To me, my mother was a huge scar.
She was the one who left me behind when I was still very young.
I don’t have many memories of the time we spent together, but even in the few moments we shared, I can’t recall anything particularly good.
Thus, my childhood passed.
My father raised me as if he were throwing me away.
My only friends were the old books in the corner of my room.
Perhaps that’s why I clung so desperately to the idea of family.
How I envied my classmates who smiled with their parents at graduation.
A father who leads the family sturdily.
A mother who always stands up for her child.
They were all just beings from my dreams.
Even if I desperately wanted them, they were families I could not have.
I thought there would never come a time when the word ‘mother’ would escape my lips again…
“Could you perhaps call me ‘Mom’ from now on?”
“…What?”
What?
Mother…?
The goddess…?
“If you become my daughter, I would truly be happy…”
The goddess smiled beautifully as if just imagining it brought her joy.
I couldn’t help but be flustered by her appearance.
“Uh… um, I can’t call you Mom on our first meeting…”
“Of course it’s your first time meeting me, but I have been watching you all this time.”
For some reason, the goddess’s cheeks slightly flushed as she continued speaking.
“A tender-hearted and lovable child… I wanted to make you my daughter.”
The earnest face of the goddess didn’t reveal a trace of falsehood.
Her mystical eyes gazed at me intently, as if I was the most adorable thing in the world.
“Are… are you serious?”
“Of course.”
Although I questioned whether it was a joke, the answer I received was far too resolute.
Mother.
I had never imagined such a thing.
How on earth was I supposed to accept this?
It wasn’t a simple relationship that could just be so easily established, was it?
Seeing me deep in thought, the goddess looked at me with a restless expression.
“I’ll really take good care of you! Didn’t you always want a family?”
“…How did you know that?”
“I have been watching you diligently. I can figure that much out.”
Seeing the goddess fidget as I spoke made me feel strangely uneasy.
Her desire to make me her family was so vividly apparent.
‘…Mother.’
To be honest,
I felt repulsed, but… I couldn’t be sure I truly wanted to reject her.
The mother who abandoned me in my previous world. The family that I could only have in my dreams ever since.
What would it feel like to have someone always by my side, cheering for me? I had always imagined it.
A person who wishes to be my mother.
And not just any ordinary person. The beautiful goddess who loves and blesses everyone.
“Do you not want this?”
Wrapped in her six wings, the goddess looked at me with desperate eyes, as if she didn’t want to let go.
“…I’ll think about it.”
I answered meekly.
For some reason, I didn’t feel inclined to refuse.
The only plea from the goddess who turned back time to bring back my loved ones.
I didn’t want to reject it, and my longing for a family made it impossible to push her away.
The goddess looked ridiculously delighted and immediately rushed over to rub her cheek against mine.
“I’m so glad you thought about it! Can I call you ‘Baby’ then?”
“Huh?! N-no, I haven’t decided yet—”
“Aaah, my cute Baby… my daughter…”
“W-wait, goddess?!”
She seemed to ignore my words, repeatedly patting my back with her wings and hands.
I was taken aback by her uncontrollable actions.
“Just trust your mom from now on. I’ll always be on your side.”
It was as if she had already started thinking of me as her daughter, changing her way of speaking completely.
“…Please let me go.”
At first, it was warm, but as I continued to be enveloped by the goddess’s wings, it began to feel a bit hot.
Feeling a sticky sensation with droplets of sweat gathering on the back of my neck, I gently pushed the goddess away from my embrace.
“…Goddess?”
But despite my words, she remained stuck to me, refusing to let go.
Standing there with her sparkling eyes looking at me, it felt as if she wanted something.
And I didn’t even have to think hard about what that was.
“Um… no, I still haven’t decided….”
“……”
She didn’t budge, continuing to envelop me.
Her unwavering will caused my eyes to tremble with confusion.
“…R-right now?”
“…..”
Overwhelmed by her insistence, I finally sighed and closed my eyes, mumbling.
“Please let me go… mom.”
At my words, the goddess’s face blossomed into a bright smile as she released me from her embrace.
Surely, the heat should have dissipated, but a wave of embarrassment surged, making my face feel even hotter.
“Yes, my Baby. Hehe♡”
…It still felt so unfamiliar and uncomfortable, but I decided to accept it.
