Chapter 1826: In Some Way, She’s Just Like Always
<Author’s Notes>
Syosetu was under maintenance yesterday, so I wasn’t able to post an update yesterday. Therefore, in order to match the amount of text in the two-day update, “we have increased the amount of Makina’s lines in the story”.
Incidentally, I have to admit that I was a bit nervous when I started talking about the ship party with Makina-san. I was afraid that she might say something like “I’ll help you”, but fortunately, she moved on to talk about her memories together with Alice, which was a relief……
[Ahh, that’s right! My beloved child, I will also help you with the party!]
[……………..]
Ahh~~ I see…… so the party persuasion starts here huh…… Now then, how should I respond here? Even if I say I plan to prepare this with just family this time, she might retort with “I’m your mother, so I’m family”, and if I give her a weird excuse, that might trigger her rampage switch, which will be very troublesome.
She tends to interpret most of my persuasions very positively, which often results in increased affection and favorability towards me, causing her to go on a rampage…… I feel like I’m playing a game in which I’m desperately searching for a way to avoid getting cornered.
[……Errr, I appreciate the sentiment, but you see, when I wake up, I forget what happens here……]
[Fufu, you don’t need to worry about that. I was going to reveal this later…… but I’ve actually adjusted my contract with Shallow Vernal! Now that my Makina body can also be brought into that world, my beloved child won’t have to forget about what happens here. Aren’t you glad? You’re glad, aren’t you? That’s right, being able to remember about Mother is nice, isn’t it? Well~~ Seeing you being this happy makes me feel a bit embarrassed.]
That’s strange, even though I haven’t responded a single word yet…… I would like you to refrain from incorporating imaginary Kaito reactions into our conversation while the person himself is present.
No, her imaginations aside, I was thinking of declining with the excuse of not being able to inherit memories from this dream, but it seemed like that issue was somehow being resolved already.
Come to think of it, the whole point of making me forget my memories in the first place was so that Shiro-san wouldn’t notice, and if she already talked with Shiro-san about that, then there should be no need to adjust my memories at that point.
[Is that as Mana-san, who had come to visit several times before?]
[Ah, no. That terminal kinda possesses abilities close to my main body…… Well, you know, since that terminal’s power is too significant and could potentially impact the world if not properly prepared, I can’t operate it frequently. So, basically, I intend to continue to act as I always have. Still, I can sometimes come to meet you in this form too!]
[I- I see……]
In contrast to the happy smile Makina has on her face, my smile is slightly forced. After all, I lost the card that would allow me to reject her peacefully, so now I’m wondering how I could avoid Makina-san’s help……
[I’m very happy that Makina-san feels that way, but I was thinking that this time, if possible, I’d like to have the party with just me and the people who live in my home as the hosting side……]
[……Huh!? I- I see, you’re completely right!!!]
Deciding not to complicate things further, I opted to speak to Makina-san directly and straightforwardly. Thereupon, Makina-san looked momentarily dazed, but then she suddenly looked as if she thought of something.
