v4c2 (1/2)
2 Queen of Nasods
Deation army was formed and they finally started to march towards Temple of Water
People participating in the subjugation ar and the
El Search Party and… imprisoned Ara
El Search Party e orried eyes The carriage being guarded
by the Velder Knights was covered up in order to hide as inside But the person inside was
Ara
“…I’m worried”
“Since we’re ether?”
Seeing that Rena and Elsword couldn’t take their eyes off the carriage, Add sighed then responded
“Don’t be stupid Be patient for now”
“How long do we have to be patient Add?”
Eve questioned Add with a cold voice
“All you’ve been telling us is to be patient I’d like you to promise me exact time when Ara Haan can
regain her freedom”
“Stop thinking that this matter is so simple”
Eve’s request was reasonable but even Add couldn’t answer her for sure
As the representative of the El Search Party along with Rena, Add kept participating in the strategy
s with Hamel But he wasn’t able toAra in those
s
It was because if you took away all eht
“Then what if I ride on the carriage together with her? How about that?”
Add dived into his thoughts for a h it was too much to ask
for Ara’s freedoether with her inside the carriage
could be negotiated
Add’s heart moved so he nodded
“I’ll try negotiating”
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Addas traveling in front of the army
Chung had volunteered to be in front because he knew the terrain well He nodded politely as Add
approached
“Do you need so?”
“About the person inside the carriage… We’d like to take turns riding the carriage together with
her”
“You can go ahead”
Add was surprised when Chung answered right away seehts
“Is it okay for you to agree so easily?”
“If you were intending on breaking out Ara Haan, you would have already done so Regardless… It
would be troublesome for me if you people decided to honestly pressure me by force”
Just as he said, the only person here fro They had left
Hauard the city just in case This was a e
Hae
Although Penensio was a righteous person, he was a person fro was
alone aht now
“But this is far as I can concede I’d like you people to respect my opinion as well”
“…I’ll accept for now”
Chung was saying he’d accept the El Search Party’s suggestion in exchange for confir his
opinion that he won’t free Ara It was a fair negotiation based on mutual trust
Add decided he
“I actually know Ran a bit e ork on him?”
“I think it’s a half-half chance I’ much”
Hostile expression showed i’s face when Ran was mentioned Then he quickly
changed his expression back as if he was a bit embarrassed by it
“…I agree that Ara Haan doesn’t seeerous individual But I’m the temporary lord of
Hamel and Hamel has been destroyed by Ran I cannot handle this matter just based on my own
instincts”
“That’s right”
Chung sreed
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“Thank you for understanding I’ll carry this out in a here she doesn’t come to harm much as
possible”
“Please do that”
Add accepted with a voice soft enough to surprise even himself as he turned the Dynamos around
to return to where the El Search Party was
“Talk is over You can go inside”
“Alright Callhappens”
Rena nodded as she approached the Velder Knights that were guarding the carriage
Rena’s steps were very quick She never got the chance to talk with Ara face to face even though she
had been worried about her last couple of days,
“I’ll go talk with her after Rena”
“Come to think of it… Why are you worried about Ara so much?”
“I’hteous to pass by a person that’s being treated
unfairly”
Elsho’s been walking beside Eve joined in on their conversation
“But you asked irls ow!”
“Don’t say soe Elsword”
Reby fleay then ca the back of Elsword’s head Eve noticed that Add was
staring at her with a strange gaze so she spoke to deny
“I was just asking for soirls a bit difficult Do
not misunderstand”
“Hoooh…”
Eve frowned slightly when Add suely
Add felt like he’d get so here but he purposely stayed
quiet
Eve looked already friendly with Rena and judging by how she was caring about Ara this much, it
seemed that Eve attitude towards people other than Elsas loosening up
Even though they had all traveled together, girls and boys bedrooms had always been different
Various things ht
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Eve looked offended when Add continued to smile so she hastened her steps and moved forwards
Add smirked as he looked at Eve’s back ed the subject
“Anyways, do you think Ran will be strong?”
