I was relieved, thinking there wouldn’t be anything to worry about, but if I had been just a little later, Menelapie might have ripped that witch’s head clean off.
It was really just a matter of a few seconds.
The moment I saw Menelapie’s golden aura spread through the alley, my heart dropped, and I dashed straight through the electric fence like a bolt of lightning, my body tingling a bit afterward.
Well, my body might have a little electric zap, but it wasn’t a big deal. The problem is, the part of my body that jutted out the most is my chest, and it was the chest that really got zapped.
Ugh, my chest is tingling…
Come to think of it, the high-voltage wires of the electric fence set up to block monster access are supposed to be between 100,000 and 200,000 volts, so in simpler terms, about 200,000 volts of electricity have fried my chest and bosoms quite well, right?
It’s okay. It’s fine.
It’s not a big deal since I’m not really hurt.
Though the significant high-voltage current could probably… linger in my chest for a while, it’s not like I received life-threatening injuries, so I’ll think about that later.
Huff, huff…
By the way, beside me was Lirisia Alpenheim…
Commonly referred to as the darkened parallel world version of me, Black Shia.
Calling her Black Shia makes it sound like her last name is Black.
Anyway, Black Shia and I were sitting together in the alley like a couple on a date.
Just to clarify, Menelapie had gone to fetch a car.
Of course, it wasn’t my car.
When I contacted Yeonju, the administrative official of the Yeon Family, she said she would send a car. But since we were outside the city, Menelapie insisted on going to get it herself because it wasn’t properly marked on the map.
……..
……..
This is awkward.
The situation of just the two of us here is really awkward.
But… I had something to say.
There was something I needed to hear.
“I have a question.”
At my words, Lirisia’s black hair whispered like a curtain as it fluttered in the wind.
…Originally, Lirisia had the same silver hair as me, but it seems after turning into a half-baked human, the lingering malice in her body turned her hair black.
“What did you do out there? Breaking the seal I put on you.”
“…I just wandered around.”
“Just?”
“I guess I’ve given up on being human for so long… that I got curious about human life.”
“…..”
To me, the Witch of the Dark Star, a normal human life felt completely unfamiliar.
“Why did you come to the orphanage? I thought seeing unprotected prey might awaken my gluttony again. But… I felt nothing.”
“…I see.”
“I’m not even hungry. Like a real human… I just feel nothing. Haha, it’s funny. While you, trying to be a Seongnyeo, are still suffering from hunger, here I am, the Witch of the Dark Star, seemingly out of luck… now I have no strength left. I don’t even feel the desire to eat.”
In Lirisia’s case… it must have been a truly unique situation.
Couldn’t I also just be cut by Menelapie’s sword and become an ordinary human too?
Absolutely not.
I’ve tried that in the previous world.
To begin with, Lirisia was the Witch of the Dark Star, and her body was overflowing with malice.
Menelapie cut away the malice overflowing from Lirisia’s body, stripping her of her identity as the Witch of the Dark Star. And somehow, even though the Witch of the Dark Star died, Lirisia managed to survive.
Hoping for a lucky break could yield terrible results.
“…So, tell me.”
“What…?”
“Do you want to live?”
What could that mean?
Lirisia tilted her head and looked at me, but I wasn’t asking this as a joke.
Normally, I might have brushed this off playfully, but right now, this question could directly relate to whether Lirisia would keep her life or not.
“Do you want to live or not?”
“I don’t know why you’re asking that suddenly, but is there anyone who wants to die?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Lirisia responded, now rolling her darkened cornea to meet my gaze.
That too, must be twisted by malice…
“Do you know what all those humans who sing songs about wanting to die have in common? When death is actually at their doorstep, they all want to live? All their memories flash before their eyes like a panorama, filled with regrets, wishing things were different, and reflecting on themselves. I’m the same. When death is near, even those who roll in a pile of dung think this world is better; it’s hypocrisy…”
“You.”
“Why?”
“You think it’s okay to die, don’t you?”
“………”
At that comment, Lirisia fell silent.
