Chapter 74 - 74. Memories of the Garden

"Come to think of it, were you sitting in front of the flower bed the other day? Does Ms. Eisel like flowers?"

Jeto asked me.

I watched him blankly and then opened his mouth.

"...I like it. A lot."

On the pretext of liking flowers, I said something I couldn't tell him in the previous episode.

I like you. Love you.

Thank you. Sorry.

There were so many things I wanted to say to him.

But just like this.

It's like spitting it out as an excuse.

It was the best I could do right now.

Soon after, Jetto bends his knees and meets me at eye level.

It was his good habit.

Even though he couldn't see the face of the person he was talking to, and even though his eyes were blocked, he tried to somehow express that feeling.

Soon, his lips open.

"...I like it too."

His warm voice slowly tickles my ears.

He was staring at me while saying that... I felt very embarrassed even though he wasn't making eye contact.

I hurriedly turned my head away from him, pretending to look at the flowers.

Then the memories of the previous episode lingered in my head.

On the day he defeated Krek Tar with Zeto, he left the body behind him and the conversations he had with him flashed through his mind.

'Somehow I've done it. I never thought I'd meet a demon.'

'I know.'

'She seems to have known Miss Eisel.'

'...I wonder if something like that happened.'

I asked that question while looking at the smile on his face that had disappeared at my answer.

'Scared...?'

'It's scary.'

'That's why it cuts easily.'

'It's not like that...'

...I still can't forget the words Jeto left for me at that time.

"... Miss Eisel?"

When I came to my senses, Jeto was calling me.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

I replied to Jetto and shook his head.

Did he really kill Krektar?

If so, why and how?

As I was facing him, my doubts grew even bigger, but I didn't even feel like the clue was going to be solved.

So I had no choice but to have a meaningless conversation.

"I was wondering which flower you like best."

"It's... A secret."

"I wouldn't know if you told me your name?"

"...But it's a secret."

I answered that and bowed my head.

Couldn't tell

Yes, my favorite flower is Jetto's favorite flower.

Because I didn't have a particular favorite flower from the beginning.

"...What kind of flowers does Jetto like?"

Glancing at Jeto, he asked.

Soon he tilts his head and opens his mouth.

"Well? I like it, but I don't know it very well..."

"Then, the one that smells the best in this flower garden."

"Hmm... That's a good idea. I'll look for it."

Jeto stands up from his seat.

I also got up after him.

I started walking around the garden after him.

As the sun slowly begins to set.

The sound of his footsteps whispered in my ear.

The sound of my footsteps followed.

The sweet scent of flowers emanating from the garden.

It was all close to coincidence, but it was the same as then.

Eventually, even the place where Zeto's feet stopped while taking a deep breath... Was the same as then.

He stood in front of the same flower.

Soon, he puts his face close to the flower.

Then point to the flower.

"I like this flower the most. I like this scent that spreads softly and far... I don't get a headache even if I keep smelling it. What's the name of the flower?"

Then Jeto asked me.

It was like a fantasy.

For some unknown reason, old memories remain with him, so he is copying him from the previous episode.

Or are they simply the same person, so the same answer comes out.

Either way, it was a complicated issue for me.

The important thing is that I don't want to lose him ever again.

"...Obsion."

"Obsion, I need to remember it."

I bent my knees and sat down in front of Obsion.

It is quite rare because it is a flower that contains a lot of subtle colors, so only one flower bloomed in this flower garden.

"Obsion has a story that has been passed down from time immemorial. Would you like to hear it?"

"It's an old story... I like it."

Zeto's affirmation continued, and I began to recite the story of Obsion.

Obsion.

It was a woman's name.

Obsion has been leading all sorts of misfortunes since ancient times.

Because of this, it was not uncommon for them to be misunderstood as demons.

Even so, she had one lover who could be her only luck.

It was a man named Julian.

One day, Obsion's lover, Julian, asked her not to leave her house until he came to visit her.

Unable to understand why, Obsion at first believed his words and locked the door.

A day passes.

Two days passed.

Obsion was frustrated.

He wondered if Julian had left him.

She wondered if she was hated by him, since she drove her misfortune.

Soon after, she decided to check it out.

Eventually, Obsion left the house and found Julian, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Instead of Julian, he was able to meet villagers who came out with torches and weapons.

When they found her, they shouted that they had found her demon and tried to grab her and burn her.

Ob Sion tried to run away, but misfortune continued to her until the end of her life.

It tripped on a tree branch and fell.

People eventually captured Obsion.

She cried and cried and shouted that she was not a demon, but no one believed it.

...So Obsion was burned alive.

Then, what was Julian, Obsion's lover, doing?

He was on his way to somehow persuade the saint in the kingdom and bring him to the village.

To prove that the lover he loves so much, Ob Sion, is not her demon.