I had always wanted a family anyway… and above all, it was the goddess’s sincere plea.
Moreover, if the goddess was my parent… it might not be so bad.
At least she wouldn’t abandon me like my parents in the previous world.
– I decided to think that way for now.
‘…..I wanted a family, after all.’
With this peculiar feeling between shyness and acceptance, I cleared my throat a few times.
“Um, by the way, goddess—”
“Is it Mommy?”
“Uh… Mommy.”
“Yup, my Baby.”
While she didn’t look it, the goddess was quite stubborn.
I tried my best to hide my embarrassment as I asked her.
“…You said the Heavenly God turned back time, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Is it just the goddess… Mom who knows about it?”
The goddess shook her head slowly.
“There’s one more person who knows.”
With a somewhat pitiful expression, the goddess continued.
“There’s another being on the same level opposing me. He knows as well.”
“Could it be… the Demon God?”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
I slowly looked down at the ground, contemplating.
‘The Demon God… even he knows.’
The pieces of the puzzle scattered in my mind began to fit together.
No matter how much the story had been adapted from a novel, it was still based on the events of the first round.
Moreover, even when I had seen the past a moment ago, the content up to when Robin invaded Mawangseong almost aligned perfectly with the novel.
But now, the second round was so different.
The Demon King, who was supposed to be at Mawangseong, had invaded the Academi.
And now I seemed to understand the reason.
‘…It must be the Demon God.’
If there were any changes happening in the Demon Realm, it was highly likely to be the Demon God’s doing.
If the goddess was a deity born out of fervent hope, desire, and love, then the Demon God was a godly being birthed from countless accumulated evil energies.
Essentially, he could be seen as the ultimate evil in this world.
“The Demon God desires war just like in the previous round.”
“…I’ll absolutely stop it.”
A terrible war where all life extinguished had already occurred in the past.
A tragedy that must never happen again in this round.
I looked at the goddess with a strong resolve in my heart.
“Please help me stop it.”
The goddess widened her eyes for a moment before starting to stroke my head with a tender smile.
“Okay, Mommy will always be on her daughter’s side.”
Ignoring my disheveled hair, I asked the goddess.
“Should I stop the Demon King right now?”
With my limited mind, I couldn’t come up with a clear path.
Should I charge to Mawangseong, gathering the strong ones?
Or should I prepare for the impending attack again?
I couldn’t determine which approach was the priority.
“…My Baby.”
The goddess closed her eyes for a moment, contemplating, then looked at me seriously.
“Defeating the Demon King won’t bring peace.”
“…That’s true.”
I could learn from the past.
What happened when the Demon King was killed.
All the Majok who had been under his control, the calamity-level monsters that had thrown the world into chaos.
They were all released into the world at once after their leashes were cut.
“And if you defeat the Demon King, a new one will eventually be born.”
“Wha…? You mean the Demon King will appear again?”
As I furrowed my brows, the goddess nodded, calmly explaining.
“The Demon King is a being chosen by the Demon God, granted the mission of world destruction. It’s just like the hero; when a hero dies, a new one will eventually appear.”
“…So, you’re saying that just because we defeat the Demon King doesn’t mean the war will end?”
If what the goddess said was right, defeating the Demon King was not the end.
If the Demon King was similar to a hero, and heroes appear once every hundred years, then the Demon King must appear around that frequency too.
Even if we barely managed to defeat the Demon King, we would only enjoy peace for about a hundred years.
“…Yes. Sooner or later, calamity will repeat itself.”
As the goddess nodded in agreement with my statement, my anxiety began to resurface.
I thought defeating the Demon King would bring peace, but if that was the case, what the hell should I do?
As I started to breathe heavily, the goddess warmly wrapped me in her embrace, trying to calm me down.
“It’s okay, my Baby. There’s a way.”
“Wha…? W-what is it?”
In a desperate situation, the goddess’s words became a ray of hope for me.
As she slowly stroked my trembling body, the goddess continued.
“Don’t you have extraordinary talents? You can use that.”
“Talent?”
When I questioned, she nodded once and gave me a reassuring smile.
But soon, her words were more than enough to send my mind into a frenzy.
“Charm the Demon King so deeply that he would be unable to survive unless it’s you.”
With a serious voice, devoid of any jest, the goddess made her request.
…What?
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