Hendrick and Reyah stayed behind to help Leina finish cleaning up the apartment.

I left the complex with Alice and Red Mountain.

This is Alice’s first time in the city.

It’s around midday now, and would be a nice time to treat her to something special after all of the ordeals she’s been through.

I still feel guilty for treating her like an animal this morning, but this is the first time dealing with an intelligent monster.

None of us are sure if she wants to live like a civilized person, or if we’re just forcing that onto her.

Red Mountain insisted that it was normal for beastborn to walk everywhere barefoot, but I still felt like giving Alice the option of wearing sandals.

She seemed to like them when she walked around the living room, giving them a test drive.

Though, it seemed like a bad idea to make her walk, given how much blood she lost.

I tried to carry her like one would with an infant but failed miserably. We were both uncomfortable.

The large beastborn offered to carry her and he seemed to know what he was doing.

Alice looked visibly unhappy, but more comfortable than my poor attempts to hold her or even forcing her to walk on her own.

I don’t know any good life mages, so we had to rely on asking around for information.

We made our way down a set of streets to meet with a mage, but before long, I had the feeling we were being followed.

Though, just as soon as I come up with a plan in my head, the ominous feeling vanishes.

Just to be sure, Red Mountain and I went in circles, trying to see if we could catch whoever it might be.

…

We’re safe, for now.

There’s a small building on a busy street, the sign out front indicates that it’s a small-time clinic.

Not wanting to be picky or waste any more time, we quickly entered the building.

On the front desk is a sign that reads; “Please take a seat, the doctor will be with you shortly.”

I take a quick glance around the room, finding it to be rather dull and monotone.

“This doctor probably gets more wounded adventurers than children passing through.”

The beastborn man nods and finds a place to sit among a small row of chairs.

I remain standing, pacing back and forth rather impatiently.

“Can you hear what’s going on in there?”

He closes his eyes in concentration.

“Sounds like the doctor is getting dressed.”

‘Did they have to undress for something, or do they sleep in there?’

A few moments later, the door to the examination room opens and a human woman walks through to move the sign to the side of the counter.

She has straight, long, black hair that curls at the end, and deep blue eyes that speak of old age and wisdom, despite her middle-aged looking appearance.

Her clothing is a bit ruffled, but she straightens it as she speaks.

“Sorry for the wait, I was doing a bit of cleaning. What can I do for you today?”

Red Mountain stands and walks up to the counter with Alice in his arms.

“Hi, yes… You see…”

I hesitate for a moment, not sure what kind of excuse to come up with. I never really thought this far ahead.

“My girl, Alice, I… found her a while ago, and…”

Red Mountain interrupts, speaking far calmer than I could think.

“We found this girl yesterday, she’s been badly hurt and needs healing. Deep healing.”

The woman nods in understanding.

“I see. Follow me through this door and I’ll see what I can do.”

We move into the examination room, and she places the sign back to the front, before joining us.

She closes the door behind her and Red Mountain places the girl on the ground to stand for herself.

We take a few steps back to allow the doctor to do her job.

“My name is Adelle Taris.”

The woman looks at Alice, waiting for her to introduce herself.

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I answer on her behalf.

“Alice doesn’t speak.. much. I’m Karth Gian and this is–”

“Gendal Dromisch.”

The beastborn cut me off to introduce himself.

I didn’t expect him to use his real name; first time I’ve heard it too. Maybe he doesn’t trust the mage.

Then again, she doesn’t seem to have a trade name either, or she could be hiding it.

What’s going on? This atmosphere feels… strange.

The large beastborn man seems anxious about something, but Adelle pays us no mind.

Her focus is on Alice.

“Do you know this girl?”

Under observation, Alice is shivering, terrified.

“No.”

“Why are you taking care of her?”

“Is this important for the ‘healing process’?”

“No, I’m just curious if you knew she was actually a monster.”

Suddenly, I’m put on edge as well.

“W-what do you mean?”

“This girl is a monster.”

I’m done playing games.

“Explain.”

*sigh*

“You already knew, that means you’re hiding something. I don’t know why you’re helping a monster, and I don’t care. I’m a healer.”

“How could you tell she was a monster?”

“The stone she wears, it’s supposed to change one’s genetic makeup, but it keeps screaming, 'I’m not normal'. Some mages may glance over it at a distance, but if you were to have Alice looked at, they would KNOW.”

