Chapter 5
Chapter 5 - A child is a child and a parent is just a parent, there are various issues to being humans, but doing something about them is what being a pair of parent and child is all about .
Masato came out of the hot spring and headed towards the dressing room .
Right in there, probably prepared by the village chief, a dangerous, yet attractive thing was prepared .
“ . . . . . . It says, Maman’s milk . . . . . . !?”
No, hold on . Don’t misunderstand . What was prepared was the cla.s.sic treat taken after coming out of a bath, some well-chilled milk(in a bottle) . It was made from cow milk produced in the Maman village, hence the name .
Do you want to drink Maman’s milk?
“Kuh! It’s different! It’s not like that! At most, it’s for growing taller in the future!”
Masato put one hand on his waist and drank the milk in one go . Puha . Delicious .
In the meantime .
“Masato, you are there, right? Can you spare a moment?”
A voice called out to him from the other side of the dressing room’s door . It was Wise’s voice .
“O-Ou . . . . . . yeah I’m here but . . . . . . don’t tell me you are going to punish me now? If so, then at least give me some time to wear my clothes . Getting blown away in full nude is really too . . . . . . ”
“Why the honorifics? Rather, I’m not going to punish you . I just have something to talk with you about . ”
“O-Ou . . . . . . ?”
It was simply talking, but he could also imagine her sending him flying right after seeing each other . Masato decided to wear his clothes first anyway . He put on the bear-print briefs humbly made by Porta, then wore a shirt .
As Masato was putting on his clothes, Wise started talking with some strangely picked words .
“You see . . . . . . I’m going to head out for a little bit, or like . . . . . . ”
“Hah? Going out you say, where?”
“Where . . . . . . I’m just going to take a stroll in the nearby forest, something like that, such kind of feeling, or the like . . . . . . ”
“Oi oi, we are going to enter boss battle right after this . Even so, strolling, and to the forest as well . . . . . . it’s already pretty dark, isn’t it dangerous? Monsters have also started appearing, I think that it’s too dangerous for you to go alone . ”
“Ah, un, that’s true, but . . . . . . ah . . . . . . in that case, does Masato want to tag along?”
“Haa? Why must I go too?”
He questioned her without thinking .
Wise did not reply immediately, she took time to think of some things, then absentmindedly said .
“ . . . . . . Nevermind, after all . I’m going alone then . ”
“Hah? Oi, what’s with that? You’re acting strange . . . . . . huh?”
He quickly finished changing and opened the dressing room’s door, but her figure was already gone .
As he looked towards the direction of the forest, he could see a figure in red fading into the darkness . It was probably Wise, who was entering the forest . She really intends to take a stroll in that place huh . . . . . . on top of that, she seemed to moving forward in the direction without even a single animal trail . . . . . .
“She looked strange regardless . . . . . . if I chase after her now . . . . . . now is not the time to think about something like this! Geez!”
Masato picked up the Holy Sword of the Sky Firmament that was leaning against the wall, and dashed out of the dressing room .
However, even though chasing after her was the correct choice, he might have been too careless .
“d.a.m.n . . . . . . I should have at least brought some light source . . . . . . what a failure . . . . . . ”
He just rushed into the forest that was known for making people get lost, furthermore, it was during a time without any sunlight and he did not bring any equipments . It was not wrong to say that this action was equal to suicide . Good children must not imitate it .
He was moving around without knowing left or right, neither did he know what he was stepping on . Masato was advancing with poor visibility . “Ugh!?” Stumbled, “Nuoo!?” Even as his face rushed into a spider web, he kept searching for Wise .
“That fella is probably lost also . . . . . . and with me getting lost as well, it won’t be over until I find what I’m looking for . . . . . . please spare me from something like that . . . . . . oi, Wise! Not there!? You are there, right!? More importantly, please stay where you are!”
He called out to the bushes, lifted up a fallen tree and checked below “Oh, a horde of dung beetles!?” Something like that, she surely would not be under there . He searched and searched, but could not see her . Only the clock kept ticking .
Masato was at a loss, he looked up into the sky aimlessly . What he saw in the seams between the trees and branches was the clear night sky with a moon floating on it . . . . . .
He saw a swaying shadow .
“Nn? There’s something above! A monster huh . . . . . . wait . . . . . . oi . ”
What he saw above was the sole of a shoe . It was the sole of a boot he remembered seeing somewhere . It landed without a sound, stepping on Masato’s face as if it was a matter of course, and pushed him to the ground just like that .
There was only one person who would do something like this .
“Haa . . . . . . what do you want? Could it be that this is the punishment for that thing earlier? Weren’t you going with the no punishment plan?”
“It’s not a punishment . This is simply landing . You’re the one at fault for standing on my landing spot . ”
“This brat . . . . . . ”
It was Wise who landed on Masato’s face . And since she had landed on his face “ . . . . . . Tomorrow is pink day, huh” “Did you say something?” “No, not really” The underwear for next day’s use was exposed openly, he glanced at it in amazement .
“So? What are you doing here?”
“That’s my line . What are you . . . . . . hmm . . . . . . ?”
As he spoke halfway, Masato suddenly noticed .
The words that Shirase whispered to Wise, the problem at Maman village, and Wise’s att.i.tude after hearing about it, this whole situation . . . . . . that might have been the case, there were many leads suggesting that hypothesis . To Masato, he felt that this was the correct answer .
He asked just in case .
“Hey, Wise . I may have understood the whole story, but . . . . . . what is your relationship with that Queen, or would it be better if I don’t ask you now?”
“That’s true . I think it’s better if you don’t ask . That way it will be easier for you to fight . ”
“I believe that it doesn’t make much of a difference in that regard . . . . . . ”
“Then what? You want me to say it myself that one who threatened the village and demanded an offering of a muscular man that she could played around with is my ‘that’? Even though I already feel like vomiting blood? Even though I’m about to shed tears of blood?”
Wise stared at him with her widely opened, bloodshot eyes . There was no doubt that the atmosphere was somehow different from expressing grat.i.tude, but well, it’s not a bad atmosphere, Masato accepted that sensation .
Then .
“Then that means, you are going to secretly make contact and somehow persuade her . Is it okay to take it like that?”
“That’s right . I can’t really leave it alone after all . I’m not unrelated either . ”
“However, when it comes down to it, you are a little insecure, so you invited me to come along as a mental support . ”
“Wait, that’s not right! I didn’t really intend to go with you because I’m feeling insecure, I totally didn’t have such thoughts! I’m totally not thinking about that! You idiot, getting full of yourself! I’m going to Chainspell instant death magic at you, you hear!?”
Wise denied with a face blushing so hard, that he could notice it in the dark, but well, since the person herself denied it, then he should just leave it at that?
“It’s not like that, it’s not like that! It just means that, as a form of insurance, I will bring you along, that’s all!”
“As a form of insurance . . . . . . ”
“It’s in case my words don’t reach her! It’s possible that she will attack all of a sudden! She’s that kind of person! . . . . . . If one in a million chance it ends up in a battle, three consecutive attacks are necessary to damage the Queen . The combo attack between the two of us is necessary . Doing that can break through her invincible defense and damage her . ”
“I see . . . . . . that’s where I come in with this accessory used for combo . ”
“Yeah . This . ”
The two took out their Aderire Rings from their pockets, and Wise put it on her right ring finger . “Hurry, you too . ” “O-Ou . . . . . . ” Masato followed suit for the time being . There was no deeper meaning in this action .
With that, Masato suddenly thought of something .
“If we’re considering a battle scenario, won’t mom’s firepower be necessary? Calling her to come with us just in case . . . . . . ”
“No . Hold that thought . Please, let’s go there without asking Mamako-san to come along . ”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s certainly true that she would be a great help in a battle . . . . . . if my good-for-nothing mother and someone else’s nice, young and pretty mother were to meet at the same place . . . . . . spare me from showing the disparity between our families, or like . . . . . . do you get it? Or rather, understand it!” *Stare!*
Wise’s eyes once again opened wide with intense bloodshot “I-I get it already! I see your point already!” A son, who was happy with a mother like Mamako, would only achieve the opposite effect, had he tried to convince her anymore . He should listen to her wish here .
