They were enemies. The same type as the awful people who had used and abandoned all of them. But…they’d come running in when it really counted and offered help. “Jeez…I will never understand mothers… And what are they wearing?” This took the last of her strength. She grimaced. And then Amante stopped fighting the warmth and comfort of the embrace, and slowly closed her eyes. Meanwhile, the winds had flung Masato’s party…somewhere. “I bet they didn’t mean to do this, but between explaining everything before we ask and accidentally sending us where we want to go, our enemies sure do make themselves useful… There we go.” Wise’s levitation spell gently set the party down… …in front of a massive door with the Libere Rebellion symbol inscribed on it. “This is just like the door to the throne room!” cried Porta. “Same shape and size, exactly!” “So what does that mean?” asked Wise. “What’s this place we just crossed?” “Some mysterious pocket dimension where your sense of direction or distance have no meaning,” replied Medhi. “Right. Anyway, I guess that means this door will take us to Porta’s mom?” They stood outside the door, taking a moment to catch their breath and calm themselves. Masato put his hand on the hilt of his sword…and then released it. “Porta, can you take out that box of cookies?” “Yes! I’ll get them right away!” “Uh, Masato? Seriously? You’re gonna roll in with a box of cookies and introduce yourself?” “Of course, it’s not like we want to fight, but…she may have other ideas. Between the monsters in the castle halls and that weird demon just now, I don’t see this ending peacefully…” “I know. But that’s exactly why I want to play it this way. I mean, Mom made sure we brought these cookies… I just thought that might be important, you know?” “Huh…” “Ohh…?” “Wh-what? Spit it out.” Wise and Medhi looked at Masato, then at the cookies, then at Masato again. The both of them appeared legitimately impressed. “You’re actually doing what Mamako said without complaining!” “I guess you’ve really matured. You’re all grown up now, Masato! Heh-heh-heh.” “Sh-shut up! This isn’t the time! …Come on, let’s do this.” “Yes! Let’s go! One, two…” Porta pushed the doors open. As she did… “Trade-in,” said a voice inside. The box of cookies flew out of Masato’s hands. And a 1 mum coin fell into his empty palm. The box flew across the impeccably decorated room…to the hands of the woman on the throne. “Oh…I meant to swipe the weapon you wield. What is the meaning of this?” “I’d love to ask what you think you’re doing but…for now I’ll just be extremely glad I listened to my mom.” Wise and Medhi had both started to reach for their weapons, but they froze and retracted their hands. Masato glanced at Porta, making sure. Porta nodded. That’s Porta’s mom… No, right now she’s definitely Dark-Mom Deathmother. Armor. Rebellion coat. Haughtily perched on her throne like some sort of demon lord. Chin resting on her hand, looking everywhere but at them. Projecting arrogance in spades. One eye on the monster-head-like shoulder bag floating above Dark-Mom Deathmother, Masato stepped into the throne room. “Hello. We’re Porta’s party—” “Masato, Wise, and Medhi. I appreciate you looking after my daughter.” “Hmm? Oh, so you know about us? And you’re willing to greet us properly.” “I suppose she does think of herself as a mother on some level.” “……!” Wise and Medhi’s responses sent a little ripple of panic through Dark-Mom Deathmother…but she soon recovered and rose to her feet. “Then let us begin.” “Huh? Begin what?” “The battle, of course. You’ve come to defeat me.” “Wait, no, we—” Masato began. “We came because I have something to tell you!” Porta stepped forward, facing Dark-Mom Deathmother down. Like she couldn’t hold it back anymore—the emotions inside her were welling up, filling her eyes. “I love you, Mommy!” “Wh-what’s this, all of a sudden…? Wait, that doesn’t make sense. After all, I—” “Maybe you hate me, but…even if you hate me, I still love you!” “Wait, Porta,” Masato said. He put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think that’s right.” Then he looked up at Dark-Mom Deathmother. “Wh-what?” “We just passed through a space that seemed like it was modeled after the inner workings of your heart. And seeing that, I thought…this woman doesn’t hate Porta at all.” “That doesn’t matter at—” “It’s the only thing that matters. I mean, the