Chapter 776
Episode 190: The Marliet Hister Legacy Site (6)
Jin and Valeria were walking along the beach.
Outside the legacy site, the sea surrounding Honka Island was dyed in the colors of the sunset, each wave shimmering like a jewel glowing red.
—[I’ve never seen it before, but I’ve heard the island’s evening and night scenery is beautiful. The successors should go out, get some fresh air, and wait. It’s a bit chaotic here.]
That was what the golem had said shortly after the rock-paper-scissors test ended. Jen and Teven had fussed about needing to fix some parts before handing over the communication devices.
Neither Jin nor Valeria minded the unexpected walk that resulted from it.
Their footprints stretched across the wet sand. The pleasant scent of the sea tickled their noses, and the cool breeze tousled their hair.
“Shall we dip our ankles in?” Valeria surprised Jin by slipping off her shoes. Jin nodded and stepped barefoot into the gently breaking waves.
Walking together like this brought back memories of better times in their past lives.
Times when they wandered the world—sometimes as master and disciple, sometimes as friends, and sometimes something even closer.
But looking back, each of them had carried a loneliness they never showed the other.
Jin was filled with a burning desire for revenge against his family and the success that stemmed from it, while Valeria, burdened by the Hister mission, often acted like someone ready to leave at any moment.
Both were afraid of getting hurt.
Jin had been exiled and lost Gilly; Valeria had lost the Gray Owl in her childhood. Those memories of losing family made them wary of giving their hearts too deeply to anyone else.
But not now. Now, they walked side by side, fully open to each other.
“I think I’ve been feeling ‘good’ a lot lately. I’d forgotten what that felt like for a long time—before I met you and the others.”
“For you, revenge against Ziphl and your duty as a Hister must have been everything.”
“Of course, those are still the most important parts of my life. But I’m starting to realize the world isn’t meant to be lived alone. If I’d walked alone, admiring this beautiful view, I wouldn’t feel this good. I’d probably feel lonely instead.”
Valeria had spent many moments like that. As a fugitive from a young age, she often explored mysterious places untouched by human hands—alone.
But no matter how breathtaking the scenery, she had never been moved like this before. Even the most beautiful places had felt like colorless landscapes, no different from any other.
Jin had never seen this honest side of Valeria in their past life. Feeling a bit ticklish inside, he looked away for a moment.
“You’ve grown a lot. Thinking back to when we first met in Mamit, before settling in Tikan.”
“Let’s just call it adolescence. I’m a little embarrassed thinking about who I was back then.”
“Will you be more open to the others now?”
“I’m going to try. They cared about me even when I was uncooperative every time I first arrived.”
“Really? How are you going to try? Do you think you can?”
“Stop teasing me.”
“Alright.”
Small crabs scattered at their feet. They sat down for a while, watching them, then gazed blankly at the sun slowly sinking into the sea.
“Jin.”
“Yeah?”
“Sometimes, meeting you feels like fate.”
Caught off guard, Jin almost cleared his throat awkwardly.
“…Fate?”
“Remember when I said your name the moment I saw you in Mamit?”
“I remember.”
“You were already famous for the Imperial Incident then, so you didn’t seem surprised when I called your name like I knew you. But actually, I’d been seeing you even before the world knew about you.”
“…You were watching me?”
“I dreamed about you. For a while, almost every day, you appeared in my dreams.”
Are you going to keep lying there like that?
Go away.
How pathetic. Jin, your proud brothers would love this.
What? How do you know my name?
Looks like you still have some attachment to this world. Follow me—I’ll forgive you for pointing a knife at the throat of the one who reached out to you.
As Valeria explained the dream, Jin’s eyes widened.
“You kept having those dreams…?”
The dream was exactly the same as the moment Jin first met Valeria in their past life.
“Also, among the records I found in the past legacy sites, there were entries from 1795 and 1799 predicting someone would come looking for me in Mamit. That someone was you.”
“Records that predict the future? Is that even possible?”
“With perfect-level record magic, it’s possible, though limited. But unlike Az Mil’s prophecy, just glimpsing future records doesn’t guarantee the future will happen. If I hadn’t waited for you in Mamit despite knowing the records, we wouldn’t have met.”
Jin was increasingly shocked.
If Valeria was right, records existed that surpassed even his own regression. Valeria’s dreams were records from the past life, and Jin’s arrival in Mamit was recorded in the present.
“You seem pretty surprised.”
“I can’t help it.”
“I think those dreams and future records are all arrangements left by my ancestors—fate. Probably, the future records my ancestors saw said I’d need you to reach the end of my mission.”
Finding clues about the Hister family’s roots and the fairy race, and meeting Luet—all of that would have been impossible without Jin.
“And since meeting you, sometimes… I get the feeling you know me well.”
—Lamb stew loaded with chili peppers and onions, and beef offal stew. With plenty of pepper, too. And…
Before heading to the Wantaramo Forest together, Jin had ordered dishes that were the Gray Owls’ favorites. Naturally, these were the same meals Jin and Valeria often shared in their past life.
