chapter 199

Chapter 199

“What are you doing?”

At the youthful, pure question tinged with a bit of sadness and worry, Aria hesitated, then answered a moment later.

“If I had to put it into words, I’m moving the roots.”

“Do people have roots too...?”

“Every existence has roots.”

Even inanimate things, at that.

“Why? Do you want to come to the sea too, Cha Isol?”

“I like things as they are.”

“What a pity. If you came, Giovanni would have come back much more comfortably...”

“Why do you say he’ll come back?”

“Maybe because you’re a little human, you’ve got a lot of questions.”

“If you don’t like it, I’ll stay quiet.”

“You’re good at reading the room, too...”

Trailing off, Aria adjusted the system and continued.

“He’s someone who originally should have been in this sea.”

This should have been his ‘hometown.’

“Right now, it’s only been taken away.”

“Who took it away?”

“Fate.”

That damnable fate made them like this.

“...”

“Does hyung hurt?”

“...It isn’t something to be hurt about.”

As proof, Gio’s face, submerged in seawater, was peaceful like someone asleep.

“I’m only returning this person to the place he should be.”

“Is this where Hyung Gio originally should have been?”

With a sad face, Cha Isol murmured.

“It’s too cold here. There are lots of shiny things, but it’s too wide, and there aren’t any friends, and it’s quiet... and that chair Hyung Gio is sitting on doesn’t even look soft.”

“But that chair held the honor of the century.”

“If you sit on it too long, it seems like it’ll be hard and your butt will hurt.”

“You’re saying things similar to Giovanni.”

He, too, often had these absurd thoughts. Things like the Sun Church’s buildings having so many shiny things that his eyes got tired, or this huge, enormous temple being so lonely it wasn’t a place for people to live...

“So you really are the first apostle the teacher chose?”

“Noona said she’s jealous of that, but is it a good thing?”

“If you only look at that one thing, well, I’m not sure.”

It was something she said from the position of someone who had once received all of Giovanni’s affection as a disciple.

“This person is so special that he can’t be ordinary for even a single moment. He has to be swept along by all kinds of tragedies and praise, or he has to be at the center of it.”

“...”

“But... he’s also so ordinary it makes you yawn. In quite a lot of ways, he was like that. To love such a person, and be loved by such a person—it’s a very hard thing.”

Aria was already looking at the pope’s room, now filled with seawater.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“What?”

“It looks perfect.”

It was the place that rightfully should have gone to Giovanni.

“All that glory and honor were supposed to be his...”

If, when this temple wasn’t cold like it is now, when the sun hadn’t collapsed from the mermaids’ hatred, Gio had been the master of that throne, how wonderful would it have been. Then truly, the sea and the sky would have become one.

Then even her pathetic younger brother would not have suffered.

“...”

“...Um.”

Cha Isol asked carefully.

“Why do the roots have to go back to their original place?”

“Are you asking why we’re doing this to torment Gio?”

“Plants repot too, you know, into a wider place...”

“First, the pot called Earth doesn’t look very good.”

Aria folded her fingers as she spoke.

“Second, I only want to die with teacher.”

“That’s really... super... burdensome, I think.”

“Teacher said that too. You really are alike, you two.”

Strangely, there wasn’t any tension.

“Is that all you have to say, even after seeing Giovanni like that?”

“...”

Cha Isol turned his head and looked at Gio, bound in the middle of the room filled with seawater.

He really looked like he was asleep. A calm face that made the viewer feel at peace even without a smile, swallowed together with the seawater that had devoured all sound, so very quiet.

And the jewel chains binding him shone transparently...

“...It’s just...”

Cha Isol had felt something similar somewhere before.

“I think it’s like that, when you climb a high mountain.”

“I’m curious what you mean by that.”

“When you reach the top and look down.”

