"Ah, Marikka, you've become so adorable again, just like in the old days!"
"Si-Sion-san, I—I can't breathe."
Held in Sion's tight embrace, Marikka looked genuinely distressed.
"Ah, I'm sorry!"
Ordinarily, Sion would have spoken with more formal reserve, but reuniting with the Marikka of the past seemed to have effortlessly brought back her old way of speaking.
"Still, being able to meet like this again... it's like a dream."
"For me as well."
"I won't ask how or why. It's a secret anyway, isn't it?"
"Yes."
As expected of Sion, she had already grasped the nature of Jin and the others' circumstances.
"...Hey, Jin, if Marikka is here, that means everyone else is too, right?"
And what was more, she had already deduced what lay beyond that.
"Yeah, they're here....Everyone!"
At the sound of Jin's voice, they stepped forward: Elsa, Reinhard, Berche, Saki, Louis, Beena, Lishia, Hanna, Martha, Mine, Marcia, Rodrigo, Toa, Stearena, Goose, Vivienne, Milowina...
"It's been a long time, Sion-san."
"Long time no see, Sion."
One after another, they appeared to greet her.
"Ah, everyone! I'm so happy to see you all again!!"
Tears streamed down Sion's face in torrents.
Once the overwhelming joy of their reunion settled, everyone sat down over tea to chat.
"...Like I said earlier, I don't intend to pry into how this happened."
"I appreciate that."
Jin spoke up on behalf of the group.
"We invited you first, Sion, but I'm thinking of letting Lordtoss and Ludmila know about Marikka as well."
"I see... That's a delicate matter, though."
Jin explained to Sion that since they were part of the 2nd Period Jin Family, he didn't want to keep secrets from them.
"If it's those two, I believe it'll be fine as long as we explain everything properly."
"Yeah."
Jin nodded, choosing to place his faith in them.
"Well then, I should get to the task you asked of me."
After spending about an hour on Hourai Island, Sion prepared to head back.
"See you later, Marikka."
"Yes, Sion-san. Until next time."
Not long after Sion's departure, Jin called Lordtoss and Ludmila over to Hourai Island.
"Marikka-sama... it's truly you, isn't it?!"
"Yes, it is."
"Marikka-sama..."
"Marikka-sama...!"
Lordtoss and Ludmila clung to Marikka, weeping openly.
"To be able to see you again...!"
"It's like a dream!!"
"For me as well."
Jin waited until the two had calmed down before making a single request.
"Please keep this strictly to yourselves....Ah, Sion knows, of course. And the folks on Onogoro Island as well."
"We understand. While I can't help wondering how Marikka-sama came to be this way... it's certainly not something we would go around carelessly blabbing about."
"I feel the exact same way. Please rest assured."
Just as Sion had said, both of them proved thoroughly trustworthy.
With that established, Jin moved to the next step: introducing them to the First Class Jin Family.
"There are some people I'd like you two to meet."
At his signal, the rest of the family filed into the room.
"Jin-sama, who are these people...?"
Caught completely off guard, Lordtoss and Ludmila looked utterly bewildered.
"Right. They are..."
Here, Jin revealed that the people standing before them were the First Class Jin Family.
"..."
"......"
The revelation was clearly an enormous shock, leaving both of them speechless.
While Lordtoss and Ludmila struggled to digest this staggering truth, everyone except Jin and Marikka stepped out of the room once more to give them space.
Ten minutes passed.
Whether that was a long time or a short time was debatable, but it was all the time Lordtoss and Ludmila needed to process and accept the reality.
"Jin-san! Please let us meet everyone once more!"
"Jin-sama! We want to properly introduce ourselves to everyone!"
"Of course you can....Everyone!"
"Right."
At Jin's call, the Jin Family assembled together once again.
"I'm Reinhard. A pleasure to meet you."
"T-The pleasure is entirely ours!!"
"I'm Beena. Nice to meet you."
"I-It's an honor to meet you!"
"I'm Saki."
"You're that famous...!"
"Elsa. A pleasure."
"Y-You're that legendary...!!"
With every greeting, the pair grew increasingly overwhelmed with excitement and awe.
"..."
"Have you two settled down a bit?"
"Y-Yes."
Twenty minutes after the introductions began, Lordtoss and Ludmila finally managed to regain their composure.
"Now that the whole Jin Family is together... Ah, wait, Sion isn't here right now, is she?"
"I'm right here."
"Huh?"
As if on cue in response to Jin's murmur, Sion stepped into the room.
"It wouldn't do if the First Class and 2nd Period Jin Family weren't all gathered together, so I came back."
"Thanks for going out of your way to join us!"
And so, with every member present, the Jin Family deepened their bonds of friendship.