Ah, when I try to joke around, but hit home so accurately, it leaves me speechless, just like my parallel world counterpart.
“So when Menelapie tried to kill you, you didn’t even bother to make an excuse, did you? Am I wrong?”
“…Well, maybe.”
At my words, Lirisia rested her chin in her hand.
Just a simple action like that made her chest bounce substantially; looks like she’s the same as me.
“I didn’t want to die.”
“But… you know, don’t you?”
“A fallen Seongnyeo doesn’t deserve to push away the Hero’s sword.”
In other words, a fallen Seongnyeo deserves to die by the Hero’s hand.
“So that’s why you didn’t make an excuse… if you were me, you would have done the same.”
“……..”
I couldn’t answer no to that.
Because in my previous world, I had already…
At the edge of the Bottomless Pit, I had asked to be killed by Menelapie.
“…Yeah, I guess so. I thought it would be okay if it was Menelapie’s sword.”
“You say that knowing what Menelapie’s feelings will be afterward?”
Lirisia and I, though we were different versions of each other from another world, seemed to have one thing in common.
It was trust in Menelapie.
“Hey, if I died at Menelapie’s hands today? Then from that day on, you’d be trapped in Menelapie’s hands, and you’d regret it like hell, obsess over it, and deteriorate under her confinement. You’d be stuck in confinement, not seeing sunlight and living as a pathetic, animated doll for all eternity…”
“….Stop it, seriously.”
“Oh, do you think I’m joking?”
“………”
Actually, it’s probably not a joke.
If it were Menelapie… no matter how much she pretends to be ruthless and cold, just the fact that she killed the parallel world’s Shia would weigh heavily on her conscience, and it wouldn’t be strange if she ended up capturing Lirisia in regret and agony.
“Be serious and answer me.”
“Hah… a serious answer.”
Giggling, Lirisia soon let her laughter die down.
“You and I, we’re both too selfish. To put it simply, we’re disqualified as Seongnyeo~ Ahahaha.”
“I know that. That’s why I keep trying.”
“See, that’s nice. I couldn’t do that, so I just gave up a long time ago and lived how I wanted, and just ended up in this disgraceful mess.”
For something so casually said, the content was heavy.
This mess.
She would be referring to having turned from the Seongnyeo into the Witch of the Dark Star.
Right now, Lirisia wasn’t just at risk of being called a Witch; she was something so ambiguous it couldn’t even be called a human, much less a Witch or a Seongnyeo.
“I’ll clearly state this. I can’t watch Menelapie kill you and then bear that guilt again. And I also don’t want to kill you.”
“So?”
“And knowing my impulsive self, I can’t just leave you alone.”
“Stop circling around and get to the point.”
…Yeah, I don’t like circling around either.
“Tell me you want to live.”
“And if I say that?”
“I’ll save you.”
“…..”
Lirisia’s black pupils turned toward me.
“That ‘I’ll save you’ doesn’t come with freedom, does it?”
Right, she’s not foolish.
“Or is it that? I’ll let you live. But first, cutting off your arms and legs, plucking out your eyes, tearing your eardrums, and then turning you into a living puppet to be nailed to a wall, telling you to live as a slave for the amount of pain you suffered…”
“What the hell are you talking about!? You crazy lady!!!”
No way, this girl, not a Seongnyeo anymore, is just straight-up an unfiltered pervert?!
Hahahaha! Just kidding, Shia!~
“How is that a joke?!”
“What? Who’s the one talking here? Do I really need to tell you how twisted you are? Want me to break it down for you one by one?”
“…………….”
What the… this crazy woman!
“Oh, I see? So you’ve been playing Seongnyeo and giggling, but haven’t released any of your desires… oh, that’s unfortunate. I just really… ”
“Shut up, damn it!”
“Don’t you understand a joke?!”
“Once again, how is that a joke!? I’m still a Seongnyeo, you crazy lady!”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just say that.”
“Sigh, what was I trying to say… anyway, at least… until I can be certain, I can’t give you complete freedom.”
“Complete freedom? Certainty?”
I pointed at the tentacle on the small of Lirisia’s back.
