Chapter 197 – Episode 197. A Series of Unexpected Encounters (6)
Shrine Melia.
Those who do not know the name will not exist, at least not within humanity.
Usually, those who are called heroes are meant to flavor a generation, but she has occasionally reflected her face in human-elf interactions for centuries.
“Do you two like herbal tea?”
Yes, the person serving the tea in front of me at this moment was the one who wrote that legend.
A person who assisted the hero who existed before Celica, and was recognized for his feat and even elected as a sniper representing the present era.
“Yes, yes. I’ll be grateful.”
“Huh, you’ll definitely be right in your mouth. I made it with lots of love and sincerity~”
A smile that brightens as she accepts the tea she gave her.
Facing the motherly love that emanated from her face, I began to feel her heart warming.
The moment when the impressions I felt when I was hugged by her mother in the past bloomed anew.
“By the way, I never thought I’d see you two here.”
After serving tea to Margaret and I, Melia turned her attention to the other two sitting around the table.
When she met Verdia and Celica, whom she had known as members of a party in the past, her face showed a hint of unreserved pleasure.
“Of course, the two of them also have missions, so they said they were scheduled to enter the Demon King’s territory someday, but I thought that was a few years later. I didn’t even prepare properly because it came so suddenly… Huhu, if you’re coming, shouldn’t you have told me in advance that you would come?”
“I don’t know if you are here, so how can I talk to you?”
“What? Didn’t I tell you when I came here?”
“…Melia.”
“Oh, I guess I forgot to say that I was going back for a while. I’m sorry, I’m sorry~ Now that I’m older, my forgetfulness has gotten pretty bad~”
Verdia stares at Melia with her expression crumpled.
She tried to pass it off as ‘I forgot’ to the situation that she thought was serious because of her disappearance, but even Verdia, who wanted to keep her cool, would not have been able to tolerate it easily.
“By the way, it seems like it hasn’t been long since we broke up, so it’s nice to see you again like this~”
Although the other party was continuing the tumultuous atmosphere by flowing such emotions like water.
“Since we haven’t seen each other, the atmosphere has changed a lot… Ah! Celica, how have you been? Verdia doesn’t keep looking for you these days?”
The moment when such a unique atmosphere was aimed at Celica.
Although what was painted on her face was clearly a favor, Celica did not respond to Melia’s words and only turned her gaze from her seat.
“…What, Celica?”
An apparently distant reaction.
As if that had come as a sense of distance from her former self, Melia began to stare at Celica in puzzlement.
“Why is he suddenly like this? As soon as she saw me the other day, her older sister and younger sister became precocious without seeing her.”
“… Melia.”
“Oh, look at my mind. Being a human tends to grow up pretty quickly, right? Hey, even if it doesn’t seem like much to me, it must have been enough time for you guys to change. As you both know, even though I look pretty young, I’m pretty old, right? Even among elves, even if you join the council, it’s not strange…”
“Your talkative personality seems to be the same, but won’t you spare your words now?”
Verdia struggles to stop the string of words.
Afterwards, as if she noticed her seriousness only after facing her heavy expression, a bitter smile began to be drawn on her Melia’s face.
“… I made a mistake unintentionally.”
Melia, belatedly aware of her actions, calms her excitement. Afterwards, she asked Verdia with a serious attitude.
“Is there a reason she had no choice but to come to the Demon King’s Territory at such an early age? I want to get help from the people here for that.”
Suddenly, her hand is directed at Margaret, who is savoring the tea as she removes her mask.
Verdia nodded her head and expressed her approval of Melia’s words.
“Do you remember the officer you met in the Great Forest Raid?”
“Yeah, I remember. Are you referring to the dreamer who was dumped every time he wooed Mikhail?”
“… Yes, she is that Garbonya who has fought against the previous hero.”
If you were the previous hero, did you mean the hero before Celica?
There’s nothing I can’t understand because I’m old, but maybe it’s because of the years I’ve lived, there seems to be quite a difference in how we perceive each other.
“I see, I lost my mind because I was swayed by Garbonya…”
“Right now, the memories of being with us, as well as his mission as a hero, are all gone. So, I want you to be careful about taking a light approach like before.”
“…Then there’s nothing you can do about it. Living as before can only be postponed until after I get my memories back.”
Melia looks back at Celica with a sad smile. As if she couldn’t overlook that gaze, Celica reached out under her table and began to squeeze the hem of her dress.
She assumed that experiencing the future would free her mind. She seems to be quite wary of Melia.
Maybe it’s because she’s an elf. It would be difficult for her to tell her about the difference she felt without even thinking about it, since her own identity was also discovered by her Heira.
“Then, this time it’s my turn to ask a question…”
Verdia faces Melia again, leaving the silent Celica behind.
“… Melia, as an elf, why did you follow Barmash all the way here?”
As soon as she opened her eyes and asked her question, Melia’s gaze turned to the person sitting at the far end of her table.
To Barmash, who had his arms folded in the position that symbolized the chieftain, and his expression was crumpled as if he was uncomfortable.
“Well, where do we start talking?”
Despite Barmash’s silence, Melia calmly puts her finger on her mouth and is immersed in her thoughts.
The silence was quite long for her talkative personality.
It seems that the elf’s long lifespan also affected the time it took to organize its thoughts.
