Free Web NovelChapter 480: Chapter 72 - My Mother Curiosity
"What is it? I think I heard something interesting that you’re doing, Lily?"
Mio’s words were quite loud and echoed in my mother’s underground study. This indirectly attracted my mother, a maniac for magical research, to what Mio was talking about.
My research, which seeks to combine the Mio family’s sword techniques with magic attack techniques, has reached my mother. That’s not a bad thing, so I’ll be more open with her curiosity.
"I don’t know if it interests Mama or not, for Mio, it doesn’t interest her at all."
"Doesn’t it all depend on your perspective?" my mother replied, smiling curiously at me.
Our conversation, which had been discussing Duchess Kaori’s old castle town and the rise of the Goddess of Destruction’s followers in her domain, seemed to have turned to talk about a little research I was doing.
"Yeah, it’s true that it depends on someone’s point of view..." I muttered while shaking my head and looking for a way to explain what I was researching.
My hand that was still holding the cursed Odachi sheath now let go, letting Momo fly low beside me.
"Mom, you must know that my swordsmanship skills come from the Mio family’s sword technique, right?" I asked, trying to find a suitable starting point for my mother to understand.
"Oh, that’s was from Mio family’s sword technique? This is the first time I’ve heard of it."
"Yes, that was from the Mio family’s sword technique. More precisely, it’s a secret sword technique that should only be known to the Mio family," I answered my mother’s curiosity. My hand returned to grab the hilt of the cursed Odachi and launched a surprise attack at my mother.
Swoooshhhh...
With a smooth and elegant movement, I used a small step to trigger the Sakura Dash technique I often use to close the distance between myself and my enemies. The sheer speed of the Sakura Dash sent a shockwave of wind into my mother’s face, making her long brown hair sway and some cherry blossom petals were blowing her face.
My hand, who holding the cursed Odachi’s hilt aimed its blunt end for a non-lethal stabbing attack, but it stopped and missed my mother face, who was standing calmly in front of me.
Just a small attack that shows off the impressive sword techniques of the Mio family, to my mother.
The cherry blossom petals that always appear when I use this sword technique are definitely the result of a magic that’s activated without my knowledge. Mio has also discovered that these cherry blossom petals originate from a mysterious magic whose activation requirements not come from the magic core. If it requires a magic core to activate Sakura Dash... then she will hate her family sword techniques.
To an experienced witch eyes, this is a sword technique that uses non-magic spell. However, in reality, it was a magic, which is work with unknown activation conditions.
"Can you feel any magical elements created by this surprise attack, Mom?" I asked my mother, relaxing my hands and smiling at her.
This question came out not without reason, because before my very eyes, the cherry blossom petals that had fallen on the floor of my mother’s underground study disappeared like a thin dust that disappeared into the air.
"Based on my brief observation, no magical elements were created."
"Was it a magic technique from the start, not a sword technique?" My mother asked further, tilting her head.
That’s a pretty good question to answer right away.
My gaze fell on Mio, who was a few steps away.
My eyes flickered to Mio, who was about to demonstrate her Sakura Dash sword technique towards my mother, once more time.
Without blinking my eyes and continuing to stare at Mio, I saw her bow respectfully before dashing closer using the Sakura Dash technique.
My eyes were filled with cherry blossom petals flying towards me, trying to obscure my vision of Mio’s figure as it approached me and my mother.
Swooossshhh...
A gentle breeze hit me, so gentle that my body felt the softness of the breeze that greeted me.
My eyes, who sensitive to magical energy, also didn’t detect any magical elements created by Mio’s Sakura Dash technique. There were no traces of magic, even the magical residue that should have been left behind by any magical activity felt empty.
There was only empty air, falling cherry blossom petals, and the fragrant smell of cherry blossom petals pampering my nose.
"There’s no magic element created, right?" I asked Mom as I pulled the hilt of the cursed Odachi I was holding and took a stance to do something I’d done when using the cursed katana.
"Then... how about this?"
My gaze is now focused on using the Goddess of Destruction’s blessing and combining it with the Mio family’s Sakura Dash technique. The focus point I was seeking was a little elusive, but once I sank into that high point focus, I could sense the slow flow of time and immediately shot forward using the Sakura Dash technique.
