Otome Game Mob Villain - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Mother

Translator: mayora13

“Rid-sama, it’s morning. Please wake up.”

“… Good morning.”

“Mm? Is there something wrong?”

Danae gazed quizzically at my face while I was feeling surprised at being awoken by a girl in a maid uniform. I couldn’t confess to being fascinated by the sight, so I could only take my eyes off with embarrassment, which seemed to confuse the maid.

As I got up from bed, Danae offered to help me change clothes, but again, I was too embarrassed to accept. The problem, though, was that I didn’t know how to wear these clothes I’d never even seen before.

In the end, I had to redden my face and be helped by Danae. I almost cried a little when she told me, “You don’t have to stand on tippy-toes.”

Once I finished changing clothes, I moved to the dining room to have breakfast. As I sat at my seat at the long dining table, meals began to be served one after another.

The life of the aristocracy was amazing. To my side, the butler who introduced himself as Garn yesterday was waiting on me. I looked around while I ate, but there was no one except myself.

I asked, “Come to think of it, where are all the others?”

“Reiner-sama has gone to the Imperial Capital, but I believe he shall be returning in the near future.”

My father is Margrave Reiner Baldia. He’s the Lord who governs the province bordering neighboring countries, which was why he sometimes went to the Imperial Capital to attend to government affairs.

I nodded at Garn’s words, understanding where my father was. Then I asked, “What about Mother?”

“Nunnally-sama is feeling unwell and is resting in her room.”

“Then maybe I should go check on her later.”

“I think that would please Nunnally-sama.”

I held a small talk with Garn while I finished breakfast uneventfully. I worried about my table manner, but I seemed to have pulled through somehow.

Once the meal was over, I was about to return to my room and make plans for the coming days, but my mother’s condition hung on my mind.

I asked the nearby waiting Danae to take me to my mother’s room. She made a strange face, presumably because I should know the way, but when I told her I was too shy to go alone, she giggled and immediately started leading the way.　　

Incidentally, Nunnally Baldia wasn’t even introduced in “Flutterella!”, and that set me wondering as to what sort of person she could be.

As I walked on thoughtfully, I mysteriously felt a swirling mix of expectation and anxiety that made my heart begin to beat faster. Danae said, “This way,” and led me to my mother’s room. I stopped before the door and swallowed my breath, stricken by all the earlier tension. It was as if my body and mind were absolutely refusing to enter.

Noticing my current state, Dane worriedly said, “Rid-sama, are you still not feeling well? Your complexion doesn’t look very good.”

“Eh? Ah, no. I’m fine. It’s just meeting my mother, but well, it feels like it’s been such a while since I’m seeing her.”

Danae looked puzzled at my words. She hesitated a moment before uncertainly saying, “… Rid-sama, are you really feeling all right? Ever since Nunnally-sama fell ill, you’ve been completely avoiding meeting her. You used to always want to see her, but I think you haven’t visited Nunnally-sama’s room at all recently.”

“Eh…? Is that… so?”

“… Yes. Everyone in the mansion has been feeling distressed regarding this, you see…”

“… I see.”

Danae finished talking with a sad look on her face.

Why did Rid, why did I stop going to visit and see my mother? As I tried to remember the reason, I sensed terror in the memories of Rid inside me. Nevertheless, I decided to meet Mother first instead of standing there thinking.

I suppressed the anticipation and anxiety filling my heart as I knocked at Mother’s room. After a little while, I heard a small reply to my knock from inside.

“… You are welcome to enter.”

I went into the room with grim determination. As I stepped through the door, I saw a slightly slender woman with long red hair and purple eyes. She was reading a book on a bed with her torso upright. The moment I saw her figure, I heard a loud thump in my chest, and at the same time, I felt a flashback of various emotions flowing into my heart.

I want to be spoiled, I love you, you’re so dear, I want to protect you, I want to be together forever. Why? How come? It’s unfair. I’m sad. I can’t forgive… who? Me? Don’t disappear, please…

Complex emotions that couldn’t be expressed in words flooded my mind along with numerous thoughts. I stood frozen on the spot, unable to deal with what I was feeling, as the corner of my eyes grew hot for some reason. Before I knew it, tears were running down my cheeks. I gasped to my senses and wiped at my eyes with my sleeves.

Realizing that I was crying, Mother exclaimed in astonishment. “Are you okay Rid!?”

Mother tried to get close to me if even a little and was about to push herself off the bed, but she suddenly broke out into a cough and couldn’t move her hands.

“Mother!! Are you all right!?”

I quickly went over to the bed and rubbed Mother’s back. She seemed a little lifeless from close up, and I couldn’t help my hands tensing up.

Mother eyed me with concern and pulled me into an embrace while speaking tenderly. “… Rid, thank you. But I heard you fell unconscious in the garden. I tried to visit you in your room as well, but my body didn’t listen to me. I’m sorry… I did hear about what happened from Garn, but are you really fine?”

Her embrace felt warm and benevolent. I could feel the vortex of emotions that had been bothering me for a while now starting to calm. But my mother’s voice was shaking greatly.

