Chương 24: Chapter 23: Back on Earth to Meet Family

As I looked around, the buildings were much more advanced than they used to be, despite being on an empty residential road. In the distance, I could hear sounds as the familiar noise of cars came into my ears. I was truly back. The first thing I did was to find out where I was as I looked at a street post to try to understand my location. To my dismay, I didn't know any of these street names. The only thing I could think of was either ask someone or wander around, as I didn't have a phone on me.

The first person I decided to ask was Himari, as she was only recently summoned and should know the current world better than I do. To my misfortune, she doesn't know either. I decided to bite the bullet and ask someone before I quickly realized what I was wearing was strange. One after another, there was constantly a new problem right after coming back. In the end, I just ignored the embarrassment at the potential of being seen as a weird person and searched for someone to ask for directions.

After a short walk, I entered a street with many people who were walking around. I then approached the closest person near me to ask for directions. The man I asked looked at me strangely but didn't ask further and quickly told me what I wanted to know. I then wondered what had happened since I was gone, as over ten years ago I would have been looked at as a strange man, yet now people don't even ask. Himari explained, "Fantasy stories have become very popular since you were gone.

Many people dress up and walk the streets like this normally, so it isn't that strange." I then realized things are no longer the same. Many things have changed without my knowledge, and everything now felt very new. I then followed the directions the man had told me about. After much walking, I started recognizing the street I was on, as I had been on it so many times before. As I continued walking, the home in my memory finally appeared. I quickly walked to the door, anticipating a reunion with my family.

I then knocked on the door, anxiously waiting for my family to answer. After a lengthy amount of time, I finally heard the door starting to turn. As the door opened, the figure of my mom appeared, which made me feel very emotional. I hadn't seen her for over a thousand years, and I was starting to forget what she looked like. When the door completely opened and my mom started looking up to see who it was, she froze upon seeing my face. She then quickly rushed up to hug me as tears started flowing from her eyes.

She then asked, "Where have you been all this time? Why couldn't we find you for so many years?" I then let her cry as she hugged me, as I too was starting to get emotional. My mom has grown quite old after all these years. She originally had long black hair and a sharp, youthful face. Now, after so many years, she had several gray hairs and many wrinkles. I can only imagine what she had been through all these years. She then quickly pulled me in, seemingly having many questions to ask me.

As we arrived in the living room, she quickly made me sit down and started questioning me. She then looked next to me to see a woman by my side and wondered who she was. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I then explained what I could, omitting some things since it would take too long to explain. I told her how I was transported to another world with magic and had met Himari there, who was in the same situation as me.

My mom then asked, "Did you hit your head while you were gone? What kind of nonsense are you talking about? If you don't want to tell me, then you don't have to." I then decided to show her, as I wouldn't have believed any of this either if I hadn't experienced it. I then created a fireball in one hand and an ice shard on the other. I then hit the two together to create steam. My mom then looked at what I just did in shock, but quickly said, "That doesn't prove anything.

Those are just some parlor tricks any magician could do nowadays with some technology." I was surprised even something like this wasn't enough to convince her. Has technology become so advanced these days? I then asked, "What do you want to see for you to believe what I told you?" My mom then said, "Then how about you magically turn me younger? Looking at you now, you have barely aged since ten years ago, so you should be able to do the same to me, right?" I then thought about it and realized I could do it.

I then attempted to give the Outsider system to her, unsure if it was possible since this was not the other world. To my surprise, it quickly succeeded, as her face lost her wrinkles and her hair turned back to black. She even looked younger than what I remembered before being transported to the other world. She now looked like a beautiful young adult woman instead of like my mother. My mom felt a change as her body was growing younger.

Unsure what had just happened, she looked in a mirror to see her new appearance, causing her great shock. After a moment of processing, she said, "I believe you now. How does magic actually exist?" I didn't know how to answer, so instead I asked, "Where are dad and my sister?" My mom replied, "Your dad and sister are still at work and will be back after a couple of hours." It seems I had to wait a while for them to return, so instead I could only wait.

I then decided to go to my room to change clothes and see if my things were still there. My mom then took the opportunity to make some phone calls, which I didn't mind, and continued to my room. I then took Himari to my room, saying, "What do you think of my mom?" Himari replied, "She's very caring. I never got to experience having a parent, but I can tell you have an amazing one." We then arrived at my room, which looked untouched after so many years.

I quickly found my old clothes and changed as Himari waited outside. After changing, I gave her a tour of my room. There wasn't much to show, as I was just your average high schooler before everything began. She looked at my room, much to my expectation, as there was really nothing special. As I finished what I was doing in my room, I went back to the living room with Himari to continue talking with my mom, as I had so many things I wanted to talk about.

As we arrived, my mom called us forward with a table full of food. The table had some of my favorites as well as many other things that looked delicious. My mom then said, "Quickly come and eat. You two must be tired after everything. Himari, you can just make yourself at home since you are a friend of my son." Himari decided not to be polite and sat down to eat. We then had a very filling meal, as I was hit by nostalgia at not having eaten my mom's food after such a long time.

The flavors were so deep in my memory that I couldn't even remember what it tasted like until now. After eating, I then started asking my mom questions of my own. I was curious how they had been all these years. My mom started talking about right after I disappeared.

"The day you went missing, we were very worried, as you didn't come home all night. We then called the police to put out a missing person report, worried you got kidnapped." My mom then looked down sadly.

"We then continued the search to no avail for months, and the police gave up, closing the case as there were no leads. We were devastated and had trouble living for a while. It took us a year before we barely moved on." With a slight smile on her face, she looked up, continuing, "Afterwards, your sister put her energy into focusing on her studies, completely turning into a lawyer to find ways to access resources to find you. She has now become a new lawyer who is gaining some fame in her field."

I was surprised by my sister becoming a lawyer. Though she was smart, I didn't think she was smart enough to achieve such a role and even do so well. As I continued to ask my mom questions, the hours went by, and I felt my trip back was worth it. Finally, my wait paid off, as the door opened, bringing home the faces I anticipated to see. My sister and father have come back, reuniting my family. They quickly rushed towards me to check that I was real. I then explained in the same way I had done before to my mom.