CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 67 - ARRIVAL

"Hey, you two. I get that you’re happy, but we need to get going."

Lovelace interrupts my conversation with my mother, but she’s right. We need to go.

Yaci and her mother also have a lot to tell each other, but they’re already ready for the march. We are the only stragglers.

So, we return to the improvised camp and pick up our stuff.

While we were talking, Lovelace had already broken the collar on Cambucy, so we have another magic user within us.

We don’t have the spare time to break all the collars at once, so we’re doing it one at a time.

:::

The rest of the journey is uneventful, and one week later we reach Yrasema Oasis.

Everyone there is waiting for us when we arrive. The entire tribe gathered at the entrance of the camp, with the elders at the front.

"Welcome, everyone!"

"Hello, Head Elder."

"Hello, Aurea. I see your raid was successful."

"Indeed. This is my mother, Lillian. Mother, this is the Head Elder of the village, Yara."

"I’m pleased to meet you, Yara. Thank you very much for taking care of my daughter all these years."

"The pleasure is mine, Lillian. And Aurea is a remarkable woman; she’s been of great help to the tribe."

"I’m glad to hear that."

"Yara! I’m back."

"Welcome home, Mimby, Yaci. I’m so glad to see everything went well."

"Yes. Everything went smoothly, and we managed to save everyone who was in there."

"That’s awesome. Now you all must be exhausted from the journey. We set up a number of extra tents by Yaci’s and Aurea’s place. You may go there and rest, and tonight we’ll have a big celebration."

Everyone’s face lit up at those words. In fact, neither I nor Lovelace was tired at all, but the girls were indeed exhausted.

So we guided them to the pointed area. There are indeed several new tents around the ones used by me, Yaci, and Lovelace.

We allocate the tents to the girls. Mimby will go back to living with Yaci, which means that I need to move out, so I’ll share another tent with my mother.

After the arrangements are made, everyone goes inside to rest. I do the same, as I want to be with Mom as much as possible.

:::

"I’m so happy you’re here, Mom!!"

"I’m happy as well. Though my biggest happiness is to see the dependable little woman you’ve become."

"I’m still a little girl, though. I’m only ten."

"I know. But you behave like an adult woman, that’s for sure. You move with the confidence of someone who has matured beyond their age."

Ugh. Am I being too obvious?

Well, I guess it’s to be expected. I had to behave as an older person to help guide the girls and give them confidence to push through the Wilds.

And, for some reason, I don’t feel bad about it. I want to be able to share this secret with my mother, of all people.

If Yaci was able to accept me as I am, surely my own mother will do the same, won’t she?

Lovelace also accepted me, but she doesn’t count. As an ageless scorpion being who created the adventuring system, was the former lover of a deity, and is capable of seeing memories, her sense of ’normal’ is unreliable.

But I don’t want to break this feeling of happiness and the smile on her face right now. I want to relish this moment. I’ll tell her another day, after she’s settled.

Oh, which reminds me.

"Mom, in a couple of weeks the tribe will resume their migration through the Barrens. We should decide what we’ll do before that happens."

"A couple of weeks is time aplenty."

"Yes, it is... But..."

"Let me just savor this moment of freedom right now. We’ll have time for planning later. Though there’s one very important thing I need to ask you."

"Huh? What is it?"

"What do you know about the world? About the nations, politics, cities, cultures, and people?"

"Huh... next to nothing, actually."

"I feared as much. You might have matured, but it all came from living a life of hardships and gathering survival skills and knowledge."

"Yeah... that’s mostly it."

"In other words, you need to go to school."

"Whaaaaaaat?"

Me? Going to school? Full of teenager brats and all that drama?? NOOOOOO.

"You are too behind in your education, young lady. It’s nice that you know how to butcher and cook a monster and are proficient in magic. But that knowledge isn’t enough."

Well, that makes sense. But it doesn’t make me want to go to school. After all those years, going back to school feels weird, to put it mildly.

But maybe that could be helpful.

"How does it work? Which school would you think of sending me to?"

"Why, the Royal Academy of East Rising, of course."

"Royal Academy?"

"Yes. It’s the school all royals go to. It has a huge library, which includes restriction sessions with very nice tomes on magic."

"How do you know what’s in the restriction sessions, mother?"

"Hehe. Probably the same way you’ll end up knowing as well. There are also books on the goddess as well, if you want that. I’ve seen you reading that tome these last days."

Yeah, I’ve been reading the tome I snitched from that priest guy. It has proven a sterile reading so far.

Which reminds me of another important question.

"That’s how you ended up knowing so much about her, including so much secret knowledge?"

"It’s one of the reasons, yes. Everyone in our family has that title, so, over the ages, some knowledge has accumulated within the family as well."

"Then, do you know about Cailleach?"

"The former lover who was betrayed and sealed? Yes. Why do you ask?"

"She’s Lovelace. I’ve rescued her from the seal and given her a new name."

"WHAT????"

"Yeah... and some of her memories were stolen by the goddess. They might be stored in some relics inside temples, so Lovelace was hoping to go search for them."

"Well, then there’s one more reason for you to go to that school. That library will be useful to her as well."

Now that you put it that way...

But I don’t want to go back to schooooool.