Episode 153 The road that continues, the road that continues.(1)
* * *
After the long date tour, the start of school was just around the corner.
tour.
It may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s true.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Moving from place to place and digesting a busy schedule is not a common task for celebrities who have risen to stardom at once, but for ordinary people like me, it would be terrifying.Of course, it wasn’t that hard because I said it was good for me.
In the first place, the real problem came after the tour was over.
that’s the problem
‘I can’t really figure out how to use this guy’s crystal. Even Jackson, who had been in charge of keeping it, said he knew nothing about how to use it.’
It was.
This crystal received as the last inheritance was nothing more than an aemul complex.
Even after trying to find a place to use it, that was the result I came up with.
Starting with replacing the mana prism of the mana glaive I was using, and how to flow mana into the crystal, I tried all the ways I could come up with, and in the end, I pretended to be crazy and prayed to the crystal.
Even so, Sujeong did not show any reaction to any actions, as if Sujeong was just mocking my efforts.
‘Should I try to smash it once?’
After destroying the crystal at all, I wondered if something would change if I absorbed the mana that flowed out of it.
As it is someone’s precious heritage, I felt a bit of remorse for handling it carelessly, but what is it?
It’s mine now.
I’ve already done everything I could do.
The person who gave me something I couldn’t use in the first place was bad.
With that in mind, the moment I cut down the crystal with the mana glaive.
A torrent of powerful power leaked out and pierced my chest in an instant.
* * *
When I woke up, what I saw was a strange place, both familiar and unfamiliar.
‘There must have been a place that made a similar impression.’
It was only after reflecting on my thoughts a few times that I was able to recall the place from my memory.
‘Yeah, it feels like Serena’s Treasure War.’
A blank slate with nothing.
A place isolated from the outside.
Neither the passage of time nor the change of space was felt, and it was a place similar to Serena’s Treasure Exhibition.
However, the subtly different aura that I felt did not seem to have come to Serena’s treasure trove no matter how much I thought about it.
At first, this crystal had nothing to do with Serena’s abilities.
Even though Serena’s third ability is said to be the ability to summon artifacts at random, there’s no way I’m going to be sucked into the treasure battle out of nowhere.
It didn’t even make sense to say that this crystal was chosen by Serena’s ability to use it without much thought, and that was the time when I broke the crystal.
Because the legs couldn’t fit together so tightly.
‘So where the hell is this place?’
A car was looking around to understand the situation, and an unfamiliar voice came from behind.
“finally.”
From the moment I turned my head to face the owner of the voice, I could intuit who he was.
Soft purple eyes.
Joy felt beneath the hazy smile.
dignified spirit.
Because everything resembled her.
“Is Gong perhaps Aina’s grandfather?”
It was an awkward greeting.
It was too hard to say that it was a message to my lover’s grandfather, and it wasn’t even a way of speaking that would suit a human being.
I knew it myself, so it didn’t stick well in my mouth, but somehow I felt like I had to do it.
Because the spirit I felt in him was so unusual.
“Good luck. I’m really happy. Not wasting time in vain.”
He muttered a slurp, and he gave me the same calm, subdued smile that she had.
“What does it mean?”
“What could be more impermanent and more grievous than the passing of the devoted years into the hands of the brave. I knew from that answer. That my devotion was not a scattering mirage.”
“I’m glad that the technology I dedicated everything to didn’t fall into the hands of a bad kid… I know what to say.”
“Just as you (?) said. I understand.”
“But, what can you tell by looking at it? I haven’t introduced anything about myself yet.”
“If I was a greedy person, I wouldn’t have wondered who I was from the beginning, if I was a person who wanted to acquire a skill, I would have mentioned my name or my seat (?) I should have called him the head of the family. But you didn’t do that. Didn’t you just call me ‘Aina’s grandfather’?”
Aina didn’t just look like this person.
Judgment and dexterity were also at the same level as if they had been ripped out.
Of course, my favorite person in my family was my grandfather, so of course I learned it by watching it.
“I found out there. that you are a trustworthy person. It’s a bit of a disgraceful story to tell myself, but I’m not the type of person who will be remembered only by writing. Still, you only know me as Aina’s relative, so it doesn’t mean that you don’t care who I am. You must be someone who cherishes Aina, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I think it would have been explained enough if you stop. I could hypothesize that I’ve done all of this to get my legacy, but that’s just a pointless hypothesis. My granddaughter isn’t that stupid. If I had had that kind of heart, I would have been harassed by Aina before I came here.”
Well, it sure is.
