Chapter 199
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 199
“What are you doing?”
Aria hesitated at the youthful, innocent question, tinged with a hint of sadness and worry, before replying a moment later.
“I’m transplanting his roots, so to speak.”
“Do people have roots, too…?”
“Every existence has roots.”
Even inanimate objects, for that matter.
“Why? Do you want to come to the sea as well, Yi-sol?”
“I like things just the way they are.”
“What a pity. If you came, Giovanni would have returned much more easily…”
“Why do you say ‘returned’?”
“You ask a lot of questions for a human hatchling.”
“If you don’t like it, I’ll be quiet.”
“And you know your place…”
Aria’s voice trailed off as she continued to adjust the System.
“He was someone who was meant to be in this sea from the very beginning.”
This should have been his home.
“It was simply stolen from him.”
“Who stole it?”
“Fate.”
That wretched fate had made them this way.
“……”
“Is he hurting?”
“…This isn’t something painful.”
As if to prove her words, Gio’s face, submerged in the seawater, was as peaceful as a sleeping child’s.
“I am merely returning him to the place where he belongs.”
“Is this where Gio-hyung was originally supposed to be?” Cha Yi-sol muttered, his face clouded with sadness.
“It’s too cold here. There are lots of sparkling things, but it’s too big, there are no friends, it’s quiet… and that chair Gio-hyung is sitting on doesn’t even look soft.”
“But that chair held the honor of an era.”
“If you sit on it for a long time, it’ll be hard and make your butt hurt.”
“You sound just like Giovanni.”
He, too, had often made such whimsical remarks—that the Sun Cult’s buildings had too many sparkling things that made his eyes tired, or that this vast, grand temple was so lonely it was no place for a human to live.
“Is this truly the first Apostle chosen by my Teacher?”
“Noona said she was jealous of that. Is it a good thing?”
“Looking at that alone… well, I’m not so sure.”
This was spoken from the perspective of the disciple who had once received all of Giovanni’s affection.
“This man is so special that he cannot be ordinary for even a single moment. He is fated to be swept up in all manner of tragedies and praise, or to be at the very center of them himself.”
“……”
“But… he is also so ordinary it makes you yawn. He was like that in many ways. Loving and being loved by such a person is a very difficult thing.”
Aria looked at the Pope’s chamber, now completely filled with seawater.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“What is?”
“It looks perfect.”
It was the position that should have rightfully been Giovanni’s.
“All that glory and honor belonged to him…”
How wonderful it would have been if Gio had been the master of that throne back when this temple wasn’t so cold, when the sun had not collapsed under the mermaids' hatred. Then, the sea and the sky would have truly become one.
And if that had happened, her foolish younger brother would not have had to suffer either.
“……”
“…Excuse me.”
Cha Yi-sol asked hesitantly.
“Why does the root have to go back to its original place?”
“Are you asking why I’m tormenting Gio like this?”
“Usually, plants get repotted, too, into a wider place…”
“First,” Aria said, folding a finger, “this pot you call Earth doesn’t look all that great.”
“Second, I simply want to die with my Teacher.”
“That sounds really… incredibly… burdensome.”
“My Teacher said the same thing. You two really are alike.”
Strangely, there’s no sense of tension.
“Is that all you have to say, even after seeing Giovanni in that state?”
“……”
Cha Yi-sol turned his head to look at Gio, who was bound in the middle of the seawater-filled room.
He truly looked as if he were asleep. His calm face, which brought peace to the viewer even without a smile, was swallowed by the sound-absorbing seawater, making him seem impossibly quiet.
The jeweled chains binding him shimmered, almost transparent…
“…It’s just…”
Cha Yi-sol had felt a similar emotion somewhere before.
“I think it’s like when you climb a high mountain.”
“I wonder what you mean by that.”
“When you stand at the peak and look down.”
It was like that moment when the whole world was visible at a glance, and your first thought was simply, ‘It’s cool,’ or ‘It’s beautiful.’ With his young vocabulary, Cha Yi-sol couldn’t quite explain the feeling. It just felt like a masterpiece painted by nature itself.
