Chapter 24: Grandma is Suspicious.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: Grandma is Suspicious.
In the end, we arrived at the prison. It wasn't because my aunts had violated or harassed me, nor was it to show children the sight of criminals to make them live upright lives, and we certainly weren't here to watch a battle royale where inmates fight for their release.
We were simply here because there was someone to meet. The aunts, excluding Hindel, slumped their shoulders like cows being led to a slaughterhouse and entered one by one, never to return. When I asked Mom, she said the entrance and exit were separate, which made my heart flutter for some reason.
I pestered Mom, wondering what on earth was inside, but she just gave a thin smile and said things like, "You'll find out soon."
Without fully grasping what was happening, I held Mom's hand and went inside. A woman who looked like Mom's older sister, dressed in a prisoner's uniform, greeted us.
The person there wasn't Mom's sister, but Mom's mother. In other words, my maternal grandmother. "...It’s surprising enough that you had a child. I didn’t expect him to be this cute."
Grandmother was a beauty who felt young and beautiful, looking like she was in her early to mid-30s rather than middle-aged. At any rate, she was someone who had aged so gracefully and beautifully that I wondered if Mom would look like that when she got older.
Perhaps because I took after Mom, or because my affinity for her was very high from the first moment, I didn't mind the green prisoner's uniform and claimed a spot on Grandma's lap. In TV movies, such clothes were usually depicted as being worn by death row inmates or the worst criminals, but since she was the mother of my police officer mother, surely not.
"Are you doing well?"
"It's better here than outside."
"Do you still have no intention of coming out?"
It seemed there were very complicated circumstances involved.
"What could this old woman even do if I left now? It would only stir up trouble for the Kingdom and the Empire. Still, the warden told me you were promoted."
"...I'm doing well. There's no disadvantage to being your daughter; in fact, everyone calls me the daughter of a hero, so it helps a lot."
Grandma smiled gently and softly caressed my cheek.
"That's a relief, then... Who is the child's father?"
"If you're curious, you'll have to find out for yourself."
"You've certainly grown a silver tongue for a virgin."
"Mom!"
Mother shouted at Grandma.
"This place is boring, so there's all sorts of strange magic. I learned something called virginity-detection magic, and... pfft... at your age."
"It's completely different from your time! Everyone together in front of the World Tree...!"
"That was normal back then."
Grandma waved her hand dismissively as if she didn't want to talk about it anymore. However, calling someone who looked like she was in her late 30s "Grandma" felt a bit strange.
"I don't care for complicated stories anymore. By the way, this child... he has the face of a man destined for trouble with women."
"Mom! To a boy! How could you say such a thing...!"
Grandma squished my cheeks a few times and gave a bitter smile.
"My grandson, how much do you like your mommy?"
"As much as the sky! As much as the earth!"
"...You'll have to protect him well, Ame."
Grandma lightly tapped the tip of my nose with her index finger.
"Unlike you, Mom, I come home often and I'm raising the kids well, so don't worry. And... I'll raise him well and... ahem."
"...You cheeky girl. There's no need to come see me often. An old person is a being no longer needed by history. Don't worry about me; I'm getting along fine with my friends here."
"Is that why you cut the limbs off fifteen prisoners?"
"History says it wants to forget, but they can't seem to stop rummaging through the bookshelves themselves. What else could I do? I simply had to remind them that some things are meant to stay buried."
A truly chilling conversation was taking place. At times like this, I had to just smile as if I knew nothing.
"He's such a clever child, it's almost a waste that he's a boy."
"People say that's old-fashioned these days. There are even male police officers now."
"Criminals won't distinguish between men and women, so does it really matter?"
Mom fell silent. At a time like this, she should have shouted something like, "Men can do it too!" or "A man can do anything," but unfortunately, she didn't.
"Even if the times change, men have their roles and women have theirs. It is the solemn law ordained by the Goddess, yet everyone has fallen into arrogance."
"There are many atheists these days, Mom."
"Insolent fools. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Grandma didn't seem to have a high opinion of men, but seeing how she kissed my forehead and doted on me, it seemed her grandson was an exception.
"Tell Hindel to stop visiting. She keeps coming by calling me 'Mother-in-law' and it's driving me crazy."
"Tell her yourself, Mom."
"If I could meet her, I would have cracked that dragon's head open long ago. Thugs keep coming by to ask how I'm doing; it's embarrassing in front of my cellmates."
Grandma let out a long sigh. Her voice, whispering "Sweetie, sweetie, sweetie," was so soft it made me feel sleepy.
"Most of the people here are just trash, aren't they?"
"They are those caught in the madness of war. It would be easy to dismiss it as their problem, but everyone turns a blind eye to why they committed those crimes. Don't hate them too much. They are all living in atonement. Still, since there are those who repent, I'm enjoying playing my role as a priestess for the first time in a long while."
