Final Episode! [#CreativeAwards2025 #FantasyNovelCategory] Maaaaaam! Episode 24

Episode 23 is here

“Maaaaaaam! S-slow down a little!”

Yuki shouted, his head spinning from the incredible speed of the cart.

“No can do! Is everyone holding on tight?”

At Bon’s shout, Yuki snapped to attention. Like a big brother, he checked on his younger brothers. Seeing their brother’s face, the brothers understood everything.

Pes’s leash was tied securely to the cart.
Sato and Yuta grabbed onto Pes’s fur tightly.
“Woof!” Pes seemed to say, leave it to me.
Zou covered everyone with a tarp and slipped into a gap between the luggage.

Having confirmed everything, Yuki pulled the tarp over himself and replied to Bon.

“We’re okay!”
“Then here we go!”

Thump!

Along with Bon, the cart floated into the air. The vibrations from when it was running on the ground were gone. When he peeked outside the cart through a gap in the tarp,

“Ochakana!”

Yuta shouted with his eyes wide. The Ochakana, which were usually only seen high above, were flying right next to the cart. The moment he saw the Ochakana, a startled Sato buried his face in Pes’s back.

“Huh? What?”

Instead of a flustered Yuki, Zou looked under the cart.

“Big brother! We’re flying!”

As Yuki looked down while holding Zou tightly so he wouldn’t fall, the stray Oyachai running around looked incredibly small. We’re... really high up? Do carts fly in the sky?

“Maaaaaaam!”
“Shime-san told me this was a shortcut!”

Bon laughed heartily. He was holding a dried Ochakana in one hand and swinging it around. The reason they weren’t attacked even while in the middle of a swarm of ferocious Ochakana was likely because Bon was swinging around the dried Ochakana, which acted as a repellent. Keeping a certain distance from the cart, which was a foreign object that had suddenly appeared, the Ochakana swam through the air in a swarm.

“Alright, landing! Keep your mouths shut tight! Don’t bite your tongues!”

The moment Bon said that, a massive impact jolted the cart along with a thundering rumble. Thanks to the tarp, they managed to avoid rolling out, but the children and the dog in the back bounced two or three times.

“M-Mam... a little more gently, please...”

When Yuki, who had stumbled out, complained,

“Well, I just couldn't wait to see him!”

Bon said, looking embarrassed, and gestured to Yuki with her eyes.

“?”

At the end of Bon's gaze was a large building.

“Mom? Could it be?”
“That's right, this is the hospital where Dad is.”
“It was a rough arrival, but I'll forgive you for the sake of a woman's heart.”

As Zou said this while getting off the cart, Yuki hurriedly gave him a look. Ah! Zou hurriedly covered his head. He thought he would be scolded for being cheeky. However, this time it was different.

“Oh, Mom just couldn't wait to see Dad.”

Bon had honestly acknowledged Zou's words. The moment they heard that, tears welled up in Yuki and Zou's eyes.

“Mom!”

Seeing the two older brothers hugging their mother, the two younger brothers hurriedly got off the cart, saying, “No fair! No fair!” Bon knelt on one knee and hugged her four children, and there was a glint in her eyes as well. Peth gently licked it away.

“W-what happened!”
“The war is already over... a bombing?”

Hearing those voices, Bon was startled. They must have been surprised by the cart that appeared with a loud crashing sound. People came swarming out of the hospital. Bon stood up straight and bowed deeply.

“I am sorry for the disturbance. I am the wife of Agu, who is being cared for here.”

While greeting them politely, she handed the Hippoppon she had been entrusted with by the village to the person who appeared to be the hospital director. The director thanked her and praised Agu. He spoke of how grateful he was to Agu, who continued to devote himself to the hospital even after his injuries had healed.

“The number of wounded soldiers has decreased, and the hospital has become able to see the local people. Even though he surely wants to return to his family as soon as possible. I cannot thank Agu enough.”

Hearing this, Bon bowed deeply again.

“By the way, where is Agu?”
“He is in the back repairing the shelves for the dried Oyachai.”
“Thank you very much!”

Unable to suppress her racing heart, Bon started to run. Yuki took Zou's hand, trying not to fall behind her mother. Peth nimbly put Sato and Yuta on his back and started running with them.

“Agu!”

Bon's voice from the heart echoed out.

"Bo...n?"

Agu, who had been wearing an expression of disbelief in front of the shelf he was repairing, threw his repair tools aside and spread his arms wide the next moment.

"Bon!"
"Agu!"

Bon kicked off the ground with great force. Ignoring the considerable distance, Bon dove into Agu's chest. Thud. Agu sank into the ground.

"S-sorry, Agu!"
"It's fine. Only Bon could make me sink into the ground like that."

Agu laughed as he was helped up by Bon. After brushing the dirt off his body, Agu brought his face close to Bon's.

"I'm home, Bon."

Just as Bon closed his eyes and accepted Agu.

"Whew! That's Dad for you!"
"Zo...u?"

At that voice, Agu hurriedly pulled his face away. Even though they hadn't met for three years, he seemed to recognize Zou immediately. Bon, whose face had turned bright red, raised his right hand and shouted "Zou!", causing Zou to panic and hide behind Yuki.

"Mom, peace is nice, isn't it?"

Told this by Yuki with slightly teary eyes, Bon quietly lowered his hand.

"Yes, it is."

Because Bon wore a quiet smile, a relieved Zou also came out from behind Yuki. Sato, who did not remember Dad's face, raised his head just a little from on top of Pes's back and glanced at Agu, but the moment their eyes met, he quickly looked down again. Yuta had already climbed down from Pes's back, but he looked blankly at Agu, unsure if this person he was seeing for the first time was really Dad.

