Chapter 4 The Courage to Accept Things. A Loving Heart. Also, Full-Body Armor. That’s What a Mother Needs… Wait, Armor?
Thanks to the efforts of Pocchi and the roustabouts, Mom’s Guild’s base had been transformed from a ruined inn to a luxury hotel.
The change was dramatic both inside and out. Windows that had lacked both glass and frames were now super fancy and covered in elegant trimmings. The floors that had previously been more prone to breaking than providing support were now hardwood and so polished that it seemed a shame to tread on them at all. Even the halls were lavishly decorated with tasteful flower arrangements.
They were in the first-floor restaurant lounge of this high-class hotel.
“Okay, everyone… Hands together!”
““““Thanks for the food!””””
Once again, the day started with their usual chant and a super Japanese breakfast.
The Normal Hero, the Normal Hero’s Mother, the Sage, the Cleric, and the Traveling Merchant—joined once again by the Mysterious Nun. Everyone was munching away…or at least, almost everyone.
The hero Masato was staring fixedly at the fish head sticking out of his miso soup bowl, not moving a muscle.
“…Um, Mom? What the heck is this?”
“Arajiru! Have I never made it before?”
The ara referred to the head and bones left after cleaning a fish, which were then used to make a stock (or jiru) for miso soup. There are even regional variations that leave the miso out entirely.
This was the result of attempting to use every bit of the bounty gathered at yesterday’s seafood sale. Bravo, Mamako. Housewife power! Well done.
You might think sinister miso soup with fish heads and bones floating in it would be unpopular, but nope: “This is crazy good!” “I love it.” “I’ve never had anything like it!” “The bits of fish are so delicious!” “Watch out for the bones, though.” The girls seemed to quite like it. It definitely didn’t taste bad. Maybe Japanese tongues just loved anything fishy.
Moving right along.
The more excited people got about yesterday’s bounty, the more annoyed Masato got.
“Sigh… Look, Mom, if you don’t mind…”
“Oh, you want seconds?”
“That’s not… Mom, I really don’t think our goal yesterday was the spectacular seafood sale. Right?”
“Huh? O-oh, I suppose not. That wasn’t our original goal. We were going to clear that tower, right?”
“Yeah, so—”
“So whyyyyyyy didn’t you ever show up?!” screamed someone not seated at the table.
Following this scream, the window in the restaurant lounge was kicked in, and something came flying through it.
Covered in glass, the something rolled across the floor, then scrambled to its feet—it was Amante, apparently totally fine with having all those shards of glass stuck in her.
“Wh-whoa, are you okay?”
“This doesn’t hurt a bit! And in any case… You bunch! What the heck?! You were supposed to attack the tower yesterday, weren’t you?! I thought you were insane to put nothing but moms in your party, but even so, you set out to climb it, didn’t you?! Didn’t you?!”
“Uh, yeah… Exactly right. Even the part about having nothing but moms being totally insane.”
“Then why didn’t you ever get anywhere? You at least made it as far as the twentieth floor, but that’s it! Nothing after that! Whyyy?!”
“Um… Well… They had to go home and lock up, then take in their laundry, then there was a sale, so… The mothers kept finding reasons to go back to town, so…”
“Huh?! What?! That doesn’t even make sense! Are you yanking my chain?!”
“That was exactly my reaction…”
“I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but you realize I thought you were coming, set a trap, and laid in wait for you? And then I accidentally set it off and self-destructed, but then I kept waiting for you after that?! All night?!”
“Oh yeah? …Well, that’s, uh…”
Frankly, “Sounds like we were better off not making progress.” “Yeah.” “I think so!” The girls were carrying on with their breakfast as if nothing had happened, and they did seem to have a point.
But for the person left waiting, this was undoubtedly infuriating. She was glaring ferociously at Masato.
“And then I find you enjoying a leisurely breakfast?! Are you even trying to clear the tower?! Are you?!”
“Uh, well, it’s not that simple… I’d love to get going soon myself, but, well…”
“Then stand up and go! Why don’t you?! What’s stopping you?!”
Good question.
Still focused on her meal, Wise and the others explained.
“Simple matter of numbers. The moms won’t be joining us till the afternoon.”
“They’re going to spend the morning on housework and then get together after that. That leaves us with less time to focus on clearing the tower, but…”
“But since they got all their housework done, we can focus on the tower! Wise and Medhi won’t kill themselves casting teleport magic over and over!”
Yep.
“Honestly, I’m not super satisfied with that… But unless we have the numbers, there’s nothing we can do. So today we’ll show up in the afternoon.”
Masato was definitely working hard to convince himself this was for the best.
“…What…the…heck…? You’ve gotta be kidding…”
Amante was shaking, her head down, her whole body quivering. This was sheer fury. She was about to unleash hellfire on them.
And guess who poured oil on that fire.
“Um, Amante, dear—”
“Hrk! Mamako Oosuki!”
The moment Mamako tried to speak, disaster was ensured.
Amante already viewed Mamako as her mortal enemy, and the moment she laid eyes on her, detonation occurred. The explosion was enormous.
“Arghhhh! ARGHHHHHHHHHH! You’re a mother! Another mother! You made a fool out of me! Mothers are the cause of all my problems! No more! I’ve had enough!”
“U-um, Amante? Please calm down—”
“Don’t you dare speak to me! You make me sick! Arghhhh!! That’s it, we’re settling this right here and now!”
And with that, Amante drew her sword.
“Come at me, Mamako Oosuki! Come on! Let’s do this!”
“W-wait, Amante! Take a deep breath and—”
“I agree! Amante, you need to calm down!”
“I have washing up to do! I want to get these dishes clean before the food dries out and gets stuck to them!”
“Good point! Amante, Mom’s got washing up to do… Wait. Mom? That’s not the argument we should be making here—”
“Argh! Then go wash up! Right now!”
“That’s your priority, too?!”
“Oh… N-no, don’t do that! I’m through being yanked around by what moms want! …I know!” Amante thrust her sword out, pointing at Mamako, as if she’d just had a great idea. “Mamako Oosuki! If you won’t fight me because you’ve got dishes to do, then we’ll compete over that! Let’s find out which of us is better at washing up!”
Yikes.
They’d moved from the restaurant lounge to the kitchen, where rows of counters and dishwashing sinks stood.
“Uh… So Mamako versus Dumbante—”
“Hey, you there, Sage! Get my name right!”
“Mamako versus In-Over-Her-Head in a dishwashing battle.”
“You, Cleric! You didn’t even say part of my name!”
But Wise and Medhi ignored Amante’s howls and started things off.
Mamako stood before the sink to the right.
“I didn’t intend to make this a fight, but I do want to get the dishes done.”
Amante stood before the sink to the left.
“This is a fight! Even if it’s washing dishes, I won’t lose to any mothers!”
