Demi-human Girls Completion Manual Chapter 1655 - 116: Eat (3)

"You’re back, Fisher..."

In the next second, the page she was staring at underwent a strange transformation, turning inch by inch into cold stone, reflecting her currently undisguised emotions.

...

...

"Phew, good thing we ran quick... Fisher, you really need to weigh the idea of reconciling with Elizabeth. My ’danger radar’ tends to be quite reliable. Hmm... Even before Raphael took you to meet Moli last time, I didn’t feel anything wrong, but this time..."

Emhardt on his shoulder let out a sigh and said this. Although Fisher was unsure when he acquired this so-called ’danger radar,’ he indeed sensed a similar danger earlier, so it wasn’t as if Emhardt was bluffing.

He simply glanced at the petite girl ahead and asked,

"Your name is Alicia?"

At the moment, Fisher, brought by a teleportation gate, found himself in the dense woods outside Chittel City. The closer they got in this direction, the nearer they were to Schwali’s border, making the place rather desolate.

Fisher was unsure why Mr. Helsen had engraved this teleportation magic for this petite girl, but seeing her lead the way so familiarly, it was evident she had been here many times.

Upon hearing Fisher’s inquiry, the Alicia ahead nodded, holding tightly onto her doll and grabbing a branch for support, crossing a small wooden bridge over a creek, while Fisher leaped over and reached the other side before her.

"Yes, I heard it was my grandfather who gave me the name. It’s nice, isn’t it?"

Fisher squinted at her, nodded, and said,

"Indeed, ’treasure’ — it’s a name full of meaning."

Alicia’s pronunciation was homophonic with "treasure" in Nali Language, and Fisher was unsure whether it was a beautiful coincidence or if Mr. Helsen intended it.

After all, Helair had mentioned the child Mr. Helsen adopted might be related to the clues of the Life Completion Manual. Just years ago, when he left Nali, Mr. Helsen directly named her "Treasure"...

This shrouded the image of Mr. Helsen that Fisher had in his eyes with more mystery. He simply couldn’t figure out how a human like Mr. Helsen could know such secrets in advance that only Helair’s rank would understand.

When Mr. Helsen developed the Double Ring Magic touching the Mythical Rank, Fisher had already thought this. The more he learned along the way, the more immovable Mr. Helsen’s place in Fisher’s heart became, with a sense of "Your teacher is always your teacher."

Upon hearing Fisher’s words, Alicia, walking ahead, suddenly stopped. Seeing her hug her doll tighter, Fisher couldn’t help but ask,

"What’s wrong?"

"...Um, nothing, we’re almost there, big brother."

"Where exactly are you taking me?"

"To where I usually live."

Alicia continued moving forward, but this answer left Fisher a bit puzzled,

"You don’t live in the Mage Tower?"

"I lived there for a while when I was little, but not since I grew older. It seems my sister doesn’t like me, so grandpa built me a little wooden house here in the outskirts. I can visit him using the teleportation array."

Recollecting Vileli’s somewhat out-of-control voice earlier beneath them, he couldn’t help but ask,

"Why doesn’t your sister like you? When Mr. Helsen adopted you, she was already about twenty-seven or eight, so she shouldn’t treat you so harshly."

"..."

Alicia didn’t reply immediately, because at that moment, she had led Fisher and Emhardt on his shoulder to a secluded spot in the forest. Fisher sharply sensed the presence of magic ahead, and Alicia raised her doll the next moment.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

With a fluctuation of World Resonance passing by, a small wooden house abruptly emerged from the ground, opening its doors to Fisher and his company.

"Big brother, please come in."

As the tree house materialized, Alicia obediently held her doll in her arms, leading her guests into the place she lived in daily.

The interior environment was simple yet cozy, consisting mostly of basic living tools like a bed and a table, as well as a multitude of books and cloth dolls. Alicia carefully placed the doll she was holding on her bed and squeezed her petite body into the pile of books on the ground, searching for something while explaining the question Fisher had asked earlier,

"My sister said I was strange, and I feel I’m strange too... I often sleepwalk — whenever I dream, I sleepwalk, and during sleepwalking, I say weird things, do dangerous things. For instance, I almost cut my hand with a knife, and I hurt grandpa...

"But when I dream, I often see people and things I’ve never seen before. Like big brother, I feel like I’ve seen you in a dream; you feel familiar, though my memory is not very clear... Ah, found it, big brother, here it is."

Alicia, sticking her bottom up, dug through the book pile for a long while, finally finding a grey notebook deep inside. The notebook was quite old, with nothing written on the cover; it seemed to be Mr. Helsen’s private notes.

She brought the notebook to Fisher, placing it in his hands with a blank expression while continuing,

"So, I can actually understand why my sister dislikes me... I don’t like myself either. Now grandpa is gone because of me — I’m guilty, and it’s hard for me to bear..."

Receiving the notebook, Fisher was slightly stunned. Then, with a furrowed brow, he quickly looked at Alicia, who hung her head down, self-reproachful, and asked,

"You said Mr. Helsen is gone... because of you? Why?"

Alicia remained motionless, murmuring to herself,

"The dreaming and sleepwalking is getting worse. Sometimes, I see not just fragmented memories, but people and events from another continent... And, it seems I converse in my dreams with something that calls itself the [Corrupted Carrier]. In those dreams, I’m not ’Alicia.’ Instead, I’m called... ’Base’ by it.

"It teaches me many things in dreams, and whenever I feel its presence, I sleepwalk, hurting grandpa, my sister, and myself... I... I don’t want this at all... Grandpa grew weaker trying to help me... until the end... sobs..."

The more Alicia spoke, the more her flawless face started to display emotion, as if her young soul was tortured by the concept of "guilt,"

"But... but, big brother, because I often hear its voice, I learned that you, big brother, are seeking something that can help you. That something is the so-called [Treasure], right?"

Emhardt had become utterly speechless, but listening to the little girl’s words, Fisher suddenly felt an extraordinarily ominous premonition arise out of nowhere,

"Alicia, you..."

"Big brother... Actually, I am the ’Treasure’ you are looking for. It doesn’t want me to meet you, and my dreaming and sleepwalking have worsened in this period... I’ve been restraining myself from sleeping, yet... it still resulted in grandpa..."

Alicia hesitated, anguished, finally speaking with a youthful voice, making a plea to Fisher,

"So, I have been waiting for you, big brother... I have been waiting for you to come and consume me, to take away the [Treasure] you seek."