12 Aspiration

"Irene, this is our benefactor—Miss Viola. She is the one who saved us." Helder pleasantly informed his daughter in the carriage.

Stepping into the carriage, what greets her was the sight of the young girl in her early teens that she saw before from afar. The daughter of the duke.

"Heya~ Nice to meet you!" Viola greeted her with a friendly smile while putting effort to hide her unrest by acting cheerful.

"G-greetings, Miss Viola. I-I'm Irene. N... nice to meet you!" The young girl timidly greets back while trying to keep her composure.

She was watching Viola fighting the bandits from a distance earlier, but now that she is seeing her savior up close, her beauty was overwhelming for the young girl that she finds it hard to organize her messy thoughts. And the thought of having seen "everything" that is beautiful of her which meant the image of her completely bare popping up in her head doesn't help either.

"S-sorry. It's just that- it's my first time meeting an elf in person and... you are very pretty..." Irene complimented with a beet-red face.

'Oh, the ears... right. I'm not exactly an elf though, but I suppose the ears of a half-elf and a vampire are both very similar in a way...'

"Uh, thanks. But you are also very pretty yourself~"

Indeed now that she has a closer look, the girl sitting in front of her is also very beautiful. She's at least a head taller than Viola. With her soft-looking pink lips and crystal clear azure doe-eyes accompanied with delicate lashes and her chest-length pure silver hair as white as snow over her small breast. She was well-dressed with an elegant bow dress and a stylish robe—fitting that of a noble daughter which alludes further to her delicate appearance. She exudes an aura of gentleness to all those around her. An ideal image of a beautiful noble's daughter.

While she possesses a natural noble exterior, Irene grew more flustered as she blushed even more with embarrassment of having just been complimented by someone as charming as Viola and Helder who is sitting next to Irene in the carriage could only chuckle at his daughter's cuteness.

'Ah hell. It's getting awkward already. I am not prepared for this—this kind of female interaction...' Viola cursed internally.

The atmosphere in the carriage is just oozing with awkwardness as it finally begins to move.

Looking out the window, one could see the smoke from the burnt pile of the bandits' bodies that everyone piled up and set ablaze with flammable oil. It took a bit longer as everyone had to walk quite the distance just to retrieve the bodies and had to drag them back thanks to her sending them flying so far away with her attacks. Remembering the scene helps set her mind away from the awkward atmosphere in the carriage as she watches the smoke slowly distance away from view. It was the sight of death she's all too familiar with no matter which world she's in. And being the one responsible for those deaths only reminded her of who she was—a killer.

Not a few seconds have passed after that and already Viola was facing a predicament. The scent of the young girl in front of her is making her unnaturally restless. She's not sure if it's her vampiric race that's acting up because her scent is also triggering her appetite in a way that's difficult to explain or that because she's been alone for a long time now and that it's been a while talking to anyone let alone someone of the opposite sex. And despite her many experiences with talking to many girls in the past, underage girls are not one of them.

Desperately looking for a distraction—even if it's temporary, she discreetly glances around the carriage which felt smaller than she remembered before her eyes once again landed on Irene who is sitting opposite of her. She was carrying an expression of wanting to say something but is hesitating to do so.

Inspecting her appearance again, besides her beautiful appearance which can even hide her tenseness, she also (unintendedly) took notice of her breasts which were bigger than hers yet still small due to her age.

'At least she has something... Compared to me, I'm an ironing board, but at least it's something I'm used to as a guy. Well, it is what it is. And I'll tell you that flat is justice! That's what it is!' She smiled to herself at finding more positive aspects for her current body appearance. And like that, her quest of finding a temporary distraction was successful.

"Um, M-miss Viola? I-I want to thank you for saving my father⁠—and everyone!" Irene, with her face still red, suddenly spoke up, causing Viola to snap out of her distraction.

"Huh- Oh yeah. Don't worry too much about that. And you don't need to be formal with me or anything." She gave a confident smile, hoping that a more casual approach would help alleviate the awkwardness between them.

"O-oh! W-well if it's fine with you, then- please just call me Irene a-and please excuse my impoliteness from earlier..."

