Chapter 277: Returning Home with Shiltina to Meet the Parents
The royal capital, Inner District, a secluded yet scenic detached residence.
Last gently pushed forward, and the wooden door before him creaked open.
The furnishings inside the room weren’t luxurious, but they were thoroughly complete. In addition to a spacious living room, the adjacent kitchen was outfitted with bright wooden furniture. On the unified design of the furnishings, faint golden maple leaf patterns could vaguely be seen.
Rather than resembling a palace, this place seemed more like the residence of an ordinary family with modest means, carefully arranged with each piece thoughtfully placed, giving off a cohesive and comforting atmosphere.
"To be honest... if I hadn't known beforehand, I really wouldn't dare believe this would be the Empress of the Empire’s bedchamber."
Last leaned lazily onto the sofa.
"That’s because it’s not a bedchamber at all. I wouldn’t bother staying in one of those cold and empty places."
"This house was built by Father based on our old family estate in the Autumnleaf Domain — the residence of the Forester family — recreated one-to-one. It’s exactly the same as the home from my childhood memories."
"Father returned alone to the Autumnleaf Domain for retirement a while ago and left this place to me."
Shiltina’s voice came from the side, carrying a trace of lazy elegance.
She twirled the fountain pen in her hand and signed her name at the bottom of a military document. Only then did she cap the pen, and pushed the mountain of paperwork aside.
After finishing, the girl with chestnut-colored hair finally turned around and looked at Last, who had already sprawled across the sofa like he belonged there.
"What, our busy man finally found time to come back?"
She approached the sofa and gently caressed Last’s cheek. In her light brown eyes, a playful smile was clearly visible.
"Done playing outside with your Little Ai, and now you’re finally willing to spare a bit of attention for me?"
"Or rather, it’s our Empress Your Majesty who’s only just finished dealing with all those tedious post-coronation affairs… I came running the moment you summoned me, didn’t I?"
Last smiled, reaching out in an attempt to catch the little hand Shiltina had placed on his face.
But the chestnut-haired empress had already retracted her hand, giving him a wink and a subtly elegant smile.
"To be honest, although I was mentally prepared, the actual burden of all these mountains of work after ascending the throne still exceeded my expectations."
"Now that I think about it, the reason Father was so eager to abdicate after less than twenty years on the throne might’ve had a little to do with passing the buck and running away."
Shiltina sat down on the sofa, leaned her head against Last’s shoulder, closed her eyes in weariness, and rubbed her brow with her hand.
"Even so, I forcibly cleared my schedule today… because there’s a place I absolutely must visit."
"A place?"
Last asked in mild confusion. Although he’d come because Shiltina had summoned him amidst her busy affairs, he truly had no idea where she was referring to.
"Of course — your hometown. That little border town called Canaan."
Shiltina blinked.
"After all, we’re already engaged."
"According to Granwell customs… once an engagement is made, both parties must each visit the other’s hometown before the official wedding — it’s the so-called ‘going home to meet the parents’."
"My family — whether it’s Father or my little sister — you’ve already met them."
"And not only that."
"Back in Frozenwater Town’s Historical Echo, in that dream world woven from the corruption of an Evil God, you even witnessed a memory from my childhood — the moment my mother went bravely to her death, and the version of me who was naive, fragile, and helpless."
She stared into Last’s eyes. “Whether it’s my family, my past, my origins, or the weak and timid self I once was… you know all of it.”
“But as for your past, Last — everything you experienced in that border town as a child — I know absolutely nothing.”
“Despite the fact that we’re about to be married… your past still remains shrouded in layers of mist to me.”
“And yet, Little Ai knows everything about you. She saw your very first self…”
Shiltina’s voice dipped slightly lower:
“To me, that’s just a little too unfair.”
"But that town of Canaan ceased to exist over two hundred years ago."
Hearing Shiltina’s soft words, Last froze for a moment.
“Little Ai and I just went to visit the Three Sages Snow Mountain a while ago. A new town’s been built there…”
“As for the name ‘Canaan’, aside from a tiny handful of locals, no one remembers it anymore.”
Under the effects of Temporal Collapse, not even ruins or remnants remained of the little town from over two hundred years ago — not the slightest trace that it had ever existed.
“I know. Even if we went to the old coordinates of Canaan, all we’d see is the new city-state built there.”
Shiltina paused.
“But the word ‘Canaan’ has never merely represented some long-lost name of a place, has it?”
“Even if the real-world Canaan has already been buried in the dust of history… in the crevice of the Nightworld, in someone’s heart, Canaan has never truly vanished.”
Last’s hand stilled slightly, and then he let out a helpless laugh: “Little Ai even told you about that?”
“Of course! After all, we’re going to be together for a very, very long time, until we’re old and gray… So of course I had to build a good relationship early.”
“Little Ai already agreed — to let me visit that fragment of the Nightworld, woven from past illusions and memories.”
A glint of mischief — the satisfaction of a successful plot — sparkled in Shiltina’s beautiful eyes.
She then gently placed her hand into Last’s.
“So, shall we go?”
“Take me to see the home that gave birth to you, that raised you, that nurtured you—”
“Your hometown called Canaan.”
The rift between the real world and the Nightworld.
A Mental Image World born from the combined memories of Last and Emis, from the shadows of history recorded in the Nightworld — and thus, the new Canaan.
“Oh, it’s little Last!”