Two contestants: Mamako all smiles, Amante’s throbbing veins about to burst.
“Siiigh… Why’d things have to end up this way? …Anywho, if we don’t do this, Amante’s just gonna keep shouting, so go ahead. Let’s find out who’s best at washing up,” Masato said. “Positions!”
“Start washing!” Porta yelled.
And with that, the battle began!
Each sink contained three sets of the dishes they’d used for that morning’s breakfast. Whoever got them all washed first was the winner.
“Let’s go! If we assigned a number to my washing power, it would be at least 530,000! Watch and weep!”
Moistening her sponge, Amante started with the teacups, then the small plates for seaweed and pickles, then the miso soup and rice bowls, and finally the platters that had contained the eggs.
Moving from the least to the most dirty was a core principle of dishwashing. Amante was surprisingly good at this.
“Heh-heh! I’m actually great at all kinds of housework! I’ve got the skills needed to survive without a mother! …Well, Mamako Oosuki? Will you admit defeat?!”
Certain she’d already won, Amante glanced at the sink to her right.
Mamako was tackling her dishes without a sponge. Instead, she was holding Altura.
“Now, then! Let’s get started!”
“Wha…? Mamako Oosuki?! Why are you holding a sword?!”
“So I can do this!”
Mamako turned all the dishes in the sink upside down, making sure they didn’t overlap.
Then she poured a small amount of dish soap on the tip of her sword and held it over the dishes.
When she did, the sword began spraying water—mingled with just the right amount of soap—as if mimicking the interior workings of a dishwasher.
Once the backs of the dishes were clean, she flipped them and sprayed them again.
“Okay, all done.”
“Huhhhhhhhh?!”
Mamako had already finished. “W-wait a minute!” Amante cried, peering into Mamako’s sink. She picked up a dish and inspected it closely, astonished. “Not a speck on it… So much cleaner than washing it by hand…and faster. My God… Washing dishes with water from a sword…?”
“Yesterday our base didn’t have running water, so I wondered if I could use this sword instead, and when I tried it out, it worked just like that! Such a help. This sword is very useful. Hee-hee!”
“Useful? …That’s not even what a sword is for! That’s not fair!” Amante protested.
And the decision went to the judges. Masato turned to Shiraaase to get her opinion.
“So, Shiraaase. What say you to Amante’s argument?”
“Whether using a legendary sword as a dishwasher is appropriate or not, the standards for judging washing are speed and cleanliness. I believe the precise methods are up to the contestants. Just as some people use dishwashers, and others always wash by hand.”
“So you believe in respecting one another’s differences. I see. Thank you… So there you have it, Amante.”
“B-but… Then…”
The match was over. Shiraaase’s final decision:
“The winner of the dishwashing contest is…Mamako!”
“Oh my! I guess I win!”
Mamako lined her dishes up on the drying rack and was done. Meanwhile, Amante hadn’t finished rinsing. Her sink was still filled with bubbles. The results were clear.
Mamako had destroyed her.
“Congrats, Mamako!”
“You win even when you aren’t trying to… That’s Mamako for you.”
“Mama is the best at mom stuff! I have so much respect!”
“Thank you, Mamako. With this victory, you’ve earned the right to compete in the WMC—that’s the World Mom Championship. How do you feel right now?”
“Well… As Ma-kun’s mommy, I’m just glad I could avoid embarrassing him. Thanks to everyone who supported me!”
“You being in this at all is already embarrassing, so please don’t mention me.”
That aside, Mamako had won. Her party gathered around her, celebrating the victory.
Meanwhile, Amante the loser was genuinely upset and repeatedly pounding her fist against the floor.
“Argh… How…? I never saw it coming!”
“Oh, Amante. It was a dumb fight, but, like…you already lost, so—”
“No, this isn’t over! …This must be some mistake! …Yes! This is all wrong! There’s no way my washing power could ever be less than Mamako’s!”
“Can we move off the dishwashing thing already? Like, please, just choose something else.”
Masato’s polite suggestion fell on deaf ears.
Amante picked herself up off the floor and glared at Mamako.
“Mamako Oosuki! I challenge you again! Fight me once more!”
“B-but… Amante, dear, let’s not. You see, I need to wash Ma-kun’s shirts next. I’ve got time this morning, so I want to do it properly.”
“Yeah, Amante. Mom’s busy. She’s got to wash my shirts, or… Wait, if you say that she’ll—”
“Then I challenge you to a shirt-washing contest! We’ll see which of us washes them better!”
“I knew it… Mom, you don’t have to accept—”
“I accept! Nobody can make Ma-kun’s shirts whiter than me!”
“Whoa! Mom’s suddenly super fired up!!”
Mamako would never lose to anyone where her beloved son was concerned. This was a matter of pride.
Once again: yikes.
They moved to the guild hotel roof. The view was spectacular.
“Okay, we’ve got another fight that’ll end in tears! Mamako versus Loserante—”
“You there, Sage! I’m not crying! Also, that’s not my name!”
“Mamako versus someone who should really wash her own stinky equipment before washing someone else’s shirts! A laundry battle!”
“You vile Cleric… Have you no mercy?” There go the waterworks already.
But Wise and Medhi started the battle with no sympathy for Amante’s sniffles.
They’d made a boxing ring out of clotheslines, and the two contestants stepped inside.
First: the champion, Mamako, happily holding one of Masato’s slightly soiled shirts.
“Hee-hee. Look! All dirty because of how hard he fights! But don’t worry! You can leave the laundry to Mommy!”
Then the challenger, Amante, holding another one of Masato’s shirts high.
“Masato Oosuki! I’ll make your filthy little shirt as white as snow! You won’t believe how fast it gets clean!”
Both of them showed off Masato’s laundry to everyone there.
Masato collapsed in a heap and rolled away in the throes of agony. “Uggghhh… My last shred of privacy is deeeeaad…” Most of the stains on Masato’s clothing weren’t incurred in the heat of battle but from his tendency to roll around like this when he got upset. Anyway.
“The scoring is simple!” Shiraaase said. “Whoever makes Masato’s shirts whiter is the winner. Ready?”
“Start the laundry battle!” Porta yelled.
Amante sprang into action.
“Cower before the skills honed camping out in that tower!”
Amante opened her item storage and pulled out a large bucket.
“Why does she have something like that?”
“Have you been using that as a bath, too?!”
“Yes, I have! I used this to splash seawater on myself! Gee, sooooorry!”
Enduring Wise’s and Medhi’s horrified stares, she used the tap on the roof to fill the bucket.
“And I bought this at the general store!”
Amante pulled out a washboard and some detergent. She put plenty of detergent on the shirt’s stains and then began rubbing it against the washboard. “A washboard… Just like…” “What are you looking at?!” The crowd seemed poised for another boob battle, but Amante ignored them, furiously washing.
