CC Ch 17 Part A

Chapter 17 – Disillusion
Part A


Translator: Eros
Editor:

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Since mother’s condition of having the life of our new family member inside her belly came to light, 4 months had passed. But unfortunately, when her pregnancy enters the 7th month, mother suddenly collapses while doing chores in the house and is now hospitalized at the local medical facility.


“I’m sorry to make you worry, Hiroto. Ricardo, don’t worry too much about me and go to work okay. I have the midwife helping me here so there should be no problem you know”
“Nope…… For today, let me accompany you. Hiroto, daddy will be here helping your mother so you can go out to play you know. Riona-chan and your other friend will be feeling lonely without you won’t they?”
“No, I want to be with mother”


Usually, I would mostly spend all day outside home but fortunately, when mother collapses, I was at home when the accident happened so nothing serious happened to my mother and her pregnancy. Mother was completely passed out at that time so she shouldn’t realize that it was I who carry her all the way here. No normal kid could carry a pregnant woman safely like how I do after all.

When we asked the healer at the medical facility about her examination result, he is looking at us with a smile but, that smile is somewhat spiritless, not like his usual cheerful smile from the bottom of his heart.


(…… I’m worried about mother. But of course father is also the same)


Mother Remilia occasionally would get sick with the cold from time to time but she would always only says [I’m alright] to me every time I ask her. Father seems to understand how mother feels, she just don’t want to make me feel worried so she won’t say anything.

---- The fact that my current body is still that of a child is making me vexed. And I am not allowed to say that vexed feeling out loud so all I can do is only holding my mother’s hand tightly.


“Thank you…… you are such a good kid. Did you inherit that from your daddy maybe?”
“No, he is similar to you Remilia. Just look at Hiroto now, even at this age, he is already a lot more composed than me”
“Huhu…… that’s seems to be true. If Hiroto becomes an older brother he definitely will becomes more dependable right? Well, Ricardo darling is also dependable”
“Hahaha…… am I just an extra? Well, in front of Hiroto almost every adult would lose their face in term of maturity”


Father is laughing while patting my head. But the way his hand pats me is somewhat losing his the cheerfulness he usually have.
His hand is slightly trembling. I also strongly think that even if I am still a kid, I have to help support my father too.

When mother falls asleep, I told father that I will go out to play for a bit then go out to roam the town.
My destination is grandpa Bardis’s workshop. He is the blacksmith that I know since I was two years old. At first, he made me a toy-like small ax for me as I was still 2 years old at that time. He gave me that ax two years ago as a present for me who are the son of a lumberjack. At first it was very toy like but now the size had increased so it become just as big as one handed ax now. I ask him to make me an ax for battle purposes with the pretense that I want to try study about hunting from Monica-san.

But when I ask grandpa Bardis to do maintenance for my ax, he noticed that the ax that I use doesn’t have any sign of neither had been used to cut wood nor to hunt, but it had sign of wear from being in a fight with monsters instead. Because I already tell the truth to my father, I also tell the truth about my situation to him and from then on, I have asked him to give my ax a seriously upgrade for its fighting power.


“Gramps, are you here?”
“Oo, so you’ve come, Hiroto boy. About the ax that you entrusted to me though……”
“Is it done? Or, is it ends up in failure……?”


When you upgrade a weapon, there are only two possibilities. Those were either success or failure. Each time you successfully upgrade a weapon, a +1 number will be added to it. And each consecutive successful upgrade will rank up the weapon by +1 so it will become +2, +3, and so on. Even if a weapon only upgraded with +1, its performance is actually raised by a lot from its original state. When it reaches +3 then the performance increase will be two fold, +5 will be 3 fold, and +7 will be 4 fold. But each time you upgrade a weapon, the cost for both monetary and raw material will be enormous. Adding to that, once you reach rank +5 in upgrade, the material needed for upgrade become even scarcer that collecting them all would spend even more time and money. Thanks to Meruone-san and Elena-san’s help, I managed to expand my intelligence net across all the merchant shop in Mizell town so I could grasp the circulations of goods in the city. But even so, it still took many efforts for me so that if this upgrade turns out to be a failure, the next time to challenge the upgrade again will be a whole lot further in the future.

The upgrade that I ask grandpa Bardis to do this time is to upgrade my ax, Doverg small ax, into +7 rank. Doverg is the name of grandpa Bardis race name, it was an old language to call the dwarf. The ax was created by using the dwarves traditional layered forging technique as its base and by adding other rare metal to the ax, I ask him to attempt strengthening the ax even more. Ax is already complete as a weapon even without any + in the upgrade rank so strengthening it beyond that is already a hard task to do. Even grandpa Bardis whose smithing skill is already reached level 70 would fail most of the time. The success chance is only less than 10%...... But.

Grandpa Bardis who never ceases his good natured old man smile is handing my ax back at me with a smile that is somewhat brighter than usual.