It resembled my tentacles but looked far creepier and more grotesque, like a piece of divine flesh.
“Sure that you are living not as a witch but as a human.”
“…….Yeah.”
At that, Lirisia couldn’t respond.
Regardless of what she said, both I and Lirisia knew that neither of us could fully trust one another in our current states.
If she answered that she would no longer live as a witch and be good, who would genuinely believe that?
On the other hand, Lirisia didn’t seem like she’d say, “No, I want to eat people and live freely.”
At least from what I could see… she still had a chance.
In the previous world, she lost her chance, becoming the Witch of the Dark Star instead of a Seongnyeo, but perhaps in this world… she could still have a chance to start over.
“So, let’s say I’m assuming I want to start anew. What are you gonna do with me now?”
“I’m going to keep you away from the city for a while. For now, just live there.”
“What?”
Eek!
Just then, Menelapie returned with the car.
Our amazing, incredibly cool Hero figured out how to drive a car in less than a week since arriving on Earth.
That’s my Hero! Hehehe…
“Get in the car. We have to go.”
○○○○○○
“Wow, this car looks quite different from the ones I know. But isn’t there a flying car? Isn’t that a dream come true?”
“You’re sounding just like Shia when she came back to Earth.”
Before returning to Earth, Shia had told Yeonhwa about how flying cars were a dream and all that.
Although she still hadn’t ridden one yet.
“Hmm, is this it?”
“Yes! That’s Yeonseo Unnie’s villa. It’s Menelapie’s first time, right?”
“Oh…. is this the field that the Hero mentioned? It’s bigger than I expected.”
This isn’t just a field.
The entire vast desert along with the highland area in the center belonged to Yeonseo.
In terms of size, it couldn’t even be compared to a typical dungeon.
“What do you mean Hero…? ”
Seeing the Hero, Menelapie in front of her, Lirisia tilted her head in confusion at the mention of another Hero.
“Oh, it’s Yeonseo Unnie. She’s the Hero from Earth.”
“…Hah, even Earth has a Hero?”
“Originally, Heroes pair up with a Seongnyeo, and there has to be a declaration of the Hero in the world itself, but… Yeonseo Unnie didn’t specifically have a Seongnyeo. However, for over 60 years, she has saved Humanity countless times from extinction crises, and even after declaring her retirement, she’s still working. So, what else could she be if not a Hero?”
“……That’s no ordinary Hero. That sounds like she’s been dealt a raw deal and is grinding away…”
“Oh, Shia, watch your words! How dare a Seongnyeo speak such nonsense?”
“I’m not your Seongnyeo!”
Gasp!
Lirisia frowned slightly at Menelapie, who scolded her like a parent.
Well, what can I do… I can’t go against the words of the Hero who holds my lifeline…
“Anyway, Shia, the Hero’s field is bigger than I thought.”
“Right?”
“But for me, you’ll always be the biggest.”
“What do you mean by ‘big’?”
At that moment, Menelapie’s gaze drifted just slightly below Shia’s face before returning to Shia’s bright smile.
By the way, Shia’s chest was noticeably damp, unlike usual.
It seems it was the result of passing through that electric fence earlier.
Seeing that, Menelapie’s smile became even more enigmatic than usual, but Shia didn’t notice…
…Hehe, so that’s a thing.
“Hehe. I see.”
………..
Watching the scene of the Hero almost exposing the Seongnyeo’s dirty side, Lirisia briefly closed her eyes.
‘Did I lose to these crazy girls…?’
Was Menelapie and the Hero like that in my world too…?
I can’t remember anything anymore; it’s been too long, damn it.
But seriously, what the hell is she doing…?
Ding!
Meanwhile, Shia seemed to have received a message from Yeonseo, manipulating the hologram of her smartwatch.
“Yeonseo Unnie dropped by the Association since she had something to do and will come back quickly.”
“Are you saying you just left your guests behind?”
“Was it because of the trouble we caused? The cleanup from the Erosion Dungeon was tougher than expected, and before Menelapie came, there were issues with guilds from other countries like China…”
“Haha… I know. I’ve said that before. Then, do you intend to wait here for her?”