“Of course he will be”
Add answered hiht away Add wasn’t even a match for Ran when they ran into each other in
Elder But Add had been through
his Dynamo’s formulas
Not only that, there were others beside hiether
with hi looked quite skilled as well
Ran was a powerful foe but Add felt like they had a chance
“Hmm…”
“Don’t worry about it He’ll be weaker than Elesis”
“Of course”
Elsword agreed to Add’s baseless words as if it was obvious It almost felt like if Add said that Elesis
was the strongest person in the world, Elsould just respond by saying ‘ould you say
so so obvious?’
When Add laughed slightly, Elsword tilted his head
“Co brother Add”
“…Kukukuk, it’s nothing”
Add somehow became flustered and turned his head away Eve was prudishly walking in front of
thee
“It doesn’t feel like we’ll lose…”
As an engineer, Add had always lived by trusting in nues and yet these baseless
words ca
Night
The deation army stopped near the Resiam Outskirts and prepared to camp out The El
Search Party was getting ready as hen Rena approached and spoke to Add
“Add, could you go see Ara for a bit?”
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“Didn’t everyone talk with her already? Was there a problem?”
“Umm, actually…”
When Rena trailed her words, Add instinctively looked towards Elsword and Eve
Add didn’t feel anything special seeing how those tere in front of the ca ready for
dinner Since those two had gone in and talked with Ara already, Add ht as well do so too
“Alright, I’ll go”
“Yea, I’ on you Here”
Rena handed to Add tls of warm stew that she prepared beforehand
Add took thee He was planning on discussing
about their current situation with Eun anyways
It shouldn’tthat
“I’ in”
Add abruptly entered by opening the carriage door then sat on the chair inside Ara was sitting inside
the carriage with a nunised Add and lowered her head to greet him
You could tell just frolance that she wasn’t her usual self Ara took the stehen Add
handed it to her But it didn’t look like she had much appetite
“Be sure to eat properly The fight will start soon”
“…Yes”
Add frowned after hearing her barely audible response He understood that Ara was feeling dejected
right now, but this wasn’t right
“If you’re worrying about Chung and Hamel, put those matters aside for now Just focus on
defeating Ran”
“…”
Add stopped eating his own stehen Ara didn’t answer This was a bit strange Add put down his
bowl and asked seriously
“What’s going on?”
“……It’s nothing”
“You’re wastingon?”
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Ara’s expression turned even darker when Add asked repeatedly After looking closely, she had a
dark circle under her eyes and had a pale expression It looked like she didn’t get any proper sleep
Her days inside the prison wouldn’t have been co else to this
“Say it quickly”
“…I can’t tell you”
“If you don’t want to talk, I’ll talk with Eun instead Send her out”
Ara bit her lower lips when Eun was mentioned Her body shook thinly then she spoke quietly after
a long pause
“It’s because I’ve been having strange dreams recently…”
“Dreams?”
“…A dream where MrElsas killed by MsElesis”
Add paused There was so that rose up in his mind
“Not only that, MsEve was killed by Elder Brother Aren in Elder……”
“…”
They weren’t dreams They were events from the timelines that Add had experienced
When Add stayed frozen, Ara continued to speak sparsely while looking down only at her palms on
top of her knees
“And I know that this will happen… So I try to fight But I always lack the strength… I cannot do
anything even though everyone is killed by the demons in front of my very eyes…”
“Forget it Those don’t have anything to do with the present”
Add spoke stiffly after suppressing his shock It was true that those events had happened but they
no longer held any
They were all times that Add abandoned
But despite Add’s words, darkness soaked inside Ara’s expression didn’t disappear
Just when Add was trying to choose his words to respond to this unexpected situation… Ara’s hair
seeot dyed in white
Then with a ‘poof’ sound, pair of fox ears appeared on her head
“That’s no good, boy Treat her more kindly”
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Add would have norh of relief this time He
was actually glad
“What happened? How does Ara know about those times?”
“She knows because I know, boy”
Eun ss Add knew that Eun had the power to look into the future
But wasn’t that unrelated to Ara?
Eun must have read Add’s question so she explained
“In martial arts, one trains to read the opponent’s mind You predict beforehand how your
opponent would , weight, balance,
air, you combine all these factors to read your
opponent’s moves in order to stay one step ahead of them”
“So?”
“Fundanosis ability that I use isn’t too different fro of all
creation and combine those in order to look into the future”
“What does that have to do with this?”
Enough with the explanations Hoas it possible that Ara knew about times that Add abandoned?
