Chapter 91

A bonfire was lit.

“Is this the right way to do it…?”

In the center, charcoal was placed.

“It’s not the charcoal I used when I lived in Edlen, but the aroma is nice.”

On the side, a device was set up by building a wall to grill the clams.

Made from suitably flat stones, it looked uneven and not very stable.

Lost in a strange sentiment, Aria muttered softly.

“It might have been better if there were bricks….”

The mermaid, recalling memories from her childhood and comparing them to the current bonfire, looked down at her charcoal-stained hands.

“……”

After a long while, Aria murmured.

“…It’s different from back then.”

It was so difficult back then to prepare a bonfire with that small body.

“It’s always been the case that I think of the old days, but feeling this peaceful is a very unfamiliar experience.”

Suddenly, Aria was seized by the delusion that she was dreaming.

The cold-blooded sage.

The incarnation of the sea.

The adjudicator of all seawater.

The master of the world called the deep sea and the game board itself, there was no way she would be making such a small and shabby bonfire again.

To be repeating the actions from the most peaceful time in her life with these hands, so full of the stench of blood….

“It doesn't feel real at all.”

She had never even imagined this would be possible.

There was no reason for it to be.

“It feels strange, too.”

In truth, all of this might just be the creation of a single mermaid, unable to erase her old habits, who had fallen into a long sleep.

She had such dreams sometimes, so it wasn't entirely strange.

Gazing at the flickering flames, Aria soon muttered.

“Well, it doesn't matter….”

She did not rashly try to distinguish what was true and what was false in the current situation.

It was an uncharacteristic act for Aria, who had always disregarded illusions and faced only reality.

But if it was a dream like this, the delusion was well worth enjoying as a delusion.

“Jio.”

Dragging the hem of her dress, which was quite out of place here, Aria headed to the cabin’s kitchen.

“The place to grill the clams is ready. We just need to put a wire rack on top.”

“The preparations are all done. The stew is almost finished too.”

“Then are we planning to eat outdoors?”

“We have the bonfire, and the weather is nice. Wouldn't that be much more enjoyable?”

“You are right.”

It has been like this so many times.

They would go to the bustling marketplace and choose the ingredients that appealed to them most that day, and Jio would cook with the ingredients the mermaids liked.

He was the only adult and the cook in that small house.

Aria and Iseur would stand by his side, looking up at their tall teacher, learning the wisdom of humans or chattering about trivial things.

An untidy atmosphere.

At times like that, their teacher would ask for help.

“Will you help me too, Aria? The teacher is short on hands….”

“Give the clams to me.”

Taking the tray full of prepared clams from Jio, Aria continued.

“This is my role, after all.”

Grilling clams was always Aria's responsibility.

“I’ll grill them well, so you don't have to worry.”

“I feel reassured with you here, Aria.”

“…Is that so?”

“I will look forward to the delicious grilled clams.”

“……”

Aria’s lips moved slightly before she went outside again.

Back then, Aria had been weak in stamina and frail in body, but she was more greedy than that.

Jio's cooking felt like the very essence of wisdom that humans could display, so she had insisted on being given a role.

‘Back then, I tried so hard to get the role of lighting the bonfire from the teacher as well. Even if I was helping with the cooking, he rarely entrusted me with anything that had a high risk of injury….’

She had even been sulky, wondering if it was because he didn't trust her competence.

Giovanni tried to take on all dangerous tasks, big and small, himself.

That had seemed like proof of his distrust.

It was only after he died that she finally realized.

The teacher had simply cherished his young mermaid disciples so much that he didn’t want them to get hurt.

It was a matter separate from trust.

“……”

The young mermaid who hadn't even known that had eventually managed to get the role of lighting the bonfire, though.

“How funny.”

The fact that such a trivial role still remained made her feel detached from reality, as if floating.

It was an unfamiliar sentiment.

Although she had never discarded it herself, she thought she would never take on this role again, even in death….

“……”

“Kkuu?”

“…I told you not to act so friendly, Mister.”

“Kkukukuku.”

“Does it not bother you at all?”

The teddy bear sitting next to the bonfire, just clapping its hands, was truly pathetic.

It was a question in a flat tone, devoid of any particular emotion, but Aria's inner thoughts as she looked at the worn, faded doll were not so.

“Does it really not bother you at all?”

Aria had covered the sun with the sea.

“I put in a lot of effort. I hated the sun, so I left all your children to be submerged in the sea. I didn't even have the courage to touch Jio, who had melted like water….”

“……”

“Yes, I lacked courage. I, who felt the emotion of anger for the first time in my life, was not in my right mind and could have caused his remains to be lost in some way, so I was just being cautious.”

“……”

“You are the one who lost warmth, who lost all your children, due to the desperate struggle of a mere mermaid who cannot even live on land… but seeing you so carefree now, it is so absurd and laughable.”

