After finishing the morning training, Tashian headed to the kitchen to prepare a al, placing at the table and beginning to chop the ingredients on the cutting board. It was all very natural and skillful.
“Um, are you feeling okay?”
“Every ti you see , you ask the sa thing. I can handle household chores just fine, so don’t worry.”
“No, it’s not that… I’m worried if there’s sothing wrong with your body since that ti.”
Even though she didn’t consider it a big deal, I couldn’t help but worry.
Currently, she had completely lost her power as a dragon.
Even before the fight that day ended, she was soone who frequently experienced the risk of her body collapsing due to her inherent power.
Now, considerably weakened, there was no telling if her body might deteriorate at any mont, even with promises made.
“You don’t need to worry about that. In fact, because I have no power left, my body feels much lighter.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, so you don’t have to worry. I’ll be with you for as long as you live.”
During my lifeti, she would watch over and care for as a mother.
This was a sentint she hadn’t fully expressed to the adopted daughter she had taken in the past.
“As long as you live, I will do for you what I couldn’t do for that child. Everything I can as a family…”
“…”
“…Well, there’s not much I can do in this state.”
“Ah, no, I’m thankful for what you’re doing now.”
It was genuine, not pretense.
Although her daughter would not return, I also felt that her remorseful heart was sincere.
“Even so, you’ll continue to do dangerous things, right?”
And from her sincere perspective, what I intended to do also seed unsettling.
“…Do you want to stop ?”
“I want to dissuade you, but it seems inevitable. After all, gaining strength is for the purpose of protecting yourself and those around you.”
Yes, the world now was even more dangerous than in her pri.
It’s natural to want to protect oneself by taking risks in such a world.
So, in her weakened state, rather than stopping , she would choose to help gain the strength to protect myself.
“Coincidentally, I find it hard to adjust to human standards, so it’s difficult for to advise on training or handling spirits, but I can still teach you about equipnt or manage it as much as needed.”
“Equipnt, you say?”
“Having lived so long, I have my own expertise in handling materials.”
Co to think of it, legends about dragons often include details about their obsession with jewels or their collection of special equipnt.
Most of it might be fiction, but given their long life span and their status as the pinnacle of all creatures, there might be no one who can match their skill in handling materials.
Choosing to disguise herself as a craftsman and deciding to create an ego weapon as a ans to fulfill her promise must be closely related to that aspect.
“So if you need to handle equipnt in the future, don’t leave it to others unnecessarily. Make sure to consult with first, alright?”
“Haha, yes. If I need anything done with equipnt, I’ll definitely co to you, Tashian.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really…”
“Hmm~ I don’t quite believe you.”
Tashian turned away from the pot for a mont and stared at .
Her half-closed eyes showed a hint of doubt directed at .
“I respect my son’s opinion, but if you leave it to soone else, Mom will be disappointed.”
“…Have I really been that unreliable?”
“Hmm, maybe I’ll believe you if you just say one thing~”
A aningful smile faintly appeared on her lips.
It was sothing I had seen several tis over the few weeks we had lived together.
“…What do you want to say?”
“Do you love ?”
Ah, I knew it would be this.
Still, I thought it was better than calling her “Mom,” so I endured the embarrassnt and said to her,
“I love you.”
It was still too much for to fully embrace the idea of family.
But I wanted to reciprocate the kindness she had shown .
“Yes, I love you too, my son~”
Tashian responded with a bright smile to my words.
Despite the disparity from our first eting, it didn’t feel awkward because I vaguely understood through Tacchia’s mories that she also had this side.
Before she left, she possessed the sa kindness, which made it impossible not to cling to her existence even more…
“Ahem!!”
Just as I was having those thoughts, a coughing sound ca from behind.
I stiffened and turned around, only to be t with a pair of sharp, glaring eyes.
“Ah, Airi?”
Airi Haven.
Soone even closer to than Tashian, who had beco a part of my family.
“Mr. Hyo-sung.”
And we both knew what feelings we harbored for each other.
Naturally, I was also aware of how she might view the current situation.
“It seems you’ve gotten quite close with Ms. Tashian over the past few weeks.”
“Well, you see…”
I understand mine and Tashian’s circumstances, but to others, we surely look like re strangers, not bound by blood.
