W1.A2-12: Something Different; Passing Through

Lena nodded with a regretful expression. "You know, mother? It's quite normal for powerful people to have multiple wives." Looking at me, she continued, "Given how outstanding he is, I think it's not gonna be long before another girl intrudes our love life."

"Hey, how am I getting further involved without even speaking?" was what I wanted to add but didn't. I had to be sure about what Lena was planning; otherwise, I might ruin her plan or possibly fall for it.

"You don't have to worry, Lena, dear." Hearing the problem from Lena, Mom suddenly got a confident smile on her face. "Now that I'm going together with you, you can tell me whenever this little rascal misbehaves, and I'll take care of him, alright?"

"Fine." Lena finally sighed.

"But you know, Mother," she suddenly added, "it would have been much better if you could control him as his lover, not his mother." Then, Lena turned her back as if going back to her job.

"As his lover?" Mom suddenly muttered to herself. "But that would be so weird..."

"Not at all!" Lena, who had turned back, suddenly jumped back at full speed, appearing in front of my mother before grabbing her palms.

"It is not weird at all!" Lena emphasized it again.

"Lena, dear, do you have any idea what you are even talking about?" Considering that Lena was an ideal girl and that her current thoughts might have come from some misleading information she might have heard, Mom tried her best to remain calm. She decided to resolve this as quickly as possible so as not to let this affect my and Lena's relationship.

"I'm his mother, and he's my son." Mom said. "It's just not possible."

"Why?" Lena tilted her head in confusion.

"This... it just is not." Mom stammered a bit. "When have you heard of such things before? There is a reason why social norms were created as such." Having no other expressive statements come to mind, my mother could only reply as such.

"I have heard of it." But Lena seemed to be prepared. "That's why I put forth the suggestion in the first place."

Without waiting for Mom to refuse, Lena continued.

"These social norms were set by ordinary people because of their lack of power and their inability to handle the consequences. But it is different for people with mana."

"After a certain stage, they can alter their bloodline to gain more powers, which, as a side effect, results in them deviating from their origin. Many reclusive clans or royal families even prefer this form of marriage to keep the bloodline pure and strong."

"Of course, to avoid a messy string of relationships, it is not done often, with another reason being that not many people love their family in that manner. Well, the majority of the time, it is only done when two powerful people are present in the same time frame. They should be compatible and have a certain chance of producing an outstanding offspring that can surpass the predecessors."

"Still, such cases are still rare because all powerful people have their own sets of principles and preferences."

Having said so much, Lena finally glanced back at Mom with a smile.

"I'm sure there'll be no problem with you and Dan; even if you too decide to have children, it should be fine."

Mom seemed to be digesting all the unique knowledge Lena had shared while trying to keep herself calm, but as Lena's last words fell, Mom's body froze as a dazed look appeared in her eyes.

"Children... Danny... how...?" Before she could even make sense of her words herself, a dizzy spell seemed to have struck her as Mom's body began to sway in place.

She was losing balance and was about to fall when I caught her in a hurry.

"Are you out of your mind?" Seeing that Mom had only fainted, I glared at Lena, who was also an observing mother, out of concern, but there was also another emotion in her eyes that seemed a bit optimistic.

"How can you even speak such nonsense with a straight face?" I snarled. "I know that you know there's nothing like that between Mom and me."

"There is, Dan." Lena shook her head. "Maybe you both don't see it; maybe it is not as expressive for you two to have realized it yet. But there is something... something different."

I wanted to refute it but then shook my head as it seemed pointless. I knew Lena meant no harm; besides, Mom only fainted because she was in a spiritually weak state.

Laying her back on the bed, I made sure she was completely fine.

Well, maybe not completely. We'll only know about that when he wakes up the next day.

...

"The hell is going on?" I wanted to ask out loud.

The underground river was still dark, with the ever-present calm silence flowing along the current. But it was already the next day, and if Lena's clock was working fine, it was around nine in the morning.

After what happened at night, I thought Mom and Lena would have difficulty facing each other. But the scene that was playing in front of me was something entirely different from what I had thought.

