(to weewtis: Thank you for acknowledging my story! I'm sure there are higher quality Tensura fanfics out there, if not right now, then in the future. But really, thank you for the kind words!)
(to NikolaiLeelers: I'm very glad my story can bring you happiness!)
(to pauljouser: Thank you for the compliment and the critique! I'm still trying to get a hang with writing backstories without holding up the plot, but I appreciate you laying it on me!)
Jack woke up with a yawn. Sitting up, he did a quick stretch and rubbed his eyes. He slowly opened them, careful as not to blind them with the morning sun. After looking around a bit, he recalled the dream he had last night. He didn't remember much, but he knew it was very blissful. He happily joined the festival for the first time, wore a weird but cool boy dress, hung out with friends, and even called his teacher mom! He felt his cheeks heating up when he remembered that. The boy quickly shook his head. Alas, it was just a dream.
He went to the side of the bed, feet reaching for his sandals before he realized something: he was wearing the dress from his dream! It was then he remembered that it wasn't a dream after all. Jack quickly grabbed a pillow and screamed inside it. It was so embarrassing! Why did he do that!? It was going to be really awkward calling her m-mom. After a few more minutes of screaming, he calmed himself. Thinking it over, Jack realized it wasn't so bad. No, in fact, it was great! Not only did someone just adopt him yesterday, his mom was the most badass teacher around! He jumped out of the bed out of joy, walked around in circles and even started hand walking. He was so happy that he couldn't even stand still.
He then heard a chuckle come out before the words, "What are you doing?"
Losing his grip, he fell towards the floor. Looking up, he saw his tea-- mom smiling at him from the opened door. He quickly sat up and faced her, scratching his head.
"A-Ah, nothing. Good morning, m-mom," stuttered the boy, really hoping that last night wasn't just a dream.
To his response, she smiled brightly and said, "Good morning, son."
If Rimuru compared his son's expression with anything, then it would be the sun because of how bright they both were. The boy instantly lunged at him, to which he welcomed him with open arms. He spun his child around, careful not to hit anything but nonetheless did it just as happily. He was relieved by this. Kids were usually hard to predict when they were embarrassed. The old demon lord was just happy his son reacted so positively towards him.
After setting him down, they went for the eatery they ate at a week ago. The boy said he wanted to eat there after Rimuru asked him what he wanted for breakfast. As they were on their way, Rimuru thought about what he found out last night.
It turned out that the Morgue Moths were just a branch of a large organization called the Spear Mortuary. It was a criminal organization from another continent that had decided to expand after they had essentially conquered all of their own continent's underworlds. The one to lead the march to this place, the Heroic Continent, was none other than Dan Spear. Apparently the name Spear was worn by the heads of the organization.
The man who followed him Volgoa, or rather Voltaire Goa, had been freelancing for the organization for some time. Voltaire believed that while the Mortuary would be able to conquer some of their land, he doubted that they would be able to break through the powerhouses of the continent. He was just in it for the money.
The man himself was quite interesting. His predecessors had joined the old archmage in hopes to live quietly in peace. He said he didn't know about his bloodline's origins, but he knew that it had to have started since the Age of Chaos, the time when angels and gods roamed freely.
Rimuru was curious to know which angel the man descended from. He wanted to ask Milim, but decided not to. She would've kept him there for decades before she reluctantly let him go. Once again, he could've used his clone, but parallel existence just wasn't his thing. Ciel offered to tell him, but he said he'd find out about it himself later. Of course, that was part of the reason. He really just wanted to poke at her nerves. He could feel the proverbial pout she put on right now and was trying not to grin.
The parent and child pair took the same seat as last time once they entered the Bay Gull Eatery (he also wanted to know why the names in this continent were so uncreative. And no, Ciel, he didn't want spoilers).
{ :-/ }
"Pfft," Jack's mother let out a sound.
He tilted his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
His mom waved him off and said, "No, nothing. So, same as last week?"
He nodded excitedly.
She then added, "Want seconds after that?"
He gave her a smile and said, "Heck yeah!"
After she ordered them, they sat on the chair in a comfortable silence. After a few more minutes of thinking, he decided to ask something he'd been meaning to ask since last week.
He started, "Hey, mom…"
"Yes?" asked his mother.
"What's he like?" questioned the boy.
His mom said in confusion, "What's who's like?"
"Y-Your loved one," muttered the boy.
His mother made a surprised face before smiling and saying, "Well, she is the best companion I can ever have."
"S-She??" muttered the boy in shock.
His mother laughed and asked, "Yes. She. Is there something wrong?"
He quickly shook his head, "No. It just surprised me."
Relationships between the same genders had been a common thing for a while in the continent, though they were still uncommon to see. While the Church of Fate had been against it, they changed their mind after the Blindsighting over five hundred years ago. Something about their seers and oracles dying after going crazy, talking about some ancient evil descending to their realm. He'd heard that that had been the cause of a civil war, which had the aforementioned as one of its outcomes.
The Church was one of the few who believed the Voice of the World was connected to something far greater. They had called it the Words of Fate. According to the Church, their god was devoured by an evil monster, but even then, the Words of Fate never ceased. So, they began to believe that Fate was something better to believe than god.
Jack shook his head. None of that really mattered to him.
"So, how long have you been together?" asked the boy excitedly.
To that, he saw his mom's smile turn into a sad one, "Well. We've never been together together."
"Huh? Why? Did she not…" asked Jack in confusion.
She continued, "We both love each other very much, but she said she didn't want to change their relationship."
Jack was confused. If both people loved each other, then why shouldn't they be together? It should be a given to do so, right?
He asked, "Why not, then?"
His mother smiled and explained, "She says she didn't want our relationship to change. It's kind of like what happened last night. Weren't you afraid that I would've treated you differently? Some people just want their relationships to stay the way they are. We can't force them to change their minds, we can only hope that they might one day."
He slowly looked down. It just wasn't right. He felt like he needed to say something. If it were a week ago, he would've just stayed silent. But now that he knew his mother wouldn't treat him differently for voicing his own opinion, he decided that he should.
He started, "But doesn't that mean she's just as afraid of that change like I was afraid of what I said yesterday? How would she know how your relationship will turn out if she never even gave it a chance?"
His mother blinked. She then offered a sheepish smile and said, "Well, I can't really say."
Not a moment later, the waiter had come to bring them their meals.
His mom ended the conversation with, "Well, nevermind that. Let's dig in!"
Jack pursed his lips, but began to follow. He just hoped that his mom could find the happiness she wanted like how he found his last night.
...
{ ... }
Was she really just afraid? Was that the reason?
{Unintelligible.}
Ciel remembered the time she first evolved into Manas: Ciel. Her master had thought of her as something akin to a baby being born; leaving the comfortable womb and stepping into the scary and unfamiliar outside world. That was what he compared her to when it came to her gaining her emotions. Was this just like that?
{Incalculable.}
Was she really that much of a coward?
{Unanswerable.}
(I forgot about the angels! Can someone tell me about the sentient ones? A link to a wiki page would be enough)
(I know the anime said Words of the World, but I'll just stick with the WN's way of calling it: the Voice of the World)
(Hope you liked this chapter! Once again, reviews are very much appreciated!)