"You must be Sato."

He crouched down next to Pes and brought his gaze level with Sato's.

"Da...d?"

Sato raised his face just a little, but immediately looked down again. Agu, answering that he was, watched the scene with a quiet smile. He was waiting for Sato to raise his head. Eventually, as if swayed by Agu's gentle gaze, Sato raised his head and suddenly leaped at him.

"Daaaaaad!"
"That's an unusually loud voice for Sato."

Bon laughs. Agu turns to face Yuta, who is staring blankly at him.

"You're Yuta. The Yuta who was in your mother's womb when I was drafted."

As he says this, Agu gently places his hand on Yuta's cheek. As if desperately trying to bridge the three-year gap with the child he is seeing for the first time, Agu tenderly strokes Yuta's cheek. How painful it must have been to leave a pregnant Bon behind to go to the battlefield. Tears naturally well up in Agu's eyes. Yuta gently wipes Agu's tears away with his small hand.

"Dad?"
"Yes."
"Dad!"

Yuta hugs Agu with a beaming smile. Then, Zou and Yuki timidly approach.

"Dad..."

Gone is the banter toward Bon; Zou is fidgeting.

"Zou, you've really grown into a big brother."

The moment he says this, Zou's face crumbles.

"Daaaaaad..."

All the feelings he has held back turn into tears that wet Zou's eyes.

"Yuki."
"Yes!"

Agu smiles as he watches Yuki, who is stiff as a board in a rigid, upright posture.

"You did a great job filling in for Dad, didn't you?"
"Eh? You can tell?"
"I can tell just by looking at your younger brothers."

Upon being told this, Yuki bursts into loud tears while still standing at attention. Once the emotional reunion with his children settles down, Agu stands up.

"Bon, I'm sorry I couldn't come home sooner."
"It's fine. You were helping people, right?"

It was just as Bon was blushing and rejoicing in her reunion with Agu.

"Mr. Agu?"

A voice calls out to Agu from behind. He turns his gaze toward the voice and sees an angel in a white coat. They are large. Almost the same size as Bon.

"Oh, right now..."

Agu smiled at the angel in the white coat. The moment Bon saw that, her face twisted into a look of fury.

"You! You really do have a thing for large women, don't you!"

She unleashed a lightning-fast right straight at Agu.

"Whoa! What's wrong, Bon?"

As Agu dodged at the last second, the children clapped and cheered, "Dad's amazing!"

"Huh? What?"

As Agu looked surprised, Bon unleashed a relentless left hook. Agu twisted his body to dodge it, letting out a "Whoa!"

"You've become awfully agile!"
"I was trained on the battlefield, after all!"

Agu boasted while dodging a right upper-cut with a bridge. He popped back up like a spring-loaded doll.

"I swore I wouldn't hurt anyone, and I wouldn't get hurt myself!"
"That's just like you!"

Hearing Agu's words, Bon grinned and lunged toward him. The moment Agu saw her smile and spread his arms to catch her, Bon's expression went blank. She kicked off the ground and drove her back foot with all her might into Agu's stomach...

"MAAAAAAM!"
"DAAAAAAD!"

The children covered their faces with their hands. Mom's knee strike was the best in the world; the children knew its power from past experience.

Wham!

The children, who had let go of their faces while imagining Agu collapsing to the ground, instead saw Agu slumped over, the angel in the white coat catching Bon's knee strike, and Bon wearing a look of astonishment.

"Oh, honestly, sister, your misunderstanding is just too much."
"Tai?"
"That's right, it's Tai!"

Agu puffed out his cheeks, saying, "Oh, come on!" Bon had misunderstood because Saku had whispered to her that Agu and a large nurse were close, but that nurse was Bon's younger brother, Tai. Tai had gone to the battlefield as a military nurse and continued to treat the injured and sick at the hospital even after the war ended. Tai and Agu had met when they were trying to consolidate the hospitals scattered across the country to improve medical care.

Wanting to provide support as a military nurse rather than as a soldier, Tai had refused conscription and became a nurse. Tai also possessed excellent physical abilities, as he was part of the Bon family. However, he loved peace and had hated taking lives since he was a child. His older brother, Yasu, had called him pathetic for that, but Bon loved her kind-hearted brother Tai, and he was an important person who would point out her hasty conclusions.

"Damn it... that Saku!"
"It's your fault for misunderstanding, sister!"

While apologizing to the smirking Tai, Bon told him, "That must have been hard, thank you." Tai teared up a little at his sister's words. Although he had a sturdy body, he must have experienced many painful events on the battlefield. She wondered how hard that must have been for the kind-hearted Tai. Thinking that, Bon hugged Tai. The younger brother accepted his sister's hug firmly and gently.

Watching the scene with a warm gaze, Bon turned back to Agu, who let out a sigh, and apologized in a small voice, saying, "I'm sorry."

"Because that is also what makes you so cute, Bon."

Bon blushed at Agu, who delivered such straightforward words even while sitting on the floor in shock. Whether it was at their matchmaking meeting, on the way back from the poetry club, or in their daily life,

Agu had always continued to express her feelings honestly. If the world were full of people like Agu, who didn't put on airs or act out of pride, the world wouldn't have ended up like this.
in the midst of their daily lives

Agu had always continued to express her feelings honestly. If the world were full of people like Agu, who didn't put on airs or act out of pride, the world wouldn't have ended up like this.

"Agu, I'm really glad I met you."
"What's with the sudden change?"

As he helped the bewildered Agu to her feet, Bon laughed and said, "It's just as I said." The children and Pes, who had approached while shouting "Maaaaaaam!", skipped around the two of them.

The End
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