Chapter 347: Recorders (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 347: Recorders (5)
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Snap!
Valeria bolted upright as if a bowstring had just been released.
Without a moment to steady her mind or assess the situation, she immediately scanned her surroundings, searching for her staff.
When she couldn't find it, she instantly conjured attack spells in both hands and dropped into a defensive stance. The entire sequence took less than two seconds.
Huff, huff, huff…!
Valeria gasped for air as if she had just finished a full sprint.
How much time has passed? Where am I? Am I imprisoned?
She couldn't believe she had lost consciousness. It was the first time such a thing had happened since her days with the Gray Owl Mercenaries.
“Oh, you’re awake! My lord! Sir! Ari—no, wait. The guest is awake… Whoa, hey! Is that magic aimed at me? Whoa, whoa, put that down! You shouldn't treat the person who nursed you back to health like that. Really now.”
Valeria’s bloodshot eyes glared at Jet.
Like most people, she had a pathological aversion to losing consciousness—a trait she had carried ever since the Gray Owl Mercenaries were massacred.
“Those Zipple bastards… I’ll tear them limb from limb.”
“H-hey now. I’m not a Zipple. I’m Jet, Tikan’s little darling. Just calm down.”
“I’ll kill them… all of them…!”
Shwaaa!
A beam of mana shot from Valeria’s hand. Fortunately, Jet wasn't hit; he managed to scramble out the door just in time.
“W-what’s gotten into you?! I’ll go get some cold water and the young master!”
Even after Jet left, Valeria remained in a precarious state, plagued by a splitting headache, a confused mind, and a body that refused to obey her.
“You act like a cornered animal the moment you wake. There are no Zipples here, nor anyone who wishes you harm. It would be better to show some gratitude to those who helped you.”
It was Jin. He had stepped away for a moment to change the towel for her forehead.
“Jin. Jin Runcandel…?”
Jin set the damp towel on the nightstand and met Valeria’s eyes.
“Calm down. Drink this.”
Valeria stared at the glass of water Jin offered for a long time before pressing a hand to her forehead.
“You saw a pathetic side of me. My apologies.”
“No one was hurt, so we’ll let it slide.”
“How long was I out?”
“Two days. Not unusual, given the circumstances.”
While Valeria took a sip of water, another person entered the room.
“How are you feeling?”
“……Your Majesty the Holy King?”
“You are not a subject of the Holy Kingdom, so there is no need for such formalities. Please, treat me as you would a friend of Jin’s. I heard you are his comrade as well.”
It was Rani.
Immediately after Valeria collapsed, Jin had contacted Rani, telling her that a comrade was in critical condition and asking her to come at once.
In this world, Jin was likely the only person who could summon the monarch of a nation—especially the Holy King—under such circumstances.
“I am… fine.”
“That is a relief. It seems the two of you have much to discuss, so I shall take my leave. I plan to return to my country by the end of the day, so if you require further treatment before then, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Once Rani left, only Jin and Valeria remained in the room. Valeria seemed to have finally regained her composure, her eyes calm as she organized her thoughts.
“Your mana backflow was severe, so I had no choice but to call Rani. Don't worry, I didn't reveal your identity to her.”
Valeria felt a warmth spreading through her chest, as if molten metal had been poured into it.
It was a feeling she hadn't experienced in a very long time—sincere apology and gratitude toward someone else. Since the massacre of the Gray Owls, she had never formed a truly human connection with another person.
Because of that, a sense of dread washed over her, like she was sinking underwater.
She had always believed that getting close to people only created weaknesses.
“I assume this is enough to prove I have no intention of harming you?”
Valeria nodded slowly.
If he had planned to kill or kidnap her, he could have done it a thousand times while she was unconscious.
“Yes. And there was nothing of note in the records I checked before I collapsed. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
“It’s a waste if you think of it as one. If you see it as building trust, then it was meaningful. I prefer the latter view.”
Valeria stared at Jin without responding.
She was recalling the last record she saw before losing consciousness.
<Within Solderet’s recording device, which Jin Runcandel confirmed, the ancient fairies were bound by the duty of recording.>
<…were deeply connected to the humans bearing the name Hister.>
Valeria brushed the red hair from her shoulder.
She thought of the red hair of Ruet in Jin’s records. She also thought of the fact that every single person born into the Hister family, without exception, was born with this same red hair.
The ancient fairies are related to the Hister family…?
Ever since realizing she was a Hister, Valeria had struggled to reclaim the magic and identity of her ancestors.
Yet, she had never once imagined there might be a connection between the ancient fairies and the Hister family.
What does it mean, ‘those who did not defect’?
She certainly hadn't expected to learn such a profound truth through Jin, of all people.
Furthermore, that wasn't the only shocking fact she had discovered while peeking into Jin’s records.