Though a common combination, it was strange that Jin ordered the exact same dishes down to the smallest detail.
Valeria stopped walking and looked back at Jin.
“Jin. You have a secret, don’t you?”
Jin hesitated, meeting her gaze.
But Valeria wasn’t asking for an answer. She was recalling the record that said Jin had ‘died once.’
“Whatever that secret is, I’m sure it won’t harm me or the world.”
“Valeria.”
“And someday, I think I’ll look through all the records about you. When that happens, even if it’s embarrassing, I hope you won’t refuse my magic.”
The sunset was fading.
Bathed in the sun’s last crimson rays, Valeria smiled brightly.
At that moment, Jin forgot everything he had just heard.
Forgetting even to breathe, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. The salty scent of the sea clung to her hair, swirling in his mind, and everything around her blurred except for her figure.
He took a step toward her. Then another, and another, until he was close enough to almost touch her nose.
Valeria opened her arms and embraced him. Their cheeks pressed together, burning hot. As the sun dipped below the horizon, a gentle darkness settled over the island.
“…I’m glad I met you, Jin.”
“Me too.”
For some reason, his voice caught as he answered.
They returned to the legacy site just as dawn was nearly over. Only then had Teven and Jen finished fixing the communication devices, and Honka and Shuri relayed the news.
[Thank you for waiting, successors. Did you have a good time?]
Jin and Valeria felt a bit embarrassed and gave the golem a vague reply.
[It seems you enjoyed your walk. The master said there are many beautiful places on Honka Island.]
“Hmph, who goes on a walk for nearly ten hours? That’s what you call a date, golem. Our ancestors just made us work… Well, we’re losers, so no complaints.”
“Yeah, really no complaints. Just tell me in detail how you two, who look like complete dummies, spent your time.”
“Asking that is rude.”
“What? Rude? Try being stuck in a legacy site for 350 years! You’d think that would make for some interesting stories!”
“I’ve been stuck in a legacy site too. Even longer. And other people’s love lives are usually pretty entertaining.”
“Teven, I hate that golem!”
“Me too!”
“If you hate us, come at us! We’ll take you on anytime.”
Jen and Teven pouted but quickly avoided the golem’s gaze and pulled out the communication devices.
The devices looked like square tablets—there were three in total.
[These are ultra-long-range communication devices. They let lovers talk even if they’re at opposite ends of the world…]
“Ugh… Just thinking about you two constantly bickering over these makes my insides twist. But be happy! Our descendants have walked a lonely path.”
“We don’t plan to use them for that, but thank you, ancestors.”
“What!? Not for that? Then you can’t have them. Lovers should talk often!”
“Can’t have them? Showing your ugly side again, Teven. Still refusing to accept defeat? What a guy you are.”
Jin and Valeria chuckled at their harmless, silly antics.
[The instructions and crafting methods are all detailed in this manual. There are only three now, but with the right materials and skilled engineers, more can be made. Now go! We’ll get back to practicing rock-paper-scissors.]
[Now that the long burden has been passed on, things can finally get easier, heh heh.]
Jin glanced over the instruction manual, then handed one of the communication devices back to Zen and Teven.
“I think it would be good for you two to stay in touch with us regularly. Along with the golem.”
“Whenever you’re feeling lonely, I’ll share stories from the outside world. Right now, that’s the only way I can repay you, my ancestors.”
At those words, Zen and Teven’s faces softened, tears welling up as their emotions overwhelmed them.
[Is that really true?]
[We’re just insignificant losers… and you’re willing to show us that kind of respect?]
“You’re not insignificant at all, ancestors. We’ve gained so much here in this legacy site thanks to you. Compared to the hardships you endured over the past three hundred and fifty years… I’ve done nothing.”
[Our descendants are the best!]
[Neither of you are my descendants, but you’re still the best!]
Teven and Zen embraced each other, dancing joyfully. Meanwhile, Valeria met the golem’s gaze.
“I’m going to give you a name.”
[Oh… finally, a name for me. Please, please decide quickly.]
“Ielo Hister.”
The golem paused, silent for a moment.
Valeria briefly worried that maybe it disliked inheriting the name Ielo in honor of Marliet, but that wasn’t the case.
Magical tears streamed down from the golem’s eyes like liquid light.
[The name of the child who has received the master’s grace. And the family name. I am deeply moved. From now on, I am Ielo Hister. A member of the Hister family.]
“I’m glad you like it. I look forward to working with you, Ielo.”
The golem—no, Ielo—scratched the back of its head shyly and shook Valeria’s hand. Then it reached into its chest and pulled out something.
[This is my blueprint. Please create siblings for me. And this… is the master’s vision grimoire.]
Along with the communication devices, Ielo’s blueprint and the vision grimoire.
The journey through the legacy site left by Marliet was coming to a richly fulfilling close.