Chapter 24

“Ugh, ugh… Let’s take a short break for a moment.”

A nameless village slightly detached from Praksh.

Mirabel’s hometown.

Behind it is a small mountain, and we were in the process of climbing it.

For someone like me, who found even going to the convenience store in front of the house a trial, this was akin to torture. The pain that Harold felt was similar… I think it’s shameless to say that.

Objectively speaking, it’s a bit less than that.

“Are we resting again?”

“Again? I’m just being considerate of Mirabel’s struggling. Wow, what a kind master I am. Even caring for a slave.”

“I’m fine, though? There’s nothing to do in the village other than running around, so I’m not tired at all. Let’s keep going?”

Is that a sneaky way to come out?

I don’t know, Carami can’t go any further.

Mirabel should carry me.

I outright sat down. Mirabel had no choice but to stop as well. She looked down at me with a pitiful expression.

“…Sigh.”

“Huh?”

Did she just sigh?

Was that a sigh from Mirabel?

There’s a day when Mirabel would sigh at me after all.

I just received the biggest blow of my life.

Mirabel, who had given me an emotional wound, naturally settled between my legs. Now it seemed like this was her reserved seat without hesitation.

Mirabel turned her head and glanced at me. She seemed to want something. Since we have spent time together, I know what she wants but pretend not to. It’s the revenge of an adult.

“……”

Since I wasn’t doing anything, Mirabel puffed her cheeks and narrowed her eyes. She glared at me as if she would shoot a laser and quickly took my arm and wrapped it around her waist.

Now that she seemed comfortable resting her back against me, that was all. I didn’t pull her in or anything. My arm just draped over her.

Mirabel turned her head again.

I still maintained my ignorance.

“Do you have something to say?”

“It’s so unfair…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know everything.”

“If you don’t tell me, I won’t know. I don’t have the ability to read someone’s mind.”

The basics of negotiation.

The one who is stubborn loses.

Mirabel, the world is harsh. Just because you act cute doesn’t mean things will be resolved easily.

“Aren’t you going to hug me…?”

“……”

“Really?”

“Huh?”

When I came to my senses, I was already hugging Mirabel.

When did that happen?

Was that a mental attack?

Using magic in a sneaky way?

Such thoughts naturally crossed my mind, but it meant that Mirabel’s cuteness was that deadly.

She learned how to use her face.

‘I want to put her on my desk.’

If I could have Mirabel sitting at my desk, she would gather all the customers. It’s just regrettable that it can’t happen in reality. Maybe I should try it out once before going home.

As I was having such thoughts, Mirabel created water for me. It was cool and sweet.

“Mirabel’s homemade water is always delicious.”

“Hehe.”

Mirabel smiled happily.

I patted her head.

“Let’s get going again.”

We’ve rested enough, so now we should continue.

We are almost there.

I stood up and brushed off the dust and leaves from my bottom.

Shasha.

‘Huh?’

I think I just saw some navy-blue powder.

Just like when Mirabel uses magic.

It likely happened because she made water.

‘Did this kind of thing come out when making water?’

It didn’t seem to happen with simple living magic.

Well, it’s probably nothing.

***

“Master, but why are we climbing the mountain?”

Mirabel asked such a question.

I realized again that Mirabel always asks her questions too late. When I say to do something, she does it without question and only later asks why.

One might think that those in a master-slave relationship would act this way, but we have a special relationship. Mirabel must completely trust me.

“You promised, didn’t you? That you would send me to my mother.”

Mirabel’s true ending ‘Reunion’.

Everyone knows what this reunion means. It’s a common story.

The mother witch, Naredi, whom we thought had died that day.

Just before she was captured by the knights, she escaped by substituting a doll that looked just like her using magic. The original content states that she’s somewhere in the world.

To know this route, I’d have to try several times at a minimum. I thought it was the end when I just sought revenge and liberated her, but she wasn’t fully free.

There are minor hints available.

Harold’s last line.

– Dad is always watching over Mirabel.

It might not seem like much, but there’s a very subtle hint hidden in it.

‘Dad’ is always watching over Mirabel.

Why just dad?

Naredi’s time of death predates Harold, so Harold also knows this information, but why is it not mom and dad?

It’s as if Naredi must be alive.

It’s not even a prediction. If this is a cliché, then it certainly is a cliché. The dad, whom we thought was alive, is dead, and the mom, whom we thought was dead, is alive.

The problem is that we don’t know where they are.

To find Naredi’s location, I’d have to progress the game to a certain point, but I know well about that.

Then, wouldn’t it be easy if I just went looking for Naredi from the start? In the game, you have to follow the predetermined route, but now if I want to meet her, I just can.

However, there was a risk.

If I rushed into reunion without building up intimacy and without seeking revenge, I had no idea what would happen.

That’s why I took the regular route and gathered all the pieces. I solved all the problems to be solved, so I just had to fit the pieces together.