And that was precisely why it felt so sad.
“Gio-hyung is a human, so why is he like that?”
“I made him that way.”
“That’s… a bit different from what I meant…”
“…Perhaps.”
Aria felt the same way.
“Every time this happens, my heart sinks.”
He had led them as a human, but the one she was reunited with was no longer human. That realization brought Aria a strange, agonizing pain.
“Now, come here. If a small child like you touches that seawater, you’ll die easily.”
Aria bent down and tapped the gem on the small necklace hidden inside Cha Yi-sol’s priest robes.
“If you get hurt, won’t your lovely friend be sad?”
“……”
“Don’t worry. As long as Giovanni is here, I will neither harm you nor cause you pain.”
“…It hurts right now.”
“After seeing my Teacher trapped over there?”
How sweet.
“I hope that kindness devours you one day.”
Just like it did Giovanni.
That was the greatest blessing and advice Aria could offer.
“……”
“……”
Cha Yi-sol took Aria’s hand and walked with her.
…I came because I wanted to help Gio-hyung and the others.
If only he hadn’t been stubborn when they told him to leave, it would have been better for everyone. In the end, he had only become a nuisance.
He told me it was fine, that things would have turned out this way regardless…
And though he knew Gio was being sincere, it was also an undeniable fact that his presence put Gio in an even more disadvantageous position. He couldn’t help but sink into deep worry.
I want to be of help somehow.
What can I even do?
Right now, he couldn’t even stay by Gio’s side and chatter away to keep him from being bored. He had followed him thinking Gio would be fighting on the coast, but he never imagined he would already be inside the dungeon.
Ruda and the teachers must be worrying a lot, too. This isn’t like the village, where it was fine to just run off. If only I had thought a bit more before acting…
Cha Yi-sol suddenly thought of the fluffy sun that had sent him here.
“……”
There is a reason for everything a god does.
Ah, I see. Cha Yi-sol beamed.
“…Why are you smiling?”
“They say laughter brings good fortune.”
“Well, that hasn’t really been the case for me.”
“Isn’t that because you’re from a different world than me?”
“Perhaps so,” Aria said, then asked, “Are you done worrying?”
“Yes!”
“Then it’s about time I locked you up.”
“Huh?”
Cha Yi-sol narrowed his eyes.
“But you made a promise with Gio-hyung…?”
“Yes. I promised not to kill you right away.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Which is why I’m only going to lock you up.”
“Adults are so unfair.”
“It’s called the wisdom of age.”
Just then, Iser appeared from the opposite corridor.
“Sister, are you heading to the sea?”
“Yes, so I leave this child to you.”
“Where should I put him?”
“Somewhere he won’t get hurt.”
Aria glanced down at Cha Yi-sol.
“…Put him somewhere he won’t feel pain.”
Her cold yet gentle touch pulled away.
“It seems the humans have been running wild in the sea, so I must go now.”
“From the outside, it is difficult to move Earth’s oceans as a whole.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? You must fill the gap created by my manifestation on Earth.”
“I will deal with the humans who enter this place.”
“Yes, just as you always do.”
Aria walked down the temple corridor.
“Monsters have their own path to walk.”
Though she knew not how it would end, the conclusion was drawing near after a brief, sweet dream.
“I’ve waited long enough.”
“…Understood.”
Since a miracle had found its way to her.
Now, it was time to go and greet it herself.
* * *
Kang Seo-dam was at a loss for words.
“……”
“…Hic, sob…”
“…Sister Iruda?”
“Cha, Cha Yi-sol…”
“Why are you here?”
He glared with sharp, fierce eyes at the Sun Cult priests who had come with Iruda.
“Did you seriously bring a novice priest to this battlefield?”
“N-No! We really tried not to bring her…!”
“Even if the child was stubborn, you should have stopped her! That is the duty of a guide!”
