Chapter 25 – Feels Good to be Back (Aria’s POV)
These past few years have been kinda bland. Nothing much happened other than attending various lectures. Some of the subjects were easier than others, especially mathematics. In this world, mathematics isn’t totally basic, but it’s still far behind that of Earth.
That being said, I’m not having an easy time just because I had a vague idea of the concepts in my previous life. I scored a little above average in physics, which is a Scholar department’s exclusive subject.
Along with magic related subjects, they have some toned down version of science related subjects for the Scholar department students.
I had yet to study most of the scientific concepts in my previous life when I died, so I have to work with what’s been discovered here.
Mana-comm quickly spread over the country. The coverage reached every major city in the country, and it proved to be the most effective way to communicate throughout the world. Many countries offered me various offers to establish mana-comm in their regions, but I delayed the talks until my debt was cleared.
Once that was taken care of, I wanted to make this research public. So, I only published the theory behind the enchantment, which was like 80% of the work. And left the rest for them to figure out on their own.
By doing so, my business would also keep making a profit, and every other country could learn from the example of Carnia Kingdom (AN: where the MCs live), and further improve the technology in due time.
To prevent any misuse of this technology, I wrote a letter to all the royals throughout the region, warning them about the possible misuse of technology and the method to detect any illegal mana-wave transfers. I suggested that they control the frequency of the mana waves in their regions so that they can track down any malicious activities.
I trained my skill, Eyes of Gregor, to level 3, and now I can see the type and purity of mana in the mana stones. That was a pretty cool skill in itself. Now I won’t need to rely on any appraiser to check the type of mana stones.
Leveling it was hard, because it would drain my mana very quickly, and the only way to level up skills is to practice them. That's where the boost came in handy, and I made some nice progress.
Another quest popped up, shortly after completing the first one. This one was to simply aid in other people’s research as their apprentice, which I was already doing with the professor. So I can expect a good amount of EXP reward from this quest before graduating.
About my friends, Sophia has grown a lot more comfortable with me recently. Previously, I always felt like she was putting up a confident front. But over the years, she gradually changed into a much more confident and reliable version of herself. We often helped each other with studies, because I was enrolled in a few business related subjects and she was weak in mathematics.
Miss Carolina was unable to see through my disguise, so I had to confront her. Due to her honest nature, her reaction was priceless. It was a miracle that she managed to keep my identity a secret. She said she can control her words if she focuses, but her words hit where it hurts. For example, the first thing she said after I revealed my identity was that I looked ugly now.
It’s not like I wanted this look.
Sigh
Beatrice didn’t show any characteristics of being a villainess over these years. She was never caught bullying other people or harassing poor children.
I was doubtful of her intentions towards me, but she never spoke to me, and the gifts kept appearing on my doorstep every once in a while. Somewhere down the line, she managed to gather her courage and left a note saying ‘From Beatrice Rose’ on the present.
A small part of me believed that she wasn’t the villainess she was meant to be. What if she is a reincarnator as well? Or maybe she isn’t, and she put aside her enmity towards me, and genuinely wanted to be friends with me.
I pushed her away without even giving her a chance. Yet she never stopped sending me those presents.
Sigh, now I feel bad.
Aargh, I am going to do it! I need to confirm my doubts, and today might be the last chance to do so.
After all, today is the day Beatrice graduates. And today is the day when she meets the protagonist and the novel truly begins.
I attended her batch’s graduation ceremony and found her saying her goodbyes to her friends. Needless to say, she was very popular.
I left the academy and followed her. I saw her boarding her carriage and kept following her from a distance.
According to the novel, the protagonist should encounter her while helping a little boy out of the way of her carriage in the outer city.
Just as expected, I spotted the protagonist stepping in their way and pulling the little boy out. He yelled at the driver, saying he should watch his way or the boy could have been injured.
After this, Beatrice should step out of the carriage, ignore the little guy, and ask the protagonist to follow her.
I waited for Beatrice to step out, and I was ready to intervene.
But…
She never stepped out, the driver apologized, and they continued their journey.
That confirmed my suspicions. Either she is a reincarnator herself, or this world isn’t necessarily following the novel’s plotline.
Either way, I missed my chance to talk to a possible reincarnator, and now I’ll have to wait for another opportunity to present itself.
***
Carolina graduated shortly after and went back home. I asked her to join me in researching, but she had her own matters to take care of.
So I asked her to contact me if she ever changes her mind, and I bid her goodbye.
