"Emergence of the genius of the century"
"Genius of the century"
"A young girl revolutionizes the world"
Such headlines could be seen in every newspaper on the day of Mana-comm's launch.
It was a truly marvelous feat. I always believed in Aria, but this was on another level.
I thought she was just trying to make me feel better when she said she'd do this. It seems I quite severely underestimated my mistress. She fulfilled her promise, and now we can talk whenever we want. This is all I wished for, to be close to her.
Betty has been training me in her free time, and she says that I'm a slow learner. According to her, a skill should manifest disregarding the class. But I know otherwise. It's because I can't learn any offensive skills.
I don't know if I should tell her about the abnormality of my class, though. After all, Aria told me not to reveal my status to anyone, without any exception.
She did say that I was getting better, but at a very slow rate.
So I need to do it the hard way, without relying on any skills.
It's a bit sad, but I have to live with this handicap.
My training with Teacher has been going well, and I like it when she praises me for a job well done.
Aside from studies, I accompany her in every meeting or negotiation with various businessmen or nobles. I don't get a say in them, but she says that it will be a valuable experience.
Talking about Teacher, I read most of the romance novels in the pile and really enjoyed them. I love how the main characters face a number of hardships and unite in the end. It's beautiful.
The only inconvenience was the fact that most of the stories were between a man and a woman. I only found a single book about two women falling in love, they call it lesbian. It was my favorite book of all.
So I did some market research, and found out the best bookstore to buy romance novels from. I visited the store on my day-off and bought a bunch of lesbian romance books. The store owner asked me if I was old enough to read this, to which I replied, "Yes of course".
After all, Aria taught me to read more than three years ago. Somehow, I felt the owner didn't believe me. But I gave him the money and left.
Fortunately, Teacher was unaware of my little secret. But I do feel a little guilty about borrowing her books without asking.
Should I apologize? She might give me some scary punishment though.
When Teacher first started teaching me, she mentioned this scary punishment that can correct any 'brat'.
Thankfully, I am not brat, so I never experienced it. But if I confess now, she might punish me.
No, this is a bad idea. I will sneakily get rid of all the evidence, and she'll never know.
A few weeks later,
I had my first period. I was prepared for it, as the head maid gave me a talk about it a while ago, but still the experience was shocking to say the least.
Moreover, the head maid was very vague about it. I have many doubts about what she said.
It is a slightly embarrassing topic to bring up, so I mustered up the courage and waited for the appropriate time to ask Teacher about it.
"Teacher, Uhm… I had my first period today"
"Oh, my student is growing up. The head maid must have explained all the things to you beforehand, correct?"
"Well, yes, she said I'm old enough to bear a child, theoretically. And that I'll bleed every month. But I don't understand what she meant by that"
Teacher explained to me about periods in her own words. I think I understand it better now.
"Teacher, but how does a girl get pregnant?"
She was visibly embarrassed upon hearing my question.
"When a man and a woman sleep together, they can make babies"
"But you sleep with Sir Baron every night. But clearly, you are not pregnant"
"Shut your mouth! Don't word it like that, you idiot student of mine", she screamed in embarrassment.
Huh?
Did I say something wrong?
"Sigh, look, by sleeping together, I don't mean just sleeping together. It's an idiom, don't ever say something like that again"
It's confusing… I should just leave it at that for now. I don't want to annoy her any more than she already is.
"I get it, Teacher. I won't bring this up again" I said.
"Hah, let me explain. The thing is, men have… and then they do… and then… This process is called having sex. They can also do it magically, but it's a complicated process and only used by same sex couples"
"Really, Teacher? Is my vagina supposed to be used like this? Can a baby really grow in there?"
I can't believe I never knew about this.
"Yeah, that's just how women work"
"Then in the book, when Ricia's girlfriend was sleeping together with a man, which resulted in them breaking up, they meant…they were having…sex?" Now it was my turn to go red.
Oh God, I thought it was stupid that they'd break up just for sleeping with someone else. So they meant this!
"WHAT?" Teacher exclaimed.
"Hiiup!" What did I just do!? I spilled all the beans! Oh noo!
"I'm really sorry, Teacher. I have committed a grave sin, I've become a brat. Please punish me as you deem fit" I instantly started apologizing.
"Wait, I made sure that all those books were kid friendly. Where did such a phrase ever come up? I'm sorry for not being thorough. It's my fault, not yours" she said.
"Huh, what?"
Did she know?
Wait, this is a misunderstanding.
I read this phrase in the newer books that I bought.
"I'm so sorry, dear. I laid out those books on purpose for you to find. I enjoyed them quite a lot, so I thought you might enjoy them as well. I had no idea that one of those books wasn't kid-friendly. It's weird that I don't recall reading such a plot before. Can you show me where you read it?"
What?
And here I thought I was being sneaky from Teacher. But I was playing in her palm all along.
"It's… I'm sorry, Teacher. It's not your fault. I finished reading all those books, so I went out and bought a few more. It was in those books, I read that phrase" I confessed.
"Sigh, is that so? It's fine, you are free to read whatever you please. But do be careful, ask the store owner to only sell you books that are appropriate for your age. Some of them can be overly… explicit. So stay clear of those"
"Okay, Teacher. Yay, I got rid of the guilt, knowing that I didn't steal anything from you", I screamed out of joy.
"Oh, but you do have to pay the price of borrowing them. Nothing comes free of charge, my dear student" she said.
"Yes, that makes sense. I really enjoyed reading those books, thank you. How can I repay you, Teacher?"
"Of course you enjoyed them. Those are my favorites after all, they are bound to be great. So anyway, about the payment…" I could see an evil grin forming on her face.
She continued,
"One day. Give me a whole day to take you shopping and pamper you. We will go shopping, eat lots of sweets, read some books together, and have a great time. Aria would run away after a while, so you have to do it in her stead. Can you give me that, my dear student?"
"Uh, can we rethink the shopping part? Maybe we don't visit any clothing stores. Wouldn't that be great?" I proposed.
"You jest! How can you go shopping without picking out new outfits? You have such a cute frame, it's a crime to cover it in plain clothes. It's non-negotiable"
"Alright, please go easy on your only student" I resigned everything to fate.
"Yay, I'll keep my day off clear. So be prepared" I guess, even Aria won't be able to help me in this one.
***
I somehow survived that tiring day six months ago. It's a bittersweet memory. On one hand, I was happy to spend time with Teacher, it felt like I have a mother. But on the other hand, I had to endure hours of being used as a living-moving mannequin.
Things have been progressing smoothly with my studies, training, as well as newly added etiquette lessons, for which Teacher hired Aria's previous tutor.
My STR, AGI and INT stat went up, and I gained a bunch of new skills ever since I started training,
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Skills –
Choose a Master – Lvl 10
********* – Lvl 1
Miscellaneous Maid skills (+)
Acting – Lvl 2
First Aid – Lvl 1
Poker Face – Lvl 2
Etiquette – Lvl 5
Massage – Lvl 2
Arithmetics – Lvl 3
Territory Management – Lvl 3
Geography – Lvl 2
History – Lvl 2
Business Tactics – Lvl 1
Observation – Lvl 4
Politics – Lvl 1
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I talk to Aria almost every day, and it feels like she is always with me. I can call her whenever I feel lonely, and she is always there to answer me.
I can't wait until the next few years pass and she comes back.
Until then, I need to make myself worthy of being able to stand by her side.