The Promise
Serina finally managed to calm herself and wiped away her tears.
"I'm so sorry, Armel."
"It's alright."
"Serina, if you ever want to talk about your brother again—"
"You can come to me anytime."
"Thank you…"
"Don't worry about it."
"I'll be bragging about my son right back at you!"
"Haha."
"Hearing you say that puts me even more at ease."
"Um, Armel…"
"Yes?"
Serina fidgeted, glancing at me restlessly.
"If it's alright with you…"
"May I call you sister?"
I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the look on her face.
"Of course you may."
For all her composed exterior, she was secretly quite adorable.
"Thank you… Sister."
"You can drop the formal speech with me, too."
"Alright, Serina."
I let out a little snort of laughter.
"What is it, Sister?"
"Oh, nothing…"
"I just pictured Fer getting jealous again, and it cracked me up."
"Ah…"
"So next I have to go clear up Fer's misunderstanding…?"
"That—just forget I said anything."
"Ahem. Understood."
I started getting ready to leave.
"Are you going?"
"Yeah. I've still got my son's training to do."
"And it'll be mealtime before long."
A faintly disappointed look crossed Serina's face.
"Serina."
"Yes?"
"Come up later for dinner."
"Fer's out working, so we've got ingredients to spare!"
"…Okay!"
"See you later."
"Mm."
The moment I opened the door, my son threw his arms around me.
"Mom! I'm all rested up."
"Are you?"
"Then shall we go study?"
"Yes!"
The little boy walked off beside me, waving over his shoulder.
"See you later, Auntie!"
"He really does look like you when you were little, Pasi…"
"That child—I'll protect him no matter what."
We climbed the hill and began preparing for magic study.
"Mom, what are we learning today?"
"Hmm… good question."
"How about we try Physical Reinforcement today?"
"Okay!"
"Physical Reinforcement only needs mana to work."
"Got it!"
"How do I do it?"
"First, you have to let the mana inside you flow through your body."
"Want to try?"
"Yes."
"Good. Imagine it flowing like water."
I closed my eyes and sent the mana within me coursing through my body like a current of water.
"I can feel something moving inside me."
"Good. That'll be your mana."
"Now try imagining that mana flowing out beyond your body."
"Okay."
Let it flow outside…
"Son."
"Open your eyes."
"Huh?"
When I opened them, black and gold unfurled across my entire body. The mana streamed over my skin, warping the air around me.
"That's your mana."
"Well?"
"It's pretty!"
"So this is mana…"
"Now then—shall we start by using Physical Reinforcement to dodge magic?"
"Dodge?"
"That's right."
Fire and earth bloomed from Mom's hands.
"Whoops."
"Not those—let's try water instead."
"On your feet, son."
"Yes."
"When I throw the water at you,"
"dodge left or right."
"Yes!"
"Here we go!"
Whoosh.
Dodge to the side.
The water came flying straight at my face.
Dodge to the side!
I put power into my legs and flung myself sideways.
"Huh?"
I'd pushed far too hard—and went skidding all the way into the ocean.
"Son?"
"I used too much force…"
Splash.
"Son!"
"Are you okay?"
"Yes!"
"I'm fine!"
"I'll pull you out right away."
My body, still floating on the water, lifted into the sky.
"Whoa—I'm flying!"
"Don't thrash around too much."
"Mom's the one holding you up."
"You are, Mom?"
"How?"
"This is wind magic."
"I'm using wind magic to keep you in the air."
"Mom!"
"Can I fly just a little longer?"
"No. You'll catch a cold."
I stared up at her with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Just a little."
"Yes!"
Mom used her magic to send me soaring this way and that.
"Whoa! This is so fun!"
"Alright, son—I'm setting you down now."
"Okay!"
"Well?"
"Did you have fun?"
"Yes!"
"Hold on a second, son."
Mom simply stood there for a moment, studying me.
"Want to try jumping once?"
"Jumping?"
"Sure, I'll try."
Thud!
"Woooah!!!"
"I'm flying again—!"
"Haa…"
"Fly."
Mom hastily caught me and brought me back down to the ground.
"What was that just now?"
"I couldn't jump that high before."
"Ah…"
"I haven't taught you how to turn the reinforcement off yet."
"How to turn it off?"
"Sorry about that."
"Try cutting off the mana flowing through your body."
"Okay!"
The moment I severed the flow of mana, my body lightened back to normal.
"Can you feel your body returning to how it was?"
"Yes."
"That means the mana flow has been cut."
"Magic is amazing!"
"Right?"
"Let's stop here for today and go inside for dinner!"
"What?"
"We're not doing more?"
"Take a look at yourself."
"I dried you off with magic, but…"
"You look exactly like a puppy that hasn't been towel-dried."
"I'll go inside…"
"Good."
"Come on—Auntie will be waiting."
"Okaaay—"
As we came down the hill, Auntie was already on her way to the house.
"Oh?"
"Sister, what's with the little one?"
"Why did he suddenly turn into a half-dried puppy?"
"I already heard that from Mom…"
"Did you?"
"I fell in the ocean during magic training."
"That's how I ended up like this."
"I see."
"You've been waiting, haven't you?"
"Let's get inside and eat."
Mom headed into the kitchen to prepare the meal.
"Son, go wash up quickly."
"Yes…"
Auntie watched me quietly.
"Don't feel like washing up?"
"I'm so hungry I could die…"
"Is that so?"
"Want to wash up with Auntie?"
"Mom!!!"
"Sorry, sorry."