Even with rilyn, fights break out constantly, and if Tashian gets involved, wouldn’t that only increase the sense of betrayal?
“Huhu, of course, we’d get close. It’s a mother and son relationship, after all.”
Despite sensing Airi’s gaze, Tashian approached her without hesitation.
Indeed, this kind of friction wasn’t new, but Tashian, unlike Airi, didn’t seem to take their current relationship too emotionally.
It was a natural outco. To her, Airi was also seen as ‘soone to embrace,’ just like .
“Now, I’ll have the al ready soon, so my daughter should sit down and eat too.”
aning, she considered her like another child alongside .
“…Tashian.”
“What’s wrong, my daughter?”
“I get it for Hyo-sung, but since when did I beco your daughter?”
“Well, if you’re with this child, we’re all family, aren’t we?”
Family. The concept that should have left this world long ago, yet still holds her to this life.
Tashian, by accepting , wasn’t limiting her capacity to embrace just alone.
At least for those around , like Airi or rilyn, she sought to consider and embrace them like her own children.
“Excuse , is this Mr. Woo Hyo-sung’s residence?”
Such differences in position causing conflict was a brief concern.
Soon after hearing a voice from the entrance, I quickly made my way there.
Standing at the entrance was a postman active within the empire.
Upon receiving the letter he held and checking its contents, my face instantly hardened.
“…Tashian, Airi. I’ll be out for a bit.”
“Leaving without eating?”
“Yes, a friend’s funeral is today, so I think I’ll have my al there.”
The news was about the death of a ‘labor comrade’ I had been sowhat close to in the past.
Although it had been over a year since we last t, it was only right to attend the funeral given that we had a not-so-bad relationship.
For that reason, after he left, Tashian and Airi, left alone in the kitchen, continued their al while facing each other.
And their relationship was as one-sided as ever—one side feeling tense, while the other observed with a smile.
“How’s the taste? Is the seasoning alright?”
“…Yes, it’s fine.”
“Huhu, that’s a relief. It’s rewarding to have studied the cookbook.”
After all, she had done a lot of cooking half a century ago while raising a child, and had learned various dishes since then, out of lingering attachnt.
Her efforts, filled with sincerity and love, reached Airi, who shared this mont with her.
Even if it couldn’t be said that her feelings were aid at reason, the depth of her emotions seed greater than her own.
“By the way, my daughter, you seem to have been worried recently…”
“…Yes, I’m always thinking about how to make you give up calling your daughter.”
“My, saying that would make Mom sad, wouldn’t it?”
Still, hadn’t she changed too much?
Even though her current appearance was starkly different from before, she still exuded the dignity and grace of a higher being.
And the wisdom naturally acquired from living a long life.
“If you have any concerns, you can always talk to Mom about them. Like about prophecies…”
Airi flinched at her words, her body stiffening.
Watching her reaction, Tashian rested her chin on her hand, smiling contentedly.
“Surely, if you could prophesy normally, you would have predicted that he would go out.”
Indeed, after joining, the fortune teller before her never once perford a prophecy or offered advice in her presence.
Despite the fact that seeing the future was a significant power for a prophet, she often just watched him train quietly or read books in her room.
“It’s understandable that you might lose confidence. Even if you’re not perfect, failing at critical monts could make you feel your ability is useless.”
But how could that be considered her fault or her incompetence?
The appearance of the Red Knight was sothing even she hadn’t anticipated.
It could have led to the extinction of humanity, but clinging to that one event and losing confidence would be too wasteful.
“Don’t be too disheartened. It’s not often that prophecies go wrong… The power you possess now might even be greater than what I had in my pri.”
“…Do you really think so?”
“Of course~ Didn’t you accurately predict what would happen after I changed my mind?”
While the future changes the mont a whim occurs, such altered futures tend to continue unless another variable arises.
Being able to imdiately observe the changed future when a variable occurs ans she could be interpreted as having a higher ability to respond to variables than anyone else in this world.
“So have confidence. If you don’t give up… you’ll surely find a way to make everyone happy, even in this chaotic world.”
With that confidence derived from her years of experience, Tashian firmly held Airi’s hand.
The warmth emanating from her taught that she, in her current state, possessed a thoughtful heart for others.
Having confidence, as she said, she was convinced that it would surely lead to a future where everyone could be happy.
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