Reincarnated With A Glitched System: Why Is My MP Not Running Out?

—–

“Honestly, what’s gotten into you lately? I thought we were doing fine, but over time you’ve tried to distance yourself from us. Why?” Celeste asked.

“I… well, I think the same,” I nodded. “I’m sorry if it comes out as rude…”

“I… I have?” Ruby asked. She didn’t seem to have realized. “I didn’t… I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

She rubbed her arm, looking embarrassed, and I could clearly see it: sorrow weighed heavily inside her.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize for everything,” I said. “Hey… we’re your friends, and we worry about you, you know? If there’s… something you want to talk about, we’re here for you.”

“Yeah,” Celeste nodded.

“And I’m sorry if Celeste can be a little overwhelming, screams a lot, and acts rude,” I added. “But she’s a nice girl deep down.”

“W-Wha? I’m not rude, am I?” Celeste asked.

“…A bit,” Ruby sighed.

“Shit… sorry,” Celeste muttered. “I’ve got my own demons to deal with… haha, get it? As a demon.”

“Hahah…” Ruby chuckled weakly at the dumb joke. “I… well, yeah… I’ve got my own demons too. Stuff that I… I just can’t get out of my head sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy here, with all of you… and I can’t wait to go to that academy either… it’s just that… well.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked gently.

“Can we talk inside my room?” she asked. “Are the girls waiting outside?”

“Yeah, but they can wait a bit longer,” I said.

“Okay…”

We stepped into Ruby’s room. Celeste and I sat on her bed while she took the wooden chair, sighing deeply. She struggled to find the words for what was tormenting her.

“I’m sorry, I just… I sometimes feel like I’m not enough and… almost like instinctively, without realizing it, I act distant…” Ruby sighed. “All of you are great… but it feels like I don’t really fit sometimes… I… I’m sorry, it’s just my dumb insecurities. There’s nothing wrong with any of you.”

“Ruby…” I murmured, feeling a pang of guilt. “You do fit with us. We love you. Please don’t say that. Try to be more confident in yourself.”

“Hm…” Ruby offered a faint smile. “Really? You love me?”

“Of course we do, dummy!” Celeste groaned. “Oh my gosh, you’re so dense, Ruby. If we didn’t care about you or love you, we wouldn’t be here trying to help.”

“Ah…” Ruby’s eyes watered slightly. “I… I’ve just never really had friends like this before… I always had such short relationships… Sometimes I don’t know how to react or what to do with friends… it’s odd. I’m weird. Sorry…”

“Hmm! That’s fine. None of us were born knowing how,” I shrugged. “It’s something that comes from the heart once you spend a long time with people you care about… But it all depends on whether you… whether you care about us the same way we care about you.”

“…!”

“Yeah…” Celeste said. “Just listen to your heart, girl. What does it say?”

“My heart?” Ruby asked. “It… it says… what does it say?”

She looked confused by our words, but she slowly closed her eyes, trying to listen to herself.

To her inner voice, to her emotions, to what she truly wanted.

“I want to hang out and… buy cute clothes, hehe…” Ruby giggled softly, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. “I just… don’t know. I’m awkward like that sometimes. Sorry…”

“It’s fine,” I said, walking over and pulling her into a hug. “It’s okay, really… I know you’ve been struggling all your life… I just want to make you happier, Ruby. I love you as my friend, and you’re really awesome. You work so hard all the time. Everyone here admires you. Even Master Felicia always points out how hard a worker you are.”

“Yeah!” Celeste nodded. “So stop being such a crybaby. It’s okay, Ruby. No matter if you think you don’t fit in, you do! If you didn’t, we would’ve already kicked you out, hah!”

“Don’t say that!” I scolded her.

“Hahah…” Ruby giggled more freely now. Her laugh was so cute. “Okay, I get it… Thank you, Celeste. Thanks, Sylphy… I… Well, there’s a lot of things inside my heart, I guess. My own demons, like Celeste said, things that aren’t easy to get over, things I can’t always overcome… they… they eat away at my mind, and then… I become distant again.”

“Hm…” I nodded. “Maybe you need to face these fears, Ruby. Tell me what’s tormenting you so much? Is it… who I think it is?”

“Yeah…” Ruby said quietly.

“Your dad,” Celeste finished.

Ruby nodded again.

Welp, this was more complicated now. Her dad was truly an impossible person. He was a terrible man who literally hated his daughter and refused to acknowledge her identity—the worst kind of cruelty, especially when Ruby looked and acted so completely like a girl that no one would ever guess otherwise.

She had put immense effort into her appearance, her mannerisms, everything. People who poured so much into becoming their true selves deserved admiration. She wasn’t just someone who said she was a girl while looking the same as when she was born—she was a girl in every way that truly mattered, except the one she was born into.

I believed in the idea that some souls were born in the wrong body. Sometimes they adapted and accepted it; other times they changed their bodies to match their souls.

With my eyes and spiritual heart, I could see hers clearly. It burned with passion, resembling a beautiful goddess or a spirit of flames.

The problem lay with her dad. Their toxic relationship still haunted her, even now that she had gained independence. His words likely tormented her to this day.

“Do you really want to confront him?” Celeste asked. “A-Are you sure?”

“Yeah, do you think that’s okay?” I wondered. “Maybe just… well, if I were you, I’d forget about him.”

“…My dad wasn’t always like that,” Ruby sighed. “Back then, the dad I loved and remember… he was so kind and gentle with me. He was a dwarf, so of course he had his temper, but… he was a great dad. He loved my mother. And that’s why, when she died… in that accident… which… was my fault… he changed. He became so depressed and… I think he blamed me for all of it. And I deserve it…”

“It was an accident, Ruby. You were just a child,” I said firmly. “You weren’t at fault. Please don’t blame yourself.”

“Yeah, if your mom was as great as you say, I bet she’d be happy you’re living the life you wanted,” Celeste added, patting her shoulder.

“Hm… thanks…” Ruby sniffed. I handed her a handkerchief. “But still… I want to speak with him.”

“Okay then,” I nodded. “I guess it’s better this way—to let it all out and see what happens. Whatever the outcome, you’ll be able to hold your head high knowing you at least tried, right?”

“Yeah,” Ruby said, managing a small smile.

—–