I am back – Chapter 208

“……”

Mom came home, and for some reason, I felt a bit reluctant to head into the room, so I ended up sitting in the living room. However, it felt a little awkward because everyone else was also out here with me.

Honestly, the situation was a little strange.

Kalia, Dana, Pia, and Arna had already cleared out most of their stuff. I could stay here as long as I wanted, but there was nothing to do in my room anyway. I had already moved most of my hobbies over to my new place.

On top of that, my room had practically become a storage space. I still hadn’t managed to cash in on all the gold and treasures crowding it. If I tried to cash everything in at once, someone would definitely suspect something.

…Would asking the Pastor sort that out?

Besides, according to the Princess, this was only a tiny fraction of the gold intended for the kingdom, so maybe there would be even more gold piled up in that room while I was away.

…

Now that I think about it, isn’t that a bit dangerous? No matter how fancy this apartment is, if you stack heavy stuff in a small area, it might not hold up structurally…

No, that’s not what’s important right now.

Maybe it was a way to escape from this situation, but my thoughts kept wandering off, and I momentarily halted my thinking.

Focusing on the current scene…

For some reason, my old comrades were kneeling on the floor, my older sister was fidgeting in response to them, our mom was lost in thought, and there I was. We were all crammed around a single table in the living room, making it feel a bit tight. Especially with the four of them practically filling one side of the square table.

It was rare to see my comrades looking this tense. I don’t think they were even this nervous in front of the Demon King’s castle.

“Um…”

Finally, mom broke the silence that had settled over us.

“Isn’t it okay to sit comfortably? Well, Siyun, you’ve met my friends, right?”

Even though Mom awkwardly called me, Kalia responded with a slightly stiff tone.

“No, it’s not like that.”

“We… took your son away without saying a word and forced him to fight. So, I believe it’s only right to apologize like this.”

The other three eagerly nodded at Kalia’s words.

But really, it wasn’t that serious.

They didn’t drag me along against my will; it was my decision to go after hearing the Goddess’s explanation.

Besides, I could’ve given up halfway through. I had already died once, so dying again wouldn’t be a big deal. I just didn’t want to.

Mom’s gaze was on me. I quickly shook my head.

“Siyun’s saying it’s okay, so I think it’s fine.”

At Mom’s words, my friends finally relaxed a bit with awkward expressions.

But despite that, the discomfort still lingered. It’s not like they were used to sitting on the floor. After all, they all lived lives accustomed to chairs and tables.

“Um… so, Siyun?”

“Uh, um, yeah?”

I stumbled over my words, feeling somewhat flustered at Mom’s call.

It was still a bit awkward.

I had slowly gotten closer to my sister as if we were strangers at first, until she finally dropped the formalities with me, but with Mom… we just got into this relationship today. I hadn’t really seen Mom that often since coming back to Earth.

“What do you want for dinner?”

“Dinner?”

I found myself inadvertently asking that back.

During the first month back on Earth, I just ate whatever was handy. I boiled a few packs of ramen or ordered takeout… there weren’t many times I actually cooked, and if I got lazy, I’d just order something.

In fact, even now, our eating habits hadn’t changed much, so we would almost always prepare food for four. When my comrades were around, we prepared way more than that normally, and we usually took turns cooking, with everyone chipping in a bit.

Though honestly, unless it was our day off, neither my sister nor I cooked much since we both got home late.

“Yeah.”

Mom nodded, and I got lost in thought for a moment.

There wasn’t anything spectacular to eat at home. Mom didn’t have a job related to cooking, and even if she did, she wouldn’t have had much time to prepare anything fancy.

Mom would leave early and come back late. The meals were usually easy-to-heat things like stews or soups, and on days she couldn’t even do that, I’d just make some rice for a light meal.

But…

Even so, food made by Mom tasted good. It was different from eating out, ordering, or eating ready-made meals; it had a unique comfort to it.

Even after five years, I hadn’t forgotten that taste, even if I couldn’t reproduce it or quite describe it in my head.

My sister’s cooking was similar to Mom’s…

“It might be a little hard. I eat a lot, and my friends do too.”

I said earnestly to Mom.

If I tried to prepare that alone, it would take a ridiculously long time. Sure, we kept plenty of ingredients stocked in the fridge, but there was definitely a reason we bought so much.

“You’ve been moving around a lot lately, huh? Guess you’re eating more now?”

Mom teased, and fortunately, the early awkward atmosphere began to dissipate a bit the more she spoke to me. Am I doing well? While Mom talked with me, I wondered if she was noticing my peculiar manner of speaking or habits… I wasn’t sure.

“Yeah…”

Honestly, I thought that eating a lot was a separate issue. After all, the body I had was made by the Goddess.

“Alright, then.”

Mom stood up with a smile.

“Mom also… yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve cooked for myself. I’ve been mostly eating alone, so it might not taste too great.”

“It’s okay; I can eat anything delicious.”

“……”

Mom looked at me for a moment and smiled, then said,

“Then I’ll make as much as I can.”

With that, she walked right into the kitchen.

“I’ll help!”

Pia quickly jumped up, stumbling slightly like her legs were giving out.

“No, it’s fine. Just sit down.”

“No, I…”

“Mom, I’ll help too.”

Seeing Pia, my sister also stood up.

At this point, all of my comrades had gotten up, leaving me the only one sitting at the table.

Uh, um…

Umm…

I think I should go help too.

*

The moment I stepped into the kitchen, I was met with a firm voice saying, “You go sit and wait.” The overlapping voices of six people made it impossible for me to refuse, and I sulked back to the living room and sat on the sofa.

From the kitchen, sounds of busy movement emerged. I could hear quiet voices, shuffling feet, and the sounds of chopping and preparing ingredients.

Even though so many people went into the kitchen, it didn’t seem cramped at all. Maybe my friends were maneuvering around expertly so as not to get in each other’s way. Regardless, everyone was really impressive.

At first, it was just noise, but as time passed, the smell began creeping this way.

It was stew.

Honestly, there’s nothing special about the smell. The taste wouldn’t be anything special either. Mom didn’t add anything unusual when cooking the stew. It was just an ordinary stew you could find anywhere.

Mom had me when she was in her twenties. Not long after, she became single and had no choice but to work hard to support me.

I was a little younger back then than Mom was at the time, but I still remembered her from her younger days.

Even when she came home tired, she’d smile at me.

In winter, she’d sometimes come home with a bag of fish-shaped pastries. By the time she got home, they’d be soggy instead of crispy, but I was fine with that.

Looking back now, Mom had only eaten one of those pastries. The rest were all for me… Even when I insisted I should eat more, she’d tell me she had picked a few crispy ones on her way.

At that time, I really believed her.

Other foods were the same. Sausages, ham, every time she made something she usually wouldn’t, she would insist I’d have more.

I was her only son.

And that son was no longer there.

“……”

In this absurd situation, I began to understand why Mom wanted to believe my words, and my heart ached.