Stahlia, Twenty Years Old, December 25th 2030
I woke up to the bite of cold air on my exposed legs. “Uwah!” I groaned and scrabbled blindly with my hands, trying to find the covers so I could pull them back up. Rather than covers, my hand met something soft and warm. This should work… I dragged the soft warm and giggling thing up and wrapped myself around it, seeking the heat that had abandoned me.
“Kaasaaan! Get up, it’s time for presents!” I slowly blinked open my eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. What met my gaze was the face of my catkin adopted daughter, Pet. The fourteen-year-old had evidently dragged my blanket away to force me to wake up faster.
“Right… is auntie Elienor here yet?” Elienor would spend most of the holidays over at our estate, as her mother had been unable to find a man willing to take the wild daughter as a wife, or even a concubine, she had wound up being disowned upon turning fifteen. It was actually a blessing in disguise for her; free from any semblance of restriction she had managed to come into her own and was now a fairly accomplished knight. Her specialty was guarding noblewomen, and she had even started a new Knight’s Order made up of entirely female knights that served in this capacity. They called themselves the Valkyries.
I sat up and pet my daughter’s head. Even as she grew older, it was something she never seemed to grow out of. “Right, well I’m up. Go out and get set up while I dress.” Pet jumped up and dashed out of the room at speed. Glancing over at the empty space next to me, I couldn’t help but sigh. Look’s like he’ll miss this year as well… My husband, Dominic, was constantly absent. I had done my best to be a devoted wife following our marriage but after the first anniversary, it was like he grew bored.
Now I could count on one hand the number of months he would spend at home. Despite his hatred toward demi-humans, he just sort of nodded and signed the papers when I told him I was freeing, and then adopting, Pet. Still, it was better for my daughter this way; she never quite managed to overcome her traumas regarding my spouse.
I got out of bed and put a robe over my nightgown and went over to the window to look out and see the fresh snow. From my twentieth-floor condo, I could look out over a decent amount of the city. On the streets below, a few cars were pushing their way through the snow, and a couple of pedestrians were moving down the sidewalk. In the distance, I could see the sun just peeking up above the city skyline. Wait, since when did I live in a highrise? A feeling of strangeness washed over me for a moment before a call from the adjacent room grabbed my attention.
“Kaaasaaaan! You said you would be right oouuutttt!”
I smiled ruefully and shook off the feeling of unrest before making my way out into the room. A tree stood in the corner, with a dozen or so wrapped packages strewn beneath it. Pet was sitting right in front of it, her eyes glinting as she eyed one of the packages that had her name on it. Elienor was sitting in an armchair while, to my surprise, Rosial was sitting with Jacqueline at the bar counter.
“Rosial! I didn’t think you would make it this year!” Ever since we had rescued her, Rosial had, after recovering from her traumas, been working with Jacqueline to try and save other children trapped in the same situation as she had been. Jacqueline nodded, “It was tight, but we managed to wrap up our last mission in time to make it back. I am glad to see you doing well, Lady Stahlia.”
I chuckled, “Jacqueline, you don’t work for me anymore, you don’t have to call me lady.” She just smiled and shook her head, a polite way of refusing to relent.
I glanced around the room and confirmed that neither of my mothers or fathers were here. Since my second lives’ parents were back in Ris village serving as the village head that was to be expected, but I had been hoping to see my first lives’ parents again. Again, a feeling of unease came over me until Pet came up and shook my arm.
“Kaasan, can we start… please…?” I looked into her upturned eyes, which blew away my misgivings and nodded.
“Yaay!” Pet darted over to the tree, and I went to the sofa Elienor was on and sat next to her. As we watched Pet tearing into the gift she had selected Elienor addressed me in a quiet voice. “You know this won’t work right?” I tilted my head.
“What do you mean? Everyone is happy.” Elienor shook her head.
“Stali, are YOU happy?”
I opened my mouth to retort, of course, I was. I had everything I wanted. But I couldn’t make the words come out. Before Elienor or I could say anything more on the subject, we were interrupted by a happy squeal. Turning in the direction of the sound, I saw that Pet had just finished opening her present, and had discovered the Manga box set of her favorite Shoujo.
I smiled and wished I could take a picture, unfortunately, cameras didn’t exist in this world. Suddenly, a bright flash illuminated the room. Turning to the right, I saw Rosial holding a smartphone with the camera lens pointed at Pet. “Sorry, that was so adorable, I just had to take a picture.” Wait, a smartphone? Where did she get that? I felt my head start to hurt, as another wave of unease came over me.
