The next morning, Alice seemed to respond well as I taught her some new words.

Even though she spent a lot of her time looking over the books, it wouldn’t teach her how to pronounce the words aloud, so I made a point to read with her.

She sat up in her own bed, which was a mattress I placed in my closet on top of my dresser.

The mattress had a couple sheets, a blanket, and a pillow.

There’s enough space for an adult to sleep with a bit of leg room, though it still felt somewhat cramped when I tried to lay down in there.

Since Alice is so small, it should feel pretty roomy for her.

After we finished breakfast, I had to make a few calls, but before I had the chance, someone came knocking at the door.

I opened it to find Red Mountain.

He was dressed much more casually than when I last saw him, it must be his day off.

“Red Mountain, please, come in.”

The beastborn bows politely before entering.

“I’m off for today. Please, call me Gendal.”

“Not your last name?”

“We’ve called you by your first name all this time. Your friends never told us what your last name was, so I assumed it was alright. Besides, I feel like I can trust you.”

I nod, understanding his reasoning and grateful for his trust.

Leina and I share a bit of pleasant small talk with Gendal, then inform him of all that happened since he was last here.

He was really displeased with some of the news but seems understanding.

“Where is she now?”

“Probably still reading in the closet.”

Leina finishes cleaning up around the kitchen and prepares to leave for work.

Gendal follows me into my room to see Alice.

“Alice, you have a guest.”

I slide the closet door open to find the girl sitting up awkwardly.

Her long orange hair is messy and covers part of her face.

‘Was she trying to sleep just a moment ago?’

“Good morning, Alice.”

Gendal gives her a polite bow.

She waves back, giving the man a small smile.

‘Whoa…! She seems to be in a completely different mood now that Gendal is here. Why the favoritism?’

“Can we see your room?”

The beastborn asked, gesturing around her small space.

Her eyes follow the direction of his hands, and she understands his meaning.

We make way for the girl as she leaps out of the closet and crawls away on all fours.

As if suddenly remembering something, she moves to stand straight up, instead of behaving like an animal.

Gendal looks around the closet, sliding the doors back and forth, checking the mattress, sheets, blanket, and even snooping a bit through my drawers.

“H-hey, what are you–”

“Sorry, just making sure there’s nothing dangerous lying around in here, other than your hidden weapons. She’s a lot more sensitive to smells than you. You wouldn’t want to subject her to something poisonous or foul.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“It all looks good to me but feels very secluded.”

“She wanted a space to be alone, something dark that lets her feel safe.”

He nods in agreement.

“Hey, Gendal. Hendrick reminded me of something you said a few days ago. I’ll be leaving in a couple days; plan to travel to Denstar for a while. Could you possibly watch over Alice for me, at that one cabin you mentioned?”

The beastborn smiles awkwardly and scratches the back of his neck.

“That’s kind of short notice. I still need to work too.”

As if understanding that I’ll be busy talking with Gendal for a while, Alice moves to curl up under my bed and wait for us to finish.

“I can’t leave her here alone with Leina, she’s still scared of her.”

“…How long do you think you’ll be away?”

“A week, maybe more, depending on how long Lorosta’s Tournament of Heroes is going to last.”

“I’m actually going for that too, meeting up with a few friends.”

“Hendrick and Reyah are also going…”

“Hmm… We could bring her with us and leave her some place safe while we’re at the tournament.”

“I’ve been to Denstar before. I’m not sure if there are many inns that would accommodate well for her.”

“What are your other options?”

“…I’ve got nothing.”

“What about that life mage?”

“No, she’s probably busy training her apprentice or something. Told me to keep Alice away from her as much as possible.”

“So then, your only options are to leave her here or bring her with?”

“I guess so.”

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

Despite my outwardly behavior, I listen keenly on these peoples’ conversations.

I’m beginning to pick up on some of the words, thanks to the help from the books, Karth’s reading, and context clues.

The grammar format isn’t too different from my own, just jumbled up a bit.