“T-Then the two of us will go first . The first objective is to try persuading her at most . However, if that fails, we will not fight . How about that?”
“Okay . . . . . . If possible, before meeting that idiot, I want to check our cooperation when the time comes . . . . . . ah, I just found something good . ”
Some shadows were lurking between the trees before them . The forest was a habitat for monsters . Even though they had defeated the area boss, it didn’t mean that they would disappear . The monsters had ample fighting spirit . They immediately started their attacks .
“Do you need an explanation for cooperation?”
“No, don’t need . I already have an image . ”
“Then, let’s go! With a nice feeling, take care of me!”
“Gotcha! First, let me . . . . . . receive!”
Wolves, deers, bears, evil beasts with changed eye colors came a.s.saulting . Dealing with that first was Masato’s role .
Masato leaped out right in front of the enemies to attract their hate . Then he thrust out his left arm and deployed a defensive shield - the additional effect of his armored jacket . He received the enemies’ attacks with one hand . *Crash!*
“Tsk! But I withstood it! . . . . . . Back you go!”
Pushing the enemies back with his shield, Masato unsheathed his Holy Sword Firmament in a perfect motion .
The moment he cut down a nearby wolf .
“Wise! Combo!”
“Cast Cancel! Flame Explosion(Bomba・Fiamma)! Furthermore! Flame Explosion(Bomba・Fiamma)!”
Explosion after explosion burned the enemies to smithereens . An overwhelming victory! “Alright!” “Now then, collect loot!” Then the two of them started gathering gems . Having money was an important matter .
And well, it felt something like that .
“Masato on defense feels quite nice . It makes fighting really easy . We may have a good combination . ”
“That’s true . Rather, keep collecting . I received some damage that my auto recovery from the protective gear has yet to catch up . ”
“If we are going to fight that idiot, Masato will first receive the attack, I will save up my power and wait for a chance . Next turn Masato will attack, I will combo, and blow her away in one go . ”
“No, wait, you need to add a recovery buff in your action . A weakened defender will die without recovery . It’s like when rabbits, when left alone for too long, die earlier from loneliness . ”
“It seems that rabbits, contrary to popular belief, don’t die from being alone over a long time, you know?”
“Eh, really? I didn’t know that . . . . . . more importantly, it’s about recovery . ”
“Yea yea, I understand . When the time comes, I will be flexible . ”
Gem collection completed . Now then .
“Let’s get going then . . . . . . is what I want to say, but speaking of which, where should we . . . . . . ?”
“Don’t worry . I got a map to the location where the village chief was going to hand over the sacrifice . Leave guiding to me . ”
“Understood . Then . . . . . . let’s go . ”
They b.u.mped fists lightly and went deeper into the forest . Deeper into the darkness .
“ . . . . . . Based on my feeling, it should be soon . ”
“I also feel the same . We need to be alert from here on out . ”
Being even more cautious, they moved forward amongst bushes while avoiding the road . Gently pushing aside the leaves and branches to take a look . . . . . . in the open s.p.a.ce of the forest, something seemed to be moving .
Under the moonlight, a shadow rose up . It was a swirling vortex of darkness .
“Oi, what’s that . . . . . . i swirling . . . . . . I have seen warp holes like that in other games before, but . . . . . . ”
“It’s exactly that . . . . . . It’s coming . ”
The dark vortex suddenly accelerated its revolutions and expanded itself .
After it reached the size of an entrance, a strong perfume wafted over from the other side . Something was coming out of it .
Soon, it showed itself .
It was a bewitching woman with well-tanned skin . Her body, wrapped in a glittering evening dress, was well-endowed, slim, and bountiful . Her erotic limbs swung in motion as she moved forward .
More than anything, what attracted Masato’s eyes were the two horns growing out from both sides of her head . Those ugly, twisted horns clearly proved that she was not human .
“Just like a devil . . . . . . This is Queen of Night, huh . . . . . . ”
The opponent was someone’s mother and he was aware of the fact that she woulb be one of the test players . The Queen probably used a transformation magic to change her appearance . . . . . . Masato took a quick glance at Wise, who somewhat resembled her, and focused his attention on the Queen again .
The arriving Queen lightly snapped her fingers . Five half-naked bishounens immediately walked out, joined their bodies like gymnasts and created a chair . The Queen lowered herself on it as if it was natural and smiled bewitchingly .
“Fufufu . Today is a memorable day . The day I will be getting my sixth son . What kind of a boy will he be, I wonder . . . . . . aah, that’s right . He could stay in a bridge pose and let his abdominal muscle become a table . That’d be nice . Pressing my hand on it, stroking those abdominal muscles with my fingers while I eat weiners . . . . . . Ufufufu! The best luxury!”
Her laughter, that seemed joyful from the bottom of her heart, was getting louder as the Queen continued to mutter .
Un . She was the type of person he did not want to get involved with .
Seeing that behavior, Masato was frankly dumbfounded for unknown reasons, as for Wise .
“ . . . . . . That idiot motherrr . . . . . . how dumb must she get until she’s satisfieddd . . . . . . !”
She was already gone . She seriously snapped . Incredible veins .
“C-Calm down, Wise! We’ll reason with her first! Talking comes first!”
“It’s too late for words! I really hate that thing for being my mother! I’m going to murder that stupid mother and then die as well!”
“Calm down! If you make a ruckus . . . . . . !”
“Yeah . Of course I will notice . ”
““!””
The Queen glanced over at their direction, a thick and well-binded grimoire had already materialized in her hand .
An attack was coming .
“Oi oi! She suddenly wants to fight! There’s no room for talking!”
“In that case, let’s change the plan! Let’s first blow her away and force her to grow up, then after an hour of sermons, we will talk about it! We’re going, Masato!”
“It can’t be helped! Let’s do it!”
Masato and Wise flew out towards that throne, at that instant .
“Silence(Tacere) . ”
The Queen’s pre-emptive attack . The magic with Cast Cancel activated from her throne a.s.saulted Masato and Wise . However, Masato was not affected .
Wise’s magic was sealed .
“Alright, I quit . Retreat . Thanks for the hard work . Ah geez I can’t do this . ”
“Oi, wait just a minute, you useless girl! Don’t give up so quickly . . . . . . !”
“Death(Morte) . ”
As Wise was looking for a place to lie down around there, the Queen’s magic was activated again . Death G.o.d penetrated through Wise, and after instantly dying, she was encased in a coffin .
“Oi oi oi oi! That’s too merciless! . . . . . . d.a.m.n it! Since it has come to this, I will do it myself!”
Calling out like that seemed to be pointless . Like Wise said, he had to defeat her first, then make her listen to him . There didn’t seem to be any other choice . In that case .
Kicking away his anxiety, stepping in with bravery, Masato rushed at Queen of Night instantly . “Oooooooo!” The Holy Sword of the Sky Firmament reflected the moonlight as he swung it sharply .
And the slash caught the Queen . . . . . . however, what was cut was one piece of the Veil of Darkness that were deployed around the Queen . He did not deal any damage to the actual body .
To make matter worse, the shattered veil was quickly repaired, and the two-layered defense immediately recovered itself to three .
“Tch! This is the turn-based invincible defense huh! So troublesome!”
“Fufufu . Sorry for being invincible? . . . . . . Speaking of which, who are you? Suddenly slashing at me without even greeting, don’t you have any manners?”
“I’m sorry about that! . . . . . . I’m a companion of that dead Sage over there! Because that fella wanted to persuade you, I made a gallant entrance to help her, like a busybody hero!”
“Oh, is that so . . . . . . ”
Hearing Masato’s speech halfway, the Queen’s eyes distorted uncomfortably . She seemed to be displeased .
“Haa . . . . . . how stupid . Aah, so worthless . ”
“Worthless, you say, that’s not how it is! Wise was unexpectedly worried about . . . . . . !”
“Worthless . ”
Queen of Night bent her index finger and flicked . An invisible pressure burst out instantly, sending Masato flying away with furious momentum .
“Gaha!? . . . . . . O-Oi . . . . . . why . . . . . . was that, magic just now . . . . . . something’s different . . . . . . ?”