Time for the announcer. Masato was still lying in a heap, but Shiraaase demanded a comment anyway.
“Masato, the enemy boss is enthusiastically washing your shirt. What do you think about that?”
“I have no idea how to feel or what expression I should have.”
Masato’s mind and body were as close to nothingness as possible. He had passed through many stages and was preparing to disappear entirely.
And the stains on his shirt began to vanish. Amante’s laundry was progressing well.
“Heh-heh-heh! I’ve almost got that stain on the sleeve! I’m amazing at laundry! …Well, Mamako Oosuki? Ready to concede defeat?”
Amante held her results aloft, turning toward her opponent.
Mamako had not even started her laundry yet. She was just cradling Masato’s shirt closely to her, looking terribly sad.
“Amante dear… I do wish you’d use a more delicate touch.”
“Delicate?! Pfft. This is a contest! Delicacy has no place here!”
“I don’t quite mean that. I just want you to stop because Ma-kun’s shirt will fray if you rub it so forcefully.”
“O-oh, that’s what you mean? …A f-fair point… But you need to do this to get the stubborn stains out! How else can you get it clean?”
“Oh, that’s easy… You just do it like this.”
Mamako held up not a washboard nor a washing machine—but Altura.
She dipped the tip of the sword into the water, which then welled out of the navy-blue blade and formed a large water sphere in the air.
She put Masato’s shirt inside.
“Even if you gently wash it, those stubborn stains still come right out.”
She tapped the surface of the sphere as if she were hitting the START button on a washing machine.
Just as Mamako wanted, the water in the sphere began to gently churn like it was on a delicates cycle. The shirt fluttered elegantly within the sphere, and the stubborn stains on it melted away.
Amante’s jaw dropped open so hard it nearly dislocated.
“Wh-what the hell is that sword?! How can it do this?!”
“It makes all a mother’s desires possible. Hee-hee!”
A mother’s desires gave it the effects of a detergent and fabric softener…apparently.
Before their very eyes, the shirt’s stains all vanished…
The two shirts were hung on the lines in the center of the ring, one astonishingly white and one with the dirt somewhat removed but rather frayed.
Shiraaase passed judgment.
“The winner of the laundry battle is…Mamako!”
“Hee-hee! Yay!”
The results were clear: another overwhelming victory for Mamako.
Supporters gathered around the victory, celebrating.
“I knew this would happen. It’s Mamako, after all. And Masato’s shirts.”
“No way Mamako would ever come in second where Masato’s concerned.”
“Mama will never lose on Masato stuff!”
“Now, Mamako. This victory has earned you a seed placement at the WMC—that’s the World Masato Championships. Can you tell us how you feel?”
“No matter how many other mothers come, I won’t let anyone else claim the World Ma-kun Champion title from me!”
“Oh, God, please no. The idea of moms the world over competing to be my number one is beyond incomprehensible into straight-up living hell.”
Look forward to fierce mom-offs in the World Masato Championship arc, coming soon…
But all joking aside…
“W-wait! …There’s no way I’d ever lose to a mom… It doesn’t make sense! I haven’t lost yet!”
Amante’s cry cut through the celebratory mood.
“Amante… Are you still going—?”
“It’s just a fact! I haven’t lost! …I—I know! This is a three-round fight! So I haven’t lost yet!”
“Yeah, okay, she’s an idiot.”
“Even if it was a three-round fight, she’s already lost two out of three, so that wouldn’t change anything.”
“The third battle has a hundred times the points! Whoever wins the third fight is the real victor! Settled! The last battle… Uh… It’ll take place in the tower! Let’s do that! We’re done with laundry, right? No more laundry? Then lock your doors and let’s get going! All right?”
With that unilateral declaration, Amante ran off to the fence around the roof.
“I don’t owe you an explanation or anything, but since some idiots came wandering back, our forces are primed and assembled! Prepare yourselves!”
And with that, Amante jumped…
…off the hotel roof. Whoosh— Thud! Boy, that sure sounded painful…
They ran to the edge and looked down, and Amante seemed to be totally fine, just hopping mad. She ran off. She was clearly pretty durable!
So.
“Lock up and get going… I’d love to, but…”
They weren’t meeting the other mothers until the afternoon. They couldn’t get going until then. And they’d explained this to Amante, so…let’s just assume explanations are wasted on the stupid.
But then…
“Masato, c’mere.”
“We might be able to get going right away.”
…Wise and Medhi were both staring over the edge of the roof.
At what? Well…
“Excuse me! Mamako! Everyone! Are you here?”
Responding to the call, they went to the entrance hall and found…
“…Erk…”
…them. The mob of moms.
They were all dressed up to go out, lugging overstuffed bags. Not only the moms who’d come to the tower the day before were present but a new batch of moms as well, more than double the previous number. At a glance, there looked to be around thirty of them.
As Masato stared in horror, Pocchi’s mother stepped forward, extremely flustered.
“Good morning, everyone! I’m sorry to come bursting in on you like this.”
“Um, uh… No, but… Why are there so many—?”
“We were talking among ourselves! We said we were trying to get back the runaway children! And then these other mothers said they wanted to help! So we gathered up all the mothers whose children ran away!”
“O-oh… Well, thanks? B-but…I thought you weren’t coming until the afternoon… Don’t you have housework?”
“We do! But then something came up… Look!”
Pocchi’s mother showed him a small page torn out of a notebook.
Going to square things. Be right back, it read in rather nice handwriting.
“Is this…from Pocchi?”
“That’s right! …You see, yesterday, after they finished repairing your base, he came back home…and I haven’t seen him since! I thought he was asleep, but when I went to his room there was no sign of him, just this note! And it said he’d be right back, but it’s morning and he still isn’t back!”
“So you’re thinking…”
Masato stared at the note. The girls looked over his shoulder.
“Hmm… Doesn’t seem like he’s run away again, though.”
“Yeah. I mean, he says he’s coming back.”
“Um… What does he mean by ‘square things’?”
“That means he wants to settle the matter. Sort things out.”
Shiraaase was right. It was a word often used after a fight, when someone was trying to make up for their actions.
So what was Pocchi trying to square?
The whole runaway thing? The guild attack? Either way…
It seemed safe to assume he was trying to do something about Amante, the cause of all this.
In which case…
“…They most likely went to the tower.”
“You think so? That’s what we thought! When I talked to the other mothers, I found out all the children who came home two days ago did the same thing! They’ve all disappeared!”
“All of them? …Then they’ve got decent numbers. Enough to hit the requirement for the tower…”
“That’s right! So! So…!”
It wasn’t just Pocchi’s mother; it was every mother unaware of their child’s whereabouts, all with tears in their eyes, hands clasped together in prayer, eyes pleading with Masato’s party.
Desperate faces of mothers whose children had not come home, staring at them.