I spoke gently with a smiling face so that I could calm my mother’s trembling voice. “… Yes, I’m fine now. I was wondering how you were, and I’m happy I got to see your face.”

“I see… That’s a relief. I’m sorry for giving everyone such a hard time…”

Looking at Mother’s apologetic face, I shook my head. I tried to reassure her, if even a little, holding her hands tightly and replied in a strong voice. “It’s okay. I’m the child of a margrave and margravine, after all!!”

Mother smiled joyfully at that.

I chatted with her for a while after that and told her I’d come again before leaving the room.

Thinking back on the rush of emotions I felt upon seeing my mother Nunnally, I muttered to myself suddenly. “… I wonder if what I felt back then were the emotions sleeping inside Rid, or should I say myself…?”

I was powerless to do anything even though my beloved mother was gradually weakening, and that made me wonder. What was I feeling as the closest person staying by her side?

Mother was full of kindness and didn’t show herself to be in pain. She was someone who cared for me dearly with love. I’m sure it must’ve been difficult to the point of wanting to cry. Heart-rending even. I think I couldn’t tell anyone about my feelings and just kept it to myself.

It was at this moment that I swore to save my mother from her illness without fail so that I could lead a respectable life.

◇

Upon returning to my room, I decided to write out what I should do from now on.
Fortunately, this world seemed to have proper paper as I found notepaper and ink ready at my desk. I immediately started writing in Japanese.

Future Policy To Prevent Banishment And Condemnation.

① Get along with the characters of “Flutterella!” and avoid the routes involving conviction, death, and banishment.
② In case ① turns out to be impossible, build up enough strength that surviving alone is possible.
③ In case ① turns out to be impossible, save up and make money.
④ Cure my mother Nunnally.

Figuring that ①～④ was enough, I let out a deep sigh.

“I did write it out, but ① is impossible to achieve quickly…”

In truth, the characters of “Flutterella!” were located in a different country from the Empire.

First of all, it was impossible to make contact with them in my current state. For one, I was staying at the border province of a margrave, and two, I had no personal connections or anything. It was a good reminder of why the character Rid was hardly involved in the main story. This did make me feel like crying a little, but I couldn’t let myself be dented. Not after swearing to live respectably.

“For now, the top priority is ④. Then I suppose it’s ③ and ②.”

I hurriedly summoned Garn to my room. When I asked him about the name of my mother’s illness, he looked rather grim and bitter. Standing firmly in front of the door with my feet set apart, I glared at the grave-looking Garn with a desperate face, shouting, “I’ll never let you out of this room until you tell me, I’m serious!! I won’t ever give up!!”

“Rid-sama…”

Garn seemed to sympathize with my feelings as he told me the name of my mother’s illness: Mana Deficiency syndrome. I asked the details about the symptoms, and he began by explaining that the people of this world all possessed a considerable amount of mana, which was something that could also be said to be life energy.

Even if exhausted, mana was something that recovered naturally, but that natural recovery rate drastically fell upon being afflicted with Mana Deficiency syndrome. As a result, the afflicted would gradually grow weak until they eventually died.

Garn bitterly explained that no treatment method had been established so far. Apparently, he hadn’t intended on telling me the name of Mother’s illness,
but he relented on seeing how desperate and determined I was with the promise of keeping it a secret between the two of us.

But I happened to know about the name and symptoms Garn had talked about. From my past life memories, I remembered that a debuff called “mana exhaustion” existed in “Flutterella!”.

Mana exhausted by debuff would cause MP to decrease little by little, and when it dropped to zero, HP would start decreasing next. Naturally, your HP would become zero and you would enter a knock-out state if the debuff was left alone.

It wasn’t that threatening in the game as there were ways to recover both HP and MP, but the syndrome couldn’t be any more terrifying in reality. It was like a disease of death that couldn’t be cured naturally at all.

The first thing I did once I finished listening to Garn’s story was to ask a question. “… I want to do some research on this right away. Was there a library or the like here?”

After that, I was guided to a large study in the mansion.

“Please use this study for research. If you have any other materials you need, please send word and I’ll have them ordered. However, please note that an order will take several days to complete.”

“I got it. Thanks.”

After I expressed gratitude, Garn gave a slight bow of his head before leaving the study.

Looking around, I saw there were quite a few books here. But then I asked myself. Was I able to read the books in the first place?

The question had arisen rather late in my mind, but regardless, I carefully picked up a book nearby, opened it, and found… that I could read it. Normally at that.

I inwardly thanked this “reincarnation bonus”.

“Well then, it’s time to get fired up and start searching!!”

With a motivating cry, I slapped both cheeks of my face and set about reading the books in the study. As I perused through various kinds of books, my reading speed steadily picked up. Then midway through it all, I realized that I could memorize the entire contents of a book after reading it a single time. I was impressed by how high-spec I was.

I couldn’t help muttering to myself with a distant look in my eyes. “Rid… You’re so super high-spec, yet why did you become a henchman of a villainess…?”