[ The Administrator ]

Part I Chapter 7 - Negotiations

***Lynett***

『Open.』

Reacting to my order, the door blocking the entrance of my bedroom opened. After entering, I made sure to close the door behind me. I approached the bed in the middle of the room quietly. Mother was still sleeping.

Seeing one more time the poor state she was in, I couldn't help but feel anger boiling up inside me –again. Thinking back on my little game session with my aunt, as I thought, I went too easy on her. Good thing I didn't kill her, it would have been a waste.

I sat on the bed beside mother, as I carefully examined her. Her injuries didn't seem like they'd be too hard to heal. She had bruises and cuts, but nothing broken. No internal injuries. I already tried Healing Magic on my Aunt who was in a much worse state, so I should be able to heal mother. Unlike mother, my Aunt had no superficial wounds. Instead her insides were completely messed up. Yet, I still managed to heal her, so I shouldn't have any problem with my mother.

I'm a bit apprehensive... It's only Light magic, so nothing should go wrong, but this is the first time I'm using magic on mother. I can't help but be a little worried. I already noticed more than once that my lack of control in my magic can generate some serious problems... But that's only Healing Magic... Just Healing Magic.... Besides, I've practiced long enough on Aunt Nora. That's right; there is nothing to be worried about.

As I placed my hands above mother, I concentrated my mana in my palms. I tried visualizing her wounds closing and her bruises disappearing. I imagined all the pain going away. After a few moments focusing on my mana, a bright light materialized and gently covered mother's sleeping body. Slowly, all her wounds disappeared. If not for the traces of dried blood and tears on her face, no one would've guessed the poor state she was in just a few seconds ago.

Yet, it wasn't enough. She seemed perfectly fine now, but there was still something missing. Her ears. The incision was gone and her ears cicatrized, but they did not grow back. They have a weird shape now, and they're closer to human ears than elves'.

I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised. I expected something like this. While Healing magic can regenerate the dead cells and accelerate the healing process, it can't do anything about what has been either destroyed completely or chopped off.

I hate this. I know elves are being discriminated here, but my mother's ears were her most particular feature, and I loved them. I'm sure that if she had the choice, then mother would want them back too. They were part of her after all, a proof of her identity. I wonder if there is any way to grow them back? I need to find some magic that can actually re-grow limbs... There has to be a way.

I was suddenly startled as I noticed mother looking at me.

... Huh? When did she wake up? She didn't see, did she? Did she see me using magic? She looks confused. Oh no, this is bad...

Mother slowly got up, without breaking the eye-contact. "Lyni...? You're still awake?" She asked.

She looked at her surrounding, trying to recall everything that happened. "Oh... I fell asleep..."

She flushed a little in embarrassment, as she remembered giving in to her grief in front of me. Well, that's kind of cute... I guess would be embarrassed too if I suddenly became vulnerable in front of a child. Anyway, it doesn't seem like she saw. What a relief...

However, mother then realized that all her pain had vanished. She started to inspect her own body, looking at her arms, touching her face trying to feel the wounds, but there was nothing.