Published at 26th of December 2025 7:40 am

Chapter 479: A Boxful of Feelings

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Note: This time, its in third person.

Ah, that was fun Huh?

Lunarita, who had enjoyed chatting with Ed until late at night, noticed light leaking from the end of the hallway as she was about to return to her room. As she quietly approached, she found Eds mother, Ilna, quietly drinking tea alone.

Auntie?

Hm? Oh, Tia-chan. What are you doing up so late?

I got caught up talking with Ed What about you, Auntie?

Me? Im well, I guess you could say Im feeling a bit down.

Her tired face and way of speaking were very similar to her son Eds. This thought flashed through Lunaritias mind for a moment, but there was something more important she needed to say.

Feeling down? Um, this might be out of place, but Ed

Haha, I know. Im his mother, after all. I understand very well that he brought out that money with my best interests in mind. Its not that Oh, never mind, its nothing important.

Not at all! If its alright with you, would you mind telling me about it?

I dont mind but listening to an old womans story wont be very interesting, you know?

Thats not true at all! Besides, if were talking about age, Im definitely older than you!

Ah, thats right, Tia-chan is an elf Well, if you say you want to hear it, I wont stop you. Here, please sit.

Saying this, Ilna gestured to the seat across from her. As Lunaritia sat down, Ilna slowly began to speak.

That childs father his name was Alan. Alan was also a mercenary, just like that child.

Oh, really!?

My, didnt Ed tell you?

Ah Ed didnt really talk much about such things.

Is that so? Thats a bit surprising.

Ilna tilted her head slightly in confusion at her words. In reality, it wasnt that Ed didnt talk about it, but rather that such memories didnt exist in Eds mind, but Ilna had no way of knowing this.

Alan came to this village for work, and it seems he fell in love with me at first sight. He pursued me quite passionately. Well, various things happened, and we ended up getting married. Once that happened, we couldnt very well be homeless, so we bought this house second-hand, Ed was born Every day was so busy it made my head spin, but that busyness was the happiest time of all.

Is that so That certainly sounds happy.

Lunaritia nodded with a smile to Ilna, who wore a gentle smile. But the happy story didnt continue beyond that point.

But ten years ago when that child was 10 years old, Alan went out for work and never came back. A sudden disappearance We still dont know if hes alive or dead. Well, as far as society is concerned, hes considered dead.

What!? Did you search for him?

To Lunaritias words, Ilna shook her head with a bitter smile.

Of course, I wanted to. But it seems he disappeared quite far away, and I was told it would cost a considerable amount to have someone search for him. If I had scraped together all our assets, maybe we could have managed it but would it have been right to leave child Ed destitute in order to search for his missing father Alan?

Thats

Well, since it was a disappearance during work, fortunately, we received condolence money from the guild, and it seems Alan had saved up a fair amount of money. I also did some side jobs, and raised Ed as a single mother

When Ed turned 15, you know what? After never saying anything before, that child suddenly declared, Im going to become a mercenary too! To be honest, I wanted him to have a safer, more stable job, but that childs determination was firm. Even if he had disappeared, children really do take after their parents, I thought, and in the end, I gave up and accepted it.

Ahaha I see, so thats how Ed started his current job.

Thats right. Though, it seems he struggled quite a bit at first. Like Alan, Ed didnt seem to have any particular talent for it. There were times when he came home injured, and times when he was depressed because work didnt go well. So I

At this point, Ilna paused for a moment, then quietly stood up and brought a small wooden box from a nearby shelf, placing it on the table. When she opened it with a rusty, crude key, the box was filled with many copper coins and just a few silver coins.

Auntie, whats this?

Mercenary work is dangerous, isnt it? There must be times when you have to take long breaks from work, or even suffer injuries so severe that you cant continue working. So, in case something like that happened, Ive been saving a little bit from the money I earned from my side jobs each day, hoping to be of some help to that child. But if he can earn gold coins like that, this kind of thing wont be of any use, will it? While I was happy about that childs growth, when I thought that there was nothing more I could do for him, I felt inexplicably sad Thats why I was feeling a bit down.

No way! Thats absolutely not true!

Taking Ilnas hands, which were drooping along with her shoulders, Lunarita looked straight into her eyes and said:

Sure, the current Ed is very strong, and I think he can earn money too but to say theres nothing you can do for him, thats not true at all! Just having someone who worries about you like this, do you know how reassuring that is!

The contents of the wooden box clearly wouldnt even amount to one gold coin. And its not wrong that in reality, money is necessary to help people.

But Lunariia didnt think that the feelings put into it were useless.

There are certainly many things we cant do without money. But there are also many things that money cant solve at all! Because we can earn money, your feelings for Ed, auntie, are far more valuable than that! So please dont say such things! The reason Ed can be Ed is surely because of your feelings for him!

Tia-chan thank you.

Ilna gently squeezed Lunaritias hands in return. Feeling that warmth, Lunaritia thought strongly in her heart.

(Ah, she really is Eds mother.)

If Eds words were to be believed, it was impossible for Ed to have been born from this person. In fact, all the stories she had just been told were probably just tracing settings written by someone else.

But even if everything was fiction, even if this world had been born just a few days ago Lunaritia couldnt bring herself to doubt for a moment that the woman before her was Eds mother at this very instant.

Phew. Well, shall we leave it at that for now? Im sorry, Tia-chan, for keeping you up so late.

No, not at all. I enjoyed talking with you too, Auntie.

As Ilna brought the conversation to a close, Tia let go of her hands and stood up. Ilna also stood up and once again stood in front of Tia.

Hey, Tia-chan.

Yes?

Please take care of Ed that child.

With deep emotion, Ilna bowed her head deeply. Lunaritia put her hand on Ilnas shoulder to raise her, and answered with a broad smile.

Leave it to me. Well continue to help each other and be best partners forever!

Ahaha, so you really are just partners. Goodness, I wonder when Ill ever get to see grandchildren.

Ahaha Well then, good night, Auntie.

Yes, good night.

Smiling wryly at Ilnas joking words, Tia said good night and turned away. She thought she heard a small voice of gratitude from behind her, but she didnt turn back.

And so, in the house where everyone had gone to sleep, a faint warmth continued to linger indefinitely.

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