"Any issues with the visa?"
Eda asked, looking at Remi. After three hours of punishment, Remi, finally released, winced as her shoulders hurt. However, thanks to Kay volunteering to give her a massage, her expression had relaxed. Kay's small hands did their best to gently pat Remi's shoulders as she sat in the chair.
"Oh, yes. Right over there. My dear Kay. There's no one else like you who genuinely cares for Auntie. Huh? What did you say, Eddie?"
"I asked if there were any issues with the visa."
"Huh? Visa? Oh, well. It's a legitimate visa, not manipulated like before. So don't worry, even if the United Mining's whole army comes, they can't do anything to us."
"Jun, did you also get visas for the Clan guards following us?"
"Yeah. All set."
"Good."
Just before entering the United Mining territory, everything seemed to be falling into place. However, Eda still had a deep and thoughtful expression.
"Sigh..."
"Why are you like this, Mom?"
Kay, who was massaging Remi, spoke to Eda. Eda, with a somewhat absent expression, trailed off.
"No, it's just..."
"It seems your mom feels really embarrassed about having a fan club for the song she sang before."
As Remi explained in place of Eda, a look of realization crossed Eda's face.
"Myria neverlasting..."
"Mom, is that true? Why are you embarrassed? Isn't it a good thing? There are just as many people who love your voice."
Eda's 1st daughter, Fey, who loved her mother's voice more than anyone else, suddenly appeared and raised questions. For Fey, it was something beyond her comprehension.
"No... I mean... how do I explain this? More importantly, Fey, you should eat snacks in moderation."
"Yes~"
Fey used to eat the snacks that Lamar gave her whenever she was bored. As soon as she heard Eda's words, she quickly put the snacks into the box. It was obvious that she was planning to take it out and eat it when her mother was away.
"Alright, that's enough, thank you, Kay. Auntie will give you pocket money later."
"Wow!"
Delighted by the mention of pocket money, Kay's head was petted, and Remi approached the cockpit to check the current status.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We are currently heading towards the Second Grand Crusade Memorial. Be careful not to encounter any bad United Mining soldiers."
Listening to Remi's banter, Eda remembered why they ended up in this unpleasant place.
The Second Grand Crusade Memorial. It was the second branch of the Grand Crusade Memorial near the Mount Aurora, established approximately eight years ago. It was a result of an internal power game within United Mining when a high-ranking official decided to enhance his position by elevating United Mining's prestige.
The content of the memorial hall was almost identical to the original. Something about thanks to United Mining, the chaos in Thousand Peaks was coming to an end, witches were the bad guys, the cause of all this chaos, etc. The original and the new branch were no different. Of course, it didn't have much impact on United Mining's reputation, and the construction was essentially a waste of funds. The official who built the second branch was eventually pushed out in a power struggle and resigned.
It was a shame to destroy the memorial they had built, and there was no other use for it. So, the Second Memorial became a white elephant. However, recently, with the closure of the Lumen War Memorial within Ironwind, the exhibits there were relocated. Providing at least some means of income.
The reason the group was heading there was to show it to Fey. It was to showcase the foolish choice of participating in the war as a witch and to reveal the ruthlessness of United Mining and the public's gaze.
This was so that Fey could carefully consider whether or not she would become a witch, as she did not know what she would hear later just because she had received training as a witch for a short period of time.
Eda wanted her daughter to have the opportunity to contemplate and consider it. Eda was well aware that leaving such a decision to her young daughter could be emotionally painful, but she believed it was the best option for her.
"Um... speaking of which, I wonder what happened to my graffiti."
Fifteen years ago, when Rushell was briefly on Red Chamber, Eda drew a giant graffiti in the original memorial as a small act of revenge against United Mining's distorted history.
"Oh, that? It was erased the day after we left."
Thanks to Remi, Eda learned one more thing. She leaned back in her chair, contemplating her daughter's future while feeling a twinge of sadness.
/
The Second Grand Crusade Memorial. It is one of the places filled with distorted history and public manipulation by United Mining. Fey and Eda led the way, holding hands as they entered the memorial, with others following suit. Remi complained that there was now an entrance fee.
"Fey."
When they had just passed through the entrance, Eda called her daughter's name. Fey stopped walking and looked up at her.
"I thought bringing you here was the best for me, but it might be a different form of violence for you. If Fey decides to leave here, we can go back to Red Chamber without saying anything. No one will blame you.
However, if you choose that, I won't educate you as a witch. It might be tough for you at a young age, but I believe it's something you must know if you're going to become a witch... What do you want to do?"
"..."
Fey hesitated, looking at Eda's face, glancing inside the memorial, and then at the entrance they had come through. After pondering for a moment, Fey made her decision.
"I want to go inside."
"Really? This is United Mining's territory, so there might be more blatant distortions than before. Are you sure?"
"Yes. I still like singing."
"...Alright. Let's go."
The Grand Crusade Memorial was no different from what Eda remembered. No, it was even worse. Craftily changing sentences to leave only favorable records for United Mining, the criticism of the witches became even harsher.
