Gwyn quickly found that the house was more extensive than he expected. It was built of winding hallways and led to many oddly shaped rooms. At first, he found his way to a study, but Harlan was already deep in reading some books. He held back his curiosity of learning the differences between Resh and Earth books and moved on.

Next, he found his way to a living room of sorts. However, Fiona was already sitting there in a pensive state. He opted to move on and not disturb her. He made his way upstairs and walked past an excessive amount of spare bedrooms before deciding to return down the stairs.

He continued to wander around aimlessly in the halls until he found his way inside a kitchen. It looked a little odd at first, but objects resembling sinks, countertops, and cabinets confirmed that it must be a kitchen, at least to Gwyn.

He took some time to open some doors and look at the odd ingredients inside.

That is a little rude, Mem commented.

“No one is watching,” Gwyn replied as he let curiosity get the better of him.

Someone is, in fact, watching, Mem confirmed.

Gwyn jumped and spun around. From the corner of the room's entrance, Bonfilia was peeking out, watching the nonpareil.

Gwyn slowly and gently closed the cabinet door, cleared his throat, and waved gently to the child. She jumped and slid away from the corner.

“Oh, wait!” Gwyn stammered. He ran to the corner and stopped suddenly as he was rounding it. Bonfilia was still standing there. She jumped back and fell to the ground. “Are you okay?” Gwyn asked as he reached out a hand to the green Aqueenian girl.

She looked at his hand a moment, then stood up without any help.

“Are you really the nonpa-el?” she asked shyly as she eyed his golden-red hair. In the light, it looked more orange that normal.

Gwyn knelt and rubbed the back of his head.

“I suppose I am,” he answered with a smile. Despite the alien appearance, Bonfilia somewhat reminded Gwyn of his sister when she was the same age. He couldn’t help but let his guard down around the innocent girl.

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“Wow, have you fought any monsters?” she asked. Her shy demeanor quickly dissolved as curiosity took over.

“Oh, yeah… I fought this big scary monster that tried to squash me under its feet… and an Aqueenian who had giant wings on her back!”

Bonfilia’s mouth was agape, but her eyes lit up after a moment of thought.

“Wow! Daddy always said the nonpa-el defeats lots of monsters!”

Though, you didn’t really defeat either of those two monsters,” Mem chimed in while using a voice that sounded like a chuckle within Gwyn’s head.

Gwyn was about to yell a retort to the Needaimus but settled for a cough when he realized Bonfilia would just be surprised by a sudden shout.

“What’s your world like?” Bonfilia was quickly onto a new topic.

“Uh, it’s big… and blue… and round….”

“Wow!” her childlike wonder did not cease.

“And it is full of hu… er… Netzians…”

“Wow! So, there are no Aqueenians at all?”

“Not that I’ve ever seen,” Gwyn said with a chuckle as the Aqueenian girl looked at him with big bright eyes. He began to think of his sister, then his parents after. His mood may have dropped if the child did not ask him another question.

“Do you have any family?” Bonfilia asked suddenly. It was a random question born from childlike curiosity, but Gwyn couldn’t help being surprised as he was just thinking of his own family.

“Oh, yeah… I have a mom and dad and a little sister….”

“Wow! I only have a mommy!”

Gwyn frowned slightly and bit his lower lip. He shook his head and tussled the girl’s hair as best he could with his bad left hand.

“Well, no matter how many are in your family, make sure you cherish them while you can see them.”

Bonfilia pondered for a moment before she made a smile and nodded.

“So, are you going to beat the bad guys?” Bonfilia quickly switched to a new topic.

“Oh, uh… I hope we will!” he awkwardly said.

I hope you will too. Don’t forget you have a precious and delicate one bonded to your arm. Mem chimed in, but Gwyn ignored the comment.

“You can do it!” Bonfilia said with a pose that was meant to cheer Gwyn on.

“Thanks,” Gwyn said slowly.

“Mommy says their leader is in Daddy’s old mayor office. Make sure you go and beat him up!”

“I’ll do my best,” Gwyn answered.

Bonfilia’s demeanor changed suddenly. She put her hands down and wrapped them together while looking to the floor. She wanted to say something else but had suddenly grown shy.

“And… and please save my home…” she almost whispered.

Gwyn stared at her for a moment while trying to think of what he would say. After a minute of silence, he took a deep breath and replied.

“Of course!”

Bonfilia smiled a wide smile.

“Come on, let’s go play!” she switched her demeanor almost instantly as she put her hopes into Gwyn.

“What?” Gwyn replied, but Bonfilia had already grabbed his bad hand and gently tugged him along with her. He complied as she led him to a small room where many toys were laid out in a random arrangement that simply came across as a mess.

Gwyn patiently listened as Bonfilia told him what each toy was, how it was played with, and any other insignificant detail that came to her mind at that moment.