Episode 56

“Why am I here… Because I enlisted?”

What are you even saying after coming all the way here for family visiting day?

When I retorted, my mom shook her head vigorously and shouted.

“I mean, not you, but you! Yes, you!”

“Mom, what on earth are you-”

“Ben! Benjamin Chamber!”

The person her trembling finger pointed towards wasn’t me.

There were only three of us in the visitation room, and if it wasn't me, there was only one other person it could be.

“…Mary?”

The previously steady voice wavered.

The middle-aged man standing beside me raised his hand, then let it fall, muttering.

“Really Mary, Marilyn? …Marilyn, is it you?”

“Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with the border patrol?”

“I retired. Then I was asked to help with some training duties.”

“You're teaching kids? The world is truly...”

“You haven’t changed at all. You’re just the same.”

A subtle smile lingered on his dry lips.

I couldn’t comprehend this atmosphere that seemed to exclude me.

‘What’s going on?’

Although I didn’t mean to intrude into such an atmosphere...

Wasn’t this my visitation time?

“Well, Ben. It’s nice to see you again after so long...”

“About 25 years.”

“Right, right. I know. Oh, by the way! How's my daughter? Is she doing well? Nothing serious, right?”

“Well, yes, she’s fine.”

“Good to hear! I have something urgent to attend to, so I'll just...!”

My mom stood up and tried to leave.

Luckily, I was quicker on my feet than she was.

“Where are you going right after you arrived?”

“Sonnet, you see... your mom has some very important matters...”

“It takes half a day just to go back and forth from home to here, what could be more urgent?”

Her deep purple eyes darted around nervously.

My mom has always been quite transparent with her emotions.

“Are you really going to leave like this? Really?”

“...Alright! I should at least see my daughter’s face properly.”

She sat back down with a resolute expression.

I took the seat next to her instead of across from her.

“So, have you made many friends?”

“Yeah, a few...”

“Are you seeing anyone? Any girls you like? Boys are fine too. Actually, gender doesn’t really matter.”

“Romance is prohibited in the training camp.”

“Seriously, it's still like that? That rule was introduced shortly after I enlisted!”

“...”

“If you fall in love, you can at least kiss a little! Such a strict rule!”

Could it be that the rule was introduced because of my mother?

The unfounded suspicion sent a chill down my spine.

“How about you, Mom? Any news? Your health?”

“I'm fine.”

“Is the shop doing well? You haven’t taken out another mortgage, right? No matter how close someone is to you—”

“Hey, hey! Do you think your mom is a kid? There’s no such thing.”

It’s only been a few years since we managed to pay off the almost insurmountable debt.

Clearly uncomfortable, my mom avoided making eye contact and looked around.

“What about the guy you were seeing before?”

“...Hm?”

“Or was it a woman? Anyway. Are they doing well?”

“Huh? That, well... It’s the same as always.”

“So you broke up.”

Mom’s romantic history is always the same.

I was about to share some stories from the training camp, but my mom suddenly stood up and started unpacking her bag.

“Seriously, Mom!”

“They said I couldn’t bring much, so I only brought the essentials. Here’s some hand cream, don’t forget to use it. This is mosquito repellent, spray it on, and there are other things too... You know how to use them, right?”

“What’s with you today?”

Unlike the meticulously wrapped gifts, my mom seemed flustered, like a merchant trying to clear out old stock.

‘You always used to complain about how sad it was when we had to part ways!’

The visitation time was one hour.

Not even 15 minutes had passed.

“If we part now, we won’t see each other until I’m discharged! Are you really going to leave like this?”

I held onto her sleeve tightly.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“Later.”

A small voice, barely audible if not for my attention.

She hugged my shoulders and whispered quickly.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Then she ran off.

“Mom!”

“Goodbye! Stay healthy.”

“Mum—”

“Mary! Wait. Mary...!”

The tone of the person stopping her was far more desperate than mine.

Seeing my superior unable to stop my mom, an ominous thought hit me.

‘Did she meet another soldier?’

I slumped into the chair my mom had been sitting in and shut my eyes tightly.

‘How does my mom manage to have ex-lovers everywhere she goes?’

At this rate, she'll meet another one at my next job too.

Though my immediate concern was the current awkward atmosphere between me and my superior.

---

“Ahem, Trainee Sonnet? Please take a seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

Before assignment to a post, all trainees must have an interview with their assigned instructor.

I didn’t know why I was in this situation with my mom’s ex instead of my instructor.

“Sergeant Solar had an afternoon appointment, so I’m handling the interview. Don’t be too stressed about it.”

“I understand.”

“How old are you?”

“I’ll be twenty-five soon.”

“Your birthday is in the spring, I see.”

The man scanned the paper that likely had my personal details written on it.

After the abrupt end of the visitation, there had been no conversation between me and this man.

But now, suddenly, we were in this situation.

“What is your family situation?”

“I only have my mother.”

“Do you get along well with her?”

“Yes. We don't see each other often since I moved to the capital, but we get along fine.”

“I see... How is your mother doing?”

Suddenly, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘How is Marilyn doing?’

The red-haired man scrutinized my face.

He was asking about my mother in detail...

The difference was that the other guy was a merchant I could ignore, while this man was my superior.

‘I can’t quit this place.’

The trainee interview is meant to discuss preferred assignments and likely positions.

“Which region in the south? Did you live there since childhood?”

“What’s the nature of the business? The scale? Are there other employees?”

“What about your relationship with your father? Did he leave when you were young?”

...That’s what it’s supposed to be about.

“I don’t know who my father is. My mother never told me.”

“Wait a moment. Twenty-five, you said...”

“My birthday is in spring, so I’ll be twenty-five soon.”

“Spring, nearly twenty-five years old...”

His rigid jaw twitched.

His blue eyes widened as if he was facing a runaway train.

“This can’t be...”

The man muttered to himself, unable to hide his shock, then continued.

“I see that your specialty is listed as swordsmanship.”

“Yes.”

If you can't use magic, your specialty is usually listed as swordsmanship.

After all, a kitchen knife is still a knife.

“Your physical fitness is reported to be exceptionally good.”

I’ve worked hard at various mansions.

After getting fired seven times, almost any adversity feels like nothing.

You guys think enlisting is tough? For me, it’s a breeze...

“You’re practically a leader in the dormitory.”

“I’m, um, ahem. Is that so?”

“Your fellow trainees rely on you a lot. All nine of those in your dormitory unanimously said that Trainee Sonnet was the most reliable person.”

Well, everyone else was caught up in love quarrels.

As he listed things off, the man rubbed his forehead with one hand.

“How could I not have known this?”

“Well, sir, you oversee the entire training camp, so, understandably, you wouldn't know every detail about each trainee—”

“You look so much alike... So close...”

By this point, it was starting to get scary. I decided to keep quiet.

Fortunately, the conversation soon turned to the main point.

“Do you have a preferred assignment?”

“As long as it has good transportation, I’m fine with anywhere.”

“Preferred team members?”

“Ute from the medical department and Lapis, the magic specialist.”

“While I ask for your preferences, please remember they might not be accommodated.”

“I understand.”

“Then you may leav—”

I thought I was finally free, but my superior, with a deeply troubled expression, spoke again.

“Trainee Sonnet.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, um, it’s like this...”

“...”

“I believe, I may be... Trainee Sonnet’s... father.”

“...Excuse me?”

---

I quickly received a reply to the hastily written letter.

At last, I would discover the truth of my birth...

“Is this a joke?”

---

Prev || Toc || Next