I snapped out of it when Pet stuffed a present into my arms. Glancing down, I ruffled her hair. “Thank you, I love it!” Pet puffed out her cheeks.
“You haven’t even opened it yet!”
I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need to open it to know I’ll love it.” Pet simply glared at me, urging me on with her gaze. I chuckled and removed the wrapping paper, revealing a vinyl of Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson. Wait, how did a vinyl of a song from Earth wind up here? My headache and unease returned, this time accompanied by a loud buzzing in both of my ears.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting up late with Elienor. Pet had gone to bed some time ago, while Rosial and Jacqueline weren’t able to stay; the two of them were technically fugitives, so they couldn’t stay in one place for too long. Elienor turned to me, and over her glass of wine continued our previous topic.
“You aren’t happy are you?” I wanted to retort, to claim that I really was, but I couldn’t make the words come out. Finally, I relented and admitted it.
“No, I’m not happy. Something about my life these past ten years just feels fake… I tried to look back for an example, but to my shock, I had no memories between waking up this morning and going to sleep with Elienor and Pet one night ten years ago. With my Eidetic Memory talent, I shouldn’t have been able to just forget ten years… I frowned, then winced. The buzzing was getting louder.
“No, you aren’t happy. This life you lead, it’s a fake.” Elienor was leaning in close to me now. I couldn’t help but notice the faint glisten on her lips and the way the red lipstick contrasted her pale skin. With a start, I turned my head away.
“Lady Elienor, I am married to your brother, I do believe you are going too far.” Elienor frowned, but did not pull back.
“Does it really matter? After all this…”
The buzzing in my ears was now unbearable, but with her last line it stopped completely. Vanishing as if it had nover been there before as everything, all the inconsistencies and discrepancies clicked into place. I finished her sentence”
“…is a dream, isn’t it?”
With a start I sat up in bed. I blinked, slowly adjusting. Before long, I had regained my bearings; I was lying in bed next to Pet, with Elienor on the far side. So everything that just happened was a dream… Pet is still a slave, I haven’t married Dominic, I haven’t rescued Rosial, Jacqueline is still my vassal, and Elienor… As I recalled the final event of my dream sequence, I happened to notice Elienor’s sleeping face in the dim light.
What the hell!? Why did I have a dream with something like that!? Carefully, so as not to jostle the bed, I checked myself over. Thankfully, things were still dry. Hurrah for small victories. I mean, we didn’t even kiss so there’s no reason I should have… Damnit all! I hate this, I just want my body and mind to be normal and not freak out over the smallest thing! Forget! Forget! Forget! Of course, due to my talent, now that I had spent so long thinking about it after waking up, forgetting my dream was impossible.
Merry Xmas everyone!
Jacqueline nodded.
“It was tight, but we managed to wrap up our last mission in time to make it back. I am glad to see you doing well, Lady Stahlia.” I chuckled.
“Jacqueline,
I believe this section should be restructure to:
Jacqueline nodded, "It was[...] ."
I chuckled, "Jacqueline, [...]"
As it is right now it almost seems like Stahlia is saying the "It was tight" paragraph when she's really chuckling at Jacqueline's comment and then responding after. My thoughts.
Sweet Dream, by Marilyn Manson.
Typo: Sweet Dream*S* and No comma needed there. Great cover though.
Thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter, and Merry Christmas
My guess is that Dominic had something to do with the dream
Maybe it was Elienor? She seems a lil suspicious with how out of the norm she acts. But at least for now not getting any malicious vibes from her like her brother.
@Khii She could be a reincarnater along with Sarala and Edith. We could be 90% sure Sarala is a reincarnater based on her magic talent (she couldn't normally leveled up her magic talent to a high level with her abysmal mana capacity without a special class or skill). And Edith and Eienor are totally out of norm. It could also explain the close bond between Edith and Sarala and why they are interested in Stahlia (they could have guessed she is a reincarnater based on her post achivement and discovery)
@Loliconhanter wait, why do we think Edith is a reincarnation? Outside of her having a commoner friend what makes her seem like a reincarnation? We know Dom is a reincarnation and he's drastically different from Stahlia so it's not like this works has your stereotypical Japanese Boi reincarnator making soy sauce and bathtubs to judge from. At best I guess the tsundere is the one giveaway (assuming that isn't a term of that world).
@Cypresslb
(assuming that isn't a term of that world).
