Magiclad Girls and a Mob who will save them, or else the world is doomed!

Chapter 110: Happiness

[Moegi PoV]

Since a long time ago, I didn't understand why I was so unhappy. My head was pounding, and my arms, legs, and abdomen all hurt. It was excruciatingly painful.

[—It hurts, please stop!]

Even if I said something like that, there was no stopping it. The taste of blood filled my mouth, tears continued to flow, and I couldn't control my voice. I was just so scared and in pain.

[You, just stop already! It's because of you idiots that the project failed...]

My mom tried to intervene, but the man who was my father took out his work-related stress on us by hitting us. My mom and I were both at our limits. Really, at our limits.

Even with everything he did to me, I could survive because of my mom. She protected me, comforted me, and took care of me all along. When I was too scared to go to the bathroom, she would come with me and tell me the story of Momotaro to make me less scared.

She apologized to me many times even though it wasn't her fault. She was sorry for causing me pain.

[I'm sorry, Moegi. I can't fulfill my role as a mother because I'm not strong enough.]

But that wasn't true. My mom was the best mom anyone could have. She even went as far as hiding cameras and listening devices in our home to capture evidence of that man's wrongdoing and turned it over to the police. Even then, my mom was trembling in fear.

If she got caught, it might not end with just violence. She must have been thinking that. My mom had a weak body, so she probably always had a sense of impending death. Nevertheless, she protected me.

I felt love, warmth, and finally experienced the happiness of a peaceful and ordinary life for the two of us.

But that didn't last long.

My mom was hospitalized. She had been unwell for a long time, so I worried about her. But I believed my mom would get better.

My mom was hospitalized when I was in the third grade.

Around this time, I was taller than the girls around me, and I was often teased and made fun of by the boys.

[Hey, don't say that!]

[Yeah, that's right.]

[What's wrong?]

[You're on the side of the giants, huh?]

The girls defended me. They protected me in the classroom and outside. I was happy. I had thought I was unlucky, that only the worst would come my way.

And then, during the winter of my fourth grade.

[Mom! There's a jump rope competition during this winter break!]

[Is that so... Do your best.]

[Yeah. If I do my best, you'll get better, right?]

[...Yes, I hope so.]

I felt something strange about my mom's hesitant response. I felt something strange about her thinner arms than before. I felt something strange about her abnormally pale skin. I felt something strange about how fragile my mom seemed, as if she would disappear if she breathed too hard.

But I pretended not to notice, even though I knew deep down. I was scared to acknowledge it, simply because it was terrifying.

I really did understand. That my mom wouldn't be with me for much longer. But I wanted to believe. That my mom would always be there with me.

I practiced jumping rope diligently, made matching scarves by hand for us because Christmas was coming up, and even worked on a cake for a test run.

If I did all that...