Anime Girls are Moist

Chapter 1127 1,126: Robin's Mother, Nico Olvia

The island rose higher and higher.

The white buildings emerged—first their pointed rooftops, then the walls, then the streets.

The library's dome caught the sunlight with a soft glow, and pane after pane of window glass came into view, perfectly clear.

Along both sides of the streets, the stone-paved roads she'd run across countless times as a child unfurled again.

Trees, flowers, even that little stone post by the roadside she used to kick all the time—everything came back.

Exactly the same.

As if time had reversed. As if the Buster Call had never happened.

"Mmph…"

A stifled whimper slipped through her fingers.

Robin's body started trembling—hard, violent tremors. She couldn't keep her balance.

Her knees went weak and she almost dropped to the ground, but Rei Ao steadied her from the side.

"It's not over," he said.

Robin lifted her head, eyes blurred with tears.

And then she saw people.

At the library entrance, an elderly scholar wearing thick glasses pushed the door open, a stack of books still in his arms.

He glanced up at the sky, adjusted his glasses, and kept walking.

On the corner, the fruit seller auntie had set up her stall and was smiling as she greeted passersby.

A few kids ran out of an alley, chasing each other, laughing—bright, crisp laughter.

And then—

A second-floor window of the library was pushed open.

A woman in a white research coat leaned out, watering the potted plants on the sill with a kettle.

She turned her head and called something down to someone—something beginning with "O—"

The wind scattered the words.

But Robin saw her face clearly.

Gentle eyes. A slightly curved smile. That stray lock of hair at her forehead that always fell loose.

"…Mom."

Robin opened her mouth. The sound was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Then she poured every ounce of strength she had into a scream.

"Mom!!!"

The woman at the window froze.

She turned, her gaze cutting across the street, across the crowd, locking onto Robin on the barrier in midair.

Time seemed to stop.

One second.

Two.

The kettle slipped from Olvia's hands—clang!—smashing onto the stone pavement below. She didn't even look.

Her eyes were wide; her lips began to tremble.

"Ro…bin?"

The voice was faint—an unbelieving test, like she was afraid of being wrong.

Then she spun and ran downstairs.

The hem of the white coat flashed at the stairwell. A few seconds later, the library doors were flung open.

She burst out.

She was running too fast—she nearly tripped on the steps.

But she didn't care. She caught herself and kept going, sprinting across the street, all the way to the island's edge. She tilted her head back, staring up at her daughter floating above.

Tears had already smeared her entire face.

"Robin!"

She shouted, her voice ragged. "Is it really you? My child… is it you?!"

Robin was crying too hard to speak.

She yanked free of Rei Ao's hand and stumbled forward.

The barrier beneath her extended with her will, forming a transparent staircase that stretched all the way down to the island's edge.

She almost tumbled down it.

On the last few steps her footing slipped and she pitched forward—

But she didn't fall. Olvia rushed up and caught her in a tight embrace.

Held her like she'd never let go.

So tight Robin felt her ribs ache.

She didn't care.

She threw her arms around her mother's back just as fiercely, burying her face in that familiar research coat and breathing in the scent from memory—faint paper-and-ink, with a trace of coffee.

"Mom…"

She sobbed until she couldn't catch her breath.

"Mom… I missed you so much… I missed you so, so much…"

"I know. I know…"

Olvia stroked her hair, her hands trembling too.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry I left you alone… sorry you suffered so much…"

People began gathering around them.

Scholars. Neighbors. Children.

Everyone recognized Robin.

The little girl who used to live in the library. The child Saul had sent away in the end.

She was alive.

She'd grown up.

She'd come back.

Some people started wiping their tears. Some murmured, "Thank goodness." Some turned away, unable to watch.

Rei Ao didn't go down.

He stayed on the original barrier, hands in his pockets, quietly watching the mother and daughter below as they clung together and wept.

…

Robin cried for a long time.

She cried until the tears ran dry and her throat went hoarse before she finally, slowly, stopped.

She was still hiccuping, shoulders shaking, but at least she could breathe again.

She lifted her head, looked at her mother's face, and reached out to touch it.

Warm. Real. Skin with give beneath her fingers.

Not a phantom. Not a dream.

Real.

"Mom…"

She rasped the word.

"Yes."

Olvia answered, and fresh tears slid down again.

"I'm here. I'm right here."

Robin held her a little longer before she finally loosened her arms.

Then she turned, lifted her head, and looked up toward Rei Ao, her expression too complicated to name.

Gratitude—of course.

Shock—still there, not gone yet.

But beyond that, there was confusion, wariness, and a faint… unease.

This man was too strong.

So strong he was beyond anything she could comprehend. He could revive an island with a flick of his hand, bring back people dead for years.

So what else could he do?

And what, exactly, did he intend to do?

Rei Ao walked down from the barrier.

A transparent staircase extended beneath his feet automatically. Step by step, unhurried, he came to stand before them.

"I'll give you time," he said, voice gentle.

"Talk properly with your mother. Say everything you've been holding in all these years. Do whatever you want to do."

He paused, his gaze resting on Robin.

"But I have a condition."

Robin's heart tightened.

There it was.

Nothing in this world came for free. She understood that.

"You belong to me."

Olvia's hand clenched suddenly, gripping Robin's arm.

Robin stood there—her left hand held tight by her mother, her right arm hanging at her side, fingertips still trembling faintly.

She looked at Rei Ao.

At this mysterious, powerful man who had performed a miracle.

Then she turned to look at her mother.

Olvia was looking back at her too—eyes full of tears, worry, reluctance… but more than anything, a gentle encouragement.

Live.

Live well.

Robin took a deep breath.

Sea wind filled her chest—cool, salty.

She turned back to Rei Ao and nodded, lightly but firmly.

"I agree."

Rei Ao smiled.

This smile was different from the ones before.

Not careless. Not teasing. A real smile—one that rose from the depths of his eyes.

"Good."

With that, he turned and walked off to the side, leaving space for the reunited mother and daughter.

Robin watched his back, then looked at her mother beside her, still crying softly.

Some corner of her heart loosened, just a little.

But another corner pulled even tighter.

She knew that from today on, her life was going to veer into a direction completely unknown.