“Well, Verdia must have come here because she has something to do.
Soon after that silence was broken, Melia smiled brightly and spoke to everyone.
In a very unassuming voice.
“Because Barmash is actually my son.”
A fact that no one here can overlook.
So casually.
“Oh yeah. Son…”
– Clink.
The moment the tea cup in Verdia’s hand fell to the ground.
The contents fell and soiled the floor, but even so, Verdia didn’t pay attention to it and only dyed her complexion pale.
“… What?”
“Did you say Barmash was my son?”
Shrine Melia, who is one of the 10 strongest players on the continent and was appointed as the sniper of the warrior party for the second generation.
Because with her own mouth, she called her own son, her own Orc, who had been promoted to the rank of an executive in her demon lord’s army.
“Is it wrong for the mother to follow her son home to see if he is doing well?”
-Thud!!!
Barmash slammed the table and stood up as if he hadn’t overlooked that nonchalant remark.
The table was overturned in half by his unique strength, and returned to its original state with an additional slam of the palm.
“I can’t seem to understand you no matter how many times I say it, so I’ll tell you one more time.”
No, if you look closely, the table’s legs are half embedded in the floor.
Barmash, who looked so emotional, soon started shouting at Melia.
“I am, your son, no!! My mother has already passed away a long time ago, and you are nothing more than a psychotic deaf man who follows me as she pleases and pretends to be her mother! Do you think you’ve become anything because you gave me the role of a nanny because there’s no one to take care of the kids!?”
“Oh my gosh, what did he say to his mother… Could it be that puberty has arrived? She’s only 20 years old, so why did the rebellion come so soon?”
“Aagh!! Fuck that disgusting way of talking!! Do you know how much the atmosphere is ruined every time you say such things in front of your tribemates!?”
“It’s broken, can’t it? On the contrary, you liked it because other children treated you like sons, too? Rather, they say that Barmash is bored with calling every morning to give a speech…”
“Even if it’s boring, you have to do it for the sake of tribal order and discipline! In order to protect the tribe, you can’t live doing only good things!!”
“Yeah~ Mom understands how Barmash feels~ But working too hard isn’t good, so I think it’s good to take a little break~”
“Damn it, even with wide ears, he became senile and couldn’t understand what he was talking about!”
Emotional like Celica’s time.
However, unlike that time, it did not happen that Barmash’s hand was swung by Melia.
I don’t know if it’s because there’s a reason she can’t bear to hurt her, or if it’s because she really is her mother.
“… Are you really my son?”
Yes, I’m not the only one who accepted the current skirmish with persuasion.
Now, in front of Verdia, who asked with her completely white face, Melia whispered her ears.
“You can tell by looking at it~ Come on, look at this, don’t our ears look exactly the same?”
“Shut up and get out of here right now when you’re done talking nonsense.”
Have you reached the limit of your patience?
Pushing her limp body with her heavy hand, Melia began to resist as she pushed toward her entrance.
“Get out, you say too much to your mother~ Her son is having an important conversation, so you can hear it too, right?”
“The only reason why I fit in with the four years of psychotic play is that there aren’t enough females to raise the kids. If you’re a girl, focus on taking care of the kids like a girl!”
“Ugh, okay. I can’t help it if my son wants it. Then mom will go see the kids, Bar Marsh. You can’t be mean to Verdiana Celica when her mom isn’t looking? Yell like you did to her mom or then…”
-Bang!!!
A door that slams shut.
Afterwards, around the time silence came like a lie inside the meeting room, a sigh of ‘fufu’ erupted from Varmash’s mouth.
A groan of fatigue and remorse, unthinkable to be uttered by a solemn chieftain.
“… It must have been a lot of trouble dealing with Melia after the raid.”
“Don’t talk. Seeing how you called me your son and chasing me was not enough, and you messed up our tribe… Shit.”
As if he didn’t want to say anything more, Barmash sat his tired body back in place.
However, the emotion that was revealed later when I put my hand on my forehead was something that could not be called simple irritation.
Feelings of remorse or regret…
Was it simply because he regretted bringing Melia with him to take care of the group?
“… A descendant, not a son.”
No, according to my guess, what I’m seeing now isn’t for Melia.
About your existence…
It must be close to the conflict over what is commonly referred to as ‘identity’.
“Descendants, I mean… What do you mean?”
“It’s a common story. Orc breeding does not discriminate between races.”
Yes, Orcs basically have excellent fertility, but their lifespan is short.
About 20 years at most.
And Melia said that it was ‘200 to 300 years ago’ that she left the Great Forest freely, and the last time she left the Great Forest was when she joined the warrior party a century ago.
Even if they were recently selected as a warrior party and went back and forth to the human realm, it was not enough time to give birth to Barmash on their own.
I wouldn’t know if the child I gave birth to after having a relationship with an orc when I was active as a warrior’s party has been passed on for generations.
“Wait, that’s… Then…”
Verdia is terrified to grasp the truth, holding her breath.
“… Be quiet man. It’s a matter of no importance to the story going on from now on.”
Barmash cut off Verdia’s astonishment and advised her to remain silent.
Standing in front of Melia, with only her eyes fixed on her table, where she could feel the undisclosed, complicated state of mind.