“I just flicked my finger, you know? It really was just that . . . . . . Fufufu . . . . . . ahahahahaha!”
The Queen made a large swing with her arm, in that instant, the s.p.a.ce screamed as it was distorted .
An invisible shockwave from her finger that could easily flick a person away . With its fierce power further enhanced several times due to its increased size, it a.s.saulted Masato just like that . “!?” He yelled in pain as his back hit a tree .
He suddenly realized that he could not move his body .
“Guh . . . . . . oi, what’s with this!? . . . . . . Hah . . . . . . stun effect!?”
“Yes yes, it’s that . Inflicting a temporary immobile status, or something like that . I have only received a simple explanation so I learned little about it . But it’s convenient . After that, just . . . . . . need to do this, I suppose . ”
The Queen raised her hand . The dark vortex at her back quickly changed into a conical shape . The sharp point faced towards Masato . He was in its unavoidable piercing course .
After finishing her preparations to end the fight, the Queen spat out .
“You sure have some nerve, showing up now without any concern . Did you think you could do something by appealing to my feelings? Aah, so worthless . Seriously troublesome . Something like parent and child . . . . . . Hmph, well, whatever . A nuisance just needs to be eliminated . You showed up here, so you’re just as guilty . Disappear this instant . ”
“ . . . . . . I’m finished!?”
He couldn’t even take a defensive stance, he could only await defeat .
And, at that moment, the earth suddenly shook . The vibrations gradually increased in strength .
“An earthquake? . . . . . . No, it’s different . . . . . . ”
“This shaking . . . . . . could it be!?”
It was just that ‘could it be’ . The ground before Masato suddenly b.u.mped up, and a sharp tower pierced out of it .
He remembered this scene . This was . . . . . . finding her son’s location regardless of how far apart they were, interfering whatever situation was happening in that place, the support skill 【Mother’s Fang】 .
That meant . . . . . .
“Maa-kun! You’re over there! Mom is coming over now!”
She came . It was Mamako . White silver armor donned over her one-piece dress, her right hand held the Holy Sword of Mother Earth Terra di Madre, her left hand held the Holy Sword of Mother Sea Altura, carrying Porta on her back, Mamako gallantly appeared .
Her appearance under the moonlight was full of dignity, like a hero arriving to protect the downtrodden from danger .
“Mama-san! I will take a look at Wise!”
“Please do . I will take a look at Maa-kun . . . . . . is what I wanted to say . . . . . . before that, there seems to be someone who needs an opponent . ”
“Ah, will you be able to be my opponent? I’m, really strong, you know?”
“Being strong or not doesn’t matter . . . . . . Regardless of who you are, I cannot forgive you for doing cruel things to my cute son! I bet on my name as a mother that I will not forgive you!”
“Wh . . . . . . !?”
It was an instant . Mamako already closed the distance between her and the Queen, swinging her crossed swords mercilessly, aiming for her head .
The Veil of Darkness defended her from atattack . However, multiple stone blades and water bullets which followed those slashes grazed the Queen’s skin, they were shallow, but they wounded her .
“Guu!? H-How!? This great me was. .h.i.t!?”
It didn’t deal a lot of damage, but the attacks had certainly connected . The shocked Queen activated her magic in panic .
“Shield(Barriera)!” She desperately piled up her defenses .
“It’s not over yet! Here I go!”
“W-What!? How are you attacking so often!? Aren’t you too unreasonable!?”
In reality, Mamako’s attack consisted mainly of the stone blades and water bullets that appeared with her sword swings, while the swings themselves were not taken into account .
However, the Queen’s invincible defense was turn-based . Even if there was no damage, it would count as one turn of attacks with a certain degree of impact, removing one layer of defense .
“I do hold some regrets, but . . . . . . as expected, my mom is really great . . . . . . too strong . . . . . . ”
Chasing with overwhelming speed, Mamako destroyed her defenses again and again . The Queen deployed defensive shields right after the destroyed ones . Their attack and defense exchanges were like a furious storm . Especially the aftershock from Mamako’s all-target attack, which mowed down the trees and gra.s.s easily and shattered the earth with tremendous force . Truly, a fierce battle .
Masato was staring at her current state .
“Ha!? Not good! My role!”
That’s when Mamako noticed Masato’s gaze, she pushed the Queen back with one strike using all of her strength and hurriedly went to Masato to ask for permission . Eh? What is it?
“H-Huh? Mom, what is it all of a sudden . . . . . . ”
“Sorry, Maa-kun! Even though mom’s role is to support Maa-kun, she went overboard! But mom has realized it! What it is that mom should do now!”
Mamako showed a gentle smile, held out her hand and told him .
“Come, Maa-kun . Now’s the time!” *Go ahead . *
“It’s not ‘Now’s the time’ right!? Even if you yield it to me, I’m still in trouble!? There is no chance or what for me at all! As you can see, I can’t move at all!”
“No way! Then, will you get better later!?”
“I am the one who wants to know that! More importantly, instead of me, go be the Queen’s opponent . . . . . . wait . . . . . . aah?”
Before his eyes “Kuh! I have to improve the settings some more!” The Queen expanded the dark vortex and escaped while leaving her bishounen chair . Her figure disappeared in an instant .
The contact with Queen of Night ended in a failure .
After the battle, they immediately opened a reflection meeting .
“Like I said! You could’ve finished it, mom! It’s okay to push her around with your firepower and go all out! Defeating her like that would have been good! Why did you withdraw!?”
“B-But Maa-kun!”
“What!?”
“Mom cannot spew fire . Mom doesn’t have a stove . ”
“Like I said, we are not talking about stove here, how many times must I repeat myself! Firepower basically means attack power! Remember that!”
“T-That’s right . Sorry, mom is bad at remembering things . . . . . . really sorry . . . . . . ”
Mamako showed an apologetic face and lowered her head deeply . . . . . .
But before that .
“Ah, no! Hold on a moment!”
Masato pressed Mamako’s cheeks with his hands and raised her face . “Funya? Maa-bun?” Mother’s squeezed face before him “I pressed the wrong place!” Anyway, he raised her face .
Barely safe? I don’t feel that it’s an out . However, Masato was able to notice .
“I can’t help but to yell with this momentum . . . . . . then it will be the same as before . ”
That’s not it . I cannot do that . He believed that he should not do that .
He should speak honestly . His mother was there to listen to him, so he had to calm down . He needed to properly convey what he wanted to tell her .
“Ah, erm, you see . . . . . . that’s not how it is, that’s not it . . . . . . I don’t mean to complain to mom, I just want you to be more careful . I just feel like giving a lecture about what will be good to do . ”
“Yes, mom understands . Maa-kun is thinking for mom’s sake, and is trying to teach mom about the important things, right?”
“That’s right . That’s why I will not yell like a kid . . . . . . erm . . . . . . that’s how it is, so . . . . . . please work a bit harder next time . I will definitely teach you . ”
“Yes . Mom will work hard . ”
Mamako’s smiling face bloomed, Masato nodded . And deep inside his heart, he was relieved . That’s right, this is fine . Turning out this way is good . This is the right choice . I can do it if I want to .
He felt that he had somehow grown and tasted great joy .
“ . . . . . . Now then, back to main topic . ”
Masato looked back towards Wise who was a little further away .
Wise was in an extremely bad mood . Like a toddler venting out her anger by hugging a stuffed toy, she hugged Porta who was sitting on her lap, and had a sour look on her face .
“Oi Wise . First, release Porta . She seems to be troubled when you treat her like a stuffed toy . ”
“Porta isn’t really troubled . Right?”
“Y-Yes! I’m totally fine! I will continue to be a stuffed toy!”
“If Porta is fine with it, then it’s alright . . . . . . In any case, Wise . Since everyone has gathered, could you tell us your story?”
“Not only are you showing me how close you mother-son pair is, you want me to reveal my terrible situation? What kind of hara.s.sment is that?”
“No, I don’t mean it that way, but . . . . . . I have roughly guessed it already, so wouldn’t it be better to properly tell mom and Porta? We are companions . Remaining ignorant is, well . ”
“Haa . . . . . . I know already . I just need to tell right, just telling . ”
Wise let out a big sigh, and spoke while looking up at the moon .
