Sophia left for her hometown after having breakfast, and I asked her to spend some quality time with her family.
Mom summoned me to her office, which I am guessing is to discuss my next course of action.
"I still can't believe my daughter has grown so much! A few more inches, and you'll surpass my height"
"Hmm, that would be nice. Anyway, why did you call me, Mom?" I asked.
"Since you've come back, I was hoping you'd stop by your company's office. The staff should at the very least know who their boss is"
"Do I have to? It's not like I know much about the company's inner workings. It is all being managed by Dad, I don't have any role in it"
"I am not asking you to manage the company. We have enough trustworthy people for that. Most of whom are oathbound to be loyal to our house. Your Dad's job is to check and maintain reports, and just be there. So it's not like you'll need to step in for every small decision", she said.
"Didn't you say you wanted to be a researcher? So go there, set up a lab, hire the people you need, and just show your face once a day as the company head. That way, your dad can rest from the burdens of two separate businesses and spend more time at home"
"I know I said that, but can't I just take a little break? I've been working non-stop for so many years at the academy. Don't you care for your daughter's well-being? Don't you love me?" I pouted.
Hehe, I know you'd concede, Mom. Hurry up and give me the green flag.
"Oh, you say you've been working hard for all these years, huh… Then do you care to explain what this is, Dear?" she asked, while giving me a letter.
"What's this?"
I started to read the contents of the letter.
"Respected Madam Ernius,
I am ashamed as a teacher and mentor that I have to ask this of you. Your daughter, Aria, is undoubtedly the greatest mind of this century. But after the invention of Mana-comm, she lost the drive to create anything new. She half-heartedly worked on a few side projects and helped out some of my students. She often skipped lectures in the name of 'business at mana-comm', and in her own words, 'lazed around the rest of the time' in addition to that. And I was unable to persuade her to change her mind.
Thus, as a last resort, I am sincerely asking you, her mother, to guide her down the correct path and help her achieve the heights that she is destined to reach. And not let this gem of a mind go to waste.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Primos"
This bast- ! What has he done?! How dare he rat me out after all I've done for him? After I fed him at the best restaurants in the capital, This is how he returns the favor! You're gonna regret this Professor, mark my words!
Hah, how do I deal with this? This foils my grand plan of lazing around for a year or two.
"I don't want to hear any explanations. I know your goal was to make use of all the resources at the academy, not to study. Despite that, you passed and graduated. So I won't scold you. On the contrary, I am even proud of you", she said while slowly walking closer to me.
Wait, really? Was it that easy?
"But you can't just laze around all day. I won't stop you from enjoying your time or just playing around, but at least go to your company's office and set up your workspace. After that, I won't ask you to work if you don't want to"
"Alright, I'll do as you say and visit the office tomorrow. Just don't go back on your words", I said.
"Excellent. Now that this is taken care of, let's talk about the next topic, which is Letica. What do you want to do with her?" She rang the bell on the table, and the head maid answered the door.
"Send her in"
Letty entered through the door and stood beside me.
"I was going to ask her to not be my maid and instead hire her as an assistant. She has been studying to do the same, right? I don't want to burden her with being my maid again", I asked Mom.
"Well, I had a talk with her. And she was adamant on being your personal maid as well as your assistant. Why don't you ask her for yourself?", she said, pointing towards Letty.
"Please don't hire another maid. I want to work as your maid when we are at home, and as an assistant when we are outside. I promise to fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities", she pleaded.
"I am not doubting your capabilities, Letty. But I don't want you to overwork for my sake. We can always stay together while some other maids do the menial tasks. Why must you bear all the burden yourself?"
"But I enjoy working as your maid. I've spent the most time as your maid, I know your likes and dislikes. And most of all, this gives me the perfect excuse to stay by your side. Please allow me to be your personal maid as well"
Sigh, How do I decline her now?
It's no use, I know that look in her eyes, she really wants to do this.
"Mom?" I looked at her, asking, 'what do I do?'.
"I guess we have no other choice, if she's so certain about this" she said, then turned towards Letty.
"But you'll still have to attend meetings with me once every week. Got that?", she asked her.
"Yes Teacher! Thank you very much", Letty said.
