I rushed forward to steady Alice, kneeling on the ground as I did. She weakly lifted her chest lid as if trying to say she was alright.

But, she wasn't alright.

The goo and blood obscured most of it, but there were definitely scorch marks that marred the wood and fastenings. Let alone the fact that...whatever Alice did must have used up a lot of her energy.

I gently rubbed the top of her lid with my hand, scooping away some of the liquid. "I'm sorry..." I couldn't help but mumble.

From Alice's lid popped out a tongue that tapped my arm a few times; even now, she was trying to reassure me. A slightly bitter laugh left my lips, "I was supposed to have protected you, but I- I couldn't."

Now, Alice hurriedly wobbled this way and that way, attempting to refute my words or maybe comfort me. Ah, I feel pathetic.

Perhaps it's because of these conflicted feelings that I went forward to pick Alice up. Her body, a bit bigger than a large jewelry box, was easily lifted, and I enveloped the little chest in my arms, hugging her to my side. 

"Alice...please don't do that again."

I never wanted someone to get hurt because of me again.

I felt Alice squirm a little, making slight squishing sounds as the ooze got stuck on my clothes. I let her go, and she managed to hop off my lap before she carried herself with dark purple goo, making weird poses and even spinning herself around.

"Pft- Ah, Alice, what's up with that?!"

Seeming to be very proud of her, she created a small blob under herself and bounced up and down. Her lid cracked open and she made a few clashing sounds with her teeth.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you're in tip-top shape," I said placatingly, a gentle smile on my face. This little mimic...she was determined to comfort me, huh?

But, thank goodness, thank goodness that she seems to recover her energy faster than normal; I guess creatures born from dungeons have pretty good recovery abilities. I can catch glimpses of the scorch marks slowly fading as well. 

"Okay, let's settle down and rest a bit alright? My stamina isn't as good as yours- Hey, don't bounce so high!"

After my mana recovered, I washed both of us with a cleaning spell so that we weren't as much of a mess. At times like this, I'm very thankful that I could be proficient in water magic. In even more good news, Alice's injuries seemed to have healed up to only a few scratches. Eating an entire monster must have helped with that.

I also ate some of my rations, feeding a few dried meat and berries to Alice. I suppose it was a stroke of luck that my bag wasn't too damaged.

On the other hand, to the side of where we sat, my staff leaned against the wall, having seen better days. My staff had bite marks and burn marks, and I could see a few fine cracks starting to be rather prevalent. "Should I buy a new one or just repair it?" I absentmindedly mused. Alice just opened her mouth, asking for more treats.

"Little glutton," I scolded slightly until remembering that, well, they were a mimic. And, don't they say children need a lot of nutrition to grow? Yeah- yeah! That's why my hand reached out to feed Alice some more. Not because I fell for the mimic equivalent of puppy eyes!

Deciding that we should head off before I'm tempted to give all of my rations for the week, I got up and patted away the wrinkles on my skirt. Grabbing my staff, I began walking to the boss room, calling out, "It's time to go."

Although we had ran away at top speed, we didn't get too far from the boss room before the wolf had caught up to us. So, we arrived quickly to the room. There was still a bit of smoke, but the oppressive atmosphere had disappeared alongside the death of the boss. Inside, black, burnt grass was scattered haphazardly on the ground. Moss on the walls made the room seem darker as it obscured the glowing stone under it.

"Hm, let's see..." I swept my gaze across the large clearing before spotting my target. "Oh, Alice over here!" 

Over at a wall she was curiously looking at, Alice bounced up slightly like she was startled before she came to my side. We walked towards the back, where a red and black chest stood out from the other dark decorations in this dungeon. 

Alice's interest seemed to be seriously piqued, dark tendrils came out under her and grabbed the chest, shaking it up and down and creating loud clattering noises. "Hey, hey! We can just open it, okay?"

Say, I wonder how she became able to use, uhm, dark magic?

