The Fuse
This was bad.
"Ma..Mari...."
"..."
Mari was angry.
Yesterday, while spending the night with Athena, I had finally blacked out from pleasure I simply could not endure. Naturally, I had no strength left to return to my own room. By the time Mari came looking for me and woke me in the morning, I already knew it was irreversible.
"Mom, why are you completely naked?"
Just remembering Mari's expression then sent another chill through my body. Her eyes had swallowed every scrap of light—truly dark eyes. Fortunately, perhaps because she was still young, Mari accepted my excuse that the room had simply been too hot. Even so, her anger did not seem fully gone, and the way she treated me remained terribly cold.
"Mari... Mom's sorry... okay..?"
"....."
"You were lonely sleeping alone, weren't you..? Next time this won't happen.. so please stop being mad.."
I kept trying everything I could to soothe Mari, who was sulking on the bed. In the end my efforts were not wasted. After coaxing her for a long while, Mari finally pushed her small body upright and met my eyes. She still looked at me with that sullen face.
".....Instead, grant me one favor."
"I..I will..!! Is there something you want..?"
Grateful that she had opened her heart again, I accepted her proposal at once. Hearing my answer, Mari rummaged in her clothes, pulled something out, and held it toward me. In her outstretched hand was a bottle filled with a mysterious blue liquid.
"Hm..? What's this..?"
"Medicine for Mom."
Mari popped the cap and thrust the bottle at me.
"Drink it every day from now on."
"Uh..? Th..this.."
Suddenly faced with the blue liquid right under my nose, I felt flustered. It did not smell particularly strange, but since I could not guess what it was made of, I was reluctant to put it to my lips.
"C..can I ask what you made it with..?"
After hesitating a long time, I finally mumbled the question to Mari.
"Mari's mana."
"Wh...what..?"
"Dragon mana. Good for the body."
Mari nestled gently into my arms, looked up at me, and continued.
"If you keep drinking it from now on, Mom can live healthy for a long, long time."
"Mm..mmm.."
Looking at the bottle said to hold her mana, I remembered the terrible pain from when Athena's mana had entered my body before. Is dragon mana different..? Negative thoughts flooded my mind from that awful memory, but I shook my head hard and drove the swirling doubts away. I did not believe Mari would ever hurt me. She had said she made it because she was worried about my health. As a dragon—called the master of mana—Mari would know far better than I did. Besides, if I refused her request after coming this far, she would truly sulk for real.
"Okay.. I'll do as Mari asks."
Without further hesitation I tipped the bottle to my mouth and drank. The sticky liquid slid down my throat in thick gulps. The moment I emptied the entire bottle Mari had given me—
"Huh?"
Just as she had said, whether it truly was a tonic that restored the body's health, I immediately felt vitality surge through me. My body felt far lighter than before, and my head seemed brightly, refreshingly clear.
"How is it, Mom?"
Mari looked up at me full of expectation. Guilt for having doubted her even for a moment, and gratitude toward the girl who still worried about my health even while angry, rose in me at the same time. I stroked her hair as I spoke.
"Thank you, Mari... Thanks to you I feel like my body could fly away."
"Yeah.. I'll give it to you every single day from now on."
"Mari.."
Emotion welled up from deep in my chest. Mari was clearly a filial daughter. Even in this moment of anger, all she thought about was me. You could search the whole world and never find such a cute, admirable daughter.
From now on I will never doubt Mari again.
I made that vow. Mari's eyes looking up at me were still lifeless, yet a brighter expression seemed to be slowly rising on her face.
"I love you, Mom."
"Yeah. Mom likes Mari a lot too."
When I hugged her tightly, Mari nestled into my body like a baby kitten and closed her eyes.
"From now on, Mari and Mom are going to live together for a long, long time."
Baby birds chirped. Bright sunlight and a cool breeze drifted across a fine, clear day.
"The weather's nice..."
Right now I was strolling through the mansion garden with Mari and Athena, simply to get some air.
"Hera. Hand."
Athena glanced at me for a moment, then held her hand out.
"Mm.."
When I took it, she interlaced our fingers and locked our hands firmly together.
"Your hand is cold."
She tucked our joined hands into her bosom, and her warmth traveled straight into me.
"Eut.."
A ticklish, faintly embarrassed feeling rose. Honestly, even when I woke up this morning it still had not felt real—Athena's proposal, the new relationship beginning between us, and everything that had happened last night. Remembering how we had moved our bodies so fiercely, like beasts, made my face burn.
