Page Title

485 Mother-daughter battle, and two tears.

 

"That’s it! The winner, Danks-dono!"

 

The beastman wrestler, who blew away his opponent with overwhelming power, raised his fist high. At the same time, the audience erupted with thunderous cheers and applause.

 

"Indeed, you can't underestimate the agility and strength of a beastman. I think he'll go far," murmured Elze beside Elna, as if assessing the situation. Is that so?

 

We had returned to the seats where Elna had originally been. Mr. Graatz had suggested we sit in the VIP seats, but I declined because I was worried Linne would fret if Elna disappeared.

 

Since we couldn't let Linne see us, except for Elna, we changed our appearance with [Mirage].

 

"What number is Linne and Linze's match?"

 

"I think it's the one after next. But, are they really okay...? I'm worried about Linne, but I'm also worried about Linze..."

 

As I sighed softly, Elze gave me a look of disbelief.

 

"What's with you, being so flustered? That girl is your wife, isn't she? She hasn't gone through half-hearted training. If it's just firepower, I think she's the best among us?"

 

"I'm worried because her firepower is sealed by the rules... Well, I don't want her to blast Linne either..."

 

As I talked with Elze over Elna's head, the next match began amidst cheers.

 

A dragonewts spear user versus a dog beastman swordsman. This is the next match... Please, don't let either of them get hurt.

 

I couldn't focus on the match unfolding in front of me at all, and I pressed on my stomach, which was starting to ache.

 

◇ ◇ ◇

 

"Oh, Elna onee-chan is back... I wonder who the people next to her are?"

 

As Linne confirmed her sister's presence and felt relieved, a small question arose in her mind.

 

Elna, who was just above her, was rather shy. It's not likely that she would easily get along with strangers. Perhaps she was being approached, but from her occasional smile, Linne sensed otherwise. Seeing them laugh together like a family made Linne feel a little lonely.

 

Behind Linne peering through the window of the waiting room, Linze quietly stood.

 

"Is that your onee-chan?"

 

"Yeah... Elna onee-chan. It's rare to see her talking so happily with other people."

 

Linne, who didn't know the truth, tilted her head in wonder. They were family, so there was nothing strange about talking normally.

 

"That’s it! The winner, Ryuugel-dono!"

 

The referee's voice echoed. It seems the match has been decided. It's rude, but I didn't see anything at all. The winner was apparently the dragonewts spear user.

 

"Next, we will proceed to the fifth match. From the recommendation slot, the flow magician, Linlin-dono! Against her, the youngest participant in this tournament, Linne-dono!"

 

The introduction announcement flowed, and Linze and Linne stepped from the hallway in front of the waiting room into the arena. Applause and cheers rained down on the two from the audience seats.

 

"Let's do this, Linlin nee-chan! I'm definitely going to win!"

 

"Let's do this. I won't lose either."

 

They exchanged glances and split to the left and right of the arena. They faced each other head-on, and the referee who was between them descended from the arena.

 

"Are both sides ready?"

 

"Yeah!"

 

"Anytime."

 

With the signal to start, Linne closed the distance with Linze. It's a basic tactic against magicians. That is, to approach and attack before they can cast their magic.

 

"I'm sorry, but I'll end this soon!"

 

As Linne rushed forward, Linze stepped back like dancing steps.

 

"Light, shine forth, dazzling flash!"

 

"Ah!?"

 

Linne shielded her eyes with her arm from the sudden flash emitted from Linze's wand. Linne, who had rushed in thinking there was no direct attack magic, was unable to move from where she stood, unable to withstand the light.

 

"The eye blinding is so unfair, nee-chan!"

 

Yelling, she expanded the shield around her. Her vision was gradually returning. All she could do now was endure.

 

"Don't challenge a magician head-on. They might have various tricks up their sleeves."

 

"Tricks? What do you mean by tricks? I don't get it!"

 

When Linne was getting her vision back and got ready to fight again, no one was in front of her. She hurriedly turned around. But once again, there was no one there.

 

"Huh?"

 

"Up there!" she thought, and when she looked up, there was no one there either.

 

"Gone... Oh, it's [Invisible]! The magic that makes you disappear!"

 

"Correct."

 

While expanding the shield behind her, she searched for the presence. She should be able to tell where they were from the direction of the voice and the flow of the wind... Or so she thought, concentrating her nerves.

 

But then the referee intervened.

 

"P-Please wait! We cannot judge if the magic that makes your presence disappear falls outside the arena! Therefore, we must forbid it!"

 

"Oh, right. Okay, got it."

 

"Wha!?"

