How to Turn a Genius into a Dullard. (3)
How to Turn a Genius into a Dullard. (3)
Alicia, Laika, and Aria kept their mouths shut tight and slipped out of the special room.
Even though they were no different from the ones who had driven them to the brink of death, there was still one thing they could agree on.
That was the advice to think of Kael first so they wouldn't have any regrets.
"...I'm sorry, Laika, Aria."
"...Me too."
"Me too."
It wasn't something that would resolve their feelings immediately.
Because the person who was supposed to be a mother had tried to use Forbidden Magic on Kael.
However, even so, apologizing and talking was just close to a habit.
Habits from the battlefield where they had to force their emotions out to prepare for tomorrow.
Even if it was a forced apology, it was better than not doing it at all.
Perhaps for them, an apology was a way to remind each other of their importance.
Because if it were someone they truly hated, they wouldn't even bother with a forced apology.
If that was the case.
If an apology really was a way to remind each other of their importance....
"...We need to apologize to Kael, too."
Wouldn't that be the first thing they needed to do for Kael?
Laika nodded at Aria's words.
"We should."
"...W-we can't apologize for what we taught him."
The other two mothers knew of Alicia's anxiety and fear.
There was a lot they wanted to say, but there was no need to fight or argue further.
They just thought it would be best to show their sincerity, ask him not to learn it, and live without him getting hurt anymore.
"Okay."
After that short exchange, the three mothers turned their steps back toward the mansion.
Naturally, there were no traces of anyone having broken through the layers of magic piled up on the mansion.
Naturally, no light leaked out from beyond Kael's bedroom window.
The three mothers walked into the mansion and, as they were about to naturally head up to their respective bedrooms, they stopped short.
"...Shall we sleep with Kael tonight?"
It had already been over a week since they had let Kael sleep alone.
To make him give up magic.
They had done it thinking it was for Kael's sake, but their hearts ached somewhere.
He was a child who had slept alone for half a year to learn mana, saying he wanted to be with his mothers like before and that he hated causing problems because of himself.
He was a kind child who tried to find something to learn even from useless things, just to make his mothers happy.
We pushed him away, we hurt him, and we made things hard for him.
"Yes, let's do that."
The mothers, soaked in guilt, pushed open the door to Kael's bedroom and looked at Kael.
They looked at the back of the child who was sleeping slumped over his desk, still holding a quill in his hand.
On the desk of Kael, who had fallen asleep overcome by exhaustion as if he hadn't even thought to hide it, lay a notebook.
One of the pieces of evidence of his efforts to organize things in his own way.
How he could think about connecting magic to Alicia's mathematics or engineering.
What posture to use and how to channel mana when throwing threads or leaves, like Laika.
Since they said believing in God was the priority, dense, detailed notes summarizing the contents of the scriptures caught their eyes.
"...."
Aria carefully scooped up the sleeping Kael into her arms and lay down on the bed.
Laika covered Kael with a blanket and lay down beside him.
Alicia lay at Kael's feet and slowly closed her eyes.
The mothers fell asleep with Kael.
Recalling the Pope's advice.
...
Kael didn't have even a speck of desire to blame his mothers.
Sometimes he was sad and hurt, and at other times he was angry because he felt wronged, but he let it go quickly.
The insults Alicia spat out about him having no talent.
The fists from even Laika that sometimes hit so hard it made him gasp.
Aria's raw, unfiltered criticism that he needed to believe properly.
Believing that every action was done because they 'loved' him.
Because Kael just called even all the absurd things he had experienced over the past few days 'love'.
They were people he liked too much to think of as hateful, and he was too afraid of disappointing them to run away.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Heh, I felt like we've been sleeping apart too much lately...."
"You weren't uncomfortable with us here, were you, Kael?"
However, loving someone and fearing them were slightly different things.
Although he loved them, Kael was, to some extent, afraid of his mothers.
To the point where, even though his mothers were by his side when he woke up, he didn't think to burrow into their arms like he used to.