entire place was about your daughter.” “Yeah, that’s right! Even the stars were all photos of Porta!” “And every one of those photos was like a brilliant shining light! Like you’d taken the most precious memories you had and decorated your universe with them!” “I don’t know where you think you were, but I’m not listening to your nonsense any longer!” Dark-Mom Deathmother roared. “You are my enemies! We must fight! That’s all there is to it!” And with that, she raised a hand. The mouth of the shoulder bag above her yawned open. Out came a crimson blade, a magic tome bound in chains, a bloody staff, a twisted bottle—a series of gnarly-looking weapons and items, which arranged themselves around the party. “I’m a noncombatant, so your weapons can’t harm me! But the forbidden items arranged around you ignore such restrictions, allow me to attack as much as I want! And I’ll pay a good price for your equipment, so take it out and come at me!” “No, wait. We’re not here to fight you! We’ve got no reason to!” “Oh, but you do! I’m the founder and leader of the Libere Rebellion! The greatest enemy you’ve ever faced! …Isn’t that right, Wise?” “Hey, just because you gave my mom that weird power doesn’t mean I’m holding that against you. That only happened because my mom is very dumb. And the upside of it all was…we got closer than ever before.” “Wha… Th-then, Medhi, what about you? You have all those dark, pent-up emotions! Surely you bear a grudge against me!” “I’m actually rather grateful for what you did. There were certainly some bad things along the way, but in the end, I got to let it all out. And I finally have a good relationship with my mother.” “Spare me the honor-roll answer! Tell me how you really feel!” “I just did! …Although if I were to make one complaint…it’s that you think I’m the type that would hold a grudge in the first place.” “Uh, you totally are, though… Whoops.” Medhi’s smile never wavered. Still, she swung her staff sideways, and Masato dodged—“Gah!”—but it was a feint. The kick she aimed at his shin hit home. Masato took damage! “Then Masato! I ask you, the hero! Those girls are not the only victims! Many other parents and children suffered at my hands! I brought chaos to the world! You must…!” Sharp weapons clustered around Masato, as if challenging him to a fight. Masato didn’t even look at them. “I ain’t the kinda hero that beats the demon lord and saves the world, so I don’t really care.” He started walking forward. “You don’t care…?!” “Yeah, maybe this won’t work. But that’s okay. Doling out punishment is for the people who handle that stuff, like management or whoever. I’m just a normal hero, so… No, I’m me, and I’m here to settle the issue I care about.” “What…?” “You’re Porta’s mother. How do you really feel about your daughter? Tell me that much. And be honest.” Porta stood next to him, looking very serious. Wise and Medhi followed; clearly, none of them were willing to back down. Dark-Mom Deathmother refused to meet their gazes. “…Fine. I’ll tell you. This is how I feel.” She took a dark jewel out of her pocket and chanted: “Monster Creation: Armed Ashura!” The dangerous weapons surrounding the party were joined by a flood of shields and armor that came pouring out of the shoulder bag. Both the arms and the armaments clustered around Dark-Mom Deathmother. The bits of armor came apart, forming a narrow torso and six floating arms. Multiple shields formed the backs of the hands, and the fingers were blades and staves. The palms were covered in magical tomes. A giant Armed Ashura made entirely of weapons loomed over them. “Damn! She’s hell-bent on a fight! …Porta, get to safety!” “R-right…I’ll go hide!” “You won’t tell us how you really feel, huh?” Wise grumbled. “Instead you’re gonna hole up and clamp your lips shut! That sure reminds me of someone we know!” “I don’t know who you could possibly mean,” Medhi said. “…Anyway, here she comes!” Six arms swung wildly, sharp points on a collision course with the party. “Don’t you dare! