Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 364 The Weight of Life

late at night.

Viyn woke up in her bed, scratched her cheek, and let out a long sigh.

Another nightmare like this.
Although most of the nightmare's details became blurry upon waking and would gradually fade completely with time, Wayne could still vaguely sense that all the nightmares she witnessed were interconnected. Furthermore, she felt she had spent an extremely long time in the dream.

"How can I go back to sleep after having such a dream?"

Having completely lost her sleepiness, Wayne got out of bed and left the room, intending to get some water or something.

Because it was night, Wayne's house was exceptionally quiet. And it was precisely this quietness that allowed her mother's soft voice to drift over faintly.

"Such a reason is something you, who always thinks rationally and logically, probably could never have imagined, right? That woman, in some ways, is truly more terrifying than the teacher. Despite being so weak herself, she's like a whirlpool, pulling everyone around her in and drowning them all. It's as if just knowing her name brings misfortune."

Who?
Who is Mom talking to?
Confused, Wei walked towards the hall.

Perhaps because she didn't try to hide her footsteps, when she arrived in the hall, she only saw Sophia sitting quietly alone at the table by the window.

Under the bright moonlight, gazing at Wayne walking towards her, Sophia simply smiled and asked,

"What's wrong, Wayne? Can't you sleep?"

Sofia gently waved to Wayne.

As if unconsciously drawn in by Sophia's movements, Wayne came to her senses only to find herself gently embraced by Sophia and sitting on her soft lap.

"Would you like Mommy to tell you some stories to lull you to sleep? Let me think. I can tell you about 'how to construct intermediate magic using a mesh structure and recycle magic'~"

Hearing this will only make it harder to sleep.

Viyn couldn't help but complain.

But thinking about it carefully, listening to my mother talk about things I don't understand at all might actually have a hypnotic effect.

No, before that, she was just a housewife and mother. How would she know these things!

"Yes, that's true. Among magic, intermediate magic is the most boring part. So, it's better to talk about special magic instead?"

"No, no, it's not a problem with the type of magic."

Sometimes, Wayne couldn't quite figure out whether her mother was just joking or was genuinely a bit off-track.

"It's so late, shouldn't Mom rest? Also, was there anyone else here just now?"

Looking at the teacup filled with water on the seat opposite, and the scene of the curtains swaying in the breeze blowing in through the open window, Viyn asked a question.

"Mom just heard that moonlight is good for the skin, so she's sunbathing."

Sofia replied with a smile.

Wayne, who could vaguely sense that Sofia was unwilling to lie to her and therefore deliberately avoided the latter question, adopted a mature demeanor.

"If Mom wants to start a new family, she doesn't need to worry too much about my thoughts."

Hearing her daughter's sensible words, Sofia ruffled or stroked Wayne's hair, and couldn't help but chuckle as she said...

"Where did Mom hear this from? Even if Mom really had such thoughts, she wouldn't have invited the other person here in the middle of the night."

Due to some unavoidable reasons, Wayne's family was destined to be incomplete.

Sofia had actually prepared some responses and explanations for this. However, she didn't expect that Wayne, who was more understanding than she had imagined, seemed to have never cared about these things at all.

"I'm sorry, Vivian. Because of me, you may have encountered some embarrassing situations. Will people gossip about this at school?"

When Sofia asked her question, Wayne shook her head repeatedly.

Her classmates and teachers at Sunday school were all very nice people.

It was so good that sometimes she even felt it was unreal.

In fact, it wasn't just those at Sunday school. In her daily life, Wayne always felt a sense of unease or unnaturalness in various aspects.

However, she never touched upon these things.

On the one hand, "not doing unnecessary things" seems to have become her instinct. On the other hand, she also fears that if she touches those things, many things might suddenly burst like bubbles.

"Speaking of which, Mom, do I have an older brother?"

However, many things don't cease to exist simply because Wayne doesn't touch them.

As if fragments of nightmares suddenly flashed through her mind, she couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, there is."

After a brief silence, Sofia smiled again and answered lightly, as if she were talking about something casual.

"Huh? It really exists."

Even Wayne, who seemed to be missing a part of herself emotionally, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Her family background seems to be more complicated than imagined!
"However, for some reason, he has always lived in a place very far away from us. I have no way of witnessing his growth."

Sofia continued speaking slowly.

Viyn detected a hint of sadness in her mother's voice. And, for some reason, she felt as if her mother was talking about a completely different person.

"If you can't raise him yourself, why give birth to him in the first place?"

Quite abruptly, a sharp question came from Wayne's mouth.

The moment she uttered those words, Wayne immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

She couldn't understand why something dark had suddenly surfaced in her mind, prompting her to question her mother, who was already considered perfect in her eyes.

"Hmm, that's a very complicated problem."

Fortunately, Sofia didn't seem to mind Wayne's sudden offense.

She slowly began to tidy up Wayne's hair, which she had previously messed up herself.
"This might go back to a more fundamental point, which is the question of why I want to reproduce. Although it may be a bit careless, the reason I wanted to have a child of my own was because I thought it might be very interesting."

".?"

For a moment, Wei Yin didn't even know what the question that had appeared above her head was about. Why was her mother talking to her, a child, so seriously about having children? And, for the sake of "fun" or something, how could this be "somewhat" careless!