We were now climbing the mountain to fit those pieces together. Naredi is somewhere here.

“Places with many people are tough.”

“……That’s true. It would be tougher in crowded places.”

Mirabel has the celestial oath, but Naredi does not. Being a witch, she had to hide in this desolate place.

“We are almost there. We are getting close to mom.”

“Right. The sky is getting closer…”

Why is the sky suddenly coming into view? More importantly, it was significant that Mirabel sighed. She was going to see her mom, but for some reason, she seemed down.

“Why is that? Don’t you want to see your mom?”

“I do want to see her. Just like when you first told me you’d introduce me to mom. But…”

“But?”

“I have lingering feelings… I feel like I want to postpone the liberation…”

What?

You don’t want to be liberated?

Why?

Could it be that her feelings have changed at this point?

“What kind of lingering feelings?”

“That is…”

Mirabel didn’t share her reasons.

She just stared at me silently.

What’s going on?

Is the cause in me?

‘Is it because she likes me so much that she doesn’t want to let go?’

Looking at her recent attitude towards me, it seemed plausible, but I quickly realized it was nonsensical narcissism. A hollow laugh slipped out.

Let’s think about it rationally.

Would you prefer your mom or a slave merchant? It’s not even a choice worth pondering.

“Master, there’s a house over there.”

While I was lost in thought, Mirabel pointed towards a location with her finger. In the middle of the mountain, there was a solitary hut devoid of any traces of life.

“Hmmm, it’s amazing that someone lives in such a remote area. Should we check it out?”

“We should be careful. There might be strange people living in such a secluded spot.”

“I’m not worried since you’re with me, Mirabel.”

“Hehe.”

We slowly approached the hut. To be prepared for any situation, Mirabel held the celestial oath with both hands as she moved.

As we got closer to the hut, the smell of food wafted through the air. It seemed like someone was cooking inside.

“…Huh?”

It was Mirabel who reacted.

“What’s wrong?”

“T-That smell… it can’t be… huh?”

Mirabel mumbled words that made no sense. She lowered the hand holding the staff and began to walk towards the hut as if entranced by the aroma. Her narrow steps gradually widened until she was running.

I followed her leisurely with my hands behind my back.

“Haah, haah… haah….”

Mirabel arrived at the hut in a rush.

Mirabel, who said that mountain climbing wasn’t a big deal, took a deep breath before the door. Staring blankly at the door, she trembled as she grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open.

The door creaked open with a noise reminiscent of wood being scraped.

Someone on the other side of the door gasped in shock and quickly turned their head.

An adult woman.

Short navy-blue hair, lighter than Mirabel’s.

Her appearance was also similar to Mirabel’s, but unlike Mirabel, she didn’t have chubby cheeks and looked rather skinny.

She was squatting in front of a pot as if she had been cooking.

Thud.

Clang.

The celestial oath fell from Mirabel’s hand and rolled on the floor. Staring at the woman, Mirabel murmured.

“…………Mom?”

She called out to the woman.

“Mirabel…?”

Time slowed to a crawl as the woman slowly, very slowly stood up. Her blue pupils widened in shock, as if she had seen something she shouldn’t.

Mirabel moved her legs toward the woman. The way she moved was far from walking. It was as if her body was just naturally drawn toward the woman.

Soon, Mirabel stood before the woman. Both of them, looking so alike, couldn’t make a move and merely stared at each other.

Trying to say something, the woman opened and closed her mouth several times before finally managing to say a word.

“R-Really… is it you, Mirabel? Is my daughter Mirabel? I’m not seeing things, am I?”

“Mom… my mom… my pretty mom.”

With a sudden burst, the woman bit her lower lip and hugged Mirabel with all her strength as if she would crush her.

Her name is Naredi.

Mirabel’s mother.

The counterpart of Mirabel’s true ending, Reunion.

Mirabel hugged Naredi too. She screamed with all the emotions she had been holding back until now.

“Mom! Mom! It’s really my mom!”

“Yes, yes… I’m your mom. My daughter. How did you make it here?”

“Daddy…! Daddy did this for me…!”

“…It’s okay. It’s okay because you’re safe. Your dad will be happy to know that you are safe.”

Naredi comforted Mirabel, who was holding back her tears.

However, the tragedy they had endured for months couldn’t be easily quelled. No matter how much Mirabel had become a great witch, at heart she remained a delicate girl.

Mirabel suppressed her emotions, choking them back, and began to spit out the dark, compressed emotions she had bottled up.

The intense emotions she released pierced the heart just by observing.

With Naredi’s gentle soothing, Mirabel’s crying subsided to a certain extent. She had reached a point where she had no tears left to shed even if she wanted to cry.

“But… who is that person?”

Naredi, having calmed Mirabel down, glanced over her shoulder at me.

If she asks who I am, it’s only natural to answer her.

“Hello. I am the slave merchant Carami. I am Mirabel’s master. I’m the master.”