“Uwaaa...... A-amazing! Gramps, thank you!”
“Umu, it is also been a while for me to experience this being-completely-dried-out-of-energy kind of sensation. But then again your ax is already, can’t be said as suited-for-child anymore...... Be it the one who use it, or the time spent in taking care of it, this weapon is already a weapon befitted to be used by a hero. Hiroto boy, how did you managed to collect all those material I wonder”


To make the rare metal ingot to upgrade the weapon, first you need to collect the ore then ask for an alchemist help or I can train the transmutation skill yourself to purify the ore into an ingot. But those ingot would sometimes appear in the market from the magician city Far Jielin where the alchemist gather together to create an alchemy industry. Those ingots then will reach the capital city as valuable goods. Elena-san who is well known by the merchant in the capital city luckily managed to seize some of the ingots for herself. But well, I can’t just personally go and pay that kind amount of money by myself so I ask Monica-san to pay those ingots for me ---- I really don’t know where to start thanking her for all her help.


“Even Ricardo only bring a weapon that is a few rank lower than this. I also actually don’t want to give such powerful weapon to a child like you you know?”
“…… Yeah, I know. I’m sorry gramps, to ask for the impossible. But, I……”
“Hoho…… No, I don’t have any intention of scolding you. What kind of person Hiroto boy is, I think I have witnessed your conduct enough to draw a close conclusion. You should have some objective that is very high and far in the eyes of common people right? …… and your drive to move forward is very dazzling even for this old man who doesn’t have much time remaining to live”


The lifespan for a dwarf is around 250 years and grandpa Bardis had used up most of it. When he was young, he was also an adventurer. He had been traveling around the world spreading his heroic tales while also helping his party member maintaining their equipment. And such veteran warrior calls me as a dazzling existence. While I think of it as an honor, I also can’t help but getting my body tightened from the tension.


“Gramps…… thank you. I will definitely not gonna use this to do evil things”


I take the ax from grandpa Bardis. Even in the game that I play before, Eternal Magia, there were not that many players who have a +7 weapon like this. There was a plan to increase the maximal upgrade rank to +10 but it was still yet to be implemented. Well, after all a +7 weapon is already very rare that it was even called as a divine armament. And for me to acquire such kind of weapon now is because of all the things that I have piled up until now.

Even for just a bit, I want to become even stronger. Even when I fight monster or when I train myself, I always keep my wish to become stronger in my mind. My strong body skill had reached level 70. I also keep on training my other skill continuously so it might not be an exaggeration if I say that I am the strongest person in Mizell town.
And then now I have this +7 ax in my hand. My battle prowess is yet reached a new height.

---- [A human child. Not, the demon lord……]

It was all for the sake of overcoming my fear against that word that is left behind by the sovereign dragon who took form as a little girl.
I am literally, in real meaning, trying to overcome my limits. The current me now doesn’t even have the qualification to reach that stage yet.


LOG
- You have acquired [Doverg small ax +7]


“Hiroto boy, please stay at your mother side as much as you can. Having the desire to get stronger is good but, life is not all about that. Pepping up your family is also one of your duties you know?”
“Yes…… I understand. Grandpa Bardis, I probably won’t come to visit for a while but I will definitely come to visit again later”
“If you have any troubles you can come here anytime. What I can do is limited but I’m not living a long time just for show. I might not be as knowledgeable as the Witch of Mizell but I still have many things that I can teach to you”


After saying that, Grandpa Bardis extend his hand to me. For the dwarf race, offering to shake hand with their dominant hand, which can also be said as their life as an craftsman, is the greatest way to show their affection to others.
After shaking hand with his hand that is almost as hard as a rock, grandpa Bardis nods a few times before sending me out.


◇◆◇


For the sake of tending my mother, me and my father decided to stay in the medical facility for the time being because mother practically could not leave her bed at all now.

To give birth a child in this world where medical science is lacking, that much resolution is needed. Even in my previous life, when my mother was pregnant with my little brother, her health had violent undulations. She would get sick a few times and ultimately even got hospitalized for a month. Even when my little brother already got born, she could not leave the hospital immediately.

In this world, in exchange for the lacks of medical science, there is healing magic for that purpose ---- but healing magic is also not omnipotent either. Sarasa-san also tried her healing magic to mother hoping that she could get better with it but the result are not that good.


“Hiroto-chan, you don’t need to get worried. Remilia-san should be okay you know”
“The Goddess shall grant her protection upon Remilia-sama…… and also the yet to be born baby too”


When I temporary return back to my home, Sarasa-san and Sera-san are coming to look after me. Riona and the other friend also have come visiting my mother a few times, they really are worried about her. And each time they come, mother would always smile like when she is still healthy and tell them her gratitude for visiting.

---- Bit by bit, my worry grows larger. Mother’s expression when she said she is alright getting more and more fleeting as the day passes.
And then, from the action of the adult around, even if they don’t say it out loud, I could understand one thing: the fact that mother’s condition is really bad. Even my strong father hardly managed to hide that fact, how could other adult could hide it?