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Barriera!” Medhi’s defensive spell activated. A sturdy dome enveloped them. And a single poke from a finger easily pierced it, shattering the barrier. “Wow… With just one hit…?!” “Dodge! Now!” From above and all sides, six sword-fingered hands were slicing toward them. Seeing Medhi stunned, Masato grabbed her, flinging himself sideways in the nick of time. “Th-thanks! You saved me! This only sort of counts as sexual harassment!” “I kept my hands in the safe zones, okay? Jeez, you can’t just say thanks, can you?” “You both need to quit goofing off!” Wise lightly kicked Masato and Medhi out of the way and opened her tome. “This is just a cluster of weapons and armor! All we’ve gotta do is blow ’em apart! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Bomba! Sfera! And! Alto Bomba! Sfera!” She chain cast, and two massive energy balls pulsing with explosive power let out a thunderous roar, spiraling toward their target… And the target’s hand spun, turning the back of the hand toward the spells. When the spells hit that wall of shields, they didn’t explode—instead, they vanished. They were absorbed completely. “……Uh, really?” “They can absorb magic? Then I guess I’ll have to handle this! Flying enemies are miiiine!” Masato attacked! Aiming at the same one Wise had, he swung Firmamento, the Holy Sword of the Heavens! A massive shockwave rocketed forward… And another arm shot between him and his target, catching the shockwave on its set of shields. Masato’s attack, too, was absorbed without causing any harm. “Uhhhh…it can absorb physical attacks, too?” “Absorbing all attacks is just absurdly hopeless… Argh!” A hand came in to attack, and Medhi deflected it. A full swing of her staff, a powerful blow to the back of the hand…that didn’t even make a sound. The impact was completely nullified. “I’m afraid this is that worst-case scenario! All attacks are pointless!” “But we can’t not attack it! If we do nothing, they’ll just hammer us!” “Damn it! What do we do?!” Each of the six arms was attacking wildly, constantly changing up the direction of its swing. The party responded with shockwaves, fire and wind spells, bash damage, and instant death magic, but it was all taken in harmlessly… And then they found themselves surrounded. The arms were spaced evenly, sixty degrees apart, palms facing inward. “…Uh, this looks real bad.” “I agree. If they’ve been absorbing all our attacks and charging one of their own…” “If it sucks in enough energy, then everything goes boom? I really hope that’s not true…” Each of the magic tomes forming the six palms was glowing. A magic circle with a six-pointed star embedded in it appeared around them. It was happening. “Argh, gimme a goddamn break! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Barriera! And! Alto Barriera!” “Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Barriera!” “Hang in there, left arm!” Three layers of magic barrier and Masato’s shield wall. Just as they hit their full defensive potential… The interior of the magic circle turned white. Energy fired from each of the six hands stacked, and the pressure and vibrations rocked the party. All four barriers collapsed. They heard Porta scream. The impact was like all their senses shattering…and then they dropped to the floor, like puppets whose strings had been cut. “Ugh…damn…hey, Wise, Medhi…are you alive…?” “…Not…sure. I might be…dead…” “I-I’ll heal us up… Spara la magia…per mirare… Alto…Cura…” Forcing their aching bodies upright, they raised their weapons once more. The magic circle dispersed; the six arms were flying all over the place again, like they were waiting for the party to attack. “Thanks, Medhi. You really saved us.” “It’s not often I really get to act like a healer, but I can’t say I’m all that happy about it.” “You know things are bad when the healer’s laid out flat, too. Damn. So…Masato? Any ideas?” “Uhh…we really gotta do something about these shields, but…” “Yeah…y’know, it ain’t like all six sets can absorb all types of attacks.” “I noticed that. When Masato tried to attack the one that absorbed my spell, another one came in to defend it. Which means…” “If we can figure out which one can’t absorb the attack, and hit it with the right kind of damage…but how do we tell them apart?” The six arms looked exactly the same. There was no obvious difference in the weapons and armor they were made of—colors, shapes, and positioning were all functionally identical. Only way to find out is to attack… Well aware this would only charge the enemy’s next attack, Masato decided to start with the nearest arm… “Wait!” Porta cried. “That one absorbs physical damage! Those shields are weak to magic!” Masato cut the attack off, but kept his sword pointed at the target. “Wise! Hit that one! Don’t miss!” “Okay, I got this! Finally! