Why Do You Hate Your Mother So Much?

Holy power.

It was one of the unique powers existing in this world, and unlike mana, it was considered impossible to interpret scientifically at the current stage.

After all, science is based on exploration, and exploration can be said to be an act of ‘constant doubt’.

Naturally, it’s bound to be incompatible with faith that demands absolute trust regardless of truth.

However, unlike the modern world that considers such blind faith meaningless, there are tangible results that can be grasped in this world, and if trained to the extreme, it reaches a stage of giving will and form to light.

‘Materialization of the Halo.’

I had reached the realm called ‘Halo’ after the name of this phenomenon, after finishing the war 2 years ago.

“Hmm, Cle. It’s been a while.”

Yes, what appeared before me now was that crystallization.

It was the result of materializing Clea, the God of Medicine, the main deity of the Cleas Order to which I belong.

-…

“You seem to have grown a bit since I last saw you. Have you been well?”

-…

“…Ahaha.”

No matter how many times I asked, there was still no answer.

Of course, it couldn’t be helped. Cle didn’t have a mouth to begin with.

No, to be precise, all body parts except the hands do not exist.

Two hands made of solidified pure white light.

The slender and delicate structure indicates it’s female, but that’s all we can know.

The Halos of other orders were generally robust or brilliant… As expected, since it’s a baby god only about 20 years old, this seems to be the limit even when materialized.

-…

“…Hmm.”

Of course, to my eyes this is also a being I need to take care of, but since it’s a being created from faith, my intentions and emotions are conveyed to some extent.

You’re not upset that I treated you like a baby, are you?

“Are you alright?”

I cautiously asked the two floating hands, just in case.

The response came after a little while.

Then Cle raised her right hand and made a gesture.

-Click!

A hand gesture with the thumb raised while making a fist.

It was the thumbs-up I had taught her before.

“…You’re doing well as I taught you.”

-Clap clap clap.

Cle clapping following the thumbs-up.

Seeing her affirming my opinion in that way, I found myself smiling without realizing it.

Yes, Halo wasn’t about implementing something that already exists.

Creating a vessel from nothing through the faith of countless believers for something that doesn’t exist, gradually increasing its scale and imbuing it with will and knowledge to grow…

In short, Halo can be said to be the ‘crystallization of collective intelligence’ that grows and learns about the world, receiving faith from numerous believers regardless of time.

If it even has will, wouldn’t it be worthy of being called a god by human standards?

Of course, saying collective intelligence makes it sound cheap like a Wikipedia with AI attached…

-Tap.

As I was swayed by such useless thoughts, Cle put her hand on my shoulder.

I thought she might be trying to argue something, but the touch stroking my shoulder was tinged with worry.

She must be concerned about my poor complexion.

“Thank you for worrying, but you don’t need to mind too much. It’s just because I lack sleep…”

-!!!

Cle raises her fingers stiffly as if startled.

Before I could react to that, her other hand started slapping my cheek.

-Slap, slap!

“So-sorry. I’ll take better care of my body from now on, so please don’t be angry.”

Of course, as her domain is ‘medicine’, she can’t help but care about the health of her believers.

My appearance, worn out from lack of sleep, must make her not just worried but even upset.

“Yes, as Cle says, I should diligently take care of my sleep time. Actually, I called you for that reason this time.”

I belatedly handed her the reins in my hand.

“Could you hold the horse’s reins for me while I sleep? Just keep going straight this way, and stop when you see the gateway.”

-…

“…Um, have you not learned horseback riding yet?”

-Click!

Cle gives a thumbs-up.

Fortunately, it seemed someone had taught Cle how to ride a horse.

Well, even if the history is short, I’m not the only believer who can implement Halo.

Since you just need to follow the road straight, there shouldn’t be much problem leading the horse.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

After entrusting the reins to Cle like that, I leaned my head on the neck of the unicorn I was riding and relaxed my body.

-Clop, clop.

The sound of horse hooves walking through the streets, the gentle breeze, and the warm sunlight.

It was a truly appropriate moment to take a brief rest.

---

But if you ask if the dream I had while sleeping was proper, it wasn’t.

‘Alright, let’s stop here.’

Around when I was about 7 years old.

As if recreating the situation at that time, I, planted face-down on the training ground floor, looked up at the woman who had knocked me down and was shamelessly looking down at me.

