Epilogue
Once they escaped the ancient ruins, the mothers never even glanced at the row of casinos. They headed straight to the residential areas where their families and children were at home waiting for them. Each had battles lying ahead of them to reestablish themselves as mothers, but the core problem was resolved.
Shiraaase bid them farewell.
“Thank you for recovering Alzare. This is a huge help.”
“You’re welcome. I thought we’d need to readjust the mothers…but it kinda seems like they’re taken care of.”
“Yes. It seems they’ve remembered how it feels to be a mother, and I find myself wanting to see them conquer this issue through their own willpower. Now then… I’ll be taking my leave. You’ve been a great help once again. Wish the assistant manager well for me.”
And with that, she went away, the Alzare book in hand.
Masato’s party went to see the assistant manager. They figured he deserved a report, at least. He welcomed them with a warm smile.
“Well done, everyone. Sounds like you had quite the time of it.”
“Yeah, thanks. Once we put our minds to it…I always save the day,” Masato boasted.
“Masato always does great! You’re so cool!”
“Hee-hee. Yes, he is! Ma-kun always comes through.”
“R-right… Yeah… Th-that’s…what I’ve always dreamed of…”
Masato went off to cry.
Wise spoke up next, sounding a little annoyed.
“So I guess this is a happy ending or whatever, but…I still got questions… Right, Medhi?”
“Indeed.”
“You do? Like what, exactly?” asked Masato.
“Like who the assistant manager is!”
“He was up here yet seems to have been fully aware of everything that happened underground… Could we ask you to introduce yourself properly, sir?” Medhi asked with her beautiful smile.
The assistant manager returned a kindly old man smile and nodded.
“Very well,” he said. “I shall reveal to you my true identity… I am the actual manager of this casino and the person in charge of the ancient ruins that sleep beneath the city.”
“The actual manager… So Sorella stole your position from you?”
“She did. As for my race… Let me see… I suppose I should call myself a residual memory of the ancient people… To refer to myself as a god would be rather presumptuous, after all.”
“Wha—? Y-you’re a god?!”
“That is what my parameters say.” He smiled.
“Why does everyone insist on clarifying that point?!”
“Ha-ha-ha, I do beg your pardon. At any rate, all you need to know is that I’m the manager of this casino… For a god, I am distinctly powerless.”
His smiling face seemed rather forlorn.
The elderly assistant manager—or rather, the actual manager—turned toward Masato’s party, speaking slowly.
“…Sorella showed up here quite recently. She strolled in like she had all the time in the world yet had everyone here under her control in the blink of an eye.”
“She used Alzare to change your settings and those of the mothers and then did whatever she wanted?”
“NPCs like us are capable of independent thought. If unexpected changes interrupt our daily routines, we naturally sense that things have gone wrong. Sadly, we have no means of overriding our settings…”
“So you had no way of disobeying Sorella. Wow, she really sucks!” said Wise.
“However, salvation soon arrived. Someone strong, kind, sweet, warm, and with an aura as overwhelming as the earth or the ocean.”
“That’s gotta be Mamako,” said Medhi.
“I think it’s Mama, too!”
“Definitely our hero, Ma-kun!”
“Mom, please don’t… Haven’t I suffered enough…?”
“Ha-ha-ha! You’re all correct! Masato is the source of Mamako’s power. Believing that the hero and his mother would save us, I ushered you to this casino, like so.”
Without even chanting a spell, the manager transformed into a small child.
A child dressed distinctively in some sort of old-fashioned ethnic garment.
“Hey, I’ve seen you before… Oh, right! The kid Mom and I were following!”
“Oh my! The child who snuck into the casino! It was the manager all along?”
“That is correct. I took the opportunity to guide you inside. Now, then…”
There was a puff of smoke, and he was back to normal.
“That’s about all I have to share with you. Next, I’d like to discuss the payment owed to Mamako. If you wouldn’t mind?”
“Payment to me? …Whatever for?”
“The gold you earned for hitting the Jack-Mom-Pot in the underground casino.”
“Please don’t make that the official name. Let’s just keep it a normal jackpot.”
“Oh, right! You beat Sorella and got this mountain of gold!” said Wise.
“I believe the total value was well over a hundred billion. Possibly even getting close to a trillion,” added Medhi.
“Uh…how many zeros are a trillion again?” asked Porta.
“A good deal of math is required to determine the exact value…but if I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion, I know just the thing to apply these funds to.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I propose…” With the exact same smile, the manager looked Mamako directly in the eye. “…Mamako, I believe you hold a low opinion of gambling. In which case, why not use the money you won to buy all the casinos in Yomamaburg and shut them all down?”
“Shut the casinos down…?”
“Your actions have released the mothers from their gambling addiction and sent them home. However, there is every chance they will find their way back here again. To prevent relapses, you must eliminate the source. Isn’t that the best way to handle these things? And the most effective way to prevent anyone else from falling victim to this addiction.”
“But if we do that, won’t everyone who works at the casinos be out of luck? I’m sure there are people just having fun, with proper restraint…”
“As you say. There will be people cast out, people angered by the loss of entertainment, and it will be an economic blow.”
“Yes… Such a difficult decision…”
“Mamako, I want to know what decision you’ll make on the matter. Please let me know your thoughts on the future of these casinos.”
“Well…”
Everyone looked at her. Mamako thought for a good long time.
And then she answered.
Yomamaburg, city of commerce.
