Chapter 125

Chapter 125

A few days later.

"Wow, what is all this, grandma?"

Juniors eyes widened as she saw the various goods that Jupiter had brought home.

From various food items to snacks, new clothes, dolls, and toys. It was filled with items that were difficult to see considering the households circumstances.

Jupiter unloaded the items with a broad smile.

"Our income has increased a bit."

"..."

Junior, wide-eyed, looked up at her grandma. Jupiter raised her voice in the house.

"Kids~ Come out and see what grandma has brought!"

One by one, the children from inside the house came out, screaming with joy.

Children missing limbs or covered with burn marks hobbled over to Jupiter to receive their gifts.

"And~ Ta-da!"

Finally, Jupiter handed something to Junior with a broad smile.

It was a few books. Juniors mouth fell open in surprise.

"You said you wanted to read books, right? Granny brought some for you."

"Wow! Thank you, grandma! Ill read them well!"

Junior, her small frame clutching the large book, burst into a huge smile before gradually wiping it away.

"But grandma."

"Hmm?"

"You didnt get involved in something strange, did you?"

"..."

"Where did you get the money to buy all this? Payday is still far away..."

The keen senses of a young child.

Jupiter was momentarily taken aback, but soon showed a soft smile.

"Hey, do you think your grandma is ordinary? The emergency fund Ive stashed away isnt just a couple of pennies."

"Really?"

"Yes. So dont worry about such things, enjoy reading your book!"

Jupiter, laughing lightly, patted her belly.

"Lets make dinner together. Grandmas starving."

"Alright!"

As they headed to the kitchen together, they engaged in light-hearted conversation.

"But grandma, you said my cooking tastes bad, didnt you?"

"I cant cook either, so its fair. Lets give it our best shot."

The two stood side by side in the kitchen, preparing dinner with their awkward skills. The sound of laughter filled the house.

It was an unusually affluent night.

***

After dinner.

While the children were playing loudly with their dolls and toys, Jupiter lit a cigarette outside the front door.

"Sigh..."

She had started smoking again after a long time and found it impossible to quit.

The guilt about the illicit grain trade she had just started, the fear of the fraud and crime she had committed, were all suppressed by smoking.

At that moment.

"Grandma?"

Junior poked her head out the door. Startled, Jupiter quickly shook out her cigarette.

"Junior? What is it? Its chilly, go back inside."

"Hehe. I have something to show grandma."

Junior, with a bashful smile, raised her hand.

"Look at this!"

Magic attribute elements spurted from Juniors fingertips, shining brightly.

Jupiters face froze. Junior smiled innocently.

"Ive been able to control these guys since that day. I guess I have talent in magic!"

The priests words from a few days ago popped into Jupiters head.

- The magical power is backflowing from the traces of magic left in the heart. The problem is that the child has talent as a magician. She cant handle her own magical power because of the trace.

Oblivious to her grandmothers thoughts, Junior nodded enthusiastically.

"When I grow up, I want to be like grandma! I want to become a great magician like grandma, make a lot of money! For grandma and the kids-"

Suddenly.

Junior, about to say something more, stopped.

Because Jupiter had grabbed her shoulders with a scary look on her face.

"Dont even think about learning magic."

"Huh? Why...?"

"Even without learning such things, your grandma can feed you all for a lifetime."

"But..."

"Promise me, Junior. Promise me. Even for my sake, you wont learn magic."

Junior, who had been nervously looking at Jupiters serious face, murmured uneasily.

"But grandma... Its hard for you to take care of us."

That night.

Junior timidly approached Jupiter, who was smoking a cigarette in a chair outside the front door.

"Grandma."

"Hmm? Why arent you asleep?"

"Can you read this?"

In Juniors hand was a storybook Jupiter had bought a few days ago.

Chuckling lightly, Jupiter lifted Junior onto her lap with a heave-ho.

And holding her granddaughter, Jupiter began to read the storybook slowly.

Junior clung tightly to Jupiter.

"Grandma, how far are you going?"

Halfway through the book, Junior suddenly asked. Jupiter casually answered.

"Well, Im headed west first. Apparently, theres a war-torn country there."

"Cant you stay here with us?"

"..."

"Scared without Grandma?"

Jupiter gently stroked her granddaughters hair.

"Ill make a lot of money and be back soon. You dont need to be scared."

Junior knew it too. The fact that Grandma had to leave.

But there was no helping her fear. Junior pressed her face hard into Jupiters embrace.

"Ive been having scary dreams lately."

"A nightmare?"

"Yeah. You too, Grandma?"

"Indeed. Grandma often has them too."

Jupiter gave a broad smile as she patted her granddaughters back.

"But today, youll have a good dream."

On a creaky old chair, with the sea breeze in her face, Junior slowly fell asleep.

Jupiter whispered softly into the sleeping girls ear.

"Sleep well, sweetheart."

***

Afterwards, Jupiter set off to find a war, roaming across the continent.

The income as a mercenary wasnt as good as she thought. Wars were frequent but most of them were in a lull.

Eventually, Jupiter had to get her hands dirty with all sorts of unsavory jobs, not just being a mercenary.

The honor she maintained as a soldier was of no use in front of the livelihood of her grandchildren.

She sold and discarded the reputation she had built up all her life, and Jupiter began to build a new reputation.

A fallen soldier, crazed for money.

A gold digger who would do anything for money.

Junior was an innocent and tender child, but she changed more ruthlessly as she became responsible for the lives of her younger siblings.

Most of the neighbors that Grandma asked for help didnt assist Junior.

On the contrary, they threatened her to cough up money, or they became harmful.

Junior had to become strong. She had to turn crafty and harsh.

She even had to master the magic that Grandma told her not to learn, to protect her siblings.

Above all, she knew it herself. Her talent lay in magic.

No, there was nothing else.

In a blink of an eye, ten years passed.

The distance between Jupiter and her grandchildren grew, both physically and emotionally.

Apart from the occasional letters they exchanged, their interactions dwindled.

Still, Jupiter sent money and Junior wrote letters.

Junior had become a full-fledged adult.

And as a mage, she fully understood what exactly had happened 15 years ago.

What Jupiter had done.

Jupiter had aged into an elderly woman with white hair.

Jupiter began to fear her granddaughter. The child she had reared but had actually left an indelible scar.

***

Present time.

The southern front of the Empire. Fortress city Crossroad.

The inn room where Junior was staying.

"..."

"..."

Jupiter and Junior stared silently at each other.

The tender gaze between the grandmother and granddaughter that they shared ten years ago was gone.

Instead, their gaze was filled with fear and awkwardness, along with a faint resentment.

"..."

After staring silently at her granddaughter, drenched in her own vomited blood, Jupiter spat out.

"...Have you been eating properly?"