“The person who calls herself Queen of Night . . . . . . she is my mama . ”
Mamako was taken aback after hearing those words . Her face instantly turned pale .
“Eeh!? That person is Wise-chan’s mother!? . . . . . . Hey Maa-kun, is that true!?”
“Aah . It seems that that’s the case . She looks totally like a devil, but that’s probably a magical transformation . ”
“That’s right . My mama is definitely a human . She doesn’t grow horns . . . . . . her chest is also not that big . Rather, that was too much . Way too pretentious!”
“How can that be . . . . . . w-w-w-what should mom do . . . . . . mom fought her without thinking . . . . . . ”
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine . You don’t have to worry about that . I also feel like blowing her away . . . . . . Because she’s an idiot mother, who won’t look my way if I don’t do at least that much . She’s really the worst . ”
While gently stroking Porta’s head, Wise recalled her mother’s appearance .
“My mama was hooked on host clubs in the past, so she couldn’t stop herself from playing with men like that . . . . . . by the way, my real name is [Genya], but it’s actually the professional name of a host she was interested in . ”
“Eh, seriously . . . . . . ”
“Using a host’s name for her own daughter . . . . . . ?”
“Wise-san’s real name is Genya-san . . . . . . ”
“That’s how it is . . . . . . that’s how it is . . . . . . kuh . . . . . . ”
Genya held back the tears with all her might . . . . . . Since she felt anger and pain towards her real name, it would be better to continue calling her Wise from now on .
“Because mama is like that, my house is a little poor! Mama has spent all the money at home! She even used her daughter’s food expenses on hosts! . . . . . . Even papa couldn’t endure it anymore, so they divorced . Of course, I decided to live with my papa . That was going to solve everything . . . . . . at least, that’s what I thought . . . . . . until one day, mama suddenly showed up . ”
“Something like wanting to reconcile with her family?”
“It’s exactly that . As I fiercely rejected, she mentioned this game, and unreasonably tried to become more intimate . . . . . . Once she realized that she could make lots of money because she was a little bit strong, she said something about releasing stress and started her ‘Playing around with men’ dream while treating me like a nuisance . When I yelled at her ‘Don’t screw with me!’, it was basically a good-bye . ”
She snorted roughly .
Wise faced Masato and others and faintly laughed with a crestfallen face .
“And well, that’s how I feel . It’s already over . ”
“Over, you say . . . . . . you . . . . . . ”
“I said that just now, didn’t I? Rather than listening to me, she will strike me with instant death magic the moment I show myself . She doesn’t care about me at all . ”
“U-Umm! I won’t do that . . . . . . !”
“It’s fine, it’s fine . You don’t need to be considerate . I also don’t care about her . My mother and daughter relationship is already over . . . . . . ”
“That’s absolutely not possible!”
Mamako clearly denied her .
Mamako stood before Wise and spoke again while looking straight at her .
“That’s not possible . Parent and child relationships won’t be over . They can never end . ”
“Wait, Mamako-san . . . . . . what are you seriously . . . . . . ”
“But that’s the truth . Parent and child are something above genes or family trees, something that cannot be severed even if you try to cut it . Because parent and child are eternal . ”
“No, well, Mamako-san and Masato have a good relationship, so you may actually feel that that’s how all parents and children are like, but I totally . . . . . . ”
“That’s not possible . Wise-chan must have felt it it . You are just unaware of it, but you really do have it inside yourself . . . . . . Can you spare a moment?”
Mamako pulled Wise’s hand to make her stand up, and brought her closer like that .
She held Wise tightly against her chest .
“Hey, Mamako-san . . . . . . what . . . . . . ”
“Now, Wise-chan . Feel my hug firmly . How is it?”
“How, you ask . . . . . . Mamako-san’s chest is large, soft, and gives off a nice fragrance . . . . . . ”
“However, something is amiss, right? It’s a little different . ”
“That’s . . . . . . for some reason, it’s different from the feeling I know, I really do have such thoughts . . . . . . the fragrance is also different, not in a bad meaning, it’s like this is not it . . . . . . ”
“Who is it different from?”
“Who you ask, that’s of course my mama . . . . . . ah . . . . . . ”
Wise seemed to have suddenly realized it .
She didn’t know if it was since her birth . It was something nurtured without her noticing .
It was an incomprehensible, uncertain, but also undeniable feeling that definitely existed .
It was definitely there inside of everyone, a parent and child’s ‘that’ .
“Hey . It’s not over . Wise-chan definitely has it . . . . . . That’s why, okay?”
Mamako shifted her gaze towards Masato, showing him a smile .
What meaning did it hold . . . . . . there was no need to ask that question .
“Revenge it is, then . ”
It was not some grand task to save the world . It was for the sake of someone close to him, in order to repair that twisted bond between a mother and daughter .
The curtain of a battle that the ordinary hero could not afford to lose was lifted .
“D-Don’t misunderstand! It’s not like I wanted to, I just decided to meet mama one more time because Mamako-san told me to! Well, it won’t hurt to get along with her a little better, that’s all there is to it!”
“Yes yes, you say that . Getting a hug from my mom, good for you . ”
Although she was making a fuss with excuses, well, he didn’t mind it .
They began tracking down Queen of Night .
“How is it, Porta?”
“I can smell the strong scent of her perfume! This way!”
“Porta-chan is really amazing after all . Being able to track from scent . ”
“Scent also plays an important role when appraising, so I properly increased the skill! Please leave it to me!”
Twitching her small nose and sniffing around to search, Porta led them deeper into the forest .
The deeper they went, the more branches and leaves covered the sky above their heads, causing the moonlight that shone to dim . They were enveloped in darkness as they advanced, but their goal was further inside . Even further inside .
After they walked for awhile, Porta saw something .
“Ah, I see something! . . . . . . That’s . . . . . . ?”
It was a mysterious scenery before them . A coffin was stuck to a tree trunk . It seemed that someone had died over there .
“Considering the coffin that appeared before us suddenly, I just thought of one person . ”
“I also thought of one person . As such, I will quickly revive her . . . . . . Supra・La・Magia・Peru・Mirare . . . . . . Resurrection(Rianimato)!”
After Wise used resurrection magic, the coffin vaporized, revealing the figure of a nun that was within it . It was indeed that person . An acquaintance who called herself the Mysterious Nun, Shirase .
“ . . . . . . It’s you people . It seems that I have been saved again . I’m sorry to have troubled you all again and again . ”
“No no, I have pretty much gotten used to it . You don’t have to apologize . ”
“However . . . . . . if possible, please do something about my condition of being pierced by a tree branch . . . . . . coming back to life, I want to . . . . . . inform . . . . . . Shira . . . . . . se . . . . . . ” *Gaku . *
“Sorry for not noticing!”
Shirase was revived, but then died again . It was easy to revive the dead with magic, but one also had to take care of them later . “Masato! Hold there!” “Got it!” They took her down from the tree and revived her again .
Once again, Masato’s party reunited with Shirase .
“It’s just as I thought . When I opened my eyes again, I believed that I was going to see everyone’s smiling faces . . . . . . Now then, let me confirm the situation immediately . How is the quest I requested going?”
“It’s going well . Queen of Night has run away, we are in the midst of chasing her . ”
“I see . . . . . . then, have you understood anything regarding the Queen?”
“The opponent uses magic with Cast Cancel, and also has turn-based invincible defense, I know that she is pretty troublesome . . . . . . Others are . . . . . . ”
“I have already told them that the Queen is my mama . ”
As Wise resolutely announced, Shirase thought that was a little unexpected, as she slightly raised her eyebrow with a surprised expression . However, she soon returned to her usual calm demeanor .
“Looks like pretty much everything has been said . As everyone’s guide, this Shirase will inform you about an additional information regarding the Queen . I will inform you . Just as Shirase . ” *Smart pose . *
“You’re back to your usual self . ”
“First . . . . . . Queen of Night is Wise-san’s mother, her real name is Kazuno-san . ”
“So her name is Kazuno-san . . . . . . I have to properly greet her the next time we meet . ”
“Save that for after the battle . Please spare me the long talk between two mothers . ”
“Needless to say, Kazuno-san is a test player, and while adapting to the game, she has been pursuing her own hobbies and wishes . She can easily be cla.s.sified as a shameful person . ”
“Guh . . . . . . my family’s shameeee . . . . . . ” * . . . . . . Trembling . . . . . . *
“W-Wise-san! Please calm down! You are going to evolve into something!”