However, what Julian's eyes caught... Was Obzion, which had already turned to ashes.

Ah, Obsion.

The man wept bitterly as he swept away the ashes.

There was nothing the saint who watched this could do.

He simply raised his hand high and bestowed the blessing of the Lord, who no longer had any meaning to them, who were pitiful and pitiful.

Tears filled with the blessing of the god and the sorrow of a man fell on the ashes...

...Of course, the miracle of reviving Obshion did not happen.

Instead, a small flower blooms from the gray ashes.

"That flower... Is Obsion."

Jeto, who was listening to my explanation, muttered softly.

"Isn't that a nonsense story? Why didn't the man give a sufficient explanation and leave, and why did Obsion not believe the man's words... I don't even know if it actually happened because it's a frustrating story full of errors."

"Well, that's how old stories are. What do you think Miss Eisel would have done?"

"...I think he must have locked himself up and left."

If you wait for a while, everything will be solved.

Jetto drools at my answer, which continued after a while.

"Hmm... You're talking about Julian, not Obsion..."

"... Because Ob Sion was dangerous. But she didn't want to know about it. I'm interpreting it as... Because she was afraid she would hurt her."

After Jetto stopped talking, I added an explanation.

"That's a pretty good interpretation. What's the flower language? Obsion."

"The language of flowers is..."

The flower language of obsion was the exact opposite of the tragic story.

"...A happy ending."

Their story did not have a happy ending.

Perhaps what they hoped for was engraved in the language of flowers.

"It's a happy ending... It's a fun flower."

Hearing the language of flowers, Jeto's expression brightens.

"Right?"

"Yes, that's why I like it more."

I hope the smile on his lips will never disappear.

Maybe someday I will make that choice too.

For a happy ending.

For his smile.

That choice to leave Zeto in a safe place and leave alone.

I cleared my head and stood up.

"Then..."

The conversation I had with him was enough.

It seemed that if we talked further, we would become confused.

It overlapped with the memories of the previous episode.

Before my confusion gets worse.

I had to leave him before I got any worse.

After all, it was difficult to have a conversation with him in a place with deep memories.

It was then that he moved his feet to get out of the garden.

"Uh...?"

A shriek of bewilderment escaped his mouth and his body leaned forward. He tripped on a rock on the floor and fell.

That's how I threw my body at Jeto in front of me without resistance...

ㅡPock.

...He took me in and hugged me.

"...Are you all right?"

Immediately, Jeto's kind voice was heard.

I feel his arms gently wrapping around my waist.

"That's... That's..."

Hardly any words came out.

...Even though I've hugged the defenseless Jeto one-sidedly, I've never hugged him.

I can't even raise my head to look at him.

But I didn't want to get out of his warm arms.

It's been hard since I've been feeling like other girls are flirting with Jeto lately...

Jetto was so friendly that it was a problem.

Sometimes, when I saw women unintentionally getting involved with him, I hated him.

'It's good to be kind only to me.'

It was my hometown.

It's my own jetty.

Even in the North...

'The two went to the sauna together...?'

'No, Kaen went too.'

... He said he sweated with other women in a place he had never been to with me.

At the time, she thought she was going crazy.

I barely held back my desire, my greed.

So for now.

Very little

Could I be greedy?

"...Since I've been sitting all this time, my legs must have gotten tired. Can I stay like this for a little while longer...?"

He asked Jetto in a cautious voice.

Even though he knew what kind answer he would give, his heart was beating.

"..."

Jetto seemed to be thinking about something.

Fortunately, my anxiety did not last long.

"...Yes."

His delightful reply followed immediately.

His answer gave me a little bit of courage to dig deeper into his arms.

Jeto's heartbeat could be heard.

When I thought that I was telling Jetto every time I heard my heartbeat, I felt a bit ashamed.

While thinking about that and smiling...

...I sensed a strange aura in his chest.

'What...? This energy...'

I couldn't get a sense of what kind of energy it was, but at least it didn't seem to be the kind of energy that a human should feel.

"...Would this be enough?"

Just in time, Jeto pushes me away first.

"Ah, yes. That's right."

At one word from Jeto, I fell from his arms.

It was strange.

Something lurked in Zeto's chest, hiding his energy.

The vaguely felt aura was close to a negative, evil one.

'Curse...?'

That was all I could think of right away.

To be honest, I've never felt that kind of energy in the previous episode.

So it was even more shocking.

'Something was greatly twisted.'

The conversation I had with him after suddenly defeating Krektar flashes through my mind again.

'It's not like that...'

My head was dizzy.

'...I'm afraid that I might lose Miss Eisel. I'm afraid.'

Me too.

I'm too scared to lose Jetto.

I raised my head and looked at Jeto standing in front of me.

He was still smiling at me.

Jetto, what should I do now?