When the elder jar and Alexander returned, the elder quickly gave his answer.
"Lord Lucian, on behalf of every jar in this village, I gratefully accept your offer of aid."
"Thank you for extending a helping hand to our people in our time of hardship."
"We have no way to repay such kindness. If there is ever any work suited to us, please entrust it to us."
"Every jar here will remember this debt for the rest of our lives."
Lucian nodded with a smile.
"Don't worry. If there's work that suits you, I'll certainly ask for your help."
"If every race can stand together and make use of their own strengths and talents, then the Lands Between will only continue to become a better place."
"Our future is bright."
Another matter had finally been settled, and Lucian felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
He had come to the Lands Between to make it a better world.
As long as he was able, he would prevent the tragedies that unfolded in the game from ever happening again. Good people would no longer have to die meaningless deaths, and the wicked would answer for their crimes.
Because he refused to accept those endings.
Even if he became Elden Lord, what meaning would there be in ruling a land reduced to ruin?
The people who had walked the path to kingship beside him were far more precious than the throne itself.
By now, quite a few people whose fates originally ended in death had survived because of Lucian's actions, and the situations faced by many races had begun to improve.
The massacre of the Albinauric Village had been prevented.
The slaughter of Jarburg had likewise been averted.
Different races were gradually learning to live together in harmony, and everything was slowly getting back on the right track.
All that remained was to eliminate every enemy lurking in the open and in the shadows.
Then the Lands Between would finally know peace.
Looking at the elder jar, Lucian continued,
"Go ahead and start packing your belongings."
"I'll send soldiers to escort you so nothing happens on the journey."
The elder jar was even more astonished.
They were even providing an escort?
The treatment was almost unbelievably generous.
If Alexander hadn't personally vouched for Lucian, he might have thought the army was simply coming to haul them away by force.
Remembering another matter, Lucian asked,
"Do you have the locations of any other jar villages? Or perhaps you're still in contact with them?"
"Your village has been fortunate compared to most. The jars elsewhere are probably living in far worse conditions."
The elder jar immediately replied,
"Jars normally don't keep records of other villages, nor do we stay in regular contact."
"If clear records or connections existed, then once one village fell to poachers, the others would be exposed as well."
"However, every village usually has one or two jars who secretly remember where the others are."
"That way, if a village is destroyed, any survivors will still have somewhere to go."
"When the time comes, I'll guide the way myself and speak with the other villages on your behalf."
"...Although..."
The elder paused before continuing.
"I can't say how many of those villages I remember are still standing."
"As much as I hate to think it... there's every chance some no longer exist."
"It saddens this old jar greatly."
Lucian quietly nodded.
Living Jars were extraordinary beings, born through ancient rituals that granted them life.
Unfortunately, they also possessed qualities that made them valuable to greedy humans.
Whenever a jar settlement was discovered, destruction usually followed.
Lucian clasped the elder jar's massive hand.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"When the time comes, someone will be sent to meet with you."
"Everything will get better."
With that, the matter of the jars had finally been resolved.
Now that everything had been settled, there was no longer any reason to remain gathered.
The elder jar went off to organize the villagers and have them pack their belongings.
After bidding him farewell, Lucian and the others suddenly found themselves with some free time.
Alexander, meanwhile, kept the promise he'd made to little Antiq and went off to share stories of his heroic adventures.
That would naturally take a while, but Lucian didn't mind waiting.
Not wanting to interrupt the memories they were creating together, he simply wandered through Jarburg with Millicent.
—
Millicent crouched among a bed of flowers, gently brushing her fingers across the blossoms blooming proudly around her.
It was a sight impossible to find in Caelid.
Flowers...
Once upon a time, Millicent had disliked them.
There were no ordinary flowers in Caelid.
Only the scarlet blossoms born of Scarlet Rot.
Aside from those, there was another flower she often saw in her dreams—
The flower she herself became.
The blossom blooming from her own body was dazzlingly beautiful, almost mesmerizing.
Yet Millicent couldn't bring herself to like it.
On the contrary, she despised it.
Whenever she dreamed of herself becoming that flower, an inexplicable sense of dread filled her heart.
But the flowers here were different.
These were simply ordinary flowers.
Beautiful.
Vibrant.
