Echoes of the Old House

Contrary to the old saying that ten years could change even the mountains and rivers, in this modern age one year was enough to flip the landscape completely. Still, in provincial cities like Emulin, two years felt a little short to create any truly dramatic shifts. At most, an old shop would go out of business and a new one would take its place. But Kain visited Emulin so rarely that he barely even registered those minor changes.

He sat inside one of the hamburger franchises that could be found anywhere in the Elemental Kingdom, polishing off a simple late lunch while idly scrolling on his smartphone. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass wall that replaced what would have been a regular wall in older buildings, countless people bustled along the street.

His destination was Cosic Village, a tiny rural town tucked away in the corner of the Emulin Countship. Ironically, the place where the passage to the Underworld had opened was the very backwater village where he had been born.

This can’t be a coincidence.

There were no coincidences in this world. Only fate, born when inevitability met inevitability. If there was a result, a cause had to exist. Why, of all places, had the passage between the Underworld and the living world connected in this remote rural village? There had to be a reason, and as far as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kain knew, only one major event in Cosic Village could possibly explain it: his own awakening—the moment he had obtained Ebon and stepped onto the path of dark magic.

The keyword Bulsa-wang matches, too.

The words “Undying King” that the man he had killed back then had spat out. And the same name spoken by those who had risen again this time. With the clues overlapping this much, it was safe to treat it as all but confirmed. The exact details and process would have to be verified in person, of course.

As he had said earlier, Cosic Village was a small rural settlement on the very edge of the Emulin Countship. Transportation was naturally terrible. Airships were out of the question, and even magic trains were nearly impossible to catch. The only public transport was a single bus, and true to its rural nature, the intervals between runs were atrociously long.

A quick check on his smartphone showed the next bus at 3:55—roughly forty minutes away. At this rate he would reach his destination only after the sun had nearly set and evening had settled in.

No wonder merchants hated coming out here.

The fact that the village’s only claim to fame was a public cemetery ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had doomed it from the start. Plenty of people dreamed of retiring to the countryside as they aged, but no one wanted to settle in this countryside. With ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠conditions like that, transportation could only keep getting worse. Of course, the Count of Emulin would only bother with countermeasures if people actually went there. Even the Cosic Baron—who nominally served as village chief—seemed to have half-given up on increasing the population. With the rapid aging of the residents, it was easy to predict that Cosic Village would soon vanish from the map entirely.

What should I do after eating?

Sitting on the hard bench at the stop for forty straight minutes waiting for the bus sounded like torture. Maybe he should go to a café and drink some coffee. As he stared absently through the glass, a small child in the distance caught his eye—running busily while carrying a toy box bigger than his own torso. Anxious parents followed close behind, clearly terrified he might trip and fall.

“……Should I buy a gift or something?”

The sight made Kain mutter to himself. Come to think of it, he remembered reading somewhere that it was better to bring back a present when returning from a trip alone. He couldn’t recall which book it had been in, though.

But what would I even buy?

What did that brat even like? The kid always waved his hands and said he didn’t need anything even when told to speak up if he wanted something. Kain had no idea what to get.

He checked the time again. Thirty-six minutes left until boarding. A little while ago he had been wondering how to kill all that time. Now the same minutes felt oppressively short, and Kain frowned.

In the end, what Kain bought was a small keyring that fit easily in one hand. After wandering around for thirty minutes unable to decide, he had grabbed something in a rush right before the bus arrived.

“……”

Since he had simply snatched up the first thing that caught his eye, Kain—now seated on the bus—regretted his choice almost immediately and stared at it with open displeasure. He lifted it by the ring using his index finger and thumb. A green doll dangled at the end, swaying back and forth. It was Emerald Turtle, the mascot character of the Emulin Countship. The tiny, adorable turtle with its sparkling eyes met Kain’s dissatisfied gaze.

I already bought it, but…

Did he really need to buy it in such a hurry? He had felt strangely rushed. He could have taken his time choosing on the way. It was just a gift—what was the big deal? Besides, it had only cost about fifteen hundred shillings.

There’s no way the kid would like something like this.

He would probably need to buy something better on the way after all. Thinking that, Kain casually tossed the Emerald Turtle keyring into his subspace. Then he let his eyes drift over the interior of the bus, which had already left the city and was speeding down the highway.

It was practically empty. In the entire spacious vehicle, the only passengers were the driver, Kain, and an elderly couple sitting side by side in the front row. An enormous waste of space that could have been handled by a single taxi. No wonder only two buses ran to Cosic Village each day.

