W1.A1-3: A Mother’s Sacrifice – The “Creature” in the Bath

"No, Daniel! You are a master swordsman! How can you be defeated just like that?"

Suddenly, my eyes shone as an idea entered my mind.

"That's right! A sword!" I exclaimed as I looked down at my rod, which had begun to sway up and down due to my struggle to keep it under control.

I closed my eyes as I imagined myself holding a sword. The familiar feeling that I have practiced through grueling training over the years easily appeared as I entered an imaginary scene and dueled with many great adversaries that I had met and fought in my journey throughout these years.

I entered my conversant sword path as the energy of a master swordsman streamed along with my blood.

Finally, I could feel that I had arrived at the final junction, where I controlled each millimeter of the sword's body.

"Huff…" Slowly letting out a breath, I reined in my mana.

I smiled as I felt the progress I had made, even during the week I was traveling.

"It won't be long before I become a Grandmaster." My lips curled up as I decided to examine the condition of my meaty sword.

"Damn it!" I cursed. "Why is it even harder now?"

Suddenly, I felt a warm buzz in my chest. A sword's hum entered my ears, which roughly translated to: "Well, what did you expect would happen to your little stick if you consider it a sword? Have you seen a limp sword before?"

The disdain that these words contained for me was something I could endure. But what I couldn't accept was…

"How dare you call it a little stick? It not being as long as you is natural, but it is thicker than you! Get it? It's thicker!"

The buzzing in my chest suddenly stopped, as if the occupant was checking whether my remark was correct or not.

Swoosh! Sling!

Before I could react, a black light came out of my chest and flew into the air. Not even allowing anyone to register its appearance, the black light came cutting through the air as a buzz sounded, which roughly translated to: "Is that so? Then I just had to carve it a bit to make that statement untrue."

"Ata-ta-ta-ta-ta!" I panicked and quickly caught the black light before it could fulfill its statement.

The black light dispersed, allowing me to see the appearance of a long black sword. It was not a rapier, but the sword was too thin to even be considered fit for swinging. But only I knew about the real power contained in its seemingly weak and lean body.

"Calm down, now!" I placated it by moving my finger along its flat surface before grumbling, "You're my companion sword. How can you even bear to harm your master's treasure?"

It trembled lightly. "Then don't compare me to that thing again!"

"Alright, alright." I consoled. "You both are equally important to me."

The buzzing paused before continuing: "I can't believe I just felt happy being treated equally to that grotesque thing!"

Finished buzzing, my dear sword once again transformed into a black light before fleeing in my chest as if it had no face left to stay.

I sighed in relief at having saved my one sword from my other sword.

Looking at the only thing left to talk about, I couldn't help but feel awkward. "Why is it so rebellious today?"

Somehow, the idea of being in the same bath where I had observed my mother naked just earlier had aroused me more than I dared to accept.

"Do I really have to relieve it by hand?" I turned reluctant, as it was really hard to get back to your old habits after being with a girl for almost a year. Besides, I wouldn't dare dirty my mother's bath.

"Forget it. Maybe it's only like this because I'm paying it too much mind." I could only accept this reasoning as I once again laid my back against the edge to relax.

Another ten minutes passed…

"Just calm down already, you damned attention seeker!"

I sighed, defeated. "Whatever, I'll just sleep till Mom calls for me."

Turning around, I laid my head on the soft grass growing around the pool as my body began to loosen inside the warm water.

...

"Place it over there." Celine said this to the young maid who was carrying the food tray.

"Thank you, dear." Thanking the maid who left after bowing, Celine closed the door and placed the bag she was carrying on the ground.

Looking at it for a bit, she showed some hesitation before scoffing, "Why am I hesitating to open that bastard's bag? He's my son! I can do whatever I want with his stuff! He can only suck it up if he doesn't like it."

Even as she said so, her curious hands had already begun to ruffle. She took out a few pairs of clothes as well as some toiletries. Celine didn't even blush as she dug further in and took a pack of boxer briefs.

She tried to arrange a suitable set when her eyebrows suddenly curled into a frown. "Why is he wearing such dull clothes? How is he going to impress people and gain better opportunities if he can't even make a good first impression?"

