Chapter 91

He lit a campfire.

"Was this how we did it...?"

He placed charcoal in the center.

"It's not the charcoal we used back in Edlen, but the scent is nice."

To the side, he built up a wall and prepared a device for grilling clams.

Perhaps because it was made with suitably flat stones, it was uneven and did not look very stable. Soaked in a strange feeling, Aria murmured softly.

"It might have been better if we had bricks..."

The mermaid, comparing the present campfire to memories of her childhood, looked down at her own hands, blackened with charcoal.

"..."

After a long while, Aria murmured.

"... It is different from back then."

It had been so difficult when she prepared a campfire with that small body.

"I've always remembered the old days, but feeling this peaceful is an extremely unfamiliar experience."

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

The cold-blooded sage. The incarnation of the sea. The judge of all seawater. The world called the deep sea, and the master of the game board, could not possibly have any reason to remake such a small, shabby campfire.

To be repeating an act from the most peaceful time in her life with these hands steeped in the smell of blood...

"It hardly feels real."

She had never even imagined this would be possible. There had been no reason to.

"It feels strange, too."

In truth, all of this might have been created by one mermaid, unable to erase old habits, as she fell into a long sleep. She sometimes had dreams like that, so it was not all that strange.

Aria, who had been staring at the flickering fire, soon murmured.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter..."

She did not rashly try to distinguish which parts of the present situation were truth and which were false. It was behavior unlike Aria, who had never placed value in illusions and had always faced only reality.

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

"Jio."

Dragging the hem of a dress that suited this place rather poorly, Aria headed to the cabin kitchen.

"The place to grill the clams is ready. We need only put the wire rack on top."

"The prep is all finished as well. The stew is almost done too."

"Then are we planning to eat outside?"

"There is a campfire, and the weather is nice. Wouldn't that be much more enjoyable?"

"You are right."

There had been many times like this.

They would go to the bustling market together, 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 chef of that small house.

Beside him, Aria and Iser would look up at their tall teacher and learn human wisdom, or chatter away about trivial things. It was an untidy atmosphere.

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

"Would Aria help as well? Teacher doesn't have enough hands..."

"Give me the clams."

Receiving a tray full of prepared clams from Jio, Aria continued.

"That is my role."

Grilled clams had always been Aria's responsibility.

"I will grill them well, so you need not worry."

"With Aria here, I feel reassured."

"... Is that so?"

"I will look forward to delicious grilled clams."

"..."

Aria moved her lips a little, then went back outside.

Aria back then had been weak in stamina and frail in body, but more than that, she had been greedy. Jio's cooking had felt like the very essence of the wisdom humans could display, and she had insisted stubbornly that he give her a role.

'Back then, I tried so hard to get the role of lighting the campfire from Teacher too. Even if I helped with the cooking, he rarely entrusted me with anything that carried much risk of injury...'

She had even grown sulky, wondering if that meant he did not trust in her competence. Giovanni tried to take on every dangerous task, great or small, himself. It looked like proof of mistrust.

Only after he died did she finally realize it. Teacher had wanted his young mermaid students not to be hurt because they were so precious to him. That was a separate matter from trust.

"..."

Though the young mermaid, who had not known even that, had eventually won the role of lighting the campfire too.

"How ridiculous."

The fact that that worthless little role still remained left her feeling as though she were floating, detached from reality. It was an unfamiliar sentiment.

Though she had never abandoned it herself, she had thought there would be no chance of taking on this role again even after death...

"..."

"Coo?"

"... I told you not to act familiar with me, gentleman."

"Coo, coo, coo."

"Are you completely fine with this?"

The teddy bear sitting beside the campfire, doing nothing but clapping, was truly pathetic.

It was a question in an even tone without any special emotion, but Aria's inner thoughts as she looked at the old, faded-colored doll were not the same.

"Are you truly completely fine?"

Aria had covered the sun with the sea.

"I put a great deal of effort into it. Because I hated the sun, I let all of your children sink beneath the sea. I did not even have the confidence to touch Jio, who had melted like water..."

"..."

"Yes, I had no courage. I, who had felt the emotion called anger for the first time in my life, was not in my right mind, and I might have made his remains disappear in some form or another, so I was simply cautious."

"..."

"And yet it was you who lost your warmth to the struggle of a mere mermaid who could not even live on land, you who lost all of your children... Seeing you so carefree now is so absurd that it becomes laughable."

Everything was like that.

"Why is it all so peaceful?"

This forest, Jio, the master of this place, and even the tiny creatures he kept by his side like family as if playing house, and even the enormous being, were all helplessly peaceful.