I’m glad I chose to hide under the bed, because the two dwarves just came in today.

Now they’re all talking, and it’s hard to tell what anyone is saying.

“…there’s this… bought… – – on Alice.”

‘What are they doing?’

I hear the human attempt to get me to leave my only safe space.

“Come – Alice.”

There’s too many people.

I’m still trying to get used to having to live with just one person.

No matter what these peoples’ have tried, I still have not been able to live completely in peace.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I am grateful to have a personal space of my own and I enjoyed the peace and quiet yesterday, but there are always people that want my attention.

‘Do I even have a choice to come out?’

I know they’re just to mess with me some more.

I watch the human with disinterest, hoping that he will leave me alone.

The group mumbles a bit more to themselves, then they all leave the room together.

‘Finally, I can go back to bed.’

I was trying to sleep earlier, until I heard the large beastborn approach from the front door.

He seemed more interested in my well-being than the others, and he hasn’t hurt me or showed any aggression… yet.

He’s usually pretty quiet too, for a guy his size.

Once I’m certain they’re all out and away from the room, I make my way back to my own bed and close the closet door.

I take my time to stretch and get comfortable, before laying down.

A few moments later, I hear movement approaching.

One person, heavy footsteps, large stature.

It’s Grizzly man, he’s come alone.

‘No… please… not you too.’

Karth and the others are chatting amongst themselves in the living room.

Do they know Grizzly man is coming in here alone?

The bedroom door swings open, then closes a moment later.

He’s coming closer.

He stands in front of the closet.

I can hear him breathing.

He’s nervous. His heart is beating faster.

‘Please… don’t hurt me. I-I’ll scream.’

“Alice … come out?”

‘I’m not going anywhere.’

“No.”

I mumble quietly, but I know he can hear me.

“Please?”

Several long moments pass.

Karth still hasn’t noticed that Grizzly is in here? Alone with me?

I listen carefully.

The man is carrying some sort of parchment in his hand.

Is it a picture?

Reluctantly, I sit up and slide the closet door open.

Karth’s room is dark now, it’s nice.

Grizzly must have turned off the lights.

I look up at him with a curious glance.

‘He’s not here to hurt me, I don’t sense any malice. Is there something on that paper that he wants me to see?’

He shows me a drawing.

It’s a lot more detailed than the drawings that the others have made before.

There are a few panels to explain what he wants.

The message is clear but strange.

I nod my head in understanding, then sit up and turn to show him my back.

He pulls out another sheet of paper, this one is made of a material different from drawing paper or even the pages in children’s books.

Even without looking, I can tell it’s special in some way.

Grizzly man lifts up the back of my shirt a bit, with one hand.

I don’t mind, my fur is pretty thick now, there’s not much to see.

With his other hand, he presses the special parchment against my furry back and I feel magic flow through me, and into the sheet.

It’s strange, not harmful or draining.

It’s almost as if the magic is searching for something.

After a long moment, it stops.

He pulls the paper away and fixes my shirt, staring into the page with excitement.

‘He got what he came for and he didn’t demand it.’

The experience was weird, but not bad.

Still, I wanted my alone time.

I give him a look as if to say, “is that all?”

He nods his head.

“Thank you.”

Then he leaves and closes the bedroom door behind him.

Likewise, I slide the closet door closed and resume my nap.

As I turn over in bed, I can’t help but wonder what he wanted with that sheet of paper, or what it did to me.

Since I don’t feel weird or bad, it must not be important.

I’ll just catch up on some sleep now, then.

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

Gendal enters the living room with a satisfied look.

Hendrick lets out a surprised sound.

“Oh. She really does trust him.”

Karth sighs in disappointment.

Reyah chuckles,

“What did you do?”

“I was gentle and patient with her, I just asked nicely. Also, I turned off the lights to help her feel a bit more at home.”

“Isn’t it a bad thing for– oh right, she’s not exactly a beastborn child.”

Gendal shakes his head.

“Some beastborn actually have better vision in the dark.”

“Well, let’s take a look at the scroll.”