Even I, who is more confident than anyone else when it comes to bluffing, had no way of telling a lie that would not work even if I stood in front of Aina and became a saint who came to confession.
“I heard it and it is.”
“So, is it okay if I ask how you got this crystal?”
“of course. Before that, can I ask you one question first?”
“Do what you like.”
“Where can the Prince be alive here?”
“I knew you were going to ask that question.”
He nodded slightly, as if he had already expected it.
“This is my image. And I am dead.”
“Did you? Are you having a good conversation right now?”
“It’s kind of like an idea. It is true that fragments of my soul were inhabited, but if I say that I am myself, that is not it.”
“Then the Gong is not the real Aina’s grandfather.”
“It would be convenient to think of it this way. It’s like a puppet used in a puppet show. The dolls appearing in the play resemble humans and obviously move with a specific will, but the reason they are not human is that the will is the puppet’s, isn’t it? me too I’m just imitating the consciousness my body had when I was alive. It is not alive.”
“Is that so.”
It wasn’t completely, but it was an explanation that made sense to some extent.
It’s like an AI that roughly mimics a human.
I don’t know how this is possible.
“Thank you for understanding the parable of the old man who is outdated. Can you answer my question now?”
“How did you get the crystal, right? that… ”
I have roughly described my journey so far.
Starting with the day she met Aina, and the initiation of the Purple Knights and other past events.
“It’s been really eventful. It was a pretty fun adventure story.”
“How did it happen?”
“It seems like there are some strange incidents here and there, but let’s just say that’s what it is and let it go. So, why are you trying to learn this skill? From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem like he has any particular attachment to the Knights Templar. It doesn’t seem like he’s a person who craves power though. Judging from the fact that things were not going well, the crystal was immediately hit and destroyed, so it’s probably not to protect the legacy.”
“It’s to keep up.”
“It’s for maintenance.”
His eyelids narrowed narrowly.
It’s like having a lot to think about.
“May I ask what you mean by that?”
“I don’t think it’s a skill that should have come to me in the first place. As the Master said, I am not one with chivalry intentions, neither have the confidence to control the power that is growing out of control, nor the confidence to take responsibility.”
“Then why did you make that choice?”
“It’s to give back to the people who should have gone.”
“Is that the story of Ainara?”
“It must be Aina, and it must also be me. It’s also a story that can only happen when we think of ourselves as one.”
“Why?”
In an instant, a twinkle appeared in his eyes.
It’s like hearing a very interesting story.
However, I couldn’t even read whether it was a positive reaction or a negative reaction.
His eyes, which had the same eyes as hers, were also calmly submerged.
“We all have maintenance to carry on. I am the maintenance of the Knights Templar, and Aina is the maintenance of the Gong. However, even with this modification, there is no way for her to continue the maintenance on her own, and I can continue, but without her, I would not have had the opportunity to continue the maintenance.”
“… That’s right. That’s why I didn’t give it to Aina in the first place. I didn’t want to bother you for nothing.”
“However, this legacy will surely belong to Aina as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Otherwise, the prince of the past could not have left the ritual like this. If it was simply to pass on the skills, we would have come up with a different way.”
He didn’t answer.
It wasn’t something I couldn’t do or didn’t do.
Because there were words that I kept.
It just didn’t come out as a sound.
“All I need is technology. Conversely, Aina doesn’t need any skills at all. However, it’s not just technology that’s reflected in this heritage. A chance to reunite with the lesson, a chance to say goodbye to the lesson, everything. Even if all of them are fakes, they will be of infinite value to her. I engraved evidence to carry on the will.”
“… ”
“It was never left to me. So, I just want to give it back. Take this opportunity.”
“… You, on what basis are you so sure?”
“Nothing.”
There was no reason, no reason to exist.
it didn’t even exist
If it was the last farewell he had decided, wouldn’t he know better?
“It’s just a vague idea. If it was Ainara, the moment you saw the technique, even just once, you would recognize the meaning that Kong left behind. I just want to do my best to convey that meaning.”
“Is that the ‘continuation of maintenance’ you are talking about?”
“You just have to follow the road that is connected. Even if we sometimes face broken tracks, we have someone by our side who is willing to give their way.”
“That’s great.”
Aina hopes to cast away the shadows chasing the past, and I hope to lift the darkness that casts the future.
If that’s the case, I’ll just have to look behind her and she’ll look in front of me.
Lighting the light towards the place you are going, and illuminating it once more towards the way you came back.
“I will let my future Son-seo (?) know. My understanding of everything.”
* * *