 

When Linze reappeared next to Linne, she was surprised and hurriedly moved away. When did she!?

 

"Kuh!"

 

Regaining her composure, Linne kicks out at Linze who appears. As she thought she landed a kick on Linze's stomach, her body cracked.

 

"Eh!?"

 

Linze, whose body had cracked, shattered and fell to the ground like thin glass.

 

"A mirror?"

 

"Over here."

 

When she turned around, Linze, who was far away, was about to swing her wand. At the tip, something shaped like a star rotated like a shuriken while curving towards her.

 

"It's not a blade, and it's not a magical attack, so it's okay. It's like a flail with a long chain."

 

Saying that, Linze swung her wand down again. The star at the tip flew toward Linne again.

 

The speed itself wasn't that fast. There was a way to keep dodging, but Linne thought differently. It was a waste of time to keep dodging many times. If that's the case.

 

"Hmpfh!"

 

Linne pounds her right fist against the approaching star. Nothing can break this gauntlet her father gave her. In addition, at the moment of impact, she activates [Gravity] to increase the destructive power. The star was beautifully smashed to pieces.

 

"How's that!"

 

Snorting, Linne puffed up her chest. That figure looked cute to Linze, and a smile naturally appeared on her face.

 

Whether Linne took that as a smile of composure or not, her expression changed to a frown.

 

"Don't make fun of me! How about this!"

 

Dang, dang, dang! As Linne jumps up into the air as if she were jumping in a multi-stage jump, there is nothing in the empty space. It was a multi-stage jump with a [Shield] as a foothold. Linne rolls her body around in the air, much higher than Linze's head.

 

"Dragon Star Kick!"

 

A shoe with a mithril plate embedded in its sole, weighted, falls towards Linne like a meteor aimed at Linze. Normally, a kick like this could cause serious injury, but Linne knows this arena was designed by Touya, specialized like Brunhild's training grounds in protecting lives. She estimates how much damage can be nullified.

 

Having been thoroughly trained by Elze, her mentor and mother figure, on restraint in combat, Linne believed she could handle this without severe injury. But seeing Linze shattered into pieces upon impact, she realizes she's been deceived once again.

 

There were no magic incantations earlier or now. Is it non-attribute magic? As Linne lands in the arena, she notices a small translucent figure beside Linze.

 

About thirty centimeters tall, wearing a silver dress-like garment with flowing silver hair, it's a girl.

 

"Spirit...! I see! Both before and now, it was spirit magic!"

 

"Yes, indeed. If you had observed more carefully, you would have noticed. Remain calm, especially when at a disadvantage."

 

The spirit beside Linne chuckles softly. While Linne might have seen spirits during her time, there was none like this. Speaking our language, it's likely an intermediate spirit, Linne concludes.

 

"This child is a Mirror Spirit. 'Miro'," Linze introduces.

 

"Yes, I'm Miro. Pleased to meet you."

 

Linze used this spirit magic because Elna assured her that as an intermediate spirit, her identity would remain hidden. According to Elna, future Linne used mostly advanced spirits when employing spirit magic.

 

"In any case, if you're a spirit user, just say so! You don't have to reveal all your cards from the start, right?"

 

"Well, revealing everything at first is what fools do, isn't it? Linne-chan, you still have hidden powers, don't you?"

 

"If it's come to this... 'Form Change Mode Activate - Armored Panzer'!"

 

Linne's gauntlet transforms with a loud clang, enlarging and deploying. Ether lines glow across it, and jet nozzles extend from both elbows.

 

"If you want to see it that badly, I'll show you! Don't regret it afterwards!"

 

Linne's aura rises, merging with her magical power. Enhanced by her fighting spirit, her abilities skyrocket. It's a technique akin to Qi Gong, passed down among some Eastern Continent races.

 

"Ha!"

 

"What!?"

 

Boom! A mass of Qi blasts from Linne's palm towards Linze.

 

Linze dodges aside, narrowly avoiding the Qi mass, which disperses upon hitting the arena's magic barrier.

 

"Not done yet!"

 

"Wait, there are too many!"

 

Linne launches baseball-sized energy blasts in rapid succession, stunning even Linze. Evading is all she can do; there's no time to deploy a defensive magic barrier.

 

"Mi... Miro-chan, please!"

 

"Understood, Master."

 

Miro waves her arm, and mirrors appear, surrounding Linne. The energy blasts hit and shatter the fragile mirrors, distracting Linne momentarily but buying enough time.

 

"[Rain, descend with pure blessing, Heavenly Rain]!"

 

"Huh?"

