The Hero's Son is an Abandoned Orphan. (1)
The Hero's Son is an Abandoned Orphan. (1)
After the first lesson on feeling mana, the mothers had changed somewhere.
Kael noticed this subtle difference right away.
He didn't know how to feel or manipulate mana yet.
It was only natural, as he hadn't been taught properly in the first place, and there hadn't been enough time to feel it properly either.
Even so, Kael trotted over to Alicia and said brightly that he thought he knew what 'mana' was.
It's common for a child to misunderstand things, right?
He hadn't been able to feel the mana, but he had seen the mana shining at the tips of Alicia's fingers, so he thought it might be something similar.
He hoped that the worry and sadness revealed on Alicia's expression would disappear, even for a moment.
He wanted Alicia to smile.
"You... think you know what mana is?"
However, Alicia's expression hardened even more coldly.
The more she realized that Kael was a genius, the more anxious she became.
Kael, who had seen through magic despite not being able to feel mana, looked at her with a bright smile, but....
"... Kael, that probably isn't mana."
Instead of praise, Alicia only spoke calmly.
Whenever she thought of Kael, the 'Prophecy' that had shackled her came to mind, even if she didn't want to believe it.
Because it depicted Kael, who had grown up following that prophecy, standing in the middle of the battlefield covered in blood in their stead.
"Let's, uh, do magic later...."
The moment she was about to say that, Kael's smile entered her vision.
The lips she was about to speak with stopped abruptly, and she bit her lip without realizing it.
She knew for a fact that her lovely son would be disappointed, but she had no choice but to extinguish his expectations.
She had to.
She had no other choice.
"No, let's not learn it. Okay?"
At Alicia's words, Kael's expression was colored with embarrassment, and he slumped down, wondering if he had done something wrong.
She had steeled herself to speak calmly, but her expression had hardened coldly, making her feel only scary.
Kael had already moved past adapting to being a young child and was already living as a young child.
"Ah-. R-right, I suppose so, M-mommy...?"
At his mother's sharp reaction, the child shrank back.
'... Ah-, K-Kael-.'
Alicia knelt on one knee without realizing it and stroked Kael's hair.
Your talent is miserable.
It's useless.
It would have been better if she had just spat out sharp words to make him lose interest in magic.
She didn't have the confidence to see the sadness deepen in the eyes of the son she loved so much.
"... Let's spend more time with Mommies, and if you still want to learn magic then, let's learn it then, okay?"
Alicia changed the subject by postponing the learning.
Kael noticed that she was hiding something, but because Alicia's expression was full of sadness.
He didn't bother asking for praise, and without saying that he didn't want to, he nodded his head.
"... Okay, I'll do that. Mommy."
Because Alicia, the mother who had given him a new life and bestowed love upon him, didn't want it.
Even if he wanted to learn, he didn't bother bringing it up to Alicia again.
However, that didn't mean he had given up on learning entirely.
He was the only son of the mothers who were called 'Heroes' in this world.
As the saying goes, a child is a mirror of their parents, and Kael wanted to resemble his mothers.
No, even if he couldn't resemble them, at least he didn't want to be a shameful child.
"Aria Mommy!"
Kael looked for Aria.
Surely, there were multiple lessons.
Since they said he would learn from all the Mommies.
"... Ah. K-Kael. Prayer is, well. You see, the most important thing about divine power is a heart that understands God. So, shall we start by reading all of these scriptures first?"
However, Aria's reaction was no different from Alicia's.
She brought over the church's transcribed scriptures, interpretations, and scriptures of other religions that had branched off in various ways.
She postponed the deadline far into the distance, saying they should start only after studying all the scriptures, which were over 1000 pages long.
So that anyone could tell, she avoided the spot-.
So that anyone could tell, she delayed the teaching.
Whenever Aria's gaze turned toward him, he noticed that she showed the exact same look as Alicia.
"I understand, Mommy. I'll start with studying first."
In the end, Kael studied the scriptures, but he didn't put a burden on Aria.
Instead of asking her to teach him divine power, he showed her a smile.
"... I don't want to. I just don't want to teach you anymoreee!"
