CHAPTER 776

[T.L: punisher87]

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Jin and Valeria were walking along the beach.

Outside the succession temple, the sea surrounding Honka island glowed with a reddish hue as the evening sun dipped into the waves, shimmering like jewels with each crashing wave.

-[I've never been there, but I've heard the evening scenery on the island is beautiful. The successors go out and enjoy the breeze. It's chaotic here.] 

Golem said earlier. There were some parts that needed fixing before Zen and Teben handed them the communication devices, so they decided to take an unintended stroll.

Both of them didn't mind the unexpected walk for that reason.

Their footprints stretched across the wet sand. The pleasant scent of the sea tickled their noses, and the cool breeze rustled their hair.

"Shall we dip our ankles in?"

Surprisingly, Valeria spoke as she took off her shoes. Jin nodded and stepped barefoot into the gently breaking waves.

Walking together like this, memories of their past lives, filled with fond moments, resurfaced in Jin's mind.

Sometimes as teacher and student, sometimes as friends, and at times even closer, they roamed the world together.

But looking back, even back then, there was a hidden loneliness within each of their hearts, unspoken to one another.

Jin was filled with a desire for revenge against his clan and an ambition for success that stemmed from it, while Valeria acted like someone who could leave at any time due to Hister's mission.

Both of them didn't want to get hurt.

Jin lost Gilly when he was exiled, and Valeria lost the Gray owl when she was a child. Due to their memories of losing family, they tried not to give their hearts too deeply to anyone.

But not anymore. They were walking together with their hearts wide open.

"I've been feeling good lately. I've been feeling it often. I had forgotten about it for a long time until I met you and the other comrades."

"Because revenge against Zipfel and your mission as Hister were everything to you."

"Of course, they're still the most important parts of my life. But I'm starting to feel that I'm not alone in this world. If I had walked alone while looking at such beautiful scenery, I wouldn't have felt as good as I do now. I might have felt lonely instead."

Valeria had experienced many such moments. As a fugitive wandering the world from a young age, she frequently explored various mysterious places untouched by human hands.

However, even when faced with breathtaking landscapes, she had never been moved as much as she was now. No matter how beautiful the place, it was no different from a colorless scenery.

In her past life, Jin had never seen Valeria in such a sincere state. Jin felt a tickle inside and momentarily shifted his gaze to a distant place.

"You've grown a lot. Thinking back to the time from when we first met in Mamit until you settled in Tikan."

"Let's just say I was an adolescent. It's a bit embarrassing to think of myself back then."

"Now, are you going to open up to others more than before?"

"I intend to make an effort. Even when I first came, everyone already cherished me, even when I acted uncooperative."

"Really? How are you going to make an effort? Can you really do it?"

"Enough teasing."

"Alright."

Small crabs scurried under their feet. The two of them sat down for a moment, watching the crabs and occasionally gazing absentmindedly at the sun sinking into the sea.

"Jin."

"Yeah."

"There are times when meeting you feels like destiny."

At the unexpected remark, Jin almost coughed.

"...Destiny?"

"In Mamit, when I saw you and immediately called out your name. Do you remember?"

"I remember."

"At that time, you were already a famous figure due to the Holy Kingdom incident, so even though I called out your name as if I knew you, you didn't seem surprised. But, the truth is, I had actually seen you even before you became known in the world."

"...You were watching me?"

"I dreamed about you. From some time ago, I dreamt of you almost every day."

-Are you going to keep lying like that?

-Leave me alone.

-How pathetic. Jin, your arrogant siblings would love this.

-What? How do you know my name?

-It seems you still have some lingering attachment to the world if you're curious. Follow me. I'll forgive you for aiming a sword at the throat of the person who reached out to you.

When Valeria explained the contents of the dream, Jin's eyes widened.

"You had...such dreams? Continuously?"

The dream was exactly the same as the moment Jin first met Valeria in their past lives.

"Moreover, among the records I found in the succession temple, there was a prediction stating that the person who would seek me out in 1795 would come to Mamit in 1799. It was also you."

"A record that predicts the future? Is that even possible?"

"If it's a complete level of record magic, it's limited but possible. However, unlike Az Mil's foresight, peeking into future records doesn't determine the future. If I knew about the records but didn't wait for you in Mamit, we wouldn't have been able to meet."

Jin could only become more shocked as time went on.

According to Valeria's words, it meant that there existed records beyond his regression. Valeria dreaming about Jin was a record from their past lives, and Jin coming to Mamit was a record of the present.

"You seem very surprised."

"I can't help it."

"I had always believed that those dreams and records of the future were both the guidance and fate left behind by my ancestors. Perhaps in the records my ancestors saw, there was a mention that I needed you for me to reach the end of my mission."

The roots of Hister, the clue about the Fairy tribe, and meeting Luet would have all been impossible without Jin.

"And since I met you, sometimes... I felt as if you knew me well."

-Steamed lamb with lots of peppers and onions and beef stew. Add plenty of black pepper to that. And…

Before they went to the Wantaramo Forest together, the food Jin ordered at the restaurant was the favorite food of the Gray owls. It was also a dish that Jin and Valeria frequently ate together in their past lives.

