Chapter 215: Grandma Hedwig’s Memories |
Morale Support: Scherzo
Patreon: https://patreon.com/ScherzoTranslations
—————–
In Hedwig’s eyes, her own son was always so dazzling.
She was illiterate herself, her husband died early, and she relied on selling pies with her ancestral secret recipe to painstakingly raise her child. Fortunately, her son, Sirius, was very capable. He awakened magical talent, received a full scholarship for school, and entered the Astar Advanced Magic Academy to study.
Hedwig believed that anyone who had received an education was a big shot, especially a mage. In her simple beliefs, a mage who could command the winds and control lightning was akin to a legendary god from myths, and her son was one amongst the best.
Sirius didn’t like living at home, which Hedwig understood. The Belen Apartments were too noisy, with all sorts of people living there, affecting Sirius’s rest and studies.
But Hedwig couldn’t understand why Sirius said his thesis hadn’t been accepted.
Since that day two years ago, Sirius had become somewhat strange. He often muttered to himself, and spent more time at home.
Hedwig, of course, believed her son. Even if the whole world doubted Sirius, she would believe him.
She was certain her son was right, and those so-called mentors were surely wrong.
To this, Sirius only smiled.
“Mom, you don’t even know how to read. How can you be so sure I’m right?”
“I just know. My son must be right.”
Hedwig replied confidently as she packed up, preparing to push the cart out.
Life had to go on. Hedwig glanced once more at her son sitting at the table, staring at his thesis, and said nothing.
She had a secret.
Hedwig used to sell food near the Astar Advanced Magic Academy. On one hand, she hoped to “accidentally” bump into her son, and on the other hand, the students here were generous spenders and liked her pies.
During casual chats, Hedwig mentioned her son’s thesis. At that time, someone told her about some “methods” to pay to have one’s thesis submitted to the school’s archives. Many wealthy people liked to do this.
Hedwig immediately felt excited. After careful inquiry, she finally arranged the deal for today.
First, she sold her pies as usual on the commercial street. To her surprise, business was exceptionally good today, making Hedwig feel like her luck might have turned.
In the afternoon, after selling most of her pies, Hedwig went to wait at the entrance of a shop on the commercial street.
After about a quarter of an hour, a man approached Hedwig and asked in a low voice.
“Are you the one who wants to submit the thesis?”
He scrutinized Hedwig, somewhat disbelieving that this woman could write a thesis.
“Yes, this is my son’s thesis.”
Saying this, Hedwig was about to take out the bound thesis she had secretly taken from those copies. Her son never let her touch those theses, but Hedwig treasured them and kept them safe in a box.
The man quickly stopped her.
“Wait, let’s keep a low profile. First, give me the money. Two gold coins, or two hundred silver coins.”
Two gold coins, an income Hedwig might not earn even after working hard for a year.
The mother gritted her teeth and took out a bag.
This bag was her savings accumulated over the years. Originally, she wanted to wait until Sirius graduated and then they would move to a bigger house, so Sirius could confidently invite Lisa to their home.
She knew Sirius thought the Belen Apartments were too dirty and chaotic to bring a girl over, so Hedwig didn’t mention it much.
But now, to get Sirius’s thesis recognized, Hedwig was willing to spend this money.
The man took the money bag, opened it, and besides silver coins, there were also many copper coins, each coin with mottled marks, obviously accumulated by Hedwig over the years.
The man raised an eyebrow, somewhat moved, but still accepted the money bag, then retorted.
“Give me the thesis.”
Hedwig then handed the thesis to the man with both hands.
The man glanced at it and then put it away, instructing Hedwig to wait there while he entered the campus.
Hedwig felt a little anxious. She didn’t mind the money, she just didn’t know if it would be successful, if Sirius’s thesis would really be accepted.
Time passed second by second, and finally, after an hour, the man came out from a side gate of the school and found Hedwig.
“This is the thesis number, this is the registration proof, all of which can be verified. If you’re not confident, you can come to the archives tomorrow to check.”
The man said, handing a document to Hedwig.
Hedwig took the document, smiling happily. She carefully put it in her pocket, thanking the man repeatedly.
“Thank you, thank you.”
The man reminded Hedwig not to tell anyone else about this, then left.
Hedwig looked at the document in her hand. She couldn’t read, but she could recognize her son’s name on it. She looked at it again and again before finally putting it away, pushing the cart across half of Tristan City and back to her tiny home.
Sirius had already gone out. He had been going out often lately, and Hedwig didn’t ask too much. Compared to before, when Sirius stayed at home all the time, he was much more normal now.
Hedwig chatted with the neighbors about recent events while preparing dinner. By the time the sun was setting, Sirius had returned home.
He said nothing, sat down at the table, picked up a pen, and started scribbling on thesis, until Hedwig called him for dinner.
Dinner was simple: a few slices of bread, a bowl of thick soup made from the leftover minced meat filling of the pies, along with some vegetables. Sirius mechanically ate, and Hedwig wanted to tell him about what she had done today, but she held back the thought.
Sirius’s biggest taboo was doing things through illegitimate means. He surely wouldn’t like that his thesis wasn’t recognized, and only entered the archives due to money.
Hedwig saw everything she did as a last resort. She thought about it: next month was her son’s birthday. She would tell him this news on that day, giving him a surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
Sirius saw that his mother seemed unusually happy. He put down the soup bowl filled with meat chunks and asked.
“It’s nothing, you should have some more meat.”
Hedwig shook her head and ladled another large spoonful of meaty soup into Sirius’s bowl.