 

Linne mutters in surprise. Suddenly, heavy rain pours down only within the arena. The referees hesitate, unsure if this is an attack spell, but it's not like Water Ball; it doesn't seem like an attack. The rain stops abruptly, leaving both drenched.

 

"Ugh! This outfit, Mom made it for me and it's ruined... I won't forgive you! Whoa!?"

 

Stumbling, Linne slips and falls on the ice that covers the arena floor, realizing there's a second spirit nearby.

 

More mature than Miro, this spirit radiates a translucent emerald light.

 

"We can't save our trump card for later. Air-chan, please!"

 

"Yes, yes! Here we go, Aerial!"

 

With a light reply, an unseen force pushes Linne forward.

 

"What's this!? This..."

 

Linne throws her best right straight towards the unseen force. But it rebounds like a cushion, throwing her backward across the ice.

 

"Not good... [Gravity]!"

 

Linne increases her weight with magic to slow herself. But her punch's power is substantial, and it carries her uncontrollably.

 

Suddenly, a thud! Linne finds herself outside the arena, her weight causing her to sink into the ground slightly. She didn't make it in time; she fell out of bounds.

 

"Ah..."

 

"O-outside the ring! The winner is Linlin-dono!"

 

The referee's voice was met with cheers and applause from the audience. Linze, also known as Linlin, breathed a small sigh of relief as the referee approached her.

 

" Linlin-dono, just to confirm, that last move wasn't an offensive spell, correct?"

 

"Yes, it was more of a defensive magic. I protected myself with a soft air barrier that repels impact."

 

"I see... Linne-sama was knocked back by her own power, then? Sorry, we have to clarify any uncertainties."

 

With the judge's confirmation of no issues, the announcement was made declaring Linlin's victory.

 

Linze turned her gaze towards Linne, who stood stunned, staring at the ground.

 

"L-Linne-chan..."

 

"The wind spirit..."

 

"Huh?"

 

Linne murmured softly, looking at Linze with a puzzled expression.

 

"I remembered. That girl next to Linlin-neechan, she's the wind spirit..."

 

"Oh? You know about me?"

 

The translucent girl in pale green attire, appearing amused, asked Linne, who simply nodded in agreement.

 

"Aerial, the wind spirit. One of the greatest spirits among them. But wind spirits are...! Ah, but maybe it's different in this era..."

 

Mumbling to herself, Linne started to panic. Linze smiled faintly, realizing that summoning the wind spirit, her trump card, might expose her identity. According to Elna, even in the future, Linze continued to command the wind spirit.

 

Linze's magic aptitude was for fire, water, and light—not wind, which made handling the wind spirit more challenging. However, Linze desired to contract with the wind spirit.

 

Normally, it would be unthinkable for a human to contract with a higher-level spirit like the wind spirit. However, Linze was Touya's wife and retainer. From Aerial's perspective, she was the wife of the Spirit King, an absolute ruler. Refusing her was out of the question. It was definitely not a power harassment.

 

Linne might be misunderstanding, thinking that the spirit her mother used to summon had once been summoned by someone else.

 

Seeing Linne continue to struggle with her thoughts, Linze took out a badge from her pocket, identical to the one she wore.

 

"Linne-chan... No, Linne. You're strong. But there are many stronger people out there. Your family isn't the only strong ones."

 

"...Yeah... I'm sorry..."

 

Linne apologized softly, seemingly reflecting on what happened in the dressing room. Since she had actually lost, Linze couldn't argue with her.

 

"...But then again, I'm part of your family too... Even though that doesn't sound very convincing."

 

"Huh?"

 

Linne raised her head, and Linze attached a matching badge to her chest. This badge prevented its wearers from seeing each other's illusions. Therefore, Linne should see Linze in her true form right now.

 

Linne's eyes widened.

 

"M-mo... mom...?"

 

"Hehe... It feels weird after all. Being called 'mom' by a daughter who wasn't even born yet... W-wait!?"

 

As if bounced off the ground, Linne kicked her feet and leaped towards Linze. With all her strength, she clung to the girl who was her mother.

 

"Mom...! It's... it's you... my... m-mom... my mom...! M-mommy...! Ugh... uuu... uuuuu... uwaah!"

 

Crying uncontrollably, Linne held onto Linze. Linze, holding her daughter from the future gently, thought earnestly that she wanted to embrace and accept every tear that flowed from this strong-willed girl who must have been holding back her tears until now.

 

"We finally met...! I was so lonely...!"

 

"Yeah... yeah... I'm sorry..."

 

The mother and daughter who met across time embraced each other as if to warm their wet bodies forever.