The daughter, who was about to demonize like her mother, regained some calm .
Then, Shirase told them an important detail .
“Next, regarding her status . Her profession is a Sage like Wise-san, and was given a grimoire that could use every magic for the First-time Privilege . Like Mamako-san’s swords, she also received the official cheat equipment for mother-only use . ”
“Wise . . . . . . you have also went through those hardships . ”
“It was hard! Even though I have to spend SP in order to learn magic, mama doesn’t need to! It was always mama who was active in battles, I didn’t have anything to do at all!”
“Kazuno-san who has been acc.u.mulating large amount of SP seems to have spent those points on learning Cast Cancel . . . . . . And that’s all the explanation regarding the Queen’s battle capability . ”
“Eh? No, please wait a moment?”
She did not explain the most troublesome ability .
“Shirase-san, can I ask something? The Queen’s invincible defense . . . . . . ”
“That ability, rather than saying it wasn’t given to her, it wasn’t installed in the game in the first place . ”
“Eh? . . . . . . It wasn’t installed in the first place . . . . . . ?”
The Queen was using an unavailable skill . That meant . . . . . .
“ . . . . . . Don’t tell me, cheat, huh?”
“Chiito? Hey Maa-kun, what’s that?”
“Ah, simply speaking, it’s like [Unfair Act] kind of feeling . However, depending on severity, it’s not just simply being unfair . ”
It was clearly foul play . Harming the game would be a criminal act that could even endanger its survival .
Shirase deeply nodded to Masato’s words .
“It’s exactly as you say . Kazuno-san is probably using some kind of cheating tool . After checking the logs, I have confirmed that some program from outside has been sent to her . ”
“Sent from the outside, you say?”
“The details of her acquisition history are still unclear, but we cannot deny the possibility that it was sent unilaterally . The tool’s mechanism includes invincibility, making NPC behave outside of their setting, account takeovers and enabling other unthinkable behaviors . Given its wide array of uses, it’s easy to realize why users would get addicted to its usefulness and keep abusing it . . . . . . It’s like a drug . ”
“It’s that thing where once you use it, you will be addicted till the end, huh . . . . . . ”
“That idiot mother . . . . . . what the heck is she doing . . . . . . she just had to do this, of all things . . . . . . ”
“That’s true . That’s not something funny . Using cheat tools is prohibited in the first place . If by any chance she caused troubles for the operation, the administrative side will not hesitate to take legal actions . ”
“You mean she will be sued huh . . . . . . ”
“The government is the one providing funds for this game . It is planned to be deployed country-wide, and the preparations are already underway . . . . . . if a delay occurs because of this problem, then depending on situation, it won’t be strange if the damage compensation will cost billions . ”
“Wait . . . . . . m-mama wouldn’t be able to pay that much . . . . . . ”
“She’ll have to pay, even if she cannot pay . In that aspect, the legislative state won’t go easy on her . ”
“No way . . . . . . if that happens . . . . . . what will happen to my mama . . . . . . ”
Wise’s trembling hands wandered about aimlessly . . . . . . and came into contact with Masato’s arm . Her slim fingers then grasped onto his arm like that . Like they were seeking for help .
Despite her saying dismissive things, in her heart, she still cared about her mother .
“I know that . It’s alright . Don’t worry . I . . . . . . we are with you . ”
He was unable to imitate affectious gestures like whispering softly or putting his hand over Wise’s hand, but he had the will . Masato’s determination was stalwart .
“It’s true that this will be a grave issue, but we can still make it, right? There’s still something that we can do, right?”
As he inquired, Shirase thought for a while, and choose the words for her reply .
“This is just an extreme measure . . . . . . if we were to destroy the computer Kazuno-san is using in real world, the entire matter would be over . That is if we are just talking about a method . ”
“Employing such a forceful method will definitely bring criticism . It won’t end just like that . ”
“It’s just as you say . If this matter got exposed, criticism would probably flood the administrative side, which is the government . That would hinder the operation . . . . . . And more than anything, in the case where the computer acting as a medium for the full dive were to be damaged, I would be unable to guarantee the safety of Kazuno-san’s body . The government doesn’t want to harm its citizens . We cannot use this method . ”
“Then after all, we have no choice but to do something in-game . ”
“That’s right . . . . . . do something about the game inside the game . . . . . . because of this incident, using the deep bond between a parent and child and leading to a touching conclusion will be the best outcome . If you can do that, I will be able to write up a good summary report later . Therefore . ”
“Then it’s decided . ”
In the end, it would probably depend on Wise and her mother, but they would do what they could to achieve that . To fight, and win . They would stop the Queen after winning . They had to start from there .
Getting a clear view of their objective, Masato glanced at his companions .
“As for Wise, we already know what you want, right?”
“Of course! Obviously, I’m going to do it!”
“Very well . . . . . . Since Porta is a non-combatant . . . . . . ”
“No! I will work hard as well! I will do my best within my ability!”
“Un, that’s right . Since Wise will get her magic sealed and die immediately, Porta needs to prepare the item to use at that time . ”
“Hey, don’t say it with the a.s.sumption that I will be done in! I will work hard not to become a burden!”
“Please do so . . . . . . What about mom?”
“Although mom feels that it’s not right to interfere with other people"s’ family matters, since it has become like this, mom will not hold back on meddling . Mom has the greatest firepower . Mom will meddle immediately . [1]”
“It’s a good scene, so I won’t ruin it with a comeback . . . . . . As such, Shirase-san . ”
Leave it to us, he conveyed such intent with his eyes as he looked straight at her, displaying his will to rise to the challenge .
Shirase looked at those challengers and deeply nodded .
“Understood . Then, let this Shirase use the secret forbidden power and guide everyone to where the Queen is . ”
Shirase faced straight towards the depths of the forest and clasped both of her hands in a prayer .
Do you know her whereabouts?”
“Yes . The Queen is currently hiding in Foreign Dimension, further enhancing her power . ”
“Foreign Dimension, and further enhancing . . . . . . ”
“Putting it bluntly, it could be said that she has opened [Alternate Window] and is in the midst of changing the system’s code . I have received a communication from the System Department . ”
“That’s really blunt . You ruined the feeling of fantasy . ”
Even if it was a game that would not work with multiple logins, by using cheat tool, it would be possible to open multiple game screens on the computer and run them at the same time .
Time consuming things like quests or production originally required the player to choose one or the other, but if both were done at the same time, then the player would get both results . It was a bargain .
However, that kind of misconduct would absolutely not be forgiven .
“Queen of Night . . . . . . if you are going to be like that, I will also not hold back . . . . . . power with power, let me repay you with my overwhelming power . . . . . . connecting to Foreign Dimension, I will drag you out to the judgement ground!”
And Shirase sang loudly!
“Forced activation! Undisputed Maximize Magic [Administrative・Intervention]!”
“Uwa . . . . . . What a blatant ultimate magic . . . . . . ”
She activated the great power that controlled the entire online game [MMMMMORPG(temp)] .
The scenery of a dense forest before their eyes started to distort . . . . . . when the distortions stopped a moment later, the scenery returned to normal, as if nothing had changed .
However, that was not the case . The fragrance of the perfume which only Porta could smell until then, had become stronger before they realized it . That was undoubtedly the presence of the Queen . . . . . .
And .
“Lava Flow(Flusso・di・Lava)!”
The Queen’s voice echoed, and the dark forest was dyed red in an instant . In front of them, a stream of magma burned and swallowed the trees while pushing towards them at once . Their immediate surroundings became a sea of flame .
It was just a visual effect at best, but they could not say it .
“Kuh, she suddenly appeared! . . . . . . Masato! It’s your turn!”
“Frankly speaking, I’m about to cry, but if I don’t do it here, how can I claim to be a heroooooo!?”
