I couldn’t find the words to respond.
Rearwin hurriedly wiped her tears and smiled.
“Oh my, what am I even saying to soone who isn’t interested in tty? I’m sorry about that. But I wasn’t joking—I just wanted you to know that I could be your mother or even your mother-in-law, whatever it takes to stay close to you.”
“….”
“It’s silly, isn’t it? It’s just that the thought of parting with you is too hard for to bear. But Centi, even if we go through with the disownnt, we’ll still see each other, won’t we?”
“Yes. Of course.”
I nodded twice.
I wasn’t sure if we’d truly et again, but knowing how much this ant to her, I couldn’t bring myself to cut ties completely.
Thankfully, Rearwin’s expression brightened a little.
“That’s a relief. Would it be alright if I helped set up a place for you to stay? I can hire capable staff to make sure you have everything you need.”
“No, it’s okay. Staying in the dormitory is more than enough for . Besides, I plan to spend my weekends focused on training anyway.”
“…I see.”
Her gaze turned somber again, likely because I had refused her offer of kindness once more.
Now, all that was left was to say goodbye.
That realization made my heart feel like it was crumbling.
“Take care, Centi.”
Rearwin pulled into an embrace.
As I hesitated, I slowly raised my hands and wrapped them around her waist.
This much should be fine.
Even though I didn’t deserve her love, I wanted to feel her warmth a little longer, especially since this seed like it would be the last ti.
“Thank you for everything, Mother.”
***
Only traces of the embrace on the secluded forest path remained.
I buried myself in training, unaware of how ti passed.
Still, flashes of Rearwin and teor’s faces occasionally appeared in my mind.
Not thinking of them would have been stranger.
…Because I missed them so much.
Rearwin must have felt hurt.
I had rejected all her kindness and asked to be disowned.
Yet, if she ever discovered my true identity in the future, she would understand why I had to be so resolute.
Sigh. It’s so depressing.
Now I was truly alone.
Still, I tried not to let the sadness take hold. This was just going back to how things were before, after all.
Several days passed, and the weekend finally arrived.
From early morning, there was an endless procession of carriages carrying knights returning to their families.
Watching from the Order’s building, I eventually turned away. I thought about heading to train but instead retreated to my dorm room.
Training in the nearly empty Order didn’t feel appealing.
But I couldn’t just waste ti like this, could I?
I sprang up.
If staying at the Order was unsettling, I could train sowhere else.
Determined, I packed my things and used a teleportation ticket.
Soon, I arrived at a familiar lakeside.
I had rembered this spot because of its beautiful scenery during my last visit.
If the Duke of Dinsions hadn’t abducted , I could’ve enjoyed the morning view here too.
It was even better in daylight.
The lake’s surface shimred like transparent glass.
Sitting down to watch, I felt my restless thoughts gradually dissipate.
It’s beautiful.
As I got lost in the jewel-like sparkle of the ripples, a thought struck .
Ah, I need to set up camp. I don’t have a ho anymore, so camping it is.
From my inventory, I pulled out a tent, a pillow, and so blankets.
The tent, provided by the Order, was sothing I had set up so many tis during outdoor training that I could do it with my eyes closed.
In no ti, I had it pitched. Then, I laid out my sword and other weapons.
Since I’d been using my sword exclusively, I wondered which weapon to train with today.
Pinkie, or maybe Grace….
Sigh.
I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
Pinkie was the Pluto household’s treasured weapon, and Grace was a gift from that bastard Cyrillote.
I didn’t want to use either of them.
They only made my heart ache.
Forget it.
I shoved both Pinkie and Grace back into my inventory.
The motivation to train had completely vanished.
I flopped onto the grass.
The blue sky above was scattered with white clouds, drifting leisurely as if they had no cares.
"If you ever develop feelings for tty, could you let know?"
"If I can’t be your mother, I’d at least like to be your mother-in-law…."
Rearwin’s words floated through my mind, dissolving like the clouds above.
"Argh! My ears! They feel like they’re rotting! Agh!"
"Haha! Hahaha! Hahahaha! I love you, Crescent!"
The voices of the Demon King and my father drifted away with the wind.
"Co find if you ever want to lay the stars beneath your feet."
The clouds seed to carry away all my thoughts.
Before I knew it, my eyes closed.
"If you ever develop feelings for tty, could you let know?"
The words I thought had disappeared resurfaced.
Why had they co back?
“Crescent.”
It had nothing to do with .
“Wake up, Crescent.”
Now I was hearing things.
Groggily, I opened my eyes. The surroundings were bathed in pink hues of the sunset.
Huh?
Wasn’t it bright midday just monts ago?
As I sat up, confused, a voice broke the silence.
“You’re finally awake.”
A faint click of the tongue followed.
Turning toward the voice, I saw silver hair reflecting the fading sunlight. The pink of the sunset glided over each strand, making it shimr.
His perfect features caught the light, his sharp nose gleaming like a sculpture.
For a mont, I was srized.
“Crescent.”
“…Huh? Huh?”
It wasn’t a hallucination?
He approached , holding my rolled-up tent in one arm.
“Get up. We have sowhere to go.”
“teor?”
“Yes.”
teor sighed lightly as his emotionless gaze fell on .
No matter how many tis I saw that expression, I couldn’t get used to it.
Awkwardly, I pushed myself off the ground.
“Wait, did you co looking for ? How did you know I was here?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Just camping.”
“Camping?”
“Yes, you know, spending ti outdoors.”
“….”
Does he not know what camping is?
It seed like he didn’t.
“Co on. I’ve packed your things.”
I glanced at where my tent had been, and sure enough, it was gone.
Apparently, the tent he was holding was mine.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Hmm.
So he wasn’t planning to tell .
I reluctantly followed him, figuring I’d find out soon enough.
After walking for a while, a white horse ca into view. teor loaded my belongings onto its saddle.
It must have been his horse.
It’d be easier to store that in my inventory.
Debating for a mont, I walked over, unpacked the tent, and stored it back in my inventory.
teor looked puzzled, but I ignored him.
“What was that?”
He finally broke the silence, his eyes showing the faintest glimr of emotion for the first ti.
He’s probably never seen anything like it before.
Taking a breath, I exhaled slowly, almost like a sigh.
“I figured there’s no point hiding it anymore. I stored it in my inventory. Think of it as an invisible personal storage space.”
“Inventory?”
teor furrowed his brows slightly.
Yeah, that’s probably incomprehensible to him.
“It’s a thod I have to keep things out of sight. I can take them out whenever I need, or store them like I just did.”
“….”
He stared at silently, his expression more curious than surprised.
“Is that so kind of demonic power?”
“No. I’m not a demon, so I don’t have any demonic powers. It’s an ability I gained after receiving holy power.”
It wasn’t a lie.
The system had granted the ability when I gained my holy powers.
“A secondary ability, then. Makes sense, considering you can also understand monsters and animals.”
Satisfied with his explanation, teor turned away without further comnt.
He mounted the horse and extended a hand toward .
“Get on.”
“Huh?”
Oh, right. There was only one horse.
Wait… does that an we’re riding together?
My lips parted in surprise.
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