Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?, Vol. 2

A young girl with a shoulder bag came running into the room.

She was a Traveling Merchant named Porta. With the items she carried, he might successfully extract himself from this predicament.

“Thanks, Porta. Can I grab a magic seal item from you real quick? I have an urgent need to seal the magic of a certain devil whose magic only works properly on party members.”

“Magic seal item, right? Got it! Oh, but…magic seal items don’t seal magic that’s already activated.”

“Uh… Already activated?”

Masato had not yet been set on fire, frozen, or blown up…but his punishment had already begun.

He looked down at his feet and saw a portal yawning beneath them, one clearly leading to some cryptic void or other dimension.

He began sinking slowly into it, like he was caught in a bottomless marsh.

“Um… Wise. Wise! What spell is this?”

“A spell to throw you into another dimension. Have fun! Geez, why do my spells have such a high success rate only when cast on Masato? They’re like one hundred percent with him! It’s sooo satisfying. Heh-heh-heh.”

Based on the laughter echoing through the door, she wasn’t prepared to cancel it.

“…This is gonna be a rough one.”

Masato was dragged through the portal, his existence vanishing from the world.

FIN

Masato was no more.

But whether you died or ceased to exist, revival spells and items could easily bring you back. This was how the game worked.

So let’s just forget any of that ever happened.

“All right, everyone, sit down. It’s time for breakfast! Hands together!”

“““Thanks for the food!”””

They were on the first floor of the inn, in a dining room for guests, enjoying their morning meal.

The room reeked of European romanticism, with an elegant table laid for just a few people. Only Masato’s party had stayed here the previous night, so they had the place to themselves.

“This miso soup really gets me going! Without it, my magic just isn’t the same! I’d go so far as to say my MP pool is based on miso!”

“I think my Item Creation success rate has gone up since I started eating Mama’s breakfasts! I would like another helping of rice! May I?”

“Of course! We have plenty. Eat as much as you like. You too, Ma-kun!”

“Uh, sure…”

Breakfast with everyone, sitting around a steaming-hot pot of rice.

One glance around and you’d think this was your typical European fantasy MMO inn (because it was). Outside the window, the street was bustling with warriors and mages.

Yet the table itself was filled with rice, miso soup, fried fish, and seasoned seaweed. And everyone was eating with chopsticks.

What are we even doing? Masato couldn’t help wondering. It was a real problem for him.

It wasn’t like everything about the situation bothered him. Eating a familiar Japanese breakfast was a great comfort, even inside this fantasy game. It kept him in perfect health, after all. So even Masato was disinclined to gripe about it all that much.

Yet however disinclined he might be…

I dunno…

If he had to put a finger on what was bugging him, it would have to be her. Her very presence here, her every action, word, and gesture.

“Oh, Ma-kun, what is it? Something you want to say to Mommy?”

“…No, not really.”

He’d merely glanced over at her, and she’d noticed instantly. He was forced to answer evasively and turn his attention back to his food.

Once breakfast was done…

“Well, time to clean up!”

“I can help! Masato, Wise, you can leave it to us!”

Mamako simply would not allow anything to get between her and housework, while Porta was always eager to help with anything she could. The two of them gathered up the dishes and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Thanks!” “Likewise!”

It wasn’t that Masato and Wise were against helping, but it would never do to get in Porta’s way, so they took her at her word.

Masato reached for his teacup. Sipping hot green tea, he glanced over at his mother’s back as she tackled the dishes…and let out a long sigh.

Wise fixed him with a baleful glare.

“…Hey, could you not sigh like that this early in the morning? It’s creepy.”

“I don’t see what’s creepy about it. You don’t need to be so mean all the time, y’know.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorrrrry. But seriously, you’re in a mood. What’s up? …Or are you just letting yourself get bogged down by some dumb stuff again?”

“What do you mean ‘dumb stuff’?”

“You know… ‘Why is Mommy here with me in the game? I can’t take it anymore!’ Or whatever.”

“Well…”

Masato couldn’t completely deny it.

Thrown into a game world with his mom. That was the fate that had befallen Masato.

Being sent into the game was a pleasant surprise, and normally he’d be jumping for joy, but having Mamako there with him had the opposite effect.

But he knew better now.

“I get it, or at least I’m trying to. I know this game was set up for parents to adventure with their kids. I still have no idea how the whole full-dive engine works, but…”

“But now that we’re in it, you can’t beat the game unless you get closer to your mom… You know that, right?”

“I know the victory conditions are tantamount to death.”

“So your only choice is to develop a full-on Oedipus complex, yeah?”

“Uh, I think I’ve got other options! I’m pretty sure the government agency running things doesn’t expect anyone to go that far.”

“Then just get closer to her normally and beat the stupid thing. Easy, right?”

“Easy to say, at least… But the whole ‘normally’ thing is what’s tough… The goal’s so abstract, I’m not really sure how to proceed…”

Masato poked at the air in front of his face, pulling up his status screen.

At the top was Masato’s job, “Normal Hero.” Like it was his duty to get close to his mother in the normal way and achieve a normal level of happiness. The job had been picked for him when they started, along with those instructions.

Personally, he thought that sounded way harder than saving the world.

Even if I try, there’s no script or anything. I gotta do everything myself…

If we were to summarize his predicament in a simple Q&A format…

Q: Exactly how do I get closer to my mom?

