"Come to think of it, you never did tell us where you're from or what you are. We practically know nothing about you at all…"
Miria chimed in. Her eyes locked onto him, awaiting his response.
She also held curiosity towards Seth's background, as it was a complete mystery to her but so much has happened from the time they met to this moment that it had completely slipped her mind.
But now that Deneeve had taken the initiative, bringing up the topic of his origin, she naturally took the opportunity to state her curiosity.
"…"
On the other side of him, Clare sat nestled into him and similar to Miria, her ears were perked up as she was listening in on the conversation.
As the claymore that has known and has been the closest to Seth the longest, if anyone should have that information, it should have been her.
Since he'd become the second most important, barely losing out to Teresa, naturally she'd become curious before.
The only reason she hadn't voiced her thoughts before was due to her overthinking and just being 'Clare.'
"What am I… And where am I from…"
Seth leaned back on the bench as a contemplative expression appeared on his handsome face.
But mistaking his thoughtful expression for one that of hesitation, Deneeve immediately followed up.
"Ah, forgive me. You don't have to indulge me if you don't have to. It was presumptuous of me to pry into your past. I was simply curious about you since you gave me my life back."
She hastily spoke, leaning forward slightly in a bow.
Standing next to her, seeing Deneeve bow and apologize to someone, Helen was initially shocked and a bit uncomfortable.
The two had been together for many years, acting as a duo, hunting and slaying yomas becoming best friends along the way. She obviously knew of Deneeve's proud and stubborn self.
If this was the Deneeve from an hour ago, the idea that she would one day humble herself before some one would be impossible thought.
But this wasn't the Deneeve of an hour ago.
Her shock though… lasted only for a second. Appearing and disappearing as if it hadn't been there.
Because she understood why she did what she did.
Though it wasn't a formal nor was it universally acknowledged rule that claymores not talk about their past, it's practically normalized.
For the average warrior, their past could be seen as the source of immense trauma, and for one to survive the brutal training to be able to control the demonic energy, they had to suppress their emotions which made reliving their past trauma a major instability to their psychology.
This makes becoming emotionally detached a necessity to continue functioning.
And although there are some which had broken from norm like Helen and Deneeve had by sharing with each other, the design the organization created by keeping the warriors isolated and suspicious of each other, made sharing personal history is merely imaginary.
It's likely Seth is no different. Having a history that he would likely have hidden and kept to himself.
And given that he was their benefactor, it would be incredibly rude to press him about something so personal, especially when he had already done so much for them.
At the very least, she wanted to show him the same consideration he had shown them.
"Besides, you don't owe us an explanation. I'm grateful enough for what you've already done."
She straightened herself, offering him her small smile before stepping back.
Helen, also nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. Although we're super curious, it's not like we're entitled to know everything about you."
Miria also seemed to agree, although on the inside, disappointment coiled around her heart but her attention remained on Seth.
She was still curious, but she wasn't about to force an answer out of him.
Seth, however, seeing their behavior, let out a small chuckle.
"No, It's fine. Actually, telling you would be no problem."
He pinched his chin and titled his head.
"It's just that... I don't know where to begin."
He scratched his head and smiled.
How would he possibly explain concepts such as 'other worlds' and 'planets' to medieval people? Especially to people who haven't received formal education at all?
Should I even bother? And just water it down?
After giving it some thought, he finally decided to try.
"Have any of you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered about those tiny lights scattered across it?"
Seth finally broke the silence, looking up as though he could see the very thing he was talking about.
"The stars?" Miria asked.
"Yeah. Those bright lights. Well, I come from beyond there."
"…"
For a moment, nobody said anything.
"...The window to heaven?" Clare muttered quietly.
"What?" Seth turned towards her.
Miria heard this and seemed to recall something. She tilted her head slightly before speaking.
"Ah, I think I've heard stories like that when I was a child. Something about the sky being a massive dome that hides heaven, and those little lights are actually tiny holes in it. The light from heaven shines through them, shining light on this dark world."
"Oh! You mean that story those villages tell kids is real!?" Helen chimed in, seemingly excited by the topic.
Deneeve, who had been listening quietly, suddenly looked at Seth.
"Seth… Are you saying you're from the heavens?"
There was a little excitement in her voice, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by the others.
"…"
Seth sat with his mouth open, eyes alternating between each of the girls in utter bewilderment, silent for a few seconds, trying to process what the hell he just heard.
The heavens? A dome? Tiny holes?
What kind of children's story is this? Am… am I gonna be taken as a joke now.
For the first time since beginning his explanation, Seth found himself completely at a loss for words.
To save face, he began chuckling, though it was forced.
Since his attempt at giving an explanation about planets fell through before it could take off, he decided to go with the next, more watered down version.