For instance, originally, United Mining was the one who proposed participating in the war at the Witching Tower. However, they distorted it by suggesting that United Mining reluctantly accepted them due to threats from the Witching Tower, portraying it as if they had no other choice. Eda explained each of these distortions to her daughter.
"...And this is newly written."
In the year 8535, Galactic calendar. It was noted at the bottom that discussions about stripping witches of their citizenship were first brought up at Ironwind's Lumen War Memorial. Fey turned to Eda with a question upon reading those words.
"Mom, did you really get stripped of citizenship?"
"No. That discussion was resolved later. When that was first mentioned... Your dad and I were there on the scene. We almost got into big trouble at that time."
In the deeper sections of the memorial, models of lumen seeking vessel, such as the Red Chamber, were exhibited. However, they were much smaller and less impressive than the current Red Chamber. Because the Red Chamber had undergone continuous modifications by Dr. Remi over the past 17 years... was explained by Remi herself to the children.
"The Red Chamber looks the same only when it was made with those tin cans. Now it's essentially a completely different vessel. Just look at the engine output alone..."
"Remi, save the ship lecture for later."
Eda intervened, shutting Remi's mouth, who was thrilled to have something to explain. Meanwhile, she showed the names of war heroes engraved on the wall near the ship to Fey.
'...Looks like they erased all the names of the witches when they moved here.'
"Fey, look at these names. Quite a lot, isn't it? They are the war heroes of United Mining. Want to take a look?"
Originally, there were many women's names, including those of the witches. However, now that all the witches had been erased, there were hardly any women's names left.
"There are hardly any female names, right? They erased the names of the witches. United Mining wants to eliminate the achievements of the witches and leave only the criminals."
"..."
Fey bowed her head deeply as if drained of energy. Was the evil in this world a bit too much for the young child who admired her mother and loved singing? In that state, Fey posed the most fundamental question.
"Mom, why did United Mining go this far?"
"Yeah... I wonder about that too. Why go this far? Maybe it's because of greed."
/
After the short tour of the memorial, the group returned to the Red Chamber. When evening came, Fey asked Eda a question.
"Mom, have you ever regretted becoming a witch?"
"Hmm... How about you come to my room for a moment?"
Mother and daughter entered Eda's cabin. Eda seated Fey on the bed and sat beside her, beginning to talk. The soft glow of the lantern illuminated Eda and Fey's faces.
"When I was as young as you, Fey, I didn't like myself. I chased after others mindless, and even though I said I wanted to become a witch, I didn't know why I wanted that. At that time, my master, who I mentioned to you before, took me in and taught me to become a new era witch. What she emphasized the most was to be myself, but it took me a while to realize that.
Thanks to my master taking me in and raising me as a new era witch, I was able to meet Remi and your dad. And then, I could have Kay, Fey, Shan, and Yen. So, no matter how difficult it was, I don't regret becoming a witch. I like who I am now because I could meet all of you."
Listening silently to Eda's words, Fey asked another question.
"Then... what does 'myself' that you mentioned mean?"
"That? Mom just wanted to be with the people I love. Simple, isn't it?"
"Really?"
Eda nodded and replied, shaking her head.
"Not knowing something as simple as this made my master really disappointed. Looking back, there was nothing as clear as this."
"Then... if I say I want to become a witch, do I have to know myself? I'm not sure. And it's a bit scary. I didn't know people looked down on witches like this."
Eda gently stroked Fey's head and spoke to her.
"The teachings from the master Red are excellent in my personal opinion. I have no shame about those teachings or being a new era witch. However, I can't force that onto my daughter. Fey, after finishing this journey, think carefully if you really want to become a witch.
Listen to the voice inside you and be honest with yourself. If you don't want to become a witch, that's okay. No problem. But if you still want to become one, I will teach you everything I know. The choice is yours."
"Umm..."
Fey murmured with a confused expression. Eda hugged her daughter, thinking to herself, 'I can't be as strict in teaching as my master, after all...'
To lift her daughter's mood and, Eda decided to share a different story.
"Um... Fey. Do you have the starsong recording that mom gave you? Can you bring it out?"
Fey retrieved the starsong recording that Eda had handed her from her pouch. Items like this were explicitly instructed by Eda not to be separated from the body, as they could help find their way if they got lost.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Uh... is it a starsong that Mom sang?"
When Fey looked at Eda with a look of confusion as to what she was talking about, Eda smiled and explained.
"This is the starsong that mom sang for your dad for the first time. And it's also his favorite."
After a brief pause, Eda closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to concentrate. Her consciousness expanded beyond the room. It extended beyond the Red Chamber Seeming to inflate continuously like a rubber balloon, with no apparent limits, Eda's mind began to bend all the surrounding cosmic spaces. Resonating with every lumen that reached her sight and every starsong that reached her ears.
lumens in the form of fuel for spacecraft outer space, lumens that are flowing in caves, lumens utilizing in facilities, and so forth. Every lumen has conveyed its sense of existence. As if lumens were anxious not to be able to send their voice to her.
