novelraw Chapter 65 : Eden, the Garden (4)
Chapter 65 : Eden, the Garden (4)
Chapter 65: Eden, the Garden (4)
"…Let’s just ask someone else."
"What a hassle! Let’s just threaten them!"
"…Nike. Do you want me to threaten you instead?"
"Sorry."
Even after that, the two of them continued asking the villagers about the flower garden. All of the villagers carried the same strange atmosphere as the fruit seller and the old woman.
Not only were their words clumsy and awkward, but every one of them avoided mentioning the flower garden.
Whenever the two hunters spoke with someone, at least one villager would always start behaving strangely and say nonsensical things.
"Hahahoho! Come play in the flower garden. Let us all play together, singing songs. Let us praise Mother!"
"Stop it! You are acting strange today!"
"You were the strange one yesterday!"
"Crazy. Crazy. Crazy."
Nike shook his head as he watched the villagers.
"Everyone here is insane!"
"…You are the most insane of them all."
"Ouch."
As soon as Nike and Hestia finished their conversations, the villagers always returned to acting completely normal, as if they had never said anything mad. There was no way such people who erupted into fits with just a few words could truly be this peaceful.
The entire village felt like it was under mass hypnosis.
Still, they had managed to learn one thing. Every single villager had mentioned the flower garden, and the rumors that people had gone missing there.
"…We have no choice. We need to go to this flower garden."
"No. There is no need to go."
"What? Why not…?"
Nike rubbed his chin before answering.
"Tia. Are you stupid?"
"…What?"
When Hestia tilted her head and asked, Nike’s words sent a chill down her spine.
"This place is the flower garden."
"Huh?"
Nike’s left eye flared red for a moment before fading back to ashen gray.
Hestia was not even surprised anymore. She knew by now that it was a magical eye that only witches possessed.
It was already common knowledge that Nike could use magic and hold magical power just like a witch.
The church had only chosen to remain silent.
And Hestia had chosen not to bring it up.
Besides, she trusted Nike enough to act naturally around him.
Since she already understood how special Nike was, Hestia knew that nothing he said should be taken lightly.
"…The flower garden? Here?"
"Tia. Look over there."
"…?"
Nike pointed at the shade of the tree where the Archbishop had been resting. But the Archbishop was no longer there. Hestia ran toward the spot in alarm.
"She is gone…?"
Even after looking around, Elena could not be found. There was nowhere else she could have gone. The village itself was no bigger than the plaza, and searching the whole place would take only five minutes.
Just moments ago, Elena had been leaning against the tree, smiling warmly at Nike after finishing her conversation with the old woman. In only about five minutes, she had vanished.
"She disappeared like smoke!"
Nike shouted as he approached, and he even laughed, as though he found the situation amusing.
Cold sweat trickled down Hestia’s back. This was a disastrous failure in the Archbishop escort mission.
This was not a matter that would end with dismissal. The disappearance of the Archbishop was a crisis that could shake the entire Empire.
"…"
"Adventure! It is an adventure!"
Nike remained oblivious to Hestia’s panic, thrilled as if it were nothing but fun. She could not even be angry anymore. This was the kind of man who would still smile even if his body was torn apart.
'Get a grip. At the very least, I need to…'
Hestia rubbed her face and sighed.
When she opened her eyes again, all of the villagers had vanished at once. The entire village was silent, as if it had never existed.
"…Nike. Did you see it? Did you see the people disappear?"
"I did not!"
Nike grinned and let his pupils turn crimson. He nodded slowly and curved his lips into a smirk.
"They were never here in the first place."
"What…?"
"This village. The people. They were never here. Tia, are you even real, standing next to me?"
Nike reached out and touched Hestia’s cheek. Thankfully, his hand met the soft, flawless skin of her face.
―!
But that did not stop Hestia from flinching in shock.
When she came back to her senses, the two of them were standing in a field. The small village and its people were gone.
Even the coachman and the child who had brought them here had disappeared without a trace. The carriage had vanished like smoke.
All that remained was a hill covered in blue flowers swaying in the breeze. Despite the countless flowers, there was no fragrance at all.
"…Damn it."
Hestia’s shoulders trembled faintly. With no veteran master by her side, she was even more shaken by the realization that they had walked into a witch’s trap.
"It was the flower garden from the beginning."
Nike’s short words confirmed it.
At some point, the three of them had already been trapped in the witch’s grasp.
* * *
"…I need to drink a stimulant."
Hestia dug into her belongings and pulled out a red vial, but Nike grabbed her wrist.
"Illusion. It isn’t that."
"…Then what is it?"
"I don’t know."
"…The whole village vanished in an instant. All of our senses are being deceived."
Nike furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"It’s not that either."
Frustration twisted Nike’s expression. He could not fully explain the phenomenon.
He only felt it instinctively, but it was too difficult to explain something magical to someone who did not understand magic. They were seeing two different worlds.
"We just came here. This is an entirely different world."
"…A different world?"
"It isn’t the place we were in before."
"…So only the two of us were transferred here?"
"Yes."
Nike, still troubled, patted Hestia’s shoulder.
"Over there. People."
"…Where?"
Below the hill, children dressed in white were playing. They chased each other in tag and made flower crowns out of the blue blossoms, placing them on one another’s heads.
Across the endless blue flower garden, young girls in white clothes frolicked.
The sight was so unnatural that it raised goosebumps.
Nike scratched the back of his head and began to move his feet.
"…You are going over there?"
"If we don’t know, we should ask!"
"…Yeah, you aren’t wrong."
They could not learn anything just by standing still. They had no choice but to get information from the girls.
As Nike and Hestia approached, the girls gathered together. There were ten in total.