The idea of Grandma's profession being a priestess felt incredibly old-fashioned. If I translated it to something like a "war-criminal pastor," it was a terrifyingly formidable combination.
"....To call it atonement, they've killed far too many. The ones in here, I mean."
"Even if you added them all up, would it equal the number your mother killed?"
"Mom is..."
"If we're looking at results, shouldn't we judge it that way? I'm getting tired in my old age. I should go in and rest."
Grandma gently caressed my cheek and handed me back to Mom.
"Grandma should give you some pocket money, but since I'm being punished here, I have nothing to give."
"It was fun meeting you, Grandma! It's okay!"
Grandma covered her mouth and let out a small laugh. Glancing at my hand, which had developed slight calluses, she raised her index finger and slowly drew it down in front of me.
It was just a finger, but it held a sharp edge. No, it was a trace. A sword scar remained in the air following her finger.
She was cutting through space itself. I watched that scar as if possessed. Nothing had physically changed, but I could see it. I could see the space itself splitting apart.
I didn't know how amazing—no, how great—this was, but I reached out my hand as if drawn by a spell.
Grandma lowered her hand. I brought my fingertip to the place where space had been torn.
Slice.
My fingertip was sliced. I looked at my hand. Blood was welling up. The space was still split. I knew that if I pushed my hand in, it would be severed, and if I pushed steel in, the steel would be cut.
"Mom, just now..."
"It seems you're learning the sword. Remembering this will be helpful. For my daughter, and for my grandson. For everyone."
I looked at the empty air where the scar had been just a moment ago. Now, there was nothing. Foolishly, I reached out again. My hand touched it, but it had returned to a space that could no longer cut anything.
"...Sweetie. Is there a reason you're learning the sword?"
"Because it's cool."
My voice trembled uncontrollably. I tried to act like a child, but I couldn't think of anything after witnessing a sight that defied understanding. It felt as if even my thoughts had been sliced away.
"That's a wonderful reason."
Grandma stroked my head and turned around, heading back the way she had come.
Mom stared at the empty air where Grandma's scar had been for a few minutes before snapping out of it.
"How was Grandma, son?"
"She was so, so cool! She looked like the strongest swordsman!"
"Grandma isn't the strongest; she's the greatest swordsman."
Mom picked me up and walked straight out of the visitation room. She didn't say a word until we reached the dock prepared at the prison. I kept my mouth shut as I watched her walk silently with a dreamlike expression.
The cut on my fingertip had already healed.
***
"Hindel, don't you need to see Mom?"
"I won't see her because I can't win against her anymore."
My grandmother, who could even beat a Red Dragon, seemed to be incredibly strong. Hindel, waiting at the airship entrance, let out a long sigh. Beside her, the perverted exhibitionist Snow Woman Sister couldn't take her eyes off the prison.
"Mom, what kind of person is Grandma?"
"Your grandma is a war her—"
"She's a war criminal. She's being punished for doing bad things. I'll tell you more when you're older."
Mom cut Hindel off. At Mom's sharp glare, Hindel whimpered and took a step back.
"It looks like you want to be alone. I'll take care of Yong-hwan."
"Don't you dare lay a finger on my son, Morian."
Morian looked at the dragon as if she were a crazy bitch, then reached out both arms toward me.
"I like Morian Noona~!"
I had intended to just give her enough bait to keep her in the tank without letting her escape, but our Snow Woman Sister's devotion and affection had succeeded in melting me. I felt like I could give her a little extra treat as a bonus once in a while.
"Fufu, I like our Yong-hwan too~!"
Morian's body felt a bit warm. No, it still felt damp and cold, but I felt drawn to her for some reason.
"Hindel, you said you were Yong-hwan's mama too, right?"
"That's right."
"Then how about a daughter-in-law like me?"
Morian's efforts to win over the "second mother" while Mom was away were pitiful. No matter how much she tried to persuade the delusional dragon who claimed to be "Mama," it was meaningless, but her effort was commendable.
"I think someone like Morian would make a decent daughter-in-law. She has good business sense, a good family, and her hips look like they'd be great for bearing children, not to mention her breasts are large enough to provide plenty of milk."
"Right, right? Hindel, you know that movie we're filming this time~?"
Morian's score was higher than I expected. Aside from being an exhibitionist pervert who sweated a lot, she was a blue-chip prospect with no real flaws. That's why I was working hard to keep her as one of my diversified investment stocks.
"...Tell me the title. Is there only one or two collaborations between our kids?"
"What do you think about putting Yong-hwan in it? As a child actor~!"
Talks were underway to get me into a movie through her connections.
"I refuse. To think you'd consider putting my son into that filthy world of entertainers... as a daughter-in-law, you are the worst."
Today, the unusually sensible Dragon-ssi snatched me from Morian's arms as if it were out of the question and began to stride away.