introduce ourselves to each other first, instead of being flustered? Including what happened with those two.”

“…. That seems like a good idea.”

The moment everyone was greatly astonished that the members of different races gathered in the conference room all knew Zeke and Aria, Riera suggested they introduce themselves to each other. Everyone agreed to her suggestion and sat around the conference room, beginning to explain what had happened between them and Zeke and Aria. Some had already heard these stories through the adventure log or directly from the two, but those hearing them for the first time couldn’t hide their surprise. Just then, Cecilia suddenly started shedding tears, startling Viola, who was beside her, and she anxiously checked on Cecilia.

“Ce… Cecilia… Is something wrong…? Are you feeling unwell…?”

“No…. *sniff*… Zeke really kept his promise… He promised he’d reveal that our race isn’t actually evil, and that angels and gods had spread false rumors… He really kept it so well…”

“Looking at it this way, it’s truly unique. To think that most of the people here received favors from those two…”

“No, Yuria. To be precise… everyone received favors from them. To be honest, before I met them, I expected other races to attack me just because I was a monster. If I hadn’t met them, I wouldn’t have even gained the courage to sneak into your stronghold like this, and I wouldn’t have known I’d meet such connections.”

As Cecilia, moved by Zeke keeping his promise, began to cry, Yuria marveled that most of the people here had received favors from the two. Rapien corrected her, saying it wasn’t most, but all of them had received favors. Everyone quietly nodded, seemingly agreeing with her words, and Arvina fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke to the others.

“Especially us, the elves, and the dragons, we had a strong negative history with humans. Humans wouldn’t hesitate to do anything if it meant hunting us. So our trust in humans had hit rock bottom… but thanks to those two, our trust in humans has somewhat recovered.”

“I cannot agree with that opinion. We still remain wary of humans. However, we became part of this resistance simply out of necessity to survive, and among humans, we only consider Zeke and Aria, who saved my son, as true friends.”

“We spirits haven’t received any favors. We also joined the resistance just to survive, like the Dragonkin. Ah…! Though, I did receive one favor. Thanks to Lord Zeke, Iruvan matured, *giggle*…”

“…!! Noona!!! Don’t say such things in a place like this!!!”

“Hahahahaha!!!”

Nerha, who had been saying that like Protega, they too had only joined the resistance to survive, recalled Zeke scolding Iruvan before. She then spoke with a playful smile, stating that she did receive one favor: thanks to Zeke, Iruvan came to his senses. Iruvan, hearing this, was greatly embarrassed, and everyone burst into laughter at his reaction. However, perhaps due to the increasing number of people, Viola became fidgety, clutching the bear doll tightly, and asked Tiavel beside her.

“Was the world originally filled with such an atmosphere of laughter…?”

‘That’s right. Of course, there’s sadness too… but isn’t it important that there are also positive aspects? Look. Everyone here right now is laughing without discriminating against each other.’

“…. Laughter….”

As Tiavel wrote on paper and showed it to her, asking if everyone wasn’t laughing and chatting without discriminating against each other, Viola looked around, blankly watching everyone laughing and not hating each other. Just then, Alten stopped laughing and spoke to everyone.

“Anyway, it’s truly miraculous. To think that races who would normally draw swords against each other would come together in harmony like this. It’s an honor to meet all of you here.”

“We Beastkin are also honored to meet all of you like this. I can’t express how happy I am that everyone in the resistance’s stronghold accepts each other as fellow living beings without discrimination… How much happier we would have been if this harmony had been achieved long ago…”

“I understand that feeling, Arvina… By the way, it’s truly ironic. That we, who would normally snarl at each other, would form an alliance thanks to the very Church that sought to ruin the world…”

As Arvina expressed her great joy and bitterness at achieving harmony in such a dangerous moment, Bivi agreed with her words, expressing bewilderment that such harmony had come about thanks to the Church. Meanwhile, in the stronghold, all those who had fled there to escape the Church realized they were all victims of the Church’s evil deeds and were not discriminating against each other. It was truly an odd situation for their leaders, as harmony that couldn’t be achieved before was now realized only in such a dire situation. Just as this bewilderment settled in the conference room, Gid knocked on the wall, drawing everyone’s attention, and spoke.

“Well… now that representatives of various races have gathered like this… shouldn’t we officially start the meeting?”

“Yes. It’s clear that our gathering here is also fate… Let’s begin.”

Then everyone prepared to attend the meeting with serious expressions.