Chapter 226: Promise
A torrent of emotions hit Priam without warning.
Priam’s mind instantly reopened old wounds he had believed had already healed. He had buried that pain in the deepest part of his soul because it still hurt too much.
That was the difference between Priam, who had lived a long life and suffered more than anyone could imagine, and ordinary people.
He could endure more than anyone else. No matter how hard life beat him down, he could swallow the pain and keep moving forward. That was, without a doubt, his greatest strength.
But...
The moment he looked into those two little girls’ eyes... his entire soul trembled.
’No way... The System must give identical Karmic Titles to different people, right?’
He desperately clung to the most logical explanation.
But denial brought him no comfort.
Because there was something unmistakable in those children’s eyes. A quiet certainty. A deep, natural affinity that tied both of their gazes to him.
"Bro... are you crying?" Suien murmured, her big emerald-green eyes shining with pure confusion.
She wasn’t the only one. Orlaith, Seien, and Boey were all staring at him in shock, frightened by Priam’s intense reaction.
Beside them, Meien nodded.
"Bro’s definitely a good person, just like Mom said. He’s just really happy to see us..."
Hearing those words, Priam trembled from head to toe.
*Definitely a good person.*
Those words...
They were exactly how Luvinah had described him when they had barely gotten to know each other. (Chapter 72)
"...He wanted to come back sooner, but he ended up missing all of our birthdays... So to make up for it, he brought us a huge present. Right, Bro?" Meien finished with an angelic, perfectly childish, and utterly fake smile.
"You little brat!" Seien immediately scolded her, shooting her a stern look.
Priam, however, took a step back. His face was frozen in pure shock.
’A naturally manipulative little brat... but without a single bad intention.’ Priam thought through clenched teeth.
A fish is still a fish, even outside the sea.
Luvinah was still herself...
Now, under the name Meien, his youngest little sister.
"Bro really brought us presents?! That’s amazing!" the other little girl cheered, her pure and innocent mind perfectly matching her age.
Feeling her mother’s strange gaze and noticing her sister’s amused smile, Suien seemed to remember something important.
"Oh!"
She stepped forward and bowed with flawless manners.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, big brother Priam. Please call me Suien."
Seien smiled proudly, happy to see that sweet little girl had learned such perfect manners.
But...
Priam took another step back.
His memories violently dragged him back to when he was fifteen years old, when he first stepped into the Ylisse Main Clan. He remembered the exact moment he met his personal maid. (Chapter 11)
The introduction had been almost identical.
The tone of her voice, the flawless bow, the words... and the aura of an honest, devoted girl without a trace of malice.
Even the innocent and pure way she acted now... was exactly the same.
Flora was still herself...
Now, under the name Suien, his second-youngest little sister.
Priam sucked in a sharp breath over and over, trying to calm the heart that felt ready to tear through his chest.
Aboard the flying ship, everyone watched him in silence, completely unaware of the storm raging inside him.
The guilt...
That suffocating guilt that had haunted him ever since both of them died.
Luvinah and Flora had died because of him in the past. He had carried the weight of that failure like a deep scar.
And now...
They were here.
Their personalities were identical. Their Karmic Titles were identical. And the natural bond they felt with him couldn’t be an illusion either.
None of this was a coincidence.
It was them.
Priam had lived three different lives and reincarnated while keeping all of his memories. He wasn’t special; everyone went through reincarnation, but they lost their memories.
So the only conclusion he could reach was that something had favored him, allowing them to return to him.
How?
Why?
None of that mattered.
The laws of the Universe, the System, fate...
To hell with the explanation.
An overwhelming sense of relief crashed into his chest, so powerful it nearly brought him to his knees. The pain and anguish finally seemed to melt away, replaced by an emotion so overwhelming it defied words.
Priam straightened his posture.
He looked at the two little girls, who returned his gaze with fascination, curiosity, and sparkling admiration.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
’I failed you in the past... But not this time.’
’I swear on everything I am: nothing will ever lay a hand on you.’
’You’ll live long lives. You’ll smile until your cheeks hurt. And you’ll have the chance to achieve everything you could ever want in this world.’
Priam carved every word of that promise into the depths of his soul.
It felt as though he had spent an eternity in hell after committing an unforgivable crime, only to be given the chance to make things right for the very victims he had failed.
Priam took several deep breaths.
After a few seconds...
He had finally regained his composure.
He looked at his father, his mother, and then at little Suien and Meien.
"Of course I brought presents. Actually, I brought a whole bunch of different ones since I didn’t know what you’d like the most."
The moment she heard that, Meien broke into a triumphant grin. Priam almost laughed; Boey was most likely having a hard time dealing with that little girl. She was unbelievably clever for her age and knew exactly how to shape any situation to her advantage.
"Ehhh!!"
Suien, on the other hand, let out an excited little squeal, adorably throwing both of her tiny arms into the air.
Priam nodded to himself.
That little girl was the complete opposite of her sister—a sweet child who learned quickly and listened carefully to everything she was told. Her gentle and pure nature naturally made anyone want to protect her.
Still, being too innocent in such a cruel world could become a problem someday.
Taking a step forward, Priam turned to Boey and Orlaith.
