Volume 5 Chapter 6 Reminiscence 6️⃣
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The elf warrior who killed Mama—while shedding tears with a smile-like expression—quietly sheathed her sword.
”…You’re not going to kill me?”
I hold onto the ashes—what used to be Mama—and look up at her. Am I trembling from fear? Or from the sorrow of losing Mama? I can’t even tell myself.
She shifts her gaze to me and crouches down, bringing herself to my eye level.
”I won’t kill you,” she says plainly. “You’re a slave. Just a tool of Vintenica. Whatever you’ve done until now, all the responsibility lies with your owner. Besides…”
Her eyes flick briefly to the collar on my neck. It’s no longer glowing. I run my fingers along it—the magic silver (misuriru) collar, now dull, with its faint red gem.
”…She must’ve loved you, Vintenica. I can’t imagine that woman putting something so extravagant on a slave unless she truly cared.”
Her expression is strangely gentle as she looks into my eyes, and I finally snap back to myself.
”And also…” she continues. “She asked me to look after you. Vintenica did.”
Her words stir my memory—Mama’s final words, just before she turned to ash.
”Hey, Lucia… this child… just Soyuz…”
Even at the end, Mama was worried about me.
That Mama—who never cared about human life, who might even be called a villain…
It’s here, now, that I finally shed tears.
I was created to be a medium for the life-sharing magic. But even so, Mama—Vintenica—truly loved me.
”She was an old friend, after all,” the elf says with quiet resolve. “I owe it to her to fulfill at least this one, last wish.”
She looks straight at me, as if peering into my soul.
”You said your name is Soyuz, right? From today on, I’ll take care of you. However you choose to live, I’ll at least make sure you have a path to walk… though, I’m not much of a person myself, so I don’t know how far I can go.”
The elf warrior—Lucia, who had killed Mama—said that… and then reached out her hand to me.
After a long moment of hesitation… I took it.
* * *
She was what you’d call a “stray elf.”
Normally, elves spend long, long years in their forest territories without ever venturing out. But after being hunted by humans and going through war, that isolationist tendency only grew stronger.
Still, some among them grow tired of their closed-off world, or are forced out for one reason or another, and they end up living in human lands. These are the stray elves.
”I also left my village for certain reasons… must’ve been over a hundred years ago,” she said, as we walked along the path, having left behind the mansion reduced to rubble. “Vintenica was the first person I met in the human world. She took me in when I didn’t even know left from right, and we traveled together for many years.”
She began to speak, little by little, about her relationship with Mama.
”So, Mama’s real age is…”
”If you count normally, she’d be over 130,” Lucia replied with a small shrug. “Makes sense why she looked so young, doesn’t it?”
I gave a small nod. “…Yeah.”
”She had a lot of magical power for a human,” she continued, voice a bit wistful. “But in the end, she was still human. No magic can overcome the limits of our races.”
”…So Mama made a deal with a demon,” I murmured.
Lucia gave a faint nod. Her long, almond-shaped eyes were downcast, and her pointed ears—an elf’s pride—drooped ever so slightly.
”It was in a labyrinth we visited. That’s where she found the demon. I can’t even imagine how deeply she must’ve despaired about her own future.”
Then suddenly—mid-step—Lucia stopped and turned to me, grabbing both my hands tightly.
”She made a deal… and became something no longer human. Listen, Soyuz.” Her voice was serious now, shaking slightly. “It’s not just about changing her body. When someone sells their soul to a demon, their heart gets twisted too. You saw it, didn’t you? After she fell into darkness… she became cruel. That was inevitable. Her humanity was already gone.”
She bit her lip. “…So I searched. I kept searching for her, after she vanished, almost like she was running away from me… and in the end, I killed her. There was no other way to save her soul…”
She squeezed my hands tighter. I looked into her face, nervous, unsure. She stared back at me with tear-filled eyes, smiling sadly.
”But… she still had feelings left, didn’t she? Love for others… especially for you. If you were the one who brought that out in her… then, I would be… so very happy…”
We fell into silence, simply gazing at one another.
Our feelings toward Mama were probably different. Still, we both shed tears for her.
* * *
”…I’m sorry,” Lucia said after a pause. “I guess I’ve still got a long way to go. Even after living hundreds of years, the heart doesn’t grow so easily… or maybe it’s because I spent those centuries in vain.”
She let go of my hand and began to walk once more.
”This time, will you tell me your story? How you lived until now?”
So, I told her.
Born in a slave hut. Bought by Mama Vintenica. Used as the vessel for the life-sharing spell. Living over a decade in this form. How Mama loved me.
I recounted it all. Somehow, I felt… calm while I spoke.
Of course, there was sorrow—Mama was gone. But I wasn’t overwhelmed by grief, nor did I feel hatred toward the one who had killed her.
Even resentment toward Mama—for turning me into this—didn’t come.
It’s true she used five innocent children like tools. That is unforgivable. But… even so, I felt respect for Mama, who loved me as a real child.
To me, someone without real parents… she truly was Mama.
And yet.
Even now, I can’t understand my real feelings about her. I can’t grieve more deeply. I can’t hate her. I can’t even resent her fully.
Before I realized it, I was spilling all these thoughts to Lucia.
”I see…” she said quietly. “You’ve lived quite a complicated life. With that appearance, that age, and the way you think—you seem more like an elf than a human.”
She gave a tired sigh, watching me with a troubled look.
”You realize it, right? Soyuz… you’ve been raised in an incredibly warped environment. It’s honestly chilling to see.”
Harsh words—but I couldn’t deny them. I’d spent over ten years without physically growing, shaped entirely by Mama’s values.
”Honestly, I don’t even know if I can guide someone like you properly,” she said, meeting my eyes.
Reflected in her clear blue gaze, I could see my own confused expression.
”But even so… I want to grant my friend’s final wish. Soyuz, from today on, I’ll be your guardian.”
”…Yes.”
Those blue eyes stared into mine. For some reason, I nodded, cold sweat prickling my skin.
”But I can’t be your ‘Mama,’ okay?” she said, cracking a shy smile. “I’m not here to spoil you. My job is to raise you into a proper human being.”
Then, with a playful glint in her eye, she added:
”So don’t call me Mama—call me Master, got it?”
She said it like she was half-joking, half-serious.
And just like that—
I lost my Mama…
And gained a Master.
Notes:
• Vintenica – She is a tall, slender magic user, appeared as the new mistress buying six boys, wearing a deep purple robe with her right half face hidden by a white mask, half beautiful young woman and half eerie with blood-red lips, mysterious and slightly frightening.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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