episode_0277

“This is…”

I stared blankly at the surrounding scenery.

An endless green meadow stretching out under the bright sunlight, with beautiful butterflies flying freely above it. It was a beautiful scenery that seemed like something straight out of a dream.

“It is said to be a resting place for lost souls.”

“A place of rest..?”

In response to my question, the goddess continued speaking with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“They say that all the souls who refused to return were taken in by Mother. The Heavenly God must have felt pity for them because He specially entrusted them to Mother. They say this is a place for them.”

The goddess placed one hand on my shoulder and pointed somewhere with the other hand.

“Do you see the sparks over there?”

As I followed the goddess’s finger, something began to appear among the green meadows, just as she had said.

A small spark that was faint but clearly flickering. The spark was slowly moving here and there, walking across the meadow.

And it wasn’t just one. The more I slowly looked around, the more sparks I saw.

“What is that?”

“They say all the souls are resting here. All the people who died as anima will be here.”

“..Then Hera too..!”

“That’s right.”

The goddess nodded and agreed with what I said.

I looked at the goddess, trying to calm my trembling heart.

“So…Can we meet right now?!”

“Um…that’s…”

The goddess hesitated to answer with a worried expression on her face, as if something was bothering her.

Then he looked at me for a moment, sighed deeply, and looked vaguely at the sparks in the meadow.

“The wounds from her previous life are so deep that she doesn’t open her heart easily. Even her mother hasn’t been able to talk to spirits yet.”

“Mom too..?”

How could he not even open his heart to the goddess who governs life and love? How terrible must his past have been?

“I believe that as time goes by, you will eventually accept my call, but honestly, I’m not sure when that will be.”

“That’s…”

As much as I had looked forward to meeting Hera, my disappointment grew.

“Still, try talking to her. Maybe she’ll open her heart someday.”

“….yes.”

As I nodded in disappointment, the goddess patted my head once and reached out her hand to one side.

For a while, only the quiet sound of the wind could be heard, and then a small spark of fire was floating towards us from the green meadow.

The goddess held the flame carefully and handed it to me.

“Is this.. Hera’s soul?”

“That’s right. Does the color of the soul sound familiar?”

A crimson flame that resembles my pupils.

I looked at the flame for a moment at the goddess’s words, then carefully placed the flame on my hand.

For some reason, Hera felt a vague and deep sadness running through her chest.

I put my sad heart aside and tried to speak to the soul with the kindest smile I could muster.

“Hello…?”

To my surprise, the soul simply emitted a red light and showed no reaction.

But as expected, I continued talking without paying any attention.

Just listening is enough. There are so many things I want to tell her.

“This is my first time seeing you like this.. Hi Hera. My name is Hansia.”

The goddess just watched me without saying a word.

I nodded to her once and looked at the soul again.

“First of all, I want to apologize to you.. I’m really sorry. I used your body as I pleased. At some point, I even thought of it as my body. That shouldn’t have happened..”

My guilt that I couldn’t easily confess until now.

I poured out all the feelings I had been holding in.

“I heard all your stories. How much of a painful past you have.. How deep the wounds you have.”

My heart was so full of emotions that tears welled up in my eyes.

“Hera. You may not know me and think, why am I bothering you like this… but I really, truly want to help you be happy.”

I held the small, flickering red spark in my arms and spoke in a sobbing voice.

“Well..so..please..”

– …..

“Can you talk to me just once?”

Even with earnest wishes, the return is a colorless silence.

The goddess, who had been quietly watching from the side, gently patted my shoulder and offered words of comfort.

“Don’t be upset, daughter. Mom said she tried talking to them countless times but didn’t hear a word back. It seems like they still need a little more time.”

“….yes.”

I felt gloomy, but not discouraged.

It doesn’t have to be now.

As the goddess said, when Hera opens her heart someday, then we can talk.

I opened my lips and smiled at the goddess who was looking at me with a shallow smile.

“It’s okay..someday for sure-”

That was when.

Hwaruk-!

For a very brief moment, the red light in front of me flickered slightly, then turned into a huge flame, blazing as if an explosion had occurred.