Laika adored Kael, and even while hugging him tightly, she would avoid the spot whenever he asked her to teach him about assassination techniques or archery.
Since she was an impulsive elf, no matter how many times he asked, she always reacted the same way, running away while shouting.
Even so, he saw that at the edge of her expression, a dark sadness always resided.
'... Laika Mommy doesn't want me to learn anything either.'
Alicia, Laika, and Aria had not given birth to Kael.
Since they didn't share blood, he wanted to learn anything to prove that he was their child.
However, Alicia had postponed the learning, Aria had talked about studying, and Laika had run away.
Since he didn't know the reason, he just thought about it.
Come to think of it, his mothers were such outstanding people.
Perhaps the sadness they felt when looking at him was because they thought he wouldn't be able to learn.
In the end, Kael nodded his head three times at his mothers' words.
Because that was the only way not to make his mothers sad.
After becoming a young child, Kael felt a distance from his mothers for the first time.
He felt a sense of incongruity from his mothers-, and he felt anxiety.
Even so, not much had changed.
Kael was a child, but he wasn't a child.
He thought that there might be another reason why his mothers had suddenly changed their attitudes like this.
"... Alicia Mommy. I love you."
"... Kael? A-are you crying?"
"Mm-mm, no. It's just, I love you so much, Mommy."
"... Me too. Kael, I love you. Thank you so much... for becoming my son...."
Still, Kael held Alicia's finger with his soft, small hand.
He hugged her legs and acted spoiled.
"Aria Mommy. Thank you so much for praying for me every day."
"... U-uh? K-Kael?"
"I love you so much, Mommy!"
"... Hic-. D-do you really... like me...?"
"I love you."
He went to Aria, who prayed to God to please take back Kael's talent and to please let him grow up normally, and spoke of his devoted love as he always did.
"... Play with me!"
"I-I don't want to!"
"Why!"
"... J-just because!"
"... I want to try climbing a tree, with Laika Mommy...."
He would even pester Laika to let him climb her favorite tree to look at the world.
Even while doing so, he didn't ask about anything, fearing that his mothers might be hurt.
Not magic.
Not divine power.
Not archery or assassination techniques.
He set aside the things that could prove that he was firmly bonded with his mothers, for the sake of his mothers.
However, for the mothers, it only mattered that Kael had lost interest in magic, assassination techniques, and prayer.
The anxiety disappeared quickly, like a shooting star that appears in the night sky for a moment and then vanishes.
To the point where the idea that Kael might be dragged off to the battlefield became a joke.
Because the Three Heroes' child was growing up normally.
Receiving more love than anyone else.
Sharing more love than anyone else.
Kael just grew up as a child.
Without magic, without divine power, without assassination techniques.
He made paper flowers, wrote letters, and massaged his mothers' shoulders.
Never bringing up the words that he wanted to learn again.
Like that, a year passed.
It was a few days before Kael's 8th birthday.
The Saintess was still praying for her son, the Master of the Magic Tower had retired to live her life as a mother.
The elf was living as a lazy but diligent mother to her child, but.
The Empire, which couldn't handle the demons and had dumped the responsibility onto three young girls, still needed them.
"... A banquet?"
Even knowing that the three mothers would refuse any invitation.
The Empire had sent an invitation for a banquet to the front of the mansion where the heroes resided.
They had put so much effort into it that the edges of the stationery were decorated with pure gold, not gold leaf, and expensive jewels were embedded in every corner.
Naturally, Alicia, thinking that the protagonists of the banquet were the heroes living as 'Mommies', tried to tear up the invitation, but....
"Huh?"
Soon, she blinked her eyes while looking at the name written on the invitation.
Because what was written on the invitation she had received until she was sick of it was a name she hadn't expected at all.
It wasn't Alicia, Laika, or Aria.
Kael's name was written on it.
"... Aria, Laika. Kael's name is written on the banquet invitation?"
If it were a banquet invitation addressed to them, they would have torn it up without even looking at it, but if it were an invitation addressed to Kael, it was a different story.
For the past year, their love had deepened to the point where Kael alone had become the entirety of the three people's world.
Even if it was just an invitation, they didn't want to tear up an invitation with Kael's name on it.