Eun let out a thin sigh when Add pressed for an answer
“A fissure has formed in Ara’s consciousness Thus she started to become influenced by me Our
souls are ether”
That sounded extreerous to Add but Eun continued her words leisurely
“For a hue Vessels like her are so rare that you can barely
find one or two out of thousands Humans like her are able to carry my power up to certain amount
But no e the vessel is, she’s only a human in the end”
“…Ara is going to break because she cannot withstand your power?”
“No, it’s different”
Eun shook her head to deny Add’s guess
“As Ara’s heart breaks, ap If this continues,
Ara will turn into so that isn’t Ara Just like how Aren turned into Ran…”
“……”
“What an unfortunate fate these siblings have, so unfortunate”
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Add felt the chills fro so calmly
The scenery of e’s smallto shi+ne upon Ara’s whitely
dyed hair was… beautiful yet frightening at the same time
“…How co about this as if it was someone else’s business?”
“Because there’s no other way”
“Then we should try to come up with one before…”
Eun shook her head
“Boy isAra anymore also means I won’t be myself anymore
What should we call Ara who’s ed
together with Ara?”
“…”
“Should we give her a name beforehand? How do you like Eunara?”
What a surprising talent Eun had to speak about such things so leisurely Add lowered his head and
could only groan
“If things continue like this, so that’s a mix of Ara and my consciousness will come out as a
result Well, she’ll be er than we are now at the least”
“But that also means you’ll disappear How can you be so casual about this?”
“I’ve lived for a long ti attach I desire
…… But it can’t be helped if it cannot be fulfilled”
Eun was speaking about her own dehtly But even if Eun had accepted her demise,
there shouldn’t be any reason for Ara to get mixed up in this
“How about if you…”
“If you’re going to say I should leave Ara’s body right now, that’s impossible Ara borrowed too
much of my power up till now Even if I were to leave her, the residues will delve into Ara’s
consciousness instead It will only become worse”
“Then what is the solution to this?”
Eun shook her head
“Even I don’t know too s of humans in detail There’s no other way but for Ara
to firuard her consciousness”
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“…”
“Wielding large power results in large recoil Ara has been wielding reater
feats than her skills would normally allow It is now time for her to withstand the recoils”
Tragedy in Hamel had caused a fissure in Ara’s heart… And Eun’s memories and abilities started to
fill the gap If this continues, Eun and Ara willthat isn’t
Ara or Eun
Just like how Aren beca that isn’t Ara
“You don’t have to mind this, boy I’ll still have the eyes to see into tie
I’ll still assist boy with time travel”
“How can you tell me not to care about this?”
“Doesn’t boy have nothing to do with this issue?”
“…”
Add couldn’t answer right away She was correct Add’s goal was solely to obtain Eve’s core and go
back in time
Even if Ara’s heart was shattered and she turned into so the process…
“Just tell me the solution”
“Hoho, boy is being unexpectedly caring towards Ara Did your thoughts change after seeing her in
her swimsuit?”
“Stop saying unhealthy things I have no idea ill pop out if you and Ara get ether
and I don’t knohatever that comes out will be controllable”
“My, so you’re saying Ara has to stay as she is because she’s naïve and listens to your orders well?
How cruel Although Ara would have been happy to hear that”
“I ue identities”
Add froith displeasure when Eun smiled mysteriously
“I’ in soht extra effort So just tell me the
solution”
“Well, the answer is si comfort to Ara’s heart”
That was an extremely difficult condition Ara couldn’t hold back her tears after seeing the atrocities
that Ran coly accepted to be chained up and become a prisoner
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One oing through all this
“Just what should I do exactly?”
“How about you have a heartfelt talk with her while bathing together? I’ll tell Ara beforehand”
“I’ll do that”
“Hmm?”
Add replied as he stood up Eun momentarily made a surprised expression then smiled voluptuously
right after
“So there are days when boy responds like this too It’s a nice change”
“Don’t h I’ll do this in my oay”
He realized that Ara needed mental comfort And there was someone else that was suited for this
job
Soon as Add exited the carriage, he headed toward the campfire where the El Search Party was
sitting around Elsword and Eve just finished dinner and were sitting across fro
at the campfire
Add would have normally stopped and observed the two but he had a business to take care of right
now He grabbed Eve’s arht away
“What is it?”
