The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet
Chapter 139: Family and Family

Chapter 139: Family and Family

“Mother grounded Tyell for what felt like forever.”

“He is still grounded.”

“I am allowed to leave the house…”

I said, “You don’t sound excited.”

This is fun.

The four of us were sitting on the couch, chatting away about anything and everything. Made even better that I didn’t have to deal with any pain, swimming with all my thoughts.

I didn’t have to control my expression or anything; I could breathe and laugh.They told me about Tyell’s disaster of a trip with Lila from their point of view, Lila didn’t give too much details on the specifics and Tyell was also definitely hiding some of them, though in Lila’s case it was because of not enough time to go everything, Tyell just didn’t when to say what exactly happened in front of his family.

We talked about other topics, how Mella’s school and romance life were going. Which caused her to explode like a pink balloon. 

Mother apparently had nothing interesting going on, according to her, but Mella was quick to point out that she had started knitting with plants. Apparently, she tried with wool and string, but the process was too slow.

“Mum… you have gardens with plants that take ages to grow, I know you speed up the growth of some of your plants, but I know you don’t do that for all of them.”

This time it was my mother’s turn to turn red.

There was a bit of back and forth, pointing out things each other had done. They tried to make me embarrassed by some of my past actions, but I had a heart of steel. Well, Starlight, nothing was going to affect me.

After that, we ate food, watched shows and movies, and even played some games. We honestly did everything we could to just have fun together. 

It was getting really late, considering I arrived back on Metous in the morning, night had fallen long ago, but the day wasn’t done giving up surprises. 

“Hey, everyone!” Lila came knocking through the front door with the spare key she was given.

Everyone jumped up, surprised to see her face.

“Didn’t someone say she wasn’t coming because she wanted me to have alone time with my family?” I ratted her out immediately.

“I… figured you had plenty of that already.” Lila awkwardly smiled. 

Tella moved towards her and immediately gave Lila a hug. “It is good to have you back.”

My two siblings also went up to give her a hug. Mella dived into her while Tyell gave her a slightly awkward hug.

Ha, silly little lot.

“How are you back?” Tella asked, from when they were told, it would be impossible for Lila to come back for a long time.

Lila winced, “Think of it as a present because Ceella is back, that I am allowed to be here for a little bit.”

“Well… It is good to have you back at least for a little while.” Tella gave her another hug, then pulled her over to the family couch to eat some food and join in on the activities.

We were already playing a game, so Tyell threw her another controller, and she immediately joined. 

More games, more shows, and more food. We did everything as relaxed as possible. 

Everyone besides Mella was high enough level that getting tired wasn’t exactly an issue for the minimal activities we were doing.

Though we chose to rest not because we needed to, but because the idea of everyone waking up tomorrow with everyone around sounded like a good scenario, it was a way to mimic the everyday life that I had been missing for my short trip away.

…It is good to be back…

I took the marble with me, so I could study it. This marble was how I was able to get back, so creating additional duplicates was on my to-do list. Without it, I would’ve needed to forcibly break my way through back to this side of Existence, and according to Espr, that might’ve taken a few hundred years. 

I was linked to my domain, and had a feeling I could jump back to it with a little bit of effort, but coming out again may be a bit harder the second time. The marble seemed exhausted as the energy that flowed within left it weak and brittle, and it needed time to handle another load that intensive.

Mella gave me a hug. “Thank you for returning again, Sis.”

“Don’t mention it.” I embraced her as reasonably tightly as I could for a loving hug. “You are warmer, Sis.”

“You can blame the alcohol.”

Mella said, “I’m pretty sure you are unaffected.” 

“Whattt, noooooo.” I giggled.

Mella then asked, “Will you be gone for a long time again?”

I answered truthfully, “If I am gone again for any long, extensive time in the future, it shouldn’t be because I am lost or dying somewhere. It could be because I am travelling or doing something fun for myself.” I loved my family, but that didn’t mean I was going to spend every waking moment with them, but I was going to spend a lot of that time with them.

Tyell walked to me for his serious talk, “...Thank you for coming back… alive.”

I sighed and smiled, “Shouldn’t I be saying thank you for being alive when I came back? You were trying your best.”

Tyell sighed, “I fucked up, I know, so I guess I just need to thank my lucky stars.”

“You better.” I gave him a slight chop on the head. “I would’ve dragged your soul back from wherever it ended up, and you would not like to see what I would do with it.”

Mother came up to me last. “Knowing you, you would like some alone time, so enjoy the remainder of the night.” She had said her piece early and was just happy that I was back, alive, and looking better than ever.