"... I am of the opinion that it is better not to attend."
"Why? Banquets are fun."
"... Don't think that everyone enjoys alcohol and entertainment like you, Laika."
"... You drink better than I do, Aria."
"Stop arguing, and why? I want Kael to make an appearance in high society. Didn't we agree to pass down the titles we hold and make him a noble for now? It's better to have a wide network of connections if he's going to rule a territory."
"That's right! So!"
Kael had not inherited the progress of the heroes.
This meant that he had to prove he was the son of a hero in a different direction.
Because of this, the mothers decided to give Kael their territories so that he could live as a noble, or at least without lacking anything.
If he built good relationships at social gatherings, it would surely help him when he ruled the territory in the future.
Alicia knew it, and Laika, who was an elf, knew it too.
It was no different for Aria, but for some reason, the Saintess clenched her fists as if she were sulking.
"... He might."
At the small voice, Laika asked back.
"I can't hear you well, Aria."
"... He might like someone else!"
"... Aria, you need to speak a little louder...."
"... Kael might fall for other young ladies!"
Aria glared at Alicia and Laika with tears slightly welling up in her eyes.
"... He's so cute and lovely. What if Kael falls for another young lady and drifts away from us?"
"What?"
"I'm asking if you can accept Kael saying he likes someone other than us!"
Because she had rejected the banquet for a purely personal reason, Aria's opinion was dismissed.
Even though she cried her heart out, wailing that she would live with Kael until she died, they didn't listen to her.
In fact, it wasn't that both of them hadn't thought that he might fall for a young lady, but there was a bigger purpose.
"Can't we show off Kael?"
Laika said.
"He's cute, he's kind, he's lovely, he's mature, and he's smart. Since he's the protagonist of the banquet, no one will be able to hit on him. And, we're his Mommies. Unless they really want to die, they won't be able to bully Kael either. And, there's no reason for him to fall for anyone. Honestly, aren't we super pretty? Kael will like us better than some young kid!"
Laika said that purely because she wanted to show off Kael, the loveliest child she had ever seen in her life.
"... I know people who will support Kael when he becomes a noble. It's important to debut him in high society, and it's also important to show how lovely he is, but.... Isn't the most important thing the fact that the banquet is helpful to Kael?"
"W-well, that is true, but...."
"Kael loves us. So don't worry about unnecessary things, Aria."
Alicia said for Kael's future.
"... Honestly, I also want to see Kael wearing a tailcoat."
No, like Aria, she agreed for her own personal selfish desires.
"Eh?"
In any case, since the majority had agreed, everyone attended the banquet where 'Kael', not them, was the protagonist, which was unprecedented.
The mothers each scoured the mansion for Kael, the protagonist of the banquet.
Alicia looked for a tailcoat that would suit Kael well.
Aria tailored a dress and a tailcoat for the dignity of a mother that would suit Kael.
She didn't like the idea of Kael falling for noble young ladies or anything....
But she hated the idea of him not receiving any attention even more.
Only Laika was slightly worried, just looking at the night sky while sitting on a tree.
Among the nobles, would Kael be looked down upon?
Would the fact that they hadn't taught him anything act negatively?
She wondered if someone knew the 'Prophecy' and would try to probe Kael.
"... There won't be any crazy bastard who would ignore Kael with us in front of them."
Laika packed a dagger.
Hiding it deep in her chest, disguising it as a hair ornament by sticking it in her hair.
"... Still, you never know."
She thought that being a mom was something like this.
That if she had to hold a knife, she should do it.
If there was some bastard coming at Kael with some bullshit, it was also a mom's role to get rid of them.
...
The next day.
"How is Kael? Isn't he pretty...?"
"Kael is prettier, Aria?"
"... Laika, you must not cause any accidents today. Because Kael is the protagonist."
"M-Mommy. A-a banquet, you say...?"
"The Imperial Palace wants to see Kael once because he's so pretty. And Alicia and Aria need to start working a little bit now, too, right?"
A noisy carriage left the mansion.
To Cernium, the capital of the Empire.
To the court banquet hall where all kinds of nobles, young ladies, heads of families, and even royalty gathered.