Viola cursed her social and conversation skills that had been so poorly rusted and degraded due to many years of trauma and shut-ins in the past. She even finds normal conversations to be troublesome unless it's over a beer. But thanks to her higher mind, it really helps to keep her mental state calm and stable the entire time while having the right words she wanted to say to be ready upfront at all times.

'Nonetheless, I could still use a drink right now.'

With a sigh, she decided to change the subject to a perhaps less awkward one.

"So... are you a mage by any chance?"

"Y-yes!" Irene responded, a bit taken aback.

She was able to tell by sensing her mana which she could tell apart from a magic user and a non-magic user. It's the feeling of mana being more attuned with their bodies as it circulates throughout their bodies in a certain way that is similar to a great example like her father. Although the feeling of her mana circulating in her body is very rough compared to her father.

"Although... I'm only a beginner and... I'm having problems..."

Irene had a downcast look and Helder next to her had a sorrowful expression.

"It's truly a shame. She's already thirteen and she still hasn't mastered the basics of magic. She has poor mana retention and conversion abilities and would fail at invocation at times. Therefore, she struggles a lot more compared to her peers. She also doesn't have any friends because of that." Helder dejectedly spoke with a sigh.

"Despite all my efforts... I'm always lacking. I'm not as good as my talented sister... I'm sorry."

At the mention of her sister, she only grew more dispirited.

'I guess she's like a late bloomer, yet she must have felt like she's the odd one out among her peers. And the pressure she must be feeling as the daughter of a duke must be great. Poor girl... What she needs is as much encouragement and support as she can get.'

"Don't give up. Not giving up is already half the journey. Those that are talented and work hard, reach their goals just a little faster than others. Those without talent but work hard, the journey is far, but not unreachable."

With her encouraging words and gentle expression, both the father and daughter's eyes lifted with surprise. With an encouraging smile, she continues.

"I believe you'll make it. Hard work is like walking. You will never reach the end of your journey if you don't walk. So keep moving forward and never stop. If there's an obstacle in the way, get over it."

Viola confidently spoke up until the last three words that she spoke caused her to be interrupted by a brief flashback of a certain "Getting Over It" game. And the ironic part was, she never finished the game but gave up on it and went back to Roblox. As a gamer, it was a truly shameful moment for her.

After remembering something like that, she's now in a sulky mood and yearns for a drink more than ever.

The father and daughter duo on the other hand was left speechless at her inspirational words and heart-melting charming smile from earlier.

With teary eyes, Irene finally spoke.

"Thank you... Viola. I will forever remember your kind and precious words in my heart."

'Oh no she's crying. Shit! I'm not good with kids, especially the crying ones! What do I do?'

"Um, you're tearing up a bit there. Are you okay?" Viola asked with a hint of panic.

"Y-yes! Forgive me for being unsightly... it's just that—besides my father, no one has ever said something so nice to me before. I'm just so touched..."

"H-hey, if it helps, I can be your friend that would help cheer you on. If you're fine with it. So... stop crying okay? You're prettier when you smile instead."

Irene's face lit up with elation from what she just heard from the little girl in front of her.

"R-really? Thank you, Viola! Thank you so much!"

"We're friends now. So call me Vio." She gave another sweet smile.

Her expression changes to that of ecstasy as she was able to make her first friend and a friend as kind and beautiful as her.

"Y-yes... Thank you so much... Vio." Irene said with a heartfelt smile as she wiped her tears away.

Viola could only give a quiet sigh after what she couldn't believe just happened.

'I just made friends with a thirteen-year-old on the first day of my transmigration... What has my life come to?'

Meanwhile, Helder was also in tears from what just transpired in front of his very eyes, the sight of something more magical than the most beautiful spell, something he never thought of seeing but always dreamt of as he was overwhelmed with happiness.