And one of their own was a mother, too. Mamako nodded silently.
Wise, Medhi, Porta, and even Shiraaase were all staring at Masato.
They all waited for him, for the hero’s words.
“Let’s make sure our houses are locked up! It’s time to go!”
Mm. That was a little weird. This was really the place for simplicity. Maybe he should have left out the first part.
But everyone there nodded in agreement, as if he’d made a very good point. Locking up was very important.
The full force of Mom’s Guild set out to clear the tower.
“Well, everyone! Let’s get going!” Mamako yelled.
And they smoothly started moving.
“Well, I think I will accompany you.”
“Mm? Shiraaase, you’re coming? …What brought that on?”
“What will happen next… As an admin—no, as an individual—I would like to witness it firsthand. Do you mind?”
“Uh, no. Not at all. You’re welcome to come.”
The attack formation placed Masato’s party at the head, Shiraaase with them, and then the mob of moms. A large squad, more than thirty people in all.
Masato’s group led the march down from the plateau, through the town, and across the bridge toward the tower.
The streets were pretty quiet today. The mothers were gossiping less, the gravity of the situation reflected in their expressions. All concerned for their children’s well-being, ready for the dangers the tower held.
This was a relief to the children.
“Looks like this won’t be a repeat of yesterday.”
“Yeah, not having to blow all my MP ferrying them to their homes and back will be just great.”
“Yes… But I do have other concerns…”
“Yeah…”
All of them were only too aware of the last thing Amante had said:
I don’t owe you an explanation or anything, but since some idiots came wandering back, our forces are primed and assembled! Prepare yourselves!
They would much rather not think about what she’d meant, but…just in case, they had to be prepared. Especially for how they should handle things in front of their mothers…
As they pondered this question, they realized they’d already reached the tower.
Mom’s Guild assembled before the entrance, the magic circles appeared beneath their feet, counting them, and the doors slowly swung open. They were inside the tower.
Inside the entrance stood the staircase of rubble. If they climbed that, they would soon reach the nineteenth floor.
But on the floor right in front of the rubble was an arrow with a message written below it.
Use the warp floor to get up faster. Get here a sap!
Huh.
“Uh… This is Amante, right?”
“Yeah. Can’t wait for us to get to her any other way.”
“And she apparently doesn’t know what ASAP is. How sad.”
“So… Can we assume this isn’t a trap?”
“Yeah… If she set a trap and that delayed our arrival, that would just make her even more annoyed. Even someone who doesn’t know ASAP is an acronym would know that.”
“So if it isn’t a trap…we might as well use it.”
They followed the arrow on the floor around the rubble staircase, taking a different path from the one Shiraaase had once led them down, to a small door at the back.
“Here?”
He opened the door carefully, just in case. Inside was a fairly large space.
There was nothing else in it, just eight magic circles on the floor. Each of them had a number from two to nine written next to it, but all the circles except eight had been stabbed with something sharp and then destroyed.
And someone had kindly written To the eighty-first floor next to the eighth magic circle.
“So this is a warp floor that will take us to the eighty-first floor. Easy to understand at least… Well, here goes nothin’.”
Masato stepped onto the magic circle. Light poured out around his feet, and he felt a sudden floating sensation. He closed his eyes against the light…
…and when he opened them, he was somewhere else.
“…So this is the eighty-first floor?”
The floor was covered in unidentifiable bones, and the walls were hideous and writhing, like the group was inside the monster. The first word that popped into his mind was hell.
As his party members warped after him, they, too, frowned.
“Oh my… What a frightening place…”
“Blegh. This is gross.”
“So repulsive… So foul… Like being inside Wise!”
“More like you, Medhi. You’re the one who’s all nasty inside.”
“Oooh… Too awful… I’m getting really scared…”
“You are? I find it rather refreshing myself!”
Let’s just ignore the mystery of what was wrong with the Mysterious Nun’s taste.
With their sheer numbers, it took some time, but eventually the entire mom mob had arrived. It was time to move forward.
“Then let’s start clearing this— Oh.”
Masato was about to take a step forward when a monster appeared from around the corner.
Several hellhounds, all with way too many faces, charged at them. “Hyah!” Mamako swung both her swords. Shnk pshhhht! Battle complete. All done.
“Even higher-floor enemies aren’t a threat… Geez, Mom… Guess nothing changes. Oh well. On we go!”
Mom’s Guild began marching, Masato’s party at the head, the mob of moms following behind. They took up the entirety of the wide passage.
Exploring at random would get them nowhere. They needed information. With that in mind, Masato turned to Shiraaase.
“Um, Shiraaase…”
“I have no knowledge of the routes in this sector. I’m afraid I can’t act as your guide.”
“O-oh… I was hoping you could…”
“I apologize for failing to live up to your expectations. All I can do is infooorm you of basic infooormation. For example, about traps that can’t be avoided.”
“Traps we can’t avoid? They exist?”
“Yes, they do… Oh, there’s one now.”
A trap appeared in their path.
It was a massive stone block taking up the entire passage—big enough that they couldn’t just jump over. There was an armor mark carved into it.
“So… It’s just a really big version of what we saw lower down?”
“Yes. So big you can’t avoid it. You must step onto it. And the trap effect—”
“We’ll find that out when we step on it! Here goes! …Hyah!”
“Wait! Mom?!”
Mamako had gone trotting forward and stomped right onto the stone like it didn’t matter.
The next moment, the elbow guard Mamako had equipped vanished.
“O-oh! Oh dear! Ma-kun! Mommy’s elbow armor vanished! I wonder why.”
“Why? … Oh, wait.”
Masato tried hopping on the stone himself. His elbow guard vanished, too.
He quickly pulled up his status screen and checked his stats; his DEF value was slightly lower.
“I see. That explains it.”
“Yes. Floors with the armor mark lower your defense. They make armor vanish and lower your actual defense stat.”
“The heck? That sucks! Especially for mages, since we don’t have much defense to begin with.”
“Yes… For Wise and myself this could be… Oh, but we’ve got Mamako, so we’ll never actually fight.”
“Oh, right! There’s no chance of anyone attacking us. In that case…”
Wise hopped onto the armor icon. Her cape vanished.
Medhi joined her, and the sleeves of her healer tunic vanished, leaving her sleeveless.
“Wow. You both look like you’re dressed for warmer weather.”
“Yeah. This isn’t that bad. Definitely gives me a little freedom of movement.”
“It feels like I just changed clothes! It’s actually sort of fun.”
“Um, Ms. Shiraaase! I’m a noncombatant and have no defense, so what will happen if I step on it?”
“You’ll just have to step on it and find out. I’ll join you. Come on!”
Porta and Shiraaase stepped onto the tile. “Whoa!” Porta’s sleeves grew shorter. “Hmm.” The hem of Shiraaase’s skirt grew slightly higher.
