Birds chirped cheerfully outside, their songs a gentle blessing for the morning.

Iva opens her eyes. She saw the unfamiliar ceiling once again.

"I'm....still alive," says Iva.

She touches her heart and feels the beating. She then brushes the bed sheet to feel her warm body that lingers on it.

"This is....my warmth," Iva murmurs.

She gets down from the bed and heads out of the room.

"Oh! Just the right timing. Breakfast will be ready soon. Why don't you go and wash your face first," Xiao said right after he saw her coming out from the room.

A pleasant smell of cooked eggs and the comforting aroma of flower tea filled the place, which stimulated Iva's appetite.

Iva stares at Xiao for a while without moving from her position.

"What's wrong? You know where the washroom is, right?" Xiao asked, thinking that she might be having trouble finding the washroom.

Iva shakes her head in denial. She turns around and heads toward the washroom direction while wearing her usual emotionless expression.

("Hmm...not a talkative person, huh?")

Xiao thought to himself while preparing their breakfast.

When Iva returned from the washroom, Xiao also finished preparing the breakfast, a plate of fried eggs and steamed meat for each person.

"Breakfast's ready!" Xiao announced as he put down the meal to the dining table.

As Xiao sits at his usual seat, he extends his hand to Iva to offer her to sit as well. Iva timidly do so.

"I don't know how much you usually eat in the morning, so I just cooked the portion I usually have for myself. I hope that's okay with you," says Xiao after noticing Iva's eyes fixed on the food in front of her.

Iva did not answer. Her expression was the usual blank face.

"Umm....well, let's eat, shall we?" Unable to stand the awkward silence, Xiao smiles lightly and suggests eating.

("Did she not like what's on her plate?")

At first, Xiao assumed that because Iva started intensifying her food.

Still, his doubt completely disappeared after Iva started taking in one after another a mouthful of her food into her mouth.

Although she still wears the same emotionless expression, Xiao could tell that she enjoyed the food as she let out a faint smile while chewing.

("Guess I should start eating too.")

Xiao sips in the freshly brewed flower tea before he starts eating. The two of them quietly enjoy their breakfast.

Some time has passed, and both of them finished their meal.

While Xiao was sipping his tea, he noticed Iva was averting his sight. She then looks away and lets out a quiet burp.

Iva's cheek turns red upon realizing Xiao was smiling as he found out she was burping.

"Now then."

Xiao moves the plate in front of him to the side. Iva noticed that his voice changed to a serious tone.

"If it's okay with you, can you tell me how you get captured by the Goblin? And where are you from?" says Xiao. He tries to sound as kind as possible, but it did little effect for Iva to feel comfortable as she was starting to look down at the floor.

"Just answer what you're comfortable with, no need to force yourself," seeing how anxious she was, Xiao tries to calm her down.

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"I was...running away," Iva finally spoke.

"Running away...You mean from the Goblin?" Xiao asked, assuming that she remembered the awful experience with the Goblin.

"No, from my village," she replied after a moment of pause.

"I...see," Xiao replies in surprise. He never expects this kind of answer.

"So you don't remember anything after you got captured by the Goblin?" Xiao asked. He tries to shift the flow of conversation as he doesn't want to ask why she is running away from her home.

"No, I don't remember anything. I do remember seeing a scary masked man with red eyes. Is that a Goblin?" Iva asked curiously.

("Sorry, that was me.")

Xiao did not voice out his thoughts. He continues to learn about Iva's experience.

"Well, judging by your words, I guess the Goblin didn't do anything to you, right?" Xiao asked.

"I guess so," Iva nodded her head and replied.

"That's good to hear," Xiao lets out a sigh of relief.

Xiao was terrible at comforting others because he can't seem to find the right words to say. Whenever his friend met any misfortune, while others would offer words of comfort and such, he could only keep quiet.

So the fact that Iva did not experience any bad from the Goblin was a fortune for Xiao, for he didn't need to crack his brain to make her feel better.

