‘So boring.’
The phrase echoed through my mind as I tried to focus on the lecture that the teacher was giving.
I failed.
Miserably.
My life thus far has been nothing but amazing.
I have parents that dote on me constantly. Siblings who absolutely adore me. A very comfortable home. A plush bed to lay my head on every night. Delicious food each and every day. The ability to eat that delicious food three times a day.
I have all I could ask for and more. Everything that I lacked in my previous life.
But for a very specific reason, I often find myself reminiscing over the past.
‘What would my life have been if I skipped cheer practice that day?’
“Class dismissed,” the teacher said, shaking me from my daydream.
Despite my efforts, I missed the entire lecture.
“Well, it’s not like I really needed it,” I whispered to myself with a shrug.
Not to brag, but I’m quite capable when it comes to using Soulia. I’m only stuck in the elementary course because of some weird bottleneck holding me back. It seems to be halting the growth of my soul realm. The real issue is that I’m not really sure what that bottleneck actually is.
Shoving aside my thoughts, I quietly gathered my materials and made my way to the door.
Upon exiting the room, I was grabbed up by a pair of strong arms and blindfolded by their hands.
“Guess who?” the kidnapper asked.
I let out a sigh, completely unperturbed by the antics of my assailant.
“Big Sister Iska?” I questioned, playing along.
“The one and only,” she replied as she removed her hands from my eyes.
I turned around to see my sister grinning at me.
“Ready for lunch?” she asked. “Apparently Ari has something interesting to tell us about.”
‘Oh? Mayari is a total airhead ninety percent of the time but her stories are always interesting.
“Of course, Big Sis,” I return the smile.
After a few minutes of walking, we reach the canteen and quickly got in line to grab some food.
I opted for a chicken salad with nectar dressing.
Receiving my food, I made my way to our usual table, at which two of the usual four members were already seated at.
One being Mayari, the energetic redhead starfish kin. The other was her sister, the more reserved jellyfish girl, Aruna.
Both of the sisters were childhood friends of my sister, Iska. I had…trouble making friends…so they graciously allowed me to sit with them.
“I’m telling you Runa, she might just be the cutest thing to ever exist!”
I heard Mayari exclaim as I neared the table.
“Hey you two,” my sister said, coming up right behind me.
“Hey, guys!” Mayari shouted back.
Aruna gave a small wave and faint smile.
I responded with a wave of my own as I sat down.
“Took you guys long enough,” the redhead complained.
“Yeah, yeah,” my sister said. “The lines were long, so sue me. Enough of that, spill it, what’s this story you want to tell us about.”
“Not until you say please.” Mayari teased, sticking out her tongue.
“Ouch!” she suddenly yelped, rubbing the back of her head.
Aruna had immediately smacked her sister.
“Don’t tease them, Ari,” the jellyfish scolded.
“Fine, fine,” the redhead conceded, throwing her hands up into the air. “Okay, so you guys know how the two of us sometimes go on guild requests with our aunt and her party?”
My sister and I nodded in unison.
“Well, this weekend was my turn, and the request was to look for a missing party in Hell.”
The table went silent as she let that marinate in our minds for a couple of seconds.
‘Hell is the supposed resting place of the Tree, as well as one of the most dangerous places on the planet. And that's factoring out the difficulty that non-sea kin have getting there in the first place.’
“And?” Aruna prodded her sister to continue. “Just going to Hell is crazy enough but there’s more to it isn’t there?”
“Yep,” the starfish nodded smugly. “We found the team with little issue, but that’s not the kicker. The whole reason for us searching for the party wasn’t because they were in Hell. Rather than that, there were some potential dangerous individuals who entered Hell without the Guild’s permission.”
“So you found the party being attacked by these ‘individuals’?” I asked.
“Not at all cutie,” she winked. “Instead of that, we found the party safe and sound, and with them one little girl.”
“Where did she come from?” Iska asked. “And what happened to the dangerous individuals?”
“Hold on, I’m getting there,” Mayari said. “The thing is, according to their report, the party actually got easily overpowered and captured by those individuals. Along with them, the wrongdoers also kidnapped one other person. The little girl.”
“But I thought you said you found the party safe and sound?” Aruna questioned.
“We did. The party testified that the little girl had annihilated those scoundrels herself. And later on, when we brought her back for questioning, we found out that she had been living her whole life by herself in Hell.”
“Huh? Let me get this right. You’re telling me this little girl not only eliminated some people that a unified party couldn’t handle by herself, but she also lived in one of the most dangerous places on the planet alone?” my sister asked unconvinced.
“Yep.”
“How cute is she?” Aruna spoke up.
“She might just be the cutest person on the planet, but why do you ask?”
The jellyfish girl gave her sister a death glare before continuing.
“You tend to exaggerate things when it comes to cute things.”
“Rude! I’m a proud cutie connoisseur, I’ll have you know! But I’m serious, no exaggeration.”
“What’s her name, I’ll verify it with Aunt Rua this weekend.”
“You still don’t believe me?” the redhead pouted.
“Nope. What’s her name?” the jellyfish girl deadpanned.
“Runa you meanie. It’s Maua.”
“Okay, I’ll confirm with her then,” she turned to me and my sister. “I’ll tell you both what I find out.”
The conversation devolved into banter between the three childhood friends and I began to gather my thoughts about what I just learned.
‘Maua, huh? A cute girl with immense power and the ability to survive in Hell alone. Sounds interesting. Maybe she can spice up my life for a little while….at least until you get here. You sure are taking your time, aren’t you? Don’t keep me waiting too long…Brighty.’
