‘’Oh, right. So, when will mother be coming back to the Alfeid house next?”
“Well, let’s see… Right now, there are continuous meetings related to the demon race and the Demon King, so it seems difficult for me to return anytime soon. But in about six months, the work I’m in charge of should be finished, so I might be able to come back… or so I thought…”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing…”
At that moment, Rain suddenly began to show a pained expression, clutching her head.
“Could it be a headache? And your complexion doesn’t look good either. Are you not getting enough sleep? I understand that work is busy, but… you still need to rest a bit, or you’ll collapse…”
“Yes, I know that… But every day there’s so much work and so many things to think about, so even when I go to bed, I end up thinking about various things and can’t sleep at all…”
“I see. That must be really tough… Oh, I know! Wait a moment.”
“? What is it, Seras-kun?”
I said that to Rain and started searching for “something” I had in my jacket pocket.
“Let’s see, it should be here… Ah, found it! Here, take this!”
“…Huh? Wh-what is this?”
I handed Rain a small cloth bag.
“This is a ‘scent bag’ I made a while ago. It’s filled with the pleasant fragrance of flowers, so it should have a relaxing effect. If you place it by your pillow, I think you’ll be able to sleep soundly.”
“Eh, you made this, Seras-kun? Th-that’s amazing… Oh, really… It does have a very nice scent…”
Rain looked puzzled but waved the small bag in her hand and sniffed it. The fragrance seemed to be better than she expected, and she looked a bit surprised.
This was an item I had concocted a while ago called a “scent bag.” It has a minor regeneration effect, so I thought it might help Rain, who seemed to be suffering from headaches and lack of sleep, and decided to give it to her.
“I see. If I use this scent bag, I might be able to sleep soundly tonight for the first time in a while. I’ll try to go to bed early tonight using this scent bag.”
“Ah, that’s good to hear. I’ll pray that you can sleep well tonight, Mother Rain.”
“Fufu, thank you for saying that, Seras-kun. But for you to care so much about me… You really are a kind boy, Seras-kun.”
“That’s only natural. There’s no child who doesn’t care about their mother. So please stay healthy from now on, Mother Rain.”
“Seras-kun…”
When I honestly said that to Rain, she looked surprised. But soon after, a gentle smile appeared on her face…
――Hug…
“Wha-what’s wrong, Mother Rain?”
“I was happy that you called me your mother even though we’re not related by blood. Fufu, really… You’ve grown into such a kind and wonderful boy, Seras-kun.”
Saying that, Rain hugged me tightly. It was a warm and gentle motherly embrace.
“Fufu, thank you so much, Seras-kun. Thanks to your kindness, I feel like I can keep working hard. And once work settles down… Let’s live together as a family in the mansion, okay?”
“…Yes, I understand, Mother Rain.”
Receiving such kind words from Rain, I looked straight into her eyes and nodded deeply.
Well, I know that with that damn father around, such a wish probably won’t come true… But I felt the unconditional love from my mother-in-law and was deeply moved in my heart.
(Yeah, she really is… the kindest person of all.)
And so, for a while longer, I was hugged tightly by Rain, and we spent a leisurely time chatting about trivial things.
