GalaxyTL
I took out the bouquet I’d prepared from my storage bracelet. This time, it’s a bouquet with those flowers that look like yellow gerberas as the main, and then those that look like light pink baby’s breath. I always change it up, and I thought this bouquet matched my image of Yenna-san. And they were bought from a florist. I sometimes bring flowers I’ve picked, but they always end up being the same, so I try to change it up every now and then!.
“Mother-sama, I’ll be borrowing your room for a while. I wonder… how you spent your days here…”
It’s hard to imagine, because I’ve never met her. Well, technically, I have, but I don’t remember anything from before I came to this body.
The first time I came here, to talk to her before her grave… I was feeling incredibly conflicted. Because I was Megu, and it felt like I was receiving the body of her precious daughter, so I felt kind of guilty. Ah, what about Father-sama? I’m sure he felt the same way, but it was pointless to even think about that, because he was doting on me so much. It was the same even after knowing my circumstances, and I knew that he’d definitely accept me.
But I can’t meet Yenna-san anymore. I can’t even confirm her feelings, so I was bewildered. I knew she’d probably accept me, because of her personality. I mean, she’d probably be like Father-sama. But those kinds of things… you don’t know for sure, unless they’re right before you, right? Their expressions, their tone of voice, those kinds of things are also important.
Yenna-san… Meg’s mother. Maybe it’s only natural that I don’t feel like she’s my mother. Even when I was Megu, I barely remembered my mother, so I don’t think I really understand what a mother is. It’s a bit sad.
“Gil-san, I’ve heard I look like Mother-sama.”
“…Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot from the Don and the Demon King.”
I called out to Gil-san, who was silently waiting a short distance away from me. He also never met Yenna-san, so he doesn’t know either.
“I’m happy about that, but… I’m also sad, wondering what it would be like to have a mother.”
“…I see.”
It’s not really something I need to talk about with Gil-san. But I felt like talking about it, so I continued.
“I wonder if Mother-sama would be worried about me, if she was alive…”
“I’m sure she would. She’s the one who risked her life to protect you. She wouldn’t just be worried, she’d try to help.”
“That’s what I thought. …Yeah. I have to work hard so I don’t worry Mother-sama.”
I want to be able to protect and help people, not just always be protected and helped. Like Father-sama, Dad, and Gil-san. Saying that, I turned to look at Gil-san. He narrowed his eyes gently and walked over to me.
“You can do that, Meg. So right now, please think of being helped as your job.”
“Being helped…”
“That’s right. For you to be safe and healthy… that’s the minimum requirement, for everything.”
He’s right. It’s pointless if I let my magic power go out of control. I’d be a nuisance, not be able to help anyone, or rather. That’s right. First, I need to focus on myself.
I should know more about myself. About my magic power, and my ability.
“Gil-san, um… I… want to ask you for… a favor…”
Gil-san’s eyes widened slightly when I said that.
“I’m sorry that you came all the way here and that I’m asking you to do something that’s difficult, but… you know…”
Is he going to get exasperated at my vague request? No, I’m sure he won’t. He’ll definitely…
“There’s no way I’d refuse.”
That’s what I thought you’d say. I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“I… haven’t even told you what it is yet.”
“I know you wouldn’t ask me to do something I can’t do.”
Ah, this feeling’s so nice. To trust each other. My heart felt warm and fuzzy. Gil-san’s a mystery. I was able to unconditionally trust him from the moment we met. Now that I think about it, he was incredibly suspicious back then, all in black. Shouldn’t I have been more cautious? But I realize now that the choice I made back then was right. Or rather, I had no choice but to follow him!
I was happy, blissful, and giggled shyly, pulling on Gil-san’s hand. We then left the grave, me saying I’ll explain once we get back to the room.
We went back to the room and had a short tea break. Gil-san quickly produced a tea set from his shadow. No matter how many times I see him take things out of his shadow, I still find it strange. A storage bracelet is also mysterious, but I wonder what it feels like to take things in and out of your own shadow. I’m curious.