The city’s biggest attraction was, of course, the casinos. One sector of the city was a giant entertainment district, and one entire road was devoted to casinos, all with signs that read, NEWLY REMODELED!
Passersby were beckoned inside by men in black suits, bedazzled by the brilliant lights, dizzy with the prospect of fun housed within.
Saying a prayer, they exchanged cash for chips, sat down at the poker table, took a deep breath, and were ready to play.
Customers were blessed by the smile of a Bunny Girl (?), and as the match began…
“You there, you’re betting a little high.”
“What? Why is a Bunny Girl telling me what to— Uh, Mom?!”
“That’s right! It’s your mom! Look, Mom isn’t about to tell you how to use the money you worked so hard to earn. But make sure you don’t go too crazy now, okay?”
“R-right, I know… No, no, no, no! Why are you here, and dressed like a Bunny Girl?! Mom… As a Bunny Girl… I feel faint… Bleghhh…”
Surprises like this are part of the joy of a casino.
Drunk on the atmosphere, some Bunny Girls (?) forgot about their jobs and were playing the slots, but, well, that was part of the charm.
“Huh? What am I doing here…? …And… Mom?! What are you doing?!”
“Huh? Oh my… I’m supposed to be working! I swore I would never gamble again, too…thank you. If you hadn’t spoken to me, I might not have recovered my wits in time. I’d better get back to work!”
“R-right, glad I could do my duty as your son, but… Wait?! Why are you dressed like that?! It’s so…immodest!”
Exchanging precious words with her son, receiving his support, the Bunny Girl (?) went hopping off to work some more.
Watching the staff at work, the manager smiled.
“Parents looking after children, children after parents, their bonds supporting one another, everyone having good, clean fun… Heh-heh… Brilliant, Mamako. Simply brilliant.”
The casinos of Yomamaburg were booming, filled with noise and customers. Anyone was welcome within…
…well, at least in theory.
Masato’s party put the casino behind them and set out.
Mamako seemed satisfied.
“Mothers feel safe if their children are with them and vice versa. A parent-child casino where bunny moms and children have fun together. Hee-hee… Isn’t it lovely?”
Extremely satisfied.
The children less so.
“This is bad news… The manager made it so that all the casinos are using Mom’s idea… If we don’t escape now, the casino customers will catch us, and there’ll be hell to pay…”
“If the children do anything crazy, their mothers are summoned in Bunny Girl clothes, and if the mothers do anything stupid, their children are summoned… There’s no way anyone’s gonna develop a gambling addiction this way,” said Wise.
“And the cost of installing parent-child transport devices in all the casinos, as well as the mothers’ part-time wages, all being paid for by Mamako’s winnings… She just dumped the entire amount into it… I really feel like she should have kept a little for herself…” added Medhi.
“Mama’s idea is amazing! They’ll all be happy this way!”
Some broke out in a cold sweat, some just shook their heads, and Porta was thoroughly impressed… But either way, it was too late.
Time to move on.
“Sigh… Then I guess we’re looking for a new adventure.”
Basking in the breeze, Masato took a step forward, about to run away—
—when Mamako grabbed his arm. Of course.
“Hee-hee. Say, Ma-kun, didn’t we make a lot of precious memories together? I had such a good time! Hee-hee!”
“Uh, sure, sure, glad to hear it.”
“Wait, what? I think we need to hear more.”
“I’d love to hear about it! What did Mama and Masato do together?!”
“Hee-hee, well, Ma-kun and I went on a date arm in arm, then we stopped at a lovely café, then I shampooed him, then we went shopping…and we studied how to let Mommy spoil him.”
“These are all memories I’d rather forget.”
“I think it sounds lovely,” said Medhi. “So many wonderful things. May you never forget the events that transpired here. Heh-heh-heh.”
“Geez, rub it in… Mm?”
Masato remembered something.
A whole lot of stuff had happened in Yomamaburg but first and foremost:
Wise and Medhi foisted Mom off on me so they could hit the casino…
And they’d fed Porta a bunch of crap to get her on board. Extra evil!
This wasn’t something he should let stand.
“…Hey, Mom, got a second? I think you should probably say something about how Wise and Medhi tricked you into letting them go to the casino.”
“Oh, that’s right! I mean, part of that is Mommy’s fault, but I should definitely scold the both of you.”
Mamako’s scolding… The one that started with “Tut, tut!” and ended with a laser death beam?!
Wise and Medhi both twitched, the blood draining from their faces.
“U-um… Medhi! Run for it!”
“Of course! …Oh, Porta, you’d better come with!”
“Okay! I don’t really get what’s going on, but sure!”
Using Porta as a shield, Wise and Medhi beat a hasty retreat.
“Geez, those girls…”
“Oh no, they ran away! …In that case, I’ll have to start with you, Ma-kun. You were also part of this secret plan, weren’t you?”
“Erk… That backfired… The whole keep-the-casino-secret-from-Mom plan was originally my idea, but… Oh, I know!”
Time to use what he’d learned.
“Hey, hey, Mommyyyy! How ’bout we just laugh this one off, okaaaay?” he pleaded in his most spoiled voice. That should do it. Mamako would definitely forgive—
“Hee-hee, not this time.” Grin.
“Wait, she’s not going into spoil mode?”
“But if you promise that next time you’ll say ‘Mommy, you should come with us!’ then I might just forgive you.”
“Mm? Maybe she is? …What’s going on?”
The heroic son had a long road ahead before he would truly understand the art of spoiling children.
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