"Man-eater?" asked Xiao with a shocked expression.

He looks at Iva and expects her to explain the details. But Iva's eyes just glued onto the red scales he was holding without saying anything. Her hands clutched her chest, eyes fixed on the scales with a terror that made her whole body tremble.

"You mean you know about this monster?"

(“Does she know more than she's letting on?”)

Xiao wondered, noticing the way she recoiled from the scales.

"The legend is true. There REALLY is a Man-eater living outside the village," says Iva, appearing to be in her own thoughts and mumbling about it.

("A legend? Does that mean that it's so strong that it's considered a legend? And this legend is just living around here. This is bad.")

Xiao analyzes their current situation. Although the Man-eater was currently not in its den, it was still out there somewhere, and they still haven't found a way to Iva's village.

The chances of them running into the Man-eater were high, and Xiao didn't even know how it looked.

"What else do you know about this monster? Like the looks, the characteristics, anything," Xiao asked Iva.

Iva didn't reply. She was still trapped in her own fear.

Xiao forcefully grabs her shoulder and shakes her off.

"Hey! Snap out of it! I don't know what you have been told about this Man-eater, but we're still alive now."

Xiao's loud voice pulled Iva back to reality. She looks at Xiao and feels relieved, but then shows pain as Xiao grabs her shoulder too hard.

"My bad."

Noticing he was hurting Iva, Xiao pulls back his arm.

"Anyway, I need more info about this Man-eater. If you have heard anything about it, please tell me, so I can plan what to do next," says Xiao.

Iva ponders for a while as to recall her memories.

"All I have heard from the village, from the chief, is that the Man-eater lives outside of the village. The adults say that it's a frightening beast, with sharp fangs and palm so broad that it can grab 3 people at once."

"Hmm....large, broad palm," Xiao began to imagine a monster with a gorilla physique.

"What else?" Xiao asked.

"...grandma said not to go outside the village, or else the Man-eater is going to get us," says Iva timidly.

"I see..." Xiao replied.

Xiao notices that for some reason, Iva always displays a sorrowful expression whenever she talks about her grandmother and her village.

"Let's get out of here first," says Xiao as they were standing around skeletons and leftover monster corpses.

Xiao holds Iva's hand and escorts her to the entrance of the cave.

He placed Iva to sit on a boulder, and he sat next to her. Xiao then begins to think of his next move.

(“Nothing's working.”)

Xiao thought, teeth gritted.

(“Visibility is shot, weapons are useless, and now a legend-level monster’s on the loose.”)

Each realization tightened the knot in his stomach.

(“Can we even get to Iva’s village?")

As Xiao was listing down the disadvantages, he looked at Iva.

("And I still haven't heard Iva's thought about bringing her back.")

After considering many factors, Xiao looks at the cave ceiling with a nearly made conclusion in his mind.

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("Should I call it off? Can we just go home and forget about all of this?")

The possibility of them getting into Iva's village was slim. With all the dangers that lie ahead, Iva might just lose her life before they even find the path.

Still, for some reason, Xiao knew that once they abort the mission and return home, he may not want to bring her back anymore.

The day Xiao spent with Iva was an ordinary yet most happy time in his life in this world. He had already given up the happiness once because of his morality as he tried to do the right thing. So, to give up again was just impossible for him.

"To push on or to give up entirely...Damn it."

Xiao sunk into a dilemma.

One side of his mind told him to just go home because there's no way Iva can survive if they continue on.

The other side of his mind was questioning him about his morality, the act of kidnapping, as stupid as it sounds, this is how Xiao views his action.

"Iva, I have something to ask you."

No longer able to make the decision for himself, Xiao turns his attention to Iva.

Iva looks at him. Her gazes reflected how tired she was already, be it both physically and mentally.

"Despite me bringing you back to your village."

Xiao paused. He mustered up courage as he was about to ask a question that has been in his mind for the whole time.

"Do you really want to return to your village?"

Xiao looked Iva straight in the eyes as he asked.