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Bomba Sfera!” A magical energy blast shot toward the arm Masato had targeted. Another arm tried to step in. “Nope!” Medhi jumped in front of it, knocking it aside with her staff. Wise’s spell hit the target. There was a huge explosion. The armor and weapons remained intact but scattered everywhere. Medhi had been right next to the explosions and one of the shields smacked her in the head, “Ow!” but the damage was minimal. It did leave a bump, though. “Wise, did you do that deliberately…?” she growled. “No, no, no, no! I’m not that competent!” “Either way, nice teamwork! And the MVP is…” Masato spun around and looked straight to where Porta was hiding, by the big door. “Masato! Should I…?” “Of course! You’re the key to this whole fight, Porta! …We’ll take care of these arm things, and then make your mom tell us how she feels!” “Okay! I’ll do my best! I’m going to really really try extra hard so Mommy will tell me her feelings!” “Yeah! That’s the spirit! You’re in charge here!” They were fighting clusters of armor and weapons. Porta’s Appraise skill could easily tell what traits each had. Five arms left. They were circling the party rapidly, as if fearing appraisal. “Tch…they’re fast… We need to slow them down somehow…” “Leave it to me! I can stop them!” “Y-you can…?” Porta pulled a bottle out of her shoulder bag, then unhooked Piita and poured the glittering fluid into Piita’s mouth. The doll immediately started getting larger. Once it had reached full size, Pretty Prodigious Piita toppled toward the circling arms. Two arms failed to get away in time and were both pinned down with the shield side exposed. “Nice! Then I’ll attack…” “Wait! They’ll both absorb your shockwaves!” “Huh? Oh, then, uh…go ahead…” “The one under Piita’s face is weak to water and ice! The one under Piita’s belly is weak to bash damage!” “Got it! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Ghiaccio Grumo!” “I’ll take the other one! Rah!” A massive hailstone appeared above the party and fell toward the shields that were weak to ice, crushing them. Meanwhile, Medhi’s staff bashed the other hand to pieces. Both arms under Piita were demolished. “R-right! Three left! Halfway there! I’ll handle the—” “Wise, the two near you are both weak to fire! Medhi, the one near you has no resistance to death spells!” “Fire?! I’ll take them both down! …Spara la magia per mirare… Forte Fiamma! And! Forte Fiamma!” “I’ll send you to meet your maker! …Spara la magia per mirare… Morte!” “Uh, hey…” Two of the remaining arms were enveloped in searing flames, crashed to the ground, and were gone. The last one gave the reaper a bit of a chase, but finally fell apart in the air. All six arms were defeated! “You’re too good, Porta! Perfect instructions! You made it so easy!” “And the way you enlarged Piita to trap those two was really clever. Porta, I think you might be a good fit for shot caller.” “Th-thanks… Eh-heh-heh…” Porta looked embarrassed. It was adorable. She shrank Piita back down and hooked it on her bag again. Porta’s smile sure was cute, but… “…Mm, fine, whatever.” …Masato had trouble seeing her through his tears. He’d done so little, he might as well not have been there, but…at least the battle was over. “…Huh? Whoa!” yelped Porta. “Careful! It looks like we’re not done yet!” The armor and weapons around them started clattering. One by one they rose into the air, clustering together again. “Hey! Masato…no, great leader Porta!” “Masa—I mean, Porta! What’s going on here?” “Okay, you both did that deliberately… But I’ll have to gripe about that later, huh?” “Um, um…” Porta said, peering close. “Oh! I think that’s the cause!” She pointed at the chest made of bits of armor. There was a dark light shining through the gaps. “So the dark jewel is the core, and moving the whole shebang? In that case…” “Porta—just kidding, Masato!” “Porta! Ha-ha, no, Masato!” “Masato! This one’s yours!” “Yeah, yeah, everyone loves Port—wait, me?! Now?!” He couldn’t even see the jewel itself. The gaps in the armor weren’t even wide enough for a sword to enter—but he had to get an attack in through them somehow. “C’mon, Masato! Show us what you can do! …Spara la magia per mirare… Colpire! And! Colpire!” “We believe in you! …Spara la magia per