Jin's eyes widened.
'Did she just call my name...?'
19 years passed since Jin heard the one syllable which was his name from Valeria's mouth.
Valeria Hister.
If she hadn't reached out her hand when he was expelled from Runcandel in his past life, Jin would have rolled around the world like a hopeless vagrant…..
Jin's past life would have been full of only miserable and dark days. She was his teacher, his friend, his reliable companion, a subject of his compassion, and his savior.
There was a moment of silence.
In that brief period of just a few seconds, Jin couldn't say anything with his heart pounding. His head, which became hot in an instant, was dazed, and it seemed that his eyes were becoming distant.
Jin wanted to answer right away. He wanted to call her by her name naturally as he did in his past life. But Jin has to be rational.
'There is no way my teacher remembers me. Unlike me, she does not have memories of past life.'
The situation could become a mess if Jin suddenly welcomes her and shows his affection.
Strictly speaking, this was because it's a one-sided reunion.
'I must not act in a way that is difficult for her to understand. It is highly likely that it will only raise her guard even more.'
Even if Valeria had memories of a past life like Jin, it was foolish to approach her emotionally. Jin considered Valeria to be an even ruthless person than his father in some ways.
If she possesses memories of her past life and still pretends not to know first, it must be a carefully calculated move.
Or perhaps she no longer finds any significance in the pleasant moments of her past life.
Whether she had memories of a past life or not, Jin needed to start the conversation as naturally as possible.
He could not afford to reveal his vulnerabilities by getting carried away with shallow emotions.
Jin came here to make a request to Valeria. She never had a deep conversation or negotiated with someone unless she really needed them or she acknowledged them.
He had to meet one of those two conditions.
"It's a pretty flashy entrance. Is it okay to just kill your boss like this? Arya Aulhart. No, should I call you Arya Hister?"
Jin said both names: 'Aulhart' and 'Hister', but Valeria did not show any surprise. Jin didn't know if it was because she was suppressing her emotions or because she had foreseen it.
"Yorke ceased to exist from the moment you sought me out anyway."
Valeria lightly landed in the lobby.
"No matter how trashy he is, it's hard to kill him when he complies with your orders. I have taken care of that for you, so how about saying thank you." Valeria continued.
She then took off her hood and revealed her face as if there was nothing to worry about.
Her hair was dyed brown, her pupils were red and bright, and her lips were closed tight. As she is still only 17, she has a baby-like look, but it is difficult to approach her carelessly.
In past life, Jin had never seen seventeen year old Valeria.
Valeria was clearly weaker and fragile than in her past life when she was 26. She is smaller and thinner than Jin remembered.
However, she was sharper than in her previous life when she had completed her growth, much like the fangs of a wounded beast.
"One might think so. Rather, I didn't expect you to show your face so easily."
"I warn you in advance. If you attack me even once, I'll choose safety over curiosity."
"Safety, huh? It sounds like you're confident in running away from me."
"If I wasn't confident, I wouldn't have killed Yorke and stood before you."
Both had expressionless faces, but different scenarios of the situation were constantly running in their minds .
"I wondered who the hell was that person who looked for me in this city four years ago. After I found out that it was you, I thought we should talk."
Valeria came to Mamit and lived for two years right after Jin completed his intermediate class mission.
It was because there is one 'Hister clan's succession temple' in the city of lawless. She used record magic a few times in Mamit to find the succession temple, and as a result.
In addition to the location of the succession temple, she found a record that someone asked for Hister in a tavern 4 years ago.
Valeria eventually discovered the succession temple of Mamit, and she peeked at the 'future record' stating that the same person would surely visit her around March 1799.
It was for that very reason that she was waiting in Mamit.
"I wonder how you found out that I was looking for you."
"That's my question to ask. How did you know about me?"
"This is Huphester Alliance. Do you think there's anything that Runcandels doesn't know?"
"Of course, it would have been top secret if Runcandel had been looking for Hister, and you were only a 15 year old intermediate cadet at that time. That means such information should not have been available to you since you weren't even a flagbearer."
"Well, top secret? Aren't you overestimating yourself?"
"I am not overestimating myself. I know I am great. Just looking at the great Jin Runcandel himself is here. Tell me why you were looking for me."
Jin smiled.
"I came here with a request."
"What kind of request?"
"Restore the recording device."
"If it's a recording device, did my ancestors leave it?"
"That I'll tell you after you accept my request."
Valeria scoffed.
"You know what the name Hister means. Unfortunately, there's no reason for me to help you."
"Then I'll just need to create a reason. Collaboration for survival, for one."
"You can't kill me."
"Why do you think so?"
"That would be beneficial for Zipfel and your competitors."
"I was right about you overestimating yourself."
Sureung, Sak-!
Jin pulled out Sigmund and swung it near Valeria's eyes in a flash. A few strands of dyed brown hair fell to the floor.
Valeria looked at the fallen strands of hair and blinked her, shocked.
"I can't believe you are such a disappointing person... you come to make a request, and all you do is to threaten me by force? Is that all you got!"
Valeria shouted, staring at Jin with a red face. At that point, Jin couldn't help but shudder inwardly.
It seemed very strange to see her like this. Valeria would have never reacted like this in his past life.
