The Third Generation's Memory Room.
The territory that House Walt once governed spread out before us. A peaceful landscape unfolded in every direction, and I walked through it alongside the Third Generation. The domain at dusk carried a certain loneliness, yet it was beautiful to behold.
The Third Generation gazed out over the domain as we walked.
"I've seen Baim and the big cities, and they're impressive, don't get me wrong. But honestly, I'd love to live somewhere like Aramsass. Spending every day killing time in a library—that would be a dream come true."
The Third Generation, who loved reading and gave more the impression of a bookworm than a righteous commander, smiled as he strolled along.
"But even though there's nothing here, I loved this land. My older brother was supposed to inherit it, you know."
Dewey Wolt, the eldest son of the Second Generation, had been killed by Monsters when he acted to protect the Third Generation as a child. That was why Slei Wolt had succeeded him instead.
"Do you have any regrets, Third Generation?"
At that, the Third Generation nodded with a smile.
"Regrets? Plenty of them. But I realized something at one point. Regretting and not moving forward—that's doing a disservice to my brother Dewey. I'd planned to die of old age, you see. Once I had free time, I was going to do all the regretting I wanted. But there were just too many people causing trouble."
The Third Generation let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. Clouds drifted across the orange expanse above.
Around us, the domain's residents were heading home after finishing their work in the fields.
"It really was a wonderful place, wasn't it?"
When I said that, the Third Generation looked pleased.
"Yeah, it really was. The First Generation carved it out, the Second Generation shaped it—and there wasn't much I could do, but still."
Then, the Third Generation slowly turned toward me.
"When I died in battle, I was so frustrated. I still had so much to teach Marks, and I wanted to see my grandchild too. I'd planned to hand things over to Marks early and become a cheerful former head. Watching Marks struggle while I spent my time reading—that was my perfect retirement plan, and it all went to ruin."
It really did seem like something he would have thought, yet at the same time he seemed like the kind of person who'd been thinking about many other things too—the Third Generation was elusive as he laughed.
"But I did get to see Marks grow into a fine man. And I got to meet my troublesome grandson, the Fifth Generation, so I'm glad about that."
"That's a lot of problems, huh. Well, I can't deny it"
The Fifth Generation, who had suffered through so much, had abandoned his family and resolved to take his revenge. Because of that, the family relationships were in complete shambles. But if the Third Generation had still been alive, things might have turned out very differently.
"If the Third Generation had still been alive, the Fifth Generation might not have had to go through all that trouble"
However, the Third Generation disagreed.
"Or would he? The Fifth Generation's struggles laid the groundwork for House Walt to gain a strong retinue. On top of that, they obtained a powerful military force and came to be feared by everyone around them. If I'd been there, I would've just coasted along and swept things under the rug, and the House Walt you see today might never have existed"
As I listened to the Third Generation's perspective, I tilted my head.
"Is that so? But if the Third Generation, Fourth Generation, and Fifth Generation were all here together, it feels like you could accomplish all sorts of things"
The Third Generation laughed.
"That wouldn't work. Besides, if I'd been around, the Fifth Generation probably would've chosen a completely different path, and who knows if he would've turned out that impressive. Well, his personal life might have been happier, I suppose. When I think about it like that, I really did a terrible thing. …No, wait, it's not my fault! It's that guy's fault! Dammit, I should've hit him harder. Man, I want to hit him again"
Despite being called a just general, he held a grudge against Banseim. Maybe that was the truth of the matter.
Following behind the Third Generation as he started walking again, the surroundings gradually grew darker. I looked up at the sky and began to see stars peeking through here and there.
"Things don't always go the way you want them to. The Fifth Generation might not have thought 'I need to become stronger' if I'd been around. Marks is the same. He might've stayed more of a sheltered gentleman"
"You're saying he was only able to work that hard because you weren't there? That's kind of sad"
"You think so? I suppose that could be right, but still. At some point, you have to stand on your own two feet. Well, as a parent, you want to spoil them, I suppose—and you can't help but meddle because you're worried. I'm sure kids find that annoying sometimes"
The Third Generation began to talk about his own perspective. It was about his relationship with the Second Generation.
"The Second Generation was a fine person. But only in the sense of ruling over a single village. The First Generation was called a barbarian and all that, but the Second Generation was a knight who openly used bows and hatchets—which, frankly speaking, didn't go over well with those around him. But given the nature of their territory, there was no room for such complaints. There was no luxury to spare. Even when he finally did have some breathing room, the Second Generation remained focused on practicality"
You couldn't really call that a flaw. But there were downsides. Noble society. Especially when it came to interactions with neighboring powers, he had a tendency to be looked down upon.
Even so, the Second Generation never let go of his bow.