“Huh..Huh?”

I looked at the goddess with a surprised heart at the sudden phenomenon, but she also seemed to have not expected it and was watching the fire with trembling eyes.

“How can this be… You never responded to me once..?”

As I looked back at the flames, leaving the goddess muttering quietly to herself, the huge flames began to sway little by little, and soon changed shape into the figure of a person.

Soon the flames die down and the figure of a girl is revealed.

The girl had red eyes like mine, and her jet-black hair, like the night sky, was tied into cute pigtails on the side.

“Heh… Hera…”

A look so familiar.

For some reason, the face and body shape were slightly different, but the girl in front of me was definitely Hera.

“…….”

The girl who looked just like me looked at me intently for a while, then walked up to the goddess and whispered something in her ear.

The goddess was momentarily taken aback by the girl’s words, then nodded, took a step back, and spoke to me.

“Daughter..Mom will step back and take a look, so you two can talk it over.”

“Yes..?”

“Please take good care of that child.”

The goddess leisurely disappears, leaving only those words behind.

Not only her, but also the many sparks surrounding her disappeared in an instant. The surrounding scenery was no longer a meadow, but a pure white space.

“What is this..?”

“…Hello.”

A clear voice cut through my confusion.

I turned my head in surprise and looked in the direction of the voice. There was a girl with red braids in her hair. Hera was looking at me intently with unreadable eyes.

“Hera..”

“…..”

Hera’s eyes seemed to be greatly agitated for some reason. She stared at me intently, then slowly walked towards me.

A girl who was about a foot shorter than me looked up at me without saying anything.

For some reason, she opened her lips and frowned slightly, her cheeks slightly raised.

“What on earth are you doing with my body..!”

Phew-

“Huh?!”

Hera became very annoyed and kicked my lower abdomen with all her might.

Suddenly, I felt something pop in my lower abdomen and I lost my balance and fell to the floor.

I looked up in confusion, and for some reason Hera was looking down at me with an even redder face.

“This…pervert…pervert…I’ve seen it all..”

“Hey..Hera..?”

Looking up at her from below, I felt the same sense of foreboding I had just felt.

The girl looking down at me was definitely Hera, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different.

Her face was a little rounder than mine, and her body was considerably less developed than my perfectly formed body, even to my eyes.

In short, it feels more like a beautiful girl than a sensual woman.

Even when I first opened my eyes in Drax, I looked much younger.

‘Uh…is this what it looked like when you were young?’

“That’s not it..! ”

Hera heard my thoughts, closed her eyes tightly and spoke loudly. Then she pointed to my face with her finger and continued speaking.

“The soul…depends on the vessel…of course…changes…when an obscene soul like yours enters…the body is also affected…”

A sentence that sounds quite awkward.

Whether it was because she had not learned to speak properly or for some other reason, Hera continued to speak awkwardly.

“My body…it wasn’t like that originally…it’s all because of you..!”

“That..So..”

To summarize Hera’s words.

Does this mean that the soul of a country gradually changes shape as it enters this body?

Hera nodded vigorously and looked at me, as if she had heard my thoughts again.

“Sexy..Pervert…Bitch..”

“Eh..?”

As I muttered blankly, Hera stepped back a little with a frustrated expression on her face.

Phew-

“Huh?!”

He kicked me hard in the lower abdomen again.

While I was shivering from the sudden, intense sensation, Hera, who was looking down at me from above, let out a short sigh.

“..I’m done venting..I’m okay now.”

“Heh.. Hera.. What is this all of a sudden..”

“No.”

When I looked up at Hera at the firm voice, she spoke with a calm expression, no longer with a red face.

“Hera. Drax.. A fake name made to hide.. Not the real name.”

“..Huh?”

Hera isn’t your real name..?

I struggled to move my trembling legs, straightened up again, looked straight into Hera’s eyes, and spoke.

“Then what’s your real name?”

Hera looked at me for a moment without saying anything, then muttered softly.

“…Le.”

“…Huh?”

“My real name.”

Although her body shape and appearance were quite different from mine, her red eyes, shining brightly, were exactly the same.

“I am Arueya.”