Chapter 117
Chapter 117
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: The Garden of Pure White
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“……”
The word “darling” could mean “you” or, between spouses, “honey.” Given the way the woman before Ian’s eyes was blushing, it was obvious which one she meant—no deep thought required.
Of course, Ian wasn’t married. He had no memory of tying the knot with a woman like this. Memory mix-up? He’d confirmed long ago that wasn’t the case.
So Ian simply stared at the woman in white, then let out a deep sigh. He decided to take her words as just meaning “you.”
It wasn’t particularly important anyway, given the situation.
“……An Outer God?”
Ian asked cautiously.
The woman had eyes verging on gray. Her right eye was covered by her snow-white hair, and she wore a sheer negligee that left her chest fully exposed. She stared straight at Ian as she rose from the bed.
“Yes.”
Her answer was immediate. She reached out, touching Ian’s cheek, and tilted her head slightly.
“I’m your Outer God.”
“……Recomposer of All Things?”
“That’s one of my names. My true name is ■■■■.”
Static crackled in her voice as she pronounced her name. Ian furrowed his brow and pushed her hand away.
“I can’t even perceive the name.”
“……■■■■. Can’t you hear it?”
“No.”
Her expression soured slightly at Ian’s reply. She grabbed his hand, bringing it to her lips, and exhaled softly. Her hot breath tickled his fingers.
“Guess you’re not there yet. I had my hopes up—a shame.”
“……Does hearing the name have conditions?”
“So you don’t go mad just from hearing it. It’s a safety measure I put in place.”
She released his hand and stepped down from the bed. The thin negligee caught the light streaming through the window, faintly revealing the contours of her body beneath. Feeling awkwardly embarrassed for no reason, Ian rubbed his eyes and sat up after her.
“So what should I call you? Keep saying Recomposer of All Things?”
“Too long, isn’t it? Just…… um, call me Leah. It’s kinda like a shortened version of my true name.”
Leah.
For an Outer God’s name, it was far too human.
No, it wasn’t just the name. Her actions and speech were incredibly subdued and ordinary for some unknowable divine being from the cosmos.
But Ian didn’t find it familiar. If anything, he felt an inexplicable unease.
Like…… something wearing a human skin, forcibly pretending to be human.
“……”
He didn’t think her emotions were fake. They seemed natural in places.
Her flushed cheeks and ears. The way her eyes occasionally darted away. Her fidgeting fingers.
There were more human traits than expected. But perhaps because her face barely changed from its neutral expression, the unease lingered. Or maybe it was her excessively beautiful face that felt inhuman.
‘……Doesn’t matter what it is.’
Anyway, trying to understand an Outer God through a human lens was laughable. Just as an ant could never grasp human thought no matter how hard it tried, humans could study their whole lives and still never comprehend an Outer God’s mind. Best to treat it like a phenomenon and move on.
‘As long as it doesn’t harm me, it’s fine.’
With that thought, Ian turned back to the Recomposer of All Things—Leah. At some point, she had swapped her white negligee for a dress.
“Alright, Leah it is.”
“……”
Leah didn’t reply. Instead, she stared at Ian before walking right up to him, her bare feet thudding against the marble floor.
“One more time.”
She looked up at him and said.
Her breath carried a thick hyacinth scent, laced with heat.
“Call me one more time.”
“……Leah?”
“……One more.”
She let out a soft “Huu.” Ian made a bemused face but obliged. It wasn’t a hard request.
“Leah.”
“……”
“Uh, um…… Leah.”
“……”
“……Leah?”
“……Haa.”
“……Leah, how long—”
“One last time…… whisper it in my ear.”
“……Leah.”
“Ha-ut.”
Her expressionless face trembled at the shoulders. Her toes wriggled oddly, and her fingers shifted from six to seven, then back to five.
It was grotesque, but Ian didn’t comment. Instead, he stepped back and surveyed the surroundings.
“……”
The space was entirely white. Ceiling, floor, walls—all painted in pure white, like marble.
Put nicely, it was pretty. Put harshly, it was a room that could drive you mad. With the bed white too and no other furniture, the impression was even stronger.