“Hiro-chan……”
“…… I’m alright. Riona don’t have to feel worry about it”
“Yeah…… but……”


Riona is also feeling the loneliness inside the house where my mother is not around. If at such time I don’t act strong then Riona would also feel the burden in her heart.


“Sarasa-san…… I am alright. After I done tidying up the house, I will go back to the medical facility to be with my mom”
“I will help you then. After all, I can’t do anything to help anyway”
“…… Hiroto-san, you can act more spoiled in front of us adult you know. We will always welcome you if you want to”


Sarasa-san and Sera-san, and then Tanya-san trio also, they must’ve think that I will be feeling lonely so they come to visit me.
We all want to believe that my mother will safely give birth to her baby and then regain her health again.
That’s why I won’t let myself get depressed from worrying too much.

I keep thinking like that until a few days passed.
I keep make myself belief, just keep believing blindly.
I try to keep myself to believe that this world is the absolute kind world.


◇◆◇


---- But then that accident happened.
2 month before the estimated delivery day, mother fall into a coma and won’t wake up.
I was told to wait outside the medical facility but I just can’t help being curious so I use my stealth skill to sneak into the diagnose room and eavesdrop the dialogue between the medical worker and my father about mother condition.


“If things continues like this, the mother and baby will be in a dangerous state. You need to choose between either Remilia-san or the baby inside her stomach, also, even if we managed to save them, there is a high chance that a serious after-effect would occur”
“How can that be…… Could you please do something about it? My wife, Remilia is……!”


Father is unable to hold back his emotion and pressing the medical worker. That medical worker is a middle aged man healer with half of his hair is already turned white…… and beside him, is the figure of the familiar midwife. She looks at the dialogue between father and the medical worker with a grave expression.

The medical science in this world doesn’t advance further than the earth’s middle age level. They even don’t know what exactly happened to mother.
Since the time I reincarnated here, this is the first time that I longed for my old world. I just can’t help feeling like that knowing the real condition now.
If we have the earth’s sophisticated medical science then perhaps, there might still be a way to save my mother and the baby inside her belly without hurting them too much.
Well, I know that even the earth’s sophisticated medical science is not omnipotent either. But those technologies can tell the baby's gender while the baby is still inside the mother belly. And more importantly, it can tell what is wrong with the pregnant woman easily. It was something that had far surpassed this other world.


“While Remilia-san still had the vitality, there is still something we could do. But either way, it will put a lot of pressure to the mother’s body and I definitely can’t recommend it”
“……Whatever is fine…… If you could help her then I will do anything for you. Please save my wife…… I beg you……!”
“Ricardo-san, please calm down!”


My father is grasping at the healer shoulder and shaking him violently but thankfully the midwife is there to stop him. My father who is at the edge of losing himself managed to regain some sense and continue talking with the healer while shivering.

The healer told father about a way to save the baby inside my mother’s belly by using a certain kind of operation. Or if father chooses to save mother, then even if mother is saved, the baby will be at risk of dying. The healer slowly explain it all to father.
But father, even if he is nodding to the healer explanation, is already at his limit to retain himself.

Father who walks out from the medical facility found my figure.
His eyes are all red but he is still forcing himself to smile and hold out his hand to me.


“Hiroto, today, let’s go back home. I will come back to mother’s place after but you should get some rest okay”
“No, I want to, be together……”


Be together with mother. When I’m about to say it, father’s expression crumbles.
But father doesn’t cry. He pushes aside all his emotions right now and look at me straight in the eye.


“…… I understand. Then come back again tomorrow morning…… You can do it right?”
“…… Yes, I got it”


The reason of why he doesn’t bring me together with him now, I could understand it that it pains me.
Father wants to be together with mother, just the two of them. He wants to let her know about what happened to her, and what going to happen from now on.
(Eros: the raw said so. It might be that she is awakened, or Ricardo only wants to talk to the unconscious Remilia)

Father told me to sleep but I just can’t feel sleepy. And after a few hours, I managed to fall asleep for a short while.

When I sleep, I saw mother in my dream. It was like a memory with her from the time I was born until now.


---- Oh my, Hiroto, you seems to be surprised of something? …… or did your tummy feel hungry?

---- Yes, this kid name is Hiroto…… the child that has been granted for me and Ricardo.

---- There’s nothing bad about it isn’t it? Mommy is your mother after all.


Mother Remilia is always kind. Even if I troubled her, she just brush it off as what a child would normally do and smile at me in the end.

Father Ricardo always seems happy when he sees mother’s smile. And in turn, when I see the two of them happy like that, I will also feel happy.

I thought that this happiness would continue on forever.

I should be able to do something to prevent things going this way. But…


“…… I, have done nothing……”

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(Eros: No, you did do something. Namely, raising bad flag?)