108

I have spent all my life in the gray, dull mage tower, where love could never bloom.

Perhaps that's why I was indifferent to the affectionate gestures people shared—holding hands, kissing, hugging, and the like.

I had never tried them, nor did I ever feel the desire to. Instead, I found more joy in reading another magic spell.

But now, I realize the truth.

"Heh… Heuhung…"

Until now, I've been missing out on half—no, all—of my life.

.

.

Chuup—Chup—

I couldn't think of anything. It was as if someone had erased my brain with an eraser.

"Hyuup… Hheup… Sera…"

In the midst of my daze, I opened my trembling eyes.

Right in front of me, Sera, her eyes closed, her cheeks slightly flushed, was focused on my lips. The sight made my heart race.

Chuup—Chuup—

As if saying hello, her tongue brushed against the underside of mine, teasing and tickling.

The indescribable, blissful sensation surged through my mind like an electric current.

Struggling to suppress my pounding heart, I moved my tongue to explore Sera's mouth. In response, her tongue intertwined with mine.

"Uhh… Hap… Heh…"

Just as I instinctively tried to envelop her tongue with mine, Sera teasingly withdrew her tongue from my mouth.

A thin, transparent string of saliva connected us.

"Heh… Heuhh…"

Disappointed that I couldn't taste more of her tongue, mine naturally darted out, searching.

While I gazed absentmindedly at the air, Sera spoke.

"This is what we call a kiss."

"So… this is a kiss…"

I learned something new. A kiss could feel this good.

As our tongues mingled, I felt a sense of fulfillment, as though we were connected at the deepest level.

I stared blankly at Sera's glistening lips before me, my mind filled with indescribable desires.

While I indulged in these unspeakable thoughts, one notion stood out.

Was this really just a simple expression of affection?

I felt as though I could be happy expressing love like this for the rest of my life.

For the first time in my life, I thought: It's so fortunate I was born a woman.

…Wait.

But one thought in my mind unsettled me.

"Sera, have you kissed anyone else besides me?"

Without hesitation, I asked her directly.

She had said it was an expression of affection even between women.

Which meant she might have done this with other women, too.

Surely, it was just something between girls.

But for some reason, the idea of anyone else tasting Sera's lips made me uncomfortable.

However, without mercy, Sera hesitated briefly before answering.

"Uh-huh… Right? Recently, it's only been Mari, though…"

Mari.

Who is that woman?

A sinking feeling settled in my chest, and a murky emotion began to accumulate inside me.

"…Mari?"

A voice, much lower and quieter than I expected, escaped my lips.

Sera, as if realizing she had made a mistake, stopped herself.

She made a momentary expression of realization, then smiled awkwardly and spoke.

"Uh, well… I have a younger sibling I know…"

But before she could finish her sentence.

"A girl named… Mari…"

Sera stared at me blankly for a moment and then.

"Hiiiyaak?! Mari?!!!"

As if a fire had broken out, she wore the most urgent expression in the world, breaking into a cold sweat.

She then quickly turned her back to me.

"So…So-rry, Ariel!! I have to go first!!"

Without waiting for my response, she left me in the classroom and ran off somewhere by herself.

"…Mari."

For some reason, I didn't like that name.

***

"…"

"What do I do… What do I do!!!"

I had completely forgotten.

Before coming here, I had promised Mari I would return within five days.

When I first mentioned that I'd be away for a while, Mari, who adored me so much, had clung to me until the very end.

Only after we made a pinky promise that I'd return soon did Mari reluctantly let me go.

I could still vividly recall Mari's sunken expression from back then.

But now, it had been two days past the five-day mark.

And I hadn't contacted Mari at all.

Originally, I had planned to confirm that everyone was safe or pass along the information I knew to Darcan and then return immediately.

But my stay here had ended up being far longer than I expected.

I couldn't imagine how angry she must be.

Mari always reacted dramatically, whether it was good or bad, when it came to matters involving me.

I rushed into my assigned dorm room and hastily opened my backpack.

From inside, I pulled out a single transparent glass orb wrapped in cloth.

I shook the glass orb vigorously several times.

Inside the previously transparent orb, black smoke began to spread.

As the smoke slowly dissipated, a figure appeared within the orb.

"Hel… Hello?! He… Hera?! Is that you?!"

The frantic voice calling my name was none other than Sephir.

She was drenched in cold sweat, looking at me with an expression that screamed relief.

"Sephir… Sorry, I'm late in contacting you."

