I was being stupid for telling this woman about my situation, but I don't know what else to do. I was utterly lost, and quite emotional, more than I had been for all my life. I might have been happy at first that I came to this world, but once it died down, I was back to being a normal person in the 21st century.

I have no ambitions or goals such as dominating this world, exploring or adventuring, or any other exciting thing some other people would dream about. All I want is to enjoy things, and not be burdened with any responsibilities. 

'No! This is the childish me talking,' I can't throw away this opportunity, this once-in-a-billion chance that I had been blessed with, even if my conditions and situations are a little daunting.

I took a deep breath, now that I spilled the bag to an unknown person, I had to convince her to keep my secret, and hopefully, she can help me with my most urgent matter. Meeting with the old man's granddaughter. 

[Look, you might find it hard to believe the things I said, and even less trust me, but I'm trusting you with my secret. I want you to know I have no intention of hurting anyone. If you can't trust my words, we can come up with an agreement at least.]

--- --- ---

Audra had a contemplating look, deciding if she should believe it or go straight to the principal, the only person she trusted with something as a unique and possibly harmless newborn anomalous object. Her better judgment was telling her to not believe it, but she looked at the storage crystal, having already suspected that it belonged to Grand Master Fowke.

[.. What kind of agreement?] 

[ah... I didn't expect you would except so easily, but I was thinking I can help you with things, sorry but I don't have much to offer.]

[What about that storage crystal?]

[It's not mine to give it to you, it belongs to my benefactor's granddaughter, and you still haven't told me if she was here or not.]

Audra was having bad thoughts, she realized that she could probably take the storage crystal, seal this weak anomalous object, and study it to her heart's content, and no one would know. But she shook her head, such a thing would lead her down a dangerous path, one she would rather not walk on.

More than that, the emotions she felt in the mental connection were genuine loss, sadness, anxiety, and other negative thoughts, something she had deeply experienced many years ago. 

Sighing, she put the sentient mana crystal back on its platform, looking at it, she felt more distressed emotions from it. For a newborn non-organic being she felt it was quite emotional.

[Sigh...I will help you, in exchange I want you to let me experiment on you, don't worry I won't do anything extreme, that I promise.] 

It became panicked once she mentioned the word experiment, and after her promise, it calmed down a little. She felt that it was quite a cute reaction.

[So, this body is the one that the Grand Maester made for you, It sure had quite rare metals in it.]

She took out the body parts stored in her storage crystal, and looked at the destroyed parts, inspecting the quality of the metals, along with the intricate spells.

[Yeah.. he worked hard on it for almost 3 months, yet it was destroyed in a 2-minute fight.]

She felt anger at the mention of the fight, but she focused her eyes on the brain core. Picking it up, she inspected it carefully, it was the most interesting thing aside from the sentient crystal.

[What is this thing?]

[It was made to function as my brain, and manage my body's functions just like how your brain does your body.]

[Fascinating. Truly he deserves his title, I don't think I have ever thought such a thing was possible.]

Suddenly she was out of her trance as she felt the distressed and emotional barrage coming from the sentient mana crystal, feeling a little bad that she hasn't even acknowledged that his maker has passed on.

[Sorry about that, I shouldn't h-]

[It's okay, now would you mind telling me about the girl?]

[Yes, she is here. She is a student of our crafting hall, learning a new craft that has just been added to our hall's curriculum a few years ago.]

--- --- 

In a dormitory room, a girl looking no older than 17 years old, was sniffing into her pillow, her eye bags red and heavy. She was hugging herself with a blanket, while her roommate watched her from across her bed with saddened eyes. To receive the news that your only family member left in this world died after a week later was a hard thing to swallow.

Her roommate didn't pretend to know her pain and sadness and tried to comfort her by being just here with her and letting her know that she wasn't alone.

"..."

"I talked to some people, they said they haven't found his body. Though it might be a stretch it could mean that he was kidnapped as well. Do you think your grandfather could be killed so easily?" Her roommate tried to distract her and give her something other than mourning, at this rate she might fall behind in her classes.

"...Just leave me alone." The crying girl responded with a quiet voice, one that didn't have any energy left in it whatsoever.

"You know that you can't keep crying like that forever, even if he was possibly killed, would he want you to mourn him for the rest of your life?" Mentioning his death might hurt her, but she couldn't allow as her friend, to lose her time like this.

The mourning girl sat up looking at her roommate with chilling eyes.

"What do you know about my grandfather? You have no right to talk about him as if you knew him!!" She shouted hysterically, before going back to hiding herself with her blanket, beginning another round of crying.

"Look, I know that this saddens you, and I know that your pain is something I don't have experience with. But I want you to understand that the world isn't over, that the possibility of him still alive exists. It's such a time you should be more determined than ever, and find out the truth for yourself." Finishing her piece, her roommate stood up and began to walk toward the door.

"Try to give a thought to what I told you." She opened the door, leaving the room, before closing the door gently.

The room stayed silent for a few minutes, the weeping coming down to a sniff again.

"Grandpa… Why did you have to leave too?"

All her life, all she wanted was to make her grandpa proud of her, and now that he was gone, she felt utterly lost. She was even following in his footsteps, studying the crystal spells craft that he discovered, though her progress in the field was questionable.

Knock! Knock!

…….

Knock! Knock!

…..

KNOCK! KNCOK!

"GO AWAY!!" she yelled loudly, annoyed that they were disturbing her.

"Sorry, but there is someone you need to meet. I need you to come with me." A female voice replied one she would have been familiar with if she was a little more clearheaded.

"I don't care! Stop bothering me and leave me alone!" Just as she turned back, intending to shrink back into her blanket, the door opened with a loud bang.

"Sorry, but I heard you have been sulking around for a week now, and that you haven't attended any of your classes. I will forgive your absence, but you need to come with me now, someone related to your grandfather wants to meet you." 

Audra stood in the doorway, with her heavy brown apron, big glasses on her head, and her thick gloves, her signature, and uniform clothes.