……He tried to pull her up but she was heavier than expected
When Eve looked back towards hio of her arm naturally as possible then requested
“I have so to talk to you about Follow me”
“We can talk here”
“It’s important”
At Add’s persistence, Eve looked at Elsword for a ot up from her seat When they
had distanced theh so that they wouldn’t be heard, Eve
asked
“How did your talk with Ara Haan go?”
“It wasn’t good So about that…”
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It seems the others didn’t know about Eun’s identity or Ara’s crisis It was somewhat difficult for
Add to explain it to them as well The main objective here was Ara’s mental stability anyways
“I’d like you to treat her well”
“I’ me”
“I didn’t mean that…”
When it ca for Ara, Rena didn’t even needed to be
for her quite a lot For Eve who had only focused her attention on Elsword before, this was a
change that orthy of attention But this h
“What is it then?”
“I’d like you to be even friendlier with her”
Add tried to speak the words he had prepared beforehand But the words got caught inside his
in circles
“I don’t understand what youmyself from her”
“Haaah…”
Everything worked out so s the simulation inside his head but it was really difficult
to actually say them out loud
“I ood… See if you can comfort her well”
“…Comfort her?”
Eve looked like she didn’t have much to say about this Eve who didn’t have any emotions (or
believed that she didn’t) only knehat it meant to comfort others from just encyclopedic
knowledge
“I’ about this I think it’s better for you to ask Rena
for so like this”
“Rena is already doing enough”
Although he was sorry to say this…thingsRena wasn’t
enough
“It’s not enough with just Rena You’ll have to do it as well”
“……That’s a troublesome request What should I do exactly?”
“…”
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Add wasn’t too talented in co others as well
He was confident in his abilities to treat someone cold-heartedly, but his mouth stopped whenever
he tried to say so kind It didn’t suit his personality
“I don’t know either”
“You don’t know either and yet you’re telling me to do it?”
Eve’s tone felt dumbfounded Honestly, both Add and Eve was people that were furthest distances
away froh their fundamental reasons differed since Eve was
because she wasn’t knowledgeable about emotions and while Add knew about emotions, he
prioritised his own goals
“I’ me, a Nasod to comfort humans…”
“Think about it since you don’t kno”
Add co but he couldn’t prevent the fissure fro in
Ara’s heart
Rena was the same and Elsasn’t any better There was only one person left to count on now
“You’re the only one left who can do so for Ara”
“…”
How serious Add was right now ht away She
seemed to think deeply for a while then shook her head
“Tellingany particular ue I’ll have
to ask Rena for advice”
“No, you can’t do that”
Add immediately shook his head That kind of method won’t do at all
“Co about this by yourself”
“The chance of success isn’t too high if I try by myself”
“It doesn’t matter Since I’ll try in my oay as well”
He just had to get rid of the reason that was shaking up Ara’s heart In the end, the core reason why
Ara was suffering was because of Ran
Ara’s mind would stabilize faster if they could defeat Ran soon as possible and received minimal
casualties during the process Everything would be solved if…he explained the situation to Chung
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to th to defeat Ran… Then turn Ran back into
Aren as Ara wished
“It looks like you have so on your mind as well”
“So, ill you do?”
“I’ll accept”
Add had expected Eve to resist more but Eve accepted unexpectedly easily
For a Nasod to accept the suggestion telling her to comfort a human so easily? Just when Add was
about to ask one more time for confirmation, Eve spoke first
“Since I know you care about Ara Haan”
“I’ht now, it’s not because of human male and female relationsh…”
“I know that it’s not”
Add was a bit surprised at this unexpected response Eve tended to make mistakes about Add and
Ara’s relationshi+p before but it wasn’t the case this time
“Recently, I think I’ve come to know a bit about what it means to care for other people”
“…You’re changing”
Add unconsciously exclaiine Eve
from back in Ruben would have said words like this
“I don’t understand what you mean”
“You don’t have to understand Kukukuk”
Add cackled joyously
He had forgotten recently because there had been soon But Eve ithout a doubt
one of a kind ain in history
Eve was changing froether with the El Search Party
“I’ll look forward to a good result, Queen of Nasods Kahaha!!”