As soon as Kael woke up, he moved his head this way and that, then looked at the clock.
'...Only 4 hours left-.'
They still told him they loved him when he was held, and they hugged him.
But from the moment the second hand moved and moved, and the minute and hour hands pointed to twelve, they became different people.
Kael knew that having love taken away after receiving it was harder than not receiving it at all.
"...I, I'm going to go brush my teeth."
He was surprised that the mothers he loved so much were by his side.
But for the first time, Kael jumped off the bed as if to avoid the situation.
If he was going to be loved, it was better for his mental health to re-realize that their actions were for his sake after he was already hurt.
Tick-, tock-.
While brushing his teeth, the sound of the second hand kept ringing in his head.
It was a sound he kept hearing ever since he started reading magic books, organizing them, and putting in effort.
The sound of the second hand came like a heartbeat, and when that second hand moved thousands of times, it was class time.
His shoulders shrank, but Kael forced himself to rinse his mouth roughly.
He filled his hands with water and held his breath while submerging his face.
He hated his mothers' teaching methods, but he hated even more the idea of his mothers killing monsters and being afraid.
He took out a towel, wiped his face, and then, as always, looked in the mirror and smiled faintly.
Because the gentle smile, neither too much nor too little, barely showed even when faked.
'Smile, yeah. You know they love you.'
Kael stepped on a chair to put the towel away before turning the doorknob.
From a distance, downstairs, he could hear the sound of his mothers cooking.
As he took a step and walked down the stairs, Laika looked at Kael.
"Kael, go change your clothes."
It seems sparring is first on the agenda today.
Just as Kael was about to go straight into his room, Laika added.
"Let's not have class today, and go play at that river... no, the valley with Mom and the others."
"...U-uh. Why, why...?"
"It's no fun if we have class every day."
At the words that there would be no class, his heart felt like it had dropped with a thud without him realizing it.
For over a week, he had taken classes 3 times for 3 hours each, for 9 hours total.
He was a boy who had been abused for over 9 hours.
'W-why all of a sudden?'
He knew the fact that his mothers loved him, but negative thoughts swirled around.
They had been telling him for over a week to just quit because it didn't work even when he tried.
Maybe....
'Have they given up on me...?'
Because he was a dullard who didn't improve even when taught, and a fool who didn't understand.
Because no matter how much they yelled and scolded, he hadn't been able to do a single thing for a week.
Maybe they've let me go now...?
Perhaps, the thought that they had given up their expectations of him crept in.
No, that's overthinking it.
Shaking his head from side to side, Kael sucked in a breath, pretending to be surprised.
And then, he forced the corners of his mouth up to show the smile he had practiced.
"Th-that's great, hehe."
He smiled brightly like a child who had received a happy gift, then slipped into his room, changed his clothes quickly, and walked back out.
The mothers were wearing flowy dresses, as if they had no intention of teaching from the start today.
It looked like they weren't even going to eat breakfast here in the first place.
On the dining table were several sandwiches wrapped in luxurious packaging.
Also, there were several drinks laid out.
Either way, he followed his mothers' steps.
They always created a portal and left quickly.
But today, they didn't.
Unlike Alicia and Aria, Laika, dressed in comfortable clothes, drove the carriage herself.
In the middle of the roofless carriage, sandwiched between the two mothers, he headed slowly toward the valley.
Flowers were still in full bloom in the fields, and the wind was still blowing coolly.
He was going out to play with his beloved mothers, skipping the class he was somewhat afraid of.
Strangely, his heart was just anxious.
"...Why are we going to the valley to play?"
When Kael asked carefully, Alicia and Aria answered briefly.
"We're going to play, just like it sounds."
"...To rest today."
Naturally, it wasn't an answer that would erase his anxiety.
The carriage continued to move.
...
Near the Mayhead estate, between the cliffs where a floating bridge was placed.