“Seems to activate regardless of whether you’re a combatant or not…”
“I suppose it’ll have a similar effect on all the moms… But none of them can participate in combat to begin with, so I guess we can assume there’s no risk involved.”
“Yeah. So…let’s keep moving!”
And with that, the entire Mom’s Guild began making their way over the armor tile. “Oh my!” “Goodness!” All the mothers lost portions of their best clothes, and this surprised them, but nothing more.
A while later…
“…Oh, there are the stairs!”
They’d stumbled onto the stairs fairly quickly. Masato went up first.
The eighty-second floor. It was the same sort of hellish castle as the floor below.
And once again, there was a tile with an armor mark.
“This again? …Is there one of these on every floor?”
Were they going to have to step on these each time they reached a new floor? And the effect would keep stacking until they found a trap Rilascio tile.
Their defense dropping, their armor vanishing…
But…more and more skin showing…?
Seemed likely. After all, what they were wearing vanished.
Okay, then.
“Masato, are you enjoying this?” Shiraaase asked.
“Uh, well… Uh, oh, no, not like that!” He vehemently denied it, but…
Mom’s Guild was progressing smoothly.
Each floor they reached had an armor trap floor, and they found no signs of any trap Rilascio tiles. More and more armor vanished, and more and more skin came into view.
Eighty-third floor.
“Hey! My jacket’s gone!”
Eighty-fourth floor.
“Eeek! My skirt’s absurdly short now!”
Eighty-fifth floor.
“Uh… My shirt vanished…”
Eighty-sixth floor.
“Whoa! I don’t have any socks left! I’m in trouble!”
Eighty-seventh floor.
“Oops. My panties and stockings vanished… This trap is so immature.”
Eighty-eighth floor.
“Argh… I’m down to pants and underwear… What the heck…?!”
And then the eighty-ninth floor.
They walked a ways before discovering a trap set in front of the stairs to the floor above. Another giant panel with another armor mark.
“Argh… We have…no choice…”
Masato stepped forward onto it. The trap activated and left him standing in his underwear.
Behind him the other members followed. “Oh my!” “I knew this was coming…” They were all in the same predicament.
Then.
While Masato was refusing to turn around and busy trying to eliminate all thoughts from his mind, Shiraaase called out to him.
“Masato! Masato! A moment of your time, please.”
“Wh-what is it…?”
“Next up is the ninetieth floor. The boss floor. I think a pep talk is in order. Shouldn’t you turn around, face the crowd, and give us all a rousing speech?”
“Y-yeah… I would love to… Normally…”
But facing them, or even glancing backward, meant he would see things. And he would rather not see those things.
When Masato proved less than enthusiastic, Shiraaase spoke again.
“We don’t mind. We need the hero’s call! These things are important.”
“The hero’s call… That… That is my job… But… But if…”
“True. If you turn to speak to us, you will see not only we mothers but also these young girls in the altogether.”
“Y-yeah… And that wouldn’t be…”
“But that is a necessary evil.”
“A necessary evil… Wow, that sure sounds…convincing…”
“So it should. Masato, you will be acting heroically, out of concern for your party’s well-being, and whatever glimpses you catch will be necessary evil. None would blame you for it. After all, you are acting only for their benefit.”
“I would be… Then… Well, if you insist…”
He wasn’t doing this so he could stare at the girls. That wasn’t the case at all. He was doing this for them! In which case… In which case!
“Um… S-so, everyone! There’s a boss up next! Let’s all focus our energies!”
Masato turned around and called out!
And when he did, he was greeted with a feast for the eyes! A young, barely clothed beauty stood before him!
“That’s right. Just like Ma-kun says, there’s a boss up next! Everyone, be careful!”
Young?
Well, she could certainly pass for young. She had the skin tone of a teenager, a heaping bosom snug in a lacy bra, delicate panties that left little to the imagination…
“Focus our energies, he said. He chose that phrasing. How infooormative. Heh-heh-heh.”
But still, was young the right word? Though she was beautiful, there were certain things hinted at her age… Certainly, her proportions were on point, and there was no arguing that her risqué black unmentionables were a sight to behold…
But…
“We have to fight a boss now? How terrifying…”
“Yes, and in our underwear, too! …Goodness, you certainly have kept your belly trim.”
“It’s all thanks to this shapewear! If I take this off, it all comes spilling out.”
“Same here. I just can’t seem to keep it tight anymore. Such a shame.”
“You’re so right… Look at all this extra flab around my sides!”
The rest of them were definitely not young. Probably a few decades past that.
They also seemed to be quite big on beige, and as they said, there was quite a bit of flab and overhanging bellies on display.
Whatever shame they may once have possessed had clearly long since faded away. The mob of moms weren’t even trying to hide themselves behind those bags.
This was wrong, right? Yep. Super wrong.
Masato’s body and soul had turned to ash. He collapsed where he stood.
“Argh… I knew better… But this is too muuuch… I stepped right in Shiraaase’s traaap…”
“No, no, I intended nothing of the sort! Still… Heh-heh-heh.”
While her expression was as placid as ever, that laugh proved she was thoroughly enjoying herself. Evil.
He had to recover somehow. If he could only get some sort of reward, not in a weird way, just…anything to help him get his feet back under him. But where would such a thing come—?
“You at the front! What’s going on?! Get a move on!”
“What’s going on…? We can’t see a thing from back here!”
“Nnggg… Nnggg! I can’t see anything!”
He could hear voices. The girls were somewhere in the crowd of mothers. The moms’ beige lingerie barrier hid them from view.
“Argh… What are they doing…? Nobody gets it… Nobody understands… You can’t be hiding back there! It isn’t fair!”
“Oh my, Ma-kun, what’s wrong? The stairs to the next floor are right there! You can’t just stop… Oh, are you feeling sick? Should Mommy rub your belly for you?”
“Nooooo! You’re the last person I needed!”
Mamako had come running over to Masato in her underwear. He was in trouble! “Ma-kun? Are you okay?” Swaying everywhere. “Don’t bend overrrrrrr!” He frantically scrambled away from his mother’s swaying.
Masato ran like his life depended on it, right up the nearby staircase.
“I’ll beat the boss and end this! If we beat it, I’m sure this hell will end!”
“Yes, let’s go! Mommy is always right at your side!” Swaaaay.
“I’d prefer you keep your distance!!”
He was running toward the ninetieth floor—home to the stratum boss.
A pair of doors stood at the back of hell. Masato reached the floor with Mamako on his heels, and the count began.
Masato, Mamako, the mob of immodest moms, the girls (still out of sight).
Once everyone was accounted for, the doors opened.
“Here we go! Town mothers, step to safety! I’d appreciate it if you stay out of my sight, by which I mean nothing inappropriate! …Ah! Shiraaase, you go wherever.”