Iva's tired gaze widened for a moment, then slowly dropped as her shoulders slumped. She turned her face away, looking down at her hands, silent and trembling.

Xiao waited, saying nothing, giving her the time and space she seemed to need.

"I… I don’t want to cause you any more trouble. So… I need to go back... back to the..." Iva didn't manage to finish her sentence. She speaks in a quavering voice as she tries to hold her tears.

Her voice broke, words faltering as her chin quivered, eyes filling with tears she fought to keep from falling.

Xiao gently pressed, his tone soft but unwavering.

"Iva, I only need a simple answer. Do you want to go back?"

Usually, Xiao won't press on any further, but for today, at this moment, he wants an answer. He wants to know Iva's thoughts about returning to her village.

For a long, painful moment, she didn’t respond. Her gaze remained fixed on the ground, and the quiet sound of her restrained sobs filled the cave, echoing off the walls.

"I know the villagers hated you because of the curse, but don't you have family back home? Like the one you always mention, your grandma," Xiao asked.

"She's dead."

Iva answers right away, as soon as Xiao mentions her grandmother.

"I...see, sorry."

Xiao felt terrible. He had thought that Iva's grandmother was still alive and waiting for her return. To find her already dead was a bit shocking for Xiao.

"Do you...have anyone else back home?" Xiao carefully asked.

"No...no one else. Ever since grandma died, I have no one left," Iva answered, her voice filled with despair and sorrows.

"I see."

Xiao could only give a short response. There was nothing he could do to make her feel better.

Iva suddenly looks up. Xiao could see her tears still lingers in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! It's all my fault! This has to do with my curse. People often tell me that it's because of my curse that bad things happen. I'm the one whose life is difficult. So please, just leave me here, I won't cause you any more trouble! I won't..."

Iva begins sobbing again before she manages to finish her sentence. Still, her outburst helps Xiao to grasp most of her feelings.

("To see the usual cheeky and smug Iva get rendered into this state, she must have thought of herself as some sort of burden, a living curse that should just be gone for good. She did mention before on how she was a curse, but to blame everything on herself...")

Xiao understands Iva's feelings all too well, for he has had the same experience before. Everyone around him treats him as some kind of criminal or some being that shouldn't be left alive, a treatment worse than an outcast of society.

Somehow, seeing how Iva continues to blame herself for all misfortune that happened pisses Xiao off.

"You REALLY are an idiot," Xiao stopped Iva with her self-blaming babbling.

"But I guess we're both an idiot, huh?" Xiao laughs lightly.

Things could have been settled in a much simpler way should Xiao be more open with Iva and sorted it out as soon as possible. They wouldn't have resulted in the current awkward and dangerous situation.

Xiao thought about his cowardness for not understanding Iva's situation sooner and only does it in such bad timing, bad condition and messy way.

"But still, my question remains the same," says Xiao as he holds up Iva's face and forces her to meet his eyes.

Iva was shocked by his action, but Xiao didn't care. He wants an answer from Iva, a plain and straightforward reply from her, as it decides the outcome of their future.

"Iva, don't think of burden, curse and other kinds of bullshit. I want you to be honest with me, be honest with how you truly feel, what you truly want."

Xiao held her face, his gaze piercing.

“Forget curses and burdens. I just want the truth. Do you want to go back? Or do you want to stay?”

As Xiao finishes asking, he observes how Iva reacts.

Tears flowing down from Iva's eyes again, her tears eventually flowing through Xiao's hand, wetting his palm. Still, Xiao was not troubled by it as he patiently waited for Iva's reply.

Xiao has no idea what was running at the back of Iva's mind. Why was she crying and suffering so much by such a simple question? What exactly happened during her time in the village that causes her to have such a mental state.

"....stay.."

As quiet as a mouse squeaks, Iva finally lets out a single word. And mustered all the courage she could gather, she finally speaks out her true feelings. Her voice shook, barely a whisper at first.

“Stay… I want to stay with you, mister.”