TBATE: Shadows Of The Past

Chapter 3 - Mother's Diary & Core Formation

(1st POV: Alice Leywin)

Arthur and Cain have to be the most adorable children, and I'm not saying that just because I'm a doting mother.

Nope.

Arthur has a scruffy little patch of glowing auburn hair and playful eyes that almost radiate blue light. His gaze, at times, seems almost intelligent.

Cain has a little patch of black hair which he somehow inherited from my mother-in-law. Coupled with his black eyes and cute appearance, especially when he puts on a stoic face, he is so adorable!

A-Ahem, as I said, I am not a doting mother. I plan to be fair and strict, while also making sure to give each of them enough love and care. I can't rely on my husband to teach them common sense. For God's sake, he tried to teach them how to fight when they could barely crawl!

I know these little rascals would turn out just like their father if I let them be. As soon as they started crawling, I was so proud I was on the verge of shedding tears, but I didn't realize how much of a handful they would become as soon as they became mobile.

One time, Cain kept me busy while crawling around the house, and Art took that chance to sneak into the library. There's not a single moment I can take my eyes off of them before one of them tries to distract me so the other can get away with mischief.

It's weird, not just the fact that they worked together to trick me, but that they don't seem to care much about the wooden toys and stuffed animals we bought them to play with. If it was just one of them who preferred other things, I wouldn't have put much thought into it, but they always end up going into the study room.

That's directly opposite of their father, seeing as Reynolds almost gravitates away from texts longer than the weekly newspaper. Looking at how excited they get, especially Arthur, when we go out to town, I decided to go shopping for food once every other day instead of twice a week.

No, no, I told you, I am not a doting mother. This is for their education about the outside world and for fresh food in the house. Yeah.. haha.. ha.. that's it.

Both of my sons seem to be interested in a lot of things. I can't get enough of seeing their heads, which seem bigger than their bodies, turn left and right as they try to see everything around them. Arthur seems particularly intrigued by his father's practices.

Reynolds was a skilled adventurer in his day. Climbing the ranks to become a B-class adventurer by the age of twenty-eight was a remarkable achievement. To obtain even the lowest rank of E-class, one had to pass a test designed to prevent inexperienced and ignorant youths from being sent to their deaths. Although I have worked at the Adventurer Guild, (or as they also call it; Guild Hall), in Valden for many years, I have only seen a few A-class adventurers and have yet to encounter an S-class adventurer, assuming they exist.

During my time at the Guild Hall, I saw many enthusiastic teenagers who were full of themselves. Despite this, I appreciated their ambition.

On one occasion, I was assigned to supervise a basic practical exam in which the examinee had to demonstrate basic competency in mana manipulation. However, even before the test began, the young candidate fell backward because the sword he was carrying was too heavy for him.

Talking about airheads, Reynolds sure came off as one back then. The moment he saw me in the Guild Hall, his jaw literally dropped and he just stood there until the guy in line behind him elbowed him to hurry up. He hurriedly wiped away his drool and managed to mumble, "...H-Hi... can I trade in th-the stuff for the mission?" I just giggled as he turned beet red from embarrassment. He managed to gather up his courage and asked me out for dinner, and we just hit it off from there. Even now, I can't help but smile when I see his droopy, blue eyes looking at me.