The Hero Took Everything from Me, So I Partied with the Hero's Mother!

Chapter 371

"Serena's tired of playing, and he's sleeping," someone murmured softly.

He looks so innocent sleeping like this.

He really looks a lot like Ceres did when he was little.

"Serena-kun has dragon's blood in him, so I don't think he'd get tired so easily..." Mel said, a note of doubt in his voice.

"Hey, Mel, can I talk to you for a minute?" Lida asked, glancing at him seriously.

"Yes," Mel replied, brushing his hair from his eyes. "Let's talk a little in the evening breeze, shall we?"

So Lida and I went out for a walk.

* * *

Now we were both at the beach.

"So, Lida, what do you want to talk about?" Mel asked, eyes on the sea.

"Well... it's about Serena, right? Is that okay?" she asked, cautiously.

"It's okay, but..." Mel frowned. "What's with your serious face?"

"Everyone treats Serena like he's the child of God or something, but... he's still just a kid, isn't he? Don't you feel sorry for him?" Lida said, biting her lip.

"But Serena is Goddess Ishtas-sama's and Ceres's..." Mel began, trying to reason.

"That's got nothing to do with it!" Lida cut him off sharply. "Serena's still a child. You don't have to treat him like he's divine. A child is a child—you treat them like one!"

"But Serena-kun is already an adult. He's even engaged..."

"Mel... idiot!" Lida snapped. "Isn't that just because he was longing for his father? Because he lived with Ceres and Mom in the heavenly realm? Wanting to be like his dad, falling in love with someone like his mom... isn't that totally a kid's kind of love? My dad was super cool, you know! Didn't you like Mel and Maria at one point too?"

"Kazuma? You're right..." Mel said softly. "There was a time I liked him..."

"See?" Lida said, nodding. "Everyone's too caught up in the whole 'child of God' thing. But if you don't stop and think about how insane all this is, you forget—he's just a kid."

"Yeah... you're probably right..." Mel muttered, looking down.

"So what do you want to do about Serena, Mel?" Lida asked directly.

"I don't..." Mel hesitated, then admitted, "I don't know what to do with him."

"As always, you're such a hard-headed guy," Lida said, rolling her eyes. "It's good that you're thinking it through. But nothing's going to change if you don't actually do something."

"I've been consulting with Hera-sama about Serena..." Mel replied.

"No! It's not about that!" Lida snapped. "It's about what you want to do!"

"I... I don't know what I want..." he said, voice low.

"Hah! Can I say something?" Lida leaned in. "Serena lived in heaven with his mom and Ceres until he was twelve."

"Right," Mel said, nodding.

"I don't think Mom and Ceres are good at raising kids," Lida said bluntly. "Especially Ceres. They just spoil people. And all the humans around him spoiled him too... even me..."

"Yeah... I know..." Mel said with a faint smile.

"You know, Mel," she continued, "you don't have to be so serious. Think about it—a world where everyone is nice to you because you're a god's kid, and your family spoils you rotten. How are you supposed to grow up in that kind of world? I don't think it's possible."

"No..." Mel murmured, shaking his head.

"Right? So someone's gotta stop treating him like a god and start treating him like a normal kid. Friends—real friends—play together, right? They're not just nice. Sometimes they're strict too."

"Yeah? But will it really work like that?" Mel asked, unsure.

"I'm a sword saint," Lida said firmly, clenching her fist. "And through the sword—I'm going to teach him a little harshness."

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