...Mother?

　I can't help but pout at the unexpected words.
　Everyone else has a similar reaction.

　Tania, who came to her senses first among them, asks Sora and Luna, "Mother, you mean mother, right?

''Mother........Mother, meaning mother, right?
What else does it mean?
Do you think I'm an idiot?
No, 'cause, you know what?

　Tania looked at me as if she wanted to say something.
　Well, I know the feeling.
　I can't believe Sora and Luna's mother sealed Iris away...
　This world is too small.


To be exact, it's not just my mom.
''Mother, you didn't see just one, you saw a large number of the strongest species. I also saw the cat spirit race.
Meow!　Maybe my mother too....
'I don't think so, do you?　A cat spirit race's lifespan is no different than a person's, right?
'Oh, that too. Ummm... but, but your mother would...

　Does Kanade think that Tin is immortal?
　Well, you might be forgiven for thinking that when you're that young.

'Anyway, now you've got a clue!

　Luna says in a good mood.
　Maybe she feels good because her magic was successful.

　At Luna's words, Nina tilts her head slightly.

''Clue.......did you have a clue?''
"We have learned that our mother put a seal on it. Couldn't be a better clue, could it?
But... how are we going to listen to them...?
Hmm?　That's a normal........thing, yeah. I see. I see.
'Nina is... or rather, are you all under the impression that my mother is dead by any chance?'
'What?　Isn't it?

　Iris was sealed over a hundred years ago.
　How could Sora and Luna's mother be alive in the normal course of events...

　I mean, wait, what?
　If there were two mothers over a hundred years ago, then Sora and Luna are over a hundred years old...?
　But that's not really true, they were both 14 years old...
　Oh, I'm getting confused.

What's the point of this?

　Tania asked Sora and Luna, impatiently.

'It's simple. The spirit race has a long life expectancy.'
'The average life expectancy is five hundred years. Your mother is about three hundred years old, so it's not surprising that she could have been the party that sealed Iris.
I see.
'Meow...?　So does that mean that Sora and Luna were born when their mother was about 300 years old...?
What the f*ck were you thinking?
Nah, not even a cat!

　Tania gives me a dumbfounded look, and Kanade, who has turned red, waves his hand to the side with a flutter as if to cover up something.

　Well, a lot of things are bothering me about that.
　I understand how Kanade feels.

　But I digress.

Where are Sora and Luna's mother now?
Hmm, where would that be?　When we were gatekeepers, we used to go somewhere when we had to run errands...
Thanks to you, I couldn't get any help.
Well, I'll consider myself lucky that Rain and the others were able to help me out and meet them instead.
On that point, though, Sola agrees with me.
So you're saying that we don't know where Sora and Luna's mother is?

　Tina asked as she cracked the lid of the kettle.
　Why did you let it crackle...?
　Did he try to mimic the movements of his mouth?

'You'll find out when you get back to the village. Someone will know where to go.
Or maybe it's been a while since then, and they've already run their errands.
That's not so hard, is it?

　Stepping into the village of the spirit race.
　Sora and Luna would have no problem with that.
　They are throwing out the gatekeepers, but....
　I don't think it's a matter of being rejected because we're of the same race.

　It's just that as a human, I and everyone else, how will they treat me and everyone else....

Mmm, that's the problem.
If you just want to move to the entrance to the village, it's relatively easy...
Really?
''There are roads leading to the Spirit Tribe's village all over the world. There's another one near here.
'But it's only a matter of where we go from there. Just as we have been guarding the other entrances, there will definitely be gatekeepers. First of all, there's definitely going to be trouble.
'I think there will be at most five of them. I think Sora and his men can overpower them by force.
'Basically, the reclusive spirit race isn't used to fighting.
Don't tell me you're a hermit.
''However, if you push through, if you force your way through, how you'll be treated once you're in the village it's a pain in the ass just to imagine.

　We're not going to sell a fight to the spirit tribe.
　We just want to talk to Sola and Luna's mother.
　Can't we emphasize that point and convince them?

I've got to tell you, I think it's going to be hard to convince you.

　Luna said as if she could see through my thoughts.

I'm sure the spirit race has a huge prejudice against humans. Before I met Rayne, I too thought of humans as insects of the same order.
Oh, is that all you've got to do...?
'Humans are like natural enemies who cut down trees. That's how hostile they are.
So I'm afraid it will be next to impossible to convince him.
Oh, boy.

　You finally have a clue, but you can't make use of it.
　However, I can't afford to look for other clues now.
　I need to see Sora and Luna's mother somehow, but...

Can we take care of it?

　

'What do you have in mind?'
We will try to convince our people.
It's...

　Isn't that hard to do?
　Sola and Luna are the ones who have thrown themselves out of the job of gatekeepers to travel the outside world on their own.
　Even if they were of the same race, they wouldn't be pleasantly surprised.

'I can understand Rain's concerns. Whether or not they will listen to Sola and the others. It will be quite difficult to find out.'
But we can't give up now. I'm not going to throw that clue out on the street.
'And we think our chances of success are there. We'll have to convince them first...
If that doesn't work, we'll have to move back to the village ourselves.
And I'm going to talk to my mom. This should be no problem, don't you think?
'Sure....'

　With the current trend, it could work.
　The spirit tribe wouldn't do anything to prevent their kindred, Sora and Luna, from returning home either.

　Just.........
　If you adopt that idea, you're going to have to leave it completely up to the two of you.

　It's not that I don't trust the two of you.
　I trust them more than I could ever trust them as valued companions.

　But what if something unexpected happens?
　What if leaving the two of you alone would put you in danger?

　I can't help but worry about the two of them, and I can't make a decision to carry it out.
　Sora and Luna give me a gentle smile as I get lost like that.

''My Lord. Do you have faith in us?
Yeah, I do.
Then leave the matter to Sola and her team.
Isn't that what trust is all about?
And now that you've placed your trust in us, Sola and the others will do their best to make things right and return to their masters.

　d*mn it.
　He sees through everything I'm thinking and....
　And yet, I was lightly lectured to trust him more.

　Maybe I'm a worrier, I guess.
　I'm going to have more faith in Sola and Luna.

'All right. Well then, may I ask you to do something?
Mm, I'm on it!
Yes, sir.

　Sola and Luna nodded vigorously.

''Then let's go to the village of the spirit race, let's go!
'Luna, where do you think you're going?　You're the opposite.
...it's just a mistake.

　Sora calmly admonished Luna as she was about to walk off in the direction of the day after tomorrow.
　Seemingly embarrassed, Luna's cheeks were lightly stained.

''So... where is the entrance to the spirit race village?''
It's not far from here. Feel the flow of power that only our spirit race can feel.
There's probably an entrance near the foot of this mountain.
Okay. In the meantime, I'll walk with you to the entrance.
Hmm. So let's go again, then!