My room, back from the study.
Lying on the bed, I hummed a tune while glancing suspiciously at Mari, who was engrossed in her reading.
For some reason, an uneasy feeling lingered.
‘Do dragons generally take interest in such things…?’
Three books that Mari brought.
One was a wholesome book about the love between parents and children.
But the other two books were definitely not the kinds of topics a child like Mari should be interested in.
I tried to persuade her to read something else, but her will was far too firm.
Eventually, I was overcome by her unsettling determination, and from then on, Mari devoted herself to the books.
‘I…might be a terrible mom…’
Letting my daughter read such books.
I felt a growing sense of self-recrimination.
‘…Maybe it’s because she’s a dragon?’
A race that follows a different trajectory from ordinary beings.
Perhaps Mari isn’t odd; maybe the dragon race is special.
Being extraordinary, their common sense must also differ.
For a regular person like me, it dived into an incomprehensible realm.
So perhaps I wasn’t the one in the wrong in this situation.
It was Mari’s dragon lineage that was extraordinary.
Yep. That’s right.
There’s no way I’m a terrible mom.
Yet, despite my mental victory, the feelings of guilt still lingered. In fact, it now seemed I was inching toward self-hatred.
Still, I could somewhat come to terms with Mari’s abnormal habits.
“Mom.”
“Uh…?”
In the middle of her reading, she bounded over, flipping the book to show me the part she was curious about.
“What’s maternal love?”
She seemed to be eager to know the meaning of “maternal love.”
Looking at the part she pointed to, it discussed the love between a mother and her child.
“Maternal love is, you know, the love a mother has for her child.”
Mari stared at me with wide eyes after hearing my explanation.
“So, does mom love Mari?”
I chuckled softly and patted Mari’s head.
“Of course! You’re my beautiful daughter!”
As my positive affirmation returned, Mari’s face lit up with sheer happiness.
“Hehe. I love you too, mom!”
Seeing Mari’s adorable face made all guilt fade away.
Yep.
What if I’m terrible?
Mari is so happy.
Just as Mari cleared her curiosity and returned to her reading,
Knock-knock
I heard a knocking sound at the door.
‘Who could that be…?’
Athena had said she’d return around the evening or night, so it couldn’t be her.
Could it be one of the household staff of this mansion?
Not wanting to bump into anyone, yet not wanting to leave anyone waiting at the door, I left Mari reading and opened it.
And there stood…
“Agassi…”
Someone who had once been very close to me.
The one who taught me a lot and helped me.
It was Alina.
With a somewhat sad expression, Alina looked at me.
If possible, not doing anything would be more helpful!
Honestly… you’re not very good at this, are you?
If you weren’t someone that Athena cherishes, I wouldn’t even say hello!
Upon seeing her, I suddenly started to tremble.
My breath began to hitch and my insides churned violently.
“Ugh…”
“Agassi..! Are you okay?”
As I covered my mouth and retched, Alina rushed over, a worried expression on her face.
But the moment her hand touched my body, I shoved her away.
“D-Don’t come near me…”
“Agassi…..”
Her face looked genuinely worried about me and appeared pale.
But I knew.
It was a lie.
Inside, she must have been looking at me with disdain.
Someone like me… being forced into her pity…
The words she had thrown at me lingered.
The more I had thought of her as a friend, the deeper the scar they left in my heart.
“Please… just leave me alone…”
Looking at her with a trembling voice of desperation made her eyes begin to shake.
After a moment, with an expression that seemed ready to cry, Alina tightly closed her eyes.
“I’m… really sorry, Agassi…”
And then Alina turned around and walked away.
I could only watch her back in a daze.
“…Alina…”
For a while, I stood frozen, holding back tears that threatened to spill out.
…If I weren’t such an incompetent person,
Couldn’t I have continued to smile and share time with you?
‘…It’s already too late.’
I brushed my odd hopes aside and stepped back into my room. Mari was looking at me with concern.
“Mom. Are you crying…?”
It seemed like she could see the distress on my face, her own filled with unease.
I hurriedly embraced her.
“No, no… it’s just the sunlight making my eyes sting.”
