Playful Days (Part 9)

While traveling, Lainy began to struggle financially. The money she had was not enough for both herself and her daughter. As she sat on the train, she gazed at Meily's peaceful, sleeping face and gently combed through her hair with her fingers.

"You really do look like me," she murmured. "I'm sorry I lied. I don't even know who your father is... Maybe those people were right. Maybe I really am just a good-for-nothing woman. Only good for one thing. The only thing I have going for me is my face, and even that won't last forever. I'm so sorry you have a mother like me."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

The train came to a stop, and they arrived at Elesis Fort.

Elesis Fort was located at the southernmost edge of the country, far from the city Lainy once called home. Perhaps this place could be a fresh start for both her and Meily.

But being a stranger with barely any money, finding shelter proved impossible. No inn would accept them.

"Just for one night," Lainy pleaded. "Please, I'm begging you."

"Nope. Business is business. Other customers can pay full price," the innkeeper scoffed before slamming the door in her face.

"Mother…" Meily whispered, looking up at her with worried eyes.

Lainy forced a smile. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Mother will find a way."

With nowhere else to go, Lainy took Meily to the adventurers' guild. The guild doubled as a restaurant-bar at night, filled with rowdy mercenaries and travelers. With the little money she had left, she bought dinner—but only for Meily.

"Mother, what about you?" Meily asked.

"Don't worry about me. Seeing you happy is enough for me."

Without hesitation, Meily tore a piece of bread from her plate and offered it to her mother. Lainy was caught off guard, but warmth filled her chest as she accepted it.

"You're such a good girl."

As time passed, Meily eventually fell asleep at the table. Lainy watched over her, feeling helpless. Without enough money, they couldn't afford a bed. The few coins in her pocket were barely enough for food, let alone lodging.

Behind her, a man clad in armor appeared. He looked like an adventurer, though there was a weariness in his eyes.

"Why is your child sleeping in a guild?" he asked. "It gets noisy here at night. She won't be able to rest."

Lainy hesitated. "Well…"

"I get it. You don't have money." The man scoffed. "Traveling with a kid and no money... What were you thinking? Are you searching for your lover or something? That guy must be lucky. Even though you're a mother, you still look like a girl in her teens."

"It's nothing like that…" Lainy sighed. "I just— I need money. I'll do anything. I just don't want my child to suffer."

The man smirked. "Anything? My lover just left me, and I need to forget about her. Can you help me with that?"

Lainy hesitated but then lowered her gaze. "I understand."

They left together.

Half an hour later, Meily woke up in a warm bed. Confused, she sat up and looked around.

"Oh, the little girl is awake." A deep voice spoke. It was the guild master, Captain Yuri. "Are you alright?"

"Where's my mother?!" Meily asked, panic rising in her voice.

"Your mother?" Yuri looked at her carefully.

"Where is she?!"

Captain Yuri escorted her back to the guild hall. There, Meily spotted her mother. Without a second thought, she ran straight into Lainy's arms.

"I thought you were gone!" Meily sobbed.

"I will always be by your side," Lainy reassured her, holding her daughter tightly.

Behind Lainy stood the adventurer. He handed her a pouch of coins. She bowed deeply.

"That was nice," the man chuckled. "I think I really might forget about my ex now. See you."

"Mother… who was that man?" Meily asked, her voice small.

Lainy couldn't meet her daughter's eyes. "I'm sorry, Meily… I couldn't keep my promise. But with this money, we can start a new life."

She didn't need to explain. Meily understood. She didn't like it, but at the same time, she was touched by her mother's sacrifice.

With the money, they rented a small house, and Lainy found a job at a tailor shop. For a while, things seemed peaceful. But fate was cruel.

Lainy fell ill.

It started with coughing fits. Then, one day, she coughed up blood. She could no longer work, and their money quickly ran out.

Desperate, Meily took her mother to a doctor.

"Please, my mother is sick! You have to help her!"

The doctor barely glanced at Lainy before asking, "Do you have money?"

"I only have a little…"

"That's not enough."

"Not enough?! My mother is dying! Isn't it your job to help people?!"

The doctor shrugged. "Without payment, I can't do anything."

At that moment, Meily's hatred for adults was born.

"Stupid adults…"

She heard the whispers. The cruel gossip about her mother.

"The new settler? She's just a whore."

"Where'd all that money she made go?"

"Stupid adults!" Meily clenched her fists, rage burning inside her. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! All of you are stupid!"

She swore to herself—she would do whatever it took to save her mother.

Meily worked tirelessly, pushing herself to exhaustion. She loved her mother more than anything, even if she didn't always understand her choices. But no matter what she did, it wasn't enough.

Lainy died.

The pain, the grief, the anger—Meily couldn't hold it in anymore. The hatred she harbored for the adults who scorned her mother fueled something dark inside her.

"I'll kill them," she whispered. "I'll kill them all. Every last one of them. And I'll show them my mother wasn't what they thought she was."

Darkness swallowed Elesis Fort.

The sun should have risen, but the light never came. A massive spell had been cast, severing the fort from reality. A pocket dimension created by Eriko.

And Meily stood in the center of it all, her rage now a force of destruction.