mirare… Colpire!” “You’re just thrilled to foist this problem off on me, huh?” Wise and Medhi tacked on the pressure along with a spell that buffed his accuracy. Masato raised his sword. Porta’s face was right next to him, beaming with trust. I know! I’ve gotta do this. Faith can move mountains. And this mountain had plenty of holes. He was facing a mother hiding the emotions she needed to express to her child who needed to hear them. “Sorry, I’m gonna be a little blunt. Porta’s asking for love with all the purity and sincerity you could ever hope for. How can you not respond?! Get the hell out of there and talk! You’re her freakin’ mom!” He put his back into a mighty swing and fired the narrowest, sharpest shockwave he could. It shot directly into the chest of the Armed Ashura. It had been trying to regenerate its arms, but instead…it fell limply to the ground, its torso armor scattering. And standing below the shattered fragments of the dark jewel was Dark-Mom Deathmother. She stared at her feet, looking utterly spent. When Dark-Mom Deathmother said nothing, the party was left exchanging glances. The only answer they found was to move close enough for her to see, confronting her face-to-face. “Porta, let’s go.” “Okay!” Masato took Porta’s hand. Wise and Medhi followed right behind. “Tell her how you feel. Your honest emotions. What do you really think of Porta?” The hovering weapons and armor all came rushing toward them. But the moment before they hit, they changed directions, just barely missing. She really isn’t the kind of person who can hurt someone… He was sure Dark-Mom Deathmother was actually nice. Then her eyes stopped avoiding them. They shifted, locking on to her daughter. There was no trace of hatred in those eyes. I knew she didn’t hate her. There must be a reason why she acts so distant. If they could just do something about that, then Masato was sure Porta and her mother could make things work. Which was why they had to press the point, even without knowing the reason. “Stop it! This is all too painful!” The words erupted out of her. Dark-Mom Deathmother covered her face with both hands, sinking to her knees. “My honest emotions?! What do I think of my daughter? That’s…obvious…!” Her eyes turned to the ceiling. “I love her! I love her more than anything!!” A cry from the heart. The words they’d wanted to hear, but the pain behind them froze everyone in their tracks. “Mommy…you love me…?” “If you love her, then…” “But I can never tell her that! I can never show that! There so much I want to do for her, so much time I want to spend with her, but I can’t! Not ever!” “Wh-whoa, calm down here…” “I don’t have the time! I’m too busy! Work work work work! I have to work to live so that my daughter never wants for anything! Part-time, contract work, salaried…I worked my ass off climbing the ranks! And each step left me with even less time! I couldn’t do anything about it!” “Please, settle down! Relax!” “And now this?! A game where you get to adventure with your mother?! Where you get to fix problems in parent-child relationships? When all they need to do is spend some time together?! It’s insane! And I’m too busy managing these people’s problems to see my own daughter today, tomorrow, or any other day! …Why can’t these people understand that just being together is all it takes to be happy?!” Dark-Mom Deathmother hung her head, then stood up. “That’s why…at first, I was just lashing out. I was jealous of the other parents. I was frustrated… Depressed… I just wanted to destroy everything. But my plans failed. As much as I hated myself for it, I just wanted to take all these other moms down with me, make a world where it was only natural not to have your mom around, one where children could happily live on their own… But Mamako and those other mothers ruined that, too. I can’t do anything right! I’m a total failure! So go ahead, heroes. End me!” “Like I said, we’re not here for that!” “No, you must! Useless mothers like me should be eliminated.” “We can’t do that! You’re Porta’s mom!” “And you do still care about her! You’re not someone who needs to be defeated. Get it together, for her sake!” “My daughter will be fine. She’s got you three. You’re better parents than I ever was. You’ve done far more for her than I ever did. She’s better off without a hopeless failure like me. Yes. She should live as far away from me