Eda's eye level increased without hesitation. Eventually, when her area of sight covered half of Thousand Peaks, Eda caught what she aimed for at the edge of her range. It was the old base of the Bones Brigade, now in ruins for a long time. From within, she precisely heard the starsong still flowing. After resonating with the targeted starsong, Eda used her own voice to recreate it.
" ~ ~~ ~"
Eda sang the wispy witch's starsong again. Looking at her daughter, who was gazing in awe, Eda explained.
"This is that starsong. Your dad named it 'Wispy witch's starsong.' What do you think?"
"It's amazing!"
Fey, now excited, clung to Eda with an enthusiastic voice, as if forgetting the heavy atmosphere from before. Smiling, Eda made a suggestion.
"If my daughter is okay with it, I'd like to briefly tell the story related to this starsong, and the adventures mom had with your dad and auntie. Would that be okay?"
"Yes!"
With joy, Fey cheered, and Eda, sitting her on her lap, began to tell the story. Despite trimming unnecessary details and focusing on the core, as Eda approached the part where she and Jun came to the Lee Clan following Jun's lead, Fey had already fallen asleep, seemingly forgetting everything. Eda gently laid her daughter down, covered her with a blanket, and extinguished the light, letting her sleep peacefully.
/
The capital of Thousand Peaks, Ironwind, was an enormous city boasting a size rivaling that of Tyjin, the capital of the East Ocean. Its prosperity exceeded expectations since it's fueled by United Mining and lumens of Thousand Peaks flowed in there. While it stood as a reliable fortress of steel for those aligned with United Mining, it was a formidable demon castle for those who hated it.
"Alright, we've arrived. Everyone, get ready to disembark."
With Remi's oddly relaxed words, the Red Chamber settled onto the massive landing pad. As the vibrations from the spaceship ceased, Remi turned around and addressed the group.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please follow my instructions here. This place undergoes frequent development, has an obscenely large scale, and is filled with strange individuals. It's easy to get lost or get into trouble. Of course, there are plenty of police around, so nothing should go wrong, but..."
"Yes~"
"Well, as expected from my nephews and nieces. Very wise."
With the children nodding in agreement, Remi seemed to be in high spirits, singing a tune. Watching Remi and feeling a bit amused, Eda whispered to Jun.
"Jun, Remi seems unusually carefree. What's up?"
"Well, it's quite natural. Remi is now living here."
After obtaining a doctoral degree, Remi, along with Benzel, had been living in Ironwind for some time. While she often contacted Eda, the messages were typically filled with complaints, yet according to Eda's judgment, Remi seemed quite satisfied with her current life.
"Oh, by the way, Eddie."
Approaching Eda with the kids holding hands, Remi, with a slightly serious expression, spoke.
"You know, there are quite a few witches here originally, right?"
"Yeah? I guess so."
Due to the witches' innate ability to accurately perceive the flow of lumens more than any other machinery, many of them were employed by United Mining and worked in their facilities.
"Like we heard before. United Mining was planning to create a fleet of witches again. They gathered these witches in Ironwind, planning some kind of conspiracy, right? As you know, the internal issues within United Mining escalated, and the discussion of war became prominent.
Those witches also became loners, in a way. So, the number of witches in the city suddenly surged, making people a bit sensitive. Just a heads up, it might be wise to be cautious. Got it?"
"Ah... I understand what you mean."
"Uh? I don't get it."
While Eda nodded in understanding of Remi's words, the other children wore expressions indicating they didn't quite grasp the meaning, except for Shan.
"Um... so, it's like this. Some people dislike witches, and suddenly, there are more witches. Because of that, those people feel uncomfortable and might pick a fight with us, or try to find out if our mom is a witch and get angry?"
"Exactly. That's it."
Jun patted Shan's head.
"Well, there's no need to worry too much. Just stick close to Auntie and everything will be fine... is what I want to say, but still, just in case, it's good to have someone to call, right?"
Remi then took something square from her pocket, pressed a button, and started talking.
"Uh, Benzel. It's me. We've all arrived. Send someone over, just in case. Talking about it again. If you keep whining, I won't take you on a date. Damn. I don't know, just send someone. Let's talk when we meet. Are you an idiot? Don't even think about coming yourself."
Beep.
Putting the small, encrypted communicator back into her pocket, Remi addressed the group.
"Someone who can help will be here soon. Huh? Yen? What's wrong?"
Yen tugged at Remi's clothing with her small hands and, giving her a suspicious look, asked, "Auntie, did you just talk to your boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend? Well, sort of."
"But why speak ill of him? Mom always said never to say bad things when talking to loved ones. If you say it, then you became a bad person. Are you a bad person, Auntie?"
"No, not at all!"
"Then why? Don't you love your boyfriend, Auntie?"
"Well, that's..."
"And when are you going to get married?"
Remi had to endure about 30 minutes of questioning from Yen.