Chapter 79. Going Back to Normal

With a heavy sigh, I plopped myself on the mattress of the room. I let myself feel the soft texture of the pillow under my face for a moment, before turning to the side to look at the swaying curtains of the window and the dim light of the moon. It had taken a while to finally leave the building around the Tainted Land, so it was already night time.

I was warned by Oliver to stay for a while longer after Asteora left so that all the people in the place would go after her and leave me alone. But I didn’t expect there would be so many people still waiting to get a word out of Bo’guth or anyone that had been inside his office—including me.

Thanks to Oliver’s efforts, I wasn’t talked to by anyone who glanced at me, especially after I changed into the Academy’s uniform.

According to what I was told, Oliver managed to sway the public’s idea of who I was and in what way I was related to Asteora by simply claiming that me and Nicole were just people working under her, and that therefore, there was nothing that we could discuss.

Bo’guth didn’t enjoy that kind of treatment, however, as he wasn’t completely related to Asteora or her activities, so there were still plenty of people who were swarming him when he finally left his office. It was amusing to see such a large demon being flustered and annoyed by a group of normal humans, who weren’t even trying to kill him, but begging for him to speak.

And yet, he managed to get away from it by shouting that he was under a… ‘Non-Disclosure Agreement’… whatever that might mean. It amazed me to see him claim such a thing when nothing of the sorts was agreed upon inside his office. Oliver went as far as to say that he could do and say whatever he wanted.

As I was thinking about those things and looking at the curtains, and feeling how my mind was drifting off to sleep, the phone that was still in the pocket of the uniform I was still wearing suddenly vibrated, waking me once more.

I annoyingly reached for it, turning the bright screen that forced me to narrow my eyes as I tried to see who was calling. It was Nicole.

There wasn’t a lot of charge left on the artifact, and I wanted to sleep already, but if it was just hearing what the young girl had to say, then I could spare a few minutes.

“Hello?”

“Hey! Althea! How did it go for you there?” she asked, her voice just as merry as it usually was.

“It was bothersome, but I think there shouldn’t be any issues with those people,” I said, sitting up by the edge of the mattress.

“Oh really? ‘Cause I was looking at things online, and there’s a lot of people talking about Asteora and…” she trailed off momentarily, “There’s also a lot of people saying that you’re the Hero of the Holy Gods already.”

Hearing her say that, I jolted up slightly. “How could that be? Asteora’s assistant said that he had handled it.”

“Well… He might say that, but at the end of it all, it doesn’t stop people from talking… more so when it comes to people that could recognize your face,” she said, an awkward tone from her voice as if she didn’t want to go against Oliver’s claims.

“But—” I started, but sighed, shaking my head. “I guess I’ll have to talk to Asteora about this…”

“Hehe, well, there’s really very little that can be done. The best thing you could do, I think, would be to just deny it if people ask you about it, because there’s a few people that get really angry when they talk about you…” she said, “Like really, I’ve heard a little bit about you, but the way some people talk, it’s like you were the devil or something.”

“Heh,” I mocked, “I might’ve just been.”

“Really…? Well it doesn’t seem that way to me, but if you were, then at least you’re good now, right?”

I considered her words as I turned to look out the window and to the dark skies. I could barely see the stars in it, but I wasn’t sure if in this world there just weren’t that many stars in the sky, or if there was another reason for it.

And just like comparing the skies between my world and this world, the only thing that I knew had changed within me here and how I was in Arretia was the powers that I wield… However, I couldn’t be sure yet if I had changed for the better or not, as even in my world, I was convinced that I was doing what was the best for everyone.

“Althea?” Nicole asked after the moment of silence.

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I’m just trying to do what I think is best…”

Nicole hummed in response for a moment. “Isn’t that what’s important? To do your best?”

I softly smiled and shook my head, as if the girl could actually see me. “I did my best and… it cost both me and my world a lot for it. At the end of it all, the only thing that matters is what remains.”

“Eh… well… I don’t know,” she said, not convinced about my answer. “It doesn’t matter, I think. We should focus on what comes next! And that is… you’re going back to the Institute, right?”

I nodded, standing up from the mattress to walk over to where the sleeping clothes were placed. “Yes. I still have to train, and Asteora gave me the mission to be strong enough to beat Reeta.”

“The Beastkin coach! I love her, she’s like, super strong and wild! And—oh!” she suddenly exclaimed, humming once more. “I wonder if I’m going to have to train with her as well…”

I didn’t know what plans Asteora had in store for Nicole, but it could be a good opportunity for her to strengthen her body. “You could go, see her, and try for yourself.”

