Night fell. The cold wind swept wildly across the cave entrance, letting out a miserable howl.
Ultear seemed to have an innate talent for resisting the cold. Even in this harsh environment, she remained composed and unaffected.
Tike, on the other hand, was shivering violently. His teeth chattered uncontrollably, as if the biting wind were about to swallow him whole.
Noticing his weakness, Ultear gently pulled him into her arms, using her own body heat to drive away the chill clinging to him.
It had been ten days since they escaped the research facility. Guided by Ultear, they had drifted from place to place, finally arriving today in the northern lands where her mother lived.
Snuggling into Ultear's embrace, Tike asked softly, full of anticipation, "Will we get to your house tomorrow?"
"Mm-hmm, we'll see Mom tomorrow!"
Ultear smiled like a blooming flower, giving him a definite answer. She then began to softly recount memories of her life with her mother—ordinary yet precious daily moments that seemed to sparkle as she spoke of them tenderly.
Tike listened intently. His blue eyes, previously dull from the cold, gradually brightened, revealing a hint of envy and longing.
(Can I have a family like that, too?)
Harboring this subtle mix of expectation and unease, Tike eventually closed his eyes within the warmth of Ultear's arms and drifted into a deep sleep.
Ultear gently stroked his hair, her heart filled with hope and anticipation. (Mom, I'm finally coming back.)
---
The next day, the two finally managed to find the house from Ultear's memories, only to discover it had long been abandoned.
"No one has been inside this place for a long time. The scent has become very faint," Tike said, twitching his nose gently as he carefully sniffed the air, relaying the information he had gathered.
"How can that be..."
Just as Ultear was feeling lost, Tike suddenly pressed his nose close to her, sniffing vigorously. Then, he grabbed her hand and decisively pulled her toward the mountains.
There was always a similarity in the scent of blood relatives. Unless they were too far apart, he could use this subtle trace to find Ultear's mother.
When they reached their destination, however, they saw Ultear's mother standing at a doorway, chatting and laughing with two strange young boys.
Ultear froze in place, afraid to move forward. She trembled as if she were about to collapse. "Tike... Mom left our home, and she has other children now. Did she... did she throw me away...?"
Why was her mother living so happily with strange children, as if she didn't remember having a daughter, while Ultear was being tortured in that lab?
"How could she do that to you!"
Tike clenched his fists. The thought that he might have been abandoned by his own parents in the same way ignited a sudden fire of rage in his heart. He first drew a circle in the air with his index finger—a silent curse—then marched alone in that direction, vowing to demand an explanation for Ultear.
"Don't..."
Ultear tried to stop him, but Tike had already walked right up to her mother, Ur. She had no choice but to panic and hide behind a thick tree trunk, holding her breath and watching everything with unblinking eyes.
Ur, faced with this sudden appearance of a brown-haired child, frowned slightly.
The two boys standing on either side of Ur also cast curious glances. The silver-haired boy speculated, "Are you here to learn Maker Magic from Master Ur, too?"
The black-haired boy, however, just gave a cursory glance before losing interest and returning to his own magic training.
Tike could vaguely smell a scent of bitterness on the black-haired boy, but he had no time to worry about that now. He pulled his arm back and swung a punch directly at Ur.
"..."
The result was Ur effortlessly picking him up. His tiny fist couldn't even reach her body.
Seeing the fierce, "I'm going to eat you" expression on the little boy's face, Ur was baffled.
"You little brat, why are you attacking me?"
"Why did you abandon your own daughter?!"
"..."
Ur's face instantly went pale, and a look of unconcealed pain and sorrow surfaced in her eyes.
"You little punk!" Before she could speak, the silver-haired boy angrily cut in. "Why bring that up?! Master's daughter died of illness a long time ago!"
"..."
Tike didn't smell any lies on these people. Instead, he could sense a heavy grief radiating from Ur.
A person like this didn't seem like the kind of mother who would heartlessly abandon her daughter.
(Something's wrong... my nose never makes mistakes.)
Tike gradually calmed his inner rage and thought of a possibility—could those researchers have done something behind the scenes?
"Why did you send Big Sis to the Magic Development Bureau in the first place?"
"How do you know about..."
"Answer my question!"
Sensing that things weren't as simple as they seemed, Ur put him down and answered, "Ultear was critically ill back then. She had to go there to receive special treatment. But..." Her voice choked up slightly. "In the end, we couldn't save her..."
"They were lying to you!"
Tike raised his voice and abruptly yanked up his sleeve, revealing an arm covered in dense needle marks.
"Treating an illness? That's a lie! They were just using us for experiments!"
Ur stared blankly at the scars on Tike's arm. The tiny, dense needle holes seemed to silently accuse the research institute of its cruelty. Her hands trembled, and her voice became unstable. "Ultear... was she... was she like this too?"
"Yeah," Tike gently rolled his sleeve back down. "I didn't really care; I just treated it as the price for a meal. But Big Sis is different. She kept talking about coming back to find her mom..."
"My daughter..." Ur placed her hands on Tike's shoulders, her voice shaking with extreme emotion. "Did she... did she escape with you?"
Tike nodded. He had already gathered the answer he wanted from the scents drifting in the air.
(Looks like she was just tricked, that's all.)
Thinking this, Tike turned and ran toward the small grove of trees. A moment later, he walked out leading Ultear by the hand.
"Mom..."
Under the sunlight, Ultear looked at the figure she had missed day and night through tear-filled eyes. Her voice was so soft it almost vanished in the wind.
"Ultear!"
Ur stumbled forward and pulled her daughter tightly into her arms.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... It's all Mom's fault. I shouldn't have believed them..."
Mother and daughter held each other tight, weeping silently. All the longing, pain, and grievances turned into warm tears in that moment, soaking each other's clothes.
The black-haired boy watched this scene quietly, a complex emotion flashing through his eyes.
He was happy for Ur, but it also reminded him of his own parents who were no longer in this world. His fists clenched quietly at his sides. The hatred in his heart for the demon that had destroyed his hometown and taken his loved ones burned even fiercer in that moment.
The silver-haired boy hung his head, his eyes flickering uncertainly, revealing a hidden sense of insecurity.
Tike watched the weeping mother and daughter, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting into a relieved smile.
(Big Sis can finally return to the mother she missed so much. That's really great.)
Smelling the sweet scent of "love" radiating from the two of them, he felt genuinely happy for Ultear. But at the same time, he couldn't help but think of his own parents, whom he had never met.
(Are they... still alive?)
(If they are still alive...)
Tike remembered the hunger he had endured and the freezing cold he had suffered over the years, and a shadow instantly covered his eyes.
(No matter what their excuse is, I'm definitely going to punch them right in the face!)
---