After having a nutritious meal and taking a short nap, I left my room and headed to the library to return the books The Zadaka Language and The Loclover Kingdom.
Since I wouldn't be able to practice magic for years, I decided to immerse myself in books until then.
I stopped in the corridor and looked out the window at the blue celestial orb hanging in the dark sky.
"No matter where you are, the moon is always beautiful, isn't it?"
The blue moonlight poured through the window. Tonight, the moon was full, making it even more magnificent.
Hmm? As I focused on it, I suddenly noticed something odd about the moon.
"Isn't it... too clean?"
The moon, which should have been covered with craters from meteors and asteroids, was strangely pristine and spotless. No traces of craters, no signs of impacts, it was entirely smooth and new.
I had only noticed it now because I hadn't paid attention to its appearance before.
Interesting. This was genuinely intriguing. What could be the reason? Unfortunately, without a telescope, I couldn't observe it up close. Why does the moon look so clean?
Does it have some sort of magical barrier for protection? Or is it simply too resilient to be damaged by falling meteors? After all, this is a magical world! It's reasonable to speculate wildly with evidence supporting such phenomena.
"Let's forget about it for now… Thinking about it is like an ant trying to understand why it's so small compared to the moon." I shook my head.
Until I had a way to examine it properly, I decided to push the thought aside. Still, I wouldn't forget that the first thing to spark my curiosity as a scientist here was the moon!
I continued walking toward the library.
But I stopped again because something strange happened along the way.
My mother was leaning against the corridor wall, her left hand covering her face.
From her current expression… she seemed to be in great pain.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
She had been fine and very energetic just two hours ago.
She didn't respond, so I approached her and shook her hand.
But she remained unresponsive.
This is bad.
What's wrong with her?
"Mother! Mother!" I shouted several times, but there was no answer.
I placed my hand on her forehead to check her temperature.
"Too high." I frowned. Her temperature was high! If this continues, she'll fall ill.
I need to take her to—before I could finish the thought of bringing her to her room, my mother suddenly grabbed my small arm with her hand.
I felt a bit relieved that she was responsive and asked, "Mother, are you okay? What's wrong?"
She didn't answer, her expression still clouded and pained.
Something felt off about her. I wanted to speak, but at that moment, I felt a chilling cold coming from her.
Slowly, I raised my eyes upward, above her head. At some point, a black ghostly face had appeared.
Above my mother's head was a phantom! No, would it be right to call it that?
It was a shadow with long ears protruding from its head, like a rabbit's. Its eye sockets were hollow, and its mouth was twisted into a grim smile. Its body was composed of black particles, like dust. A faint blue glow emanated from its empty eye sockets, sending a chill down my legs.
Damn it! What is this thing?! It's terrifying!
It's terrifying, but I don't feel afraid. Even so, my body seems to disagree.
My legs are shaking!
The shadow hummed a strange sound, and I felt its gaze pierce through my body, sending a deep chill within. It stared at me for a moment before drifting upward toward the ceiling.
Within moments, it completely disappeared, passing through the ceiling.
What the hell was that sudden shift? What was that black shadow? Isn't my mother supposed to be an ordinary human? She's usually calm and cheerful, yet now she's a completely different person!
Her eyes were vacant, her brows furrowed into a sharp frown, and her grip on my hand tightened.
My mother began murmuring some strange words.
"…Kazahara… I will never forgive you…"
"Wait! This language…!" It was a language I could never forget.
Isn't this… Japanese? A Japanese name and now these words… I knew something was off!
But that doesn't matter now as much as the fact that my hand is about to break! This hurts like hell—Mother, you're crushing my hand with your grip!
As soon as she uttered those words, my mother collapsed. I quickly threw myself to the ground, managing to catch her before she hit the floor.
"Just in time." I sighed in relief, having caught her before she fell.
Sitting on the ground, I rested her on my lap, as my size wasn't enough to carry her fully.
"But this hurts…" My arm throbbed as if it had a heartbeat. Damn it! This is excruciating!
My wrist was turning a shade between purple and green. The bone wasn't broken, but I ended up with a significant bruise.
Kazahara, I won't forgive you, huh? Hmm, my earlier theory wasn't wrong. It seems Mother does have memory loss.
I only suspected it as a possibility before, but now it seems I've confirmed it.
I looked at my sleeping mother, feeling a bit uneasy. This woman told me she was an ordinary human, yet she just used that black energy in front of me! Don't tell me this world has two energy systems, right? Because I can't sense any mana coming from her, and I can confirm that this black energy isn't mana (because it's not familiar).
How do I call someone now? I can't leave Mother here alone after all.
"Woosh!"
Just as I was thinking of a solution, I saw a faint golden glow at the far end of the corridor. When I blinked and opened my eyes again, Verdi was standing in front of me.
I was stunned.
Did he just cross more than ten meters in less than a second? That's not logical at all.
"Arai, what happened just now?" he asked with concern.
I gathered myself and truthfully told him everything that had happened, except for the part about her speaking Japanese and the black shadow.
After all, I couldn't explain why I understood the language, and this might turn out to be a bad thing.
Hiding things was sometimes the smart move. I'd tell them in the future if necessary.
After hearing what I said, Verdi fell silent for a while. He looked shocked, confused, and perplexed.
Hmm, it seems he doesn't understand what's wrong with her either.
Without giving me another glance, he picked my mother up onto his shoulder and disappeared in another flash of light.
"Father! Wait…!"
This man was so focused on the situation that he didn't even notice the bruise on my hand!
How could you leave a 2.5-year-old kid alone in such a time? Back, please.
Everything that had just happened was strange. Does my mother have some sort of problem?
I've noticed this for some time, her behavior has been odd. Always distracted, often asleep. Despite hearing she's weak-bodied, I don't believe it.
First of all, my mother managed to give birth to two children, me and Mizuki.
Second, the strength she used in her grip earlier nearly broke my arm.
Could someone weak-bodied possibly do that? I don't think so; it's impossible.
Something is wrong with Mother.
What is it? Even Verdi himself doesn't seem to know the reason. I have a bad feeling about the future. I just hope she'll be safe.
I pushed these thoughts aside and continued on my way to the library.
But first, I needed to do something about my hand! It hurt so much that I felt like crying.
No, I am crying.