If you drive the carriage along the path leading down the cliff, you can see the valley and a small waterfall flowing down below it.
He had been to the rivers and fields around the Mayhead mansion many times, but this was his first time at the valley.
In the first place, because people who wanted the heroes to return to active duty were always staying at the Mayhead estate.
It was because they thought that if they went outside, Kael might run into a mage, a priest, or at the very least, an archer or a swordsman.
However, this time was different.
The mothers had accepted the Pope's advice, apologized for what had happened so far.
And they hoped to open up their true feelings to Kael.
The fierce sound of the pouring waterfall made his heart feel pierced.
The ripples in the valley water gave him a certain calmness.
At least in the mothers' eyes, Kael looked like he was having fun playing in the water in the valley.
No, it only looked that way to the mothers.
Just as Kael was troubled, the mothers were also troubled.
Because they didn't have the leeway to look at their son's heart.
Still, if it came to forcing oneself to hide sadness, Laika was the best at it.
Laika went straight into the valley to play with Kael-.
"Kael!"
She called her son and reached out her hand.
At that moment, she saw Kael flinch without realizing it.
It was a sight she had often seen during the sparring sessions she had conducted, hoping he would grow up normally, but one he had hidden by turning his head away.
From an adult's perspective, it wasn't painful at all.
But for a child, it's different.
Looking closely, it seemed like she could see faint bruises through his wet clothes.
'I've done something terrible-.'
Laika's breath stopped with a gasp.
Kael noticed that Laika had hesitated, and he grabbed the outstretched elf's hand with both of his.
"...Mom Laika. Please, t-teach me how to swim."
There's no reason to hesitate, I must apologize, if things go on like this, Kael might break even more.
Thoughts wrapped around her head, and the rising emotions turned into rationality instead.
"Kael. You love your moms, right?"
"...Yes-."
"Will you listen to whatever Mom says?"
At Laika's question, Kael's heart sank again.
He repeated opening his lips and stopping a couple of times, then squeezed his eyes shut.
"...Yes."
Laika pulled Kael into her arms and came out of the valley.
Valley water dripped, dripped, and the hem of his clothes clung to his skin, revealing his flesh.
But she didn't even keep in mind drying his clothes with magic or changing them.
"...I feel like Mom and Kael haven't talked much lately. Shall we talk for a bit, Kael?"
Laika smiled.
"...Ah-. Yes, Kael. Moms have a lot they want to ask, hehe. Will you sit here?"
Aria seemed flustered by Laika's sudden behavior, but soon regained her smile.
"It's a conversation we must have."
Alicia said in a serious voice, as if she had made up her mind.
However, Kael was different.
"...I, I don't want to."
He didn't want to.
As if he already knew what they were going to talk about.
He broke free from Laika and stepped back.
The sound of the waterfall could still be heard, and birds were chirping.
"Can't we just go back today? I, I want to take class."
Kael's voice covered over it.
"You said you were going to rest...?"
"Kael, it's a really important conversation. Alicia, Aria, and I have agonized over it several times."
"...Listen to Mom, Kael."
"I, I don't want to. If you don't want to have class, I'll just play in the valley."
"Kael, I'm telling you, it's important."
"I don't want to, I said I don't want to!"
As Laika approached Kael, Kael stepped back again.
Aria and Alicia also looked at Kael's reaction and stood up, startled.
Why are you doing this?
Are you hurt somewhere?
They looked at Kael with worried eyes, but the boy's eyes looking at his parents were different.
The smile he had forced to hang on was gone without a trace.
'What did I do so wrong, is it wrong that I tried hard and wanted to do it for you?'
The resentment he couldn't bring himself to say out loud welled up to his throat.
Before the mothers could even make excuses, Kael's small, trembling lips opened first.
"...Magic, prayer, assassination techniques, and archery. You're going to tell me to quit them now, aren't you."
Silence flowed.
He used to always cry when it came to things related to his mothers.
For the first time, Kael didn't cry and frowned at his mothers.