"Erm… Mom? What are you doing?", I asked with a hint of amusement in my voice, as I already had a rough idea about what caused this misunderstanding.
"Just pampering my little girl", she replied with a mischievous smile. "Letica told me that you wanted me to pamper you too, so here I am. Now say 'aah'", she playfully motioned the fork full of cake towards me.
Sigh, Letty, what have you done…
"It was just a misunderstanding, Mom. Go back to whatever you were doing. I have more important stuff to do", I said, attempting to stand up and create some distance between us.
She chuckled, her eyes sparkling with determination. I know that look, the last time she had that look was before one of our 'dress-up' sessions. Ah, the good old days. "Hehe, you can't fool me this time, dear. Letica also told me about that trait of yours. She warned me that you'd harshly shut me down, even though that's not what you really want. She even asked me to act a little forceful if I must. If I had known about this trait of yours before, I would have pampered you lots and lots in the past. But worry not, your Mom loves you, and I'll give you all the pampering you need", and so the misunderstanding deepens.
With surprising strength, she pushed me back to my seat, refusing to take no for an answer. Her lips pressed against my forehead, planting a tender kiss filled with motherly affection. She put down the fork and buried my head into her bosom.
I shook my face away, put my arm between us, and said, "Letty misunderstood my words. I don't want you to pamper me, I'm a grown adult!", I squeaked, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
To my surprise, my embarrassed protest had the opposite effect. Her eyes filled with even more warmth and tenderness, and a soft laugh escaped her lips.
"Oh, my dear, I understand now," she said softly, her voice laced with understanding and love. "It's not about me pampering you. It's about me expressing my love and care for you in a way that shows how much you mean to me. Even if you're grown, you'll always be my little girl, and I'll continue to shower you with affection. It's just a mother's way, my dear"
Now I find myself in a mental dilemma. On one hand, I don't want to be pampered like a small child. I'm like, close to double the age I appear, it doesn't feel right to be treated like this! And I know that if I insist, she'll reluctantly let me go.
But on the other hand, there was a part of me that secretly yearned for this innocent display of affection from Mom. I felt really happy when Letty cheered me up a few days ago, it reminded me once again of how cherished I am. If only I forget about other stuff and let Mom pamper me to her heart's content. Honestly, that doesn't sound too bad.
The last thought made my face flush even more, if that was even possible.
In the end, I made an impulsive decision and opened my mouth wide, surrendering to Mom's antics. She fed me the cake with a goofy smile on her face. I regretted my decision instantly, but it is too late to back off now.
It'd do me good to just give in to the yearning. Ever since the launch of our shop, I keep receiving treats after treats.
By the way, why this cake again? I don't even like it that much. At least it's not as sweet as usual. Mom must have known that I don't like sweets all that much. Anyway, the choice of snacks will be the last of my worries if the others see me in this compromised position.
"Mom, don't tell anyone about this…", I mumbled.
She just chuckled and continued feeding me the cake.
***
Later that day, while I was hanging out with Letty, Sophia, and Carolina, Carolina asked,
"You're in an awfully bright mood, did something good happen again?"
I brushed it off, saying, "Nah, I'm just a happy person. Nothing new happened"
"If you say so'', she said, squinting her eyes in doubt. Meanwhile, Letty just smiled, knowing exactly what must have happened.
Even though I could have cleared up the misunderstandings with Letty, I decided to let it go and not make a big deal out of it.
***
A week has passed since then, and there is no news about the temple. I don't feel good knowing that I yet again stole something from the protagonist. But Letty has already stated her decision, so there is nothing I can do now. Let's just hope that the secret technique within the ring isn't too OP. That way, the protagonist won't be missing out on much.
I jinxed it again, didn't I?
Yup, the team that Letty sent out found the temple and the ring that were hidden in the basement the very next day.
As soon as she brought the ring, I checked its contents. There was a bunch of stuff in there, but the first thing I checked was the skill scroll.
It had a very complex circuit design. Skill scrolls are quite rare in the world. They can be used to learn skills. That is all I know about skill scrolls, and this is my first time seeing one in real life.
I'm guessing that we wouldn't know what kind of skill it has before using it.
I would have loved to see how the transfer mechanism works. It has some inscriptions on the top left, and the rest is incomprehensible. Judging by the complexity, it would be impossible to understand by just looking at it. Dissecting it doesn't seem like a viable option either..
Back on topic, the skill itself. I don't remember enough about the original novel, so I have no idea if the skill in this scroll is good or not. But since it was found in Jeremy's ring, it was bound to be overpowered. Should I start looking for the protagonist to give it back…
"Are you listening to me? Hey, don't space out in front of me. We are so lucky to find a skill scroll in the ring. And it looks very cool too! What's the rest of the ring's content?", Letty asked excitedly.
Right, I don't have to give it to anyone. It's ours. I checked the rest of the content in the ring, there was some money, a broken sword, some basic armor, etc. The usual stuff that a soldier carries. He must be quite lucky to obtain a storage ring without any connections. He didn't say where he got it from in the diary, nor did he ever mention this scroll before.