“She was crying so hard she could barely breathe, so we brought her on one condition.”
“What condition?”
“That if Priest Kang Seo-dam refused, she would go back…”
“……”
Kang Seo-dam grit his teeth at his colleagues, who had ultimately dumped their responsibility onto him. Veins bulged on his forehead, but he couldn’t bring himself to raise his voice in front of a crying child, so he let out a faint sigh instead.
He looked down at Iruda, whose face was tear-stained and trembling. He thought he had seen many sides of her, but this was a first. No matter how mature her thinking was, a child was still a child.
Which is all the more reason she shouldn’t be here.
Kang Seo-dam bent down.
“Sister Iruda, I heard you came because you were worried about your partner.”
“…Sniff. I heard he was… he was taken away. So…”
“Can you not trust the other priests and sisters here?”
To be honest, Iruda was a helpful asset even in a situation like this. The same went for Cha Yi-sol, who was presumed to have been kidnapped by the mermaids. Their talent was great enough to surpass years of experience.
But Kang Seo-dam did not want such pure, young sprouts to get hurt here—neither mentally nor physically. Childhood memories carve themselves deep into the mind, pretending not to be there, and are not easily erased.
“I promise you, I will bring Brother Cha Yi-sol back safely.”
“B-But…”
Iruda, who had been on the verge of tears, trailed off for a long moment. Then, with another sniffle, she raised her eyes sharply. She tried her best to control herself and think rationally.
Getting emotional won’t get me what I want.
She couldn’t let herself be sent back now, not after all the effort it took to convince the priests and reach the field. She had gotten what she truly wanted. Just a little more.
“…I believe there is no clause stating that novice priests cannot be dispatched to the field. In fact, all orders in Seoul are supposed to summon novice priests in the event of an emergency.”
“You’ve done your homework.”
Kang Seo-dam felt a surge of anger at the current reality, which didn’t care in the slightest about the human rights of a young novice priest. If they had made proper laws or prepared clauses beforehand, this troublesome situation wouldn’t have occurred.
“That also depends on the situation. While it is true that we are in an emergency, it is not so critical that we must mobilize novice priests. We would summon the ordained priests of the order first; novice priests are a resource that should not be deployed lightly.”
“But in all religions of Providence, partners are considered one body. I have the right and the duty to act for my partner. I have checked several Sun Cult precedents during emergencies. My actions are fully within the rules of the Sun Cult.”
“Even so, mobilizing a novice priest makes no sense. Above all, we cannot be certain that Brother Cha Yi-sol is truly in the ‘Deep Sea Kingdom.’ The timing of his disappearance was merely highly coincidental. Without concrete evidence, deploying Sister Iruda, a novice priest…”
“I-I have evidence.”
Her hands fumbled near her neck, refusing to cooperate. She wanted to handle this calmly and intelligently, but controlling her body was no easy task. After a few brief attempts, Iruda hurriedly pulled out a round gem with trembling hands.
“……”
“It’s a Resonance Stone…”
Looking closely, it wasn’t just her hands; the gem itself was vibrating.
“Ha.”
Kang Seo-dam let out a dry laugh.
Resonance Stones were twin gemstones that vibrated when their sibling stone drew near. Although they were now processed and used in various communication devices, this was a pure, raw gemstone.
“I shared it with my partner, Cha Yi-sol. I even brought the certificate of authenticity. A natural Resonance Stone that hasn’t undergone any processing or treatment… It might lack the functionality of other artifacts, but its property of reacting near its sibling never changes.”
Kang Seo-dam furrowed his brow.
“The entity holding the other Resonance Stone right now could be a monster.”
“I-I gave it to him as a necklace. That… the necklace chain is an artifact designed not to come off naturally. Unless his head has been severed… it will be with him. Even if the worst has happened, it is still proof that Brother Cha Yi-sol is nearby.”
“Indeed. With this much evidence, there is no reason not to search.”
Kang Seo-dam spoke only after a long silence.
