26 – Right next to you (2)
“…No, I still want to do it.”
“Even though you make such a disgusting face?”
I had no choice but to admit it.
It was her mother’s embrace that relieved her of the pressure she had been feeling.
Even though he had black hair and eyes, at least the eyes looking at me were not opaque.
Rather, should we say that it is a problem if it is too clear?
A heart full of desire to hold me and do something more by my side – even if it’s just now –
“Russell, you saw it and felt it too.
Starting from the guard captain, all kinds of dirty things will rush at you, each with their own feelings.
Just because you use magic.
Maybe… That pretty face also plays a part. Really, who raised you?”
Because he was hugging me as if he was going to explode and tickling me with his tail.
It wrapped around my body as if pulling it down, caressing my back again and again,
It was showing off to me its soft scales, like flowing water.
Unlike my mother who dyed herself black, it was an awkwardly intense and dark red.
“Still, will you be with these?
It’s only been one day, but don’t you know that you and them are already so different?
Like a bonfire lit among insects wandering in the dark,
It is very inconvenient for me to just leave the countless filth rushing towards you.”
He touched the arms that almost got caught,
Mom bent down and put her head to the nape of her neck that her clothes couldn’t cover –
“Haaa –
With such a sweet scent, there’s no way they wouldn’t be attracted. “Nothing…”
He looked overly happy.
To the point where my eyes open and the corners of my mouth tremble.
I was afraid of that.
In some ways, those eyes might have been more dangerous than opaque things or the countless women who tried to reach out to me.
He loved me, but
No matter how much I thought about it, it wasn’t the love I wanted from a ‘mother’.
So I opened my mouth,
“Still, I – “
“…Do you want to continue exploring the world?”
That’s why I was able to hear a slightly stiff voice.
“It’s not possible, is it?”
With my back slightly supported, I felt the power of her tail pushing me closer and closer to her mother’s body.
Avoiding the eyes of my mother, who held me tighter, as if mocking my body’s ability to avoid being touched,
I ended up being covered in the warmth that was seeping into her body.
It is something that cannot be avoided or prevented,
In the end, I was able to be released only after feeling the touch of my mother, who buried me in her soft chest for a long time.
“…It’s not like it can’t be done.”
Even if you say that, your face…
Oh.
Unexpectedly, it was very bright.
I thought it would be full of regret for letting me go.
As you tidied up my disheveled clothes,
He welcomed me with a lighter voice.
“This is a request from my beloved son, how can I stop it?”
Hide the tail that wrapped around me under my long skirt,
Refining the slightly sharp eyes,
Mom gently stroked my head.
“However, won’t you do this request with your mom?”
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With his darkened eyes fixed on me,
With one hand gently placed on her chest,
Mom gently lifted up the hem of her skirt with one hand, then hid one of her feet behind the other.
He gave me an old-fashioned greeting that I had only seen in books.
As if you were formally introducing yourself.
Just as the characters reveal themselves to the readers for the first time.
“But – “
“You can call me Madame Tutuère like that in front of others.
I won’t use magic. Instead, how about protecting yourself with this shield here?”
With the sound of snapping fingers, a black shield appeared from nowhere,
I wore silver armor over the dress I was wearing,
He patted my head again while wearing gauntlets that looked like something a knight would wear.
“An excellent wizard does not even need a vanguard,
You will definitely still need my teachings.
If he were a vanguard who knew magic, he would definitely be able to suit you much better.
How do you feel?”
“Uh…”
All you wanted to do was hug me,
And where does the mother who was pressing against her chest go?
Now, ‘Madame Tutuère’ was persuading me with her really sturdy appearance.
I place a shield next to me that can completely cover me,
Also, with the same hand that tickled my head, he struck her armor several times,
“More than anything, I know your magic better than anyone else.
Even though I could teach you even greater magic this time –
…You’re not going to say you’ll choose others, are you?”
Gently,
And thickly,
They were pushing me against the wall.
Some bird is covering me with its shadow,
On a street where there are already no people,
As if trying to put that pretty, sharp nose against mine –
The mother who became so close to me.
“Wait a minute, Uhm-“
“This is Madame Tutuère, wizard?”
That smile that lightly wets the lips is so threatening,
I feel like more than just warmth is being put into my body,
I couldn’t hold on, so in the end I had no choice but to nod my head repeatedly.