“…”
Eve looked very coldly at Add laughing for a moment then returned to the campfire It somehow
felt like he
……Since it felt like it would look stranger if he stopped
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Nothing stood in the way of the subjugation army even until the next day’s sunset
“Shadow demons should have appeared by now…”
“Are they drawing us in on purpose?”
Add also delved into his thoughts fro the Velder
Knights to prepare to caht now, they
haven’t found any hint of demons
“But for what reason?”
“Maybe they are trying to block our retreat path We’ll have to be careful”
Penensio carefully expressed his opinion Add shook his head
“They won’t need to act like this if that’s the case Didn’t you say demons that destroyed Hamel
also traveled using diht now are rather free
from spatial restrictions So don’t think of them within the bounds of reason”
“I see, that’s right”
Add stopped speaking when Penensio nodded to agree with him Add also knew that for demons
to ates, they needed the Dark El, and that Dark El was a limited
resource so demons couldn’t overuse it…but Add didn’t reveal this fact
In order to defeat Ran, they had to go to the teh
he couldn’t deny that there were other reasons like he didn’t knohat ht happen to Ara if they
delayed longer……
“…It wouldn’t be bad to move with haste anyways”
As Add rid hihts, he saw Eve in the corner of his sight
Her silver hair was shi+ning froht skin of the st
the soldiers felt disparate yet beautiful
So beautiful to the point where she had stolen Add’s gaze before he realized it himself
Eve was talking with the soldiers, then she aze because she turned around to
look at him
Add felt guilty for some reason so he tried to look away but Eve approached him and suddenly
started a conversation as if this was a good time to do so
“I’ to take a bath”
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“……”
Why would she tell hiaze, Eve continued her explanation
“I confirmed that there’s a river ahead I already checked the water’s depth so there shouldn’t be a
problem”
“Hamel is called the city of water after all…”
They sawtheir march and he could also confirm with his own eyes
the river Eve was talking about
“Not just Rena and ether with us as well”
“…So you want me to explain”
They needed Chung’s peret Ara to move around freely Add
understood what Eve meant and nodded But her words weren’t over yet
“Then I’ll be counting on you for your part as well”
“What?”
“I have so for you to attempt on your side as well”
The words Add told Eve while asking for her help yesterday was returned right back at him Add
somehow felt a bit uneasy… But Eve looked like she had finished all her calculations
“Then let’s start”
Blue river shi+ning froht
Three people had their bodies sunk inside the flowing river and were bathing carefully
Such a light skin that would make even the pearl jealous A drop of water made its way down the
neck and made a beautiful curve as it slid down all the way to the navel
“Ah, it’s so refreshi+ng!”
“…”
“…”
Add and Chung didn’t show any reaction to Elsword’s shout There was nothing to say when the
three of theether stark naked
“……Thank you for inviting me, MrAdd”
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“…Just call me Add, it’s easier for me that way”
Chung thanked reluctantly and Add felt reluctant as well Even though they were all saenders,
bathing together with someone else was uncomfortable for him
Elsword seemed to have done this couple times and didn’t look like he minded at all
“Phew…”
Add scratched his head as he stole a look at Chung Even though he looked like a girl, he was clearly
a guy
‘While I’ as well’
Eve gave that condition before leaving without any more explanation
Add had called Elsword also because it would be aard to bathe 1 on 1 with Chung… But
Elsas s about the two of them
“Aren’t two of you going to wash?”
“……We should”
The water was quite deep further inside and reached all the way to the sto
cautious of his steps, Add exa’s mood
While this situation ard… He couldn’t stay silent till the end
“I heard that it gets colder the more you approach the Temple of Water and the Temple itself is
covered by snow Why is that?”
“I’end that’s passed down about it…”
Elsas washi+ng his face joined in abruptly
“You ht?”
“Do you know so about this?”
“I heard frohts Apparently some demon kidnapped the Priestess of Water who
knew about secret of the world Then they fell in love with each other”
Add frowned
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“What a cliché legend Let uess, their love didn’t work out and the temple was frozen because
of that?”
“Well, putting aside the legend, it is true that the te the
battle”
“Having many soldiers doesn’t ht with Ran
are us”
Chung carefully nodded and agreed to Add’s cold-hearted evaluation He was polite yet cool-headed