It isn't
@Cypresslb there was the chapter from Dom's POV that showed he was a reincarnator too. I'm suspecting much of the younger generation to be reincarnators, though EvilGod didn't seem to give them all the same treatment, some may not have kept full memories/personality like it seems with Stahlia and probably Dominic. Could be wrong but Dominic didn't mention anything like a character creator like Stahlia had, so maybe they pop into the world in different ways?
And it could just be this generation is blessed to hide EvilGod's "favorite?" Stahlia and maybe theres very few reincarnators. Though the gods conference POV hinted that maybe they were overloading the system with them so maybe theres way more than we even suspect?
Whatever way its interesting as heck and making my imagination go crazy (wondering if any reincarnators went the monster route and would Stahlia ever even encounter them?)
@Khii I'll clarify a couple of things.
EvilGod didn't seem to give them all the same treatment, some may not have kept full memories/personality like it seems with Stahlia and probably Dominic.
Specifically, there have been three different Methods shown so far.
1. Stahlia is an "Invitee" She was given a pre-mortem invitation, and able to design much of her NewLife(tm).
2. Dominic is a "Selection" He was picked up after a natural death. He was given the classic isekai treatment with little to no control.
3. The extra soul from Extra Chapter: The Watchers was an "Accident" or "Kidnapped". They had no control and didn't even get a face-to-face with god before being reincarnated.
Technically, everyone is a reincarnation. But not everybody keeps their memories and gets above average abilities to reflect this. I'm operating on the idea of a "cycle" that mixes souls across various worldlines. This hasn't been mentioned yet (first comes up in one of next week's chapters actually), but since it's a bit of a trope I don't mind saying it outright.
@Psycholor Oh wow, didn't think it would be a universe with everyone just dying and reincarnating in different worlds/dimensions.
@Khii I may be wrong but I get the impression that reincarnations that remember their previous lived are rare. We've seen multiple PoVs, even if some were for only a moment, and only Dom (outside extra chapter) showed any kind of reincarnation memories (I need to reread the extra chapter because I don't remember that part). Nobody has mentioned anything at any point that made us suspect them of being reincarnated except for Stahlia and Dom. Nobody has ever noticed or brought up any chemistry besides Stahlia. I just don't think it's very common (for them to keep memories). You'd think someone in the Capital would point out the food that doesn't exist in the world normally that was brought in by Dom.
I just think if even a minority a the younger generation, let alone a majority, someone would've done something similar to Stahlia already, made themselves aware to her or someone else.
@Cypresslb But i wonder too, you take an average person with generic life knowledge. For instance, how many will remember how a toilet works, without modern day tools how to replicate much of what we use, how hard would it be to make. We all know the definition of plumbing, but all the principles making it work? the food prep processes today are way different too than before due to advances in sanitation and storage. Stahlia being a chemistry student who works closely with tools and the processes involved and was highly intelligent would have an idea on how to attempt to rig something together to make what she did(and was really neat how author described it)
If it were me not sure i could do much of bringing earth invention over to isekai, not without time dedicated to refresh myself on the basics and have alot of trial and error, which in a harsher world most people probably wouldn't have much time to spare after daily work and chores? Though a skill like eidedic memory might help alot with bringing what you might need to mind but it didn't seem like it was easy to get for those that don't have much time to do alot of reading?(or whatever prereqs it needed)
Wow went on a ramble there, you could very well be right, but i think an alt explination could just be that many reincarnators are just average people or ones with mismatched life skills to their new area and thus don't stand out as much?
@Khii Very true your points about how difficult it would be to just replicate most of the things we use in our lives and that it's possible that someone may not realize they're looking at something made with "future technology".
Unlike your average Isekai Protagonist™ who seems to have in depth knowledge about almost everything in real life people specialize and learn/remember things they deal with often and intimately. I may work with high voltage lines and generators but good luck me trying to create a mini-electric grid. We all may understand toilets and plumbing generally but a lot of people would be lost or create very imperfect plumbing. I've come to prefer stories where the Isekai isn't some genius about everything. You want to tell me they know chemistry or they know guns or something that's fine. Just don't tell me they're an expert chef, food chemist, theoretical physicist, electrical engineer, nutritionist, etc all in one.
@Cypresslb
Just don't tell me they're an expert chef, food chemist, theoretical physicist, electrical engineer, nutritionist, etc all in one.
B-b-but they were studying for trivia mobile games/went through phases before losing interest and grabbing a new hobby!
@Psycholor We love you Psycholor *pat pat*
@Psycholor 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Psycholor gets it!