Ch 9: Dual-Enlightenment

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Felix's POV

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I opened the door and immediately felt my face submerged in heavenly softness.

"Little Fel!!!"

Aunty Martha hugged me tight, real tight. I was suffocating, but I didn't complain, it was just that good.

"Martha! Let go of my son! I swear to god, both you mother-daughter pair have something for suffocating my son!"

"Hehe, little Fel, thank you so much for telling me that. I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if I had noticed too late."

"He told you what, exactly?"

After I was unfortunately released from the heavenly choke, I saw my Mom eyeing both of us in suspicion.

"Hmm, let's first sit down and talk"

Mom nodded, and we moved to the lounge.

"What a cute girl! Who's daughter is she?"

Aunty Martha saw Melena sitting on the couch and questioned.

"Not now. I'll tell you about it in private. Right now, you have things to explain. "

"*Sigh* Alright, let's start with last Saturday… "

"Last Saturday after lunch ended, little Fel told me that he saw a lump on my neck. He traced my neck, and we finally felt the lump. It didn't feel very normal, so I got pretty worried about it and went to the hospital the next day."

"What were the results?... "

Mom had a dreadful look as she asked.

"The results came out two days earlier, and it was identified as a tumor."

*INHALE*

"Hey, hey don't worry about it, let me finish. The doctors said that I came in quite early and the tumor could be just cut off with some extra tissues as a precaution…. But..but he said that if I were to come 3 months later than the damage would've been irreversible and i-i-if any later th-th-then….*sob* *sob*"

By the end, she broke down in tears. Mom came over, hugged her tight and consoled her. Melena was there as well, listening to everything. She came over with a box of tissues and gave it to Mom.

"Now, now, it's all alright now, isn't it? I'll tell Richard to get the best surgeons he can, to get you operated. Don't dwell on the 'what ifs' so much. Thankfully, everything is fine now."

Aunty Martha just nodded while still in a hug. After some time, she calmed down.

"Little Fel, thank you so much… if you didn't tell me… l-I-I don't know how my baby girl would've done without me…*sob*"

She broke down in sobs again, and it took a while for Mom to stabilize her.

Mom called up Dad and told him the gist of it. She asked Dad to contact a good surgeon for Aunty Martha.

Dad, of course, knew everything about the tumor from me and had already made some preparations. Just for the sake of keeping a front, he went to the study with a phone in hand.

Mom wiped Aunty Martha's face and cleaned up her snot. Thankfully, she didn't wear any makeup right now or her face would've been quite a mess.

Mom told both of us kids to go back to our rooms, and we did so.

Melena and I went upstairs and approached our respective rooms when she called out to me.

"F-Felix.."

"Huh, did you say something?"

"Are y-you like a s-super hero?"

"What?"

"Y-You knew about me w-when you ran towards us in the s-slum. Y-You saved t-that Aunty t-too…"

"Huh, you are overthinking about it. It was all just a coincidence."

My back was drenched in sweat. I was blinded by her other aspects and had underestimated her intelligence, albeit it being just a bit childish.

'Who knew she was so perceptive? No, she was a legendary player in the future. Of course, there had got to be something in her to achieve that.'

I tried my best to put up a nonchalant smile.

"I s-see…"

In the end, she just nodded and went back to her room. I did too.

'Hooo, that was really close…'

I dropped on the bed and laid flat on my stomach.

'If she didn't let go of the topic, I'm afraid I would've had to use 'Compel' on her. Even if it's averse to her. Maybe I could tell her in the future, but right now, secrecy is really important. Dad and I have not been keeping fronts for nothing.'

'Anyway, with this enlightenment, I can be more careful in the future. Rolo is here now. I can finally start practicing my Mana at home. Dad has already given me a few crates of calorie bars secretly. Now I just have to start doing it.'

Increasing my Mana was very crucial.

'I can't always be on the verge of passing out after using 'Compel'. That would be averse to my goals.'

'Anyway, I need to start some physical activities as well to not get fat. Although creating mana consumes most of the energy, I can't risk it. I'm feeling less sharp now, now that there's no blade pointing at my life. This can't do either. l need to integrate reflex training as well in my regiment. Maybe I can make Melena train with fake foam weapons too, in the name of playing games. I have observed and memorized all the weapon styles and even know how to use them. It wasn't luck that I survived as long as I did in that hell. If not for that fucking overpowered octopus's speed, I would have made some octopus sashimi out of it. I'll fucking obliterate your whole race if I see you again, I swear!!!'