It was a common combination, but it was undoubtedly strange that Jin ordered the exact same dish down to the smallest details.

Valeria stopped walking and turned to look at Jin.

"Jin. You also have some secrets, don't you?"

Jin met her gaze, contemplating how to answer.

However, Valeria wasn't asking to hear an answer. She was recalling the record that stated that Jin had died once.

"No matter what that secret is, I am certain that it won't be something harmful to me or to the world."

"Valeria."

"And I feel like someday, I will examine all the records about you. At that time, I hope you won't reject my magic, even if it's a bit embarrassing."

The sunset was coming to an end.

Valeria stood there, completely soaked in the reddish light that the sun was casting, with a wide smile on her face.

In that moment, Jin momentarily forgot all the things he had just heard.

Forgetting even to breathe, he couldn't tear his gaze away from Valeria. The scent of the ocean clung to her hair, causing his head to spin, and everything around him, except for Valeria's figure, became blurry.

Step by step, Jin approached Valeria. Unconsciously, two steps, three steps, getting so close that their noses were about to touch.

Valeria opened her arms and embraced Jin. The touch of her cheeks felt as if they were melting. As the sun finally set, a calm darkness settled over the island.

"...I'm glad I met you, Jin."

"Me too."

For some reason, with a hoarse voice, Jin replied so.

***

When the two returned to the succession temple, it was already dawn. It was only then that Teben and Zen finished repairing the communication device, and Honka and Shuri relayed the news to them.

[You've waited a long time, successor. Did you have a good time?]

Jin and Valeria looked embarrassed and stuttered in front of the golem.

[It seems like you enjoyed your walk. Master said there are many beautiful places on Honka Island.]

[Hmph, who takes a walk for nearly ten hours? That's called a date, golem. Ancestors have work to do... Well, we're losers, so we don't have any complaints.]

[Well, I don't mind at all. If you tell me in detail how you guys spent your time, looking like a bunch of young-loving fools.]

[Asking such a thing is not polite.]

[What? Polite? We've been stuck in the succession temple for three hundred and fifty years! Imagine how interesting that story would be!]

[I was also, stuck in the succession temple. Even longer. And other people's love stories, usually interesting.]

[Teben, I hate that golem!]

[Me too!]

[If you hate it, come at me. I'll take you on any time.]

Zen and Teben bravely avoided the golem's gaze and took out the communication device.

The communication device looked like a rectangular panel, and there were a total of three of them.

[It's a long-range communication device. It allows lovers to communicate even if they're at opposite ends of the world... .]

[Hmph... just thinking about you two constantly bothering and pestering me with it makes my intestines twist. But be happy! Descendant, you must have walked a lonely path until now.]

"Although I don't intend to use it for that purpose, thank you, Ancestor."

[What!? You won't use it for that purpose? Then I won't give it to you. If you're lovers, you should talk often!]

[You won't give it to them? Teben, you're showing a pitiful appearance again. Don't you know how to surrender in a competition yet? Who are you, anyway?]

Jin and Valeria couldn't help but smile at their harmless and foolish appearance.

[The instructions for use and production are written in this manual. Right now, there are only three, but with the right materials and skilled engineers, you can make more. Now go! We'll focus on practicing rock-paper-scissors again.]

[We'll be able to relax more now that we've gotten rid of that burden, hehe.]

Jin looked at the manual and handed one of the communication devices back to Zen and Teben.

"You two should communicate with us from time to time. Along with the golem."

"Whenever you're bored, we'll tell you stories from the outside world. It seems like the only way to repay you."

At those words, Zen and Teben's faces became pained, as if they were about to burst into tears.

[Is that really true?]

[We're just insignificant losers... and yet you want to grant us such recognition?]

"You're not insignificant at all, Ancestor. We gain so much thanks to you in this succession temple. Compared to the hardships you've endured for the past three hundred and fifty years... I haven't done anything."

[My descendant is the best!]

"Neither of you are my descendants, but you are the best!]

Teben and Zen hugged the two of them and danced together. Valeria gazed towards the golem.

"I'll give you a name."

[Oh... finally, I have a name. Hurry, hurry, give it to me.]

"Iello Hister."

The golem stood still for a moment without moving. It was silent.

Valeria was worried that maybe giving the name Iello to honor Maliet's memory displeased it, but she didn't need to worry.

Tears of mana flowed from Golem's two eyes.

[The name of the child who received grace from the Master. And the clan name. It's touching. I am now Iello Hister. A member of Hister.]

"I'm glad you like it. Take good care of yourself, Iello."

Golem, or rather, Iello, scratched the back of its head nervously and shook hands with Valeria. Then, it pulled something out from its chest and handed it to her.

[This is my blueprint. Please make my siblings. And... the Master's Magic tome of secret magic spell.]

In addition to the communication device, Iello also gave Valeria its blueprint and the secret magic spell magic tomb.

The journey in the succession temple that Maliet left behind has ended so abundantly.

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