The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

As the sun rises, the branches and leaves unfold, and photosynthesis begins. Once they have absorbed enough nutrients to sustain life for the day, they stop flowering, close their leaves, curl up into a ball, and if conditions permit, even retreat back into the warm, moist soil.

This peculiar phenomenon pretty much sums up Miss Dominique Antofil's complete impression of the being named Hearn the Believer.

Wait a minute, this peculiar plant has also retained its carnivorous functions to cope with the long periods of darkness...

Dominic, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses, stepped onto the roof of Aphrodite, pushed open the door, and felt a salty sea breeze blowing through the air, while the sun remained dim.

The wine was inexpensive and tasted alright. Domi went to her usual small shop on the next street to buy it. In this area, everything was ridiculously expensive, just like the wine in Aphrodite. It was not something a small-time driver like her could afford.

【Aphrodite】The back courtyard faces the sea, and on rainless days, the rooftop terrace is perfect for taking a nap.

Dominic wandered around the terrace and soon found Hearn lying dead in a corner by the sea.

Dominic came to express her sincere gratitude; after all, Hearn had saved her life again.

Although the other party remained silent about the details, and no matter how much inquiries were made afterward, he acted as if he hadn't heard anything and gave no response.

Domi probably understood that her words had been selectively filtered out by Hearn again.

Most of the time, Dominic thought Hearn was a very approachable person... He was more than approachable; he was so approachable that he would lie on the ground like a lazy dog ​​without any restraint!

But on rare occasions, moments that only people like Dominic, who have to deal with him every day, encounter, he seems arrogant, so arrogant that he doesn't need to give the world any response.

Although, in appearance, he seems more like an autistic person.

"I'm sorry, and thank you very much."

Dominic approached the dozing Hearn, bowed, apologized, and then thanked him sincerely.

This time, she was bewitched by the bad woman first, which led to Hern taking over the situation later.

No matter how you look at it, an apology and a thank you are necessary.

Dominic, a true country girl, was pragmatic and down-to-earth from a young age.

After Miss Lily Van Mielion left, Dominic's mental world cleared up and became clearer.

If Hearn didn't interfere at all, then who was it that allowed Dominique to be so fearless and invincible in "The Old Dream"?

Why was it that after that old cat interfered, the other party's attention was focused entirely on her, this little devil, and she herself forgot that there was a Lily Van Mielion sitting in the room?

Having followed Hearn around for so long and been caught up in all sorts of troubles, Dominic has come to realize that he is now in a world where what he sees is not necessarily the truth.

Scratching her already slightly messy black hair, Dominic sat down cross-legged, trying to dispel the messiness in her mind, just like her hair. But her desire to know the truth was like a rivet, nailing that messiness to her heart.

It's very uncomfortable, like being scratched by a cat.

Dominic felt he could understand, perhaps a little better, why Hearn hated cats.

"?"

By the time Dominic poured the wine, Hearn had probably woken up. His sleepy appearance didn't stop him from following the smell of alcohol and moving over here.

Dominic had once worried that this affordable, budget-friendly liquor would be like mouthwash to Nobunaga Hearn, the bartender at Aphrodite, but it seems that's not the case now.

"I won't mention the second half of the 'offering favors for no reason' part. What is it?"

Hern lazily swirled his wine glass, his gaze seemingly fixed on the liquid or gazing out to sea through the glass.

"..."

Was this guy really asleep just now?

Dominic took a deep breath, stood up again, composed himself, and prepared to redo what he had just done.

"No thanks, I wasn't asleep."

"..."

Dominic took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched his fists several times, and finally sat down again.

……

The believer Hearn is like a plant, rising with the sun, absorbing its nutrients and then resting, retaining its carnivorous functions, and usually curled up under the soil...

Drinking time was also devoid of conversation; it was more like drinking alone than drinking together. The person opposite remained silent, and Dominic could only remain silent as she pondered her faith in Hearn's botanical theory.

"This can't go on any longer, right?"

Until a comment suddenly came from the other side, like a bucket of water poured on her in the dead of winter, waking her from a dream.

What did this guy just say?

That statement was so far removed from the existence of the believer Hearn that Dominic initially thought he was hallucinating.

Until a hand was waved in front of her eyes to confirm whether she was awake.

Dominic held his wine glass and looked Hearn up and down as if he were a stranger.

Has this guy finally figured it out?

Dominic remained unsettled for a long time until the other person once again showed that compassionate look of concern for intellectually disabled children.

Feeling offended, Dominic became furious.

"So you've decided not to set it up?"

Dominic composed himself, sat down, glanced to the side, and asked a question.

"?"

"?"

