“Miss Marianne? Uhmmmmm...” As they silently traveled through the woods, Alpheus began to mumble. Marianne stopped momentarily to look back at him and wait for him to continue whatever he was about to say.

“Yes, Alpheus?” Marianne encouraged him to speak.

“Uhm... may I ask you a question?” He spoke rather calmly, but his hesitation to ask was still evident.

Marianne was about to say, “You may,” but she caught herself and turned her face away to ponder something. She started grinning and turned around to give him a different answer.

“I would love to! However,... I’m afraid I can’t just answer your questions one-sidedly. You will have to answer a question of mine, too.” She said deviously.

He seemed taken aback by that. He was truly reluctant to talk about himself. Marianne needed to take a different approach if that's the case.

“So, you don’t want to know about me, after all?” She looked to the side, pretending to be hurt.

“No! O-of course not! I want to, but...” He bought it and tried his best to reassure her. He showed an opening, so Marianne decided to strike quickly.

“Well then, how about this! Would you like to play a game with me?” She declared gleefully.

“A... game?” He repeated in a confused tone.

“Yes, a game. Would that make this more interesting?”

Something lit up in his eyes, and his ears perked up slightly. Marianne is starting to believe that this means he likes the idea.

“It’s like with a dog.” Marianne thought to herself amusedly.

“I...” He tried to answer with composure, but the slight tremble in his voice gave it away. He was excited.

“Yes...I... I would like that!”

“Fantastic! If we’re playing a game, it only makes sense to add some rules!” She said, clapping her hands together.

As they continued walking, Marianne pondered for a short while until she continued.

“Rule number one: Once a question is answered, the one who answered must ask a question next. That means no follow-up question!”

“Okay, that’s reasonable.” Alpheus agreed.

“Rule number two: Once the question is asked, you have five seconds to start answering it. If you hesitate, there will be a penalty. The same applies if you break the other rules.”

“Ummm, what kind of penalty?” He asks nervously.

“How about... a flick on the forehead?” Marianne asks mischievously.

Alpheus flinches.

“Can't... it be something else?” He pleads.

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“Can’t handle a little pain, can you?” She asked provocatively.

“No, no, no! I just... don’t want to hurt you.” He looked away with a guilty expression. Marianne was skeptical about his pure intentions but thought he was genuine.

However, he was also desperate to avoid that punishment. Her little punishments had really frightened him. In that case, both assumptions seem true.

“Fine. How about the other person getting to order the other person around? Every time they break the rule, you get one chance to make them do whatever you want at any given time.”

That suggestion got him nervous as well.

“Whatever... you want?” He was having an internal battle with himself. Going by the expression on his face, he was struggling a lot. She wished she could peer into his head and read his thoughts because this debate seemed entertaining.

“Alright! Yes, I’m okay with that!” Fortunately, he gathered the courage to agree.

“Perfect! Now, onwards to the next rule!” She declared happily.

“A third rule?” He tilted his head.

“Yes! You’re not allowed to lie.” She said, pointing her finger at him dramatically as he flinched away.

“I’m not allowed to lie...? Why would I do that?! Lying is bad!” He seemed almost offended by that rule. It seems the thought of doing that never occurred to him.

“Oh my! May I assume that you never lied to someone?”

He paused for a moment before answering with conviction. She wondered what that hesitation meant.

“I never did! If I did that, I would be punished for it. The goddess doesn’t tolerate liars!” Marianne felt like he was being genuine, but...

“Goddess?” Marianne asked curiously.

Seeing Marianne’s puzzled expression, Alpheus’ expression also became equally confused. He tilted his head and asked. “Do you not know about the goddess, Solaria?” He looked beyond baffled.

“Is that your first question?” She asked teasingly.

He looked surprised. It seemed he had forgotten what he was signing up for. After a moment of deliberation, he answered with conviction.

“Yes! I would like to know that!”

He was still pretty timid, but the idea of a game certainly helped motivate the little guy. Where Marianne goes doesn’t matter; children will always be the same. They are simple little creatures.

Adorable, as well.

With a smile, she declared. "Then the game officially started!"

And so she answered. “No, I do not know who that is.” Alpheus looked truly surprised by that.

“How do you-“

He was about to blurt something out, but Marianne stopped him.

“Were you about to ask another question?” She smiled deviously. “It seems you’ve forgotten about the rules. I’m the one who has to ask the next question.”

“But that wasn’t... I’m so-... never mind. Thank you for saving me!” It seems he’s starting to work on his habit of apologizing profusely. A ‘Thank you’ is much more pleasant to the ear. He even genuinely smiled at her.

However...

“I regret to inform you that I did not, in fact, save you!” She declared cheerfully.

“Huh?”

“Did you forget rule number 2? I asked you a question, and you didn’t answer it in time!” She clapped with a wide grin on her face.

He flinched and tried to argue. “But I didn’t know that this counted as the question!”

“Now you know that it did count!” She proclaimed smugly.

For the first time ever, he seemed genuinely upset at her. “That’s... that’s cheating!”

“No, it wasn’t. I made the rules very simple and clear, so you only have yourself to blame for not paying attention. I fear you need to use your brain a little bit more, dearie!” She declared it, grinning at him.

He was fuming. That only served to amuse her further.

“I wonder what I will have you do later...” She wondered to herself out loud to taunt him further.

“I won’t fall for it again!” He declared resolutely, looking at Marianne with a pouty expression.

The taunt worked. Now, Marianne wouldn’t have to worry about him quitting halfway through. Once someone gets competitive, they won’t stop for a while. And they certainly wouldn’t listen to their opponent if they asked them to stop.

Unfortunately for Alpheus, Marianne was not playing the same mind game as him. She already won and he didn’t even realize it.

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

And so the game started. As they get absorbed into their petty squabble, the two are still unaware of the ominous threats along their path. They have only ever been aware of the humans who long to take their lives.

The humans, whose intentions currently suggested nothing more than hatred for Alpheus’ nature

The elven woman, who assists those humans for her unknown purposes

The goblins, who are on the hunt

And the one watching over Alpheus

Soon enough, paths will be crossed.