'I haven't seen Irene smile so happily in a long time. My precious daughter making friends with someone like Miss Viola is possibly the greatest blessing. I know she's a kind person and I trust her completely who has saved our lives today. She would definitely make a great friend for Irene who never had a friend before and hopefully, with someone like Viola who is no doubt a lot more than what she seems, she could perhaps help with Irene's magical training. I could even learn something from her. Her words earlier were the most breathtaking thing I've ever heard and I am just eager to know more!'

"Miss Viola, I am forever grateful for your kindness. I hope both of you will get along happily."

"It's... no big deal. And I did recall saying to drop the formality earlier."

"Ah, my apologies. It's just that I believe you are a hero who deserves the greatest respect, but if you prefer it that way then I will do as you wish." Helder said while rubbing the back of his head.

'That's better. The whole formal thing isn't really my style and having a duke being so formal to someone like me is awkward in itself.'

Viola then relaxes a bit in her seat after things have toned down a bit. This carriage ride that she agreed to travel together with will take a while. She could probably reach the town in less than an hour at her pace if she just ask for its directions, but she figured it's better to be a little patient and not miss out on the opportunity of hanging out with the people of this world and enjoy one of the joys of fantasy life while using this chance to obtain some information. And so far, it was an awkward start, but now she can finally take the opportunity for some enlightening discussions.

One thing she learns from the duke along the way is that he is a father who just loves to dote on his daughters at every chance he gets as he cherished both his two daughters more than anything. His love for Irene could even be seen as overprotective while at the same time bragging about how wonderful and proud he is of Celestine, who she learns is the name of the older daughter. This goes on for almost the entire time and she has no choice but to sit through with it. It's almost like he's trying to impress her through his daughters and not so much with his status as a high-ranking nobility and his accomplishments.

Irene, despite being the daughter of a duke, would often be looked down on by her peers due to her low talent for magic. No matter how much Irene's father and sister help her, she would still struggle. So while the older daughter, Celestine, was busy studying in an institute for magic, these two were traveling to help with his younger daughter's magical training in hopes for her to be ready for when she enters the prestigious magical institute in the capital, the same institute that the older daughter is attending.

Apparently, this entire territory including the town they were heading to is under the rule of the duke. He also served the royal family who ruled the Kingdom of Athalia, one of the great powers in Vastrallia.

They spoke for a bit more until they noticed Irene had fallen asleep leaning against her father's shoulder. After crying tears of happiness, she was finally able to relax and sleep in the bumpy carriage ride. When Helder looked at his daughter's adorable sleeping face, he couldn't help but have a look of pity on his gentle expression at how he wished he could have done more for his daughter. The sight was wholesome and heartwarming.

"If I may, are you by chance well versed in magical knowledge? Your healing magic earlier was superb that not even experienced mages and healers that I have seen⁠ can come close to your proficiency." Helder queried with an eagerly lowered voice.

"Well~ I do know some tricks when it comes to magic."

"I-if that's the case, would it be all right if you would be able to guide Irene in her magical training for a bit? I know I'm asking a lot considering you have already done more than I can ever repay you so you have every right to refuse. So I'm asking you—not as the Duke of Athalia, but as a father."

Viola, seeing the earnestness in his eyes, gave it some thought.

It wasn't exactly a lie about her being well versed in magic. While it's true that she does lack many magical skills as her skill list was about as sad as her social media page, the <Cosmic Mind> skill already makes her a complete master when it comes to magical concepts and manipulation as she basically already has the whole thing down easier than breathing. One could say that with this skill, no one else would even come close to her when it comes to talent in magic. All she needs is to just learn some new spells simply by observing them and she would be able to grasp them instantly like a download button.

So if Irene is just having trouble in her magical manipulation and circulations and mana retention and conversion, she could easily show her the ropes and maybe learn something new for herself.

'And gaining some favors from a duke would definitely be favorable for me who just transmigrated here in this world.'

"I don't mind giving her a hand."

"A-are you really sure!?" Helder suddenly jumped in glee.

"Of course! She's my friend after all~"

At this point, Helder could no longer suppress his euphoria, even for him to stay quiet enough for his asleep daughter. The duke celebrated victoriously. It would seem that this trip for his daughter was worth it after all.

"I-in that case, you must let me reward you for saving us and for your troubles!"