as she can.” “Is that why you were so hostile? Always pushing her away? Even though you adore her? Jeez. What a mess. There are so many other things you could have done!” “Maybe so. But I couldn’t think of any. I didn’t have time to think! All I ever had was the bare minimum of maternal feelings…and the fear that my daughter would be ruined if someone like me raised her. That’s why…” A sad smile played across Dark-Mom Deathmother’s lips, and then a small bottle containing a dangerous-looking liquid flew to her hand. “…I leave my beloved daughter to her wonderful party…and this foolish mother takes her leave. Look after her for me.” “No! Mommy!” But even with Porta’s eyes staring up at her, Dark-Mom Deathmother downed the bottle. A trail of blood ran down her lips, and her body crumpled to the ground “W-wait… What did she just drink?!” “Poison! W-we have to get her an antidote! Mommy! Mommy!!” Porta frantically pulled out a medicine bottle and tried to run to her. But the floating weapons and armor blocked her path. “Let me through! Ow!” When Porta tried to push past, a cut opened on her hand. Normally, even if a noncombatant like Porta were attacked, nothing could harm her—but these were all forbidden items. Porta kept pushing forward, and the weapons just kept cutting her. “Porta! Don’t! We’ll open the way! Wise, Medhi, come on!” “Obviously… Yikes! Hold up!” The moment Wise opened her tome, a chain-wrapped tome flew out. Its pages opened, and a magic energy bomb shot out. “That’s Bomba Sfera…!” It hit Wise hard, blowing her away. “It insta-cast the moment it opened?! How is that fair?! …Medhi! Cure Wise!” “S-sorry…I’m in a bit of trouble myself… Argh!” The bloodstained staff was floating over Medhi’s head, raining curses down on her. Bind effects were appearing all over her body as she was struggling to free herself, already on her knees. “Seriously? Another super dangerous weapon? Hang on—I’ll knock it down!” “No, wait! Masato! Careful…above you…” “Huh?” He looked up just in time to see the crimson blade slicing down right toward his head. “Gah!” He managed to raise his Holy Sword in time to catch it, but it was a heavy blow. Masato was now pinned to the spot, too. “It’s too much! I can’t afford to get stuck here! I need to do something soon, or…” Dark-Mom Deathmother was writhing around in pain, but her movements were quickly growing feeble. Porta had the antidote, but the flurry of weapons and armor was pushing her back, not letting her get close. Wise was hit with another spell, sinking into a cloud of smoke. Medhi was too tightly bound to move at all. “We gotta do something… Damn it… If only Mom were here!” Masato cried. The only thing he could do was think of the person he trusted most. But then… “And that’s our cue! Start the music! Go, MOM-3!” “……Huh?” Shirase-P had popped her face out from behind the giant door behind them. She flipped the switch on the digital phonograph and an up-tempo pop song blared. A total mismatch for the present situation. “Being strict is an expression of love! With my daughter close by my side, together we’ll strive for greater heights! I’m Mom Idol Number Three—Medhi’s mother, Medhimama!” “Neither of us are honest with our feelings! You gotta problem with me, spit it out! Family squabbles are my thing! I’m Mom Idol Number Two—Genya’s mama, Kazuno!” “My love is boundless! I love you sooo much, Ma-kun! Let me give you a biiig hug! I’m Mom Idol Number One—Ma-kun’s mommy, Mamako! Hee-hee-hee!” All together now! “““The all-mom idol group MOM-3 is here!””” They nailed their group pose! Their real moms, wearing idol costumes, striking an idol pose! “““…Blergh…””” The effects of the sudden mom arrival skill, A Mother’s Visit, made Masato, Wise, and Medhi’s eyes roll up in their heads, and collapse in a shower of blood. But then another mom idol skill activated! “Let’s begin the Pat Pat Event!” “Ahem. The mom idols will now be dispensing free head pats to anyone with a Pat Pat Ticket. Anyone who wants a ticket, please line up! Quantities are limited, so do hurry.” Exactly like those Handshake Events that let you shake an idol’s hand—only with head pats. In response to this call, the weapons stopped menacing Masato and the girls, no longer blocking Porta’s path. Instead, they flocked over to Shirase-P, fighting one another. Their path was open! “Porta, go! Hurry!” “Y-yes! …Mommy!!” Clutching