It was like the moment when you could see the whole world at a glance and you felt, for an instant, ‘It’s amazing,’ or ‘It’s pretty.’ With Cha Isol’s young vocabulary, he still couldn’t explain that feeling. It was simply like a single painting drawn by nature.

So he felt sad.

“Hyung Gio is a person, so why is he like that?”

“I made him like that.”

“That’s... a little different...”

“...It could be.”

Aria was like that, too.

“Every time this happens, my heart just drops.”

You led us as a human, but the one she reunited with was no longer human. That brought Aria a strange pain at times.

“Now, come here. If you touch that seawater, a small child like you will die easily.”

Aria bent down and tapped the jewel of the small necklace that would be hidden inside Cha Isol’s priest robe.

“Wouldn’t your lovely friend be sad if you were hurt?”

“...”

“Don’t worry. As long as Giovanni is there, I won’t harm you, and I won’t make you hurt.”

“...It hurts right now.”

“After seeing teacher trapped over there?”

How kind.

“I hope that kindness devours you someday.”

Like Giovanni.

That was the greatest blessing, and advice, Aria could give.

“...”

“...”

Cha Isol held Aria’s hand and walked.

‘...I came because I wanted to help Hyung Gio and other people.’

If he hadn’t been stubborn when he was told to go, it would have been better for everyone, but in the end, he’d become a nuisance.

‘He said it’s okay because it would’ve become like this anyway.’

And he knew that was sincere and true, but it was also an unchanging fact that Gio’s position had become even more unfavorable because of Cha Isol’s existence. Gio had no choice but to fall into 고민.

He wanted to be of help somehow.

‘What can I do?’

Right now, he couldn’t even stick by Gio’s side and chatter so he wouldn’t be bored. He followed thinking Gio would be fighting at the coastal front, but he never imagined he’d already be in a dungeon.

‘Ruda and the teachers must be very worried too. It’s different from the village where it was okay to move without thinking. If I’d thought a bit more before moving...’

Cha Isol suddenly thought of the soft sun that had sent him here.

“...”

Everything a god does has a reason.

Mm, I see. Cha Isol smiled brightly.

“...Why are you smiling?”

“They said if you smile, blessings come.”

“Well, for me, it wasn’t really like that.”

“Is it because you’re someone from a different world than me?”

“Maybe that’s the case.”

Aria asked.

“Are you done thinking?”

“Yes!”

“Then I should lock you up now.”

“Huh?”

Cha Isol narrowed his eyes.

“You promised Hyung Gio...?”

“Right. I promised not to kill you right away.”

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“That’s why I’ll only lock you up.”

“Adults are dirty.”

“It’s wisdom built up through experience.”

And from the opposite corridor, Iser appeared.

“Noona, are you going to the sea?”

“Then take care of this child.”

“Where should I put him?”

“Somewhere he won’t get hurt.”

Aria glanced down at Cha Isol.

“...Put him somewhere he won’t hurt.”

The cold but gentle touch fell away.

“It seems the humans are thrashing about in the sea, so now I have to go.”

“Outside, it is difficult to move Earth’s sea as a whole.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? The gap created by my descent onto Earth is something you have to fill.”

“I will deal with the humans entering here.”

“Yes. It’s no different from usual.”

Aria walked down the temple corridor.

“Monsters have a monster’s path.”

They didn’t know what would happen, but after a brief sweet dream, the ending drew near.

“I’ve waited a lot.”

“...Understood.”

A miracle had come to them.

Now it was time to go greet it personally.

* * *

Kang Seodam was speechless.

“...”

“...Hic, uh...”

“...Sister Lee Ruda?”

“Cha, Cha Isol...”

“Why are you here?”

He looked at the Sun Church brothers who had come with Ruda with sharp eyes.

“You brought an apprentice priest to this battlefield?”

“N-no! We really tried not to bring her...!”

“Even if the child insisted, you should have stopped her. That is the escort’s role!”

“She was crying like she was about to stop breathing, so we brought her on the condition...”