“No, she said she’ll come back soon, so we should go upstairs and sit for now.”
“Upstairs?”
“Yes, this is just the entrance. Up there where you see that villa? We’ll be waiting over there.”
This dungeon, where Yeonseo’s villa is located, has an endless desert at the lower level, but as soon as you reach the highland, the humidity increases and the temperature cools down, perfect for highland farming.
On our way up, the three of us were greeted by various crops visible nearby.
For a regular person, it would have taken several hours to reach this highland area, but with Menelapie, Shia, and even Lirisia, we arrived at the top in less than ten minutes.
With the temperature stabilizing differently from the desert area, Menelapie looked around in amazement. Lirisia seemed to be feeling some burden on her large chest, as she stretched her shoulders and decided to get up from her spot.
“Ugh, I’m going to look around a bit ahead.”
“Why?”
“It’s not like we’re on friendly terms where I can sit down and chat with you two, right?”
“…Still.”
“Nope. Just go.”
Both still need a little time to get used to each other.
Lirisia, and also Menelapie and Shia.
Maybe once we become more accustomed, we could sit down and chat, but not just yet…
“……….”
“Shia, by the way, what crops is the Hero growing in this vast field? Something like Alraune or Blood Mandragora?”
Menelapie skillfully lightened the mood while she asked Shia.
By the way, in the previous world, Alraune was a living flower spirit, and Blood Mandragora was a crop that could extract a blood-like liquid used for transfusions when its roots are heated with pressure.
Not every miraculous plant has healing properties, and they must supply sufficient blood quantities; thus, Blood Mandragora was highly monitored by royal families or states.
“Um, no scary stuff. It’s a crop called cabbage; it’s similar to an old world fruit called Beleta, right? It’s kind of like that.”
“Is that so?”
For Earthlings, it might seem like a strange crop, but in the previous world, Beleta was a fruit that tasted like a mix of radishes and cabbage.
Shia tried to make kimchi from it, but after about three years of attempts, she managed to create something similar. Still, the taste was pretty sweet, so it wasn’t exactly the same.
Before coming to Earth, she had managed to create a flavor akin to Bossam Kimchi using Beleta.
“Hmmm, it’s a similar crop, but it seems to go by different names and shapes in this earthly world.”
“Yeah, Beleta grows on trees, while cabbage grows in fields.”
“What? Is that person still not here?”
Crunch!
“You grow cabbage by letting it bask in sunlight like this.”
Crrunch!
“So, does it self-regulate watering too?”
Gulp!
“Right. It’s Yeonseo Unnie’s ability that’s basically in play here, so isn’t it amazing?”
Omnomnom!
“Haha, the Hero of this Earth has impressive abilities.”
“That’s why this cabbage is super delicious!”
“Have you tasted it?”
“Yep! Seriously, truly. It’s unbelievably tasty!”
Of course… it was a rather unintended process that came about after I was deceived by the evildoers while broadcasting, sneaking into Yeonseo’s cabbage field, but still.
Ah, but it’s really delicious.
Honestly, the crops, as well as milk and butter obtained in the Great Forest of the Elves, were all top-notch. However, the cabbage grown through Yeonseo Unnie’s dungeon’s highland farming had a distinct flavor unique to it.
With a subtle sweetness that is hard to express in words, and a crunchy texture. It’s the Mozart of cabbages, harmonizing perfectly with any dish thrown in.
“Yeah, it’s delicious, crunch crunch, right? Wow, nom nom.”
“Right? It’s really, really delicious! I’ll talk to Yeonseo Unnie and get a few so we can let Menelapie eat some too! But why have you been munching on the…”
“….?”
And the moment Shia and Menelapie turned to look at Lirisia, they froze in their movements.
“…………..”
Crunch crunch!
“…………..”
Slurp!
“Chew chew, what? Why?”
With a delighted expression, Lirisia was munching away, bits of cabbage falling from her mouth, and Shia could feel her mind going blank for a moment.
“Hey!! You crazy lady!!!”
