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Chapter: 293

“Shia?”

As I cautiously called out, Encia showed no particular reaction.

No, not only did she not react, but she was yawning as if hearing something imaginary.

“Yawn… I think I’m hearing Tia’s voice again. It shouldn’t be time for her to wake up yet.”

Hmm… she really is acting like she’s hearing things.

Well, considering she said she would wake up after several decades, waking up after about 14 years might be a bit early?

But… why did I wake up already? When I went into hibernation before, I slept for centuries…

This time, I decided I’d only sleep for a few decades! I resolved that, but I didn’t expect to wake up this quickly.

Moreover… maybe because I woke up quite early, I’m still a bit drowsy.

Well, I can just sleep again later. For now, let’s focus on Encia.

“Shia.”

“Hmm… I’ve been lazing around too much lately, and my body feels weak. Why do I keep hearing voices?”

“Shia.”

“Ugh. This won’t do. I need to ask Cecil to prepare some food to replenish my energy.”

“Shia.”

“Huh? Am I actually losing my mind? Why do I keep hearing Tia’s voice…?”

Hmm, this is oddly amusing. It’s quite funny that Encia hasn’t realized I’m calling her out, like I’m playfully teasing her.

But I can’t just keep joking around forever.

“Shia. I woke up a little early. It’s not a hallucination.”

“Oh my. Now my hallucinations are even whispering to me! Something must be seriously wrong with me!

What should I do in this case? Should I go to the Church of Life? Can they heal insanity too?”

I doubt they’ll help with mental issues at the Church of Life… wait, why am I talking nonsense?

It’s really troublesome when she doesn’t listen properly!

“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll just have to go back to sleep, Shia.”

“Huh? Wait… is it really not a hallucination…?”

“Yeah. It’s not a hallucination.”

At that, Shia’s expression began to change slightly. The dull look on her face was gradually being filled with a bit of liveliness.

Her gaze transformed from one filled with boredom to one imbued with anticipation.

Then she hurriedly glanced around, as if checking her surroundings, and cautiously murmured.

“Tia?”

“Yes. It’s me, Shia.”

“Is it really you, Tia?”

Shia repeatedly asked, as if she couldn’t believe that my voice was real.

“Yes. It’s really me.”

“Have you woken up? Already?”

“Yeah, I woke up sooner than I thought. I thought the next time I opened my eyes, you’d have turned into a white-haired grandma.”

“This isn’t a dream, right? You really have woken up?”

“I’m telling you it’s real. Have you been living a lie?”

Hearing my words, Shia suddenly burst into tears.

Was it so joyful for her that I had returned? Encia couldn’t hold back her overflowing emotions, and tears began to fall.

“Tia… it’s really you…!”

“Were you that happy? You shouldn’t cry like that, you’re a grown adult.”

“It’s really you, Tia…! Tia… Tiaaaa…!”

“Yeah. I woke up, so stop crying.”

“I’m not dreaming right now, am I? It really is you, Tia?”

“Yes, exactly. Were you living a lie while I was gone? Were you scammed or something?”

“I wasn’t scammed! Nothing like that! It’s just… Tia’s return feels so unbelievable. That’s the only reason.”

“Okay. If that’s how you feel, let’s go with that. But stop crying. You’re too beautiful to ruin your face with tears.”

“Ha, but… Tia has returned. I kept dreaming of this moment! But… I can’t stop the tears. They just keep overflowing… I didn’t know I had so many tears…”

“Really. You’re quite the troublesome lady.”

As Encia cried buckets of tears, I smiled.

In a way, this reaction was surprisingly refreshing. Up until now, those around me… No, the deities around me were the type that wouldn’t flinch even after decades.

There were plenty of kids who, after a hundred years of hibernation, would just say, ‘Oh, you’re awake?’ and leave it at that!

Well, I suppose it was due to the short lifespan of humans.

“Now, it’s time to stop crying. You must have a lot of stories to share. If we keep this up, we won’t get to exchange a single story before tomorrow comes.”

“Yeah. Sniff. I need to stop crying. I have so much I want to talk about.”

After a little while,

“Yeah. I’m calm now.”

Encia, with her eyes red from crying, said.

“Really, you’re not that much of a kid. You just slept a little longer and woke up.”

“Slept a little longer? It’s 14 years! That’s an absurdly long time for a human!”

“This is actually quite quicker than expected. When I went to sleep properly, there have been times I slept for hundreds of years.”

Encia momentarily looked dumbfounded at my words.

“Hundreds of years? How long do you have to sleep for that?”

“Indeed.”

Even I think it’s pretty extreme. If I don’t sleep that long, I won’t shake off the drowsiness. It feels a bit ridiculous.

Even if I force myself to endure the drowsiness, it’s manageable; but if I let my guard down for even a moment, I might just fall right asleep. Ugh…

Anyway, now that the crying is over, it’s time to have a real conversation.

“Alright. Now that the tears are done, let’s talk about all the things that have piled up. I was just sleeping, but you must have quite a bit to share, right, Shia?”

“Yeah. I have a mountain of things to say. Seriously, there are so many stories to tell.”

“Oh, now that’s something I’m looking forward to. I wonder what happened while I was asleep…? Oh! By the way, did you write a book?”

“Yeah. I wrote one. I struggled a lot and had plenty of trial and error, but… somehow I managed to finish it. Along the way, I even took on a disciple.”

“A disciple? You, Shia?”

“Yeah. When I was organizing what you taught me into a book, there were parts I felt needed direct teaching. So I took on a disciple. I’ll introduce them to you later.”

“That’s something to look forward to.”

And so, Encia and I began to unravel the stories that had accumulated over those 14 years.

 

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