“…I think I understand why you pushed so hard to come here.”
“…Because you might have hidden the truth about the Resonance Stone under the guise of protecting me.”
“That sounds rather underhanded, but you’re right. I might have done that.”
In a situation like this, no law or rule forbade the mobilization of a novice priest. It was simply that a small, young child would be a burden in such circumstances—and that it was ethically wrong—so they refrained from doing so.
Damn it.
Now that all the justification was laid out, it made no sense to reject a priest who could fully pull her own weight. Surely, some of the priests who had brought Iruda here had thought the same.
Perhaps anxious at Kang Seo-dam’s silence, Iruda began rummaging through her bag and pulled out more papers.
“These are my performance records. I-I’ve achieved sufficient results even during practical training. My performance is on par with official priests, and my position is a tanker… I won’t easily get hurt or die.”
“……”
“Look, I brought my medical records, too. The deity I serve protects me. Thanks to the Goddess of the Sun undeservedly bestowing her gaze upon me, I am immune to diseases, and m-my… regeneration is also good…”
“Stop.”
In the end, Kang Seo-dam couldn’t hold back a sigh.
“You don’t have to go that far.”
He could no longer bear to listen to a child as small as Iruda listing her own usefulness. Feeling disillusioned with the world once again, Kang Seo-dam spoke to the pale-faced girl.
“Indeed, I no longer have any justification to refuse Sister Iruda’s cooperation. If you’ve prepared this much documentation even in such a chaotic situation, you won’t ruin things by getting swept up in your emotions, nor will you get seriously hurt.”
“T-Then…!”
“But you must promise me one thing.”
As if she already understood, Iruda nodded. She was still trembling, but her expression was bright.
“I-I will absolutely not sustain any major injuries. If things get dangerous, I will definitely use an Escape Stone. I won’t wander around alone, and I will fully accept the help of other adults. I promise not to do anything reckless… staking the trust I’ve built with my Teacher.”
She was a clever child.
“……”
“Please trust me, just this once… I won’t be stubborn after this.”
“…I trust you, Student Iruda.”
He merely distrusted the world.
“May the blessing of the Sun be with you.”
“…Thank you…!”
If she had been even fifteen, he would have felt better, but Iruda was a student far younger than that. Kang Seo-dam resented a world where he couldn’t stop her simply because she was ‘young.’
And he resented himself for being a part of that world.
* * *
“Ah, honestly.”
The laughter of the sea echoed.
“You shouldn’t ruin your home like this.”
“……”
“Humans really are fickle creatures.”
A figure made of seawater and ice, like sculpted jewels, narrowed its eyes into deep crescents.
“Don’t you agree, Hunter Yoo Seong-un?”
“I’d rather not hear that from a monster,” Yoo Seong-un smiled back. “Are you planning to fight me directly now?”
“Because I can’t just stand by and watch you ruin the sea any further.”
“Where did you leave our Hunter Seo Gio?”
“I am in the middle of transplanting his roots, away from this filthy Earth…”
“Ah, you must have been quite busy, yet you managed to show up?”
“So you may consider it an honor. Is this not a tremendous achievement for a human?”
“You certainly have a silver tongue.”
“Isn’t that the characteristic of the humanoid monsters you all know so well?”
“Right. And I also know that this conversation is pointless.”
Clang—!
He raised his spear.
“Do you like the snowfield I made?”
“Oh, my.”
Aria burst into a peal of laughter.
“It is absolutely exquisite…!”
Roar—!!!
The frozen sea surged with the mermaid’s hatred.
“…It was too hot here, wasn’t it?”
The scream of the sea echoed through the battlefield.
“The ringing in my ears…!”
“Ugh…?! What is this…?!”
“Watch out below the surface!”
“Multiple monsters are approaching!”
“Right now, from inside the sea…”
Someone spotted silhouettes beyond the ice.
“That’s…!”
“M-Mermaids…?!”
A swarm of mermaids was emerging from the deep.