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

Medhimama puffed up her chest, encouraging the tentacles to come after her.

It was unclear where the anemone’s face was, but it clearly took a long look at her, then turned away. “What?!” Obviously not interested. Mamako won this popularity contest… Her son had no idea how to handle any of this.

He…he couldn’t think about that now.

“Mama! Here!”

“Thanks, Porta! …Mommy’s gonna punish this bad, slimy tentacle monster!”

Mamako took Altura from Porta and held it high. The Holy Sword of Mother Ocean responded to her motherly rage, unleashing its overwhelming power.

Instantly, all the water in the pool concentrated into a massive spiral, launching the giant anemone upward. The monster’s massive form flew through the air—the perfect place for Masato to attack.

“Good, good, good, good! Leave flying enemies to meeeeee!”

Masato swung Firmamento with all his might.

The beam locked onto the target, and the sleazy foe was sliced completely in two.

The practical exam in the pool concluded, Mr. Burly was announcing results.

“Allow me to list the top scorers! In third, the Knight, Male Student Number 3! Five points! Then in second, the Cleric, Medhi! Ten points! And right at number one…the hero, Masato! Thirty points! Congrats! A round of applause!”

“““Whoaaaaa! Masato, niiiiiiiiiice!”””

“Uh, thanks.”

As everyone cheered, Masato did a slow circle, bowing repeatedly.

The number of foes Masato had defeated was nowhere near Medhi or the other students, but the rarity of the foe he’d felled had scored him a huge bonus, and nobody was arguing with his placement.

He was number one with a bullet. And he’d finally scored some decent points. It would have taken a lot of hard work and level-ups to store this many points, but now they were his!

But as excited as everyone else was, Masato himself was unenthused. He could hardly get worked up about this.

His mind was on other things.

…That stuff I heard earlier was some kind of mistake, right?

What preyed on Masato’s mind was, of course, Medhi. He’d seen her face for only a moment…but the angry hiss she’d let out, the gloomy look on her face…he couldn’t get it out of his mind.

He glanced her way, and she looked just like she always did. His ideal heroine, smiling like an angel, looking at him with admiration…

“Masato, congratulations! The way you beat that rare monster with one hit was really cool! I couldn’t take my eyes off it!”

“Huh?! I—I was cool? Y-you couldn’t take your eyes off…? Wow… Um… Thanks.”

Praise like that certainly brought a warmth rising from deep within, but the other thing was still bugging him, so that warmth soon died down. He failed to get entirely carried away.

What now?

What was going on there? I should probably just ask her, but…

How could he broach the subject? He couldn’t exactly just ask straight up, “Hey, did you, like, totally snap a minute ago? What was that about?”

As Masato frowned, losing himself in thought…

“Ma-kun! Congrats!”

“Eeep?!”

This again? The woman who refused to understand her son’s feelings came running in and put her arms around his head, pressing it firmly into her chest. In her swimsuit. Unbearably soft.

“Mmf! Mom! Stop that! Everyone’s looking!”

“Oh, just give me a minute! I’m so proud of you! You got a lot of points! Isn’t that nice? Mommy’s so happy for you!”

“Hang on, I thought you didn’t know anything about SP? Let’s not make a big fuss about things you don’t even understand.”

“Oh, that’ll never happen. I am a mom, after all!”

“I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.”

There was a lot she was unclear on, but it was clear enough her son was being rewarded, and that was cause for celebration. That’s just how moms work, you know?

Porta came over, looking up at Masato with respect. Gasp. Perhaps the greatest reward of all.

“Masato! Congratulations!”

“Oh, thanks. Same for you, Porta! You were top crafter, and you got thirty points, too!”

“Yes! I am delighted!”

Porta threw both hands up in celebration, which was just too adorable for words.

“Up you go!” “Eep!” Masato grabbed her and hoisted her onto his shoulder.

With that done, what’s next? Maybe he shouldn’t poke a sore spot, but…

Wise was standing around, pretending she didn’t care.

“Hmph! Well, I ate three plates of takoyaki! There are eight pieces a plate, so that’s twenty-four whole pieces! Beat that!”

“Hmm… Well, if saying that doesn’t make you depressed, who am I to judge?”

“Gulp… I’m not crying… I refuse to cry…” Tears streamed down her face.

Maybe best to pretend not to notice how desperate she was to maintain her dignity. Just don’t look at her.

He didn’t have time for Wise right now. He had to focus on Medhi.

Masato turned around, looking for her…

“I told you over and over, you have to be number one! And now look what happened! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

A hysterical scream followed immediately by a loud crack.

That mother had just slapped her daughter’s cheek. And the daughter was just standing there and taking it.

“How dare you tell him he was cool!! You lost!! And then you go complimenting the one who beat you? Have you lost your mind?!”

“I—I just thought he was really strong and impressive…”

“Don’t you dare talk back to me! Repent in silence!”

“Y-yes, Mother… I’m sorry…”

“Honestly… I’ve never been so disappointed… Sigh… That’s enough. Enough. Go train yourself somewhere until after school. I’m doing this all for you, you know. Got that?”

“…Yes… Just as you say, Mother…”

With that final order, Medhimama stalked away, clearly still fuming.

Left behind, Medhi stared at her feet for a while and then turned and ran off, flying out the emergency exit.

Masato’s party was left staring after her.

“Wait, I shouldn’t just be standing here. I’m gonna go check if she’s all right!”

“Oh, wait, Ma-kun! Mommy’s coming, too!”