Though Iva didn't suffer any consequence from the Goblin, she ran away from her home at this young age, which was a severe problem for Xiao.

("Should I ask her why she ran away from home? or should I just keep quiet about it? She didn't seem to continue on when she told me she ran away. Doesn't that mean she doesn't want to talk about it? Ahhh! What should I do?!")

Xiao scratches his hair as his mind was arguing about what to do next. Iva tilts her head to the side as she stares at Xiao with curiosity.

("Maybe she knew about her own sickness, about the Mana Expansion. Although it's just my guess, I'm sure it has something to do with her running away from home.")

"I'm sorry if this sounds sudden and rude. You do know about your body condition, right? About the sickness?" Xiao carefully asks.

As Xiao expected, immediately after hearing Xiao's question, Iva's expression changes. She looks down to the floor and simply just nods her head.

"....it's a curse. I'm the curse. I shouldn't trouble anyone anymore," Iva says timidly. Although her face remained glued to the floor, Xiao could hear the sorrow and despair in her voice.

"Curse, huh? Guess you can call it that way too," says Xiao.

("I knew it. I knew Iva running away from her home has something to do with her sickness. Curse if that's what she calls it. But I have the solution to stop her from absorbing mana involuntarily. Although the problem remains, her life is no longer in constant danger. As long as she uses the dark particles, she should be able to live normally.")

Concluding what he was going to do with Iva, Xiao smiled as he proudly announced to her his next move.

"Alright. Don't worry, I'll escort you back to your home. All you have to do is tell me where it is," says Xiao with a bright smile.

Iva looks at him upon hearing his announcement. Xiao knew she was in despair regarding the so-called curse because her eyes were already watery as soon as she showed her face.

"And don't worry about the curse. I knew about it, and I got a countermeasure for it." Xiao spoke again, even before Iva had the chance to react.

Upon hearing what Xiao said, Iva expressed shock. Never in her lifetime to hear someone tell her that they can do something about her curse.

"Anyway, let's continue this conversation at another time. Your body still hasn't fully recovered yet, so feel free to go and take some rest," says Xiao as he stood up from his seat and was ready to wash the plates.

("And all this serious talking really tires me out.")

Xiao keeps the thought to himself.

"...why?" says Iva.

Xiao turns to Iva in surprise.

"Hmm? Sorry, what?" Xiao asked.

"Why are you treating me with such kindness?" Iva asked. Her voice was louder than how she usually talks, which caught Xiao by surprise.

"Why, you ask. Hmm..." still surprised by Iva's question, Xiao begins to think of an answer to reply to her.

("Because you're cute? God, What am I thinking?! Why did my RPG memories pop out at this time? This is not a game, for god sake!")

Xiao shakes his head like a fanatic as he is trying to get rid of any stupid thought. Iva continues to stare at him with a blank expression.

"Do you gain something in return?" Iva presses on with another question. Her earnest gaze shows Xiao that she was determined for an answer.

("How old is she again? Gain something in return? That's not something a 10 or 11 years old kid should be talking about, at least not with my case. But then again, she's an Elf. Hmm...")

Xiao was in deep thought. Iva did not move her gaze away from him. She stubbornly waits for Xiao to say something.

"Yup. I did gain something," Xiao replies after some consideration.

"Let's just say that your well being brings me happiness. So yeah, I gain happiness by treating you kindly," Xiao says with a smile. This was the only answer he could come out with upon considering the goal of his action for the entire time.

"I don't understand," Iva replies while she enters into deep thought. Her voice tells Xiao that she was not convinced by his answer.

"Don't worry that much. You're still a kid. You will get it one day," Xiao laughed upon seeing her reaction. He subconsciously places his hand on her head upon saying it.

"...I'm not a kid," Iva replied with a sudden change in her tone.

Iva then walks away with a pouting face, leaving Xiao alone at the spot.

("Huh? Did I make her mad?")