[I see, my beloved child wants to show Mother that you have grown up and that you can do things on your own! Ahh, how thoughtless of me…… I was just about to help impulsively, but it’s not a mother’s role to do just about everything for her child. Sometimes, it’s also important to watch as your child grows up…… Ahh, but this is indeed a terribly vexing problem. There are too many advantages to both helping and not helping. The advantage of helping is that I can engage in a joint task filled with love with my beloved child. My beloved child would be very happy to be with Mother for a long time, and in a situation where Mother offers her help, my beloved child, who is usually shy and restrained, would be able to fully depend on his mother. And such a thing would be an act Mother shall wholeheartedly receive…… Such would be great. Really great. This option, if I were to describe it, is the lovey-dovey affectionate route. I would love to decide on this route right away, but the other option is just as appealing. Children tend to exert themself because they want to show their parents how they have grown up. That’s why my beloved child doesn’t want everything to be done by me, his mother, and instead has the desire to do things with his own strength and show the results to me, his beloved mother. If that’s the case, accepting those feelings is an incredibly important role for a mother. I won’t be able to see my beloved child who has grown a bit taller in an attempt to become more adult-like unless I go through this route! This kind of innocence tends to fade with familiarity, and a slightly more mature beloved child, standing proudly for his mother, would surely be incredibly adorable. And I, gently stroking my beloved child’s head, would be praising his efforts and satisfying his need for recognition. This is truly the compassionate love of a mother! Thinking about it again, this route is also…… Uwaahhh!? W- What should I do!? Both such moments of my beloved child are supreme! There’s no way I can compare which is better between two supreme scenarios! They’re both so overwhelmingly wonderful!!! But ahhh, as a mother, I have to make a decision between the two…… Hahh!? N- No, wait, calm down, Makina! You are overlooking something very important. That is, yes! The feelings of my beloved child!!! If I think about this from the perspective of my beloved child, I will see things differently. If I take the former route, my beloved child will receive Mother’s overflowing love and be pampered to the fullest. My beloved child is still at the age where he wants to be pampered, and even if he’s usually shy, he naturally has the desire to jump into Mother’s chest and entrust his body and soul to me! In that case, this route can also be seen as a path where my beloved child can express the feelings he usually keeps hidden inside. On the contrary, in the other route, my beloved child can gain great recognition by showing his mother how much he has grown. My beloved child is a boy, and even though he’s young now, I’m sure he wants to grow up to be a wonderful man who can stand next to me, his beloved mother. Of course, my beloved child is already supreme at this moment, but from his perspective, he may still want to feel his growth. He probably wants to feel that he’s getting closer to his mother, who may feel like a distant figure to him right now. No, of course, my beloved child is already by my side, so close that I can hold him in my arms even if I don’t reach out, both physically and emotionally, but it’s sometimes hard to see that from his perspective. If that’s the case, then this route fulfills my beloved child’s need for recognition, while boosting his self-esteem, and also helps him reaffirm his presence by Mother’s side…… No, one can realize the strength of his love for Mother not only as a child, but as a man. In other words, this is a route where he can strongly recognize me as a member of the opposite gender, right!? T- This is also quite enchanting…… My love is infinite, so I can give my beloved child whatever he desires, and I’m sure my beloved child would also want to really feel what he achieved with his own hands…… Hmmmmm. In that case, the former would involve a significant contribution from me, while the latter involves my beloved child earning it with his own efforts. Thinking along those lines, perhaps the latter option, where my beloved child earns it himself, would be preferable…… but the former route is also hard to throw away. The problem is that my beloved child is just too cute, making it challenging to choose because he’s always supreme no matter what I choose. Alright, let’s think this over a little more carefully. In the first place, should I focus solely on how this relates to my beloved child and his Mother that I am, or should I consider other factors as well? Of course, the most important factor here is my beloved child. It’s not wrong to think about my beloved child’s charms, but I believe it’s important to consider not only the merits but also the demerits. No, of course, there are no drawbacks to interacting with my beloved child, and in fact, one could argue that any drawbacks would simply transform into merits, so there’s no issue at all…… For the time being, in the former case, depending on how much I help, the concern might be that there will be more situations where I will be involved with those talking lump of flesh. I believe I should be fine with Anima, who is my beloved child’s lover living in his