I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 273: Letting Go

"Well, Mr. Arthur, let’s hope the doctor clears me soon. After hearing your report, I’m really itching to go back to work. I need to whip some people." Captain Chambers takes a deep breath.

"Please, Captain, call me Arthur. And it’s not about people lazing around and not doing the job. It’s about the lack of them," Arthur explains.

"Yeah, that’s our biggest problem right now," Captain Chambers admits.

"Rhaenas is willing to help, Captain. I’m sure it will lighten the load," Arthur says.

"But with just five of you, how many dungeons can you do?"

"If we look at the statistics, there are quite a lot of level fours and fives. Sixes and above are not that many, and they are more desirable for private companies. They prefer doing level six and seven that have more heartstones with higher purity and leave fours and fives to us."

"We can clear at least two dungeons a day, Captain."

Captain Chambers is stunned silly.

Then he laughs.

"You really know how to joke."

He turns serious.

"You’re joking, right?"

Arthur shakes his head, his face serious.

"No, I’m not. Thea will clear at least two level fours daily. And until you’re cleared by the doctors, I’ll be in the office, while Liam, Julian, and Maeve will clear at least one level five a day. That’s our current plan. We’ll see how that works first. We need to do this step by step."

Arthur explains further.

The more he explains, the wider Captain Chambers’ eyes become.

"Wait, what? You said Ms. Montrose will do two level fours a day? Like, she’s leading a team of our Sentinels or what?"

"No, Captain. Solo. It’s faster that way, trust me."

Captain Chambers is taken aback.

"You’ve got to be kidding me! You can’t be serious about sending Ms. Montrose alone! Send some Sentinels with her, Arthur!" Captain Chambers’ voice rises an octave.

"That won’t be necessary, Captain."

Theo speaks as he approaches the living room.

"Your officers would just be a hindrance to me. We need speed. Going alone is the best solution," he says confidently.

Captain Chambers is so stunned he becomes speechless.

Theo turns to Arthur.

"When can I start?"

"You can start as soon as you’ve had enough sleep," Arthur answers. "Use today to completely rest. And let’s talk again after seeing your condition tomorrow." His tone carries finality. No room for Theo to argue. Arthur has made the decision as interim chief.

Theo notices this and nods.

"Okay. I’m going to sleep now. Catch all of you later."

He turns around and heads to his bedroom.

Captain Chambers is like a fish. His mouth opens and closes repeatedly.

Arthur only pats him on the shoulder.

"Let it go, Captain. I won’t harm my own sister. Just believe that."

"But but but..." Captain Chambers stammers.

Arthur pats his shoulder again.

"How about some breakfast? I’m starving, and I’m planning to eat a big breakfast, take a shower, and then sleep for a few hours."

With that, he gets up and heads to the kitchen.

Captain Chambers can only follow Arthur and Theo with his eyes. He shakes his head, but he has nothing to say.

Clearing level four dungeons solo? A sixteen year old girl? These people have completely lost their minds!

He sighs.

"If only Chief Lutherford were here, these people wouldn’t be able to do crazy things like this," he mutters.

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If only Captain Chambers could see what Chief Lutherford is doing right now, he wouldn’t have made that comment.

Alicia is currently in the shower. Hot water pours from the showerhead, hitting her hair and head. She’s completely naked and wet from head to toe.

But she’s not washing her hair with shampoo or lathering her body with the fragrant soap Maeve has provided.

No, nothing like that.

Alicia Lutherford is crying her heart out, so hard that her whole body is shaking. Her hands are clenched into fists until all her knuckles turn white. She grits her teeth so tightly that her jaw muscles ache.

Her mind is racing in overdrive, repeating her conversation with Theo, which ended less than ten minutes ago.

"Oh, Alex!" she cries.

Her mind replays some of Theo’s words:

"He burned his last remaining life force to save me so that I could save you. I owe him my life, Alicia."

"It’s so you, brother! I can’t even be angry at Thea. She’s done nothing wrong, and she did save me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here today," Alicia says with difficulty between her sobs.

"Even after you died, you protected me."

And she cries again.

Tears stream down her face nonstop, blending perfectly with the shower water.