“So I shall. I can offer no assistance here. I shall watch over you from a position that offers no influence whatsoever.”
“Please do! …And our heaviest hitter is ready to go!”
“Hee-hee! Ma-kun’s mommy is always ready! Also… Wise, Medhi!” she called.
In response:
“Okay! The ultimate Sage is here! My magic will save the day!”
Wise came marching forward, hand on her pink-striped panty-clad hip, a camisole enveloping her nearly flat chest.
Then…
“Leave Cura, support, and bash damage to me! I’ll show you what a Melee Healer can do!”
There stood Medhi, in underwear of the purest white. She waved her staff dramatically, causing her chest to sway this way and that.
Finally, some actual girls!
“Yes! That’s what I’m talking about! No more mothers! Geez! Wise, Medhi! What were you waiting for?” Masato fumed.
“Uh… I don’t really get why Masato’s so mad…”
“Er, um… Should we be apologizing?”
“Apologies would be acceptable!”
So ““Th-then…we’re sorry?”” “Thank you!” he got apologies from both of them and deemed it settled. He’d calmed down enough to forgive.
And now that he’d calmed down…
“Huh? Like…I’m just looking right at you both and…there’s no punishment or…?”
“Oh… Um… Yeah… Like, at first I was hiding and doing the whole ‘look and you die’ thing, but…when I saw how unconcerned all the moms were, I just kinda stopped caring.”
“If nobody else cares and we’re being all sensitive about it, that’s just awkward. When everyone else is dancing, go dance, too, I suppose.”
Human instincts were prone to matching their surroundings.
“…It’s that simple?”
“Pretty much. As long as you don’t think or say anything weird, we’re good. So you need to start by apologizing for bringing it up at all.”
“Uh, yeah, then…sorry for making it weird.”
“Cool.”
Apologize, be forgiven. Thank you? Was this his lucky day?
Nah, really he was more worried about their state of mind. I mean, feeling comfortable in their undies because of a bunch of moms?
“Ma-kun! The door’s about to open!”
“Whoa, the boss fight! Focus! …Porta, make sure you’re somewhere safe!”
“R-right! I’ll be with the town moms!”
He watched—but like, not in a weird way—as Porta ran off, a giant bag on her back, the frills on her bunny panties bouncing.
This was a battle. Time to get serious.
They were on the ninetieth floor. The boss will be pretty strong…
All of them had their defense down to nothing. How could they fight like this?
Defeat it without getting hit. No other options. They had to attack first. Masato readied Firmamento, waiting for his chance to attack with everything he had.
And when the doors fully opened, what appeared…
“Heh-heh-heh. You all came as promised! That’s the only praise you’ll get from me!”
…was Amante.
She appeared wholly confident in her adorable floral underwear. She had a pretty great figure, after all. Wise was no competition up top, but Amante was a little smaller than Medhi. I suppose that’s not really something to dwell on, though.
“Wait, you’re the boss? And why are you in your underwear, too?”
“Huh? My underwear? What are you—? Aiieeeee!! Why am I in my underwear?! What the—?! …Oh, right, I climbed up here from the eighty-first floor, so of course this happened!”
“How did you not notice?! You really are an idiot!”
“Sh-shut up! Even I’m starting to agree! Argghh!”
Whether she was easily embarrassed or just, like, having a normal reaction, Amante hastily hid herself behind the door. Only her bright red face poked out from behind.
“Um, um… I-I’m impressed you made it this far! That’s the only praise you’ll get from me!”
“It is an honor to receive praise from you. However, you did already say that.”
“I can say it as many times as I like! Quit trying to trip me up! …Anyway, as promised, we’re gonna settle this! I’m gonna gather all my forces and totally destroy you! Come on out!”
At Amante’s order, the shadows beyond the door shifted.
A number of monsters emerged. First…the body of a man, the face of a lizard—a lizardman. Next…the body of a man, the face of a wolf—a werewolf.
There followed a frog, a bird, a bear, a deer—all humanoid monsters with faces of different animals, thirty of them in total.
And all these monsters were equipped with armor like high-rank adventurers.
When he saw this, Masato swore under his breath. This was bad news.
“So they’re the ninetieth-floor bosses? Definitely not your average monsters… But a mob boss? Not being able to focus on a single opponent can be rough… What now—?”
As he tried to devise a strategy, Mamako interrupted.
“Don’t worry, Ma-kun. Mommy’s attack can take care of any number of enemies.”
“Hmm. Right… Then if we leave this to your two-hit multi-target attack—”
“Oh, you’re gonna attack them? Are you? Go ahead. Attack away. Mwa-ha-ha!”
Amante seemed to be having a suspiciously good time despite still hiding behind the door.
Masato glared at her, wondering what was up, but a staring contest would get them nowhere. He figured it was best to have Mamako attack and ask questions later.
But then…
“E-excuse me! Can we have a word?”
…Pocchi’s mom came scuttling over to them.
“Wh-what is it? …This isn’t about locking up or laundry, is it?”
“Of course not! Nothing of the sort. I just want a better look at those monsters’ heads!”
“Those monsters’…heads?”
Pocchi’s mother pointed at one of the monsters, a gorilla with a Mohawk. What about that Mo—?
“…Huh?”
It suddenly dawned on him. Maybe they did look familiar… Very familiar.
“That Mohawk…looks a lot like Pocchi’s…”
“Doesn’t it? That’s what I thought! I’ve never seen anyone but my boy with such a silly hairdo!”
“Y-yeah… I’ve never seen one in real life on anyone else, either… It’s…exactly the same. Like, that is Pocchi’s Mohawk. But…”
But that didn’t mean this gorilla with a Mohawk was Pocchi. It was just a monster. How could it be Pocchi?
Fortunately, there was an idiot happy to explain before anyone even asked the question.
“It’s only natural some of you think these monsters look familiar! After all, these monsters are what became of the adventurers who placed themselves under my control!”
“Huh? …W-wait, Amante! What did you just say?!”
“I didn’t say a thing! Pocchi and them just showed up yesterday, acting like they were gonna defeat me, so I used the power of darkness to turn them and all the other adventurers into monsters! But I’d never tell you that! It’ll be way more fun to have you fight in ignorance of the truth!”
“Oh, I see! You’ve got a lotta nerve!”
So this group of monsters were all the town’s adventurers, Pocchi included.
This news came as a shock to the assembled mothers. They stared in horror, their minds refusing to accept it.
Masato gritted his teeth.
Damn! This is awful! The worst thing that could happen!
From what Amante had said at the guild, he’d been prepared for the possibility that Pocchi’s goons had rejoined the enemy. But it had never occurred to him that they might have been turned into monsters.
What now?
“Um, Ma-kun! If those monsters are the village children, I can’t attack them!”
“Yeah, I know! No attacking! But…what else can we do…?”
