116. Mother
116. Mother
The top of my head is... firm yet soft.
My heavy body feels suffocated, like something is constricting me, and uncomfortable. On top of that, it's hot, sticky, humid...
"Mmph... mph?"
"Heehee..."
My lips are blocked by something too.
Soft, moist... and sticky.
What is this.
Blink, blink. I lifted my heavy eyelids.
I see something pale and squishy. In the middle, there's a sunken spot about the size of a finger joint.
What the hell is this. I poked it with a finger, slightly extending the hand that was neatly folded in front of my chest.
"Hah?!"
...What the fuck.
That weird... sound snapped me right out of my drowsy haze.
My eyes still feel heavy, but my vision is clear.
With my now-clear vision, I looked straight ahead again.
What was pressed right up against my face was... a stomach.
A white, soft stomach.
Whose stomach could it be. I don't even need to think about it.
"...This is insane."
I immediately pinched Stella's side. She'd sweated so much that her skin was slippery, and I couldn't get a proper grip. I pinched anyway.
"Aaaaaah! It hurts!! It huuurts!!"
"You crazy bitch. Why were you hugging me, are you insane?!"
"Ughhh... it hurts... feels like I got stabbed..."
Stella, who had been writhing and expressing her pain, glared at me with teary eyes.
"Ugh... how can you be like this first thing in the morning?"
"What kind of mental state were you in to hug me while sleeping? Huh? And you're sleeping with your clothes all peeled open. Are you out of your mind?"
"W-we're both girls, so what does it matter! A-and besides, I've already... seen you naked... so."
"Oh really? So what, you're gonna show me yours too? Stop talking nonsense and get the hell out to your room."
"...It's not like I can't show you. We're... both girls anyway."
"You're talking bullshit, you crazy bitch. Goddamn."
I shoved Stella away with a few kicks, then stretched once and sat up.
There's a lot of drool. I wondered if it was mine and wiped around my mouth, but it wasn't me.
"Ugh, fuck... I told you not to piss yourself, so you drool instead. Hey, you bitch. Even if I tried to spit on purpose, I couldn't produce this much. What is all this? Huh?"
"I-I didn't drool."
"Wipe the drool off your face before you talk."
"Hah...! Slurp..."
Stella wiped the drool from her chin and turned away, her face flushed bright red.
"I-I drooled a little."
I clicked my tongue and scooted on my butt out of the bed.
As expected, my body still feels stiff and achy.
My skin stings like I have body aches, and my bones throb. Still... it's not bad. Compared to my Past Life, it's practically nothing.
So this... scrawny body performs better than my Past Life's muscle-packed body?
If that's really the case... my pride is going to take a serious hit.
No... should I actually be happy about it?
"Eliarnes."
"What."
"Want to eat?"
"You buying?"
"Yeah."
I turned my head in surprise at Stella's confident answer. Stella, who had wiped away the drool and smoothed down her messy hair, was folding up the blanket.
"What money do you have?"
"...I have money too. If you want to eat, I'll buy you something. On the way... to drop this off."
"Why drop it off. Just leave it here and give it to Mikel later."
"I-it's embarrassing. Anyway, are you going to eat?"
"Of course I'm eating breakfast. Go buy it with my card. Don't waste your money."
"No. I'll buy it. And it's lunchtime now."
"...Lunch?"
I blinked and looked out the window.
Just as Stella said, the sun was high in the sky.
"Guess you slept so well you didn't even notice the time? I had a nightmare..."
"Well... it was okay."
I slept really well.
I was a little annoyed when I opened my eyes, but... it feels like I had a proper deep sleep for the first time in a long while.
Why did I sleep so well.
"Still, yeah. Hehe... I'm glad you slept well."
Stella smiled brightly. The sunlight shining behind her still carried the scent of cherry blossoms.
*****
Sunday was incredibly peaceful.
It couldn't have been anything else.
Unlike the Arant Museum incident, the only people who knew about this case were me, Stella, Pina, Shadowless, and Adelia.
Of course, I thought Adelia might come looking for me, but surprisingly, there was no sign of her.
That woman really is impossible to figure out.
Anyway, I spent a peaceful weekend.
I didn't lift a single finger and had everything done for me. All thanks to Stella, who voluntarily waited on me the whole time.
That said, it wasn't entirely great either.
Because she kept chattering away beside me, I had no time to organize my thoughts. Still... thanks to that, I was able to spend the day in a light mood.
And so Monday arrived.
Just as the academy had announced, the curfew was lifted and normal classes began.
Pina, who had nearly died not long ago, and Stella, who had heard shocking news, seemed unable to adjust to such peace, but they couldn't skip class, so they forced themselves to attend.
Leona still hadn't returned to the academy.
I have a lot of questions for her, but I don't know when she'll be back.
And.
Phaid Haveron.
That bastard seemed to have been written off as simply missing. I thought about going to Sedil to ask about him, but I couldn't just meet the dean whenever I wanted, and I didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble, so I didn't bother.
One thing that bothered me was the condition of the students who had taken that bastard's classes. Not only was their condition quite poor, but an unsettling sensation still lingered.
Did Phaid plant something in them?
If so, it should have all been undone when Phaid died, so why does the unsettling feeling remain?
I figured it might be because it wasn't undone through normal means, but I didn't completely let my guard down either.
