That evening, Olivie brewed herself a cup of tea while pondering what to do in regards to Touma’s future.
She liked to think that she had done well so far in the three years that she raised him. Along with getting him involved in important tasks like house work and hunting for food, she had been teaching him some of the basic aspects of her combat arts. He had taken to it quite well since it was an easy way to work off any extra energy he had during the day. And his progress meant that he would be able to fend for himself if a fight broke out.
Granted, he doesn’t have the physical conditioning to be able to withstand some of the more advanced enhancement spells. He could do smaller ones for temporary boosts of speed and strength. By her estimates, he was probably strong enough to defeat a squire that was on the threshold of reaching knighthood back in her era. With a few more years of proper training (and nothing insane like what she had went through as a child living on the Cradle before being sent to Shutra), he could probably go toe to toe with the average battalion vice-captain.
Even with that, Olivie realized that she wasn’t fully meeting all of Touma’s emotional needs. Sure, she provided a home, a sense of stability and security and her son had her maternal love and attention. But as he grows older, he will encounter certain issues and aspects of life that could only be spoken about between men. Her dear friend Claus was like that and spoke with his knights whenever something bothered him that he couldn’t share with her.
The thought of Claus caused her to pause for a moment. Her memories of him had served as the foundation for her vision of the type of man Touma should become. However, tales of her friend can only do so much to help her son determine for himself the path to develop into a proper young man. Perhaps this Mid-Childa world would be able to offer some suitable male role models who could influence Touma in a positive manner.
“Mom?”
Her eyes spotted the young boy entering the kitchen, clad in a t-shirt and shorts that served as his regular sleepwear. “Yes, Touma?”
“Is there something bothering you?”
“I wouldn’t say bothering… but Su-chan laid out an interesting offer. She said that she would be willing to take us to Mid-Childa.”
Touma sat down across from his mother at the table. “Mid-Childa? That’s the Bureau’s home world.”
Olivie idly stirred her cold tea. “She said that it might be a better place to live for the two of us compared to this place. What do you think?”
“I’ll go wherever you want to go, Mom. You were there for me ever since that day.”
“Would you feel comfortable moving to a larger area? Or do you want to stay at this home?”
“As far as I’m concerned, the only place I can call home is a place that has you in it,” said the boy softly.
Olivie smiled at her son. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“What about you, Mom? If you were my age and had your mom or dad ask you the same question, how would you respond?”
She went quiet for a bit as her mind went back to her childhood on the Cradle, which wasn’t a particularly warm and loving one. Her daily activities had been carefully planned in advance. Mornings were for strict training in her combat arts and magic. Often, the elders of her family would test the limits of the Relic that they had fused with her Linker Core shortly after she had been born.
It wasn’t very fun at all.
Afternoons were a little better when she would study military strategy and learn more about the army she was to lead to invade worlds who broke away from the Belkan Empire. She had gotten to know many different battalions of knights and found a sense of companionship with them, despite the difference in age and status. And any time she heard news of these brave men falling in battle, all she could do was silently mourn for them while life went on in the Cradle.
The evenings were often spent familiarizing her with the controls of the Cradle and learning how to operate those defensive machines. Those things bothered her with their razor sharp sickles.
And that daily routine would continue on until an arrangement by her father allowed her to leave the Cradle and stay in Shutra. It was quite possibly the happiest time in her life and even better when she found some friends about her age. The young prince of the land, Claus Ingvalt… and that quiet smaller boy who was studying to become a Court Magus, Myrddin. She hadn’t been certain how Claus would have taken it if he knew that she had another friend like him. He probably would have been jealous and acted irrationally and caused a huge mess.
Then again, she wondered how things would have turned out if they had been a proper united trinity. Myrddin had a talent for certain Rare Skills and Spells in the Belkan magic system and combined with her combat arts and the Kaiser Arts of Ingvalt, they could have brought the Unification War to an end without anyone having to make a sacrifice.
“Mom?”
“Sorry… I was just thinking for a bit…” She paused for a bit before she addressed her son again. “And I think that if I had the chance, I would have liked to move there and meet new people and find new friends. If I never left the Cradle, I don’t think I would be the person I am now.”
Touma gave a little smile. “Then I guess you have your answer.”
Olivie smiled back at the boy. “So it seems.”
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(Posted Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:05)
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