Masato leaped forward over the scorching stream and thrust out his left arm to deploy his defensive shield . Will this do? I have to defend against it, even if it’s impossible! He was showered with enormous heat, but prevented his companions from being swallowed up by magma .
“I stopped it somehow, but at this rate, I’m going to be steamed alive! My HP is getting sc.r.a.ped off!”:
“Then I will cool you down! Supra・La・Magia・Peru・Mirare . . . . . . Blizzard(Vento・Neve)! Furthermore! Ice Lump(Ghiaccio・Grumo)!”
It was Wise’s Chainspell . The raging blizzard cooled the surrounding temperature, while huge ice lumps that fell solidified the magma . It seemed to be possible to walk on the surface of the cooled lava .
In front of them, the figure of the Queen holding her grimoire in her hand appeared, as she stood there maintaining her composure .
“Mama! I’m coming to you, so stay there!”
“Ah! Oi Wise!”
As soon as she saw the Queen, Wise started dashing, going ahead by herself . Masato hurriedly chased after her .
In that moment, a wind-cutting sound came from the side . Something swung down at them .
“What!? Is it a monster!?”
He dodged by jumping back and when he checked, it turned out to have been a tree branch .
It was a tree monster at the side . . . . . . no, it wasn’t . It was the trees growing in the surroundings themselves .
In the immediate vicinity of Masato’s party, every single tree started moving horizontally, some trees spinning around and sweeping with their branches, other tries tried to take an aim and fall on them, they were seeing such strange movements .
“This . . . . . . could it be, she’s controlling objects to hinder us? Kuh, how troublesome! There’s way too many of them, since one of our flanks is exposed to the forest!”
“Leave this to mom! Regardless of how many there are, mom will attack them all at once!”
“I’m so glad that we have an all-target attack! Then I will rely on you here! I’m going to chase after Wise! Porta, stay close to mom!”
“Y-Yes! I will be by Mama-san’s side!”
“Shirase-san is . . . . . . huh . . . . . . ?”
Shirase, who was supposed to be right next to them, was nowhere to be seen . . . . . . aah, there was one coffin under the fallen trees . “I will resurrect her!” “Un . Take care . ” Then he left it to Porta .
The Queen activated a dark vortex after releasing her first wave of attack, and quickly got inside it . Wise chased after that figure and jumped in without hesitation .
“Geez! It’s not that I don’t understand your feelings, but don’t just suddenly go in by yourself!”
Kicking down a tree before him, jumping over another fallen tree, Masato also quickly jumped into the dark vortex .
He dashed through the stagnant flow that created the swirling vortex . He kept running .
After arriving at a tidy s.p.a.ce ahead, Masato stopped .
“ . . . . . . What’s with this place?”
What he saw was a cuboid s.p.a.ce . There were a total of six sides . The walls and ceiling were like frameless monitors, with rows of programming code crammed on them . It was such a digital-like room . However, he didn’t have the leisure to look around nonchalantly .
Further inside that s.p.a.ce were Wise and the Queen . They kept a distance while confronting each other . Both had their grimoires equipped, they were just one trigger away from a fight .
Masato hurriedly ran over next to Wise, and readied his Holy Sword Firmament .
“Masato, you’re late!”
“You’re the one who ran off first! . . . . . . So, what’s the situation?”
“The ‘totally won’t listen’ scenario . ”
The Queen lightly snorted as Wise was glaring at her, then she gazed at Masato carefully . She looked like she was trying to measure his worth .
“Hmph . . . . . . a plain boy . Not handsome or macho . Is that your boyfriend?”
“Wrong! Rather, I don’t want to be told about your interest in men! That’s not what I’m trying to say! . . . . . . It’s time you answered my questions! What’s with this place!? Explain!”
“Haa . . . . . . Gya gya gya gya so noisy . . . . . . Honestly speaking, I don’t know . I don’t know anything . ”
“Hah!? What’s that!? Stop pretending like you don’t know!”
“But that’s the truth . I don’t know what this place is . I received a gift in my item storage from an unknown person . After I opened it, this location appeared . . . . . . Speaking of what I do know, it would be only that [If I make a wish here, it will be granted] . ”
“W-What’s with that . . . . . . ”
“It’s exactly what you think it means . If I say that I want a wonderful man to become mine, it teaches me the method to freely control him . If I say I want to become stronger, it gave me veils that make attacks unable to hit me . If I say that I want to defeat enemies without using magic, I can finish off enemies with a flick of my finger or a swing of my arm . That’s how it is . ”
“W-Wait a moment . . . . . . I don’t understand what you mean . . . . . . ”
“No, wait . That’s . . . . . . ?”
This place is the exact cheat tool that the Queen had been using . . . . . . within the program huh?
And according to the story he heard from the Queen, she was not the one operating the tool . . . . . .
“Someone else is operating this to accommodate the Queen’s demands . . . . . . that’s the one activating the effects . . . . . . ?”
In that case, who . . . . . .
He had to think about it all later . The Queen made her move .
“I have answered your questions . Then I hope that you can go back . . . . . . Connielio, Orekkio, Tiffone . Welcome, you three . ”
Answering her call, three existences suddenly appeared .
A blue-haired rabbit . A b.u.t.terfly with ear-shaped wings . A whirlwind swirling with jewelries .
The Queen was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happiness after calling the trio, as if she had obtained everything in the world .
“I also obtained these children in this place . They are very outstanding . As long as this place exists, all my wishes will be granted . Standing at the top of this world will be easy . Controlling everything will also be easy . And then . . . . . . controlling the other world, the real one, will also be possible . ”
“Uwa, what the heck are you saying . You’re crazy . ”
“It’s the truth . I tried asking it and it replied ‘It’s possible’ to me . The administratives of this game is from the Cabinet Office, so I just need to hack into the network and do this and that . . . . . . well, anyway, it’s possible . ”
Cabinet Office . It was needless to say that it was the center of j.a.pan . The country’s core .
“If I make a ‘I want this country’s top secret doc.u.ments’ wish and obtain them, I wonder how much people will pay for it . . . . . . if I could freely control the Public Inst.i.tution system, what would people do to avoid the damage . . . . . . ”
“Hey, stop it! Isn’t that too much even if it’s a joke!? You’re already walking on thin ice! It’s about time you stop!”
“I didn’t intend it as a joke . That can happen, no, that’s what I am going to do from now on . Alright, I have decided . I will become the ruler . Everything will be according to my will . . . . . . That’s why, stop hindering me anymore than this . Disappear from my sight . I feel sick just by looking at you . ”
“Hey, that’s not the way to speak to your biological daughter!?”
“I will say it anyway . Because you are just an existence that spoils my mood . ”
Staring at Wise as if she were some serious annoyance, the Queen murmured .
“Even if I say this, I was being serious . I seriously thought about the reconciliation between mother and daughter . . . . . . However, it doesn’t matter now . ”
“Eh . . . . . . ”
“Children are harmful . They act selfishly all the time, always being annoying, an existence that strips their parents of their peace and freedom . . . . . . That’s why, Genya . ”
“W-Wait! Wait, mama! One more time . . . . . . !”
“It’s fine already . I don’t need someone like you . Hurry up and disappear from my sight . ”
The Queen slowly pointed at Wise . At the same time, the ear-shaped b.u.t.terfly thrust ahead with speed that eyes couldn’t follow to blow Wise away nonchalantly . The scream did not last long . She was pushed out to the other side of the dark vortex .
And an unquenchable rage grew in Masato’s heart .
It was an anger that he did not need to endure . He exerted strength into the hand he was holding the sword with .
“Hey, you . . . . . . why are you like that? Aren’t you still her mother?”
“Oh, a sermon? I hope you can stop . In the end, aren’t you the same as that child? Aren’t you treating your parents not like a parent, saying things on your own, doing whatever you want?”
Those words stung a little . Those th.o.r.n.y words splendidly hit him .
“ . . . . . . I acknowledge that point . ”
“Ufufu . Is that so? All children are like that . ”
“Aah, that’s right . . . . . . When I thought that the transfer into a game I had seen in dreams came true, mom also arrive here with me . As I did not like it, I also had outbursts of anger . ”
As a result of that, he made Mamako cry .