Sitting around a wooden tea table, Lena and Mom were calmly chatting after having finished our breakfast. There was not any hint of any kind of negative emotion in their eyes; instead, they seemed to have become much closer.

What irritated me even more was that Lena had created a thin layer of mana to surround them, preventing me from listening to what they were going on about.

I could only watch as they talked, giggled, took occasional glances at my frustrated expression, and laughed even more.

Nevertheless, I was happy since Mom seemed to be fine.

Thinking back to what Lena had said, I wondered what my mother thought about that.

"No. What else would she take it as other than being absurd?" Muttering to myself for a bit, I focused back on driving the boat.

According to the speed of the water current, I estimated that we should see the exit very soon.

"Dan, what have you thought about Mom's future progress?"

At this time, Lena and Mom seemed to have completed their conversation and walked over.

"You can teach her some basics if you want," I said casually. "But don't make her learn any spells for now, as it would be better for us to get a teacher for her first."

While we had some knowledge regarding mages, the place we belonged to was, after all, the kingdom of swordsmen. I didn't want Mother to start with a messy foundation when her beginning had already been delayed for so long.

Lena nodded in understanding and asked, "You have anyone in mind?"

I looked at Lena and smiled. "Yes, I do."

Seeing that I had no plans to explain, Lena only snorted briefly before turning back to look ahead.

"Hey, I see something!"

Lena suddenly exclaimed, but I had already set my gaze on the far end of the tunnel.

As we neared, it became clear that it was not the exit, only a fork that led to one.

Avoiding the cold current that went back into the depths of the earth, I led the boat to follow the other current that flowed in the direction of the light.

The surroundings were still dark, but they were better than before. Other than that, the temperature of the water current was also rising as the effect of cold mana seemed to be absent.

Looking around the way, many small tributaries could be detected connecting to the river we were on. But clearly, this one was sourced differently now, as it melded with the water sourced locally instead of carrying the cold, mana-infused water from the far northern lands.

Soon, a weak light could be seen, but it was glaring in contrast to the dark tunnel. As the distance lessened, the light also became brighter.

Finally, after it was only a few hundred feet in front, we could see the blue sky through the exit.

"We're finally out!" Lena exclaimed happily. It was not that she was frustrated with our current situation, just that her being an active person prevented her from getting used to a stagnant environment.

"Alright. You can hold your joy for now." I stood up and told them to get ready. "The exit is not a plain path for us to simply follow."

Lena, confused, observed the exit for a while before exclaiming, "I see!"

Swiftly packing our stuff, we all stood at the edge, observing the nearing exit.

"Is that... a waterfall?" Mom's surprised voice echoed amidst the tumultuous sounds of the cascading flow.

"That's right!" Lena nodded enthusiastically. "That's the Wildfire Plunge near Darkfire City."

Just as her introduction finished, our boat also reached near the fall.

"Mom." I gestured gently, which Mom understood as she quickly walked behind me and grabbed my neck as I grabbed her legs and secured them across my waist.

Just as the boat was about to plunge down the waterfall, Lena and I jumped sideways and grabbed the walls. The boat also disappeared with the next movement and was placed back in Lena's storage.

Advancing slowly, we finally exited the cave. Luckily, the flow at this time of the year was not too turbulent, and the entrance was tall enough for us to leave without touching the waters.

"Amazing..." Mom was amazed as she watched the water fall from hundreds of feet high. Lifting her head, she could see even further.

Trees with a mix of red and green covered her gaze, but they were not as dense as the center of the forest.

Slightly further, a black behemoth could be seen resting on the ground. Black walls that extend into the horizons shone with a menacing glint like the eyes of a beast, ready to devour all intruders.

"That's Darkfire City?"

Lena nodded with a smile. She, too, was amazed, as it was her first time viewing the city from this angle.

After admiring the view for a short while, we then began to descend.

Mom was a bit scared of the height and the daring activity we were doing, but she had enough trust in us. Thankfully, my physique was strong enough, or her tight hold around my neck would have certainly been suffocating.

Finally, after a few minutes, we landed safely before determining the direction and advancing towards the city. 

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