Anyway, as I was browsing through his stuff, I saw something that I couldn't let Letty see. There was a stack of papers with vivid drawings that resembled 'hentai', from my previous life. The drawings were pretty good too, I'm sure he must have been an ero-manga artist before reincarnating. I couldn't help but notice that the males in the drawings are way too detailed, and overly graphic, even by hentai standards. Why do I know about hentai's standards? One might ask. And that's none of their business. Well, I should get rid of these before Letty sees them, I want to protect her innocent mind from such vulgarity.
I wasted no time and ordered Letty to close her eyes for five seconds to dispose of them as quickly as I could. Yes, I ordered her. I don't like to do that, but it had to be done.
"Trust me, it was for your own good, Letty". She trusted me and didn't ask anything about what happened while her eyes were closed.
"Let's show it to Teacher and Sir Richard", Letty said.
"Alright, let's do that"
Letty relayed my message to my parents and called them to a sitting room. We showed them our loot and enjoyed their shocked reactions.
"You're telling me that the 'Hero King' was also reincarnated from your old world? And the diary that you were playing around with was the real thing?", Mom asked.
"Yess, and that's why I was able to read his diary and find his secret ring", I said.
"Is this really King Jerome I's stuff? Wow", as expected, they were both quite shocked. And even more so when I showed them the skill scroll.
"Wait, is that for real? I've never seen a skill scroll before, even when I was willing to spend fifty platinum plates for it. How are you so lucky, baby girl?", Dad said.
"Letty brought the gift for me. So it's not just mine. Anyway, what should we do with this? And is the rest of the stuff valuable?", I asked.
"The rest of the stuff is valuable, but we can't really show it to anyone. So let's just keep it for now", Dad said.
"I've actually seen a scroll before, when I was a kid–erm no, I read it in a book", Mom clearly lied. And Dad shook his eyes, as if trying to say 'no'. Oh, I see. She thinks that I don't know about the Bregonian royalty thing. It's a bit sad that she never told me, and I had to hear it from Dad. Well, Dad said she went through severe torment in the past, so it's understandable.
Let's not ask her about it for now, "Mom, tell us about the skill scrolls"
"A skill scroll can be used to learn a skill regardless of what your class is. All that matters is that your mana signature be compatible with the skill that you are trying to learn. You'd know if you were compatible with the scroll as soon as you poured some of your mana into this little spot on the top right. And if you are compatible, you will be able to feel what skill is inside the scroll. Then you can learn the skill and use it as your own, and the scroll will be left unusable. Currently, there are very few skill scrolls in this world, and the only known way of obtaining them is through an angel's reward. But as we all know, since the introduction of the system, angels don't interfere with our world anymore. So, there are only a finite number of scrolls available"
"Wow, Teacher, you know so much about scrolls. As expected of my teacher, she knows everything", Letty complimented her.
"It's nothing special. Anyway, there is a limit on the number of tries you get before it becomes useless. For most of the scrolls, it's in single digits. So don't be reckless. And use it wisely"
So, first, we need to check our compatibility with the spell. Then if it turns out that we are incompatible, which has a high probability since we are not the protagonist. I'll return it to the protagonist.
"Yes Mom, we'll try to use it", I said as they left us alone to decide what we wanted to do with the spell.
"Letty, go on. Give it a shot. You're better off having it than me", I said. If our mana is indeed compatible, I would rather Letty have it than me.
"What? No way! It's yours, and how can I use such a precious thing?", she rebuked.
"I listened to you earlier. Now it's your turn to listen to me. It's very likely that the skill inside this scroll is combat-related. It will be wasted on me, so go on and use it", I said.
"No, I can't-", she said.
Sigh. For the second time on the same day, I feel terrible.
"Sorry, Letty, but I order you to use the scroll"
And so she used it. To my surprise, it didn't work. I really thought that since she was close to the protagonist in the novel, she'd be able to use it.
Well, it was worth a shot. You never know with S-grade talents. And if Letty was unable to do it, I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to use it as well. Putting my now pouting Letty aside, I took the scroll in my hand just to get over the formality. I knew it wouldn't work, I'm the novel's villain, after all. But to appease Letty, I had to try. So without wasting any moment, I poured my mana into the top-right inscription.
"See, nothing happene-". Wait… I can clearly feel the name of the skill inside the scroll. In other words, my mana was compatible. Oh, dear Lord, how did this happen?
-------------------------------------
Skill Scroll – Evasive Aura – Level 1
It grants the ability to generate a protective aura around the user. The aura enhances the user's agility, reflexes, and perception, making them difficult to hit during combat.
Further information on leveling up.
Uses 0.2 MP/Sec
-------------------------------------
Seeing my shocked expression, Letty's face bloomed into a smile deadlier than anything else.
"I knew it! Yay! I'll go inform the others", she gave me a quick hug and left.
'Well, sorry, Mr. Protagonist, your name was…err… Rony? I'm unable to recall. But it seems like you won't be acquiring your OP defensive skill this time around. Hope you don't mind'