This is actually a huge improvement compared to the old days.

The Elemental Kingdom suffered from far more extreme regional disparities than other countries. While smartphones had spread rapidly alongside the construction of communication networks, improvements in transportation had lagged behind. Unlike the capital Raymond, where automatic carriages had become part of everyday life, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buses had only started running in Cosic Village a little over five years ago.

The delay hadn’t come from difficulty supplying the vehicles themselves, but from the time required to pave proper roads. The initial cost of surfacing dirt roads, the expense of keeping monsters and wild animals out, and the ongoing repair costs from the occasional monster attack or natural disaster even after precautions were taken—all of it came out of taxes. Local nobles who hated spending the money had kept putting the work off, which was why buses had only just begun reaching places like this.

Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’m not sure.

Back when transportation was inconvenient, there had been plenty of hardships. Those hardships had vanished once transportation improved, but new problems had taken root in Cosic Village instead. The most obvious was the shrinking of local shops. In the past, merchants had to haul in large stocks at once because travel was difficult. Now, with paved roads, anyone with an automatic carriage could make the round trip whenever they wanted. Taking advantage of that, the Grant Trading Company had downsized the village shop and switched to sending only the daily necessities. Easier work naturally led to staff reductions, and young people left the village to earn money elsewhere, creating a vicious cycle. Since the village had little to offer besides cemetery maintenance and farming, the population drop led to even fewer shops. In a way, Kain’s childhood might have been the period when the village still had the most children.

In short, as transportation developed and movement became freer, the aging of the village only accelerated.

“……”

The difference grew more obvious the closer they came to the village. Emulin, which they had left not long ago, had been full of people on the streets, yet here the atmosphere was bleak and lifeless, without even a single light. The only figures visible were elderly people finishing their farm work and heading home.

I should finish my business quickly and leave.

As expected, it really had been good to get out of this village. Feeling that truth once again, Kain slowly stepped off the stopped bus. The scenery that greeted him after disembarking was surprisingly unchanged from the past. The same old, weathered buildings remained exactly as he remembered them. The once-bumpy roads had been paved smoothly, but unlike the city, no automatic carriages traveled them. The one improvement was the rows of streetlights that kept the paths from being too dark.

With no time to lose himself in nostalgia, Kain slipped his hand into his pocket and began walking. His destination was William Cemetery, the village’s only real attraction.

“……”

His steps suddenly halted partway there. Kain stood still for a moment, staring quietly at one spot. His gaze had landed on an old house that had fallen into ruin, apparently unmanaged for years. Thick weeds grew wild in front of it, and spiderwebs covered the windows. He had heard that after he ran away at thirteen and his sister soon left for the company headquarters, no one had lived there.

Only a few years without residents, and the house could change this dramatically?

“Tsk.”

His sister really was a damn woman. He had gone through the trouble of taking the magic train instead of an airship, yet here she was disturbing his heart again. She had been a constant source of worry while alive, and even in death she remained a nuisance. Seeing that house made him miss her face more than usual today. It felt like if he opened the door right now, she would pull him into a hug and scold him for coming home so late.

Kain’s memories had frozen completely at his childhood. The wandering that began with his awakening. Once he had stepped into dark magic and Ebon, he could no longer control his impulses. That was why he had chosen to run away and leave his sister behind. At the time, he had believed she would be better off without the burden called him. And indeed, after he left she had been transferred to the Grant Trading Company headquarters.

But sometimes he regretted it. If he had known she would die so soon, he should have stayed a little longer and spent more time with her.

Is this what they mean by the importance of memories?

Seeing the house, he could finally understand a little why Arina liked staying by his side. She had already realized it—after losing her parents, she understood that these precious ordinary days could end at any moment. That was why she followed him everywhere, trying to build even a few more memories.

“……I need to take her around more.”

Time was extremely limited. To Kain, who had already become an Absolute, lifespan might be meaningless, but that wasn’t the case for her. And regret always came too late. Before Arina could turn into an annoying woman like his sister, he would do more of what she wanted. Not just summer vacation trips, but much more than that. She would only be with him for a few years at most before becoming an adult and gaining her independence. He would endure the annoyance for at least that long.

I really do need to buy a better gift.

Adjusting his slipping glasses, Kain took out his smartphone and called Pride.

After issuing the order, Kain took one last look at the old house, then turned his back and walked toward the cemetery.