She cries until she can’t take it anymore and slowly sinks down, sitting on the floor under the hot water, hugging her knees tightly and continuing to cry.

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Alicia doesn’t know how long she has been crying in the shower, but when she steps out, the tears have stopped, yet the pain in her chest remains.

Throbbing.

A reminder that her life is precious.

She doesn’t agree with Alex’s decision, but she understands where it came from. If she had been in his position, she would have done the same. That is the main reason she doesn’t wallow in mourning.

Because she understands why Alex did what he did.

She understands completely.

And she doesn’t want to waste his sacrifice. She wants to honor it. She wants him to be proud of her.

The last thing she wants is for Alex to regret his decision.

But resolution cannot stop the sadness and the grief.

She feels like she is losing Alex all over again.

Alicia has always been proud of herself for not being a woman controlled by her emotions, for always staying cool-headed. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But this time, she wants nothing more than to stay in bed and cry.

Her heart is broken.

For the first time, she understands that phrase.

When she lost Alex eight months ago, her immediate mindset was to continue his legacy, to keep him alive.

Which was why she put aside mourning and poured herself into work. She wanted to become the chief of Solarys DEU because that was what Alex wanted.

Or so she thought.

But Theo told her that all Alex had ever wanted was for her to be happy. For her to pursue her own happiness. To live her own life. Walk her own path.

She never knew that.

Until Theo told her.

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Alicia puts on her clothes absentmindedly. Her eyes are dry but slightly swollen from crying too hard.

She doesn’t notice.

Her body moves automatically as she puts on the trousers, then the T-shirt. Different clothes from what she wore when she came here. They are new. Claudia bought them for her.

She doesn’t notice.

Her hand moves on its own to brush her hair. Once she’s done, she leaves the room barefoot and heads toward the common area.

She notices the living room is empty, and the only person around is Maeve, who is busy in the kitchen.

Seeing a familiar scene, her heart settles a little.

She heads to the kitchen.

Maeve is wearing an apron and humming. She moves around the kitchen like she’s dancing.

"You really like cooking, don’t you, Maeve?" Alicia says, a sad smile on her face.

Maeve stops humming. Her whole body whips around when she sees Alicia.

A smile slowly forms.

"Hey there. You’re finally up. You hungry?"

Maeve doesn’t ask if she’s okay. She already noticed the swollen eyes and the sad smile. She doesn’t need to ask anything.

Alicia is grateful for that. She’s not ready to share her feelings just yet.

"Yes, I’m starving. What do you have?"

"Well, I’m making carbonara for lunch, but it won’t be ready for another thirty minutes. I do have pancakes from breakfast this morning. You want that?" Maeve offers.

Alicia smiles.

"Yes, I do. Your pancakes are amazing. Last time, I didn’t get to eat a lot. Today I want to try different toppings."

"Good. That’s the spirit I like when someone demands food from me," Maeve laughs.

"For toppings, the favorites here are ice cream and maple syrup. Which one would you like?"

"Both. Together."

"Hm, bold. I like it."

Both of them laugh.

A few minutes later, Alicia is scooping ice cream and maple syrup into her mouth and sighs in satisfaction.

"That hits the spot, huh?" Maeve asks without looking at Alicia, her hands busy chopping bacon.

"Oh, I’m sorry. Was I that loud? That’s embarrassing." Alicia chuckles awkwardly.

"But you can’t blame me. This is amazing, Maeve. You should open a diner or something. I’ll be your ever loyal patron."

"Thanks for the compliment, Lutherford. But I don’t want to." Maeve continues chopping, calm and steady. "I like cooking for Rhaenas. They’re my family. I love taking care of them."

"It shows," Alicia says. "They sure are lucky to have you cooking for them. I’d hire you as my personal private chef."

"Ha, you can’t afford me. You don’t have a job right now," Maeve teases.

"Ouch. Attack right where it hurts." Alicia pretends to wince, clutching her chest dramatically.

Maeve chuckles softly.

"So, what are you going to do next?" Maeve asks as she reaches for the eggs and cheese, preparing the next step for the carbonara.

"You want to know if I’m going back to being chief?" Alicia asks, shoveling another spoonful of food into her mouth.

Maeve glances at her briefly but says nothing.

"The answer is no."