After a year and a half, Sophia graduated before me due to having enrolled in fewer courses than me.
After graduation, Sophia had many decent proposals to work at. But she declined them to join my company, as we had discussed beforehand.
Her home was a bit further away from mine, but on the same route. So instead of leaving directly, I asked her to stay here for a couple of months and head there together with me after my graduation.
She can spend some time at her home, and return back to Swindfort after a couple of weeks to start working.
Her financial situation isn’t that dire, but hiring adventurers for such a long distance can cost a pretty penny.
She happily obliged, and I got her accommodated in the same inn as my mercenary.
I cleared the quest and it gave me 30 EXP, which was pretty much the standard growth rate for A or B grade Talent.
Two months later,
I graduated, bid farewell to all of my acquaintances and began my journey home with Sophia and a bunch of adventurers.
Our dear protagonist was about to join as well, but I declined because he needs to go north at this point of time to meet a new member of his future harem and miraculously save a small village on the way. So, he can't come south with me. I hope he didn’t find it rude.
I came here about five years ago with my dad at the age of 10, well, physical age of 10. And now I am returning as a young adult, with a huge company by my name and the title of ‘genius of the century’.
I’ve heard ridiculous exaggerations on the streets, saying I single handedly made the whole Mana-comm device on my own and so on. I found them funny, and it was nice seeing people appreciate the Mana-comm device so much.
What I’m most excited about is returning home as soon as possible and never leaving Letty alone ever again.
Her letters never ceased to bring a smile to my face. And when I finally managed to talk to her over mana-comm, I realized how much I missed just spending time with her.
She is an indispensable part of my life.
I can’t wait to tease and play around with her, just like we used to.
***
Days passed by, and the excitement of returning kept me awake at night. On the late morning of the fourth day, we reached home.
Oh dear, I didn’t mean to shed any tears. I’ve gotten a lot more emotional ever since dying in my past life, that’s for sure.
“Cheer up, Aria. We’ve finally reached your home. You don’t want them to greet them with a crying face, do you?” Sophia tried to cheer me up.
“Hehe, thanks for that. I’m just so happy to be back”
“I know, you daddy’s girl”
Hah, ever since she heard my conversation with Dad, she won’t stop teasing me.
I spotted everyone waiting by the gate. Mom, Dad, Letty, some guards, and a few maids. As soon as the carriage stopped, I leapt out and pulled all three of them in a group hug.
“I’m back!”
“My baby”
“Welcome back, dear”
“You are finally here”, it’s not that hard to guess who said what.
As soon as we broke the hug, Mom pulled me into another hug with her signature move, which is to plant my face in her bosom.
My face, however, landed just above her cleavage due to my increased height.
“I missed you so much! How was your journey?”, she asked.
“I missed you too, Mom. And the journey was alright”, I felt a mischievous stare from behind. “Mom, stop. My friend is here, you are embarrassing me”
She let go of me after a while.
I turned to look at Letty. She has grown so much since the last time I saw her. She is 17 years old, and in addition to gaining height, her figure has matured beautifully. She was tiny back then, but now she is at least my height.
Her breasts have grown a bit too much. Their size can rival Mom’s. Meanwhile, I didn’t grow all that much. They are barely A-cup! Where are my Mom’s genes?
I dismissed the useless banter in my head, and pulled her into a hug.
“I missed you so so much. I promise that from now onward I’ll never leave anywhere without you”, I said.
I felt her sobs in my embrace.
“I-I missed you too. I c-can’t believe that you are f-finally back. I waited so l-long, and now you’re here”, her voice muffled due to sobbing.
“Cheer up, Dummy. I’m here now” I patted her head, and she eventually calmed down. Due to our heights being closer to each other, our hug and the head pat turned out a little awkward.
“Cough, Now if you guys are done, let’s head inside the house and continue our celebration there” Mom said.
I broke our hug and said, “We’ll carry on later, okay?”
“Un”, she nodded.
“Wait, where is my hug?” Dad opened his arms.
In the corner of my eye, I spotted Sophia grinning at me while Mom was welcoming her.
“No, you’ve already embarrassed me enough. Humph”
We made our way to the dining hall for a feast in celebration of my return as well as the success of Mana-comm. We ate our fill as the butler played piano in the background, and we enjoyed our reunion.
Sophia is going to depart tomorrow morning with the same adventurers we came here with. Although the route is relatively safe, I figured they might as well go all the way.
I really need to work on this bad habit of spending money unnecessarily.