"Go on and wash."
"I can't even joke around anymore."
Armel smiled to herself.
"I suppose he is eleven now."
"He wouldn't remember, would he?"
"Back when he was five, he used to throw a fit wanting to bathe with me."
"I imagine so…"
"Mom, I'm all washed up!"
"Good. Let's eat."
"Thanks for the food, Sister."
"You eat plenty too, Serina."
"Hey, Mom, Auntie—did something happen between you two?"
"Hm?"
"Nothing in particular."
"It just feels like you two always used formal speech with each other before."
"That's…"
Armel hesitated, unsure whether she ought to share Serina's story.
Serina spoke up first.
"Auntie wanted to tease your dad."
"So I asked if I could call her sister."
"Oh, so that's it."
"And here I thought you two were swapping first-love stories."
"You—why is a little kid so obsessed with love stories?"
"But still."
"Nothing's as passionate and fiery as love, right?"
Sister set down her fork at once.
"Where did you learn to say something like that?"
"From a book Dad bought."
"A Passionate Meeting of Man and Woman."
"Just you wait till he gets home…"
"I'm burning those books right in front of him…"
"Sister, calm down."
Meanwhile—
"Achoo!"
"What's with you, Fer?"
"Nothing… just got a feeling I shouldn't go home."
"You hitting a midlife crisis?"
"Shut it."
"More than that—there's been a lot of this lately."
"Tell me about it. Things had quieted down a bit, and then this."
"Fer, you've still got it."
"I'm a shadow of what I used to be."
Behind Fer, the corpses of countless monsters and men lay heaped in piles.
"Ugh, enough of the blood stench."
"I just want to smell home."
Fer quietly tipped his face toward the sky.
"We'll be back soon enough."
"Hang in there a little longer."
"Yeah…"
After the meal, Auntie hurried home.
"I've got work piled up,"
"so I'd better be going."
"Alright. Make sure you eat properly."
"I will."
Once Auntie had left, Mom began teaching me something new.
"Son, what Mom's going to teach you today is about high society."
"High society?"
"Mm. And more than just that—I'll be teaching you other things too."
"But why do I need to learn about high society?"
Mom stroked my hair as she spoke.
"Truth is, Dad wanted to wait a little longer before telling you, but…"
"You know that when you turn fifteen, you get to choose whether to enter a commoner's academy,"
"or take up a trade—adventurer, farmer, whatever you like?"
"Yes. You said the choice would be mine when the time came."
"That's right…"
Mom lowered her head, unable to meet my eyes.
"The thing is… Mom and Dad decided on our own to send you to an academy."
"I know."
"Huh?"
"How do you know that?"
"When we went to register at the guild last time,"
"you mentioned it, Mom."
"I did?"
"Yes."
The words flashed through Armel's mind in an instant.
"Ah!"
"I want to go to an academy too."
"I like studying for its own sake."
"What a relief."
"The school you'll be attending is a noble academy, though."
"I see…"
A brief silence settled between us.
"Mom… I misheard that, right?"
"A noble academy?"
"You heard correctly."
"Ah… did I not mention that?"
"No…"
"Sorry. I keep forgetting things."
"The place you'll be going is an academy for nobles."
"Which is why high society—"
"Exactly!"
Mom looked at me with a thoroughly pleased expression.
"But… is that even possible?"
"We used Mom and Dad's connections!"
"I asked one of our old comrades, and they said it could be arranged."
"But wouldn't a noble academy cost a fortune?"
"That too!"
"Mom took care of it!"
"You'll be going in on a scholarship."
"Fully free."
"Haha…"
At this point…
Just what are my parents' real identities…?
But the thought only held me for a moment. Mom looked far too happy.
"Mom."
"Hm?"
I threw my arms around her.
"I love you."
"Thank you for sending me to the academy."
"There, there. Mom loves her son so much too."
"Are you very grateful to Mom?"
"Yes, of course!"
"Then will you sleep with Mom tonight?"
"Uh… Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore…"
Mom turned away with a dejected look on her face.
"Mom and Dad worked so hard…"
"to get you into that academy…"
"Mom… bringing up the academy is cheating."
"But still…"
"If I don't do this, you won't grant me any favors, will you?"
"Haa…"
"Fine."
"Really?"
"Thank you, son."
Mom opened a book and began the lesson.
"Alright, let's finish this quickly."
"Starting with high-society etiquette would be best, don't you think?"
"High society?"
"Is there anything especially important about it?"
"Hmm… dancing, for one."
"Failing that, the way nobles greet each other is important."
"The way nobles greet each other."
I sprang up from my seat at once.
"A pleasure to meet you, my lady."
"What is this—are you imitating nobles?"
"Yes!"
"Well then."
"Oh my, how kind."
"What a splendid gentleman."
"How was that?"
"Not a bad imitation."
"You looked exactly like a noble."
"Right?!"
And so we finished our studies and got ready for bed.
But that night, Mom was different somehow from usual.
She pulled me into her arms and whispered softly.
"Son."
"Yes?"
"Don't get hurt. Live a long, long life."
Maybe it was my imagination… but her voice trembled, just a little.
"You have to outlive Mom."
"If you die before I do, I will never forgive you."
"You understand?"
"Huh?"
"Mom, what are you talking about?"
"It's just… talking with Aunt Serina today,"
"made me want to stay with you a little longer…"
"You'll promise me, won't you?"
"Yes…"
I didn't understand then.
Why Mom wore that expression.
Why she shed those tears.