They couldn’t hurt them. That much was clear. These were the town’s adventurers. Was there a way to turn them back? They needed to figure that out somehow, but…
…before they could start searching for a way, Amante took action.
“What are you hesitating for? Aren’t you gonna fight? How boring! Then we’ll get things started! …Come on, monsters! Get them! Tear apart Mamako, her party, and the mothers you all loathe with your bare hands!”
Amante’s merciless order prompted the adventurer monsters to…
…do nothing. They all just stood right where they were.
Not only did they not fight, they all started dropping their weapons.
“Ma…maaaa… Help… Heeeellllp…meeee…” the gorilla said in a strained, almost inaudible whisper. There were tears in his eyes.
Monster Pocchi set them all off. All the adventurer monsters were soon calling for their mothers. “Moooooo…mmm…” “Maaaa…maaa…” The mothers and Masato’s party could barely make out the adventurer monsters’ cries, but they were repeating them, their hands reaching out for salvation.
Masato and the others just stared, stunned.
Until Amante’s anger broke the silence.
“Wait! Why are you begging your mothers for help?! I thought you all hated your mothers! …Argh… No matter! I’ll just do this!”
Amante produced a palm-sized dark jewel—where had she been hiding that?—and threw it in the air above her.
As it spun, the jewel emanated an ominous glow bright enough to reach the ceiling high above the ninetieth floor. A huge magic circle appeared above them.
It was a sinister circle with a gloomy radiance. Bizarre symbols and pictograms lining the edges made it very clear this was nothing holy.
All concern shifted from the adventurer monsters to this magic circle. Masato took a firm grip on his sword, glaring at the ceiling.
“Hey, hey, hey! The heck is this? …Amante! Explain!”
“Why do I have to explain everything?! This is a brainwashing spell! I’ll forcibly overwrite the NPC behavior and—”
But before her explanation ended, the spell activated.
A dark light shot out of the magic circle. Black liquid began falling like drops beading on the ceiling of a bathhouse.
These drops fell on the adventurer monsters and clung to their bodies as they whispered:
“Annoying… Frustrating… Infuriating… Awful. Just being around them makes you sick.”
“All they ever do is scold and lecture. Do this, do that. Who cares?”
“Who is it who makes you feel like that? That’s right. Them.”
“They’re nothing but trouble. All they do is rob their children of any peace and freedom… That’s why…”
The horrible voices grew silent. The drops vanished.
Their eyes now turned unquestionably hostile, the adventurer monsters picked up their weapons and stepped forward.
“They’re ready to fight! Everyone, look out!”
Masato’s party prepared for battle.
But the adventurer monsters never looked at them. They scattered, racing around and past them.
“Uh… W-wait… If they’re not after us, then…!”
The adventurer monsters were running directly toward the crowd of stunned mothers.
They were after their moms. Each monster targeting their own mother.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha! That’s right! That’s how it should be! Get them! …Meanwhile, I’m going to put some clothes on! A temporary retreat for a wardrobe change!”
Seizing her moment, Amante ran off.
Masato wanted to grab her, but this situation was far more urgent.
“Dammit! She brainwashed them into attacking their moms! This is insane!”
“We can’t let them do that! Let’s do something!”
“Yeah, I know! First, let’s have Mom attack to slow them… No, that won’t work. The stray bullets will hit the moms! Damn! What else can we do?”
Run out and help the closest ones? Starting where?
No matter which way Masato went, behind his back some other mother would be attacked by her child, screaming.
And the longer he stood still, the closer that came to reality.
He had to act swiftly. But the desire to save all of them was shackling him, leaving him unable to act at all. Then…
“…Spara la magia per mirare… Barriera! And! Forte Vento!”
“Following up! …Spara la magia per mirare… Cieco!”
…three spells activated in rapid succession.
First, a defensive effect. Targeting the moms, it created a magic wall in front of them.
An instant later, a powerful wind started blowing. This blew away the adventurer monsters just before they attacked the mothers.
Before they had a chance to get back up, they were hit with a status effect. All light was stolen from their eyes, leaving them totally blind. This way, they couldn’t target the mothers.
This magnificent display of magic came from Wise and Medhi.
“Ha-ha! Take that! How’s that for a magic girl combo?!”
“It does little but buy us time, but it’s a start!”
“Well done, both of you! …Now—”
“Time to split up!”
This was no time to insist that he be the one to give directions.
“Mom, you have a plan?”
“Yes. Leave the rampaging children to their mothers… Let these moms show how amazing they can be. Hee-hee.”
“That doesn’t seem like a thing I need to watch, but sure, let’s do that!”
“Which means we need to do something about the magic circle on the ceiling!”
“That’s the cause of this calamity! If we can remove that, things might resolve themselves! …The problem is…how?”
“I’ve got an idea there! Leave this to me! This is my chance to shine! …Secret plan, activate! I summon Porta! Porta, over here! Hurry!”
“C-comiiiiiing! I’m on my waaaay!”
Threading her way through the thrashing monsters, Porta somehow made it safely to them. Now they were all together.
They split into two groups, putting the plan into action.
Blinded, the adventurer monsters were stumbling around, bumping into one another, howling at unseen foes—their attacks hit nothing.
But the status effect limiting their actions would soon run out. Once they could see, their berserk rage would focus on their mothers, and they would once more bare their fangs.
The mothers were sitting down, trembling, waiting for that moment to arrive. For once, their ceaseless gossip had stopped. They were leaning against one another, holding hands, faces pale and downcast.
Until Mamako spoke to them.
“Everyone, I have something to say.” Mamako was letting her feelings show. “I’m sure you’re all frightened. I’m sure you can’t believe what’s happening. For your own child to be turned into a monster and attack you… Even in our worst nightmares, we’ve never imagined anything like this… But it is the truth. What’s happening right now is very real. We must face that fact.”
“…B-but this is only because that Amante girl did something to them, right?”
“Y-yes! The power of darkness! That dark jewel! That’s to blame! If it weren’t for that, no child would ever attack their mothers!”
Several mothers were focused on blaming the external cause.
But Mamako shook her head.
“Certainly, this strange magic had a powerful influence… But I doubt that was all. I believe these children had feelings like this to begin with. They may not have hated their parents, but they were certainly harboring feelings of dissatisfaction.”
No person could accept absolutely everything about another. Large or small, there was always something not to like.
Especially when it came to those closest to you, to someone you dealt with on a daily basis, like a mother.
“Of course, I’m sure we can all say the same thing ourselves. I often sense such feelings in my own son… Just as parents have feelings, children have feelings of their own. Sometimes those frustrations bellow up, turn on us, and attack like wild monsters.”