'It's strange that she's showing such strong emotions in front of someone who might be a friend or foe, and from her perspective I'm more of a foe than a friend. Considering she's almost ten years younger, she might not be skilled at suppressing her emotions yet. Still... it feels like something's off. It's as if she's overly disappointed.'
Jin shrugged.
"I hope you take this as advice rather than a threat. If there were any other Runcandel in my place, it wouldn't have ended up with just a few strands of hair."
"You seem to be mistaken, you are standing in front of me right now because I chose to meet you. Neither Runcandel nor Zipfel will ever be able to find me after today."
Valeria spoke quickly and slightly trembled. She was unable to control her exasperated emotions.
'She is acting like someone who expected something from me.'
Things would be different if one was to assume that Jin knew nothing about Valeria.
There was nothing particularly strange about Valeria's behavior now. She just looked like a person who got tired of living while escaping from the major clans targeting her for a long time.
But contrary to Jin's thought. Valeria was horribly disappointed in Jin.
In fact, Valeria has been curious about the person named 'Jin' since she was much younger than she is now.
It started about the time she began to realize what memory was at all.
Or perhaps since she began to understand the significance of records as a Hister, Valeria had repeatedly dreamed of one thing. She could not tell if it was simply a pointless dream or a series from a long dream about the future.
That dream continued like a strong afterimage.
The main content of the dream was that her grown-up self was conversing with a vagrant in the dark streets of an unknown city.
"Are you going to just sit like that?"
"Get lost."
"How pathetic this is. Jin, your siblings will love it."
"Who are you? How do you know my name?"
"Seeing that you have some questions left, you still have lingering feelings about the world. Follow me, and I'll forgive you for pointing a knife at the only person who has ever extended a helping hand."
The dream that continued almost daily for a long time was a big puzzle for Valeria.
She couldn't figure out why a man she had never seen in her life kept appearing in her dreams, and what possible connection she had with the miserable man in her dreams.
But the emotion she felt for him was clear.
The Valeria in the dream was clearly sympathetic to the man.
Sometimes the dream felt more vivid than reality, and woke up in a cold sweat. She was horrified to see herself thirteen years younger than the dream.
Valeria learned the identity of the vagrant in her dreams was Jin when the incident of the Holy Kingdom turned the world upside down.
It was the moment when Jin Runcandel's face was revealed to the whole world.
Thanks to that, Valeria realized that the man in her dreams was the youngest son of the Runcandel clan, whom everybody in the world seemed to praise.
Jin looked a lot better than the face she saw in her dream in many ways, but Valeria could recognize it at once. The man she helped for absolutely no reason at all was Jin Runcandel.
The reason she called out Jin's name the moment she saw him was because of the dream she had always dreamed of for over ten years. It was out of habit, of doing the same in her dreams every single night for the past 10 years.
'I made a mistake. I gave too much meaning to the person from my dream alone, and I got emotional due to disappointment. But since it's a recording device....it's not bad to take a look at it. I need to find out how Jin Runcandel found me.'
Valeria turned around. It is time to regain her composure and weigh the demands with what she could gain.
"Arya Aulhart. Are you just going to leave?"
"Do you have more to say? If it's a recording device restoration, go find someone else."
"I have Schugiel Hister's magic tome."
Valeria stopped walking and turned to Jin again.
"What did you say?"
Jin took out Schugiel's magic tome from his bag.
"I heard this cipher system belong to the Histers."
In the next moment, Valeria had no choice but to cover her mouth with her hand and stare at Jin without realizing it.
Boo-wook-!
"What are you doing...!"
Jin opened the tome somewhere halfway and tore it in half.
"Check it out. If it is a genuine Hister magic tome or not."
Jin handed Valeria half of the torn magic tome.
A look of shock appeared on Valeria's face, who had received half of the magic tome.
Jin felt very sorry when he saw her, but there was a reason he acted in this way.
'I can't deal with my teacher leisurely. She is still young, and I can see she is less meticulous than what I remember, but if I treat her with ease, I will unknowingly get caught up with her pace.'
After checking the cipher system, Valeria's eyes were slightly tilted to the left.
It is Valeria's habit. Appears when she's confused or desperate.
"...Where did you get it?"
"The underground auction house of the Akin Kingdom. The place is gone now. If you restore the recording devices I have, I'll give you the other half of the magic tome as a reward. In addition, I promise to protect you from Runcandel and Zipfel."
"You protect me from Runcandel and Zipfel? I didn't know that Runcandel's 12th Flagbearer had that much power. You must be busy taking care of yourself. And I'm not weak enough to need your protection."
"If you're not weak, take the other half from me right now."
"That's impossible, but I can run away with the half magic tome in my hand."
"You're not lying, given the attitude you've shown me so far. Do it if you want to. But you'll never be able to find this half again."
Fwoosh!
Jin ignited a flame with mana in the palm of his hand and brought it to the remaining half of the magic tome.
"This means nothing to me if you don't cooperate with me. Choose, are you going to help me or run away? I promise you one thing. If you decide to help me, and if you decide to become my ally... "
Jin paused for a moment. Then, after organizing his emotions once again, he continued.
"I will do and give you everything you want in my power."
This was one of the things that he truly meant among the words and actions he had shown to Valeria today.