the antidote, she ran to Dark-Mom Deathmother’s side. When Porta’s mother’s eyes fluttered open, she saw Mamako smiling. “…I knew you’d do it… You always show up, show off what happy families are like, and put a stop to all my plans… What a family…” “We’re a normal hero, and a normal hero’s mother. Hee-hee-hee.” “Nothing normal about you… Ugh…fine. Losing so thoroughly actually makes me feel a little better. All that envy and frustration…I’m just past caring.” “I don’t think being a family is about winning or losing. But if you’re feeling better, I’m glad. Can you sit up?” Mamako put an arm around her back and got Dark-Mom Deathmother upright. There was a noise nearby, and she turned to look…and saw Kazuno and Medhimama stuffing weapons and armor into Dark-Mom Deathmother’s shoulder bag. When they were done, they pulled the drawstring tight. Porta was in front of her. On her knees, covered in cuts, trying very hard not to hug her but reaching the end of her endurance and leaning closer. Avoiding Porta’s eyes, Dark-Mom Deathmother hung her head. “Why did you save me…? After all I’ve done, you must hate me.” “I don’t hate you! I love you, Mommy!” “Don’t be silly. Why would you? I’ve never done anything for you… Quite the opposite. I’ve pushed you away at every turn.” “I don’t care! You said you love me, Mommy! That’s all that matters!” “It is…?” “Oh, for cryin’ out loud! You both love each other, so what else could possibly matter?!” “There’s nothing more pointless than searching for concrete reasons for loving someone.” Done cleaning up, Kazuno and Medhimama came toward them, shaking their heads. Mamako smiled, and then gave Dark-Mom Deathmother a pat on the back. “Deathmother…no, Ms. Hotta. You’re a very dedicated woman. And I think you treated your child less as a mother than as a grown-up, as a hardworking member of society.” “Meaning…?” “Y’know, like a sense of duty, a fair trade, that sort of thing,” said Kazuno. “You certainly never expected anything unconditional,” added Medhimama. “You’ve been so heavily involved in what lies between parent and child, between those two opposing forces, that your own parental nature remained stunted.” “Stunted? Then…what was I supposed to…? How can I accept my child’s feelings the way a parent would?” “That mindset is already a mistake.” “Looks like we have a long way ahead of us.” “We’d better start training now!” Mamako said, flexing her arm. Then she smiled. “Children grow up even without their parents, but parents can’t grow without their children. So we’ll have Porta raise her! …Are you ready, Porta?” “I am! I’ll raise my mommy!” “Huh…?” Her beloved mommy was still hesitant, but Porta just dove on in. Then she pulled four items from her shoulder bag—the misshapen knitted pieces. “I found these inside your heart! Do you recognize them, Mommy?” “Y-yes…those are the parts of the knitted doll I made. Since I couldn’t accompany you inside the game, I wanted you to have something besides the safety alarm, so I tried making this…but I just didn’t have time to finish it, so the pieces were in my desk drawer. But why are they here?” “I don’t know! But in that case, then I know what to do! …I’m going to ask you to finish this and give it to me as a present!” “W-wait—if you want a present, I can buy you something much better! I’m not so good at this sort of thing… I know it’s not going to turn out well…” “I don’t want anything else! This is what I want! If you make this and give it to me, I’ll love you even more!” “…Is that how it works?” “It is! Please!” “O-okay. Then…” She no longer seemed like a demon lord. Dark-Mom Deathmother was gone. Saori Hotta’s face was that of a mother doting on her beloved child. She took the knitted pieces. And her gaze turned directly to Porta. “Before I make this, can I ask you for something?” “Sure! What is it?” “You can say no if you want. But…can I give you a really big hug?” “Of course!” Porta threw herself into her mother’s arms, looking utterly content. Saori caught her and looked down at the child in her arms as if her life was now complete. Mamako was tearing up a bit, and Kazuno and Medhimama stood by her side. Everyone smiled. And a little farther behind them… “Well, the damages were significant, but all’s well that ends well,” Shirase-P said, glancing only briefly at the children lying unconscious on the ground nearby.
Chapter 158
27 min read