"Domi, I was talking about dinner."

"..."

……

"Please use it!"

Dominic returned to the courtyard terrace of Aphrodite fifteen minutes later.

The weather remained foggy, and the afterglow of the sunset was no longer able to penetrate the twilight.

This time, Domi once again went to the next block and picked up a bunch of light meals and fast food from a familiar, consistently good small shop.

Hern's words are not without reason, and are even thought-provoking.

This small group of people had been traveling from early morning until dusk, exhausted and even unconscious, and all they managed to eat was a flatbread in the morning.

We won't go into where Mostima is now, who ran away early on and is living a carefree life, but Dominic and Hearn haven't had a drop of water since then.

Alcohol doesn't count.

Even so, being ordered around to make two long trips, whether willingly or unwillingly, left Dominic somewhat resentful...

However, Hern set up a small stove on the spot while she was away, and before she knew it, the smoke was still rising.

Setting up a picnic-style stove in the most decadent part of Gomorrah Bay, even though its form was simplified to the extreme by arcane magic—Dominic always felt something was off.

However, the little bit of emotion I felt vanished like smoke in the face of this scene.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Domi put down her small bag and began to set out the plates, imitating the way they were set out. She came from a vast, desolate border region and was a pure barbarian. Eating on the ground was something she had been used to since childhood.

"I didn't eat lunch." A very convincing answer.

When do you ever eat three meals a day properly?

"tomorrow."

"..."

what--

Dominic sighed inwardly. Once she was done with her work, she sat casually in a corner of the terrace, just like Hearn, and enjoyed her belated dinner.

There were no words for a moment.

A distant clap of thunder boomed from the neighboring New Monroe district, followed by a continuous cacophony of claps and roars carried by the wind across the bay.

Hearn watched the smoke from the new Monroe district as if nothing was wrong while he ate. Domi was initially a little surprised, but seeing his reaction, she calmed down.

indifferent.

"Hearn, I'm actually very curious."

"?"

Why don't you go out and do something?

Chewing on the poultry bone in her mouth, Dominic pondered for a long time before finally revealing one of the many questions that had been weighing on her mind for so long.

Hearn was silent for a moment, then pointed to the smoke signals in New Monroe.

"This is too basic for you..."

"They are the same in nature."

"Too."

"You've been here for so long, you probably understand what kind of godforsaken place this is, and what kind of godforsaken people live here."

That's more than just understanding; it's an overwhelming understanding, a deep empathy.

Dominic nodded in deep agreement.

"Then why don't you leave, Dominic?"

“...Because I have nowhere to go.” Dominic’s head spun.

"Your hometown will be very sad to hear you say that," Hearn remarked casually.

“I mean, I have nowhere to go except home,” Dominic explained instinctively.

"very nice."

Dominic thought to herself, "What's so good about this?" But when she turned her head and saw Hearn's gaze drifting into the distance until it disappeared into the distant sea, she realized what he meant.

She has a home to return to, while he probably doesn't.

Hern's hometown has probably been forgotten for some reason.

Displaced beings like him are not uncommon in hell. Moreover, he himself said that he was not a native of hell, a born devil, but an outsider.

If you put yourself in their shoes, Dominic Antofil and Hearn are actually in quite similar situations.

The difference is that the former has a home to return to, while the latter's fist is much harder than the former's.

At least that's what Dominic thinks.

Although life has finally settled down, I don't know what the future holds.

On second thought, isn't Hearn the same?

Bathed in the sea breeze at dusk, Dominic suddenly felt that he could understand, and understand his predicament.

The sound of the waves near the shore remains unchanged.

……

"In short, my merciful aunt, if one day you see Hern wandering alone to heaven, please take him in for a while in consideration of this matter."

"Why don't you just come back with little Iota? You can stay at my library as long as you want."

“That’s simply not true, Auntie.”

"why?"

“If Hearn came to heaven all alone, then he is probably the one I’m looking for; if that hasn’t happened, then I’ve probably already come back on my own.”

“Iota, may I assume that after losing your right to inherit Gabriel's legacy, you have decided to embark on the path of Sariel?”

“My merciful aunt, your wisdom is like the brightest star in the night sky.”

“I understand, Iota. The reason you exiled yourself from heaven was to find an individual outside of heaven that you had never found before.”

"This is not a noble proposition; in fact, it is despicable enough. After all, I simply and selfishly wanted my death to have some value."

Does he know your plans?

"Hearn? Hmph, I don't know. After all, I'm not even sure if he's the one I'm looking for. Besides, even if he is, I don't think I'd be completely open with him beforehand."

"why?"

"Hmm... because I'm not the companion type?"

"..."