Well, maybe mimics are normally able to use it, but Alice was too young? I'll ask someone later.

In any case, the little mimic obediently put it down, and I went to unlock the chest. Sitting down on my knees, I simply chanted, "Kaisuo."

With a small, 'click', the chest was unlatched, and we quickly opened it. Me and Alice peered at the contents.

Let's see...coins lined the bottom. There were three low-grade mana potions. An odd red plant, and a- "Eh?! This is a high-grade mana stone?!"

Not only that, it was one attuned to the dark attribute. Dark and light mana stones were the rarest variants in the attributes, so nobles and adventurers were often willing to buy them at a high price for magic items or to strengthen themselves.

I could probably make do for four months just with this.

However, how strange...Reaching out, I picked up the mana stone and examined it in my hand. It was almost the size of my palm, and I could feel the mana thrumming inside of it. "Is it because this dungeon is newly mutated?"

After all, this was an E-class dungeon so having a high-grade drop like this feels unreal. I've only seen a couple of high-grade mana stones too; maybe, I misidentified it?

Suddenly, a gentle poke broke me out of my thoughts. Alice's tongue reached out and wrapped around my wrist before settling on the palm of my hand, prodding the stone. She seemed to be brimming with anticipation.

"Ah, you want to eat this?" 

The chest lid opened and closed vigorously.

"Okay, sure," I'm not sure I even realized what I said until it left my mouth.

The tongue lapped up the mana stone in my hand and swiftly zipped back inside, swallowing the mana stone completely. After a moment, my brain finally caught up with me.

I- I just let Alice eat it without thinking of the consequences!

What happens when a young monster eats a mana stone far above their mana levels??? Are they going to be okay??? Alice won't pass out, would she???

"A-ah, wai-" My worries seem to be completely unfounded as Alice tilted herself slightly in a questioning motion. "Uh, never mind. Never mind! Just, tell me if you feel off?" 

Alice made a clacking noise in agreement.

Well, that aside...I think most people would be feeling regretful about giving away something like that, right? Do I feel regret? Is it weird if I don't?

I mean, sure, the mana stone would have fetched a pretty good price, but it's not like I'm in dire need of money or anything. Plus, Alice did save me from that wolf. It's the least I could do to repay her, really.

I feel like a certain person I know would disagree, though.

Tilting my head slightly, I could see Alice curiously looking inside the treasure chest, occasionally picking up a coin or potion with her tendrils. Her leftover scratches began healing, and I have a feeling that her mana increased.

"Hehe." Alice looked curiously at me due to my sudden noise, "Oh, it's nothing."

I just sorta realized that I really don't feel regretful at all. And, that kind of thing, made me happy is all.

Well, weird or not, I should store these now.

Gathering the larger coins, my hands glide across the bottom to also begin collecting the coins only to encounter a bump on the bottom. "This is...a dagger?"

It seemed more ornamental than practical, dark purple and red intertwining together on the handle where a rather beautiful gem was set into it. I can't feel any mana from it, so it shouldn't be a magic item either. I may ask the guild to appraise it anyway. Doesn't hurt to be safe.

"Alright, time to leave. You ready, Alice?" Now standing, I looked over to the little chest.

Alice immediately perked up at my words, picking herself up and zooming around me like an excited pup.

I chuckled slightly at the scene before chanting the words, "Redeamus, quia vicimus."

A magic circle, glowing with bright blue and white light formed on the ground. Alice jumped in surprise as the circle grew to surround us.

It's time to go back.

Plagi

Hello everyone! This week was so busy! Finals, tests, assignments...horrifying! Terrible! Absolute torture!

That stuff aside...for this chapter, in all honesty, I rewrote it because I wasn't happy with the progression and had some new ideas, teehee.

ヾ(≧▽≦*)o

Hey, Syla seems to have forgotten an important thing, but I'm sure she'll remember it soon! I hope these two can be forever happy~ Not without their difficulties, though~

Hope everyone enjoys!