A: Up to you!

Q: Have you prepared any events that might help with that?

A: As this is only a beta, no, we have not. We plan to include those in the official release.

Not exactly helpful.

A part of him was ready to throw in the towel, to abandon hope.

But actually, Masato had a theory. More of a hypothesis, really.

Like, if I could get in a position where I had to protect my mom…I think that might do it.

Not in a “I’ll protect my beloved mother!” way or anything.

What he had in mind was more like his dad and grandma: watching out for the toll of her advancing years, quietly carrying her bags for her, checking that she was okay. That sort of thing always seemed nice.

Not to be patronizing, but if he could be the strong one helping someone weaker than himself out of the kindness of his heart…

If it worked that way, it would feel natural to him. Not awkward at all. If he tried that, he was sure he could pull it off. Totally.

The problem was…

…it didn’t really seem like things were headed in that direction…

“Ma-kun, Wise!” Mamako said, emerging from the kitchen, the dishes done. “Thanks for waiting! Let me just get ready.”

“Mama, here!” Porta said, handing over her gear.

“Thanks!”

She removed her apron and equipped an elbow and waist guard.

Then she slung two Holy Swords around her hips—Terra di Madre, the Holy Sword of Mother Earth, and Altura, the Holy Sword of Mother Ocean. And with that, she was ready.

“Well then, Ma-kun! Time for another adventure with Mommy! Yay!”

“Yeah, okay… Yay…”

Once again, Masato had to face the harsh reality.

Shortly after they reached the field…

“…Oh! Enemies! Careful!” Porta cried, her eagle eyes quickly spotting the approaching monsters. She hastily retreated to the back line. Porta was registered as a noncombatant account and was unable to take part in any battles.

Fights were handled by Masato, Mamako, and Wise.

“Right, let’s do this! Prepare for combat!”

“Yes! Mommy will do her best!”

“Expect great things from the super schoolgirl Sage!”

The party makeup was two sword-based DPS units with an all-rounder Mage handling offensive, recovery, and support spells. A handpicked elite unit up for any challenge.

Their foes were a pack of bugs and vermin, ranging from grasshoppers to rats.

The instant both parties perceived each other, the battle began.

“Ha-ha! My magic will end this in a single blow! Spara la magia…”

Wise was the first to take action. She summoned her magic tome, opened it up, and began chanting the words to a spell.

But the enemy was faster. A giant grasshopper got the initiative.

…Vvvvvvvvv…

The giant grasshopper’s wings vibrated, unleashing an uncanny noise.

Masato was unaffected. Mamako was unaffected. Naturally, Porta was unaffected.

Wise’s magic was sealed.

“…Why…? Every time… Why…?” Wise said, crumpling to the ground, her eyes glazing over.

“It shouldn’t come as a shock at this point! That’s all you ever do!” Masato said, dashing past her to attack. “Which means this battle is miiiiine!”

Masato took a firm grip on Firmamento, the Holy Sword of the Heavens. The enemies were right before his eyes.

Firmamento was a sword specialized for fighting flying enemies, but it was naturally capable of defeating ground-based foes as well. The glittering transparent blade swung toward the giant grasshopper.

But sadly…

“Hyah!”

Just before Masato’s attack connected, a feminine squeak far too adorable to ever emerge from someone her age echoed in his ear.

Instantly, rock spikes jutted up from beneath the monsters’ feet, impaling and shredding every creature there.

A moment later, an immense number of water bullets, like a full clip from an assault rifle, riddled the monsters with holes.

By the time the fury of her multi-target attacks subsided, the only trace of the monsters were the dice-shaped objects known as gems. These were generated within the monsters themselves and scattered on the ground where they’d stood.

Yep. She’d beaten all the monsters.

“Look, look, Ma-kun! Mommy did it!”

Mamako had cleaned up. She was hopping up and down happily, a crimson sword in her right hand and a navy-blue one in her left, a broad smile on her face. All this hopping was making her chest bounce all over the place.

Meanwhile, Wise had stepped forward with utter confidence only to have her magic sealed, rendering her useless. And Masato had attempted to seize his chance, moving to attack only to have his efforts prove to be in vain.

“…Look.”

“…Don’t. She’ll just cry again.”

Mamako was quite proud of her two-hit multi-target attacks and her overwhelming firepower.

They never let the other party members get a hit in. Not ever. Not once. Anywhere.

It was hopeless.

Masato and Wise quietly sat down side by side. They’d found sitting with their arms around their knees was a great comfort when they felt like this.

Meanwhile, Porta scrambled around collecting the gems (which could be exchanged for money). Mamako was helping her.

As they absently watched them, Wise started talking.

“I’ve been thinking… I’m really screwed. I dunno, I just feel like I’m losing sight of why I even exist.”

“What a coincidence. That’s exactly what I was thinking… If we don’t do something soon, we’re doomed.”

Mamako was unbeatable in combat. Masato never got a chance to shine.

This was a dire state of affairs. Not as far as the combat results—those went swimmingly—but the toll on Masato’s state of mind was severe.

Essentially, Mamako made him feel inadequate. He was trying to move beyond childish reactions like blaming her or lashing out, but at this rate there was no guarantee he wouldn’t erupt again.