"I need to take all of you to a new home. This time, you won’t have to worry about resources. It has to be an extremely safe and remote place with absolutely no ties to the past. You’ll live under new identities, hidden from the world. It’ll be a temporary home until I can bring you to the Divine Plane."
Boey and Orlaith nodded and thought it over for a few moments.
Within seconds, they both came up with the exact same place.
It was a famous planet in this region of the Mortal Plane. A neutral sanctuary with no dominant clans or races, filled only with massive trade centers and training grounds for Mages.
The only requirement to live there was to be ridiculously wealthy. So wealthy that even the Ylisse Clan at the height of its power couldn’t have afforded to stay there for more than a week, let alone enjoy everything the place had to offer.
Hearing the suggestion, Priam nodded without hesitation.
"Perfect. That’s exactly what I want. I want those two to have access to the very best the Mortal Plane has to offer."
Orlaith took a crystal out of her spatial ring and handed it to Priam.
It was a star map of this region of the Mortal Plane. The planet in question was located in a nearby galaxy.
Priam took the crystal and traced the route.
He took out an Orange Prism and placed it inside the Flying Ship’s core as its power source, while storing away the return crystal to the Divine Plane.
"Big Bro, play with me!"
The moment Priam got distracted, Suien ran over with her little eyes sparkling.
Meien quickly followed behind, trying to hide how excited she was.
Priam paused to think.
He didn’t have any ordinary toys for children.
"Hmm... how about we play by piloting the Flying Ship?"
"What’s so fun about a boat?" Meien asked with a huff, crossing her little arms, even though the curiosity in her eyes gave her away.
Beside her, Suien was practically bouncing with excitement.
"Learning anything new is fun at first. Besides, this Flying Ship is considered a high-level treasure even in the Divine Plane. The External Branch Leader of my sect gave it to me as a gift."
Priam said it casually, making all three adults behind him jump in shock at exactly the same time.
They knew nothing about what had happened to Priam and the others after they left. They had only hoped the group had managed to enter the sect as disciples. Even becoming ordinary workers would have been wonderful, since they’d at least have a chance to rise higher.
But now...
An External Branch Leader had personally given Priam a gift?!
The three of them were stunned, all thinking the exact same thing at once.
Without wasting any time, the twin sisters ran over on their short little legs toward the Flying Ship’s control panel.
"Priam, don’t spoil them so much! How could two little kids possibly control such a powerful artifact?" Seien said worriedly.
Priam simply smiled.
"It’s fine."
Seien shook her head at her son’s stubbornness, but as she watched him patiently teach the girls every single command, a sincere smile of satisfaction appeared on her face.
The three of them had only just met, yet they already acted like siblings who had never been separated.
The Flying Ship sliced through the heavens, racing northward at incredible speed.
...
*WOOOOOSH!*
Suddenly, under Meien’s overeager control, the ship tilted sharply and dove headfirst toward an asteroid field in space!
Priam placed his hand on the control crystal just in time, forcing the ship into a violent evasive maneuver and changing course at the very last second.
Meien and the adults all turned pale.
"Hehehehe!"
Only Suien burst into uncontrollable laughter, thinking the free fall was the most fun thing ever.
"It’s okay. Making mistakes at the beginning is normal. You learn fast," Priam comforted her, gently patting Meien on the head.
Meien truly was a genius.
Having 90 points of Anima was terrifying; she memorized patterns and concepts in mere fractions of a second.
After just one hour of instruction, she had genuinely mastered the artifact’s controls.
Soon afterward, Suien took over.
To Priam’s surprise, she learned in exactly the same amount of time as her twin sister.
Suien possessed a Level 90 Bloodline—even surpassing Meien’s—but her Anima was only 75. In theory, her learning ability and intellect should have been lower.
However, her calm and obedient personality worked completely in her favor here.
Earlier, while Meien listened to Priam, she kept trying to test everything herself to verify the commands he gave her. She was the type who only believed and trusted something after testing it herself.
Suien, meanwhile, trusted every word her big brother said without questioning him, absorbing everything immediately.
That complete trust saved her an incredible amount of time, allowing her to keep pace with her sister’s "superior" intelligence.
Watching all this, Priam learned a valuable lesson that day.
Even though they were still very young, the mindset of each sister had already become clear.
Suien possessed the open and receptive mind of a born disciple. When she found a good teacher, she absorbed every lesson effortlessly, learning directly from someone who had already walked the path before her.
Her greatest strength was how quickly she could grow under proper guidance—though that same dependence on a capable mentor could become her greatest weakness if she ever trusted the wrong person.
Meien, on the other hand, embodied the stereotype of a meticulous scientist.
She would never accept a statement simply because someone told her it was true.
Her mind demanded that she study, test, and verify everything through strict logic.
Meien’s greatest strength was her complete independence.
Her greatest weakness was that her process became much slower and lonelier, rejecting shortcuts that could have saved her valuable time.
Two completely opposite approaches to intelligence, each with its own strengths and flaws.
Where Suien shone through trust and rapid absorption, Meien excelled through skepticism and logical verification.
As the two girls mastered piloting and took turns controlling everything, the Flying Ship filled with laughter and excited screams of joy.
Seeing the warm atmosphere and the happiness shining on his little sisters’ faces, Priam felt a deep sense of relief in his chest.
As long as they were safe and smiling, every bit of effort and every risk had been worth it.