Anyway. I had even wondered whether all of it might be a dream. But looking at Athena smiling so gently toward me now, the reality slowly began to sink in. I could be certain at last. That sticky gaze Athena fixed on me was pure affection. It felt a little burdensome, yet it was not unpleasant. Whether as family or as lovers, I needed Athena's love. Feeling loved by her like this made my heart grow warm for no reason at all.
"....Mom, me too."
Beside me, Mari's small hand wrapped around mine. So she would not feel left out, I interlaced my fingers with hers as well. I had decided to tell Mari about my relationship with Athena. When she first heard that we were dating she had looked quite shocked, but as if she had already expected it, she quickly grew calm. No—rather, the gaze she turned on me seemed to grow even more intense.
"Hmm.. then are you becoming my daughter too?"
Athena looked down at Mari and smirked.
"....What?"
Mari made an incredulous face at her words.
"If Hera is your mom, then I, who am marrying Hera, naturally become a mom too, don't I?"
"A..Athena?!"
Ah.. no. What was this person saying right now? Weren't we supposed to take things step by step from dating? I clearly remembered deciding we would start as lovers first. Yet Athena was speaking as if marriage were already settled.
"Athena. Marriage is still.."
"Well. Having two moms would be a bit weird. Even though I'm a woman, you can call me Dad if you want?"
Ignoring me completely, Athena kept talking straight at Mari.
Grit—
Somewhere a sound like grinding teeth rose, and Mari growled at Athena.
".....Dream on."
"Hmm.. well, I don't really care either way."
Feeling the atmosphere between them grow sharper by the second, I had no choice but to step in and mediate. Only after a long struggle did I finally manage to restore something like harmony.
"Really.. why do you two get along so poorly.."
I let out a deep sigh without meaning to. I could not understand why they bickered with each other to that extent—Athena provoking Mari at every chance, and Mari reacting so sensitively. Thinking about it carefully, Athena's fault seemed larger. Where else could you find a cute, good child like Mari, yet she treated her so prickly. Athena picking fights for dominance with a child who was still so young felt a little immature—
"...Hera, what are you thinking right now?"
"Hyaang?!"
With an expression that said something displeased her, Athena suddenly gripped my backside hard, and a high moan burst from my throat on pure reflex. Startled by her shocking action, I hurriedly whispered to her in a tiny voice.
"A..are you crazy..?! Ma..Mari is right here—what do you think you're doing..!"
"Sorry, honey. My hand went there on instinct. I've gotten far too used to it."
"Eut.."
When Athena called me honey, a coquettish flutter rose in my chest. A title I had never been called before—it was a strangely affecting word.
"I'll be careful from now on, Hera."
Athena glanced at Mari and let out a shallow laugh.
"...."
For an instant I felt the temperature around Mari drop ice-cold. As the two of them quietly stared at each other, the atmosphere threatened to explode again, and a bead of cold sweat slid down the back of my neck. But contrary to my expectations, Mari simply looked at Athena with a composed face.
"It's fine. I'll yield for now."
Rather, she wore a leisurely expression and smiled faintly.
"Anyway, time is on Mari's side."
Athena frowned one eyebrow at Mari's calm reply.
"....What does that mean—"
"My lord!!"
Athena's words were cut off before she could finish. All three of us turned at once toward the source of the voice. A knight clad in golden armor was racing toward us with an urgent expression.
"....What is it?"
Athena looked at the knight as if her mood had already soured.
"Someone sent from the Imperial Palace has arrived."
"The Imperial Palace?"
"...Yes. Even the Imperial Palace's knight commander is here."
Clearly not expecting that answer, Athena raised one eyebrow.
"From the Imperial Palace—to me? They usually just send a letter."
"That is...."
Seeing the knight hesitate and fumble for words, Athena seemed to sense something was wrong and pressed him again. After a long reluctance the knight finally squeezed his eyes shut and delivered the news.
"An order has come down from the Imperial Palace to... arrest my lord."
"What?"
"Uh..?"
At the knight's words, Athena and I both opened our eyes wide at the same time. The knight glanced at me once. When our eyes met, my body flinched hard.
"On the grounds of... unauthorized illegal slave contracts and multiple murder charges.. they say.."
Words I could not possibly accept. I stared blankly at Athena under the weight of his shocking report.
What did he just say..?
Athena.... arrested...?