1.
Time passed once again.
It had been a month since picking up the child called Luna.
Mother’s impression after observing Luna, like the other children, could be summarized in one sentence.
A foolish child.
“Mom!”
“…Luna.”
As if she had never once been loved since birth, the child would come close and rub her cheek against Mother just for providing water, food, and bedding.
“I told you not to wander around recklessly. You may not like it, but go back inside.”
“Oh! Right, right.”
“…?”
Creaaak.
Clank.
“Now it’s okay, right?”
“…Yes.”
A naïve child who would absolutely follow whatever she was told.
Unlike the other children, who only cried incessantly, Luna was always bright.
Perhaps that was why?
“Mom! Want to eat this?”
“That’s a bug.”
“Yeah! It’s crispy and tasty! Ah, but don’t tell the others…! I’m giving this to you because you’re my mom…!!”
“…I’m fine.”
“Ah! Then I’ll eat it!”
Whenever she was with Luna, Mother felt as if the last strand of goodness she had desperately held onto became a little clearer.
It was not just a feeling—Mother’s actions gradually changed as well.
“Tell the children. No matter what, they must not cry at tomorrow’s auction.”
“Okay!”
“…No, I will tell them myself.”
“Okay, okay! But the kids say it’s scary when you tell them to smile!”
“…I will change my tone.”
“Okay, okay, okay! Mom’s the best!”
She softened the cold words she used to spit out and whispered them gently to the children.
“If you get sold at the auction and notice any sign that the noble who bought you is about to do something bad, find the right moment to escape and place a direct request with the Mercenary Alliance The One.”
She provided a more detailed way for them to flee from the worst possible outcome.
Mother knew.
That doing this wouldn’t erase the sins she had committed or the ones she would commit.
Even so, the children would continue to die.
Only a handful would be lucky enough to end up with good nobles, while the rest would be horribly sacrificed for whatever purpose their buyers had in mind.
One day, she would have to pay for these sins, and the pain would be unbearable, worse than death.
Still.
“Smile brightly, that way you’ll survive.”
Rather than doing nothing and simply existing, this was a better way to live.
And Mother’s prediction was right.
“1 million gold.”
“…Bid No.1 wins. Purpose?”
“The same as before.”
Bidder No.1’s practice of killing crying children grew more severe by the day.
“I!! 100,000 gold!!”
“110,000 gold!!”
“Damn it, you’re paying 110,000 gold for a kid with a scar on their body?”
“So what! As long as the face is fine!! Hey, here!! I’ll go for 150,000 gold!!”
The corrupt nobles also bought orphans as long as there were no major defects, and the children they purchased soon turned up as corpses in the wasteland.
Mother, who had been regaining her goodness thanks to Luna, found it all the more painful.
How many children died today?
Five?
No, was it eight?
Their names?
She needed to remember.
What were their names?
The scales that had only tilted in favor of Selena’s life had finally balanced out.
All of them were as young as Selena, perhaps even younger.
Each of them had dreams, and they used to boast proudly about what they wanted to achieve.
Even if she told them a way to survive, the chances of success were practically nonexistent.
…She had known all along.
That as long as she remained here doing this, the children would continue to die.
“…Ugh!!”
Finally facing her sins head-on, Mother started to retch.
How many lives had she sold to save Selena?
How many more would she have to sell for Selena to open her eyes?
And even if she did wake up.
–I’m going to be a strong mercenary like Mom!
Would she be able to face Selena the same way as before?
Snap.
Something that had barely been holding together shattered completely with a short cracking sound.
Yes.
This was who she truly was.
As long as the ones she loved could be safe, she would walk any path without hesitation.
“…Because I’m a mother.”
Click.
Wearing the mask once again, Mother cried for a long time.
And even so, she tried, and kept trying.
Someday, even if I had to hide behind a mask, I would no longer cry.
Because I was not someone who deserved to.
A few days later.
“Huh…? Mom?”
“Follow me, Luna.”
“Uh, uhh?! W-Wait, why my face—?!”
“It’s better than dying.”
Having reverted to her former self, Mother created a scar on Luna’s face.
At the very least, this way, she wouldn’t be sold to filth and suffer a terrible fate.
She emphasized it every day.
“Smile brightly, that way you’ll survive.”
“That’s right, smile a little more.”
“Brighter, as if your mouth might tear apart.”
“That way, you’ll survive.”
Her voice was slightly gentler than with the other children, but still cold.
“Don’t tremble, that way you’ll survive.”