"Because think about it, watching a little guy who was only the size of two palms when he was born, grow up over time, and maybe even grow bigger than me in the future, isn't that something worth observing? Moreover, it's an incredibly wonderful phenomenon that a child who is a piece of flesh that fell from my body and should be a part of my body can make a completely different voice and have completely different thoughts."

Sofia continued speaking "indiscreetly,"

"But when exactly did it start? Maybe it was when I first felt someone kicking inside my stomach. Suddenly, I felt weight. The weight of life. And that weight almost crushed me. I began to realize how frivolous and ignorant my previous thoughts were. I started to worry about whether I could bear that weight, whether I was even qualified to bear it. And I also realized that, whether I was ready or not, from now on I must bear that weight."

Sofia stopped what she was doing, crossed her arms, and hugged Wayne, who looked somewhat confused.

"Perhaps only when you become a 'mother' yourself can you truly feel this 'weight.' What I want to say is that this weight is so overwhelmingly heavy, so unbearable, so difficult to even let go of. Therefore, when a mother chooses not to raise her child, it must be because she has encountered or taken on something far heavier than the 'weight of life.' At this point, it's less a choice and more a lack of choice."

"Um"

Although she still looked somewhat bewildered, Vivian nodded slightly, and inexplicably felt that something in her heart, like a knot in her heart, had quietly been untied.

"By the way, since you're interested, why don't you try to meet your 'brother'?"

As she spoke these words, Sophia, sensing that the time was right, made this suggestion.

"C-can it?"

So it's that easy to see?

Hearing Sophia's relaxed tone, Wayne was a little unsure of what she had been struggling with earlier.

"Of course. After all, you're 'siblings'."

Having said this, Sofia, with a calm expression, made her final decision.

That night.

Beside the broken and fallen golden apple tree, a figure that had been silent for a long time stood up again.

A red mist-like substance clung to the remaining metal covering his face, much to the chagrin of the swordsman who had transformed into a demon.

From the shattered mass of metal beside him, which held a multitude of longswords like a magnet, the swordsman casually picked out a sword that was still somewhat handy. He swung it casually, cleaving the annoying mist and the irritating sounds in two.

Having regained her peace, she focused the red light in her eyes on the distance.

Beside a tranquil lake that stands abruptly on the plain, there is an illusory barrier that radiates golden light and can be clearly seen even at night.

Although this barrier is incredibly strong, it has protected that area for quite some time.

However, for a swordsman, it wouldn't be much stronger than a piece of thin paper.

Dragging a mass of metal made up of broken swords with one hand, the swordsman slowly walked toward the last area of ​​this world.

When Wayne woke up again, she had forgotten exactly when she fell asleep, and the sun was already shining brightly outside the window.

"what!"

She hurriedly got up and ran to the room, where she saw Sophia, who had been waiting in the lobby for a long time.

"Sorry, I overslept. Mom, just wake me up. Has my brother arrived yet?"

Washing, changing clothes, tidying up—many steps were mixed together, and Wei Yin couldn't help but complain, feeling rather flustered. While complaining, she also questioned herself internally: why was she usually so organized, only failing at the most crucial moment?

Fortunately, Sofia simply shook her head in response to her question.

“He hasn’t arrived yet, so you can calm down, Wayne.”

After calming the flustered Wayne, Sofia frowned slightly and murmured softly.

"That's strange. He's usually very verbose about things like punctuality."

Meanwhile, within the area that Ritas had altered.

In a city modeled after a fortress city, Ritas stands atop a tower, gazing at the shattering landscape in the distance.

"What's wrong with her?"

Ritas, who had little communication with the goddess of bathing and others, looked at Cortriene, who had appeared as the biggest variable, with a rather solemn expression.

As the edges collapsed, cracks also appeared in the sky above the core area.

That corner of the sky looked like it was assembled from blue jigsaw puzzle pieces. And after those pieces fell, the gaps in the sky revealed a pitch-black void.

Suddenly, a corner of the sky, previously pitch black, was filled with an enormous eyeball. The whites of the eyeball were jet black, while the pupil was a bloody yellow.

Like eyes peering into a fairytale world through the other end of a cat's eye, a chilling sight, after looking around for a few seconds, slowly recedes into the distance.

Within the sufficiently large broken area, a woman's face gradually emerged.

The woman with long, blood-red hair narrowed her devilish eyes, lowered the corners of her eyes, and revealed a pitiful face.

This woman is none other than the leader of the "Darkborn," the Wanderer.

They never actually entered the fairy tale world; they were merely wanderers who manipulated and influenced "Vayne" to some extent from the outside, appearing to the people of this world as superior beings.

If the world that Wayne created were a picture book.

So, those who were drawn in, like Ritas, are like the minor characters in this book. And the Wanderer is the one outside the book, turning, stirring, and tearing the pages.

"It's been a long time since I've greeted you, Professor Elson. Or perhaps I should use your name from the organization, Your Excellency 'The White Pope'?"

With a gentle smile on his face, the wanderer's affected voice, tinged with a hint of sobbing, swept in like a tsunami.

"Previously, because you seemed to want to unilaterally change the direction of the 'story,' I had to intervene. But thankfully, you're still as healthy and energetic as ever."

"."

"Due to some unexpected events, our entire story is now facing a crisis of destruction. And this is an outcome that none of us want to see."

"So, how about we try working together? Your Holiness the White Pope—"

The "wanderer's" hypocritical voice only made Ritas frown in disgust.

(End of this chapter)