"No need for that. I choose to help because she's my friend, remember~?"

"But-"

"It's fine. All I really want is to find a nice place to drink and just kick back for once."

'Even though she possesses such tremendous powers, she's so modest. She could've demanded much more from us if she wanted to, yet this is all she wants?' He was once again at a loss for words and could only stare in reverence at the person who not long ago blew away common sense like it's normal for her.

'It wouldn't be surprising at all that anyone would become disillusioned when possessing such great strength like hers. Yet she's so humble about it and her kindness is never-ending. That's certainly not how a Demon Lord or anyone evil would behave like.' He nods in affirmation.

After a few seconds of silence, Viola's attention was once again on Irene who was still asleep on her father's shoulder.

Seeing such a young and beautiful girl asleep also got her thinking on a subject she's been curious about lately. What if she sleeps as well to pass the time? So far, her new body hasn't even felt a nick of fatigue at all ever since her reincarnation. In fact, her body was still feeling more energetic than ever. It's the kind of energy where she could do things where she could never even dreamt of doing before. However, this energy was not like the kind of energy that would prevent her from falling asleep like caffeine would as it felt like she could fall asleep if she wanted to. As curious as she is wanting to find out how long her new body could stay awake, she was also curious about sleeping in this body as well. So asking herself: "So why not take the chance to try it now?"

At the curious thought, she gets into a comfortable position and relaxes her body. As no other thoughts arise, she closes her eyes and imagines falling asleep like a normal human. And before she knew it, she dozed off faster than she ever did before.

•••

The late afternoon sun shines over a metropolitan city as the sound of cars and traffic seems to be the prominent sound of the city. But as bright as the sun is, it failed to shine over many parts of the city due to its massive buildings.

One of those many shadowed places includes a back alleyway filled with discarded trash and a dumpster. The alleyway was eerily quiet with only the deaden rumbling sound of traffic and car horns could be heard in the distance.

In the dead-end corner of the alleyway, four people could be seen⁠—three men and one girl. They were all dressed in casual clothing and seemed to look out of place in the gloomy and dirty alleyway.

It would appear that the girl was cornered by the three guys. The girl had a youthful, innocent, but well-defined face and body despite her being in her early teens. Her big, captivating eyes carried the look of panic and fear as she stared at the three young men in front of her who had looks of malice.

"Hehe, I was pretty shocked when I heard that the cutest and prettiest girl in school doesn't have a boyfriend." One of them spoke.

"I was even more surprised when I found out that she is only a first-year. A first-year with looks like that? And no boyfriend?! That's outrageous!" Another one spoke in a fake surprised tone.

"Heh, I heard that no one dared to ask her out because she has a scary brother that has been scaring all the guys away." The third guy in their group, who is the bigger of the three, spoke.

"Psh! We're fourth-years. Why can't we have a little fun now? And besides, her brother ain't here now so how 'bout we'll take this opportunity and be her first boyfriend?" The one in the middle said with a vile expression.

"P-please don't!" The young girl pleaded as she started panicking even more.

"Don't worry, Violet~ We'll show you a good time and your first time." He chuckled.

The guy in the middle pulls out his pocket knife and walks closer to her until he is standing in front of her.

"Now strip."

Greater fear washed over Violet as it confirmed to her what the three guys wanted of her. Yet even with such fear, she refused to comply with his detestable order.

"Come on! I wanna see it—you pretty little thing."

"N-no! I only allow big brother to see-"

*Smack*

"Eep!"

Violet yelped in pain as the guy suddenly slapped her across her cheek.

"Behave and strip before I cut up your face, bitch!"

At his threat, the young girl reluctantly complied and moved her hands to undress, but her hands were shaking far too much and failed to do so.

"Oh? Ya havin' some trouble there? Then allow me to assist!"

With a devilish smile, he pounced on her and began pulling and even started cutting up her clothes as the girl screamed and begged.

"Shhh, it's okay. No need to cry. I'll take care of you. I'll be your big brother hehe."