Everything was like that.

“Why is it so peaceful?”

This forest, its owner Jio, the insignificant creatures he kept by his side like family as if playing house and even the colossal existence were all just idly peaceful.

Aria looked down at the fluffy doll that stably contained a great dignity.

“Do you not resent me?”

“Kkuu.”

“This is why the kind known as gods are so repulsive.”

One should not expect emotions or interaction from them.

A priest offering sacrifices to a god was almost the only way for humans to communicate with a god.

That was how much one couldn't converse with, face, understand, or exchange emotions with gods.

So it would not hold a grudge against a mere mermaid.

“Emptier than a monster like me.”

And yet they spoke of mercy and love; what ill-fitting fellows they were.

“Harassing the sun is not something anyone can do, so can’t you show a more rewarding reaction? Being sad, resentful, annoyed… there are many possible reactions.”

“Kkukukuku….”

“Are you laughing?”

It was annoying.

“……”

Though it was of a considerably different nature from her brother's, which felt almost noble, Aria nevertheless maintained a gentlemanly smile and muttered.

“I didn't resent you either.”

It was true.

The brilliant mermaid knew clearly who was at fault.

The fools blinded by greed and honor had caused the accident and she and her brother, along with Giovanni, were just unluckily caught up in it.

So if she were to be angry, the target would have been only the nature of humans, who so easily change and betray.

“That world was just too horrible.”

Not a single human showed eternity.

She herself had turned into anger and yet she despised it.

“To the point where I could only endure it if the sea covered everything up to the sky….”

That’s why she did it.

“……”

“Yes, Father.”

A fact she had learned long after, even as a mermaid.

“The God of the Sun and the God of the Deep Sea were one body, weren't they? In the end, you were my father too.”

“Kkuukku.”

“No, since you are a divided being, should I call you uncle, technically? What would you prefer I call you?”

“Kkuru.”

“Uncle? Good heavens, how creepy. I was just saying that.”

It was a disgustingly peaceful word.

“At this point, I’m losing my mind too.”

It was a truly rare occurrence.

She, who had lived her entire life with a clear mind, had been thrown into confusion exactly twice.

The first was when Jio took her side, a non-human, instead of the humans and the second was when she identified Jio's corpse, which was mangled beyond recognition.

And in this dreamlike situation, Aria was experiencing confusion once again.

“I feel like this isn't where I'm supposed to be….”

A scornful laugh escaped her.

“……”

The rustling spring breeze was gentle.

“…Stop being so ticklish.”

“Aria, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

This place was inside the belly of their gentle teacher.

That fact was a little dizzying.

***

“How is it?”

“It’s cooked well, isn’t it?”

After tasting the stew for seasoning, Jio continued.

“It’s a little bland for my taste.”

“The teacher used to like spicy food….”

“I just eat it without any trouble; it’s too embarrassing to say I like it.”

Perhaps because the tomatoes used were much sweeter than usual, it had a bland aspect.

Taking out the dried Milky Way Mary from the cupboard, Jio finely ground it and sprinkled it over a portion of the stew.

“This is just right.”

It was moderately spicy and moderately stimulating.

There was a savory sweetness, the saltiness from the cured ham and thanks to the vegetable broth from various vegetables like carrots, a classy bitterness was added.

“Ah.”

Rustle.

Clatter, clatter.

Swish….

“Looks like they like it.”

Perhaps because the Milky Way Mary sparkled, or maybe because it was also a fruit.

A few water birds that flew in from the nest snatched a few Milky Way Mary berries.

Jio turned a blind eye to his friends' petty embezzlement.

‘They’re cute, so it’s fine.’

As long as they didn't go stealing from other houses, it was fine.

Jio patted the splish-splashing water birds and opened his mouth.

“I was a little worried since it’s been a while since I made it, but it turned out to be a very satisfying stew.”

“Have you not cooked it separately during that time? You enjoy cooking, teacher.”

“I was dead, so not really…?”

It was quite recently that ‘Giovanni’ had been overlaid on Seo Jio, after all.

“……”

“I misspoke, Iseur. Please relax your expression.”

“No, it is I who….”

“Calm down.”

There was a slight commotion, but anyway, the stew was truly satisfying.

“The one with clams is good, and the one with meat is good too. I wonder if Iseur prefers the one with seafood?”

“…It's hard to say now that I don't really have much of an appetite, but yes. If I had to choose, I think I'm much more used to the one with seafood.”

“For someone with no appetite, you ate that pumpkin-sized tomato just fine.”

“That was….”

Iseur, who seemed at a loss for words, thought seriously for a moment before replying shamelessly.

“The tomato was delicious.”

“I grew it.”

“As expected of the teacher.”

“Indeed.”

Whatever the general preference of the mermaids may be, Jio slightly preferred the one with meat.

‘When I lived in the village, it was certainly difficult to get meat from land animals.’