"What were you doing all this time without a single word?! Do you know how angry your daughter is right n-"

"…Mom?"

Another voice echoed from the crystal orb.

It was chilling, so eerie that it sent shivers down my spine just hearing it.

"Eek?!"

Sephir, visibly startled, flinched and turned to me with a hurried last message before handing the orb to the owner of the voice.

"I-I'm out! You deal with it, Hera! Here. Mari, your beloved mom is finally calling you."

After passing the orb to Mari, Sephir fled in a panic.

Soon, two eyes as blue as the clear sky appeared in the orb, and an uncontrollable shiver ran down my spine.

"Ma… Mari? How… how have you been?"

"….."

Silence.

When Mari said nothing from the crystal orb, I could only swallow dryly.

"Ma… Mari?"

Without a word.

Mari, who had been silently staring at me for a long time, finally spoke.

"Who's the b****?"

"Uh… uh?"

Mari, who always spoke to me in a bright voice, now had a tone so chilling that I could never have imagined it.

"Which woman held you up so badly that you broke your promise to me and didn't contact me at all?"

"W-Woman? Mari… You know it's not nice to use bad words…"

Even in this situation, I couldn't help but scold her. Was it a mother's instinct?

But unfortunately, my words only seemed to provoke her further.

Crunch—

"Hiiik?"

Startled by the eerie sound, as if teeth were shattering, I hurriedly tried to calm her with my voice.

"M-Mari… I'm sorry… You must've felt hurt because I didn't contact you, right? I'll reach out more often from now on. Could you let it slide just this once?"

But Mari's response was icy.

"Contact? You're not coming back right now?"

With eyes growing even darker, she looked at me in unsettling silence.

'Th-That look…'

It was terrifying.

No matter how much I loved my precious daughter, sometimes, that gaze of hers sent chills down my spine.

"Well… you see, Mom has something she needs to do here… C-Could you wait just a little longer?"

"How long?"

"A… A month or so?"

Staring blankly at the crystal orb, as if all light had been drained from her eyes, Mari finally spoke after a long silence.

"Mom, I'll come to you right now."

Of all the scenarios I could imagine, this was by far the worst.

Panicked, I waved my hands frantically to stop her.

"M-Mari! That's absolutely not allowed!!"

In the past two years, Mari had grown tremendously.

Though she still had a hint of childishness, her face and figure had matured, and she'd grown significantly taller than before.

But the biggest change was her power.

In just two years, Mari had achieved exponential growth.

True to her lineage as a dragon known as the pinnacle of magic, she had reached the realm of the 9th Circle, a level even Athena couldn't approach.

It was then I truly realized that Mari was a dragon.

Even the great sages would likely bow their heads in her presence.

But for Mari to rush here, especially in such an emotional state…

Nothing good would come of it.

If anyone discovered that Mari was a dragon, the chaos would far surpass the previous attack—not just in the academy, but throughout the entire empire.

And that was the last thing I wanted.

So I tried desperately to dissuade her.

"No, you can't! I'm flying there right now."

Mari's resolve was unshakable.

In the end, I had no choice but to tightly close my eyes and say to her:

"I-I'll let you do what we talked about last time…!! So please hold back, Mari!"

At my words, Mari flinched, and a faint light began to return to her eyes.

"Really…? You're serious, right?"

"Y-Yes! So… So you'll calm down now, won't you?"

Mari hesitated for a moment before letting out a small sigh and agreeing to the compromise.

"…Got it."

Her voice carried a deep sense of relief.

As I let out a sigh of relief, Mari stared at me intensely and said,

"One month. If you don't come back by then, I'll really go to Mom."

"Yeah…."

With that, our conversation ended.

I flopped onto the bed like a deflated balloon.

"Haah…"

I'm not sure exactly when it started, but these days, I seem to be constantly swayed by Mari.

Maybe it's adolescence, but Mari has become quite assertive.

Her love for me remains the same, so I've just let her be without intervening. To be honest, I didn't really feel like nagging her either.

After all, what parent wants to nag their child?

I didn't want to raise my voice at her.

But this can't go on.

If I keep indulging her like this, there's a high chance she'll stray off course later on.

They say proper parenting requires the right balance of carrot and stick.

Now seems like a time for the stick.

"As a mother, I need to guide my daughter…"

I resolved myself, but the moment I remembered Mari's sky-blue eyes glowing ominously, I felt myself shrinking back.

…Can I really guide her?

Well, regardless.

The time I promised Mari—exactly one month.

Within that time, I need to fix the original story no matter what.