He began to unzip his pants and pulled down his drawers. With his 'little buddy' sticking out, he sticks it closer to her face. Violet tearfully looked away from the last thing she wanted anywhere near her face.

"Come on. Give it a little kiss. Right here—and remember to breathe through your nose, *Vio*." He mockingly said.

"Nah, don't do it, bro. She'll bite it off. You know how these high-class bitches are like." One of his friends joked from behind.

After some thought, the pantless guy spoke up with a disgusting smile.

"All right then- if this lip won't do it, I'm sure your other one will have no objections."

Violet grew paler than paper from those dreadful words.

"N-no! Please! Somebody help me! Please! Big brother!!"

Violet cried out but was muffled by the guy's hand covering her mouth and the flat side of his knife pushed against her cheek.

"Hey-hey, it's all right, Vio. It'll feel much better in a second."

"Oh, this is my fantasy right here!" The bigger one of the two standing behind chuckled.

"Make sure you save some of her for me, all right?" The second one sniggered.

"Don't worry, Vio~ You will like it. I know you will..." He had an abhorrent expression.

No matter how much Violet screamed, no one will be able to hear her in such an isolated location... no one but one.

"Let her go." A cold stoic voice, deeper than any other voices there, was heard from behind them.

Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked behind them. The person standing menacingly at the entrance of the alleyway was a tall buff man in his twenties. His facial features were a bit hard to make out due to the poor lighting of the alleyway and the light shining outside of the alleyway from behind the man.

"Oh, look at this big guy." One of them spoke up.

The guy that was on Violet earlier pulled up his pants and brandished his knife.

"Looks like someone that wants to play hero."

"Wait, doesn't this guy look like her brother?" The other one, who is the bigger of the three thugs, spoke up with a hint of fear. Despite him being the biggest of the three, he's a joke when compared to the man in front of them.

"It doesn't matter who he is! Hurry up and beat the shit out of this clown!"

Thinking that there's strength in numbers, the three weren't too worried as one of them rushed at the man in an attempt to take a swing at him.

However, the man easily caught his very amateur swing. He then bent and twisted the thug's arm and locked it behind his back, causing the thug to holler in pain. The man then grabbed his head and gave it a quick twist, dislocating his neck and snapping his spinal cord. Like a puppet that had its strings cut, the thug wordlessly fell to the floor paralyzed with his half-broken neck.

The second guy behind him immediately follows up after his downed friend and tries to throw a punch at the man, but he was already expecting him to follow after his friend.

Despite the second attacker being bigger than the one before him, the man effortlessly blocked his swing and immediately landed a solid jab right in the nose—causing him to stagger back in pain while grabbing his nose. These high schoolers obviously never took a punch before making this work easier for the man.

As he was stunned from the hit, the man grabbed the back of his head and slammed his neck on the open rim of the alley dumpster, crushing his windpipe and Adam's apple and causing him to gag painfully before letting go as he hit the ground and continued to choke on the floor.

The last thug was obviously scared from seeing his two buddies being taken out so fast and in such a brutal manner. Yet he still charged head-on anyways⁠—believing that he had the upper hand with the knife on hand.

"You fucking bastard!" He cried out like a rabid animal.

A knife is a very advantageous weapon in a street fight, but when in the hands of an amateur high school thug, who has never gotten into a real fight nor have they ever taken a life before going up against someone who already had quite a large amount of bodies piled up, it was as simple as going back to basics for the latter.

"I'll kill you!!"

He stabbed forward towards the man's chest hoping to land a lethal strike immediately. But for the man, this kid was way too slow.

The man dodge out of the way of the knife and grabbed his knife wrist in a wristlock. He then immediately followed up with a quick jab to the face to flinch him and then snapping the thug's arm at an angle that was not supposed to turn. His screams filled the alleyway while his hand was still grasping the knife thanks to the man also grasping hard on that very hand. With silent anger and an iron grip, the man swung the kid's wrist down and plunged the knife right into his crotch and forcefully twisted it.

