I decided to take Kouki to the library for the first time today. He was a bright child, so I knew he’d have no problem being in such a quiet place.
I walked carefully through the streets while carrying Kouki. Back when I was a child, there were still gasoline-powered cars on the road, but now they were all autonomous cars running on electrical power. The chance of a traffic accident was virtually zero. Obviously, leaping out into the road was a different story, but my child wouldn’t do something so foolish.
We entered the library, and I had Kouki sit on a chair while I went to choose a picture book.
I’m curious what kind of animals he likes? I wondered. When he saw Japanese wolves at the zoo, he got really excited as if they were a rare animal. Maybe I should find a story with wolves in it?
While I was thinking it over, thirty minutes passed before I knew it. I hurried back to the chair where Kouki should have been sitting, but he wasn’t there. I began to panic.
“It’s okay,” I told myself out loud. “He can’t get outside without my identification chip.”
Rationally, I knew this was true, but if I hadn’t said it out loud to myself, I’d have been overcome with worry. I looked up Kouki’s whereabouts using the personal terminal in the wristwatch that I always wore, and “F-2” appeared on the display.
That place is full of nothing but old books on paper media. Hardly anyone goes there... What if there’s a pervert?!
I ran to where Kouki was, and soon found him. For some reason, the boy was covered in dust and reading a book on the architecture of fortresses with a serious look on his face. There was no way he could have understood it. He was probably just interested in a castle that happened to catch his eye.
I immediately began scolding him for running off just to hide how worried I’d been.
Kouki appeared to become very thoughtful and then apologized while looking as though he was about to cry. “Maa, sowwy.”
In truth, the boy had done nothing wrong. I was the one who’d been at fault for leaving a small child alone for such a long time like that. Yet I’d scolded Kouki, who was just reading quietly in the library. The boy was probably clever enough to realize this, but had simply apologized. He understood my feelings well enough. For that reason, I simply stroked his head without speaking. I wonder if I’m smiling convincingly right now?
When I looked at Kouki, he wouldn’t meet my eye. I understood why: His mother had gotten angry at him, even though he’d done nothing wrong. It’s only natural that he’d feel a little nervous.
Feeling regretful, I headed to the counter together with the book that Kouki had been interested in. It was the least I could do to make it up to him.
One day, after having regretted my past behavior, I was about to carry Kouki into the next room so he could take a nap. That was when I noticed the paper beside him. I’d noticed that he had been intently writing things in his sketchbook.
But... this is...
I understood what it was. And I knew that if it was correct, something unbelievable had happened.
This is... an equation proving quantum mechanics.
Without thinking, I grabbed Kouki and began questioning him.
“What is this? Did you think of this yourself? Did someone teach you? Was it written in a book? Did you see it on TV?”
Kouki began to cry as if afraid. I’d done it again. Kouki had done nothing wrong, and yet I was interrogating him in a harsh tone. I didn’t know what to do.
Kouki wouldn’t stop crying. I suddenly became afraid that this time, he would begin to hate me completely. However, as I entered a state of shock, Kouki suddenly clung to me. Kouki buried his face against my chest, and I recovered my state of mind before gently asking Kouki once again where he had learned this equation. It took all of my strength to stop myself from succumbing to panic again.
He answered my question while crying. “Mee, I wote!”
He was saying that he’d written it. My little boy had discovered the equation that scientists all over the world were frantically searching for.
Before I’d married Shuuichi, I had studied quantum mechanics in a university laboratory. For that reason, I’d been able to understand the boy’s equation. How could this little boy have discovered the equation? It couldn’t just be by chance. The equation wasn’t a solution that could be reached just by chance. If this was published, Kouki would no doubt become famous. But would it really end there? To have solved such a difficult problem at such a young age, it was as if he were a demon...
As the thought occurred to me, I was reminded of the moment following Kouki’s birth. I remembered those eyes.
Can this child really be a normal child? As the thought struck me, my heart was filled with terror for an instant. However, I remembered the promise I’d made back then.
Even if the entire world rejects Kouki, I’ll always protect him.
That’s right. I’m his mother. Even if the boy is a demon, I don’t care. Kouki is still my one and only son.
From there, I acted quickly. I wrote a thesis and published Kouki’s equation as if I had formulated it myself so that it wouldn’t matter if his equation was seen by others.
Someday, when the boy becomes an adult, he might be angry that I stole his great work for my own. When the time comes, I’ll give him a straightforward apology and tell him I envied my own son. I’ll apologize for being a terrible mother. I’ll apologize from the heart. Even if that’s what it takes, I will protect Kouki.
“If the boy really is a demon... I’ll just have to become a demon lord.”