In the afternoon, the < cruiser <> and the <> enjoyed the sea.

That night, they have a party and have a good time.

Then, a message came from the old man.

<

"What is it, Mr. Old?"

<>

"Yes. ......"

"My what?"

"Oh, ......, that's what you mean. ......"

Maricka was an international celebrity, and an important one at that.

She had many students and pupils in the field of magical engineering, and many of them became important figures in their countries.

The usual funeral service was held by Zion in the clan territory of , but there was no reason not to hold an international funeral.

(Come to think of it, funerals of famous people were often held at the Aoyama funeral hall.)

) Even in modern Japan, where Jin lived, such ceremonies were often held much later than the anniversary of his death.

Especially this time, since it was an international ceremony, it took time for both the host and the participants to prepare for the ceremony.

And the reason why the old man told Jin now was because he was concerned about his previous instability, so he could not say why he did not tell him until the day before the event.

I'd better get out of here.

There was also the possibility of using Jin's <>, but I felt that Zion would see right through it and it would be impolite.

"Marikka, you want to go too?"

"Me too?

Marikka is flustered when Jin asks her to talk.

"Only Zion and Rorona will recognize me, but I don't think the others will.

"Oh, I see."

In that case, it is not good for Maricka to see Sion and Rorona.

That much concern is necessary.

"I guess it will be just me and Reiko here.

Since the mourner is Zion, it is expected that he will have to greet her at least once.

And with Zion's memory, he would recognize the faces of the that are here now.

"Well then, Reiko and I are going to the Nord Federation tomorrow.

"Thank you, Jin-brother.

"Thank you, Jin-sama, for ...... for me."

Marikka bowed her head as Erza thanked her for her efforts.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next day, July 18, Jin, Reiko, Makina, and Squire Rei left for the Nordic Federation by .

"Welcome to the Nordic Federation!

They were greeted by the puppet Lord Thoth, the great-grandson of Zion. He is the great-grandson of Zion.

"Jin-sama, it has been a long time.

Jin-sama, it has been a long time.

Rhodes' sister, Vita, seems to be helping out.

"Grandmother has been busy since yesterday, so we can't welcome you.

Rhodes looks apologetic,

"I'm sure you're right. I know, so don't worry about it."

Rhodes and Vita led the way.

Rhodes and Vita led the way to a large golem car.

They were going to the funeral hall in the golem car.

"The funeral hall was built about 120 years ago.

< began to have close diplomatic relations with the nations of the Laurentian Continent.

It was a rather large building, about half the size of the Tokyo Dome.

The Golem car was parked at what appeared to be the front entrance.

When we entered the building, the front platform was decorated with flowers and Marikka's portrait of the past.

She was about the same age as Marikka, whose face he had seen earlier, and Jin could not help but feel a sense of discomfort inside.

(In this respect, too, homunculus can't be in contact with people in this world. ......)

Jin regretted this inwardly.

It seemed that the seats had been allocated, and Jin and the others were led to the front of the room.

"Well then, Jin-san, this way please.

"This way please, Makina-sama."

Then, Rhodos shows Jin and Vita shows Makina to their seats.

"......This is ......"

Jin was shown to a seat near the front, close to the clan leader of <>, a VIP seat to say the least.

Makina also had a VIP seat, but closer to the outskirts. Was it decided by the depth of the relationship with the clan?　Jin thought.

(...... in my case, Zion knows me, so I'm special, right?)

Next to Jin was Rorona, Zion's mother. She took a seat and bowed to Jin.

"Welcome, Jin-sama.

"It's been a while."

Jin knew where he was going, so he changed his tone and used more polite words.

"It sounds like you've been through a lot."

"Yes. Theon and Belial are attending to the guests, and Rhodes, Vita, and Ludmilla are helping by showing the guests around.

Ludmilla is Rhodes' daughter-in-law.

As you say, I could certainly see her in the distance.

"Well, Mr. Jin, thank you for coming."

"Ah, Mr. Lucilius."

Seated in front of Jin was Lucilius, a former puppet. Formerly the head of a puppet clan, he is now retired.

"Marikka is too young to be alive while I am," he said.

"Yes. ......"

Lucilius will be 513 years old this year. He is one of the longest-lived of the northerners.

Basically, the people here do not know that Marikka is still alive as a homunculus.

Only Jin, Reiko, Makina, and Rei knew.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

It seemed that most of the people except for the VIPs were about to enter the room, and one by one, they entered the room.

At a glance, there were at least 2,000 seats.

Half of them were from the , and the other half were guests from the Laurentian continent.

Jin felt as if he had seen Marikka's virtue in this number of people.