Richia's P.O.V

I have a little girl in my kitchen now. Couldn't be older than 11 or 12, yet, now she's cooking for me. It's for her benefit really, but still. It's nice.

It's kind of funny watching her fumble around. She looked so shocked when she realized she couldn't stir the pot without a stool. It seems like she hadn't even noticed how small she was. Rather strange, but I don't know what amnesia is like.

Interestingly enough, somehow, she's still level 1. Even more amazing is the fact that I met her fighting a slime with that weak status. She was actually holding her own quite well. I saw her in the field since before her fight started. A silver haired girl isn't very hard to spot, and thanks to my [Keen Insight] I knew she was level 1 from the beginning. Well, it was more a general estimate than a concrete number. Thinking back on it, I had intended to ask her about it at that point, as I was curious.

But then I saw her eyes.

Her eyes were mixed, one purple and one gold. It's an unusual trait, to be sure, but ╼⑉⑈⑆☰☱☲ ☳☴☵☶☷ 

☵☶☷☱☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☶☷☳

☴☰☱☲☴☰☱☲☴☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☴☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☵☶☷☱☲☳☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☷☱☴☵☱☲☴☵☴☵☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☱☲☴☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☴☵☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☴☵☴☵☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☱☲☴☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☴☵☴☵☲☴☵☴☵☵☶☷☵☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱⑆⑈⑉╾I still don't really know why I saved her. Perhaps it was simple curiosity. Who knows really.

After she fainted, I carried her back to my current residence in town. I decided to play dumb, hoping I could get some information about her. When she woke up, I tried to ask about ╼⑉⑈⑆☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☳☴☰⑆⑈⑉╾, but the moment I tried to mention them, panic spread all across her face. I changed my statement to one about her eyes' uniqueness, hoping it would ease her somewhat, as I had no intention of gaining her animosity just yet. Quite possibly, it backfired, as the girl tried to run away immediately. I held her down under the pretext of her needing rest, but I was a bit more worried about letting her go without knowing what she was after.

It surprised me when she made a show of resisting, with little to no actual strength behind her effort. When I questioned her about it, tears came to her eyes and she threw a tantrum again.

When she had finally calmed down, she used appraisal on me. At first it was subtle, noticed only through my [Keen Insight] but as time went on, she simply stared at me. Her eyes grew narrow as she studied me. It felt ╼⑉⑈⑆☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☴☵☲☳☲☳☴☰⑆⑈⑉╾. I've faced many monsters in my time as an adventurer, but I have never felt as terrified as I did in that moment.

I mean, who could blame me? Monsters may be frightening, but they have known capabilities and methods of dealing with them. So long as you're prepared, there's nothing to fear. This was different. I had no idea what she wanted. No idea what she could do. All I knew was that she had analyzed me. Meaning she knew my strengths and weaknesses. What was I to do?

I nervously questioned her actions, hoping she still intended to keep her cover. I was rather shocked when she stated she had amnesia. I could tell she wasn't lying thanks to my insight, but it sounded ridiculous. Not to mention that afterwards, she revealed that her level was truly 1. It's illogical, but does that mean she isn't a threat? I couldn't be sure just yet.

After my initial shock at the situation faded, I questioned her again, as no matter what my insight said, I didn't believe she was level 1. It was impossible. But as she gave her response, her eyes showed the first hint of emotion I had seen in them all this time.

Anger.

I recoiled, muttering excuses for my behavior while trying to come up with a plan. I couldn't let her leave, seeing as I still had no grasp on her intentions. However I needed a reason for her to stay. And that was how we wound up in the kitchen. I figured if she was truly level 1 then she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to gain some semblance of strength. I may not be a high ranking adventurer, but I could handle her even if she gained a few levels. This was for the sake of gathering information. Definitely not because I couldn't cook.

Honestly, at this point I think my worries were quite pointless. ╼⑉⑈⑆☴☵☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲ ☴☵☱☲☴☵☴☵☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☱☲☴☵☶☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☲☳☴☰☱☲☴☵☱☲☴☵☴☵☲☴☵☴☵☵☶☷☵☷☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱☲☳☴☰☱☲☱☲☴☵☶☱☲☳☲☳☴☰☱⑆⑈⑉╾.

All that aside, she was an excellent chef. With just the leftovers I had in my cold storage, she made a meal that could put most restaurants to shame. She also managed to fix a little toy I had that I couldn't get repaired no matter where I went, despite her saying she had never seen magic circuits before. Possibly she was an engineer in the past, and keeping that much proficiency after a job change would mean she was rather skilled.

Her leveling process was slow. When you think about the quality and difficulty of the tasks she performed, she should have been at least level 12 by the end of the week. Yet level 4 is as far as she got. Only half of my original estimate of 8. She seems to have a suspicion as to why her leveling process is so slow. One of her titles allowed her to gain strength faster, so it was possible it raised her level requirements to balance it out. When I asked her why she would reveal that to me, she said it was because I was kind enough to help her out. I felt nothing but guilt for the rest of that day.

Still, this is going to be over in a few days. I haven't taken any requests in a while, so I should probably head out soon. I do sincerely hope I get to meet this girl again someday.