“What condition?”

“That if Priest Kang Seodam refuses, we’ll go back...”

“...”

At the sight of his colleague ultimately dumping their duty on him, Kang Seodam clenched his teeth. Veins stood out on his face, but he couldn’t raise his voice in front of the crying child, and in the end he let out a faint sigh.

He looked down at Ruda’s tearful face. He thought he’d seen quite a lot of sides of her, but this face was a first. Even if her thinking was mature, a child was still a child.

‘That’s why, all the more, she must not be here.’

Kang Seodam bent down.

“Sister Lee Ruda, I heard you came because you were worried about your partner.”

“...Hic, he, he got, got taken, so. So...”

“Can you not trust the other brothers and sisters here?”

To be honest, even in a situation like this, Ruda was manpower that would be helpful. And the same was true of Cha Isol, who was presumed to have been kidnapped by mermaids. Their talent was great enough to surpass experience.

But Kang Seodam wanted those clean sprouts not to be hurt here. Mentally, and physically. Childhood memories carve themselves deep into the brain while pretending not to, and they don’t peel away easily.

“I promise, I will bring Brother Cha Isol back safely.”

“H-h-but...”

Ruda, who had been sobbing and trailing off for a long time, sniffed hard once more, then quickly lifted her eyes. She tried to rein herself in and judge wisely.

‘Even if I push emotionally, I can’t get what I want.’

After all the effort of persuading the priests and coming all the way to the field, she couldn’t be sent back here with nothing. Yes—she had gotten what she wanted. Just a little more, and it would be done.

“...As far as I know, there is no clause saying apprentice priests can’t be dispatched to the field. Rather, the Seoul order should have it set so that in an emergency, apprentice priests are also summoned.”

“You studied before coming.”

Kang Seodam was greatly enraged at the current reality that didn’t care about the human rights of a young apprentice priest. If they had made relevant laws or prepared clauses long ago, this kind of awkward matter wouldn’t have happened.

“That depends on the situation. It is true this is an emergency, but it is not such a critical situation that we must mobilize even apprentice priests. We would call the order’s priests if anything; apprentice priests are not manpower to be handled lightly.”

“But in all religions of providence, partners are regarded as one body. I have the right to move for my partner, and the duty as well. I checked multiple Sun Church cases in emergencies. My actions are fully within the Sun Church’s rules.”

“Even so, mobilizing an apprentice priest is nonsense. Above all, we cannot be certain that Brother Cha Isol truly is in the ‘Nation of the Deep Sea.’ It was only that his disappearance timing was too coincidental; it isn’t a situation where we have evidence, so using Sister Lee Ruda, an apprentice priest, is...”

“Th-there is evidence.”

Her hand couldn’t do its job and fumbled near her neck. She wanted to respond calmly and intelligently, but controlling her body was not easy. After several short attempts, Ruda hurriedly pulled out a round jewel with trembling hands.

“...”

“It’s a resonance stone, this...”

Looking closely, it wasn’t only her hand—the jewel itself was trembling too.

“Ha.”

Kang Seodam let out a hollow laugh.

A resonance stone was a twin ore, with the trait that the sibling ores tremble at each other as they draw near. Now it was processed and used in various communication devices, but this was the raw ore itself.

“I split it with my partner, Cha Isol. I even brought the quality certificate. A completely natural resonance stone that hasn’t undergone any processing or treatment... its functions might be lacking compared to other artifacts, but the trait of reacting near its sibling will never change.”

Kang Seodam frowned.

“The one holding the resonance stone could be a monster.”

“I, I gave it as a necklace. That—its necklace cord is an artifact with the property that it doesn’t come off naturally. Unless the neck is cut... it will be together. Even if something like that happened, anyway, it can still be grounds that Brother Cha Isol is nearby.”

“Certainly, with evidence like this, there’s no reason not to search.”

After saying that, Kang Seodam only opened his mouth after a long while.

