“That's so sad,” the blonde girl whispered as I told her the story of the Titanic, tears welling up in her eyes.

"So, if I understand correctly, she met a guy for just a few days and then got undressed?" Rose, on the other hand, was quite skeptical. "And this guy was also some kind of scammer? I bet he had another woman waiting for him as soon as he left the ship."

I had never considered that perspective before. Damn. That kinda ruined the movie for me.

“Love makes people do weird things,” I said.

“No, I wouldn’t call that love. Also, what about the man she married after the Titanic, and the whole time she was thinking about the swindler? What about her poor husband?” She shook her head and sighed with disbelief.

I tried to lighten the mood, gesturing toward the blonde girl who was wiping away her tears. "It's okay, not everyone sees things the same way. And hey, at least one of us is enjoying the story."

"You’re right. I'm not really into romance books. They're kind of corny," Rose replied without missing a beat.

She was a woman with a strong sense of conviction, and I admired her for it. Too often, people caved to peer pressure and changed their opinions, but Rose was not one of them.

"I'm more interested in something else," Rose interrupted me, staring directly at me. "You made us draw our future selves, but what about you? What do you see yourself as?"

I used my finger to draw a plain stick figure on the ground.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"Just me being around and still living," I answered. "My dream for the future is to stay alive."

She looked at me a bit weirdly but didn't say more about it. But to lessen the suspicion on me, I added. "Also, I would like to try some delicious food all around the world."

Rose raised an eyebrow, clearly still skeptical. "That's it? Just staying alive and trying food?"

I nodded. "Yep, that's all I really want."

"Well, I guess that's a pretty simple dream," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "But I respect it. And hey, trying new foods is always a good adventure."

"I can write down some traditional and local recipes from the village!" said Rose's friend, whose name I hadn't even learned. But we had been acting like friends for so long that it would be a bit awkward to ask her name now.

I was sure that at some point, Rose would call out to her friend by name, and I would take that opportunity to learn it.

While lost in my thoughts, I suddenly felt a wet sensation on my finger. When I looked down, I saw that a small water ball had formed in my hand, and inside it was a dry piece of paper.

'Master, can you check on the mother of the kid named Moron? He asked me for help.' — was written in the letter. It was a short message, but I could sense Carpy's worry about the whole thing.

"Girls, I will go and check on that kid, Myron or whatever his name was," I said. They looked at me a bit weirdly, so I came up with something quick. "He wasn't there with the other kids as we were drawing. I don't want him to be left out."

"We will come with you," Rose insisted.

Did Rose find it suspicious that I suddenly wanted to go look for a kid? Perhaps. But since Carpy seemed worried, I felt obligated to help him. He had come through for me many times before, and a small favor like this was the least I could do for him.

Our partnership was built on mutual respect and trust, but sometimes we forgot that we were both equals in the Contract. However, I was confident that soon I would be able to merge with Carpy without the aid of Perfect Me. Our bond was strong, and mastering Ord control was not far off. The only obstacle was that Carpy had an excess of Ord that I struggled to manage.

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Myron's house was situated in the far corner of the village, at the end of a barely visible dirt road. The small hut, made of old, worn wood, slanted precariously to one side as though it would collapse at any moment. The roof was patched with a few sheets of rusted metal, and the windows were covered with thick, dusty curtains. It was clear that the house had seen better days, and it was a wonder how anybody could still live in it.

As soon as we got inside, the putrid stench was so heavy that we had to pull up our shirts and cover our noses.

The house was so cramped that the living room doubled as a bedroom. One of the beds held a lifeless body, with flies buzzing around it and maggots wriggling out of the corners of its mouth.

"Blegh!" Rose's friend rushed outside immediately and threw up.

"She has been dead for a while," I stated the obvious. With her condition, and in this weather, I would say that she has been dead for weeks. Way before we even stepped into the village. "How old was Myron again?"

"I believe he's around eight," Rose answered queasily before following her friend outside to vomit.

"Poor kid somehow didn't even realize his mother was dead," I muttered to myself, understanding why he had reached out to Carpy for help.

Though the cause of her death remained a mystery, any evidence that could have shed light on it had long since been desecrated.

Approaching the woman, I checked her wrists and they felt unusually light. A human bone shouldn't have felt that way.

Perhaps it was a case of severe malnutrition or starvation, which could lead to osteoporosis and make bones lighter. It could also be a sign of foul play or poisoning, as some poisons can affect bone density.

The more likely explanation was that the woman had been suffering from malnutrition for a long time, leading to her weakened bone and muscle structure. It was clear that she had not been taking care of herself properly, and it was possible that she had been unable to provide for herself and her child due to poverty or other circumstances. It was a sad and unfortunate situation, but it gave me some insight into the struggles faced by the people in this village.

This was a reminder that the world could be harsh and unforgiving. Being weak was the biggest sin, and the world would punish you for it.

***

Carpy could sense all living things within his radius. He could sense their so-called sea of life or life span, but he couldn't feel anyone inside Myron's house.

'The boy will stay with me for now. Without being able to sense his mother, it's possible that she was kidnapped.’

There are many people in the village and it's difficult to determine who might be responsible. However, one question still remained for Carpy: why would someone abduct the boy's mother?

Myron also mentioned that his mother was sick, and her chances of dying while Myron ran to us weren't that high. Also, Carpy was confident that he would have been able to sense a human presence disappearing, no matter how small, even if he wasn't focused in that direction at the time that could have happened.

So the most logical conclusion was that the woman was kidnapped. That was why Carpy asked for Master Kon's help in searching for her.

Carpy wanted to help the child and his family, though it pained him to disturb his master's vacation. He hoped that his master would understand and forgive him for seeking his assistance.

Carpy was trying to discover himself and who he really is. Master Kon had said that he was looking at the kid as himself, as his feeble past self. While Carpy couldn't save his own family, he wanted to at least save Myron's family, hoping that it would give him some peace and closure.

Someone clapped from the other side of the river; Carpy immediately turned to look at the source of the sound. It was a strange creature with a human body and a chicken's head, a demon he had never seen before.

"I have been observing you," the chicken head demon clucked. "Imagine my surprise when another mid-class demon moved into my territory? Do middle-class demons grow on trees nowadays or what?" It sighed, eyeing Carpy beadily.

There were three other demons behind him: a headless human body with butterfly wings, a frog-legged demon, and a horse with six legs and four eyes.

Carpy knew he had to be cautious and not underestimate these low-class demons. Even though they were weaker than him, they could still be a threat if they worked together with their leader. So he kept his guard up and prepared himself for any unexpected attacks.

"I was never the kind of demon to rush into a fight without thinking things through. Maybe it's my chicken side," the demon with the chicken head remarked, turning around and stretching out his arms as if expecting a round of applause. "I even bribed an exorcist in the past to kill another demon and blame my actions on them. At the time, I was a low-class demon and not very strong, but I wasn't a mindless fool either."

As a fish demon, Carpy couldn't yawn, but if he could, he would have. In his experience, most of the big talkers were weaklings trying to compensate. He remained calm and composed, waiting for the chicken-headed demon to make his move.

Carpy had more pressing matters to attend to, so he couldn't afford to waste time on such trivial discussions.

Just then, a soft yellowish light shone from Moron's hand. Carpy turned slightly to look and noticed a mosquito sitting on the kid's skin.