The pain must have been out of this world as the kid was gasping in utter shock with an expression of being unable to choose whether to scream louder than any girl or just continue to struggle to let the scream out. But the man didn't even give him the time to decide or scream and instead gave him a nasty left hook to the jaw. It was a punch fueled by anger and hatred, something even he had never used against any of his enemies while out in the field. The kid was knocked out the moment he ate that left hook. His jaws were completely dislocated⁠—knocking out a couple of teeth before his head slammed against the dumpster leaving a bloodstain on it. He was bleeding profusely from the head and crotch, but there was no sign of remorse from the man. His only remnants of sympathy for them was: "Fuck 'em".

After all the threats were quickly dealt with, the man quickly made his way to the little girl. When the girl clearly saw who it was, she made no time to jump right into the man with the tightest hug she could muster.

"Big brother!!" She burst into tears as her shout and sobbing were muffled due to her face being buried into the man's chest. He gently hugged back.

The man was indeed the young girl's older brother. And while the older brother was truly relieved to see his sister unharmed, he didn't feel joy. Seeing his sister, who was always happy and cheerful, being in such a shriveled and miserable state only made the brother start trembling with pure anger. Her continuous cries in his chest only make him want to take the knife that was embedded in that fucker's crotch and slit all three of the thugs' necks. But comforting his sister takes precedence above all else.

As someone who already experienced many traumatic experiences before, he dreads that his poor little sister would have to go through a damaging experience of her own. And although he made it on time to save her, he only truly prays that his sister could fully recover and leave this traumatic experience behind.

•••

Viola stirred awake to find herself inside of a familiar carriage.

'A dream... no, that dream again…'

But even after getting the familiar dreams, she's not feeling lethargic as usually would mentally or physically whenever she wakes up from one. Perhaps it's her new body or her current mind that she could easily shrug it off now. But still...

'Now I remembered why I hate sleeping. Even after getting Isekai'd, I still can't seem to get away from them.'

After quickly rising out from her half-sleep state, she glances around the carriage to see Irene still asleep with her head still leaning onto her father's shoulder. But Helder himself was awake.

"A-are you all right? Did you have a bad dream?" Helder asked with a look of genuine worry. He had noticed her stirring in her sleep earlier and that her complexion didn't look too good after waking up.

'It must have been a terrible dream when even someone like her is disturbed in her sleep...'

"It's nothing. I'm used to it." With a stoic expression, Viola casually brushed it off.

'Used to it!?' Helder was a bit shocked about what she said.

"How much time has passed while I was out?"

"It- it's been about four hours. The pace has been really smooth so it would seem that we will make it to Silvafall earlier than expected."

Looking out the window and seeing the position of the sun, she guessed it to be around 4:00 pm. That is if a day in this world lasts the same as a day on Earth, considering how long the day's been feeling.

'This day is lasting longer than One Piece arcs.' Viola clicked her tongue.

However, she has been counting every second since obtaining 『Cosmic Mind』 and it turns out that it lines up with the revolving speed of the sun and that it looks to be about the same as Earth's. Perhaps it's just been a really crazy day with an unrealistic amount of stuff to process.

Taking another glance at Irene, the sight of the defenseless sleeping young girl was pulling her heartstrings after that dream she just had.

"I think I'll get some air."

"O-of course. Please don't push yourself, Mis- Viola."

Helder could only look as the little purple-haired girl opened the carriage door and effortlessly hopped off the moving carriage like it was the simplest task in the world. Her dexterity far surpasses that of even the most seasoned warriors from what he has seen so far. He was once again slumped in amazement by her as he went over his thoughts.

'She has that look in her eyes... If you can look past her radiant beauty and calm facade, you could see the same look that many people who are well versed in grief and death possess. Eyes that have seen countless deaths and suffering. It must have been some hardship the poor girl had to go through. Thinking about it now, she looks younger than my daughter, yet she looked like she had been through so much in her life⁠—possibly even more than I have.' He shivered at the thought. He could never stop being astonished at everything about the girl and the unimaginable things she could do and must have gone through in such a tiny body she has.

Helder glanced at his daughter still fast asleep on his shoulder and felt a strong emotion of sorrow inside.

"I just can't imagine it..."