"If you asked him, he might say he chose the bow to watch the First Generation's back, or something along those lines. But as the territory grew larger, the disadvantages became more significant. That's why I didn't follow the Second Generation's lead. Taking up the sword was partly to make a statement that in my generation, we're proper nobles"
I crossed my arms and tilted my head.
"Is that really how it works? Does it change your relationships with those around you?"
"Appearance matters, you know. If it were purely about practicality, I'd carry a bow too. Well, the number of vassal knights and soldiers has increased, so the need to carry a bow disappeared — that's part of it."
I found myself wondering why the Third Generation was telling me this. With him, things that seemed pointless usually weren't. Could there be some deeper meaning?
Just as I was thinking that —
"...People can adapt and change according to their circumstances. But as they grow older, they become stubborn and it gets harder. That's why generational succession is so important. If you keep sticking your nose into everything, the next generation will never grow."
The scenery around us grew darker. But the moonlight was so bright that the surroundings weren't dim at all. The full moon was beautiful.
"Layel, I have a few hypotheses about the Jewel."
The Third Generation gazed up at the moon and began to speak about the Jewel.
"Hypotheses?"
"That's right. Well, you can think of them as fantasies if you like. Septem, the one who created the Jewel, may not have intended any of this. But you remember what Layel said, right? He told me to give Layel's body back."
I remembered what Layel had said. He was an incomprehensible person to the very end, but he demanded his body back because it was his. Whether that was actually possible, I didn't know.
"I can understand it storing the Skills of successive Heads. The Jewel is essentially that kind of thing. But does it really need to reproduce our memories with such precision after becoming the Jewel? At worst, there's no need for will or intent at all. Just show the scenes of it being used and explain — that would suffice."
"Now that you mention it, that's true. But if that's the case, then your hypothesis, Third Generation — "
"— is that it stores memories, will, and everything from that era, with the goal of seizing its bearer's body. I believe the Jewel's powers have been restricted."
When I stopped walking, the Third Generation stopped as well.
"If that's true, then the reason the successive Heads disappeared — "
"What the Jewel wanted to reclaim was the original Layel. And perhaps it only truly wanted to allow the inheritance of Skills from us. Well, that's assuming the Jewel has a will of its own. I believe it does, but nothing is certain on that front. It's probably irrelevant at this point, though."
I lowered my gaze, then raised my head. The Third Generation had a serious expression on his face.
"Then, what about Ceres?"
"Agrissa may want Ceres's body. Or perhaps her vessel? The fact that she reacts so easily to blood relatives — maybe that's simply more convenient for her purposes."
When I heard a voice from the Jewel, the Successive Heads had already made remarks acknowledging that I was a blood relative. I looked at the Third Generation.
"Third Generation—did the rest of you never think about taking over someone's body?"
"Us? Not a chance. There's nothing we'd want to go back out into the world to do anymore... Well, I suppose I'd like to read a lot of books from this era. I'd love to hole up in the Aramsass library and just devour everything, but even I wouldn't go that far. It's not our era, after all."
The Third Generation laughed and started walking again. I hurried after him, and he looked as though he were smiling gently.
"Speaking of which, the Goddess really is something, isn't she?"
"Something?"
"I mean, for someone called a Goddess, she sure caused a lot of trouble. The way she handled Septem—she clearly gave her too much power and ended up corrupting the residents. And Agrissa is from Septem's lineage too, right? Man, she really did a number on us."
The Third Generation showed not a shred of reverence toward the Goddess. Then again, once you learn the truth about all of this, you can't help but tilt your head in disbelief too.
Gradually, the sky began to brighten. As if time held no meaning in this room of memories, the morning sun was starting to rise.
The Third Generation spoke.
"Well, let's hope those unpleasant predictions don't come true. Rael—if Ceres is about to be taken over by Agrissa, you have to stop her before that happens. It does seem unlikely that someone like Ceres would let her body be seized so easily, though. And when you're on the verge of defeat—"
I nodded.
"I understand. I'll do everything I can to make sure it doesn't come to that. Besides, I'm not the type to pick fights I can't win. The only reason I'm challenging Ceres to battle is because I believe I have a chance."
The Third Generation looked pleased, yet at the same time, there was a trace of sadness on his face.
"That's right. Only a fool rushes into a hopeless battle. Well, there's nothing wrong with being a fool, I suppose. Most true heroes are fools at heart. The old man from the First Generation was probably that type, wasn't he?"
The previous Rael—our ancestor—who had defeated Agrissa only to be killed by Banseim. He certainly was that kind of person.
The Third Generation shrugged and let out a sigh.
"I just wish a hero would show up, like something out of a story. A fool who's strong, cool, and dashing, who takes down the wicked Ceres. If that existed, Rael could have chosen a much easier path."
"True. If someone like that existed, I'd hand over my position in a heartbeat. I'd focus entirely on support duty, and after the war, Novem and I could go somewhere far away and till some fields... or maybe start a village? I'm sure there are plenty of devastated places out there."