“Thanks, Mum.” Everyone made for a little split, and I went to the backyard to enjoy the view of the sky. I could see even further away now, thanks to my new eyes and skills, so I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. I, of course, loved my domain’s starry space, but that didn’t mean I now dislike the wonders of preexisting starry sky, and now that I could make my own, it was the perfect time to get inspiration.

I went to the backyard ready to lie on the ground to stare at the sky, but Lila followed behind. 

“Can we talk, Ceella?”

“Sure.”

The two of us sat in the backyard near the garden. Lila looked towards the barbecue that was sitting in the yard, “Heh, last time I was here, I was discussing committing crimes with Tyell.”

“Don’t tell me we are going to repeat crime planning talk,” I asked with a playful stare. 

She grimaced, “No, thank you, I would rather not be locked down for an even longer period of time.”

“So… what did you want to talk about?” I asked, by the way her expression shifted and how she tensed her hands, she clearly wanted to tell me something.

The words spilled out of her heart. “Rosa was going to ask you out with the intent to marry.”

“What…” My jaw dropped.

…How… when… what….

My brain was fried.

I needed to ask, “Wait… does my family know?”

“Mella knew, because I told her the story.” Lila paused, “I think the rest don’t know…”

“You don’t sound confident.”

“I…” She sighed, “I think she has an inkling of something.”

“How?”

Lila let out a depressed giggle, “Hehe… My first Vocation was [Flower Maid] because I wanted to be part of the wedding, and I think that information had slipped.” She tapped her finger on the chair. “I was so excited for the day, I know, if things went to plan, you two would only start dating, but it was a dream I had, I had looked forward to the day you would be part of my family, to do the day I would be a part of yours.”

“Wow…” I slipped down the chair ever so slightly. “Not exactly what I was expecting…” If anything, I was expecting something on the lines of ‘thank you for being alive’. 

“Sorry if this was a bit much…”

“No, no, no.” I quickly sat back up. “It is all good, I am just… well surprised.”

How could I not be?

(“ Her chance at romance, lost before it even began ”)

This is a serious moment, Espr.

(“ Congrats, but don’t actually fry your head, you just got that fixed ”)

Is that possible?

(“ Anything is possible if something tries hard enough ”)

Okay… Any actual reason for the interruption?

(“ You looked like you needed a reset ”)

Yeah… maybe I did.

I asked, “Why now?”

“...Because I had to tell you… I have been holding it in for a long time, you know?” Lila twiddled her fingers. “I remember all the talks I had with my sister, where she debated asking you out, and I tried to push her forward to do it.” 

I can’t say that I saw Rosa as a romantic interest. I had enough burns in that field to have a near-zero interest in dating, but if she had asked… I could’ve seen myself accepting because it could’ve been fun.

Maybe it is best that it didn’t happen, would’ve hurt more losing her.

“Thank you for telling me.” 

“Thanks for listening.” Lila let out a long exhale to get it all out of her system. Once she was done, she told me, “Nina actually let me come here so I could keep an eye on you.”

“Jumping straight onto another topic?” I asked, “And are you sure you were supposed to say that?”

“She didn’t say I couldn’t?” Lila shrugged. “And yes, I got my emotions out of the system, and I am supposed to return tomorrow, so best I tell you now.”

“Any reason why you asked me to?” I had a feeling it had something to do with Nina’s first reaction when I came back.

“Not exactly..?” Lila paused, “She told me to make sure you were still you? I honestly am still unsure what she even meant, sorry.” 

“That’s fine, so am I any different?” I asked, hoping to get a laugh.

“Yes? You are more… relaxed. You are speaking similarly, but it looks like you were successful getting the weight off your shoulders.”

“Was I really that bad at hiding it?” 

“I don’t think so? It is just, really obvious with how effortless your actions seem now.”  Lila said with a warm smile, “You are certainly better this way, so if you are different, it is a good difference.”

“Thanks.” I smiled, “When I figure out the safety, I do need to show you a cool place I made.”

“Pardon?”

“I happened to acquire my own little spot in Existence, which I can do anything I want with.” 

“I’m not exactly sure what I should make of that?”

“Nothing until I show you.” I gestured, “My lips are sealed because it will be more fun that way.”

“Okay… well, on other news.” Her words turned cold, “It seems there have been major advancements on the Dominous Hood trackdown.”

“Oh yeah, I read about that.”

She flinched, “You did?”

“Yep, spied on the documentation that was left out.” 

“As on the tablets?” Lila asked.

“Yes.”

“...Your skills are bullshit,” Lila said.

“Hey, you can still tell me about the specifics. I only know what I previewed.” 

Lila sighed and smiled, “Well, here are the details.”

Over the next short period, Lila gave me everything she knew about the newest development. How what was deemed to be their central headquarters was found, information about their operation, and other smaller tidbits that were gained through a massive group effort through many different organisations.