Chapter – 43
A scream echoed through the hall. I saw the grandfather running somewhere.
There was a solitary human-shaped salt statue in a place that looked like an altar.
It was a woman, seemingly kneeling as if completely drained after her final attack.
Could she have blocked the dungeon burst all by herself?
No matter how I looked, there was only one human-shaped statue. She must be incredibly strong.
Ah, now is not the time to be surprised.
“Eltea! How could this happen, Eltea! Why are you in this state…! sniff!”
I approached the grandfather, who was clutching the statue and crying uncontrollably.
I patted his back, hoping even a little comfort would help.
“This is… your daughter… huh?”
I blinked in disbelief.
“Uh… uh…?”
“Sniff! Why do you look so confused, child?”
“Uh… well…”
The closer I got, the stranger the statue seemed.
The woman in the plain linen dress had not let go of the weapons in her hands until the very end.
And the two swords she used to single-handedly defeat an S-class boss were…
A hoe and a pitchfork.
Suddenly, I remembered Prince’s eyewitness account:
“She was going to grab a hoe and a pitchfork from the yard and head into the forest. She said she’d catch those black livestock that had wandered outside.”
Entranced by the statue’s face, which looked exactly like mine, I couldn’t help but call out.
“Uh… Mom…?”
“What?!”
The grandfather, startled, turned to look at me.
Seeing the wildly shaking pupils, I tried to stay calm.
“Um, that… it looks exactly like the last impression of my mom that my brother told me about.”
“…”
“Remember how I told you that my mom went to catch some runaway livestock with a hoe and pitchfork, and never returned?”
“Y-Yeah…?”
“Look. Hoe in the left hand, pitchfork in the right, and the eyes of the livestock that tried to escape above…”
“…”
“…?”
A brief awkward silence fell.
The grandfather crouched straight in front of me, letting go of the statue he had been hugging.
After a moment, we simultaneously spoke, both realizing the truth at once.
“So the runaway… your mother…”
“And the granddaughter the grandfather thought ran away… is the same person.”
The identity of the habitual runaway matched.
The grandfather’s eyes trembled intensely.
The reunion of grandfather and granddaughter would have to wait for a moment.
First, we had to deal with the one who had turned into a salt statue.
“There’s no visible fatal injury. If we break the petrification, she should come back to life.”
“Right. Then we must go to the shrine immediately. We’ll ask them to lift the curse…!”
I calmed the grandfather down.
“No need for that.”
“Huh?”
“First, can you promise to keep what you’re about to see a secret?”
“Why… okay, fine.”
Seeing the seriousness in my eyes, he nodded. I quietly expressed my gratitude and stood before the salt statue, presumed to be my mother.
“Divine Descent!”
My hair turned silver, and my eyes gold. My legs lifted off the ground.
The grandfather grabbed my wrist as if to prevent me from flying away.
“It’s okay. I won’t go that high.”
“Wh-what…? Suddenly this immense divine power… and you call it Divine Descent…?”
“I’ve been very devoted in my faith. Would you like to try believing in a god too? They’re recruiting believers, you know.”
I recalled the forgotten pyramid business and subtly started my proselytizing.
The grandfather, however, could only gape in surprise. Words alone weren’t enough.
“Omnipotence.”
I opened the divine search engine to find a skill to lift the curse on the salt statue.
I gently placed my hand on the statue’s forehead and, full of tension and expectation, said solemnly to the grandfather:
“By the grace of God, may this petrification be lifted. Once freed, may you carry God’s mercy in your heart for the rest of your life.”
“Ah, I understand! Please, hurry with the grace of God!”
“Yes. Almighty. Baptism of Purification.”
[<System> Advanced Skill ‘Baptism of Purification Lv.46(+10)’ activated.]
Light flowed from my hand into the statue’s forehead.
Crackle!
Like an egg about to hatch, the statue’s surface split.
“…Puh!”
The petrified woman gasped amid the scattering salt dust.
