Chapter 6.1 - Dropout Swordsman and Swordsmanship Academy [4] – part 1 (2/2)

「That was al’… When ye said『Important matter』, I had thought it would be somethin’ crucial… To think ye were worried over somethin’ so simple…」

「N-No… this isn’t something so simpleー」

「-Ye want to go to Thousand Blade Academy, right?」

「How… did you know?」

My hopes. thoughts, and feelings – Although, I haven’t put any of them into words, my mother hit the bullseye on them.

「Ye shouldn’t underestimate yer parent. Allen loved swingin’ the sword ever since he was little. I could easily see that ye wanted to go to Thousand Blade Academy.」

As I became silent, my mother gently told me.

「Don’t worry about me. Allen, ye just live yer life the way ye want. I will always cheer ye from the sidelines as ye walk yer path. However, ye must only die after me, even if it is only one second later. That is the best filial piety ye can show.」

「…Understood. Thank you, mother.」

As I thanked, mother smiled brightly.

「Okay, let’s eat the steamed rice! Today I made plenty of stew that ye liked!」

My mother poured the freshly made stew into a wooden dish.

Stew with big potatoes mixed in.

A stew that only makes its appearance for my birthday – a special menu of my home.

「It’s delicious… so delicious…!」

I ate mother’s stew for the first time in over a billion years — it was so delicious.

「I see, I see! There is plenty, so don’t be shy and eat a lot!」

After eating a lot of mother’s special stew until I was satisfied, I got in to the dear old steam bath..

At any rate…

「Mother… has gotten older…」

Seeing mother after a long time, she seemed considerably old.

(Considering she will be 50 years old this year, it might be normal aging…)

There were a lot of fine wrinkles on her face and grey hair had increased, and I felt that she had gotten shorter.

「…I have to study hard at Thousand Blade Academy and become a good swordsman quickly.」

And then I have to make a lot of money and make my mother have a comfortable life.

I renewed my resolve, and I released my exhaustion in the bath.

■

Immediately after Allen headed to the bathroom, the voice of an old man rang out from the dining table where only Dahlia Rodore should have been.

「Hohoho! This stew, how delicious it is!」

There was an elder man with a bent waist – the hermit of time.

He came out of nowhere, while holding the stew dish and spoon in his hand.

「…I thought it might be you, seeing as how the seal has loosened… hermit of time」

The peculiarity of the southern accent disappeared, and the one who was speaking in fluent standard language was, Allen’s mother, Dahlia Rodore.

「Even so, you concealed it really well… It was bone breakingly hard to locate.」

「Yes, If that’s the case, should I break another one?」

Dahlia suddenly appeared behind the hermit of time and brought down her fist on his head.

However, the hermit of the time avoided that blow easily by making himself transparent.

Dahlia’s fist flew through the air and just smashed a wooden chair into smithereens.

「Hoho! How scary, scary!」

The hermit of time with enough time to spare, threw a big potato into his mouth.

「Hohoho! Such a delicious meal after a long time. Then, we shall meet again somewhere else.」

After saying that, he suddenly vanished like mist.

「…Tch, he escaped.」

At that time when Dahlia was irritated and clicked her tongue.

「Oi, that presence just now, was it him!?」

The entrance of the Rodore house opened, and bamboo geezer appeared.

He was also using fluent standard language.

「You were late. The hermit of time escaped a long time ago.」

「Kuh… so that means…?」

「Aa… it seems that the 100 million years button has been used…」

「Shit… damn!」

A grave air surrounds the two.

「Hey, Dahlia… How was the hermit of time able to capture Allen? The seal should have been perfect.」

「…Perhaps there was something that shook Allen’s feelings strongly. I was relieved when I read in the letter that he was enjoying academy life, but…」

Allen has never told Dahlia that he was bullied at the academy. It’s not because he doesn’t trust his mother, but because he just doesn’t want to worry her.

「Anyway, the hermit of time seems to want to get in our way…」

Dahlia gritted her teeth, while clenching her fist tightly.

「But this time, I won’t let you do as you wish…」

Later, bamboo geezer returned to his home, and Dahlia took the broken chair to the garbage dump outside.