Alfred POV

I took a few deep breaths and slowly closed the book. My face slowly turns towards the lump in the bed that is lightly moving. The bed suddenly began to rustle more as time passed.

After a few long minutes of waiting, the covers on the bed were finally lifted slightly, exposing a young child in a half-concious state slowly stretching. The boy rubbed his eyes and slowly looked around with unfocused eyes taking in the unfamiliar scenery. After what felt like hours the boy turned towards me, his eyes bore into me as they showed a look of suprise and confusion. I continued to quietly look back at him while he processes the situation as not to startle or alarm him.

Within a few minutes, a tinge of composure had come back to his appearance. He watched me quietly, not making any attempt to move or make conversation.

"Right I suppose I should introduce myself first, My name is Alfred Gemini and this is my humble abode. You are?"

I tried to be as casual as possible with my introduction whilst also not coming across as overbearing. My name is one that is quite widely known across the continent making it a good negotiation tool in some cases. However forsome reason, my instincts tell me that my name will have very little affect in this scenario.

While I was considering the situation, the boy started speaking.

"My name is... it's Sirius, I think?"

His reply shocked me. His voice and expression contained genuine puzzlement when introducing himself to the point that no sense of lies were seen in it.

"You think? Does that mean that you do not remember? Amnesia?"

I was curious as this important information could shape my future treatment of this child.

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"I'm not sure, I have general knowledge like my name and age vaguely with some knowledge about the world I assume. But no matter what, I cannot seem to remember memories"

His response once again shocked me. It was not the sort of response a child would give, that added with his abnormal composure to the situation. Regardless of my own shock, I tried to remain a focused mind as panicking in this situation would only be detrimental rather than helpful.

"I see well it should be fine for now, you were in a bad state when I picked you up so maybe it's a trauma induced amnesia. Let's just make do for now"

"Thank you for helping me. I do not know what happened to me but at least for now i'm safe."

"Anyways, how about we continue this conversation during dinner? I have made a simple meat stew for today."

After saying that, I stood up and helped him out of bed. We spent no more time in there and left towards the kitchen. On the way, I sent sneak peeks at Sirius following me. His body seemed to be fine luckily, there was no strange movements or pained expressions. He seemed to mostly be accepting his situation as it is since there seemed to be a lot of trust in his actions.

Once we arrived in the kitchen, I sent Sirius to the seats so that I can dish up the food. He obediently sat at the table and watched me bring two bowls of meat stew in. While his expression didn't show anything, his eyes showed a desparate look. I guess he must be really hungry from sleeping for so long.

"Anyway eat up. I have plenty more. I forgot to ask before but how old are you if you remember?"

"Thank you for your generousity. I believe I am 9 years old right now if my vague memories are correct"

"Thats quite a bit older than I thought. May I ask what your race is?"

"Human I think? I mean I can't say for definite but I feel that I am"

"I see, well when you turn 12 we should be able to see"

"What happens when i'm 12?"

"Ah I suppose you wouldn't know, when a child comes of age at 12, they're able to use a decipher stone to look up their own details"

"Why not now?"

"The decipher stone does not recognise immature mana particles so typically 12 years of age for any race is when they become mature. This will inevitably lead to a growth spurt so 12 is typically a crucial age for kids"

"I see that makes sense, I guess now we have to discuss what happens next"

"That we do"

I turned to face Sirius in the eyes. My expression serious, I know this will be a decision that will change our lives forever.