Episode 156
“Kyang…….” (Edenber…… doesn’t want to talk…….)
Rune’s ears drooped gloomily as she cast her gaze toward the floor.
Asil, feeling urgent, grabbed Rune and shook her back and forth.
“He doesn’t want to talk? What do you mean by that!”
“Kyaang…….” (He said he needs time to think…….)
“Time to think?”
Puzzled, Asil tilted her head.
Time to think—about what?
Having been shaken too hard, Rune spoke while feeling dizzy.
“Kyaaaang…….” (Maybe it is difficult for him to accept me as his mother…….)
“That can’t be true. Edenber wanted to see his mother too.”
Although he had said he didn’t know if the existence of a mother was a good thing, Asil had no doubt that he missed her.
‘Edenber’s face when he said those words didn’t look normal.’
It was an expression that seemed as if he wanted to see her, but was forcibly swallowing his feelings because he shouldn’t show them outwardly.
It was as if he were lying to deceive even himself.
That’s why she thought everything would be resolved once it was revealed that Rune was Edenber’s mother…….
“I’ll ask Edenber myself.”
Asil set the dizzy Rune down on the ground and entered the mansion to find Edenber.
Then, she spotted him passing through the hallway at just the right time and shouted happily.
“Edenber!”
However.
For some reason, the moment their eyes met, he seemed to take a slight step backward, then pretended not to see her and hurried away in the opposite direction as if running away.
What, where is he going!
“Edenberrr!”
Thinking he might not have heard her, she raised her voice and chased after him in a hurry.
Edenber moved his feet diligently, pretending not to hear Asil’s voice.
Tap, tap, tap.
Thump, thump, thump.
The different sounds of footsteps filled the hallway.
Asil was fast, but Edenber’s movements were as quick as his excellent swordsmanship, so the pursuit continued.
‘Why are you running away!’
“Where are you going!”
Even when she shouted loudly, he did not stop. Eeek!
She became so annoyed that a groan escaped her lips.
I’ll definitely catch you! Asil gritted her teeth and chased him with all her might.
But then, she stepped firmly on the fluttering hem of her dress.
“Mommy!”
Asil fell with a thud.
At this, Edenber, who had been pulling ahead, turned back in surprise and approached her.
“Are you okay?”
“Caught you!”
Though her nose hurt a bit, she managed to catch Edenber thanks to that.
Asil stood up, holding his hand tightly so he couldn’t run away again.
“Why are you running away!”
“……I wasn’t running away.”
“Then what?”
Instead of making an excuse, Edenber chose silence. His expression, cast downward, darkened slightly.
Did something bad happen with Rune yesterday?
Asil watched his reaction and asked cautiously.
“How are you feeling right now? Is it the same as usual? Or is it worse?”
“It’s the same as usual. Why?”
When he said that, Edenber really seemed the same as always.
So Asil mustered up the courage to tell him why she had come looking for him so early.
“I heard you talked with Rune yesterday. She said you said you needed time to think.”
Just what do you need time to think about? With that thought in mind, she stared intently at Edenber.
Then, Edenber let out a long sigh and slightly averted his gaze.
No way, is Rune’s guess actually correct?
Asil shook his hand to urge him to answer quickly.
“Is it hard for you to accept Rune as your mother?”
“It’s absolutely not that.”
“Then what?”
Edenber, who had answered instantly, closed his mouth again.
However, at Asil’s persistent gaze, he barely opened his lips.
“……Because I don’t know.”
“What?”
“Because I don’t know how to treat a ‘mother.’ I don’t know what to say, either.”
“You can just say anything.”
“……It’s the first time I’ve ever talked to a mother.”
Edenber closed his eyes tightly and let out a groan.
“I don’t know how to do ‘just anything.’”
At that, Asil blinked rapidly.
Thinking about it, there was a time when she felt that way too.
‘When I first met Dad, I was so caught between joy and awkwardness that I ended up calling him Mister.’
At least she had other fathers in the beastmen’s forest, so she got used to it quickly.
Edenber’s mother, whom he thought was dead, had returned alive, and since it was his first time dealing with a mother, it must be even more awkward for him.
In times like this, the solution was not to think alone but to keep bumping into each other and get used to it.
Asil pulled Edenber back the way she had come.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“You’ll know if you follow me.”