Aria looked down at the soft doll that stably contained an immense existence.

"Do you not resent me?"

"Coo."

"This is why gods are such disgusting creatures."

One should not expect emotions or exchange from them.

A priest offering sacrifices to a god was almost the only way humans could communicate with gods. That was how impossible it was to converse with gods, face them, understand one another, or exchange emotions.

So he would not harbor resentment toward a mere mermaid either.

"You are emptier than even a monster like me."

And yet they spoke of mercy and love. How difficult these beings were to get along with.

"Tormenting the sun is not something just anyone can do, so could you not show me a more worthwhile reaction? You could grieve, resent me, grow irritated... there are many reactions you could have."

"Coo, coo, coo..."

"Are you laughing?"

It was irritating.

"..."

Though its quality was quite different from her younger brother's, which felt almost noble, Aria nevertheless maintained a gentlemanly smile and murmured.

"I did not resent you either."

It was true.

The clever mermaid knew clearly who had been at fault. Fools blinded by greed and honor had caused an incident, and the siblings and Giovanni had merely been unlucky enough to be swept up in it.

So if she was angry, the target of that anger was only the nature of humans, who so easily changed and betrayed.

"That world was too awful."

No human showed eternity. Though even she herself had changed into anger, she hated that.

"So awful that I could endure it only if the sea covered it up to the end of the sky..."

That was why.

"..."

"Yes, Father."

It was a fact she had learned only much later, even as a mermaid.

"The god of the sun and the god of the deep sea were one body, were they not? In the end, you were my father too."

"Coo, coo."

"No, since you are a divided being, perhaps I should call you my uncle if we are being precise. What would you like me to call you?"

"Coo, coo."

"Uncle? Good heavens, how chilling. I only said that in passing."

It was a disgustingly peaceful word.

"At this point, I am losing my bearings as well."

It was truly rare.

In her whole life, there had been exactly two times when she, who had lived with a clear mind, had fallen into confusion.

The first was when Jio had taken Aria's side instead of humanity's, and the second was when she confirmed Jio's corpse, whose form could not even be recognized.

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

"It feels as though this is not where I should be..."

A sneer came out of her on its own.

"..."

The fluttering spring breeze was soft.

"... How ticklish."

"Aria, is it ready?"

"Yes."

This place was inside their kind teacher's belly.

That fact felt a little distant.

* * *

"How is it?"

"It's cooked well."

Jio, who had tasted the stew for seasoning, continued.

"It is a little bland for my tastes."

"You did like spicy things, Teacher..."

"I simply eat them well without difficulty. It would be quite embarrassing to say I like them."

Perhaps because they were much sweeter than the tomatoes he usually used, there was something bland about it.

Jio took the dried Milky Way Mary out of the cupboard, ground it finely, and sprinkled it over the stew he had ladled out.

"This is perfect."

It was moderately spicy and moderately stimulating. It was savory and sweet, with the salty flavor drawn from the aged ham as well, and the vegetable stock drawn from the carrots and various other vegetables added a refined bitterness.

"Ah."

RUSTLE.

CLACK, CLACK.

CRUNCH...

"It looks like you like it."

Perhaps because the Milky Way Mary sparkled, or perhaps because this, too, was a fruit. A few waterbirds that had flown over from the nest stealthily snatched a few grains of Milky Way Mary.

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

'They're cute, so it is fine.'

As long as they did not steal from other houses, that was enough. Jio patted the waterbirds as they splashed their greetings, then opened his mouth.

"It has been a while since I last boiled this, so I was a little anxious, but it came out as quite a satisfying stew."

"Have you not cooked it for yourself in the meantime? You enjoy cooking, Teacher."

"I was dead, so not really...?"

After all, it had only been fairly recently that "Giovanni" had been overlaid on Seo Jio.

"..."

"I misspoke, Iser. Relax your expression."

"No, I should be the one..."

"Calm down."

There had been a small commotion, but in any case, the stew was truly satisfying.

"I like the version with clams, and I like the version with meat too. Iser, do you prefer the one with seafood after all?"

"... Now, I no longer have much that could be called appetite, so it is difficult to say, but yes. If I had to choose, I think the one with seafood is much more familiar."

"For someone without appetite, you ate that pumpkin-sized tomato just fine."

"That was..."

Iser, who seemed to have nothing to say and thought seriously for a moment, soon answered shamelessly.

"The tomato was delicious."

"I grew it."

"As expected of you, Teacher."

"Exactly."

Regardless of the mermaids' general tastes, Jio liked the one with meat a little more.