The Third Generation nodded along and said, "That kind of life sounds nice. Less responsibility," agreeing with my sentiment.
Really—could a hero perhaps appear? Surely someone who could handle things better than me, and who would help so many more people.
"Now then, shall I teach you a Skill? Well, it's a tricky one to use despite its difficulty, and there's that uncomfortable fact that it can be misused—but still. Second-tier: Control. And third-tier: Dream. With where you stand now, Rael, you should be able to use it once the conditions are met."
Looking at the Third Generation's face, I nodded.
And once the Skill inheritance was complete, the sky brightened in an instant.
"Dawn. Here's hoping this becomes a dawn for you, Rael. I think I'll go ahead and fade away now. Oh—!"
The Third Generation suddenly shouted, and I jumped in surprise.
"Wh-what was that about? Did you forget something?"
The Third Generation wore a serious expression, his right hand covering his mouth as sweat beaded on his brow. His eyes went wide, then he looked up to the sky and covered his face with his right hand.
"This is terrible. The Best Rael Award still hasn't been decided! I've got some nominations in, you see. But the selection committee is just me, and to leave things on such an unfinished note… What kind of… what kind of failure of a man am I?!"
Watching the Third Generation's exaggerated display, I let my shoulders drop. The blue sky stretched wide overhead, the sunlight warm. Clouds drifted slowly by, and all around was a peaceful scene—and in a moment like this, the man never changed.
Actually, I was fairly sure it wasn't an act. I had a rough idea of why.
"…It's not an act, is it? It's more like, now isn't the time for that sort of thing?"
"…You saw through me, huh. Expected of the Walt family's hidden gem, trained by everyone. Well, looks like there's nothing to worry about. Anyway, with everything that's happened, I truly believe Rael is the most fitting candidate for Best of the Rael. You are the Rael among Rael! Even if the committee can't agree on whether to pick Dream for the Best Rael Award, this much is unanimous!"
"The Rael among Rael," he says with a cool expression—but who exactly is another Rael besides me? Seriously, this guy right to the very end. As I thought that, the Third Generation gave me a warm smile.
"That was my parting gift to you, Rael. Try reading between the lines a little more. Oh, it really does seem like my time is up. Rael—do your best for Novem."
Right after that, I snapped awake.
Before I knew it, I was in the Round Table Chamber.
On the surface of the round table, seven silver weapons hovered where the chairs once stood. The only chair left was mine, and behind it was the door leading to the Memory Room.
All the other chairs had vanished, and the entrance door was gone too.
I looked up at the ceiling, where a large blue sphere radiated light, surrounded by twenty-four smaller blue orbs, every single one of them glowing brightly.
All the Skills were complete.
All the weapons were gathered.
However, all of the Successive Heads had vanished.
Just that alone made tears come to my eyes.
―― Everyone was gone, and I felt lonely. The Successive Heads who had treated me like a grandfather, like a parent, like a brother, like a friend, and sometimes as a teacher. All of them were gone.
Still, if I could believe they had acknowledged me, it was happy, yet the feeling welling up from my chest was sorrowful.
Even though they had been so annoying.
Even though I had disliked them so much.
Even though... it had been so fun, everything was now over.
I slowly sat down in the chair. No, I more like collapsed into it. I covered my face with both hands, hiding my own crying face. From whom? I didn't even know myself.
My memories were taken by Ceres, and in the end, they never returned. For me now, the only thing like family I had left were the memories of the Successive Heads.
They weren't perfect people.
Everyone had their problems.
Plus, they had many worthless parts.
But they were dependable. They supported me with their knowledge and skills.
"Even with Novem here, I can't even think about that anymore. Why does my chest hurt so much? I've experienced parting so many times before..."
Every time one disappeared, I gained something. But when there was nothing left to lose, I was incredibly sad.
And then, I remembered the words of the Third Generation.
"Those words of the Third Generation――"
Lael within Lael — wasn't that the Third Generation's way of encouraging me? The me before my memories were stolen, and the previous head, Novem, who clung to Lael. Bundling them all together, the real one is me... the one they acknowledge as real, is me.
I raised my head and looked toward the Third Generation's seat. The Third Generation's carefree figure was nowhere to be seen. In its place, what floated there was a bladeless sword. When I reached out, the hilt drifted toward me.
When I grasped it, a faint blade became visible.
Just like the elusive Third Generation, it was an infuriating sword — invisible to the eye, with a length that could be freely adjusted. When I gripped it tight, I finally understood what the Third Generation had been trying to tell me.
I wiped the tears with my left hand and let go of the sword hilt held in my right.
"...Please, watch over me. I'm everyone's treasure, after all. I will definitely... see it through."
And with that, I returned my consciousness from within the Jewel back to reality.