At least there was a window. Without it, he wouldn’t want to stay here any longer.
‘That out there…… a garden?’
Ian narrowed his eyes at the view beyond Leah, out the window.
A lush garden stretched outside.
Snow-white hydrangeas and red roses, golden marigolds and tulips, forget-me-nots, lilies, and more. Flowers of every color adorned the green expanse beautifully. The most prominent were the pure white hyacinths.
Unlike the room, the garden was truly lovely. The only flaw was whatever floated in the sky instead of the sun. Surprisingly, the sky wasn’t blue—it was white.
“……Bit late to ask, but where is this?”
Ian asked.
“Ah.”
Only then did Leah notice his gaze on the garden.
“Want a tour?”
“……A tour?”
“Yes.”
No reason to refuse. Ian nodded, and Leah took his hand.
The next moment, they were seated at a tea table in the garden.
“……Huh.”
There was no warning, no sensation at all. No distortion in his vision, no twisting in his gut. He just blinked, and they were here. Ian let out an incredulous chuckle at the absurdity.
Flowers surrounded them. The stark white house was gone—no trace of it anywhere.
“This is my home.”
Pour, pour.
Leah said as she filled Ian’s teacup with blue tea.
“In terms you’d know…… something like a nebula, maybe.”
“……A nebula.”
“A nameless nebula. A tiny rift at its center. That’s what this place is.”
A sweet aroma wafted from the blue tea. Leah passed Ian a cake topped with fruit, taking one plain slice for herself and setting out a fork. A blue butterfly landed on her shoulder, then fluttered away.
“Humans couldn’t find it even if they tried. Relax.”
“……Not exactly reassuring. You will send me back, right?”
“Like I said, I won’t do anything you hate.”
She smiled awkwardly, like she was mimicking one.
“I’ll send you back when we’re done talking. For now, just chat with me. Take it easy.”
“……”
“You must have questions.”
She was right.
Ian met her staring gray eyes, sighed deeply, and took a gulp of tea.
It tasted like ordinary green tea.
“……First off, when I go back, will Earth be fine?”
“Yes. I reconstructed the timeline.”
She answered casually, as if it were nothing.
“It’ll be right around when you were moving in with that girl. With the moon’s god dealt with, the bugs fleeing on the moon’s far side won’t reach Earth either.”
“……‘Dealt with’ the moon means you killed an Outer God?”
“It was weak.”
Snap.
Leah snapped her fingers. The Hand of Recreation materialized in the air.
“The gap between Outer Gods who can create grimoires and those who can’t is bigger than you think. One gesture from me, and they’re all gone. I just didn’t bother because it’s a hassle.”
“……”
“But that one—the ‘Song of Melancholy’—had the gall to try stealing your grimoire. Probably wanted to devour it and boost its own power. Idiot. As if I’d let that slide.”
“……”
“So I killed it. It begged for mercy, but I didn’t even want to hear its voice—total annihilation.”
Slurp.
She took a sip of tea. Far too serene for someone who’d just slain a god.
“No one’ll dare invade Earth recklessly now. They saw me step in for you in my true form. Any with a brain will steer clear.”
“You’re pretty strong, then.”
“Embarrassing to say, but yes. I’ve devoured hundreds, thousands of Outer Gods. Some of the alchemy you use? Mimics powers from the ones I absorbed.”
“……Really?”
“Yeah. You’ll probably have new alchemy items based on the ‘Song of Melancholy’ I just absorbed—check ’em out. More importantly, you.”
Clink.
Leah set down her cup and stared at Ian.
“You’ve been so stiff this whole time.”
“……”
“I get it—guarding yourself is human nature. But I’m showing sincerity here, so shouldn’t you? Speaking your language, being polite to win favor, even using formal speech. If you stay so rigid, even I won’t feel great.”
“……Fine.”
“Loosen up. Like you’re talking to your wife.”
She emphasized “wife.” Ian hesitated, then sighed and nodded.
“Got it. Like this, then—”
“No formal speech.”
“……”
“……”
“……Okay. This tone work?”
“Perfect.”
Leah’s lips curved up slightly.
The smile looked natural enough.