“What do you mean you’ve read it?” Helen practically screamed Yuuki.

“I read the book already.” Yuuki calmly replied.

“When?”

“During the night. Although I do have to question how a book about folktales is relevant to my education.”

“It’s for children!” To be fair, Helen didn’t have much idea on what book she should give Yuuki. Her pupils were usually 12-16.

“How are stories that depict children being abandoned in forests, eaten by monsters and almost sold into slavery a children’s book?” Yuuki was suspicious of the book. She even had a hypothesis that the Brothers Grimm have reincarnated in this universe at some point.

Helen looked around awkwardly for a while before answering. “Well, never mind that. Don’t you need sleep?”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that while there are many different species that wouldn’t technically need sleep, they still enter a state of unconscious rest. I do not understand why it is necessary however.”

“It isn’t. It just feels nice to rest your mind a bit.” Helen knew all about that. As a vampire she didn’t need to sleep at all but still spends almost 12 hours resting every day.

“It is highly inefficient.” Helen was reminded of all those times she was called lazy by her colleagues. She was stuck in her own memories until she felt something on her forehead. “There there.” Yuuki was standing in front of her, patting her head. When the girl noticed that there was a reaction she sat down on the grass once more. “Are you alright?”

Yuuki’s monotone voice and unchanging face did not carry much empathy, but Helen still appreciated the gesture. “Yes, thank you. Where were we?”

“More advanced books.”

And with that, the lecture continued.

-- Unified calendar 818

Yuuki was sitting on the side of her bed, reading a book about higher dimensions. Laying on her bed was Amanda sleeping soundly while hugging her tail. She was lucky Helen wasn’t here as well. When the vampire realized that Yuuki’s personal maid used the girl as a plushie, she was annoyed at first, but that annoyance soon shifted into jealousy. Yuuki was used to reading and eating while someone was hugging her by now. She made no objections because it was not disruptive. She might've had a blush while this was happening, but her expression remained emotionless. The body enjoyed it, the mind didn’t care.

“Come in.”

Yuuki’s father stepped into the room, used to the sight already. He was also used to not needing to knock on the door because his daughter just detected him even if he was trying to be stealthy. “Follow me, I have a task for you.”

Yuuki stopped for a second. This hasn’t happened before. Her father made sure never to say anything to her that could be interpreted as an order. She closed the book and stood up, not caring for the maid. She waited for her father to leave the room so she could follow, but instead he moved over to the maid and placed a pillow next to her. Amanda happily took the offering even while asleep.

“Let’s go.” And with those words he led Yuuki through the mansion, down into the basement. There were two guards she didn’t know on the two sides of a door. They saluted to her father who returned the gesture. “Inside that room there is a foreign spy. I want you to connect to his emotions.”

“And if he dies?”

“Try not to kill him.” Jack had done research to figure out how to get Yuuki to share empathy. He knew that an untrained kitsune could cause discomfort to others by probing into their emotions, but Yuuki was exceptionally powerful. He was afraid she would kill whoever she used it on. That is why he had the captured spy moved here to be used as a guinea pig. This wasn’t the only option, but it was the most likely to actually work.

Yuuki walked through the door and it was closed behind her. She could sense different runes inscribed on the walls, most likely to prevent her from damaging anyone on the outside by accident.

The room only had a single chair with a 30 year old human male tied to it. He did not have any distinct features: short brown hair, brown eyes, plain clothes.

“They’re sending a kid to interrogate me?” He put on an arrogant act that Yuuki easily saw through. It wasn’t difficult: she could see his pupil dilation, sense his blood pressure and heart rate.

“If they sent me, it means there is nothing they want from you anymore.”

The spy was taken aback from how a small girl barely older than his daughter just gave him the death sentence. He didn’t have time to express his confusion before he yelled out in pain. He felt as though clawed hands were prying his head apart. The pain itself lasted no more than 10 seconds. He went limp from the aftermath of the pain and felt like he was watched. He was watched from every direction, he felt weak and exposed. It wasn’t just that he felt naked, he felt something staring into his very being.

Yuuki felt awful. She could feel everything he did, and he was shaking in terror and despair. She didn’t know what to do so she acted on instinct. Her eyes flashed and suddenly everything felt much better. She felt calm, she felt safe, she felt happy. She hasn’t felt these things in so long, and now she was crying tears of joy. She wanted more, she just couldn’t get enough. She felt addicted, she didn’t want this to end. Until suddenly the emotions stopped. She analyzed the situation and saw the spy was unconscious. She left the room. She looked at her father who was clearly waiting for some explanation.

“I felt his emotions and could manipulate them. I still don’t have my own.” Her father just nodded.

“Go back to your room, I’ll talk to you later.”

After Yuuki left, Jack rushed into the room to check the condition of the prisoner and was terrified of the result. He had no memories whatsoever. His mind was completely blank.

--

A grizzled old man was sitting next to a fireplace with a dozen small kids listening to him talk.

“I’ve been tracking it for weeks. I didn’t know what it was, but it left a trail of bodies in its wake. The animals weren’t dead. They just lied on the ground, not reacting to anything. One foggy night I finally saw it. A young girl who hadn’t seen ten winters yet. She was pale white with flowing white robes. She was staring at a deer in front of her, gently touching its face as if it was a long lost lover of hers. Suddenly the deer went limp, like all the animals before. I called out to her, telling her to stop. She looked at me. I still remember how I felt that day. I was terrified. I don’t even remember what had happened. My only memories after that, was waking up on the road, bruised and cut from running through too many bushes and falling over. She never returned to the forest, but sometimes when I take a night stroll, I sometimes feel a chill run through my spine and I could swear I can see those two violet eyes in the dark.”

The children stared in awe.

“Come on now, off to bed. All of you.” A female voice called out. The children protested but it was all for naught. Later, one of the children, inspired by this mysterious encounter, became a traveling writer, collecting folktales from all around the continent. And so, a legend was born.