***
It's been a few days since then, and I know that Letty has been hiding something since then.
She was normal until that evening, but after I left her alone for half an hour while I was in the bath, she started acting weird.
She avoids my eye contact, and she seemed uncomfortable when we slept together.
I didn't want to force her, but I was curious about her behavior, so I asked.
But she refused to answer me.
This was rare, because she barely refuses to answer me. And in most of those cases, she is embarrassed about something.
I hope it's nothing serious.
Reluctantly, I let it go and asked her to share it with me when she was comfortable.
That afternoon,
I was reading the newspaper in my lab when I saw this,
"The northern duchy is on the brink of collapse! More than 40% population is undernourished"
"Wait, isn't that Carolina's house? What's happening?" I asked out loud.
"Oh, I know, the northern duchy is facing a crisis after three consecutive harsh winters. They are suffering a terrible food shortage and have had to use up most of their treasury on importing food. Is their youngest daughter your friend?"
Wow, Letty tends to know everything nowadays. I didn't know any of this. I guess I should pay more attention to the newspaper.
"Right, she's my friend. But this situation will probably settle in a week or two. After all, the discovery of the tourist's dungeon should boost their economy"
"What are you talking about? What is the tourist's dungeon?"
I recall the novel's plot, where the protagonist accidentally discovers a low-leveled, yet beautiful dungeon, which comes to be known as the 'tourist's dungeon', while traveling in the north.
Dungeons are pretty rare, but whenever they are discovered, they naturally invite a number of adventurers, which in turn helps in the development of the surrounding lands.
The dungeon became a big revenue generator for the duchy due to its surreal sceneries and low-leveled monsters, making it a popular tourist hotspot, unlike other dungeons, and that's how the protagonist earned a favor from the duke.
"Wait, I might have fucked it up! I met the protagonist before leaving the capital, it might cause small changes in his travels, and he might not step upon the very specific and coincidental trap to discover the dungeon. Oh no, what do I do?"
"Calm down, Aria. And tell me what happened", she said while holding my hands.
I explained to her the whole situation,
"I see. It's still not too late. You can tell them it's wearabouts and everything will be fine"
"That's true. I should immediately call Carolina. Go fetch their mana-comm id from the registry. I need to help them"
I called the duchy and asked for Carolina. I practically begged her to blindly trust me and look around for a forest in the north-east part of her duchy.
"How and why do you know about this? And why should I trust you?" I expected such a reaction.
"Look, I really don't know how to explain all this. Just trust me, your only friend at the academy, you have nothing to lose. Just send a few dozens of guards to look around in these areas. If you think that my words are insufficient, I'll ask my mom to personally ask this of you. I won't play around when the stakes are so high" I said.
Obviously, I didn't know the location. So I searched for the triplet village that the protagonist saved in the novel and marked all possible surrounding areas around it.
"Why are you doing this? Be honest" she asked in her plain voice.
"Well, I can't let your people suffer if there is a chance to pull them out of misery. Moreover, you're my friend, and we should help out our friends in need, right?"
"If what you said is true, I will be forever grateful to you and your house. But if this is a joke or some sick ploy, you'll regret making an enemy out of me"
"Look, just trust me on this one. If not, then just trust my family's reputation, I am serious. It's not like staying still is going to do you any good, this might as well be your only chance to save your house. What's the harm in sending 10-20 guards? Even low-level guards will suffice. Just make them look around every nook and cranny of these areas for a trap that will trigger the dungeon" I continued.
"Also, please don't mention me when you really find the dungeon. I don't want to be in the spotlight any more than I currently am."
Thankfully, Carolina believed me and began the search. After all, this was her only shot at bringing her people out of misery.
After a week of thorough searching, someone finally discovered the trap that was set off by the protagonist in the novel, and with it came the beacon of hope for all the people of the duchy.
In a few more weeks, Carolina will be hailed as their savior, and the duchy's financial state will improve, which in turn will resolve the food shortage.
Perhaps she will even consider my offer from back then and help me with my future research. I'll need an enchanter if I want to make any progress on possible projects in the future. She is obviously the best choice.
Phew! I nearly dodged a bullet there.