Nothing more.
At first, Millicent had set out on her journey to find Malenia and uncover the truth of her own origins.
But everything she'd seen along the way had also shown her that beauty still existed in this world.
"What are your plans from here?" Lucian asked.
Millicent turned toward him, thought for a moment, then answered,
"I still want to reach the Haligtree and meet Lady Malenia. You already know that."
"To do that, I have to reach the Altus Plateau first."
"But in my current condition... even if I made it there, I probably wouldn't get very far."
A trace of loneliness crossed her face.
In a place like the Lands Between, someone without the strength to fight was little different from someone seeking death.
Still, she wasn't entirely without hope.
Recalling fragments from her memories, Millicent spoke of the plan she had long since devised.
"In my memories, I saw the golden prostheses Lord Miquella forged for Lady Malenia."
"Those prosthetic limbs, made from Unalloyed Gold, wouldn't grow along with Lady Malenia, so they had to be replaced over time."
"I think... if I can find those old prostheses, one of them might fit me."
"Since they're made of Unalloyed Gold, they should also suppress Scarlet Rot, making them perfect for me."
"If I truly share some mysterious connection with Lady Malenia, then I should be able to use one."
"When that day comes... I should be able to hold a sword again."
"So during this journey, I plan to search every place where one of those prosthetic arms might still exist."
"It's just... other than the Haligtree itself, I have no idea where to even begin looking."
Lucian nodded.
"I see."
"I'll keep an eye out as well."
"I'm looking forward to the day you can wield your sword again."
As for prosthetic limbs, Lucian had already consulted both Iji and Smith Master Hewg, the two greatest craftsmen he knew.
While either of them could certainly forge a prosthetic arm...
The result would still have significant shortcomings.
Those prosthetics simply wouldn't be dexterous enough.
An ordinary prosthetic arm might work well enough for someone else who had lost a limb.
But not for Millicent.
If the prosthetic lacked sufficient dexterity, she would never be able to perform the Flowing Sword Technique.
To Millicent, such an arm would offer only limited help, perhaps no real help at all.
The prosthetic arms Miquella had forged for Malenia were truly one of a kind, both in craftsmanship and in material.
That uniqueness made them irreplaceable.
Because of that, Lucian had ultimately abandoned the idea of crafting an ordinary prosthetic. Instead, he planned to help Millicent obtain one of Malenia's discarded prosthetic arms from the Shaded Castle.
The fact that Millicent had come up with this solution herself was encouraging.
The only problem was that, lacking the necessary information, she would probably never find it on her own.
Fortunately, Lucian could.
After all, the Shaded Castle was filled with the prosthetic limbs Malenia had replaced over the years. There was bound to be one that fit her.
Receiving Lucian's approval, Millicent smiled and nodded.
"Mm. I look forward to the day I can hold a sword again."
Silently, she added in her heart,
'When that day comes... I'll become your blade and finally repay your kindness.'
Remembering where they were headed next, Lucian continued,
"By the way, you're planning to go to Altus Plateau, right?"
"Whether you have the Dectus Medallion or not, the road through the Grand Lift of Dectus is no longer passable."
"The Cuckoo Knights have defected to Leyndell. The plateau is probably crawling with soldiers on full alert."
Millicent nodded.
She had already heard about this while staying in Stormveil.
"Yes, but that's alright. There seems to be another route."
"I heard there's a mysterious merchant somewhere in Liurnia. If you pay him enough runes, he'll guide you to Altus Plateau through a hidden path."
Lucian stroked his chin thoughtfully.
That had to be the Ruin-Strewn Precipice.
The ancient mine lay deep in the valley beside the Grand Lift, connecting Liurnia to Altus Plateau.
Very few people knew about it, though. And once someone climbed to Altus, they rarely had any reason to come back down.
So who exactly was charging people to guide them through...
A certain bald head suddenly appeared in Lucian's mind.
Remembering Patches, Lucian couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth.
Thinking about it, the man fit the description perfectly.
He had learned about the route from Rya alongside Lucian.
He knew the path.
And it certainly sounded like something Patches would do.
The only thing Lucian couldn't figure out was...
Had Patches somehow dealt with the Magma Wyrm?
Otherwise, how was he escorting people through there?