“Huh? Why didn’t Little Ai come back with you this time?”
“And this young lady here is…?”
When Last and Shiltina stepped into the heart of Canaan, the residents — busily going about their day — immediately turned curious gazes their way.
These were people who had once lived in the town of Canaan, but perished in the great disaster more than two centuries ago.
However, now that both Emis and Last had ascended as Angels, this mental image world built from their memories had become increasingly lifelike.
Though it was just a world shaped by memory and spirit, and an illusion spun from Last’s recollections… the illusion had grown so vivid that it was indistinguishable from living humans.
These townsfolk had lived their entire lives in a quiet border town and had never seen someone like Shiltina. Her attire was also completely out of place in the Canaan of two hundred years ago, naturally sparking their curiosity.
“Mhm. Little Ai has some matters to attend to. She’ll be back in a few days.”
“As for this lady… she’s a mountaineer I happened to meet in the snow mountains, all the way from the distant Granwell Empire—”
Last smiled and began explaining Shiltina’s identity to the townsfolk.
But the very next moment, he was interrupted by Shiltina.
“Nice to meet you, people of Canaan.”
Shiltina took Last’s hand, stepped forward, and introduced herself clearly:
“My name is Shiltina, of the Granwell Empire’s royal family.”
“In addition, I am Last’s betrothed — his fiancée.”
As she spoke, Shiltina gave a slight bow and performed a formal knight’s bow toward the townsfolk:
“From today onward, I hope you will take care of me.”
Clack.
The wooden door quietly shut, cutting off the snowstorm outside — and the curious, gossip-filled gazes of the people.
“Say, Shiltina… when did you get so direct?”
Last finally exhaled a breath of relief after returning to his cottage.
“Is that so? But everything I said was true. Whether it’s my origins or my status as your fiancée.”
Shiltina blinked her light brown eyes.
“You did it on purpose. It might all be true, but you could’ve at least considered their capacity to take it in.”
Last sighed. “Royalty… the newly crowned Empress of the Empire… That’s a bit much for folks who’ve lived their whole lives on the border. There should’ve been a gentler approach.”
“Is that so? But I think it’s something everyone inevitably has to face.”
A smile curled on Shiltina’s lips. “After all, this little town in the mental image world… is very important to both you and Little Ai, right?”
“If that’s the case, I’ll inevitably visit often in the future. So the townspeople should know everything, shouldn’t they?”
“Or… is someone just scared to be exposed in front of his childhood neighbors — that he’s actually standing on not just two, but several boats, a true ‘Sea King’?”
“Shiltina, you really are becoming more and more cunning.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
A while later, Shiltina began inspecting the house.
This wooden cottage that belonged to Last and Emis was simple, yet carried a distinct warmth. Pre-stacked firewood, a nightlight still softly glowing… everywhere showed traces of the two living together.
The first floor was the living room and kitchen — where Last and Emis usually had their meals.
But Shiltina wasn’t interested in the first floor. She went upstairs and entered a bedroom, taking a careful look around.
This was Last’s personal room.
Not too big, not too small.
A single bed stood beside a small wooden desk. On the desk sat a bare wooden toy — roughly crafted, clearly handmade by a carpenter rather than from any industrial assembly line.
Against the wall stood a wooden bookshelf, filled entirely with handwritten books.
Shiltina examined the shelf carefully. In the corner, she found several fairytale manuscripts about knights and heroes slaying dragons and upholding justice.
Across from the desk was a window. Through it, one could see the vast lake and wasteland beyond Canaan. At the edge of the wasteland, the distant peaks of the Three Sages Snow Mountain loomed faintly.
Shiltina imagined what Last might’ve looked like as a child.
A well-behaved little boy, sitting at the bedside, struggling to play with the wooden toy given to him by the town’s carpenter.
A slightly older Last, burning the midnight oil by candlelight, reading those ink-stained manuscripts, dreaming of heroes who vanquish evil dragons, knights who protect order — imagining the world beyond the town, the snowy mountains and distant wilderness.
And in his heart, he planted a wish — to become an Ally of Justice.
Spring warmth, summer days, autumn sun, winter nights…
One year, two years…
He grew up slowly in this humble room — until he finally stood before her, becoming the light that redeemed Shiltina’s life.
“So lucky.”
Shiltina murmured softly.
Last brushed the dust off the bookshelf, gazing at the books he had once pored over as a child, utterly enraptured:
“Who isn’t?”
Night had unknowingly deepened.
Outside the window, candlelight flickered out one by one across the town — until only the vast, breath-stealing sky remained.
And the winter night sky, twinkling with stars — beautiful enough to soothe all wounds.
“This town named Canaan really is such a lovely, peaceful place.”
“No wonder people like you and Little Ai were born here — so pure.”
Shiltina gazed into the far night sky, speaking softly.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something more — but then, suddenly, as if sensing something, her expression subtly changed.
And not just Shiltina.
At the same moment, Last also felt a faint ripple stir from deep within his soul.
It was the Dean Silver, using his “Moon” Sequence ability, transmitting a message to Last via the soul imprint he had left behind.
And knowing Dean Silver well, for that reclusive snow ferret to contact both of them at once like this — it had to be something important.
As expected.
When the soul wave from Dean Silver finished converting into legible text, both Shiltina and Last froze in surprise—
「The seventy-second… and final End Nightworld—」
「Has appeared.」