I was making my revenge plans when…

*Click* *Creak*

I didn't even need to see to know who just entered. Of course, it was Mom who just entered my room without even knocking. Aunty Martha had probably left for her house.

I turned myself on my back and saw her coming towards me. As I sat up, I was brought into a hug yet again…

"Baby, you did good this time… you not only saved Martha but also saved her whole family. You may not know it but Martha is the one who keeps the whole family together in her house…. She was not scared for her life but for her family and especially her daughter."

"... "

"Honey, tell me, do you want something? I'll get you whatever you want as a gift."

"Then, can I be home-tutored like Melena?"

"You with this again!....*Sigh* I'll think about it… but that isn't a gift. We'll just go to the toy store. You can get whatever you want."

"Mom, I promise my results won't get bad…."

"I said I'll think about it. Now, do your leftover homework. There's class tomorrow."

*SMOOCH*

Mom gave me a kiss on the forehead and left the room.

'I guess I'll just have to wait. I could show her that I have superior intelligence by utilizing my future memories and 'talent' but that would be too sudden and unnatural… '

In the end, I just opened my bag and started doing my homework.

Dad had gotten emails from school about the missing classwork and had already printed it out for me.

In between, I ate dinner with the family and finally finished everything by ten.

Exhausted, I went to sleep.

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"Hey! Why were you absent for so long? What? Do you want my homework to copy? My esteemed-self will grant you your wish this time, just praise me."

"I've already done it. Now scoot away."

I was in my class room and that fien- *Ahem* Irene was chewing on my ears with her usual shenanigans. She was not in the knowhow of her mother's condition. It was probably for the best.

"Haah, you're so boring!"

"Yeah, yeah."

And so the school went on. Today was P.E. class as well. Last Monday I had beaten the living shi- *Ahem* crap out of the other kids in dodgeball, so today they all teamed up against me. But it didn't matter. I had a decade's worth of experience in fighting, teaming up wouldn't change the outcome.

I gracefully dodged every ball that came in my way and showered them with balls of thunder. Thankfully, the balls were intentionally made light, so the kids didn't get hurt too much.

School finally ended, and we all went out.

Irene and I boarded the school bus, and of course, she stuck to me like a leech.

"You meanie! My nose still hurts so bad!"

"Hmm, well, you were supposed to dodge it. Just get gud."

"Aaaaa!"

'There she goes again, this loudmouth of hers…'

I had to calm her down as all the other students were watching her screaming.

"Hey hey, don't be mad. I'll probably move out of school. You won't see my face here again. Happy now?"

"Y-You're l-leaving….?"

Tears started to pool in her eyes and her voice cracked as she heard the news.

'Shit, I fucked up… '

"Oi Oi, I was just joking. I'm not leaving anywhere. Besides, your house is just in front of mine. Even if I left, it's not like we can't play together."

"Hmm… "

It took a lot of time but I finally convinced her. I should've known better. My past kid-self didn't notice it, but she was strangely reliant on me when we were out of our homes. I didn't know how she acted outside our time together, so I probably didn't notice anything then. This was yet another enlightenment.

'Maybe I indirectly had a hand in her taking up drugs. I was too ignorant about it then and wasn't there for her besides giving her condolences after her mother passed away. *Sigh* I'm supposed to be a little kid right now for fuck's sake….'

We were both quiet throughout the journey. Irene fell asleep midway and rested her head on me.

I finally arrived home, with Irene going back to her own.

"Hello baby, how was your day?~"

"It was fine, but I'll probably have to cancel the homeschooling plan. Irene was very upset when I told her about it."

"Ah~ you two love birds~"

*Stare*

I just gave a deadpan look to Mom when I heard that.

'I'm a 27-year-old inside, for fuck's sake. Leave me out of that business.'

"I'll talk to Martha about it. You seemed too enthusiastic about being homeschooled to just cancel the plan out. Don't worry baby, I'll sort it out for you. *Wink*"

I just shook my head and went upstairs to freshen up.

'Whatever happens, happens. '

(A/N: This and the next few chapters will have a mix of progress and development of other characters.

Thank You all for reading this chapter!!! )