I decided I should pass this on to Shadowless, who would be coming by later.
If the students who had contact with Phaid were in this state, the people trapped in the labyrinth were probably similar.
Classes ended like that, and I postponed my after-school training to meet with Shadowless.
I returned to my room, took a quick shower, and was watching Stella and Pina train hard in my personal training hall when.
The door to the personal training hall opened.
Is it Leona?
I turned around with a slightly welcoming feeling.
"It's been a while, Eli."
"...M-Mother?"
My mother was standing there.
With a strangely... sulky expression.
*****
"...I-it's been a while."
In the reception room with just my mother and me, we were each amiably drinking a mint chocolate latte.
"Yes. It's been a while, my daughter."
"You look... a bit tired?"
"Hoho. Do I look that way?"
"Y-yeah... yes. Was the trip here uncomfortable?"
"It wasn't uncomfortable."
My mother shook her head and gave a gentle smile. No, is it gentle? I can't tell.
She's definitely smiling... but it doesn't feel like a smile.
"Mother, did you... fight with Dad... I mean, Father?"
"...Hm."
My mother's expression darkened.
...Did they really fight? With Dad? Why on earth?
Dad used to drop dead at a single word from me or Mother... they fought?
"Eli."
Her voice is cold.
"...Yes?"
"How's academy life? Nothing unusual?"
"...Oh, well. Nothing unusual. It's just... peaceful."
"Peaceful?"
My mother smiled faintly, then set down the cup she was holding with a thud.
"...Mother?"
"Eli."
Then, she smoothly leaned her upper body forward, close to me, and with her signature slit eyes slightly open, whispered softly.
"Mom."
"...Yes?"
"Mom. My."
Blink, blink.
I stared at my mother with slightly dazed eyes.
Her slightly open slit eyes are the same, and her smile is the same.
But... I can smell blood from somewhere.
"Call me Mom."
"...All of a sudden?"
"Eli?"
"Hic."
I suddenly started hiccuping, and carefully leaned back and averted my gaze.
"Eli."
Grrind— from somewhere, a sound that shouldn't be heard reaches my ears. The temperature in the reception room dropped cold, and goosebumps rose on my forearms.
"...M-Mo... Mom."
"Yes."
"Mo... hic, Mom."
"Mmhm."
"...Mom."
"That's right. My daughter."
"Mom..."
"Hoho, hehehe. Hmhm."
Only after I said it several more times did my mother lean back against her chair.
The cold temperature seemed to return to normal, and the goosebumps on my forearms subsided.
...Why is Mother acting like this all of a sudden.
My mother, who had been beaming for a while, said nothing until she finished the mint chocolate latte in front of her.
Then, just as I slurped down the last of my mint chocolate latte, my mother opened her mouth.
"Eli. How is academy life."
It's the same question. But... the intonation is completely different.
Don't tell me... did that Shadowless person tell her everything?
"Uh... like I said before, it's peacef—"
"Sip."
My mother cut me off.
"A long time ago, Turius once lied to Mom."
The name changed from Eli's dad to Turius.
The topic of conversation changed too.
But... the atmosphere made it clear she wouldn't accept any questions or objections about it, so... I nodded.
"Oh... what kind of lie?"
"A very, very trivial lie."
My mother smiled.
"It was a cold winter day. The day Mom and Turius had promised to go on a date. But Turius, you see, had been making that date promise since a whole month before."
"Oh... don't tell me?"
"Hoho. Yes, that's right. You know how it is, Eli, and so does Mom—women have that kind of intuition. Clueless Turius probably thought he hid it well, but Mom had already noticed. That day, Turius was going to propose to Mom... she thought. Still, considering his effort, Mom pretended not to know."
...The intuition women have.
I'm a man. I definitely have... a man's thoughts.
But I know exactly what that intuition... feels like.
It feels strange.
"But you see, on the day of the date, Turius suddenly canceled the promise. At the time, Mom waited for Turius for over an hour. As I said before, it was a very cold day. It was a bit ironic that he'd propose on such a day, but still, it was cute, right? So Mom dressed up as prettily as she could and went out. Of course, it was cold. But in the end, Turius never showed up."
"...Why?"
"At the time, according to him... he said something urgent came up with the family."
My mother's gentle slit eyes opened.
The red eyes visible within them are terrifying.
"It was a lie."
"...Hmm."
"I can't tell Eli the truth of what happened back then yet, but Mom came to learn that it was a lie."
"S-so then?"
"What do you think Mom did?"
"...I don't know?"
"This too... I can't tell you because our Eli is still a minor."
"Hic."
A cold silence lingered.
My mother's face was still beaming.
Except, only her mouth was smiling. Her eyes... were not smiling.
"Eli."
"...Yes."
"Mom really hates lies."
Having said that, my mother rummaged through her bosom and pulled something out with a plop.
A black leather glove I felt like I'd seen somewhere before.
"...Huh?"
"My beloved daughter."
The next thing she pulled out was a brooch.
A pure-white mask-shaped brooch.
"Uh, uhh...?"
"Academy life..."
And finally.
The last thing my mother pulled out was.
"How is it?"
A pure-white mask.
A mask with no shape or pattern at all.
The symbol of Nameless, and the symbol of Shadowless.
"Is it really peaceful?"
My mother smiled.
At that moment, the smell of blood filled the reception room.