"Well, no. Let's put it this way then. I'm from from across the sea
"Well, no. Let's put it this way then. I'm from across the sea. Another country, one that's completely different from this one."
"Across the sea?"
"Yeah. It's a pretty long way from here, actually."
Deneeve tilted her head, seemingly pondering his words before asking another question.
"Then… is across the sea where heaven is?"
"…"
Seth paused.
They're still on that heaven thing?
Judging by their expressions, it seemed that particular idea wouldn't be leaving their minds anytime soon.
"Uh, no. It's just another country. People live there just like they do here."
"Really? Then do they have Yomas over there too?" Helen suddenly asked.
"No."
Seth didn't give it much thought, immediately answering.
Thinking back to Earth, he couldn't recall ever encountering anything remotely resembling a Yoma.
There were certainly plenty of strange things in the world, but man-eating monsters that could disguise themselves as humans weren't among them.
"Oh…"
Helen exchanged glances with the others.
"So there really aren't any monsters there?"
"There are certainly monsters, but it's mostly just human greed.."
That answer only seemed to strengthen their suspicions.
If there were no Yomas where he came from, and he possessed such unusual abilities, then perhaps their theory wasn't so far-fetched after all.
"That's amazing…" Deneeve muttered, looking at him in a new light.
"Do you think we'll ever get to see it?" Miria asked.
"Yeah! I'd like to visit someday!" Helen immediately added.
Even Clare, who had remained relatively quiet throughout the conversation, looked up at him with renewed interest.
Seth looked at the girls, then scratched his cheek.
Somehow, I think I've made things worse.
He had originally intended to give them a simple explanation of his origins. Instead, he'd somehow managed to convince them that he came from heaven.
And judging by their reactions, trying to correct that misunderstanding was going to be a lot harder than he expected.
He might just dig himself into a deeper hole.
But it wasn't a bad train of thought though. He'd likely travel there someday, so it's doable.
"Anyway, that's about it for where I come from," the others nodded. "At least what I can think of right now."
"As for what I am… I'm neither human nor yoma. I'm a walking conscious virus."
They simply nodded.
The idea of him being a virus wasn't something as hard to wrap their head around. Their thoughts pertaining to him being from heaven, where people live without the fear of yoma was still prevalent.
As long as he wasn't a yoma, they couldn't care less.
Unconsciously, now that he'd shared a little about himself, the distance between them seemed to have grown smaller.
It wasn't anything particularly noticeable. They were still in the same positions they had been since the start, talking just as they had before.
Yet, there was a certain ease in their interactions now, as though a small barrier that had existed between them had quietly disappeared.
Perhaps it was because they'd learned something about him. Or maybe it was simply because he'd been willing to share something personal, even if his explanation had left them with more questions than answers.
Whatever the reason, the atmosphere between all five of them had become noticeably more relaxed.
Seth glanced around at the girls, taking in their expressions.
'Wait. Five?'
He looked towards the far end of the bench, where Raki had been sitting quietly for quite some time.
The boy had his head tilted to one side, eyes closed, and his breathing was slow and steady.
At some point during their conversation, he'd fallen asleep.
"..."
Seth stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle.
'When did he fall asleep?'
Considering the duration they'd been talking for, it wasn't particularly surprising that he'd gotten bored and had fallen asleep.
Raki had probably been exhausted from this morning, and the comfortable atmosphere hadn't exactly helped him stay awake.
"Looks like someone's found our conversation boring," Helen remarked after noticing where Seth was looking.
Miria leaned over slightly to get a better look at Raki.
"Who's he anyway? Is he like Seth?"
"Nah. Some unfortunate kid that Clare saved once and followed her. We've been taking care of him since."
"Hmph! So you guys are like a family, eh? Lucky you, number 4–ahem Clare."
"Keep your voice down. You'll wake him," Deneeve said.
"He's already asleep. I doubt he'll hear me."
Despite her words, Helen lowered her voice anyway.
Miria glanced at Raki before turning back to Seth, a faint smile on her face.
"Well, I suppose we should let him rest."
"Yea. We should go get him an inn to stay in. We'll spend a bit more time getting ready before we head out."
Clare, who had been quietly leaning against Seth throughout the conversation, looked towards the sleeping boy before settling back into her previous position.
Seth couldn't help but smile.
It seemed that, without anyone particularly noticing, they'd grown comfortable enough around one another to simply enjoy the moment.
Picking up Raki in his arms, Seth turned to the four girls, "I'll be back in a sec. You girls can continue catching up in the meantime."
He turned and left through the front door they came through, when the dormant system chimed in.
[The host could've transferred the memories to them for easier explanation. You wasted so much time explaining so little things.]
'Shut up.'
Chapter 34 end.
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Akisu been putting too much pressure on me.