“Although it’s good that we started an adventure together, I didn’t like what mom was saying and doing, so I scolded her . I vented out my anger one-sidedly . ”
As he did that, he saw Mamako lower her head in sorrow .
However .
“But . . . . . . my mom didn’t say the things that you are saying . ”
Masato remembered . Mamako’s appearance as she was soaked in tears .
No matter how selfish her child spoke, how much she was hurt, she would forgive him, and face him with the same smile as usual, that kind of mother .
A mother was a person who would forgive . A person who would accept .
Masato thought so .
“I’m well aware of how selfish we are . . . . . . However, can’t you accept that part of a child?”
“It’s not just on occasion that the parents are troubled . ”
“Even so, accept your daughter . That fella wants a reconciliation between you and her . . . . . . ”
“Haa . . . . . . I can’t talk with you . ”
She let out a mocking sigh, as if she had given up from the bottom of her heart .
“This is why I hate children . They only think about their own circ.u.mstances . Do you think you can have a decent conversation with insects?”
“I also understand what I’m saying is unreasonable . But there’s no other way to say it . ”
“I don’t want to hear it . It’s not like I’m a G.o.d . Here, just like you see, I’m a devil . Something like forgiving a selfish child . . . . . . ”
“You definitely have it within you . In the end, regardless of what you say, you are a mother . . . . . . If you can’t see it no matter what . . . . . . ”
“What will you do?”
“I will strip off that devilish appearance and remind you . Even if I exhaust all my strength . ”
He pointed his sword tip to convey his battle spirit .
“Oh my, are you intending to strip me naked? Ufufu, ahahahaha! Alright, please do it . . . . . . if you can, that is . ”
The Queen distorted the corners of her mouth obscenely, the time until magic flew out from her thin, smiling lips was . . . . . . 0 seconds .
Instant open battle .
“Explosion Ball(Bomba・Sfera) . ”
“That magic is a small area explosion! Then I will do my best to take my distance and evade it!”
“Blizzard(Vento・Neve) . ”
“That’s a wide range! If I can’t evade, I will endure with my defense!”
Hot impact, cold stimulation, showered with continuous magic attacks released in a rhythm, Masato suddenly entered a defensive battle .
However, he certainly avoided a clean hit . He did not take unnecessary damage .
“You are dealing with it rather dexterously . ”
“I have made preparations! In any case, you are using the same magic as your daughter! You mother and daughter have similar attack patterns after all!”
“Hmph . Such annoying words . ”
The Queen showed displeasure and swung her arm widely . She released a shockwave different from magic .
“The troublesome attack came huh! Kuh!”
That attack could not be seen, so it could not be evaded . Masato immediately chose to defend .
He could not take on the full pressure which blew his way, his body floated off the ground . . . . . .
From the inorganic floor, to the ground with the smell of soil and gra.s.s . Masato rolled out from the dark vortex and stopped after his body hit something hard .
“Guh!? . . . . . . Tsu . . . . . . w-what is this . . . . . . ”
The surrounding scenery changed . It was supposed to be a dense forest, but the trees that grew in the surrounding were gone, changing the place into an open field . It seemed that a coffin was caught and hung on a remaining tree’s branch . . . . . . that’s Wise huh . Porta was doing her best to handle it .
And what Masato crashed into was a mountain of wood, which was created from the piled up trees .
. . . . . . Maa-kun! . . . . . . Are you there!? . . . . . .
He could faintly hear Mamako’s voice from within .
“Mom? . . . . . . Don’t tell me you are trapped inside!?”
Masato swung his Firmament to cut down the wooden mountain before his eyes . A hit with all of his strength .
However, the structure was totally undamaged . Not even a single scratch .
“Oi, why is that!? The Adventurer Guild’s building would’ve been destroyed! Objects should also be able to be destroyed by normal attacks . . . . . . !”
“Yeah, that’s right . They could’ve been destroyed as it was a bug . Until now . . . . . . But it seems that the patch was completed, they can no longer be destroyed . Your mama cannot come out . Sealing that troublesome firepower was a success . Ufufufu, ahahahaha!”
The Queen, slowly walking out of the dark vortex, was laughing with great joy .
“Trying so desperately to rescue her . . . . . . what? Could it be that you want your mama to help you? Even though you usually treat her like a nuisance, you still want her to help you only when you are in trouble?”
“That’s not it! I just want to rescue her! Seeing my own mother encounter something like this, any child would normally help her!”
“Say what you like, the end result is that you just conveniently borrow her strength . Ah, not good, not good . Children are selfish after all . I want you to stop already . Your mama must also think so . ”
“My mom is different from you!”
“She’s not different . Because we are both mothers . That’s why I will teach you how your mama feels . . . . . . A child that tries to use his mother for convenience is . . . . . . ”
The Queen raised her hand, magic was immediately activated .
“Divine punishment light(Luce・di là・Dann.a.z.ione) . ”
As her voice echoed, a thunder fell from the sky and pierced through Masato . Everything happened almost instantly .
Masato’s defensive shield in his left hand was thrust upwards and blocked the hit . However, he took quite a large damage .
“Tsk! . . . . . . This is, quite . . . . . . effective . . . . . . ”
Although he didn’t want to, his knees buckled down and touched the ground .
“How is it? Have you tasted a mother’s feelings? Mother is angry at everyone . This is the iron hammer of anger . Ufufu!”
“Of course, there’s probably anger in it, but . . . . . . this kind of . . . . . . ”
“It’s not just anger . . . . . . Disappointment, depression, regret . . . . . . all mothers in the world feel uncomfortable with their children . They are a hinderance . They are an annoyance . We wish they could disappear . ”
“That’s . . . . . . !”
“To parents, children are simply shackles . Just things that impair their freedom . That’s all . Ufufufufu, ahahahahahahahaha!”
The Queen raised an irritating laughter . Masato wanted to rebuke immediately, however .
At that moment, he felt it all of a sudden . The ground was slightly shaking .
This shaking was the kind that he felt many times before . . . . . . that’s right, there was no mistaking it .
The Mother Earth was shaking in response to the call of a certain mother’s thoughts .
Masato advised the Queen out of mercy .
“ . . . . . . You know, now’s the only chance if you want to change your way of thinking . ”
“Hah? How many times have I told you already? What I said are all facts . Facts about mothers . There’s no need to change . ”
“Is that so . . . . . . then you have resolved yourself, right?”
Masato called out with all his might .
“A mother that is different from you is here! Isn’t that right!? Hey . . . . . . mom!”
Right after, the ground trembled .
Not to mention standing, the ground was shaking so violently that one could not support his body even in a crawling posture .
From the piled up wooden mountain, a huge crack ran through the ground . Soon, enormous quant.i.ty of water sprayed out from the crack with a deafening sound, pushing the trees away with the current .
After everything was washed away, the figure of Mamako holding her twin swords, Holy Sword of Mother Earth and Holy Sword of Mother Sea, was standing there .
Swords in her hands, Mamako was there with her usual smile gone .
“H-How can that be . . . . . . why? . . . . . . Even though it shouldn’t be able to be broken . . . . . . even though you shouldn’t be able to come out!”
Regardless of what the Queen said, the figure over there was the truth .
Mamako stared straight at the Queen as she slowly walked towards her .
“I have never forgotten for a single moment . . . . . . the moment when my child was born . That moment when I seriously thought that I was willing to die for this child . The day when my child laughed for the first time, the day when he called me mom for the first time, I will never forget . Because I am a mother . ”
Moving forward one step at a time, as if she was savoring her words one line at a time .
“How could there exist a person who forgot that much happiness . . . . . . there’s nothing comparable to it, not even a single thing There’s only what we have between ourselves, the irreplaceable parent and child relationship . Why are you making light of it . . . . . . I have a hard time understanding . I feel anger . And I also feel sadness . ”
Taking a glance at her with a slight pity, Mamako raised her face .
Before that gaze, the Queen was maintaining her att.i.tude without stepping back .