Her flowing hair was, as expected, pink.
Spitting out the salt from her mouth, she snapped irritably:
“Ugh! I opened my eyes by mistake at the very end! Hasn’t it been a long time… huh? Father?”
“Eltea! Oh, God!”
It was a situation that naturally made one call out to God.
[<System> Converted atheist to believer.]
As planned, the divinity of the speaker increased.
[‘The Language of Creation’ is pleased with the spread of faith.]
[‘The Scales of Judgement’ bites its lip in envy.]
I released the Divine Descent and watched the reunion between father and daughter. The grandfather embraced the daughter he had found after 13 years, pressing her against his broad chest.
“Eltea! sniff Eltea!”
“Ah… Father, why are you here…?”
The fuss lasted only a moment. The mother quickly straightened her face and sternly shouted:
“Step aside. It’s gross!”
“Eh, Eltea!”
“Step aside!”
“El… uff!”
Thud!
I gaped as my mother slammed the grandfather down.
‘Over 100 kilograms of solid weight…!’
[‘The Language of Creation’ whispers to obey mother.]
Well, indeed.
The mother shook her hands off nonchalantly and ran her fingers through her hair.
“Uh? Could it be… Eyelet…?”
She noticed me.
“Ah…”
Her voice called my name, but I was too stunned to respond.
I wanted to greet her, but even the simple hello stuck in my throat.
She approached me, who stood frozen in place.
“Eyelet! My child! You’ve grown so much! Ah, no! This can’t be! I missed all your cute childhood!”
“…”
“Wait, why are you in a dungeon? Do you even know how dangerous this place is…? Are you hurt? Let me see, hmm?”
“…”
She crouched to meet my eyes. Her gaze swept over my limbs and face, full of worry and love.
Why… is it so suffocating?
This feels strange.
“Doesn’t seem like you’re hurt… Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“Phew, good. How long has it really been…? How old is my child now?”
I needed to answer in a slightly teasing way.
“Ten…”
“Ah, wow! Six years have passed?! Sorry for saying something bad! How have you been, my child? I missed you so much!”
“…”
“Do you… remember me? I’m your mom… You’re not forgetting me, right? Hmm?”
“…”
Her face showed a subtle frown, perhaps trying to hide that she was about to cry. She hugged me tightly again, patting my back.
Pat, pat…
“…”
I felt warmth radiating from her fully freed body.
Ah, I shouldn’t…
I felt as though I was becoming a child again.
The greatest joy in Eyelet Rodeline’s possessed life had been the presence of her father and brother.
Family who unconditionally love you and are on your side make surviving even S-rank hardships feel easy.
Honestly, I liked this possessed life.
Perhaps because I felt strangely familiar with the father and brother here.
I often wondered if this was how it would feel if my entire past-life family had been possessed together.
It was cruel that my mother was missing, but having my father and brother was enough.
Yes, enough. I may have a child’s body, but my mind is far older. I’m grown. No need for a mother…
No.
I wanted a mother too.
I wished I had one.
Even if I returned to my past age, or grew old with white hair, a mother is a mother.
Recognizing this, the neglected child in my heart finally lifted her head.
Then a quivering voice reached me.
“Still… your mom’s back now. She’s right in front of you. So… will you call me mom now…? Hmm…?”
“Mom…”
“Yes, that’s right! I’m your mom!”
I had a burning question.
“Mom… are you… usually like this?”
“Huh?”
“Do you just… hug people?”
“…”
“Do I really… have a mom now?”
My lips moved on their own, acting like a child.
No answer came, but the hug became even warmer.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I left you, Linz, and your father alone for so long. I’m really sorry! And thank you… for growing up so beautifully and bravely, even without me.”
“…”
“From now on, I won’t leave again. You, Linz, and I will never be apart. We’ll live together, happily. Okay? Promise?”
“Promise….”
I think I finally received the answer I had longed for.
Mom is like this.