Being a seaside village on the coast, meat was much more expensive than seafood.

Even as a noble, he was the youngest son who received no support and what little he had was spent on medical equipment or donated, so he couldn't live extravagantly.

Thus, meat like this was quite a welcome sight.

The contents of the sausage, with its casing removed, became suitably soft as they were thoroughly cooked in the stew, and it seemed the texture would become much more tender if simmered at a lower temperature for longer.

“Perhaps because the dried meat is dried meat, it doesn’t soften easily.”

“I like it just the way it is, but….”

“Well, I think the preparations for dinner are done with this.”

With Iseur’s help, Jio carried the two large pots out to the yard.

Thanks to someone setting up a suitable wooden chair and table, the atmosphere was instantly elevated.

“Alright.”

The stew pot was settled next to the bonfire.

“Let’s eat.”

“Kuruk.”

“Honey, don't think about getting inside the pot.”

“Kkungkkungkkung….”

“I have no intention of drinking water you've boiled in.”

Jio scooped up the stew with Honey, who had plopped into the pot and poured it into a bowl, placing it near the bonfire.

Honey began to absorb the stew while still in the bowl.

It was so thoroughly soaked that it was hard to tell what was stew and what was Honey.

“Dana, don't steal your brother's stew, let's eat a fresh one.”

"[An inquisitive sound]?"

“That’s right.”

Dana, who had been sniffing at the bowl Honey had melted into, trotted over elastically at Jio’s call and settled in front of her bowl.

The stew seemed to suit the two animals' tastes, as the amount of stew was gradually decreasing.

“For those who want to add more flavor, I’ll leave the pepper here, so add it as you like.”

When he placed the finely ground Milky Way Mary on the table, Aria tilted her head.

“Pepper?”

“Yes, it's pepper.”

“Isn't it completely different?”

“The taste is similar.”

“It is edible, I presume?”

“Would I ever recommend something you can't eat?”

“……”

“Aria?”

After a moment of silence, Aria nodded.

“You weren't one to play with food, but….”

“Why do you say something so obvious so seriously?”

“Sometimes, your actions are unpredictable, teacher.”

And it wasn’t that she was puzzled by that bubbly charm of Jio’s.

‘It doesn’t look like an ingredient.’

It wasn’t that it looked inedible, but it exuded an aura that suggested it would be used as a precious medicinal herb rather than a casually used ingredient.

In some dimensions, they called such things elixirs.

“…You find such things so well.”

“They bloom all over the forest.”

“Ah, all over?”

“Is there a problem?”

“……”

Aria looked around and shook her head.

“No, what problem could there be.”

It was a world filled with things so precious that humans, whose very nature was not bold but terribly greedy, would lose their minds if they saw them.

If this place became accessible to anyone, there would surely be problems.

But no matter how limitless the evolution of humans, they would not be able to crawl into this terrifying dimension with just vulgar greed.

‘They wouldn't even be able to approach this dimension without a greed close to conviction. In the first place, the mere thought of humans coveting the teacher’s home makes me nauseous… but it's unlikely to ever happen.’

Aria considered the possibility of Giovanni being persecuted by humans again and accepted the stew her respected teacher was serving.

The wooden bowl was very warm.

Warmth spread to the fingertips holding the bowl and a faint tickle blossomed like a sprout.

“……”

“It's seafood stew, is that alright?”

“Yes, I prefer this over meat.”

There was an aroma that stimulated the appetite.

She hadn’t thought she was particularly hungry, but smelling the distinct, stimulating scent of the tomato stew made her feel empty inside.

She wanted to fill this empty stomach with the stew before her.

It had been a very long time since she had felt like eating something.

Her complicatedly spinning brain began to slowly unwind.

‘…Strangely, even if Jio’s cooking has a strong aroma, I don’t dislike it. My preferences have faded now, but still, for some reason….’

The clattering sound of the tableware, imbued with a gentle warmth just enough to warm her fingertips.

That peaceful and simple murmur tickled her heart so strangely and carefully.

‘Is it because I’ve returned to my hometown?’

Strictly speaking, this place, not even the deep sea, was not her hometown, but perhaps because Giovanni was here, she felt a strange nostalgia and ambiance.

It was a feeling hard to define.

Even though she belonged to the place, she felt a step removed, and though they were spending time together, it felt empty and elusive, making her yearn.

It was a truly unfamiliar emotion, one she hadn't even felt in that deep, dark sea.

‘…This person probably hasn't forgiven us either. And yet he shows such kindness. To say it's because he was twisted by gaining divinity, Giovanni… was always a strange fellow like this.’

She felt a tingling sensation from the unfamiliar feeling, enough to make her clench and unclench her hand a few times.

“……”

It felt like it shouldn't be this comfortable.

She became chillingly lethargic, unable to escape this peaceful atmosphere.

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