“Eh… well… I heard that she punches everyone that walks into the gym as soon as she can… which is why I had refused to even go see her… so I’m not sure if I want to do that.”

“Hmm… you might be stronger than you think now,” I replied.

I wasn’t sure about how a Deviant worked, but from what I remembered, she got stronger much faster than any normal person did—at least when it came to her fire magic.

“If you say so… I’ll go check it out. But if she tries to punch me, you’re going to protect me, right?!”

“I’m not sure how well Reeta’s going to take it if I get in her way. If it does come down to that… at least I can heal you later,” I said, crouching over the few oversized pieces of clothes and picking the few that I got used to wearing.

“T-that doesn’t sound too nice!” she exclaimed. “Maybe I should wait until later and just do whatever Lady Asteora tells me, hahahaha.”

I looked at the clothes in my hand and turned to the bathroom. “That’s up to you.” It was then that the phone vibrated again. I looked at it and the message that warned about it having low battery. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk about? The phone’s battery is almost drained, and I wish to sleep now.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Oh! Hm… not really. I just wanted to see how everything turned out after all that noise in the Magic Red Zone. But you’re right. I’m also tired and I need to sleep as well, more so now that I’m in my comfy bed,” she replied. “Then, I’ll see ya later!”

I nodded, looked at the phone and ended the call. I realized then that she couldn’t see me when I responded with a nod, but knowing her, she’ll likely not mind it.

As if to refute what I believed, a message followed right after from her.

It read: “Rude to just hang up like that!” with the drawing of an angry face.

I clumsily wrote back: “Sorry.”

With the drawing of a smiling face she sent: “It’s okay. Have a good night!”

As I was trying to reply the same thing to her, the phone suddenly turned off. I looked around for the charger, connected it to the string, and finally made my way to the bathroom for a quick shower and then to rest.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up as early as I usually did, got ready to leave and walked outside much more refreshed after finally sleeping in a comfortable bed. This time, the people on the streets that were usually rushing would stop to look at me for a moment.

It wasn’t rare for men to do so, but this time I wasn’t sure if it was because they recognized me, or if they were simply looking at me. Regardless, I wasn’t going to stop to find out, so I turned in the direction of the Academy, and walked at a brisk pace to avoid being recognized if they hadn’t already.

“I’m here,” I heard from one side and close to my ear, causing me to urgently turn to look at whoever had spoken to me.

There was nobody in the direction that I looked, only the few people that were rushing and nothing else. The thought that perhaps someone had sneaked up on me crossed my mind, but something like that hadn’t happened in a long time.

Perhaps I was hearing the whispers of the Holy Gods once more…

When that idea crossed my mind, I could feel some of the blood drain from my face, but as I was about to enter a panic, I heard the voice once more saying, “Don’t be alarmed. It’s me, Asteora. I’m just concealed to avoid all of the annoyances from yesterday. I’m just letting you know that I’m here because I told you I wasn’t going to spy on you anymore.”

I calmed down after she said that and I realized that I did know that voice and that there was no need for me to be worried. Still, I couldn’t help but turn all over, trying to find her, but regardless of how much I looked around, I couldn’t see nor sense her.

With Darkness and Hellfire flowing in my body, I heightened my senses and tried once more, but even after doing so, I couldn’t see exactly where she was; only a faint presence that could be mistaken for any of the people that were currently walking by me and giving me strange looks.

I decided to ignore those looks and keep on walking to the Academy while keeping in mind that Asteora was currently moving with me, even if I couldn’t see her. “I’m not going to talk to you. People are already giving me strange looks.”

I heard a soft chuckle coming from my side, before she answered, “Didn’t you use to pray all the time to the Holy Gods, claiming that they were talking to you when others couldn’t hear them? What’s there to be embarrassed about?—Besides, if you’re worried about talking to nothing, you could just take out your phone and act as if you’re talking with someone.”

Following what she said, I reached for the phone in my pocket, but stopped myself once I was touching it as I really didn’t see a reason to do that. “No. I think I’ll just quietly walk to the Academy instead. I would prefer to talk when we can talk.”

“Suit yourself,” she replied, and didn’t say more as I walked to the Academy.

I didn’t see anyone I knew one the way there, and since Nicole didn’t stay with me last night, she was probably going to be taking some of those other strange classes that she had. The desire to ask Asteora what she was planning to do with Nicole jumped at me, but I shook my head and decided to put it on for another time, as I didn’t want strangers around me to listen and then ask questions—even if a lot of people appeared to be lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

By the time I reached the usual classroom, there were already a handful of other students waiting inside. They were mostly quietly doing their own thing, be that having their phones in their hands, testing a simple magic spell, or just whispering things to each other.