“Argh, you don’t need to come, Mom! Geez!”

He considered stopping to deal with her, but time was of the essence. Let her do what she wanted. Masato ran after Medhi.

Where had Medhi gone? He couldn’t find her. She had too much of a lead on him.

When Masato and Mamako reached the exit, they split up. “I’ll go right!” “Mommy will take the left!”

Masato went clockwise around the outside wall of the indoor pool but found no signs of Medhi.

“Tch! Not this way, hunh? Then Mom picked right?”

He went back the way he’d come, counterclockwise along the wall.

And ahead of him he saw a school swimsuit–clad butt… No, don’t look at it. That’s your mom’s.

Mamako was bent over at the corner of the building, peering around the corner.

“Hey, Mom. What’re you doing?”

“Oh, Ma-kun! Good timing. Take a look here…”

Mamako made room for him. He couldn’t get a read on her expression.

That bothered him, but he figured it was best to take a look for himself.

…Mm?

That was Medhi all right. Definitely here. It was her, but…

“…Argh… Pisses me off… Take that! And that!”

Medhi was kicking the wall of the building over and over. Thump. Thump. Like she was stomping it. Your classic yakuza kick.

Was he seeing this? Did his eyes deceive him? Was he hallucinating? All these possibilities seemed likely, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

He looked again, and Medhi was still yakuza kicking the hell out of the wall. Looking extremely unhappy. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

“Arrghh… I seriously wanna kill that toxic bitch…”

He’d heard her talk like that before. All those half-heard hisses. Guess they were Medhi after all.

Some things in the world you’re better off not knowing. Mysteries of the world, secrets that endanger your very life.

The dark side of a beautiful girl was one of these.

This can’t be true… Someone, please tell me it’s not true…

He’d believed she was an angel. Not a fallen one.

He longed to gouge his eyes out and pretend he’d never seen this.

But he also couldn’t just leave her to it…and Mamako was giving him a shove, as if to say, “Ma-kun, give it a shot!” Like, now, of all times, she wanted him to take the lead. Oh well.

“Um… Ahem. Gosh, where could Medhi be?” he said, sounding totally natural. “Is she over here?”

He gave her a minute to compose herself and then stepped around the corner.

And found…

“…Oh, Masato. Mamako, too!”

Medhi turned to face them, looking like the absolute picture of beauty and purity, as if nothing out of sorts had just happened.

“What brings you both here? Were you looking for me?”

“Huh? Um, yeah, more or less.”

“We were worried, so we thought we’d come check on you.”

“Oh… Sorry to cause you any concern. I’ll be fine. As you can see.”

Medhi smiled brightly. If it weren’t for the slight swelling on her check, she’d seem exactly like she always did.

Like always…but she definitely had a dark side…but he couldn’t exactly ask, “Are you broken inside?”

So he elected to act normal.

“Um, can we talk? I couldn’t help noticing… Is your mother always like that?”

“Yes, that’s pretty typical.”

“So she’s always all ‘Be number one,’ and if you aren’t number one…she gets all mad and slaps you?”

“Yes. That’s my mother for you.”

Medhi nodded as if that was normal. As if she had no concerns about her mother’s behavior at all.

When Masato and Mamako were at a loss for words, Medhi took the lead.

“Do you two think my mother’s an awful person?”

“Um, well. If I’m being totally honest, I think ‘awful’ is an understatement. I’d go more with ‘reprehensible.’”

“Ma-kun! That’s going too far!”

“I’m only telling the truth. You can’t just smack people like that.”

“Well… I’m not saying I’m in favor of corporal punishment…but…”

“I don’t mind. Everyone who sees her acting like that says the same thing as you, Masato. They all say she’s horrible. But…”

Medhi paused, searching for words. Then she smiled again.

“But that’s fine. I don’t care what they say. It’s fine.”

“Uh, doesn’t seem like it. I mean, how is this fine?”

“Yes,” Mamako said. “I’m afraid I don’t think it seems exactly fine, either.”

“But it is,” Medhi said. “Mother doesn’t do this because she hates me. She’s strict with me because she’s thinking about what’s best for me, and she’s trying to raise me right. I know that much is true. I trust my mother.”

Her expression was grave as her words were clear. This didn’t seem like a lie.

“So don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine… I’m sure my mother will cause a commotion again, but we’ll only be together for a few days, so please…just put up with it. I know it’s a lot to ask.”

With this request, she politely bowed her head and turned to leave.

Masato and Mamako couldn’t bring themselves to stop her. They just stood and watched her go.

“…What do you think, Mom?”

“Well… It seems like Medhi really cares about Medhimama… If this were a mom interview, I’d want to give her a gold star…”

“If that were all there was to it, sure. But…”

“Yes, indeed…”

The two of them looked at the wall, covered in scuffs from the brutal kicking it had endured.

It was beyond doubt that Medhi both cared deeply about her mother and had some much nastier feelings lurking below the surface.

“…What do we do?”

“…What do we do?”

Both mother and son sighed as one.

The curriculum for the day over, the results were published.

Masato: 50 SP. Wise: 20 SP. Porta: 50 SP.

If you counted each takoyaki she’d eaten as one point, Wise drew within shooting distance of the other two, but considering that also made her number one in calories consumed for the day, and the moment she realized that she quickly started doing sit-ups… Well, that’s a story for another day.

Their scores were certainly appreciated, but the second day of school had left them with other things on their minds.