As always, she didn’t mention the destination.
Edenber followed without a word, even though he had roughly guessed.
However, as soon as he faced Rune in the garden, he froze stiffly like a stone statue again.
“Kyang…….”
Rune’s tail lowered gloomily as she looked up at Edenber with a glimmer of hope.
It was quite a sad thing for a mother to have her son look at her with such an expression.
Asil stood tall in front of the mother and son.
“Now, I’ll show you how to talk to your mom.”
“……What?”
“First, a greeting. Repeat after me. Mom, did you eat breakfast?”
Edenber hesitated at the sudden greeting.
However, unable to withstand Asil’s sharp glare, he reluctantly and hesitantly opened his mouth.
“……Mother, did you eat breakf……?”
“You should be looking at Mother, not me!”
Like a broken robot, Edenber’s body creaked as he turned.
Rune, who was watching her son with an expression as if she were witnessing the trial of the century, gulped.
With a face that looked like he was declaring a duel rather than asking about a meal, Edenber murmured.
“M-m-m-mother…….”
“Kyang!”
The moment the word ‘Mother’ ended, Rune clutched her chest. It seemed that she was so moved that it was putting a strain on her heart.
At that sight, Edenber, who had barely started, closed his mouth again.
Asil picked up the yapping Rune and warned her.
“Mother! You have to stay still until he finishes talking!”
“Kyaang…….”
Rune’s eyes pleaded, asking how she could stay still when her son was calling her mother.
But at Asil’s firm attitude, she had no choice but to nod.
“Now, try again. Mom, did you eat breakfast?”
“……M-mother…….”
“Kyang!”
“I told you not to go kyang! Edenber, keep talking!”
“……D-did you eat…… breakfast…….”
“Kyaaaang!”
The first morning greeting from a son who had grown up so wonderfully was this dangerous.
Rune eventually collapsed, clutching her chest with tears pricking her eyes.
A surprised Asil covered her mouth.
“Is she dead?!”
“Probably not!”
Edenber, equally flustered, hurriedly checked on Rune.
Fortunately, she was still breathing, as her chest was moving up and down.
Surely he didn’t have to go through this every time he gave a morning greeting?
He looked back at Asil with trembling eyes.
“Does your mother collapse like this too?”
“No.”
That was a dangerous thing to say.
If a mother collapsed every time her child spoke, Briana would have long since left this world.
“Just as it’s unfamiliar to Edenber, it must be very unfamiliar to Rune too.”
“Ah…….”
Was it because he realized he wasn’t the only one feeling awkward? The tension in Edenber’s face relaxed slightly.
On the other hand, Asil put her hands on her hips with a serious face.
“This won’t do.”
The way to get close quickly is to encounter each other often and a lot, but what’s the use if she collapses every time they speak?
Getting to know each other slowly is good, but for now, the priority was to make them close enough so she wouldn’t collapse.
Thinking that she needed to take special measures, Asil tilted her chin up and pondered seriously.
Then, a good idea struck her, and she shouted.
“Edenber! Let’s go on a picnic!”
With this, they’ll be able to get close in a short time!
—
Asil worked hard to prepare for the picnic for Edenber and Rune.
She asked Jet to help decide on a place to go, chose the types of snacks to eat, and told her family to come along.
“It’ll be more fun if we all play together. It’ll be much less awkward too!”
“Right. I did want to see the Monlepe ducal house up close.”
Briana nodded, saying it was a good idea.
“We need to decide soon whether to hold hands with the Imperial Family or the Monlepe ducal house……. I should check out their characters this time.”
In fact, thanks to being a reincarnator, Briana knew very well what good character the people of the Monlepe ducal house had.
She also knew that the current Imperial Family was a very poor partner.
However, since the fate of the beastmen depended on her judgment, she couldn’t decide based solely on the original story.
She had to investigate as carefully as possible.
Thus, Briana, Arcian Erzébet, Snowa, Todori, and Bam-bami joined the picnic procession.
On top of that, Asil also invited Elcai and Ikart.
“Grandfather, you’re coming too, right?”
“Of course, I’m definitely going.”
“What about the previous Duke?”
Ikart, who was up in a tree to avoid Asil who was looking for him, stared down at her.
Then, he answered shortly and firmly.
“I’m not going.”
“Why!”
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