After spending half of my precious pocket money to heal my wound, I walked back home.
My house is a two-story building—a big place for four people, counting Molly Aunty too. She's our housemaid and has been working here ever since my father became the City Ranger.
She earns her money through hard work, unlike someone who depends entirely on his parents for everything.
Ignoring myself, I walked into the house.
In the hall room, there was a couch. Sitting there, as usual, was my mother, Lilia, reading a book.
Mom reads too much. If this continues, she'll need glasses.
At least she's doing something productive. Not like a certain someone wasting time on something unachievable.
Can you just stop thinking?
Of course, I can. The moment you stop thinking, I will too. Because you know… you are me.
Ignoring myself again, I walked toward her.
As I approached, she looked up at me and smiled gently. She stood up and immediately started checking for any wounds.
After an intense inspection, she sighed in relief.
Who's going to tell her that I spent half my pocket money on a healer?
I could always ask Dad for more.
Shameless piece of—
No. I can't say that. This is a family-friendly show.
Wait… I just said it anyway.
This isn't a show. Who has time to watch an idiot waste his life doing the impossible?
I do.
No, I don't. Because I am that idiot.
Back to reality. After checking for injuries, Mom made several hand gestures.
"Thank God, you didn't get seriously hurt. You must be tired. Go take a bath. And don't worry about the pocket money you spent on a healer—I'll give you more later."
Oh—I forgot to mention that my mother can't hear or speak.
I nodded with a shy smile and walked upstairs to my room.
Mom should be a detective. It's almost impossible to hide anything from her.
Don't fool yourself. Your clothes are torn. It doesn't take a genius to guess you were injured.
Oh yeah, but Mom is a genius.
Yeah, she is. And you're an idiot.
No, I'm not an idiot.
You're a weak, useless idiot who almost died fighting an F-Rank beast.
I don't have time for this nonsense.
Avoiding—cough—after talking nonsense to myself in my mind, I grabbed fresh clothes and went to take a relaxing bath.
I also washed the blood-stained beast core from the black-and-white hyena.
It was white. It just had black tusks.
Ignoring my thoughts, I finished washing up and went downstairs, where Mom and Molly Aunty had prepared lunch for me.
---
Six Hours Later…
I stood in front of Mom, gripping a replica of Arcane Fang with both hands.
Mom held a short wooden sword in one hand.
"Begin!" Molly Aunty called out.
I lunged forward, ready to thrust my sword into Mom's stomach. She stepped aside.
Damn, I'm already wide open.
But I didn't stop—I twisted my body and swung toward her.
She blocked my attack with her short sword.
Oh, crap. I know this move.
She smiled. With a quick upward strike, my sword went flying.
I quickly stepped back and used Telekinesis to retrieve my weapon.
She stood firm, like an immovable pillar.
I lunged again, this time zig-zagging to make my attack harder to read. I swung from the left, but she dodged by jumping back.
Not again…
The next moment, she lunged at me with unbelievable speed.
I stared at her in awe as her sword stopped just before my neck.
1 loss, 0 wins.
After that, we restarted the match. This time, it was her turn to attack first.
---
Later That Night…
After dinner, I lay on my bed, staring at the white ceiling.
Since I was eight, Mom and I have sparred every day. Each time I thought I had surpassed her, she became stronger.
Or maybe… she was holding back for me.
I wonder how powerful Mom really is.
According to her ID, she's a C-Rank Mage. But I don't think so. Something is different about her.
Dad is B-Rank, but her presence feels… stronger.
Who cares? She's still my sweet mom.
---
Meanwhile… (Third Person POV)
Lilia Ren sat in her room, reading a book titled "Theory of Telepathy and the Spirit Element."
Molly Aunty entered.
"Ma'am, there's a bounty on Sir in the underworld," she signed with her hands.
Lilia put down her book and looked at Molly with a neutral expression.
"According to our sources, it's the work of the Leny Household," Molly continued.
Lilia smiled and stood up.
"Leny Household… you've ruined my mood. I was so close to perfecting my Telepathy spell."
"My dream of speaking with Darry and Ray is near, and you think you can lay a hand on my sweet husband? I don't know what Ray did to you, but I'll make sure you forget it."
She clenched her fists, and a deep blue aura leaked from her body, sucking the oxygen from the room.
Molly, however, remained unaffected.
"Calm down, ma'am! Darry might sense your aura. Nothing is more important than him."
Lilia took a deep breath, suppressing her magic.
"I wonder why everyone is after my Ray. First Jeff's wife, now the Leny Household… Sure, Ray is handsome, kind, and sweet. But isn't this a little too much? He's married. And, most importantly, he's married to me."
"How dare you set your eyes on my dear Ray?"
Her smile turned cold—a devil's grin.
"This isn't the time for jokes. I have work to do."
She turned to Molly and signed: "Take care of Darry until I return. It won't take long to deal with a few insects."
Molly nodded and smiled.
Lilia's body was engulfed in blue flames—and in an instant, she was gone.
Molly yawned and stretched.
"I wonder if she has a split personality… Love really does change people."
She chuckled before walking out of the room.