“When it gets too hard, cry behind a mask.”
“Keep trying, and trying again.”
“Someday, you’ll be able to smile even with the mask on.”
She did everything in her power to keep Luna alive.
That was the only way.
The only compromise Mother had found where both Selena and Luna could be saved.
And so, Mother hesitated.
…If the time came when she had to choose between Selena and Luna—
What would she do?
Amidst that anxiety and endless worry, barely managing to endure each day—
“…That day, just like now, Black Wolf, you came and wiped this place out.”
And because of that—
“I was able to protect them both.”
.
.
.
【The lingering thoughts of <Mother (S-)> take form and manifest before you.】
【Mental World – The Loss of the Wandering Troupe is being reenacted.】
2.
Wandering Troupe – Loss
Just as the name implied, the characters that had filled the surroundings disappeared.
The world returned.
Within the tattered tents and dust-filled air, only Mother and Nahan remained.
Step. Step. Step.
Regaining her form within the Mental World, Mother walked toward him with dry, heavy steps.
Nahan, on guard, instinctively reached for his waist, but she simply raised both hands and shook her head.
“I’m not stupid enough to fight a monster like you. My lingering thoughts will disappear in a few dozen seconds anyway, so don’t get too worked up.”
A monotone voice.
Her words and movements were crude, as if her emotions had been suppressed to the point of vanishing entirely. But perhaps for that very reason, he knew she was telling the truth.
Eventually, Nahan let go of his sword hilt and asked,
“Why are you showing me this?”
“A struggle.”
Mother gave a brief answer and swung her hand at the air before her.
Ssshhk.
A portion of space tore open, revealing the scene outside the Mental World.
Mother clutching my ankle.
Lactea, enraged.
Luna, still collapsed on the ground.
I didn’t know why, but I could tell for certain that time had stopped.
Tap.
Mother placed her hand on Luna, reflected in the scene, and muttered softly.
“What a pitiful child. Abandoned here the moment she was born, never once receiving proper love.”
For a brief moment, the eyes behind the mask shimmered.
“She used to follow me around, saying I saved her, but in truth, the one who was truly saved was me. Maybe that’s why I tried so hard to protect her.”
Mother’s hand, resting on the image, wriggled slightly as if trying to feel warmth. But like the surface of water, it merely rippled—no warmth could reach her.
I watched Mother and casually asked.
“So, what’s your point?”
“My point?”
“You mentioned a struggle, didn’t you?”
“Ah. My apologies. When I look at Luna, I tend to space out, feeling nothing but warmth.”
Finally, Mother pulled her gaze away from Luna and approached me, kneeling down.
“I want you to save her.”
Nahan, pondering for a moment at her monotone voice, asked in a low voice,
“…Didn’t you say you were going to disappear anyway?”
“…Hmm?”
“?”
“…Ah.”
Realizing something strange, Mother looked up at Nahan and let out a faint chuckle.
“I was talking about Luna.”
“?”
Nahan responded immediately.
“I never intended to kill her in the first place.”
The only one he had considered dealing with was Mother.
“I see. That makes sense.”
As if a weight had been lifted, Mother leaned slightly to the side, sitting comfortably.
“You are different from the <Black Wolf> I once encountered… But strangely, that puts me more at ease.”
The moment Mother muttered those words—
【A fragment of the past has been mentioned.】
【Restoring a portion of <Black Wolf’s Memories>.】
As a blue window appeared, parts of the Mental World began to crumble away.
Mother was no exception—watching her hands blur, she sighed softly and muttered.
“I know it’s shameless of me to ask, but… I hope you can teach her what it means to live a normal life.”
“A normal life?”
“Yes. Not a life spent trembling in fear of death, not one where she has to force herself to smile just to survive—an ordinary life, in the truest sense.”
It wasn’t hard to figure out that the person she spoke of was Luna.
“A life where she doesn’t do dangerous things, where she makes friends, falls in love. Where she has children, raises them, and lives happily with everyone… Please, let her know that such a life exists. And…”
…Clench.
Mother tightly grasped her fading hand and, after hesitating for a long while, finally forced out the words.
“I….”
I never loved you, Luna.
“I am nothing but a vile criminal, not someone worthy of your affection.”
As she wore a forced smile beneath the heavy silence that followed.
Nahan, glancing away, looked past Mother’s back and spoke.
“You hear that, Luna?”
In the next moment—
“…Mom.”
“…!”
From within Mother’s vanishing hand, a thin ray of light flickered.