'When I lived in the village, meat was certainly hard to get.'

Because it was a seaside village located on the coast, meat was much more expensive than seafood.

Even though he was a noble, he was the youngest son who received no support, and what little he had was spent on buying medical equipment or all donated, so he had not been able to live extravagantly. Because of that, meat like this was quite welcome.

The contents of the sausage, removed from its casing, had been thoroughly cooked in the stew, softening the texture to a suitable degree, and if boiled longer at a low temperature, the meat would likely become much more tender.

"Perhaps because dried meat is dried meat, it does not soften easily."

"I like this as it is..."

"In any case, this should be enough to prepare dinner."

With Iser's help, Jio carried two large pots and went out to the yard. Thanks to the suitable wooden chairs and dining table that had been prepared from who knew where, the atmosphere came vividly to life.

"Now then."

The pots of stew settled beside the campfire.

"Let's eat."

"Grrk."

"Honey, do not think of going into the pot."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm..."

"I have no intention of drinking water brewed from you."

Jio scooped up stew together with Honey, who had plopped into the pot, placed it in a bowl, and set it near the campfire. Honey began absorbing the stew while inside the bowl. Because he had melted limply, it was impossible to tell what was stew and what was Honey.

"Dana, don't steal your oppa's stew. Let's eat a new one."

"Woof woof woof woof woof woof..."

"Good girl."

Dana, who had been peering into the bowl Honey had melted in, trotted over with springy steps at Jio's call and settled in front of her own bowl. The stew seemed to suit the two animals' palates fairly well, as the amount of stew was gradually decreasing.

"If anyone wants to add more aroma, I will leave pepper here, so add it yourself."

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

"Pepper?"

"Yes, pepper."

"Is it not entirely different?"

"The taste is similar."

"It is edible, yes?"

"Would I recommend something that cannot be eaten?"

"..."

"Aria?"

After a moment of silence, Aria nodded.

"You were not someone who played around with food, but..."

"Why are you saying something so obvious with such seriousness?"

"Because sometimes, Teacher's actions are impossible to predict."

And it was not because she had been puzzled by Jio's lively charm.

'It does not look like a cooking ingredient.'

It was not that it seemed impossible to eat, but rather that it gave off an aura suggesting it would be used as a precious medicinal ingredient rather than a small seasoning like this.

In some dimensions, they would call this sort of thing a miracle medicine.

"... You certainly find things like this well."

"It was blooming 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 species' nature itself was not generous and was terribly greedy, would have their eyes go wild if they saw them. If anyone could come and go from this place, problems would certainly arise.

But no matter how limitless humans might be in their evolution, they would not be able to crawl into this terrifying dimension through vulgar desire alone.

'Unless it is greed close to conviction, they will not even be able to approach this dimension. To begin with, imagining humans coveting Teacher's home makes me nauseous... but it will almost never become reality.'

Aria weighed the possibility that Giovanni might be persecuted by humans yet again, and accepted the stew her benefactor ladled out for her.

The wooden bowl was truly warm. Warmth spread through the fingertips holding the bowl, and a faint tickle bloomed like a sprout.

"..."

"It is seafood stew. Is that all right?"

"Yes, I prefer this to meat."

It had a scent that stimulated the appetite.

She had not particularly thought she was hungry, but when she smelled the stimulating scent unique to tomato stew, her stomach felt hollow. She wanted to fill that hollow stomach completely with the stew before her.

It had truly been a long time since she had wanted to eat something. Her complicatedly turning brain began to loosen slightly.

'... Strangely, I do not dislike Jio's cooking even when the scent is strong. Even my tastes have become faint now, but still, for some reason...'

The clatter of tableware, thick with gentle warmth enough to warm her fingertips. That peaceful, modest murmur tickled her heart with a strange care.

'Is it because I have returned to my hometown?'

Strictly speaking, this place, which was not even the deep sea, was not her hometown, but perhaps because Giovanni was here, she felt a strange nostalgia and atmosphere. It was a sensation difficult to define.

Even while belonging to that place, it felt as though she were one step away, and even though it was time spent together, it was hollow and unreachable, so she missed it. The feeling she had not felt even in that deep, dark sea was truly unfamiliar.

'... This person probably has not forgiven us. And yet he gives us this kindness. It would be one thing if he had become twisted after gaining divinity, but Giovanni... was originally this strange a man.'

The unfamiliar sensation made her feel numb enough that she had to clench and unclench her hand several times.

"..."

It felt as though it should not be this comfortable.

She became so helpless it was frightening, and she could not escape this peaceful air.