"I'm sorry, Ultear. I was too quick to trust them. I should have verified it myself."
After hearing Raizel explain the whole story, Ur's expression was complicated.
Her tightly furrowed brows never relaxed as she hugged Ultear, who was sitting on her lap, even tighter.
Tears kept falling, landing on Ultear's hat and face.
"It's okay, Mom. As long as you didn't abandon me, that's all that matters. I was most afraid of you leaving me." Ultear turned around, stretched out her small hands, gently wiped away Ur's tears, and then softly smoothed Ur's furrowed brows.
"How could I? When you were born, I felt as if a ray of light had entered my heart. I was so happy. You made me feel the power of life. Holding you, I cried uncontrollably, so I named you Ultear, meaning 'Ul's tears.'"
As she spoke of Ultear's birth, a smile graced Ur's lips.
"But you had a persistent high fever, and I was at a loss. I heard the Magic Development Bureau could treat it, so I entrusted you to them."
When she mentioned Ultear's illness, she pursed her lips slightly, masking her inner worry.
"I will never let you leave me again, Ultear."
Finally, with a solemn expression, Ur made a serious promise to Ultear.
"That.... is so touching." Gildarts clenched his hands, biting his cloak with his teeth, while Lyon and Gray also had moist eyes.
"Hey, hey, Gildarts, your acting is a bit too intense." Raizel rubbed his forehead, unable to resist teasing Gildarts.
"And you two actually know each other?"
Raizel was genuinely surprised that the two of them were acquainted.
After exchanging a glance with Gildarts, Ur said, "Let me explain. A little over a year ago, I had just received the news that I had lost Ultear. I was wandering aimlessly in a daze. One day, on a snowy mountain, I encountered three children who were being attacked by a monster. I saved them, and that monster happened to be Gildarts' mission target."
"That monster didn't die and instead fused with an even larger one. It was a creature even I found troublesome. At the time, I wanted Gildarts to run away quickly."
Ul raised a finger, still finding it unbelievable when she thought back on it.
"One strike! Gildarts killed that monster with just one strike and even invited me to join him on missions. But I had long lost the motivation to be a Mage, so I refused. We exchanged names and then went our separate ways."
"Impossible! Ur is the strongest Mage!" Lyon's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I've always said there's always someone stronger. There are many Mages more powerful than me." Ur smiled, always giving the same answer.
She knew she was still far from matching some of the Mages in the western continent.
"How about we eat first? We walked here and we're all hungry." Raizel rubbed his stomach.
It was already past mealtime, and he planned to talk to Ul after the meal.
Gray had been hungry for a while too, but he wisely kept quiet given the situation.
"Sorry, I lost track of time. I'll go prepare right away." Ur wore an apologetic expression as she gently placed Ultear on the chair.
"Let me help you. I often cook at home too." Raizel just wanted to eat sooner.
"Mom, I want to help too." Ultear climbed down from the chair, already somewhat dependent on Ur and unwilling to let her out of sight.
"Then Ultear can help me wash the vegetables." Ur looked down at Ultear, patting her head with crescent-shaped eyes and a blossoming smile.
In the kitchen, Raizel helped Ur chop vegetables, his knife skills appearing quite proficient.
He often made breakfast at Makarov's house, and in his previous life he frequently cooked for himself too.
While he wouldn't claim to be an excellent cook, preparing his own meals was more hygienic and cheaper - after all, he'd been just an ordinary worker.
Ur looked surprised watching Raizel chop vegetables.
In this era, anyone with dreams pursued the path of becoming a Mage.
She truly hadn't expected a teenage boy to learn cooking.
Raizel and Ultear helped stir-fry several dishes, with Raizel also preparing a soup using a chicken-like meat and mushrooms.
Everyone gathered around the table, holding up their chopsticks and forks as they said in unison:
"Let's eat."
Then they dug in heartily.
Ur herself didn't eat much, instead focusing on Ultear and helping serve her food.
"I'm so full." Gray and Lyon lay on the sofa, rubbing their stomachs.
"You two go wash the dishes. Don't just laze around - learn to divide labor and cooperate." Raizel's life principle was division of labor and cooperation.
This was the principle he upheld - dividing tasks and working together.
Even if the shares were unequal, it was about the ritual rather than just watching from the sidelines.
After sending Lyon and Gray off to wash dishes - as for Gildarts, it was already good enough if he didn't break the furniture, plus Raizel couldn't order him around anyway.
"Ultear, Ur and I need to talk outside. Please wait here for a bit."
Ultear was reading a book, and after explaining to her, Raizel signaled for Gildarts and Ur to step outside to talk.
At the doorway, Ur left the door slightly ajar to keep an eye on Ultear sitting in the living room.
She couldn't bear to lose her daughter again.
"Besides bringing Ultear back, we have another matter that requires your help." Raizel looked at Ur, recalling how she had resolutely used Ice shell to seal Deliora, feeling somewhat dazed.
"I'll help you with all my strength, even if it costs me my life." Ur's eyes were sincere, her voice firm and powerful.
"Aren't you going to ask what it is first?"
"You've already brought my life back to me." She paused, her tone still carrying a note of disbelief.
"No need to sacrifice your life. If it proves impossible, I won't force it." Raizel shook his head - he didn't want to die either.
"That's even better. I want to spend more time with Ultear." Ur peered through the door crack at Ultear reading quietly.
"Deliora. We plan to try to kill him."
"Impossible. Deliora cannot be killed." Ur closed her eyes and shook her head.
She knew Deliora's power well - she had seen Council members attack Deliora in the northern regions, and she had fought him herself without success.
"I want to give it a try. With Gildarts and you, plus I have armor with high offensive power."
As he spoke, Raizel summoned Jesmon, with "At", "Rene", and "Poru" circling around him, and flew straight into the sky.
"All for One."
"At", "Rene", and "Poru" combined to form a large triangular green prism, channeling Jesmon's power into it.
The four of them joined forces to unleash a green shockwave from the prism, shooting into the distance.
The shockwave caused the ground to tremble and mountains to shake nearby.
Looking at the hundreds-of-meters-long fissure stretching across the distant snowy landscape, starkly visible against the white expanse, Ur appeared deeply shocked.
This young man possessed such devastating power at such a young age!
After landing and dismissing the summon, Raizel explained.
"And this wasn't even at full power. The longer I charge it, the greater the destructive force. If you and Gildarts can restrain Deliora's movements, I can try using this technique to kill Deliora."
"Hey, I feel like I'm being looked down upon. I, Gildarts, am the strongest one here!" Gildarts looked displeased at being assigned the role of restraint by Raizel.
"That's not it. I just feel like you don't have any long-range attack techniques."
"I agree, but I hope we can keep this from my disciple Gray. His parents died at Deliora's hands. If he finds out, he'll definitely want to come along."
"But Deliora seems to have disappeared recently. It hasn't appeared in human towns for a long time." Ur hadn't heard any news about Deliora's appearances lately.
"Then we can only wait. But I suspect it will reappear soon. I'll search the surrounding areas these next few days. If possible, it would be best to find its lair and deal with it there, rather than waiting for it to destroy another town."
Raizel planned to search a different direction each day - east, south, west, north, southeast, northeast, and so on.
Covering all directions should take about eight days.
"By the way, where is the town where Gray lives? I can start searching around there first."
Ur told Raizel the location of Gray's town and went back to her room to fetch a map for him.