“...I think I understand why you forced your way here.”

“...You could hide the truth about the resonance stone, saying it’s to protect me.”

“It sounds quite petty, but yes. In reality, I could have done such a thing.”

There is no law, no rule anywhere that says you must not mobilize apprentice priests in this situation. It was only that small, young ones would be a burden in such a situation, and ethically it wasn’t right, so they simply didn’t do it.

‘Damn it.’

With all the justification prepared, refusing a priest who could fully do her part didn’t make sense. Among the priests who brought Ruda here, there would certainly be someone who thought that.

Perhaps Kang Seodam’s silence made her anxious; Ruda rummaged and pulled out papers again.

“This is my performance record so far. E-even when I went out for practical training, I achieved sufficient results. Results on par with formal priests, and my position is also as a tank... I won’t be easily hurt or die anywhere.”

“...”

“Look, I brought my medical record too. The holy one I serve protects me. Excessively, the goddess of the sun cast her gaze upon me, so even against illness, and also, other... my regeneration is good...”

“Stop.”

In the end, Kang Seodam could not hold back a sigh.

“You don’t need to go that far.”

Seeing such a small child rattle on about her usefulness—he couldn’t bear to listen any longer. Once again feeling disillusioned with this world, Kang Seodam spoke to the pale Ruda.

“Certainly, I no longer have grounds to refuse Sister Ruda’s cooperation. If you prepared this much material even in a chaotic situation, you won’t be swept up by emotion and ruin things, nor be badly hurt.”

“Th-then...!”

“But there is something you must promise me.”

As if she understood without being told, Ruda nodded. She was still trembling, but her expression was bright.

“I, I will never suffer a serious injury. If it becomes dangerous, I will definitely use an escape stone. I won’t go around alone either, and I will receive sufficient help from other adults. I promise I won’t do anything reckless... I promise on the trust I’ve built with you, teacher.”

She was a bright child.

“...”

“Please believe me, just once... After this, I won’t be stubborn again.”

“...I believe you, Student Ruda.”

He only distrusted the world.

“I pray the sun’s blessing be with you.”

“...Thank you...!”

If she were fifteen, his heart would be better than now, but Ruda was a student much younger than that. Kang Seodam resented a world where he couldn’t stop Ruda solely because she was ‘young.’

And he resented himself, who was part of that world.

* * *

“Ah, truly.”

The sea’s laughter echoed.

“You shouldn’t ruin your hometown like this.”

“...”

“As expected, humans are fickle.”

A form made of seawater and ice like jewels curved its eyes deeply.

“Isn’t that so, Hunter Yoo Seongun?”

“Not something I want to hear from a monster.”

Yoo Seongun smiled back.

“Now you’re going to fight directly?”

“I can’t just watch the sea get ruined further.”

“Where did you leave our Hunter Seo Gio?”

“I’m moving his roots—away from this filthy Earth...”

“Ah-ha, you must’ve been quite busy—yet you came out pretty well?”

“Then you may consider it an honor. For a human, isn’t it a tremendous achievement?”

“You’re really good at honeyed words.”

“Isn’t that the characteristic of the humanoid monsters you know?”

“Yeah, I also know this kind of conversation is meaningless.”

Chaeng—!

He lifted his spear.

“Do you like the snowfield I made?”

“Oh, my.”

Aria burst into shrill laughter.

“It’s utterly intoxicating...!!”

Kwaaaaaaaa—...!!!

At the mermaid’s hatred, the ice sea shook.

“...It was too hot here, wasn’t it?”

The sea’s scream rang out.

“Ringing...!!”

“Ugh...?! What is this...!”

“Be careful beneath the surface!!”

“Multiple monsters are approaching!”

“Now, inside the sea...”

Someone saw a shadow beyond the ice.

“That is...!!”

“Mermaids?!”

A school of mermaids was escaping from the deep sea.

(To be continued in the next episode)