The owner of an ugly face with silver hair like mine…

No, her face being so terribly distorted must be just because I’m trying hard not to remember.

It’s been 12 years since I last saw her, but I still can’t stand the sight of her.

‘You worked hard today too. Let’s end the training here.’

‘Training my ass.’

She speaks so well after planting her 7-year-old daughter into the sand floor.

I, just like back then, prepared to confront her by planting the tip of the wooden sword in my hand into the ground.

‘Where did you learn such rough language, child?’

‘Never mind that, just come at me again. I haven’t lost yet.’

I know better than anyone that I can’t beat that woman.

I’m 7 years old, and she’s a min-maxed character created deliberately by the developers.

Nevertheless, the reason I gripped the wooden sword with my tired body was because if I didn’t do at least that much, I couldn’t resolve the things knotted inside me.

‘Really.’

But of course, the sword doesn’t reach.

From the start, she’s an invincible being created with great care by the developers.

It was impossible for an ordinary person like me to overcome a being thoroughly packed with cheats from the foundation.

‘Seine, why do you hate your mother so much?’

Is it because I’m the child she gave birth to with pain, even though she’s such a damned woman?

Whenever she saw me finally planted on the ground after charging at her until I couldn’t anymore, that woman always used to look at me with pity.

Really, so despicably.

‘…You would know that better than me.’

That reaction felt disgusting to me.

Just look at the training ground where I’m standing.

The sand, overturned and deeply dented, scattered and spread beyond the stage, even dirtying the outer walls of the building.

The marks seen in between were scars created not even by the sword touching, but by its aftereffects.

‘What’s the reason.’

The scene that damned woman called a ‘light sparring’ with her own mouth.

If she exerted her true power, one should be prepared for several domains beyond this area to be reduced to ashes without exaggeration.

‘Why are you just stuck here with this much power? If you have this much power, couldn’t you go to war and sweep everything away?’

A monster among monsters who could easily match a whole country alone.

In terms of the world I originally lived in, the woman in front of me now was an existence like a ‘nuclear bomb’.

‘While you’re fooling around in a place like this, Dad is still out on the battlefield saving people. Don’t you worry about Dad? Is it really okay for you to just stay here!’

‘…Seine.’

‘Yes, that’s why I can’t help but hate you.’

To hell with your circumstances.

Having the power to end the war happening on this land at any time.

Yet, how could one respect as a person such a damned bystander who merely watches the person they love go into danger?

---

-Neigh!

As soon as my eyes opened with the cry, my gaze that awakened from sleep immediately turned to the sky.

Looking at the angle of the sun, about half a day must have passed?

Cle was still holding the reins, but the place had completely changed from the academy grounds where we were before.

The wall filling one side of the path ahead must be the gateway leading to the border.

-Tap tap.

As I realized this, Cle gently tapped my shoulder.

She must be checking if I’m okay.

“I’m fine. I feel better after sleeping a bit.”

-Click!

Cle immediately gives a thumbs-up at my words.

I smiled contentedly at Cle like that, then leaned the horse against a nearby street tree and turned my attention towards the group of carriages.

The black cross marks engraved all over the carriages visible even from afar.

It’s the mark symbolizing the Haide Order that I know.

“…It’s probably better to withdraw now since there will be many watching eyes from here on. Cle, I’ll see you later.”

We might ruin the first impression if we carelessly show a god of another religion.

Cle also seemed to agree with this point, waving her hand at me and then slowly disappearing from that spot.

It feels a bit unsatisfactory that I just called her for proxy driving… I should play string games or something with her when I get the chance later.

“Who are you?”

As I approached the carriage, leaving behind the spot where Cle had disappeared, someone waiting nearby blocked my path.

A man in armor dyed entirely black.

The gold trim engraved here and there indicated that he held a position quite different from an ordinary knight.

The commander leading Haide’s Black Holy Knight Order.

A figure who usually only acts when the most important person in the order moves.

“I am Seine Velvet, a teacher who came out to greet you on behalf of the academy. If it’s alright, could I meet the representative of this group?”

I bowed my head to such a man and quietly gazed at the carriage behind him.

A big shot enough to keep other orders in check, and a figure important enough for the knight commander to be dispatched…

I can pretty much guess.

That the person preciously enshrined in that carriage is ‘Haide’s Black Saint’.