Hendrick sounded excited to see the results.

The group huddles around to get a good look at the parchment.

There are rows of words, all written with inhuman perfection.

The scroll was a magic item designed to measure one’s abilities and detailed information that even the target wouldn’t know existed.

The details were as listed:

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

☆○□□□○○ (Alice)

Level: 17

Race: Crowned Catilyss

Age: 7

Gender: Female

Physical Strength: C+

Physical Flexibility: A

Physical Endurance: B-

Mental Strength: D

Mental Flexibility: S~

Mental Endurance: B+

Spirit: E

—Skills—

Feathered Grace +2 (magical, concentration):

∟ While airborne, use mana to slow your fall and increase your reaction time.

Alternating Current +3 (magical, active):

∟ While exposed to darkness, use mana to increase your P-Flexibility. While exposed to light, use mana to increase your M-Flexibility.

☆□□ □□○□□ ○□□ □ □○□□□○ (4 uses remaining):

∟ – □– □– –□…

—Passives—

Crowned Beast Sense +4 (augment):

∟ Increased sensitivity by 120%. When mana is applied, the effects can increase further. Current cap: 400%.

Primal Strength +1 (situational):

∟ While low on mana, your physical traits increase by 10%.

Memory’s Crypt +4 (curse, situational, linked):

∟ A curse has been placed on your mind.

∟ Memories of your past are sealed away; fuzzy or impossible to recall. 7 months and 12 days until the final stage.

Weakened +2 (temporary, situational):

∟ Due to long-term malnutrition, your total Physical and Mental traits are decreased by 40%.

Mental Reflection (magical, temporary, single use, linked):

∟ When an aggressive entity attempts to use a harmful spell against you, the damage is reflected back.

Scholar’s Envy (magical, temporary, linked):

∟ Learning speed and long-term memory retention is increased by 50%.

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

“Crowned?”

“Cursed…”

“What does this mean?”

A single sheet of paper caused the room to uproar with questions.

Crowned monsters are a type of monster that typically claim ownership over multiple floors.

They’re often unique monsters with far more strength, power, and authority over those on the same floor.

While Alice’s traits are strong, she’s currently weakened due to malnutrition. If she was in top shape, maybe she would have done better on her own in the mid-level floors.

Still, it helps explain how a monster of her species was able to survive so well on her own.

Some of her skills and passives were concerning, especially the items listed with incomprehensible words.

However, the one that stuck out the most was the curse. “Memory’s Crypt”.

Normally, a skill or passive would increase or decrease depending on how one used the skill, or lack of use, over time.

This curse was unique, in the sense that it grew over time.

No one had to explain what that final stage might mean; the implication was clear enough.

However, there was a silver lining to the curse, laid out in plain sight.

Gendal points out this fact.

“Situational and linked. That means one of her abilities can affect the curse.”

Karth adds,

“Do you think it could have something to do with those other linked passives?”

“That’s a high possibility, however, not all ‘linked’ abilities have another ability ‘linked’ to them.”

Hendrick said, trying to sound realistic.

Reyah backs him up with another logical point.

“The last two passives seem fresh, like they were added within the last few days. They’re both temporary and feel very convenient for her current situation.”

“You don’t think…?”

“The life mage? Yeah, those are both passives a life mage could possibly give to others.”

Karth made a mental note to thank Adelle for the added benefits later.

“There’s one more possibility too.”

“Yeah…”

“It’s written in an unknown tongue, probably her language; strongly suggesting that if she uses that skill, she may be able to decrease the strength of the curse.”

“The number of uses match the current strength too.”

“That can’t be a coincidence, right?”

Karth felt excitement bubble in his chest.

“Should we show her the scroll? She won’t be able to read the curse, but she should be able to understand the skill. There’s another name written next to Alice too, maybe she will remember her original name.”

“It’s worth a shot.”

Hendrick said with a grin.

Gendal takes the scroll from the group.

“I’ll go in alone and have her read it. Wouldn’t want to make her nervous.”