They were all pretty girls of similar age, smiling brightly as they greeted the two hunters.
"Welcome, wanderers!"
"Welcome to the flower garden!"
"The land of illusion! The eternal paradise~! The garden of dreams!! Come play with us!"
"This is a gift of welcome, okay?"
The girls placed flower crowns on their heads. Nike bent willingly to receive it, and Hestia hesitated before following his lead.
‘What are these things…?'
Everything about them felt off.
Although their appearances differed, their accents, speech patterns, and behavior were eerily identical.
"Ah! I will be first! I want to serve this brother!"
"Then I will take the sister! Sister! Come with me!"
The girls pulled at them, all clamoring to guide them.
"Okay! Let’s go!"
Nike laughed and allowed himself to be dragged along. After walking a little, his figure vanished into the mist.
There was no time to even call out to him.
Frozen in alarm, Hestia stood still as the girls turned their eyes toward her.
"Sister, do you not like us?"
"I feel sad now."
"Do not cry, Number 131. Sister is only surprised. Right, sister?"
"…What? What did you just say?"
Hestia asked in shock, sweat forming in her palm where she was held.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"This child, her name is…"
"She is Number 131! And I am Number 217. Pretty names, aren’t they?"
"…Numbers?"
Pause.
Her steps froze.
All five girls turned to look at her at once, their mouths opening in unison.
"Welcome home, Sister Number 47."
"Welcome home, Sister Number 47."
"Welcome home, Sister Number 47."
"Welcome home, Sister Number 47."
"Welcome home, Sister Number 47."
Terror seized Hestia’s heart.
There was no nightmare more horrifying than this.
"Ahahahahahaha!"
"Ahahahahahaha—!"
"Ahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha!"
"Hahaha, hohoho, ha, hi, hu, ha, he!"
Hestia’s legs gave out and she collapsed. The grotesque laughter of the girls filled her ears like an echo, forcing her to cover them with her hands.
"Ehehehehehehehehe!"
"You should have stayed hidden if you ran away! Are you stupid? You must be stupid!"
"Ahahaha! Sister, you missed the land of illusion, did you not? The times we spent together were better. I am right, aren’t I? Yes? Yes!"
"Sister Number 47! Your old room is just the way it was! From today, you can stay there. Read me fairy tales again. The ones where the hunting dogs devour the master’s son!"
"Return to Mother’s arms. She is waiting for you. Even though you abandoned her, she never forgot you. Every night she wet her pillow with tears."
Hestia fell into panic.
The voices of the girls worked like magic, creating hallucinations. It was almost impossible to keep her sanity.
Her past trauma crashed down over her like a tidal wave. The terror was overwhelming.
'Mother, mother…!'
In the face of fear, Hestia instinctively reached for her mother.
She had no memory of her birth mother.
She had been abandoned the moment she was born.
Later she heard that she had nearly been eaten by wild dogs, but her mother had saved her. That mother was the Witch of Motherhood.
Before being known as a wicked witch, she had been the one Hestia truly loved and respected as her mother.
Even after it was revealed she was a witch, Hestia never doubted the sincerity of the affection and attention given to her.
She even believed that the reason her mother left her, and the reason she killed her sisters, was all because she loved them too much.
She believed there had been a special reason.
『I missed you, my child.』
The nostalgic memories and the warmth of her mother’s embrace resurfaced.
"…I missed you too, Mother."
Hestia lowered her hands from her ears and stood up.
With the most serene smile, she stroked the heads of her little sisters one by one.
"Hello… little sisters. You have all grown, and our family has gotten so much bigger while I was away."
Her fear had vanished.
The comfort of returning home embraced her like a mother.
No more anxiety, no more confusion, no more wandering.
Home.
Home.
Back to her warm and cozy nest.
Back to the arms of Mother, who gave unconditional love.
"Sister, let’s go home!"
"A fairy tale. I love fairy tales! You will read it for me, won’t you?"
"Yes, let’s go home. I will read you fairy tales every day. I can read, so I will teach you too, just like Sister Number 6 once taught me."
The girls cheered, bouncing on their feet with joy.
"Yay! This is the best!"
"I-I want to hear 'The Empire’s Disgrace'!"
"And I want 'The Fall of the Sun God.' Or maybe 'The Apocalypse'!"
"Of course, 'The Gospel of the Black Heaven'!"
"All of you are selfish! I asked first! Sister, you will read mine first, right?"
Hestia smiled faintly, her eyes hazy. She met each of their gazes and spoke gently.
"You must all get along. I have plenty of time. I will read for everyone equally. Before Mother returns, let us go home. Let us go home, clean the house, and welcome her back."
"Yes. Yes."
The girls beamed, holding hands as they walked in a line. Their steps were light and cheerful.
Far off in the flower garden, a large mansion came into view. It was the very house Hestia had once lived in.
"Sister! Do you want to learn a song?"
"Sure. I love songs."
"Hahaha! Sister, you are the best."
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of illusion, eternal paradise, garden of dreams~ Let us all play together, until the green hill becomes Eden."
"What a nice song that is."
"Yes! Sing with us!"
"All right."
The children joined hands and circled around Hestia.
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of death, eternal breeding, garden of blood. Let us all play together, until the witch’s hill becomes Eden."
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of illusion, eternal paradise, garden of dreams~ Let us all play together, until the green hill becomes Eden."
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of death, eternal breeding, garden of blood. Let us all play together, until the witch’s hill becomes Eden."
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of illusion, eternal paradise, garden of dreams~ Let us all play together, until the green hill becomes Eden."
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of death, eternal breeding, garden of blood. Let us all play together, until the witch’s hill becomes Eden."