<Jin Runcandel has met death once.>
Hister’s record magic never told a lie. What the records revealed was the absolute truth, which could not be corrupted by anything.
He died, and then he came back to life.
Though baffling, it wasn't a difficult conclusion to reach.
Resurrection—a word that appeared countless times in the legends and myths told across the world.
It wasn't something that only happened in stories.
The Runcandels must have possessed one of Numerus’s Tears.
Numerus, the God of Hope.
He was a god said to have perished in a certain incident before the founding of the Vankella Holy Kingdom, leaving behind eight drops of tears and a hundred drops of blood as his legacy.
The blood could be used as an incomparable medicine, and the tears were the only items capable of bringing the dead back to life.
Records existed for the use of four of the eight drops, but the whereabouts of the remaining four were unknown. Valeria concluded that one of them had been used on Jin.
But why? Isn't that too precious an item to use on the 12th Flagbearer of the Runcandels?
If she were a Runcandel, she would have saved it for someone like Cyron or Luna.
“What are you thinking about, Aria Owlheart?”
Aria shook her head.
“My mind is just a bit foggy since I just woke up.”
“Then let’s talk after you’ve had a meal. If you’re uncomfortable eating together, I’ll have it brought to your room.”
“I would appreciate that.”
Not long after Jin left the room, Gilly brought Valeria her meal.
Is this woman Gilly McLoran, Jin’s nanny?
Gilly offered a gentle smile but didn't try to force a conversation.
The meal was a soup filled with minced meat, fresh milk, and a slice of strawberry pie for dessert. At the sight of the pie, the corners of Valeria's mouth twitched upward involuntarily.
While eating, Valeria contemplated how much she should reveal to Jin.
I see it now. Through Solderet’s recording devices, he discovered that the ancient fairies are connected to the Histers. He obtained this information personally, separate from the Runcandels. That’s why he needs me. Because Solderet’s recording devices are broken.
His purpose was entirely different from why the Runcandels or the Zipples sought her. They wanted to use her as a bargaining chip or kill her, but Jin literally ‘needed’ her.
The puzzle pieces are falling into place. The fact that I kept seeing Jin in my dreams might also be due to the magic left behind by the ancient fairies or my ancestors. Since my record magic is still incomplete, it only manifested indirectly like that.
She began to think that her meeting with Jin might be destiny. It felt like a long-standing arrangement left by the ancient fairies and her ancestors.
The biggest reason she believed this meeting was an ancestral arrangement was simple.
It was because of the ‘Record of the Future’ left by her ancestors at the Hister heritage site in the Lawless City of Mamit.
A record of the future stating that ‘the person who found the whereabouts of the Histers’ from a tavern waitress in Mamit in 1795 would return to Mamit around March of 1799.
How shocked she had been when she confirmed that the person was the ‘Jin’ from the dreams she had been having for so long.
I need to hear everything Jin Runcandel knows about the ancient fairies. I shouldn't be more guarded against him than necessary anymore.
After finishing her meal, Valeria sought out Jin.
“Has your head cleared a bit?”
“Thanks to you.”
“I assume you haven't forgotten our promise? You must cooperate with me more actively from now on.”
“Of course. In fact, just as you are using me, I’ve decided that I need to use you more as well.”
“That’s welcome news.”
“May I ask a few questions, Jin?”
“As many as you like.”
“While checking your records, I learned that the ancient fairies are deeply connected to the Hister family. I only caught a glimpse of a record within a record, so you must know far more about it.”
Jin’s eyes widened. He barely managed to hide his confusion at her sudden words.
“Tell me. What exactly is the relationship between the ancient fairies and my family? If you help me with my mission, I will truly work for you in return.”
“That… Aria. Wait a moment. It seems there’s a misunderstanding. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“What? Records never lie. From what I saw, it was clearly…”
“You can check my records again if you want. But this is truly the first I’m hearing of it.”
Valeria decided not to doubt Jin.
Since the information regarding the ancient fairies and the Histers was something she learned through Solderet’s records—which were stored within Jin’s own records—it was possible that Jin himself was unaware of it.
“Instead, I do know that the ancient fairies possessed abilities similar to your record magic. That’s why I also thought there might be some connection between you and them.”
“Abilities similar to record magic…?”
Jin spent some time explaining the fairies' abilities to Valeria.
He had no memory of what the real Ruet had explained, but he clearly remembered the things he had confirmed in the records of the third tomb.
“……Can you tell me how and where you saw the recording device containing the images of the ancient fairies? This is a matter of utmost importance to me.”
“I saw it at the hideout of the Catfolk. I’m telling you this in advance in case you ask to go there right now, but even I don't know the current whereabouts of the Catfolk.”
“I will find them,” Valeria said, her eyes burning with determination.