home, and should be able to treat her kindly, but can I really manage without showing any aversion towards the others? No, of course, I intend to do my best, but there’s always the possibility of unexpected situations or making a blunder. With that in mind, there’s also a chance that I might cause inconvenience to my beloved child, which could clearly be considered a demerit. Whatever happens to the lumps of flesh unrelated to my beloved child doesn’t matter to me, but even if they’re merely talking lumps of flesh, my beloved child will be sad if they’re a friend of his, so as a mother, I want to be as tolerant as possible. Recently, I’ve come to recognize my beloved child’s lovers as practically like my daughters-in-law, so I think I’ve become able to treat them kindly, but Alice still tells me I should be a little softer with them, so I wonder if that could be a cause for concern? In the latter case, I would basically just wait and be welcomed by my beloved child, which gives it an advantage for not having the aforementioned demerit. It’s just, in the latter case, there’s the demerit of not being involved in the preparations at all, so I won’t be able to see my beloved child working hard up close. The words “be welcomed by my beloved child” may sound as sweet as honey from heaven, but I’m the type of person who wants to pamper my beloved child a lot, I mean, I’m the affectionate type, so I would rather be the one welcoming than the one being welcomed…… Ahh, but love isn’t just about one-sidedly giving it to another, right? Mutual giving is important, so considering that my beloved child would also want to reciprocate love towards me, I suppose I should just respect such an opportunity, right? In that case, would going for the latter route really be the correct one here? No, not yet! It’s too early to draw a conclusion based on merits and demerits alone. I also have to take lickability into consideration here! In terms of lickability points, I think the former route is higher. As expected, being able to be with my beloved child from the preparatory stages and thoroughly enjoying his cuteness already gives it pretty high points. With my abilities, I can easily assist in preparations while etching my beloved child’s gallant figure into my soul, making it the best environment to be able to continuously gaze upon my beloved child. Oops, of course, I don’t mean to get too hands-on with everything. The protagonist here is my beloved child, and Mother should be devoted to supporting him. Of course, if my beloved child wishes, I will support him from these preparations to his personal life at any time. In fact, not just for this matter, but for anything, if he just lets me know, I’ll support him as much as I can and make sure he feels plenty of maternal affection! Fortunately, I’ve been able to interact with my beloved child in my true form, so it’s not an exaggeration to say that the distance between my beloved child and me has become even closer than before. While assisting my beloved child with the preparations, I’ll be firmly engraving his gallant figure, and during breaks after the preparations, I’ll embrace my beloved child and praise him for a job well done. In that case, my beloved child would also let himself be pampered by Mother, and the two of us who love each other can spend intense and meaningful time together! Of course, since I can manipulate the time around us, being able to be pampered by Mother without worrying about the time is a huge merit for my beloved child, and for me, being able to adore my beloved child to my heart’s content makes it the best time imaginable. When I think about it, the former route really is great…… When I compare this to my lovey-dovey moments with my beloved child, this route would undoubtedly be overwhelming! But of course, that doesn’t mean the latter route is lacking in lickability……]
[………………….]
……I think Makina-san is a normal, nice person at heart. Whenever I see her as Eden-san, I always have the image of her rampaging in my mind, but in reality, she does make efforts to restrain herself, and her affection towards me is undoubtedly genuine.
Having more opportunities to meet her like this in my dreams, I have gotten to know how she got the preference of a commoner, how she is kinda klutzy, and has a charming side to her but…… Unnn. I guess my final conclusion definitely is that “she really is a dangerous person”……
As I watch Makina-san, repeatedly talking to herself endlessly, after a while, Makina-san clenches her fist and strikes her own face with it.
The impact blew away all the scenery behind Makina-san, and as the space behind her cracked open, I felt like I saw the outer space for a moment.
[……T- That was dangerous…… My love for my beloved child was sparked again and I almost went out of control. I’m glad I managed to hold myself back just in time……]
[………………….]
No, I don’t really think you managed to do that…… I’m really curious about what made her decide that she should hold her ground, but I feel like that would be kinda terrifying, so I don’t want to ask.
How should I say this…… I guess it’s appropriate to say that Makina-san really is just being the same as always……
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [Of all the freaking things, why did you increase that!? I mean, even though she had gone to great lengths to increase his favorability to her, I guess it really is just like Makina-san to end up being given the conclusion of “she really is a dangerous person”.]