Chapter 156: Chapter 156 - Letters
The plane had taken off smoothly, quickly leaving Los Angeles behind.
Inside a private cabin, the atmosphere gradually quieted down compared to before.
Owen and Lyra only lightly argued with each other over something on a phone, while Iris just quietly listened to music while glancing out the window.
Meanwhile, Theo simply sat there silently for a while.
His gaze slowly lowered, falling on the green necklace resting against his chest.
Memories of Alia flashed through his mind again.
’Right,’ he thought, slowly grabbing it between his fingers. ’Alia...’
The gemstone felt cold, yet also warm at the same time, with mana swirling around inside.
After a few more seconds of silence, he finally stood up from his seat.
’’I’ll be back in a bit,’’ he said calmly.
Neither Owen nor Lyra paid much attention, while Iris only glanced at him briefly before nodding once.
Theo quietly walked deeper into the plane, eventually reaching a separate area near the back.
Letting out a deep breath, he lowered himself into a seat.
Only then did he finally pull two envelopes out of his pocket.
One of the envelopes had his name stamped on it with the government’s seal underneath. The other... had his name written in very delicate handwriting.
Theo’s expression slowly grew darker.
The smile from earlier in the day... was completely gone now.
’Which one do I start with?’
He stared at both envelopes silently for several more seconds.
Then he put away the government-sealed one and glanced back at the one with delicate handwriting.
Carefully, he slid open the envelope.
The moment he took the folded paper out, his eyes were immediately drawn to the handwriting.
’Alia...’ he thought, clenching his fists slightly.
Finally, he unfolded the letter and began reading.
’’Heya Theo.
Your talent was honestly amongst the strangest... but also one of, if not the strongest, I’ve ever seen. But don’t let that get into your head!
That’s exactly what gets all those other SSS-rank talents killed.’’
A bitter smile appeared on Theo’s face.
He silently shook his head just ever so slightly.
Meanwhile, the letter continued.
’’You probably don’t know this since that cold ice—’’ A few letters were crossed through, ’’princess isn’t one who speaks a lot and since it’s usually pretty well hidden.
Basically, our country normally awakens between five and twelve SSS-rank talents each year.
But did you know only a little more than half of them survive their university years? And that only a quarter actually live longer than five years after those years?
Anyway, just ask the ice princess for more information.’’
Theo sucked in a deep breath of air.
Even though it was harsh seeing it put down in numbers, with everything that could happen... it made perfect sense to him.
’’I’d have rather she told me this in person though.’’
The same bitter smile reappeared on his face as he continued reading.
’’I’ll explain how that necklace works now.
Basically, it slowly stores healing mana over time and uses it all when you wish for it to.
Don’t know exactly how much it stores or how long it takes to regenerate it, but I guess it’s better than nothing, right?’’
Theo couldn’t help but snort quietly at that.
’’Of course it is,’’ he muttered, shaking his head.
He glanced back, seeing not many lines remaining on this page.
’’I was thinking of calling it the Emerald Heart. But you can always just decide something else as it’s not registered or something.
If you do get it registered, make sure to send me the results too, I’m curious if it’ll actually be an A-rank artifact.’’
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
For her to expect it to be such a high rank meant the effort and materials she put in must’ve been extraordinary.
That’s when his gaze fell on the final few lines of text.
’’Don’t die kiddo, you’ve got a great future ahead of you.
And don’t worry about feeling indebted to me either. Just pay it forward someday in the future.
Oh, and make sure you bring the other letter to that dumb ice princess.
She’ll definitely want to read it.’’
With that, her hand signature entered his eyes.
And that was it.
Theo slowly lowered the letter.
He stared out in front of him silently for several long minutes.
Finally, a very bitter but grateful smile appeared on his face.
’Thank you, Alia,’ he thought, closing his eyes for a moment. ’I’ll be sure to stay alive.’
Neatly folding the letter back up, Theo sealed it inside the envelope again.
’I’ll be keeping this for a long time and... as a reminder.’
For several more seconds, he simply sat there.
Even now, it still kind of felt surreal to him.
In his mind, it had practically only been a day and a half since he’d last seen her.
And now... all he had left were a necklace and a letter.
Finally, a small, but warm and accepting smile appeared on his face.
’Pay it forward she said,’ he thought. ’I’ll have to do just that in the future.’
Then his gaze shifted to the second envelope.
Without another thought, he broke open the seal.
Several neatly organized papers immediately slid into his hands together with a small black card.
But as he skimmed through the first page, his eyes widened slowly.
’’Property transfer 1: 1457 Halcyon Avenue, Denver, Colorado.’’
’’Approved.’’
He pulled back the first paper and skimmed through the second.
’’Property transfer 2: 8821 Glacier Crown Road, Anchorage, Alaska.’’
’’Approved.’’
And the third.
’’Property transfer 3: 301 Blackwater Pier Avenue, New York City, New York.’’
’’Approved.’’
Theo almost couldn’t believe his eyes.
Each one of them was in prime locations and in practically the largest cities in the country.
’What am I supposed to do with all those properties?!’ he thought, shocked and amazed. ’They must’ve been crazy expensive too!’
That’s when his eyes fell on the final paper together with the black card.
Unable to stop his curiosity, he continued reading right away.