With my eyes tightly closed.
“Then the contract is concluded.
Please take care of me, Wizard Russell.”
Just a little while ago, I was the mother who gave me goosebumps…
Now, another dignified greeting,
She had become a ‘Madame Tutuère’ who greeted me in neat and tidy clothes.
The question that suddenly comes to mind is… Should I not have accepted it?
The answer to that question is probably no.
“Then shall we go?”
For me, who can’t muster up the courage to shake my head even with those eyes.
Especially for me, who was held in my arms and loved so much.
***
“Well, by the way, Madame Tutuère – “
“It’s okay to call me mom here.
Or, if you want to practice calling by name –
It would be better to say ‘Rosaria.’”
“I’ll just call you hehehe, mom.”
“…Tsk.”
The sound of her clicking her tongue made my body tremble.
Is it because of my mood that the hand that holds the sword that cuts off the tree branches seems to require more strength?
“Anyway, there was something I had to ask you.
Do you think it’s okay to do it now?”
Climbing the mountain was difficult.
My legs were tired from the steep uphill climb, and my body was becoming heavy here and there.
Nevertheless, my mother looked back at me without any signs of distress.
Let out a light breath.
“Why didn’t you show me that magic?”
It blocked the path I wanted to take.
It was the moment I realized that black eyes could look so scary.
“…Magic?”
“A huge tree of fire, full of bright flowers, was bloomed in the middle of the village.
It looks really beautiful.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
As that scene passed before my eyes, the corners of my mouth went up slightly.
“I want to ask why you did that.”
With my smile and colder eyes and voice, my mother completely blocked my path.
The tall stature is so intimidating,
And he never approached me in a threatening way.
It felt like I was facing a huge wall.
It’s also a black, solid iron wall.
“I’m your mother, Russell.
We are family. We love each other.
Why not to me, but to other humans and beastmen?
I wonder if they showed that to me first too.”
Kikigik.
The sound of metal scraping was truly terrible.
I thought I had already heard enough in that endlessly repeating hallway.
Red scales and nails sticking out from the hand that was caressing me were creating scars on the black shield.
“Teaching magic was also
The reason I loved you,
The hug that helped me forget the cold,
For filling your hungry stomach,
Wasn’t it all me?
…Once I found out that I was an evil dragon,
Am I really that scared?
The reason I said I wasn’t scared was,
Was everything you said about loving me a lie?”
Pebbles and dirt clumped together and tumbled down the steep slope.
At the same time, the distance between me and my mother was narrowing.
“Say it, Russell.
Am I burdensome?
Do you hate me?
Huh?
Why didn’t you show me such beautiful magic, why?
A sight so beautiful that it makes all the colors of the magic that I have recited and learned countless times fade away.
Why didn’t you give it to me as a gift?”
And the mother, or Madame Tutuère, wet the ground with her tears.
In the end, he covered his distorted face with both hands,
I was immersed in sadness.
“Ahhhhh, ahhhhh…!”
It was an instant.
That huge shield being driven into the ground,
The body that tightly surrounded me collapsed.
…Body rather than words,
And rather than rejection, I felt pity.
My mother, who was shedding tears,
The dragon that had moved away from the humans was immediately embraced,
And right away, as if soothingly, in her hands-
“Like the warmth of life breaking through the damp ground,
And like the brightness of life that decorates the scent of the spring breeze.”
In a hurry, a flower made of fire bloomed and appeared.
Not as big as a tree,
Although it was not as flashy as the fluttering flower petals.
At least because it closely resembled the unknown flowers I saw while climbing the mountain.
“…Ugh, Ugh…”
“I know this isn’t enough right now, Mom.
But I will make sure to prepare it properly and give it to you as a gift after I come down this mountain.”
She grabbed the elaborately crafted flower of fire and gently handed it to her mother.
Even though I was too embarrassed to get emotional,
It was a mess again.
“About… Promise.”
I wondered what I would do if I didn’t accept it, but
Because there were strong emotions in holding me with both wet hands.
“About – “
“I will. Because I will.”
Accepting the hand that hugged me, I felt a little relieved.
I struggle to support that body that presses its cheek against mine and digs deeper into me,
She reached out her hand and caressed her back, just as she had done for me.
The tears that had been soaking the ground seemed to have stopped quickly.