A few of them turned to look at me for a moment, but they didn’t linger in their gaze as they turned their attention back to whatever they were doing. I had to admit that it was surprising to see that none of them had shown any particular interest for me, since Nicole said that there were people talking about me online, but perhaps it wasn’t as widespread as she led me to believe.

I moved over to the usual place that I sat and waited for the classroom to fill.

“Quite amusing to see you doing this again, I must admit,” I heard Asteora speak once more, her voice much more hushed than before, however, loud enough for the other people to hear.

Despite that, nobody turned their attention to me or her, which meant that she was using magic to talk as well. I didn’t respond to her, as I neither wanted to use magic for that or respond to her commentary.

“But has it been worth it at all? Seems like a waste of time to me. You’re already a magic master, and these places are focused more on mass producing what they call ‘professionals’ than in actually sending people of quality out to the world—save for the couple of special cases that they pick, but those are not the norm,” Asteora continued, and I could sense her voice drifting from one place to another while she talked, as if she was inspecting the people in the classroom.

Acting as if I wasn’t paying attention to her, I pulled out my phone and did something similar to what the other people here were doing, which is when I noticed a couple of messages from Nicole.

‘No skipping classes today, y’hear! I know you’re perfectly okay.’ the first one read with a laughing face drawn next to it. ‘By the way, I’ll pass by the gym later, so… I’ll see ya after class!’

I slowly replied with an ‘Okay’ and turned my attention back to the classroom that was already filling.

“Ah, it’s that rich girl from yesterday,” Asteora said, now closer to me. “She really doesn’t have anything special going for her—save for the resources of her family.”

Victoria noticed me, and softly smiled as she quietly made her way to me; the whispers of the other people already increasing in volume due to how many there were. “Hey, it’s good to see you back… I was so surprised to see you in that office yesterday… you’re much more important than I thought. No wonder you’re so talented.”

“It was quite a surprise for me too,” I replied, “And… it’s nothing to think too much about. Don’t mind what Asteora said. She’s got a different view of the world than normal people do.”

I heard a scoff coming from my side, but Victoria didn’t react to it as she simply looked at me with a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you… but I also know that I still have a lot of work to do…”

“At least she’s aware of it,” Asteora followed up, and once more, I paid her no mind.

It was then that David also walked into the classroom. Like Victoria, he also quickly noticed me, widely smiled and rushed his way over. “Yo! You’re looking good. Didn’t think someone like you would end up holed up in her room for so long, but… I did see a few interesting things online about you…”

There was a moment of confusion within me when he said that, so I just turned my face to him and waited for him to continue.

“I looked into that Asteora SSS Rank Mage, or whatever, that’s been making a big fuss around here, and I found some pictures of you close to her,” he said. “Must’ve been pretty nice to see someone that powerful so close—there’s some people even claiming that they can sense her power from miles away!”

I raised an eyebrow in response. While it was true that if Asteora wanted it, she could project her power far beyond what the eye could see, she was currently suppressing her presence, so that was all nonsense.

“But there were some funny people shouting that you’re ‘The Hero of the Holy Gods!’, and I must say, sure, you might be that pretty, but honestly, if you can’t beat the coach, then they’re just talking nonsense,” he continued, waving his hand in the air in denial.

I tried my best to suppress my expression of surprise, more so because now it was someone else besides Nicole who had said that, and I didn't want to seem suspicious by reacting to it. Asteora hummed from behind me, but I didn’t know what she was currently thinking now that she knows that people know about me—despite Oliver’s efforts to avoid that happening.

Victoria’s expression also changed slightly after David spoke, so I turned to her. “Have you heard the same thing?”

“Eh?” she replied, surprised. “N-no, not really… but my daddy has been looking into that as well… mostly into you in particular, since you’re so close to Lady Asteora and I said that we were friends…”

“Wait, what?” David said, with surprise in his face this time. “You actually know her? That was something nobody was talking about online. They only said that you looked like the Hero of the Holy Gods simply because of who you were standing next to.”

“I…” I trailed off, not sure about what to say next. “I’m not really able to—”

“Okay class,” Stormwind loudly said as he walked into the classroom, interrupting me in the process and calling everyone’s attention to him. “We’ll continue with—”

Suddenly, he stopped talking when he noticed me, and for some reason, his usual wary look had changed, worrying me about what that could mean.