She hesitated only for a short while before deciding: "Although we're currently a little short on funds." She said, "It won't hurt to make him a few pairs of fine garments."

Finally settling her mind, she picked up the clothes, arrived before the door, and was about to knock when her hand stopped.

She sighed before smiling wryly.

"Why am I hesitating with such little things? Is it because I'm afraid of him not liking our previous way of interacting? But do I really have to change now that he's grown up?"

Her confusion only lasted for a short while before she growled, "Hmpf, it doesn't matter how he grows up; for me, he'll always be that little rascal who screamed like a girl when I accidentally saw him naked."

Thinking of this, Celine could not help but have her thoughts diverted to their recent encounter in the bath.

With a smirk growing on her face, Celine muttered to herself, "That little rascal dared to embarrass me, eh?" She then said: "Then let me check whether he still screams like a girl."

"Ready or not, here I come~!"

Her spirits lifted, and Celine pushed open the door to her garden-cum-bath and stepped in with a steady pace.

Instead of the panicky face she had imagined, what entered her sight was the scene of a person snoozing off on the edge of the bath.

"This kid…" Celine shook her head as she whispered, "Just how tired was he?"

"Ah!" Suddenly, she remembered something and exclaimed, "Don't tell me he fell dizzy." I have to get him out if that's the case!"

Running forward with concern on her face, Celine finally arrived near the bath.

"Dan-" Her voice was suddenly cut short. Her brows raised into a frown as she muttered slowly, "These scars… So many?"

As Daniel lay with his back exposed towards her, Celine could see a large number of scars of different shades and sizes, indicating that they were not made at once but were the result of constant accumulation.

"What did he suffer for so many years while he was away?" With tears gathering in her eyes, Celine couldn't help but wonder. "I only wanted him to become someone capable, not risk his life like this." She could see some scars almost reaching his nape. If misplaced by a few inches, each one could have been fatal.

Just as she was about to call him, she saw him turn around.

She was about to open her mouth when she noticed that his eyes were still closed. He was just changing to a more comfortable position in his sleep.

"He looks fine. I'll just leave his clothes here then and let him rest a bit more." She bent down to place the clothes on a small wooden rack near the tub.

Just as she stood up and was about to leave, her eyes caught sight of something in the water. It wasn't clear due to all the steam, but she could still make out something slightly peeking out of the water.

What worried her the most was that the thing was directly in front of Daniel's torso!

'Don't tell me a snake or something slipped in.'

Greatly worried about her son's safety, the always bright Celine didn't even stop to consider how a snake would be able to enter her totally enclosed garden space. Maybe she would have realized if it were some other time, but the recent things weighing on her mind as well as her son's sudden arrival caused a lapse in her judgment.

Going around the circumference of the bath, Celine quickly arrived directly behind Daniel.

She didn't issue any warning, as she didn't want any sudden movement from her son to agitate the "creature."

Just as she was about to reach her hand out to swat away the thing, her legs stopped in their tracks as her expression frozen.

The sudden loss of momentum in her lower body caused her to stumble forward, almost crashing into her son.

Fortunately, she was quite fit despite being a forty-something mother. Her toned legs regained their grip, and her slender, white arms flailed around before she finally regained her balance.

Her head had stopped right above her son's shoulder. A slight push, and she would have ended up in the water along with her naked son.

But she wasn't feeling grateful for her current position at all. Because now her eyes could clearly see that the "creature" she was about to save her son from was actually attached to his lower body!

'This thing… It's his, my son's, his… so big?'

Her thoughts became incoherent as her face flushed a deep shade of red. She quickly straightened her posture before back-paddling her way out of there as fast as she could.

'Damn it! I was here to embarrass him! How did I end up on the receiving end?'

That was the last thought Celine had before she bolted out and hurriedly closed the door behind her.

Meanwhile, a light buzzing was heard in the garden, which roughly translated to: "How amusing…"

------

To read the complete ARC 1 right now, you can go to my Ko-Fi/Patreon page:

https://ko-fi.com/penofchaos

https://www.patreon.com/penofchaos