“To think.. I would win..”

“Don’t talk, or your wounds won’t close!”

Next to the dragon which had been decapitated and already turned into a skeleton, I was sitting on top of the dragon vein, desperately casting healing magic on my mother.

She had received a heavy blow from the dragon which punctured a hole in her stomach, and ruptured most of her organs as well.

“I’m sorry. It’s because I interfered.”

“What are you saying. If you hadn’t assisted me, I would have lost. Either way, I would have died, by the dragon. I was fated, to die.”

Seeing mom get overwhelmed by the dragon which used long-range attacks, such as its breath, I broke my promise to her and attacked it.

Fortunately, my first attack took it wings, disabling it from flying into the air.

Its wings must have been one of its weaknesses.

From there I ran around with all my might, and continued attacking its fragile parts, such as its ears and eyes.

Due to the cooperation of my annoying pecks, and mom’s attacks which actually damaged it, it increasingly got more wounded till mom successfully decapitated it.

But this was where I made a fatal error.

Noticing me dropping my guard, the dragon rushed at me with its fangs.

I couldn’t dodge that with my skill level.

I would probably be headed to that world as soon as it hit me.

However, the attack never reached me.

Mom had successfully pushed me out of harm’s way.

Despite taking the dragon’s attack, and being in a half-dead half-alive state, she managed to pierce the dragon’s chest with her sword.

This time the dragon didn’t move again.

“So dragons moved, even after losing their heads. Good to know.”

“I’ll hear you out later, please the blood isn’t stopping.”

I would never have thought it could move, even after losing its head.

I had heard somewhere that dinosaurs had two brains.

It’s possible that dragons in this world had two brains as well, one in their head and the other in their chest.

“Since this is, the end anyway, let me talk. I want to praise, your magic too. It was amazing, how far, you’ve grown.”

“…”

Despite the situation, I couldn’t help but feel a little happy at being praised.

That dragon probably wasn’t very resistant to magic.

Wind magic was particularly effective, so I’m sure it must’ve been its weakness.

“Oh, yeah, Lain. I wanted to, ask you, something.”

“…What is it?”

I knew I couldn’t save her at this point.

On the contrary, I knew she was being supported by the dragon vein she laid on, but as soon as she moved away from it, she would die.

My magic was nowhere near the level of regenerating organs.

If I knew this would happen, I would have just practiced magic instead of wasting my time on farming.

“Just what, are you?”

“..!”

I gasped unconsciously.

Mom then grasped my arm tightly.

“Your tongue moves unexpectedly fast. You’re super mature for a a kid. Moreover, you knew things even I didn’t know until I bought books related to them.”

“That’s…”

“Are you the devil? Or are you a prank by fairies? I’m dying now. Won’t you tell me?”

As my eyes started swimming while thinking of a way to bluff out of this, they met with my mother’s.

Those eyes housed an intense light within them.

They’d kill anything that would dare harm her son.

At least it felt like that.

No lie would pass in front of those eyes.

“…I, possess memories from my previous birth, since I was born.”

“Huh?”

I turn my face down as I talked.

“Reincarnation, is the right word. When a person dies, but carries memories from their previous life into their new one. I have all my memories from my previous life till my death.”

“…”

Mom didn’t say anything.

The hand which gripped me tightly remained in its place.

“Even though, I have memories from my previous life, I still consider myself mom’s son. These last 10 years were the most fun I’ve ever had. Training together, cooking together, sleeping together…That’s why I’d like to stay as your son. Is that okay?”

“…”

The hand gripping my own, came up to my shoulder, then clung to my neck.

It then lightly plopped down on my head.

“I don’t really get all that you said, but no matter what you were before, you’re my son, Lain, now.”

“Mom…”

Mom kindly patted my head.

I couldn’t stop my tears from flowing.

“What were you doing before you became my son?”

“Eh?”

“It might be too late now, but it’s still about my son. Of course I’d be curious. Won’t you tell me?”

“…Okay.”

I talked with her about various things from my previous life.

About school, about friends, about my hobbies, and everything in between.

Mom quietly listened to my story while occasionally nodding.

By the time I noticed, it was already morning, and the dragon’s body had disappeared leaving a magic stone behind.

I made mother’s grave right above the dragon vein.

That’s because I was convinced, that the final place my mother aspired to reach would also be the most suitable as her resting place.

I didn’t know where my ancestors’ graves were either.

Though I’m pretty sure they were all defeated by this dragon here, so this could be considered as an ancestral grave.

“See you later mom. I know how much you hated visiting graves, so I’ll try my best not to visit.”

Mom once said, “The living should not bother the dead.”.

That was probably her commitment to “living” as a mother.

“””””GAAAAAA”””””

As I turned around to leave, I found myself surrounded by ten white wolf-shaped monsters.

They were giving off a fair amount of divine energy, so I’m sure they must have been strong.

Were they monsters from a nearby area?

I’m sure they were here to claim this area, after confirming that the dragon was dead.

“[Wind Blade].”

I defeated all of them with a single [Wind Blade].

It seems that my MP reserves went up by quite a bit since I spent an entire night on top of the dragon vein.

I didn’t feel like I’d lose even if I came across another dragon.

It must have increased by quite a bit, since it wouldn’t go up any further even if I sat on the vein for longer. I must measure it later.

“Hmm?”

I intended to defeat them all with a single attack, but apparently one survived.

Among the rolling magic stones on the ground, lay a single white wolf.

“Well, whatever.”

As I approached the monster without releasing any magic, the monster rolls onto its back and shows its belly.

It seems to be a female. Not.

“Are you obedient to me?”

“Won!”

The white wolf barks vigorously once, while laying on its back.

Seriously?

This was my first time seeing a monster acting subservient to a human.

Could something like taming magic also exist in this world?

“…Fine. As my first order, I want you to protect this place.”

“Won!”

It barked as if agreeing to my command.

In any case, if a monster is bound to eventually rule over this area, then it’s better if it’s this guy.

Even if it decided to rebel later on, I could easily kill it if it’s around as strong as that dragon.

“I’ll leave it to you…”you” feels a little uncomfortable. A big, white wolf gives off “Fenrir” vibes, so how about I call you Fen?”

“Won!”

Fen stood up and walked over to me to lick my face.

It seemed to have like it.

What is this soft fur. I want to take it home.

…It felt like something connected the moment I gave it a name, but that’s probably just in my mind.

“I’ll come see you again. If I use you as a reason, mom won’t get angry at me visiting so much.”

“Won!”

After patting Fen’s coat to my heart’s content, I decided to leave the Demon Forest.