I blew on my tea to cool it down, and then finally voiced my concern. About how I’d seen a dream about Father-sama’s past. I’d heard about it, but it was something I’d never seen before, so I didn’t think it was just a normal dream. It felt the same as when I have precognitive dreams, so I’m sure it’s because of my special ability. And then,
“So I thought… maybe my special ability isn’t actually ‘precognitive dreams’.”
“Hmm… that is concerning.”
When I was finished, Gil-san crossed his arms, deep in thought.
“Even if it is a past dream, it’s not your own past, that’s also concerning. To think you saw the past of your father, a past dream about someone else.”
That’s right! The past dreams I’ve had before were about myself, so maybe seeing someone else’s past is strange. Even my precognitive dreams were about things happening around me.
“But… I think it might have been a reflection of my anxiety. It was a dream about Father-sama struggling, not being able to suppress his magic power…”
That’s exactly what I’m worried about right now. It’s not impossible that I’m just misunderstanding because of that.
“So basically, you want to investigate your special ability.”
“Yeah. I thought we could do it here, when I heard we were coming.”
It’s not like I knew we’d be coming this soon, though! But it’s fine because I’ve been wanting to investigate.
“It would be good if they could show me some documents about special abilities… but I’m still a child.”
“I understand. I’ll handle the negotiations.”
It’s so helpful that he understands right away! He even said he’ll help me ask the villagers, not just the documents. So kind…!
Gil-san always hides his face and doesn’t speak much, aside from when he’s in Ortus, so I thought he’d dislike asking people about this—but apparently, he’s actually good at it if he doesn’t have to show his face. That makes sense. Information gathering’s part of his job. It’s not like he can always just collect information through shadows.
“Thank you, Gil-san… I… I want to know more about my abilities!”
“Don’t worry. Understanding your own abilities is important.”
“It’s us who should be apologizing,” he added. Eh? Why is he apologizing?
“We were hiding the fact that your magic power’s increasing rapidly, to protect you. Even though it’s only natural that you’d want to know.”
“But, I know you did that because you didn’t want me to worry.”
“That might be true, but that’s not all,” Gil-san shook his head.
“You’ve gotten much stronger, and we were discussing, as members, to push you a bit more in training. But, somewhere along the way, we were still seeing you as someone who needed to be protected. I understood that the first step to becoming a full-fledged adult is to understand your own abilities, but hiding your true abilities was a bad move. I regret it.”
Seeing Gil-san apologize sincerely made me feel guilty. Because I know he did it for me. He was trying to be considerate, thinking I’d become even more unstable if I was worried, right?
“But it seems like I lost control after finding out… so I think the way you handled it was right, right? So don’t say that.”
“Meg…”
I took his hands in mine and squeezed them tightly. Smile, smile.
“You can never know what the right answer is. As long as it’s something you did because you thought it was the best option at the time, then it’s the right answer! So you were right too, Gil-san! Okay?”
Gil-san looked a bit surprised when I said that. We have to be positive. Or we’ll break. These are also words I’m saying to myself. Even if we’re confused or regretful, we can’t change the past. We have to reflect, and then think about what the “right” choice is, and move forward. It’s fine to make mistakes.
“You’re really strong, Meg.”
“I’m only strong because everyone, and you, Gil-san, are here!”
If I was alone, maybe I’d be fretting. I might even be pushing myself too hard. I can work hard, without overdoing it, because I have people who support me.
“…Ah, ahem. Dinner’s ready…”
Just as we were holding hands and smiling at each other, Wiz-san said that. Huh? When did he get here!?
“I knocked a few times, but… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“I noticed, and you didn’t interrupt anything.”
“That’s right! You didn’t interrupt us or anything. Thank you for letting us know!”
Wiz-san seemed awkward… why? Maybe because he saw us holding hands? It’s fine because we were done talking anyway.
“You’re lying…” Wiz muttered, and Gil-san and I looked at each other and tilted our heads in confusion. Um, what’s wrong?