‘So boring.’
The phrase echoed through my mind as I tried to focus on the lecture that the teacher was giving.
I failed.
Miserably.
My life thus far has been nothing but amazing.
I have parents that dote on me constantly. Siblings who absolutely adore me. A very comfortable home. A plush bed to lay my head on every night. Delicious food each and every day. The ability to eat that delicious food three times a day.
I have all I could ask for and more. Everything that I lacked in my previous life.
But for a very specific reason, I often find myself reminiscing over the past.
‘What would my life have been if I skipped cheer practice that day?’
“Class dismissed,” the teacher said, shaking me from my daydream.
Despite my efforts, I missed the entire lecture.
“Well, it’s not like I really needed it,” I whispered to myself with a shrug.
Not to brag, but I’m quite capable when it comes to using Soulia. I’m only stuck in the elementary course because of some weird bottleneck holding me back. It seems to be halting the growth of my soul realm. The real issue is that I’m not really sure what that bottleneck actually is.
Shoving aside my thoughts, I quietly gathered my materials and made my way to the door.
Upon exiting the room, I was grabbed up by a pair of strong arms and blindfolded by their hands.
“Guess who?” the kidnapper asked.
I let out a sigh, completely unperturbed by the antics of my assailant.
“Big Sister Iska?” I questioned, playing along.
“The one and only,” she replied as she removed her hands from my eyes.
I turned around to see my sister grinning at me.
“Ready for lunch?” she asked. “Apparently Ari has something interesting to tell us about.”
‘Oh? Mayari is a total airhead ninety percent of the time but her stories are always interesting.
“Of course, Big Sis,” I return the smile.
After a few minutes of walking, we reach the canteen and quickly got in line to grab some food.
I opted for a chicken salad with nectar dressing.
Receiving my food, I made my way to our usual table, at which two of the usual four members were already seated at.
One being Mayari, the energetic redhead starfish kin. The other was her sister, the more reserved jellyfish girl, Aruna.
Both of the sisters were childhood friends of my sister, Iska. I had…trouble making friends…so they graciously allowed me to sit with them.
“I’m telling you Runa, she might just be the cutest thing to ever exist!”
I heard Mayari exclaim as I neared the table.
“Hey you two,” my sister said, coming up right behind me.
“Hey, guys!” Mayari shouted back.
Aruna gave a small wave and faint smile.
I responded with a wave of my own as I sat down.
“Took you guys long enough,” the redhead complained.
“Yeah, yeah,” my sister said. “The lines were long, so sue me. Enough of that, spill it, what’s this story you want to tell us about.”
“Not until you say please.” Mayari teased, sticking out her tongue.
“Ouch!” she suddenly yelped, rubbing the back of her head.
Aruna had immediately smacked her sister.
“Don’t tease them, Ari,” the jellyfish scolded.
“Fine, fine,” the redhead conceded, throwing her hands up into the air. “Okay, so you guys know how the two of us sometimes go on guild requests with our aunt and her party?”
My sister and I nodded in unison.
“Well, this weekend was my turn, and the request was to look for a missing party in Hell.”
The table went silent as she let that marinate in our minds for a couple of seconds.
‘Hell is the supposed resting place of the Tree, as well as one of the most dangerous places on the planet. And that's factoring out the difficulty that non-sea kin have getting there in the first place.’
“And?” Aruna prodded her sister to continue. “Just going to Hell is crazy enough but there’s more to it isn’t there?”
“Yep,” the starfish nodded smugly. “We found the team with little issue, but that’s not the kicker. The whole reason for us searching for the party wasn’t because they were in Hell. Rather than that, there were some potential dangerous individuals who entered Hell without the Guild’s permission.”
“So you found the party being attacked by these ‘individuals’?” I asked.
“Not at all cutie,” she winked. “Instead of that, we found the party safe and sound, and with them one little girl.”
“Where did she come from?” Iska asked. “And what happened to the dangerous individuals?”
“Hold on, I’m getting there,” Mayari said. “The thing is, according to their report, the party actually got easily overpowered and captured by those individuals. Along with them, the wrongdoers also kidnapped one other person. The little girl.”
“But I thought you said you found the party safe and sound?” Aruna questioned.
“We did. The party testified that the little girl had annihilated those scoundrels herself. And later on, when we brought her back for questioning, we found out that she had been living her whole life by herself in Hell.”
“Huh? Let me get this right. You’re telling me this little girl not only eliminated some people that a unified party couldn’t handle by herself, but she also lived in one of the most dangerous places on the planet alone?” my sister asked unconvinced.
“Yep.”
“How cute is she?” Aruna spoke up.
“She might just be the cutest person on the planet, but why do you ask?”
The jellyfish girl gave her sister a death glare before continuing.
“You tend to exaggerate things when it comes to cute things.”
“Rude! I’m a proud cutie connoisseur, I’ll have you know! But I’m serious, no exaggeration.”
“What’s her name, I’ll verify it with Aunt Rua this weekend.”
“You still don’t believe me?” the redhead pouted.
“Nope. What’s her name?” the jellyfish girl deadpanned.
“Runa you meanie. It’s Maua.”
“Okay, I’ll confirm with her then,” she turned to me and my sister. “I’ll tell you both what I find out.”
The conversation devolved into banter between the three childhood friends and I began to gather my thoughts about what I just learned.
‘Maua, huh? A cute girl with immense power and the ability to survive in Hell alone. Sounds interesting. Maybe she can spice up my life for a little while….at least until you get here. You sure are taking your time, aren’t you? Don’t keep me waiting too long…Brighty.’