“W-well… Yes… That has happened…”
“My child used to gripe about me all the time… And I argued back, we had a huge fight, and then they ran out of the house…”
“But what’s happening now is nothing out of the ordinary. These dissatisfied feelings have grown more than usual and surfaced, but these are but a part of your children. That’s why…”
“We must accept it.”
Mamako stood firm, poised to face any threat head-on.
“When children bare their raw emotions to us, and we argue with them, the conflict makes everything erupt. That’s exactly why we must first accept their emotions, draw them to us, and then talk about it, each party making their feelings clear. What better means of resolving things could there be?”
“Accept them and talk to them…?”
“Th-that is a good approach, but…”
The mothers looked nervously at their children.
These children were built like grown-ups. They towered over their mothers, and physically they were much stronger. On top of that, they’d been turned into monsters.
How could one go about accepting such children? It seemed impossible. The mothers grew downcast again, all lost in silence.
“Don’t worry! You can do it! Mothers have incredible power!” Mamako cried, clasping her hands to her chest. A ball of light appeared before them. Its bright shine pierced through the gloom, bathing all in the warmth and kindness of A Mother’s Light.
She raised the ball of light above her, and it shattered, each piece flying to one of the assembled mothers.
And the moment each accepted it…
“Eek! Wh-what is this…?!”
…the balls of light stretched out like ribbons, winding themselves around the women’s bodies and limbs, until they were covered in full-body armor.
Strong armor, like a Heavy Knight’s.
But this wasn’t full armor—it was full armom—indestructible armor able to withstand any attacks from their children.
From bright colors to animal prints, this full armom reflected the fashion sense of the wearers. The moms had been promoted from a mom mob to Moms-at-Arms.
“This is a mother’s power… Our power…”
“If we have this power, then…maybe…”
Perhaps they could accept their children’s rage. One by one, their faces lit up.
Their hopes were coming true. Mamako nodded, confirming as much.
“I know you can do it,” she said. “After all…you’re mothers!”
“That’s right! We’ll show our children what we can do when it really matters!”
“We will! Mothers are always there when our children need us!”
“We’ll face our children! Let us show them what mothers are made of!”
The mothers roared and formed a single line, ready to accept.
The adventurer monsters began to move. Their blindness vanished, and they began searching for their targets.
“…Gori? Goraaaaaaa!”
Bellowing, the Mohawk gorilla, Pocchi, attacked. He raised his sword, charging forward.
Pocchi’s mother stepped advanced to meet him, her full armom sporting a wicked leopard print.
“You’re Pocchi! I’d know you anywhere! After all, I’m your mother!”
“Gorilllaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Body, heart, and language all far too gorilla-y, Pocchi’s sword slashed mercilessly. It struck his mother in her shoulder…and snapped in two. Quite easily.
“Gorii?! Go-go-goriii?!”
“Your attacks can’t hurt me! Now it’s Mommy’s turn!”
“Go?! Gorillllllaaaaaaaaa?!”
Pocchi’s mother reached out her arms and wrapped them tightly around gorilla Pocchi. She wasn’t letting go. No matter what.
And in his mother’s arms, a miracle occurred.
The moment the warmth of her maternal love embraced him, his monstrous fur vanished, and he was human once more—Pocchi was back to normal.
“Wha…?! Hey! Heeyyyyyy!”
“Don’t worry. Mommy understands. You were just a little upset with me, right? I know. I understand.”
“Upset?! This situation is the most upsetting thing!”
“Yes, yes. Tell me everything. I’ll listen properly. We’ll always be together like this so I can listen.”
“You aren’t listening at all, though! I just want you to let go!! Arghh… Okay, okay! I’ll never do it again! Just please forgive meeeeee!”
Pocchi struggled far more than he had as a monster, letting out a cry of genuine desperation… But no, no, that couldn’t be. He was in his mother’s arms and just embarrassed by her affection. Probably. Let’s hope so.
Similar events were happening all around. Mothers were accepting their child’s attacks and giving them big ol’ hugs. “Hisssssss?” “Don’t worry, it’s okay.” “Whyyyyy?!” “Relax, Mommy understands.” Even when the adventurer monsters turned human again, the mothers kept their arms tight around them, rubbing heads and backs, telling them what good children they were.
Mamako watched, smiling.
“Hee-hee. All such happy families! Good!”
She adorably pumped her fist.
Meanwhile, the magic circle team:
“Mamako did it again, huh? Nice.”
“The strength of mothers. Magnificent.”
“All I saw was a ferocious hellscape, but… Whatever. It’s not happening to me.”
And if it wasn’t his problem, it was actually pretty entertaining. He left that part unsaid, but the grin on Masato’s face was unmistakable. Anyway.
“Will it be good? It’ll be good! A good item…done!”
“Oh, it’s ready?”
Porta was done with Item Creation.
Masato ran over and found a crystal bomb in front of her.
“Hmm… It looks exactly the same…”
“Porta, will this work for the plan?”
“Yes, it will! I made all twenty-one crystal bombs into one! It’s twenty-one times as powerful!”
“Wow… Twenty-one times as powerful as a bomb that can level a castle wall…”
They’d used the crystal bomb Pocchi had left behind in his salesman guise and the ones placed around town before the afternoon attack. Every single bomb.
“Now all I have to do is take the crystal trigger for this bomb…”
Masato carefully picked up the crystal bomb, and he was ready to go.
“Then I’ll start… Spara la magia per mirare… Colpire!” Medhi chanted.
The spell’s effect dramatically increased the accuracy of Masato’s attacks.
“Me next! …Spara la magia per mirare—”
“W-wait! I’m not ready—!”
“There’s no time for that! Flying enemies are your domain! We’re trusting you here, so get it right! …Barriera! And! Forte Vento!”
Wise’s chain cast activated: first, a defensive wall at Masato’s back.
An instant later, an incredible wind sprang up. It hit him right in the back, pulling his legs off the floor and hoisting him high into the air. I’m flyyyyying!
“Whooooooooa!! So much wind pressure! So much feeeeeeear!!”
A reverse bungee jump (sans bungee cable) sent Masato rocketing toward the ceiling. What. Fun. Yet, the tears were streaming. The wind pressure hurt. Oh… How was the landing gonna work? He hadn’t thought this through.
And he didn’t have time to think about it now. The enemy was right before him: a giant enemy in the form of a large magic circle oozing black liquid.
“Right! Then here goes the heroic blow! …Take this!”
Masato flung the crystal bomb at the center of the magic circle. With his accuracy buffed, the crystal bomb went right where he wanted it…and Masato quickly yanked the trigger out of his pocket and pressed it. The countdown started.
The crystal bomb let out an earsplitting wail, gave off a blinding light…and detonated.
A shock wave spread, violently compressing the air. This was followed by a wall of fire, burning away the sinister artifice.
“Yessss! I did it! …W-wait… The fire’s coming right at—?!”
Masato was swallowed by the explosion and instantly burned to a crisp.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login