Irene Rubinstein woke up a little more haggard than usual. She pushed her duvet off of her and slowly sat up. She had ended up sleeping in her work clothes again. It would've been quite a problem for her any other time, but today was her rare day off so she didn't have to worry about it at all.

With a long yawn, she got off her bed and walked up to the mirror, leaving the mess as it was. Her hair was sticking out in a mess while her tired golden eyes with bags under them seemed to have dulled away. It was still fine a few days ago, but ever since she had asked her son to go to the Agriche Academy, his reaction and behavior left an unbearably large weight on her heart and tensed their relationship even more than before.

Tying her hair up, Irene yawned again and looked at the clock in her room.

7:45 AM

She had woken up pretty early.

Irene stretched a little before brushing and taking a bath. Somehow, Ralph was still not awake. She wore a casual ivory turtleneck and black lounge pants as she laid down on the couch in the living room and took out her holographic tablet pen. She opened up her email and scrolled through it.

[Weekly Report on Portal Study]

[Re: Education Loan Application]

[Artificial Portal Development Project Reports #117]

[SALE SALE SALE! Up to 60% off on anime goodies!]

[Natural Phenomena Code: SYS***01012459]

It was mostly work. Work she wouldn't bother with today.

The life of a researcher was hectic. Especially when everything they did had to be extremely discreet.

"Should I make something for him?" Irene thought of it when the pen in her hand buzzed. A notification appeared on the holographic screen from an unknown number.

Clicking her tongue, she opened the notification and was taken to the messaging app.

[>Irene?]

[>Please answer me]

[>How long are you going to avoid me? I just want to see Rin again, please.]

"I can't believe this man..." A frown spread on Irene's face. "Did he get a new number again?"

Irene quickly blocked the number and deleted the messages before folding the pen and placing it in her pockets. She slowly got off the couch and let out a big sigh.

It was already 8:30 AM.

She walked into the kitchen and put on an apron. Taking a look in the fridge and the desks, she clapped her hands together with a strangely bland face.

"I'll make some eggs and toast."

Irene took out the eggs, put some sliced bread into the toaster, and was about to start up the induction when footsteps came rushing down. She took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the kitchen.

'I'll talk to him, I definitely will.'

She leaned out of the kitchen to see her Ralph completely dressed up and ready to step out without even glancing towards her. "... Ralph, I am making som—"

"—Mother," Ralph interrupted her with his gaze still turned away. "You don't need to worry about the money for Agriche."

Was he going to refuse to go? She wouldn't stop him this time if he did, she only wanted to give him whatever he wished for. Or he wouldn't say something absurd like coming in the top 100, right? He couldn't do something even his sister didn't manage in her first year.

"I got someone to sponsor me."

It was something even more absurd.

"S-sponsor... what do you?"

"The head of the Teumessian Family, the one's whose child I saved," Ralph said, slowly turning toward her. "He came to visit me when I was in the hospital."

Irene clenched her teeth at Ralph's words.

"Anyway, I am going out."

With that, Ralph turned away from Irene and walked out the door without looking back even once.

Irene stared at the door for a few seconds before sighing and walking back into the kitchen. She turned on the tap and pushed her face underneath it, letting all the water fall on her head and streak down to her face, next to her glassy eyes.

Who was she to complain? She was the one to blame for everything.

She ignored her child, her own son at every important moment for him. She thought him weak and useless, and when she learned that wasn't the case, she tore him away from the one person he seemed to trust the most.

The incident where he was caught fighting criminals. Instead of worrying about him, she chose to call him a freak, a psychopath.

She justified it all, saying his face reminded her of that man. But the only thing he reminded her of was her incapability as a parent and his talent as a person.

She used to be a terrible mother. No, she still was.

Even now she thought him absurd and childish when he had long broken free of her image.

The family she tried to save from her ex-husband, she broke with her own hands.

She wanted to fix things. She wanted to be a mother to him again.

"But how...?"

***

{Host, was that ok?}

The system popped up with a stupid question as I was passing through the main streets again.

"What do you mean?"

{Just, like, I think she was crying back there}

I scoffed at the system's words. "Those must be some cheap tears then."

Taking the hint, the system shut up about the topic. I continued through the roads and came back to the first district where I had come three days back for the internet cafe.

Two days ago, after hearing my answer to his biggest question, Mr. Teumessian turned into an enthusiastic maniac as he kept assuring me of how he would take care of my costs and even went as far as saying he would help me with my general expenses, but of course, I refused that. I could only come back home after a long talk with him and now, including today, only two more days were left before the entrance exams for Agriche.

{Are we going to train?}

"Don't be stupid. I don't need things like training."

{You literally died from a troll}

"I wasn't willing to give it my all back then, system. Above the limiter, I was holding myself back. Now I don't, so there's nothing to worry about," I shrugged the system's worries away and continued onward.

"We're not going to train, we will be studying."

{Studying?}

"Yeah, we'll go to the public library and read up on all the entrance examinations conducted by Agriche in the last... seventy years."

The system's window grew gigantic and covered my eyesight.

{Seventy years?!}

"We have to prepare well. But I agree, it'll be a lot. I hope I don't get distracted.

{Actually, I might have a solution for that. Gimme a bit.}

I raised my eyebrows at the system's words right before entering the large building that housed the public library.

I stepped through the automatic doors and passed by a quick security check where I was given a small entry card.

As I entered, the enormous area of the atrium entered my sight. Rows and rows of floors rising up to forty-five storeys filled with bookshelves rose in clear view from the wide and empty space in front of me. Chairs and lounges with tables and desks complemented the lines of shelves, making more than enough space for hundreds of visitors to sit and read without even having to see each other. Small robots fluttered around the library, carrying trays filled with items people could order from their desks, be it an americano or a pizza, all of it was available in the libraries of Ternet. It was truly the country that valued its people above everything else.

Still gawking at the library, I searched through the digital kiosks kept at every other turn to locate the documents and books relating to Agriche and its entrance exams.

I took a lift up to the twenty-seventh floor and went down three aisles to collect the materials I need. For all the digitalized documents, I just had to tap on them with the card I was given and they would appear as holograms on whichever seat I chose for myself.

It took me around fifteen minutes to collect everything after which I sat behind a desk and spread out the books. Just on time, the system's window opened up again.

{I am back! Those calculations sure took a while!}

"If only you were more useful, you could've done it faster," I teased back.

{I am sorry, I'll disappear, ok? I'll do it, I'll stop bothering you}

"Tsk. Show me that 'solution' of yours and then go into depression." What an annoyance.

{Right!}

Just then, another window opened up in thin air and settled itself into the left of my gaze.

{Task [Entrance Examination Preparations] logged}

{Task Goal: Study the examinations of Agriche for the past 75 years.

= Task Completion: 0%

------

Please use commands to break down the task further and to set mini goals}

{How's that?} The system's usual window asked.

"It's just what I needed."

I smirked and stretched my fingers. I had a lot to study on.