“However, I have faith . If you are also a mother, you will be able to remember . . . . . . no, I will make you remember . For the sake of Wise-chan who is your child, at all cost . ”
“Hmph . Although it’s a rare chance, I would like to decline . I have lost interest already . . . . . . I don’t need something like a child . It’s enough for me to be in this world alone . Because I have power . The power that doesn’t let anything hinder me, making everything happen according to my will is . . . . . . ”
“In that case, I will shatter that little power you boast to be so strong . Doing that will probably make you notice . ”
“How stupid . Do you think you can do it?”
“Yes, I can . Because the son I’m proud of is here . . . . . . Right, Maa-kun?”
Mamako’s face that suddenly turned back after calling out . . . . . . had her usual expression . It was a smile that was so youthful that it didn’t seem like a mother’s, yet he knew that it was definitely his mother’s .
“Good grief . . . . . . as a son she’s proud of, I can’t show her my unsightly side . ”
Masato unreasonably drove his hurting body up with all his might . He puffed out his chest, raised his sword and ran to Mamako’s side without caring about the wounds covering his entire body .
And he said one thing, he felt that he had to convey it now no matter what .
“For being a son who always speaks selfishly, I’m sorry . As such . . . . . . thank you . I’m glad that you are my mom . ”
“Yes . You are welcome . ”
It was the final showdown . The fighting mother and son duo lined up next to each other, facing the enemy they had to defeat .
The Queen was on full alert, taking a stance with grimoire in her hand . It was a sign that a magic attack was going to come soon, however . . . . . . right before that .
“Masato-san! Take this!”
He was suddenly called from behind . As he turned around, Porta tossed over a small gem to him .
“Please throw this into the air! That will activate it!”
“O-Ou!”
Just as she said, he caught and threw the gem into the air the gem .
From the dull shining gem, a strange tremor that sounded like a vibration was released . The trembling fell onto those standing on the battle ground .
Masato was not affected . Mamako was also not affected . Porta, as well as Wise who was currently in the coffin, were also not affected .
The Queen’s magic was sealed .
“Wh . . . . . . what the heck . . . . . . that’s, impossible . . . . . . ”
“Even the way you complain is similar for both mother and daughter! . . . . . . Porta, good job! You’re the MVP!”
“You’re flattering me! I’m glad to have been useful!”
“Then, let’s go mom! Let’s teach her what it means to be parent and child!”
“Yeah! Let’s go!”
Masato ran with his body that should have problems standing . He could not let this chance go . Gaining the initiative, overwhelming her in one go .
Masato’s attack . He stepped into the s.p.a.ce right before the Queen who had her magic sealed, swinging Firmament down . One piece of the Veil of Darkness was broken .
“Kuh! . . . . . . Something like having magic sealed, I will dispel it immediately . . . . . . !”
“I won’t let you . Haa!”
Following after Masato, it was Mamako’s attack . She swung down Terra di Madre at that spot . All of the stone blades that appeared from the ground a.s.saulted the Queen . The second Veil of Darkness was broken .
It was still Mamako’s attack, but in the middle of it the panicked Queen called out to Mamako .
“W-Wait a moment! You there, you are called Mamako-san, right!? You are the mama of that boy, right!?”
“That’s right! I’m Maa-kun’s mom! What about it!?”
“Then you must have thought about it too, right!? Being swayed around by your son’s selfish words, haven’t you felt terrible until now!? Am I wrong!?”
“That’s . . . . . . ”
Mamako’s attacking hand slowed down all of a sudden . Masato was also interested in what kind of answer would she give, so he stopped without thinking .
The heart of the mother known as Mamako was not shaken a tiny bit .
“Let’s see . I do feel sad . I also do feel hardship . . . . . . However, I do understand . A child is something like that . ”
“Something like that, you say . . . . . . I can’t simply accept that kind of . . . . . . !”
“I think that what you said is also most likely true . I also have those feelings that you mentioned . Parents are also people . Staying calm regardless of what others tell you, not getting hurt, forgiving everything, we’re not such kind of G.o.ds . ”
“T-That’s right! In that case . . . . . . !”
“But then I thought . . . . . . Coming into contact with my child, I thought about something . . . . . . that’s something that can only be done when the child is staying close to you . That everything is a treasure which we can only obtain here and now, and cannot be obtained by parents alone . . . . . . That’s why!”
Mamako swung down Altura . Water bullets shot out from the created water stream, mercilessly piercing into the Queen’s body . “Guh!?” She was damaged .
“That’s why, I will accept everything from my child . Accepting everything, embracing everything . I will never abandon him no matter what happens . ”
She was showered in furious storm of attacks and determined words .
The Queen spat out with her face burned red .
“D-Don’t fool around with me! I won’t acknowledge it! That’s all just ideals! Reality is not so! . . . . . . The righteous one is me! I am the one that’s righteous! Children are just egoistic, selfish and annoying!”
Before the Queen, the blue rabbit, ear-shaped b.u.t.terfly and jewelry whirlwind creatures cut in . The Queen called them to be her shield .
However, it was all for naught . It was Masato’s attack .
“Stop whining all the time! Your child has been desperately stretching out her hand to reach you! Understand it already!”
The slash wave cut down the nimble blue rabbit that had jumped up, one down .
Mamako continued .
“I know painfully well your feelings! But accepting them is what only you as a parent can do! So stop running away! Face your child properly!”
Mamako’s attack . Stone blades sp.a.w.ned by Terra di Madre completely pierced the jewelry whirlwind .
Mamako attacked again . Altura’s water bullets shot out en ma.s.se . However, the ear-shaped b.u.t.terfly flew at a tremendous speed and dodged all attacks . . . . . .
At that moment .
“Supra・La・Magia・Peru・Mirare . . . . . . Flame Explosion(Bomba・Fiamma)!”
Flame suddenly erupted in the air, burning the flying ear-shaped b.u.t.terfly to crisp .
“Furthermore! Weaken(Indebolito)!”
The magic following after that weakened the Queen’s defense .
The one who released the Chainspell was Wise . Wise had defeated the last enemy and also succeeded in weakening the Queen after being resurrected by Porta’s item .
“Mama! End this already! Take one good hit, cool your head, then properly talk with me after that! . . . . . . No matter what was said, I just can’t really hate mama after all! Because I’m still mama’s child!”
“Genya . . . . . . you . . . . . . ”
“Now Masato, Mamako-san! There’s no need to be considerate, do it!”
“I-I won’t let you! . . . . . . Come!”
Responding to the Queen’s call, the dark vortex moved . It distorted into two large wing shapes, fitting perfectly on the Queen’s back . And she flew . High into the air . She probably thought that attacks wouldn’t reach her in the sky .
However, that’s too optimistic . Rather, it was convenient .
“This means it’s Maa-kun’s turn! Now, please!”
“Aah! Enemies in the sky, leave it to meeeeee!”
The Holy Sword with anti-air specialization raised a groan . The released slash wave cut off one of the wings .
The one-winged devil fell from the sky . Over there .
“Mom! Finish it!”
“Mom’s full power! . . . . . . Remind yourself that you are also a mother!”
Mamako’s consecutive attacks . Stone blades and water bullets shot out at the same time .
The attacks that conveyed her wholehearted wishes all hit their target . The Queen’s body was completely pierced, penetrating through her abdomen .
It was decided .
“Guh . . . . . . h-how can that . . . . . . I, lost . . . . . . ?”
The defeated Queen fell towards the ground . Blankly keeping her eyes open, pressing her faintly hurting stomach .
However, before crashing onto the ground, her falling speed slowed down .
The Queen was caught .
“Eh . . . . . . Genya . . . . . . ?”
It was her daughter that caught her by hugging . Hugging her mother from behind, pressing her head firmly against her back, she did not say anything and just continued hugging .
As the Queen lightly caressed her daughter’s hand, a drop of tear fell .
They gently looked at the heartfelt scene .
“Mom, thanks for the hard work . ”
“Yes . Thank you for your hard work as well . ”
Trying not to disrupt those two, Masato and Mamako exchanged a quiet high five . “U-Umm, me too . . . . . . ” “Oops, it’s not like I forgot about you . ” “Porta-chan too, thanks for your hard work . ” Once again, the three of them high fived .
With that, the battle’s curtain was finally lowered .