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“You were at sea for two or three years and found nothing…”
The old village chief’s eyes reddened as he said in a deep voice, “Do you know how lonely your mother was in the last year of her life?”
“Ah, I don’t know,” Liam replied.
He tugged at his sticky, dirty clothes and looked around the room for a water tank or something.
“Is there a bathroom?” Liam asked casually as he moved around, “I feel rather uncomfortable and would like to take a bath.
The old village chief’s moustache twitched in disbelief, “You… Liam! Or should I call you Giorno?”
He picked up the newspaper on the table, “Speaking of your deceased mother, do you… do you really feel no sadness at all? Do you really… have no regrets?”
“A hunter, a bounty hunter? Are you serious?” The old village chief threw the newspaper at Liam and growled in a low voice, “Even though it was a foolish hope, I thought you really wanted to find the medicine on the sea that could cure your mother… But what did you do? Playing cat and mouse with those pirates? Is that fun? Is it fun!”
The old village chief’s stick struck the ground repeatedly, his voice hoarse, “Are you all right? But… but your mother wasn’t! She wasn’t well without you! You… you…”
The old village chief pointed his dry, twig-like finger at Liam, who showed no reaction and trembled, unable to speak any further. He finally sighed deeply and sat down on a nearby stool.
“…” Robin picked up the newspaper from the floor and dusted it off. She saw the contents about the young hunter Giorno, with the news praising him as a genius and an extraordinary youth.
The old village chief leaned on his cane, gazed at the sunset, and said in a low voice, “I watched her grow thinner and thinner day by day… She always looked to the sea, hoping to see you return while she was still alive! But no matter how hard she tried, her condition worsened to the point where she couldn’t walk, and even her hand trembled when she held a pen, struggling to write a single word… She held on for a year after you left, and then she died…”
The old village chief choked up, covered his eyes, and tried to calm his emotions.
“After two years at sea, Liam died too.”
Liam’s voice came from behind him. The old village chief’s eyes widened and he silently turned around to see Liam taking off his dirty clothes.
“He was probably killed by a sheriff. It’s a common fate; once you board a pirate ship, you should be prepared to be captured or killed… Perhaps by some miracle, I came back from the darkness. Thrown into a garbage heap as a corpse, I crawled out again… but this time I forgot most things.”
The explanation was not far from the truth. Liam continued slowly, “I only remembered that my name was Liam. Sometimes I remembered the face of a woman named Lily… But I’m sorry, that’s all”.
“…” The old village chief said nothing, looking at Liam’s defined torso and the injuries caused by the angry villagers.
Liam smiled, “If you don’t mind, could you tell me about the troublesome things the former Liam did? And what kind of person his mother was?”
The old village chief was silent for a long time before he said hoarsely, “There aren’t many things here but water is available. There’s a small bathroom inside…”
…
The sound of water came from the small bathroom.
The old village chief sat outside and reminisced, “Your mother… she wasn’t originally from this island or this village. Eleven years ago… she came here while pregnant with you, intending to stay temporarily, but ended up living here permanently… No one knew her past, and she rarely talked about her background… Some said they saw her get off a pirate ship, so they guessed she might have been a pirate or something…”
“Liam washed the dirt off his body and picked up a bar of soap. The soap had a faint floral scent and had not been used for a long time.
“She was such a good person, just like her beautiful name…” The old village chief sighed, “Even before the Pirate King, pirates often appeared on this island. Thanks to your mother, those pirates didn’t dare to bother the village…”
Liam asked, “Why, was she famous?”
The old village chief replied, “No, she was very strong!”
Liam: “…”
“I never saw anyone stronger than her. Those so-called pirate captains, who were usually arrogant, were as docile as the tamest sea beasts under her fists…” The old village chief sighed, “But no one expected such a powerful person to contract an incurable disease… Her illness worsened, and she regretted more than once that she might not have time to teach you to become a reliable and strong man! She said… she might not have the chance, the time, to be happily protected by her beloved son… She…”
Tears rolled down the old man’s cheeks again. He sniffled when he saw Robin sitting nearby, hugging her knees, tears in her eyes.
“Until three years ago… you probably overheard your mother’s words and shouted something about how the Pirate King said there were all kinds of treasures in the sea, and there must be a medicine to cure your mother…” the old village chief said sadly. “You left secretly, and she waited on her sick bed for a year, but she never had the chance to see you again…”
“…” Liam realized he had forgotten to bring clean clothes only after he had almost finished washing.
“…?!” The old village chief, still grieving, watched as Robin reached into the mouth of a whimpering Den Den Mushi.
At that moment, a row of arms sprouted from the wall and delivered a set of clean clothes. Liam took them, “Ah, thank you.”
“Who are you…” The old village leader asked Robin, confused.
“Liam’s… friend,” Robin said quietly, blinking. “My name is Jolyne, Jolyne Kujo.”
“Oh…” The old village chief thought it was a strange name, Jolyne Kujo.
…
Liam finished his bath and changed into the clean clothes.
“Give it to me,” he said and held out his hand to the old village chief.
“What?”
“The things she wrote,” Liam said. “You mentioned that in her last days, even holding a pen made her hands tremble, and it was hard for her to write a single word… She must have been writing something for her son, Liam, right?”
The old village chief sighed heavily and walked slowly to a corner of the wooden house. He pulled out a drawer and handed Liam a letter.
It was a simple envelope with no writing on the cover, sealed with a lily flower design.
“It’s for you… No one has read it,” The old village chief sighed quietly. “Your grave is at the foot of the eastern hill…”
“Is that so?” Liam said, holding the letter in his hand. “Then let’s have a look.”
…
Outside, the villagers had scattered into small groups, trying to peer or eavesdrop on what was happening inside the house from different angles. Everyone carefully avoided the small flower bed in front of the door, which, despite its long neglect, still looked quite overgrown.
……
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