I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 249: Reconstruction Postponed

"She might only be Alicia Lutherford."

Theo’s voice cooled.

On the other end of the line, Captain Chambers let out a long sigh that crackled faintly through the speaker.

"Ms. Montrose. You don’t know her as well as I do. Trust me, she’s not herself. I just came back from visiting her, and you know what she was doing?" His voice rose in agitation. "She turned her entire apartment upside down. It was chaos. Drawers pulled out. Boxes everywhere. It looked like she was searching for something. I don’t understand what she’s trying to do."

Theo pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes briefly.

"Then what do you expect me to do, Captain?"

Silence fell between them.

On the other end, Chambers hesitated.

"I... I thought..." He cleared his throat. "You... You successfully woke everyone else. And no one lost memories like she did."

He faltered again.

"I thought... maybe you can... fix her. Somehow."

Theo nearly laughed.

"Fix her?" he repeated, forcing his tone to remain even. "You want me to reinstall her or something?"

He tried very hard not to let the sarcasm bleed through.

Theo could almost picture Captain Chambers on the other end, scratching his head in frustration.

"I don’t know, Ms. Montrose. I really don’t know," Chambers admitted. "Just... please talk to her. You seem to be the only person she doesn’t mind speaking to. She’s wary of everyone else. Even the doctor."

That’s because I don’t push her to be the version of herself you want back.

Theo kept that thought to himself.

Silence settled between them.

Theo did not speak immediately. He weighed the situation carefully. This might actually be a good opportunity to contact Alicia again. To see her condition for himself. To assess things directly instead of through someone else’s interpretation.

He came to a decision.

"Okay, Captain," Theo said at last. "I know you’re worried about her. And please be assured that you’re not the only one. I, too, am concerned about her. I’ll call her and pay her a visit."

The relief in Captain Chambers’ voice was unmistakable.

"Thank you, Ms. Montrose! Thank you!"

------------------------------

"And that was why Thea decided to visit Alicia, and I went with her." Arthur finishes the first part of his story.

"Oh, I see," Julian says, nodding slowly. "I was wondering since when Thea became close to her. Turns out it was Captain Chambers all along."

He leans back against the sofa.

"Poor Captain Chambers. He can’t accept the fact that the current Alicia might not want to be chief. She’s not the same person who went into the dungeon."

Everyone nods in agreement. The mood in the room shifts slightly. Lighter, but thoughtful.

"Okay. That part makes sense," Liam says. "So what happened during the meeting? You said it was interesting."

Arthur grins.

"That," he says, settling more comfortably into his seat, "is coming up next."

------------------------------

"Let me come with you, Thea. I want to see her too. I want to know how she’s doing," Arthur had said. He was already wearing his coat and shoes, clearly prepared to leave whether Theo agreed or not.

Theo had looked at him for a few seconds, assessing.

Then he nodded. "Okay. I was thinking it might be too much for her to see both of us at once, but I remembered she was quite taken with you."

He slipped on his coat, and Arthur stepped forward to help adjust it properly.

"Your presence might help calm her," Theo had added quietly.

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of Alicia’s apartment door. Arthur raised his hand, ready to knock.

Before his knuckles could touch the wood, the door opened.

"Good morning," Alicia had said, wearing a small but genuine smile as she greeted them.

"Good morning," both Theo and Arthur had replied in unison.

Theo studied her face carefully. Dark circles lingered beneath her eyes, subtle but unmistakable. She had not been sleeping well.

Alicia stepped forward and wrapped Theo in a hug. She looked genuinely pleased by their visit.

"Come in. Both of you, please come in."

------------------------------

Alicia sits in her studio apartment, surrounded by chaos.

Kitchen utensils are not inside the cupboards or neatly arranged on shelves. Pots, pans, and woks crowd the counter. Cups, mugs, and glasses take up every available surface. Plates, spoons, forks, and random cutlery are scattered among them as if she had pulled everything out and never bothered putting anything back.

The living room is no better.

Clothes lie draped over the two seater sofa. Among them is the Solarys DEU uniform. It looks unfamiliar.

And yet, painfully familiar.

Her bed is worse. She can barely see the mattress. It is buried under piles of clothes, books, and miscellaneous items she does not even remember owning.

She remembers Thea’s expression when she opened the door.

Arthur’s too.

And Captain Chambers’ earlier that morning.

All three of them had ended up sitting on the floor because there was nowhere else to sit.

She was not embarrassed.

Not in front of Thea Montrose.

Arthur... yes, maybe a little. Just a little. But she noticed something important.

He did not look at the mess as if she had gone insane.

He did not look disgusted.

He did not look impatient.

He looked concerned.

Both of them did.

That, she can accept.

Genuine concern.

For her well being.

For the person she is now.

Unlike Captain Chambers.

She knows he is not a bad person. He is caring. Honest. Earnest.

But he keeps looking at her like she is broken.

Like she needs to be fixed.

Like she needs to become the version he remembers.

He fails to see that she is not the same person he knew, respected, and called Chief.

------------------------------

"Her apartment looked like it had been hit by a storm?" Maeve asks.

Out of all of them, she is the neatest. The mere idea of a studio apartment in complete chaos visibly disturbs her.

It also makes her want to fly over there immediately and start cleaning.

The others know this.

She is the reason their apartment is always immaculate, despite living with three men.

Correction.

Four men.

Arthur nods. "Yes. We had to sit on the floor since there wasn’t anywhere else to sit."

Maeve clamps a hand over her mouth, physically restraining herself from reacting.

Her eyes widen in horror.

She looks around and meets everyone’s amused expressions.

They are enjoying this far too much.

Maeve presses her lips together tightly, refusing to make a sound.

Then she waves her free hand impatiently, gesturing at them to look away from her.

Look at Arthur.

He is not finished with the story.