Chapter 116: The Third Route – Lost Time Epilogue
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   Mia had witnessed the strangeness of life the moment she arrived in the town of Memoria. The kind grandmother that had eluded them with maturity, and an overwhelming sense of duty, was happily giggling. Mia felt her heart being untwisted at the result of such a scene.

She was walking behind them who had recovered from that sudden high of happiness. Mia honestly thought that they’d be going around stupidly flirting out in the open, but she realized that they were people who had surpassed the lifespan of normal humans. They had a blank expression as they strolled to the beach. Mia kicked the sand, she heard the little chatter of the birds on the beams of the houses.

The cool wind greeted her and she ambled towards the shoreline, burying her hand on the sands. She kneeled and stared as if she was trying to see through a veil of nothingness. She heard the plates being set up. She moved to the table and sat near her grandmother.

“Grandma, give me that.”

“Here you go,” she handed a piece of grilled fish.

“Are we setting up a barbecue?”

“Ciara?” Nolan asked.

“We didn’t bring the grill here, so no.”

“Oh, I thought we were going to have some.”

“You shoulda told us before we come here.”

“I can return you know?”

“Nolan, don’t go back anymore.”

“Oh, I need to take this call, Grandma.”

Ciara nodded while eating her food. Nolan did the same, chewing through the roasted chicken-like leg.

“Oh, not really,” Mia answered. “I’m not going to, hello?”

“What happened?” Ciara asked.

“It broke,” Mia said. “The packset is reliable, but they are easily broken.”

“Let me see that,” Nolan said.

Mia handed the packset to Nolan. Nolan turned the packset around, examining the item.

“Do you have any tools to loosen the screws?”

“I have a toolkit.”

“Screws, bolts, and the casing, and finally the compartment where the battery is. Hmm, a crystal huh, looks like it came from that Crystallite River, no mistaking it.”

He said without any tone of voice. His eyes half-closed as he stared at the crystal.

“Mister Nolan?”

“Nothing, the compartment is sturdy, though the wirings are interfering with the crystal. I do admit that it needs more tuning up, look here, recipe for disaster, and really why there is no insulation? Hey, Ciara.”

“Oh, what is it?” Ciara said, her eyes refocused on Nolan.

“Is rune marking lost in this world?”

“No. Still, you seem to know something about these items.”

“I know what I know.”

“Is that so?” Ciara nodded before touching her chin.

Nolan started tinkering with the wires. The craftsmanship of the packset was good enough, but he had to untangle the wires and make sure that there was no interference with the receiver. He pushed the button on the side and heard the static noise. He handed it back to Mia.

“That was efficient,” Mia said. “Though, where did I see this kind of rune crafting?”

Nolan handed the toolkit as well. He went to the table and ate his food. Mia took the packset that she had received and set it to the same frequency of the caller.

“Got it working,” she thought.

Mia explained herself and was given leisure.

“How’s the attack?”

“Going good, though they might think that we are attacking for the Empire. Say, will grandmother able to help us in this situation?” The caller said.

Mia eyed her grandmother who was talking to Nolan.

“You know that Grandmother barely interferes with our situation. Also, she’ll scold us if we rely on her too much. The Alician family is not a glass cannon, and will continue to rely on its own hard work than rely on our good grandmother.”

Mia eyed her grandmother who used to keep a stern face. She was laughing normally, her face has more expression than normal, and she was even dazzling than the usual. Mia felt like she would only show such side to Nolan. She felt her heart tighten for a second, but it was enough for her to see her grandmother happy.

“At this point, I don’t think we’ll see grandmother walking around. It would be impossible, and so I can only hope that you all have good luck.”

“You’re with Grandmother, right? Give her my regards.”

Mia switched the packset off and turned towards the two. He sauntered back to the table and stared at her grandmother.

“I am jealous.”

“Why for?” Ciara asked.

“Someone made grandmother happy.”

“Mia Alician,” Ciara said. “Do you really think that I am not happy seeing my great granddaughters?”

“But you look happier with Mister Nolan.”

“That is true. Still, just leave me alone, will you? It has been so long that let me cherish this, but, it doesn’t mean I am not that happy when I see you all working so hard.”

Ciara smiled while puffing her chest out. Mia had seen that smile a lot and yet it still doesn’t fail to bewitch her. She recalled the first time she saw that smile. It was a time where there was a colony of monsters burrow that appeared while she was having a trip with her mother and grandmother. She saw it clearly how her grandmother walked into that army of monsters. Audrey and Vie were usually with, but they had to hold the fort down.

She slaughtered all alone in that hill. Blood covered her that she was dyed in red. She saw the lonely back of her grandmother standing on that hill, all alone among the corpses. Mia didn’t have that power. They looked at her grandmother as if she was a paragon of God. She was, still, Mia didn’t think about that.

When her grandmother returned, she gestured her grandmother to kneel, and then she took out a handkerchief and wiped her grandmother’s bloody face.

“Are you okay, Grandma?”

She remembered her grandmother staring at her with widened eyes. But her eyes squinted and she gave a grin that reached her ears.

“Thank you, child.”

Mia wanted to protect her lonesome grandmother. That’s why she worked hard enough that she won’t have to fight. Still, she was jealous, for her Grandmother has found happiness.

She was no longer alone and was planning to make up for the lost time.

Mia liked that.


 

This marks the end of the Lost Time Story line. The next story line and chapters might take a while. So far, thank you all for reading this story!I really appreciate your comments and are one of the fuels that drives me into writing.

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