I took a step forward, creating space for Sakura Dash to land on. My gaze, now in a different time and space, launched a light slash at one of the magic lanterns mounted on the wall, then returned to my original position in one swift motion.
Baaaassshhh!!
Somehow, it felt a little different than what I did when I used the cursed katana.
Either the intensity of the cursed weapon’s magic was different, or the cursed Odachi was not suited for performing a quick attack like this.
Swoossshhh!!
Sllaaassshhh!!
Ctttiinnggg!!
In an instant, I attempted a combination attack that used the Mio family’s sword technique with the holy magic that came from the Goddess of Destruction.
The result of the combination was a bit messy, especially with the magic lantern just swaying as if blown by the wind.
The shadow of the swaying magic lantern left a frozen shadow of my body as I slashed towards it. It wasn’t an afterimage created by wielding a cursed katana, but a black shadow of my own body.
While standing in front of my mother, I asked her.
"This attack leaves behind a visible and tangible magical residue. It’s very different from the Mio family’s sword techniques, isn’t it?" I asked my mother, who seemed to be daydreaming about something.
"Gosh, Mio. What kind of terrifying sword technique have you taught Lily?" my mother said, glancing at Mio standing beside her.
"I don’t know either, Marchioness Amagi. I only teach basic sword techniques, and somehow Lily-sama can perform advanced sword techniques that require years of intensive training," Mio replied while lowering her head and looking confused by her own answer.
"Isn’t it even more terrifying that Lily could master it without years of training?"
"Yes, that’s impossible to do, Marchioness Amagi. But to me, Lily-sama is a talented swordswoman who can learn sword techniques quickly, so it possible."
Seeing my mother and Mio say such embarrassing things, I could only remain silent and try not to attract their attention any further.
This sword technique demonstration that I did was more than enough to show the difference between the Mio family’s sword technique that uses mysterious magic and the holy sword technique that uses the blessing of the Goddess of Destruction.
Those two obvious differences made my mother and Mio shake their heads, as if this were impossible to do.
"At this point, I’m no longer surprised by Lily’s rapid development. Even Alice and Alyssa are experiencing the same thing, aren’t they?" said my father, who had been silent and watching from a distance.
His hand, which was still holding the A1 information paper, suddenly folded it and put it in his pocket.
"I’ll put this useful information to good use when I meet with Duchess Kaori and Earl Timoti. As fellow allies operating underground and with different goals, this is enough for our long-term plans. Right, Lily?" my father asked in a serious tone, standing up from his chair.
Uhm, what did my father say?
Why does his tone sound serious?
And also, his tone sounds like we have planned something long-term and will happen in the future.
I, who was standing in silent, suddenly faced with my father who was approaching me.
"For matters regarding this underground movement with Duchess Kaori and Earl Timoti, you can leave it to me."
"You can focus on something you want to do on this military expedition, Lily."
Somehow, I could feel my father’s mind was misunderstanding something, and it was too far gone to the point where it couldn’t be saved as an misunderstanding.
"Uhm, yeah?" I replied with a small mumble and tilted my head.
This face of mine that doesn’t know anything, should be clear read to my father’s eyes, right?
"Cough! This is such a troublesome matter. It wouldn’t matter if me and your mother improvised it... a little bit, right?"
"I-If Mom and father want to improvise it, then go ahead..."
With this, I, who had absolutely no idea what misunderstanding was in my father’s mind, was forced to follow the flow of his misunderstanding.
If something unwanted happens, I can still run away, right?
Running away from a responsibility that came from my father’s misunderstanding.
"We’ve already received this detailed information, and it’s almost nightfall. Please return to the military expedition area to rest early, Lily."
The moment my father said that, I could see an opportunity to quickly escape from this growing misunderstanding.
Slllaasshh!!
Bllaaarrr!!
My hand, who still holding the cursed Odachi, quickly pulled the hilt and formed a teleportation slash in my mother’s underground study.
"Y-Yess... Yess!! see you later!"
"Let’s go back, Mio!"
I immediately pulled Mio’s hand and immediately entered the teleportation slash, leaving behind my father’s misunderstanding, which felt very troublesome to me.
