She started explaining while staying as vague as possible, Mia had no clue if she should even tell her about her [Time] skill, to begin with where would she even start? She did not fully understand it herself, avoiding addressing the more complicated and confusing aspects of it.
And the parts that, frankly, scared her.
How could she tell her sister that her and everyone she knows has been stuck in a time loop for an unknown number of years that could have ended at any moment if she had just hit no and everyone she has ever known and loved would be dead, oh and I couldn’t read so picking yes, every time was a fluke.
She had been living countless lives without her knowledge, eternally suffering until she eventually leveled it up to two…oh and the world is going to explode in 3 years, so she must get stronger to stop that and the village being attacked. Oh, and all this by herself cause no one else can remember the time loops when going back to slot 1. No pressure Mia, no pressure.
[The whole world isn’t exploding, just that country and the surrounding area.]
‘…How do you know that?’
[You were not always in range of the blast.]
“Mia? It is ok, you can tell me. I am here with you, ok?”
Right, explanation.
Mia took a deep breath and started her explanation while avoiding telling her about time the best she could. She wasn’t ready.
Beginning with the first day she told her how she snuck out of the village early in the mor-
“You left? Why did you leave?”
“…bad feeling.”
“Bad feeling? And you didn’t tell mom and decided to just leave, on your own, before anyone else woke up?”
“…” This was going to be harder to explain than she thought. “Yes, no questions, let finish.”
“Fine.” Ria moved to the edge of the bed with her arms crossed, letting Mia continue.
She then explained how she went into the forest and found a dungeon, exploring that for the night and sleeping inside a chest after killing some monsters.
“Have you ever fought monsters before?” Ria asked, “What did you kill them with?”
“Hmn, took axe, killed with that, they were easy. let finish.”
“Right, and you can lift an axe…?”
“please, let finish.” Mia pleaded, and after only receiving a nod in response she continued.
Her story continued, going on about her time with the beastkin, them teaching her magic and running into members of the church outside the dungeon, leaving out the part where she beat them. During this retelling, Ria looked like she wanted to interject several times but allowed Mia to continue.
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She told her how she was captured, dragged into the city and along the way the captured elders explained to her everything about the brainwashing and why it was put onto her.
“Wait, auntie did that cause she wanted to make you a hero?”
Mia nodded “Said it was because magic. Needed to have some.”
“…then why did…no” She shook her head “Go on, I have several questions but continue.”
“Yes.” She told how she was put up for sale and bought by a noble, but during the transaction she was saved by the hero using his hidden skill, went hiding in the forest, and twisted the final part by saying he was captured while letting her escape. Leaving out the part where she ditched him, her chest feeling heavy during that part of the story.
Ria didn’t comment on that part of the story, allowing Mia to continue.
From there, Mia told her about the other dungeon, where she told her she took refuge in, leveled up, and found skill orbs for skills like [Item Box] and [Common Language]. Then, while she was camping near the entrance, she had to leave because the church was still chasing her and eventually found her way to the port, found a job to get on a boat with the help of some people, and arrived here.
Of course, a large part of the first bit was not completely true, but she was not going to tell Ria how she met and befriended a gigantic wrym thing, she also needed an excuse for her skills and well, she believed it made sense.
And then Ria knew the rest, she arrived here, went straight into the dungeon, and almost died.
Whoops.
“That’s it?” Ria asked, leaning forward. She had remained silent since the hero talk, an unamused and what Mia could only think of Angry on her face.
“…Yeah.” Mia slowly nodded.
“Ok.” Ria spun around on the bed, leaping from her position and landing on the floor. She stood silent for a moment, then started pacing while rubbing her head.
“…” She watched her older sister, clearly frustrated, pace the room, before suddenly-
“Arrrrgh!”
Ria screamed, causing Mia to jump up in surprise. Ria flung herself around, facing Mia.
“You-!” she pointed a finger at Mia, her face suddenly twisting into a series of different emotions before she stamped her foot on the ground in frustration. She then gripped her head, rustling her hair.
“…Are you ok?” Mia, not knowing what was going on at this point, questioned. ‘was my story that bad…?’
Without warning Ria tackled her sister to the bed, Mia pinned beneath her “I- You…I shouldn’t be mad…but..you…Argh!” Ria rolled over, now lying beside Mia who was stunned frozen in place wide eyed. “We don’t know if mom is alive… you just, left.”
“…” Mia didn’t say anything, letting her talk.
“But we…I… saw the village, it was burned to the ground.” She sat up, facing Mia “I don’t know why you didn’t take mom with you or tell the others, but your bad feeling was right.” She plopped back down besides her “We met the others, other people that left to find you and ran before the village was attacked.” She sighed, shaking her head “They noticed because they were looking for you, not all left but…the chief, auntie, a lot of the kids…”
“Mom was gone before then, and Auntie when we left to find you she…” She shook her head “No.. not important, look.” She sat up again, facing Mia “I don’t know how much of what you told me was the truth but…I’m not dumb, like what level one eight-year-old can kill a monster, you know how much I struggled to kill my first animal with dad on our first hunt together?” She lightly laughed “What level are you even right now?”
“…68” Mia said, looking away from her sister.
“Si- see!” Ria slapped the bed, emphasizing her point “That is too much for a month! You are higher level than me even though I have a bo-“ she paused, going silent.
Mia slowly turned to face her, seeing Ria was now looking away, rubbing her chin in deep thought “Ria?”
“Hrm? Oh…” She looked off to the side for a moment, before a grin appeared on her face “Alright, fine.” She stood up on the bed, arms on her hips “If you don’t plan on telling me everything, fine, be that way, I won’t either.”
Confused, Mia didn’t understand but was relieved for now. She’d tell her everything eventually, once she has delt with her own hangups about her situation, but for now she was glad she wasn’t getting yelled at “Mn, ok, fair.”
Ria chuckled “So you admit it.” She rolled her eyes “Fine.” She then plopped down on the bed “Oh, but Mia?”
“…yeah?” Mia crooked her neck to the side as Ria’s hand slapped down atop her head, gripping her with a decent amount of force “Eh?”
“Now you are especially not getting out of that commonsense lecture.”
“Eh? Eh eh eh?!” Mia panicked, but it was no use.
The sisterly lecture continued into the late hours of the night.