“…..”
Mari looked at me with a disapproving expression.
“Another lie…”
Mumbling softly enough for it not to be heard, she quickly broke into a smile and took my hand, pulling me back inside.
“Mom, I want something to eat.”
Her face looked as if she was waiting for something.
“Uh…? What is it…?”
In response to my question, Mari dashed over to grab the book she had been reading.
She pointed to a section with her finger and told me.
“This!”
“Hmm… let’s see…”
The part she indicated had an illustration of a mother hugging a baby.
However…
“Eww?!”
I screamed in shock at the drawing and staggered back.
Mari looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Mom?”
Taking a moment to calm my racing heart, I spoke to Mari in a trembling voice.
“Ma-Mari…? Th-That…”
Looking unhappy that I had distanced myself, Mari bounded over to cling to me again.
“Mom is giving something to her child!”
Mari, wide-eyed with excitement, looked up at me.
I had no choice but to avoid her intense gaze.
No. It wasn’t wrong per se.
But still, this…
‘I’m… not involved in that…’
The picture Mari had shown was a perfectly natural and innocent representation of the mother-child relationship.
Yet for some reason, at this moment, it didn’t feel that way.
It depicted a baby nursing from their mother.
*
This place was deep within a mountain.
“Hmm… as expected, the Demon King…”
Swordsman Carlos played with his mustache, wearing a troubled expression.
“Right. That guy is seeking war again.”
After taking a sip from the drink in front of him, he set the glass down on the table.
Immediately, a swordsman filled his cup again.
Having been out of the mansion for several hours,
He was sitting in a cottage, sharing drinks with the swordsman.
“What a shameful thing to expect peace after all this.”
“The demon race enjoys slaughter. They must miss those days.”
There was never a day without the demon’s laughter during the era of the Great War fought by all races.
“It seems we’ll need some countermeasures.”
“First, we should thwart the Demon King’s plans, one by one.”
“Any good ideas?”
“For starters…-”
I began to lay out the plans I had in mind.
After discussing matters regarding the swordsman and the demon race for a while,
A considerable amount of time passed.
Before long, the sun was starting to dip down toward the horizon.
“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
As they emptied their cups, the swordsman spoke.
Following his lead, I emptied my cup as well, got up, brushed off my clothes, and surveyed the surroundings.
“Speaking of which, didn’t you mention you were raising a disciple? There’s no one here?”
The swordsman chuckled in response to his own words.
“I heard today is my sister’s birthday. I decided to spend time with her.”
“Oh, really?”
“What a pity. I really wanted to show her to you.”
The mention of a sister brought to mind a certain woman.
Every time I saw her, unpleasant feelings bubbled up.
That woman who relied heavily on Hera.
Though she must be an utterly insignificant creature,
For some reason, I always felt like I was losing whenever I saw her.
‘…Whatever, Hera is mine now, so it doesn’t matter.’
Hera, who had already opened her heart to me.
I planned to slowly train her body night after night.
Having conquered her heart, I now needed to touch her body.
I envisioned her panting with excitement, running to me every time she was near.
As I recalled Hera obediently licking my feet just below me last night, several illicit thoughts began to surface in my mind.
‘Once Hera’s body adapts… I’ll get to it later…’
Lost in happy fantasies of this, I was about to return to the mansion when,
“Speaking of which, how have you been lately?”
The swordsman halted his footsteps.
“How have I been?”
“With that girl, I mean.”
At his words, my mood suddenly sank.
The words he had told me last time still echoed in my mind.
“Do you not think that’s an unnecessary intrusion?”
He made a complicated expression in response to my statement.
“I’m speaking all this for your sake.”
I quickly approached the swordsman, staring him dead in the eye.
“Listen, Carlos.”
“…..”
“You said you could see the principles of the world to a degree?”
His perpetually calm gaze bore down on me.
“The path I choose is the answer and the principle.”
That had been my life until now.
I achieved everything I wanted and grasped everything I desired.
“Sin? Karma? I welcome it all.”
Nothing could ever bend my will. Even if it was that illustrious goddess.
“I truly don’t care at all.”
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