“Can we discuss this after you’ve healed Alice. I don’t want her to be in any more pain.”

“You’re right, she does have a very high pain tolerance. Even an experienced adventurer would be groaning and making a lot of noise with the amount of pain this girl is going through now.”

The woman sits on the floor beside Alice, lifts up the back of her shirt slightly, and places a hand against her bare skin.

The girl shudders and looks uncomfortable.

“However, she’s scared. Silent. As if making a sound could be the difference between life and death.”

Red Mountain and I look at once another, worried about how we haven’t done anything to help her sooner.

“How is she in pain?”

“Well, there were a lot of broken bones that never healed properly. It looks like some of her organs were close to shutting down not too long ago, but only recently recovered. The scars must be very uncomfortable, and her body must be aching from a recent loss of blood.”

“You can tell all of that just by looking at her?”

“Yes. A life mage sees all life differently from how the average person does. Even in complete darkness, I can see past an ant’s external skeleton, and into its heart. I can see points of pain that even the body does not register until they apply pressure to that point. And, I can see that whoever made the device around Alice’s neck is a really good tinkerer.”

“Please, just heal Alice.”

“I have been healing her. I wouldn’t want to leave her in pain.”

“What?”

The fear that was once held in Alice’s eyes, has melted away. Instead, she looks to be at peace.

This is the first time I’ve seen her express something other than worry, fear, or sadness.

The scars seem to fade away slowly, replaced with healthy skin.

Before the healing is even finished, Adelle reaches for the locket on Alice’s neck with her free hand, and the transformation is undone.

“What are you doing?”

Red Mountain and I tense up, worried that she might have broken the expensive device.

“I can’t heal her very well while fighting against alteration magic. Besides, the stone needs some adjustments to better disguise her transformation.”

Healing Alice and improving the magic gem at the same time? Just how skilled is this mage?

We watch the woman work silently, while questions build in our minds.

Alice’s scars are nearly gone, her hair and fur grow out quickly in real time, looking far softer and fuller of life than before.

A small, genuine smile forms on her lips.

She looks… happy.

My heart aches at the sight. I want to see her smile like this more often.

When Adelle is finished, she activates the collar’s transformation, changing the girl’s appearance back to that of a beastborn. Unlike before, she looks free of scars and blemishes, her fiery orange hair extends past her shoulders, and her dark skin is full of color.

The gem glows a vibrant green, probably refueled by the mage.

Adelle rises to her feet, looking satisfied with the outcome.

“There. Healed your girl and improved the alteration stone. Now, even with a trained eye like mine, it’s difficult to tell that the spell is a disguise. To most mages, it will appear to be something like a body enhancement. Just don’t let anyone look too closely at it.”

I remain silent for a long moment, watching Alice readjust her shirt and glance around at everyone with a worried expression once more.

I was hoping to see her smile a little longer.

“How much do we pay you? For the healing, the gem’s enhancement, and your trust.”

She holds out a single digit in front of her.

“One favor.”

“A… favor?”

“Yes. A favor of my choosing.”

“Well, what is it?”

“I don’t know, but something tells me I’ll be relying on your help in the near future.”

As ominous as it sounds, I’m okay with this deal. I don’t have any money to offer, seeing as how I’m already in a huge debt to Silver Lining and Madam.

He forgot to tell me the exact amount, but I know it will be an insurmountable number.

“That’s all, just a favor?”

“Yes.”

She was really chatty before when answering my questions, but now she’s rather quiet.

“Okay. Thank you very much.”

She gives me a formal bow, and I reciprocate with the same gesture.

I take Alice by the hand and lead her out of the clinic.

She takes one last look back and waves farewell to the woman.

“Karth.”

“Yes.”

“That whole exchange was.. off.”

“Tell me about it.”

“There’s one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Her scent was familiar. When we were being followed before, I recognized her smell from among the crowd.”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“There’s another thing: that woman is not the owner of the clinic. The one who owns it was still in the building, but nowhere in sight. It felt as if they were asleep in the same room, but I couldn’t find them.”

“Should we go back?”

“No, she might be gone by now.”

“You should have said something sooner!”

“We wouldn’t have been able to stop her, even if we were stronger.”

“What do you mean?”

“Life mages can be far more terrifying than witches.”

My grip tightens around Alice’s hand unconsciously.

“Karth… you’re hurting Alice.”

“What?”

I loosen my grip and look at the girl.

She’s upset.

“Sorry…”