Surely he wasn't sneaking everyone past while the creature was asleep?
Shaking his head, Lucian stopped dwelling on the matter and returned his thoughts to Millicent.
Her journey was still filled with danger.
If everything unfolded as it had originally, then once Millicent left Caelid, the "Sage," Gowry, would send her other four sisters after her.
Under Gowry's design, the five sisters would undertake the pilgrimage together and ultimately become Scarlet Valkyries devoted to the Goddess of Rot.
And Millicent's four sisters were anything but weak.
Like her, they had all been born from Malenia.
Each possessed extraordinary strength.
Even Commander O'Neil, once a hero of the highest caliber, had been utterly overwhelmed by the four sisters despite commanding an army of spirit soldiers, even if Scarlet Rot had already weakened him from his prime.
If Alexander and Millicent encountered them on the road...
They would likely have no chance of winning.
It seemed he needed to secure Millicent's prosthetic arm as soon as possible.
If possible, he would also help strengthen her further.
Beyond that, there was still the greatest uncertainty.
What would ultimately happen to Millicent herself?
In the original game, Millicent never actually met Malenia. Her pilgrimage ended at Miquella's Haligtree.
This time, however, Lucian would never allow her to meet such a tragic end.
That meant Millicent and Malenia were destined to meet.
And what would happen after that...
No one knew.
For now, all he could do was take things one step at a time and do everything he could to keep Millicent safe.
At that moment, Alexander walked over and joined them.
Millicent also rose to her feet, looking toward Lucian, waiting for his signal to depart.
Noticing the complicated expression on Alexander's face, Lucian asked,
"Finished already?"
"I could tell that little guy really looks up to you."
"There's still plenty of time. You could stay and talk with him a little longer."
Alexander let out a sigh before answering,
"Mm. It's alright."
"Let's get going."
"A hero can't be made through admiration and stories alone."
"From here on, he has to create his own heroic deeds."
"And... if I stay any longer..."
"I'm afraid I won't be able to bring myself to leave."
"I can almost feel the warriors within me urging me onward. HAHAHA..."
Though he laughed, the sadness in his voice was unmistakable.
"...We all left together."
"And yet I'm the only one who can return home."
"Somehow... that feels a little selfish."
"I can't help feeling like I've let them down."
Lucian patted Alexander's sturdy jar body reassuringly.
"Then keep going."
"Carry their hopes along with your own, and become a hero whose name echoes throughout the Lands Between."
"Home is a place to remember."
"A place that's far away."
"The moment they left their homeland, they were already prepared for that."
"So they won't resent you."
"They'll only be happy that you still have a home to return to."
—
After the group departed, every jar in the village began packing their belongings in preparation for the journey ahead.
Only little Antiq remained where he was, sitting motionless and staring longingly in the direction Alexander had disappeared.
The elder jar walked over, gently patted the little jar's lid, and quietly stayed beside him without saying a word.
After a long silence, Antiq finally looked up.
"Grandpa..."
"Do we really have to leave?"
"I know warriors have to leave home one day..."
"But... I really don't want to."
"Does that mean I haven't grown up at all?"
His gaze wandered across every corner of the village.
When they had first discovered this place, it had been nothing but barren land.
Every house had been built by everyone's hands, one piece at a time.
Even the flowers and plants blooming all around them had grown so beautifully because he had cared for them every day.
The elder jar knew Antiq was still young.
His life experience was simply too limited.
The old jar, however, had witnessed countless fellow jars wandering through the turbulent Lands Between, captured and slaughtered as merchandise by poachers.
An opportunity like this...
It was the kind of miracle countless races devastated by war could only dream of.
As long as his people could live...
Material possessions meant nothing.
Without the jars themselves...
What value did the village have?
The elder jar lifted Antiq with both hands and gently set the little jar atop his own head.
"Antiq."
"Everyone knows you dream of becoming a warrior jar."
"This is your chance."
"Alexander told me that Stormveil is a gathering place for heroes from across the Lands Between."
"There may be more heroes there than you've ever seen jars in your entire life."
"Rex Solis's kindness..."
"...is a debt we'll never finish repaying."
"If you can become a warrior jar one day..."
"...then among all of us, you'll be the one most capable of repaying even a small part of that kindness."