They arrived at the camp the two had set up and as promised, Aria was given food. It was surprisingly good. Aria felt satisfied and content after finishing a small bowl of stew. The camp consisted of 2 tents, a campfire with a pot over it and some logs for seats. It was quite typical. But it served its purpose.

“So what do we do with her? Drop her off back at the city?” asked the warrior who was the first to approach Aria. “She had a wound… but it was already healed somehow and she seems okay, so we don’t need to worry much about her health. Though it’s worrying that she’s content with only a bowl of soup after probably staying out here all alone for who knows how long. You’d expect a stranded person here to be hungrier no? Even if it’s just a child.”

“Especially since it’s just a child… how did she even survive out there?” replied the mage. “This place isn’t some tame forest. It’s The Forest of Lyca. It’s about a B-rank area… no child could survive out here alone. Perhaps an A-rank adventurer might be able to. I sure as heck know that even I'd struggle a bit. Even with my magic.”

The two fell silent as they looked at Aria who seemed to be asleep close to the fire leaning onto a log that served as a chair. The light flickered across her pale features as she breathed rhythmically.

“Wendel.. did you notice anything off about her? Magic-wise? There’s no chance that she’s a monster right?” asked the warrior.

“Leo!”

“I know! I know but.. still. We can’t be too careful. I don't sense anything myself... But anything’s possible. After all. Mimics exist,” he said grimly, his finger bobbed up and down as he tapped his leg.

Wendel the mage sighed but answered.

“Well. She definitely has a magical aura. Though I think it’s been depleted recently.”

“Depleted? Why was it depleted?”

Wendel shrugged. “You know as much as I do. But one thing is for sure. She’s a normal human like us. Well, as normal as a small child found in The Forest of Lyca could be.”

They chuckled a bit which seemed to let them finally relax. Afterwards they continued to talk for a while but unbeknownst to the adventurers, Aria hadn’t fallen asleep but was merely relaxing with her eyes closed. She planned on sleeping but they piqued her interest by talking about her.

--

Aria finally grew bored of their small-talk and fell asleep as the adventurers began talking about things she didn’t have any interest in-- like the mage complaining about the paperwork she’ll have to do when she gets back, something about students. In any case, it was a while before she woke up to an eerie silence.

It was dark except for the ambient light of the flickering campfire. Aria quietly sat up and looked around. The two had gone to sleep-- they must’ve assumed it was safe to do so --and were seen resting on the other side of the campfire. It wasn’t the flickering fire that woke up Aria, it was something else. Something that gave her goosebumps.

What’s this aura? It's immense!

At first, Aria couldn’t tell the direction she sensed this immense magical aura from, but after forcing herself to calm down, she was able to figure it out. It seemed to cloud her vision from every direction-- as she could actually see the magical aura --but she analyzed the flow of it and discerned the point of origin. The presence was coming from her left. It was still somewhat far away, but that just went to show how immense its magical aura was, for her to even see it from this distance. She looked back at the resting pair who hadn’t so much as stirred from their sleep. The warrior she could kind of understand-- he didn't seem to have much aura --but you would think Wendel would be reactive to it. Why didn’t she notice?

I have to do something!

Aria stood up while using her staff for support. But before she could take a step, a rustling sound froze her in her tracks. Slowly, she turned to spot the source of the rustling sound. Her eye caught movement in a brush towards the direction she peeked, but something wasn’t right. A simple black cat appeared, and the aura was flowing out from it. The cat with its piercing eyes gazed at Aria. Well. Calling it a normal cat would be wrong. It was different from a normal cat. Its ears were shaped differently. They were longer like some type of bunny ears. She assumed that the cat could straighten them out as well, the same way a bunny can raise its ears, but at the moment it seemed to be in (what Aria assumed) its normal, relaxed state by hanging on either side of its head. Like its legs, the ears were mainly black except for the fluffy white-tipped ends. Its tail was also different from a cat. It was more like a fox’s tail than a cat’s. The bushy tail was, again, black save for the white tip.

Stunned, Aria blinked and stood in place, unsure of what to do. It would probably be a bad move if she suddenly tried to run for it, not that she could even run. So escape was impossible. But, was there even a need for escape? Her instincts from reacting to the immense aura that clearly outmatched hers gave only 2 options: fight or flight. Of course, fighting wouldn’t have been an option, so there was really only flight. Except now even that option is.. well... not available. However, now that she took a closer look… the creature was quite cute. She wanted to fluff its bushy tail. Regardless, she stood still, watching it carefully.

“Kiii?” spoke the creature.

It spoke.

Aria faced it curiously, her head tilting slightly in the process. Its cry was extremely cute.

Are you looking for something?

“Ki~!” cried the creature.

『 It seems this creature was attracted to your magic aura. 』

To me?

『 Indeed. What will you do? 』

Aria relaxed sensing the danger was no more and sat down at her spot. The ‘cat’ approached her slowly.

What is its name?

『 It most likely does not have one as it is a wild creature. 』

Ki then.

Okay, Ki. I am Aria, pleasure to meet you.

“Kii~!” responded Ki.

The cat-like creature trotted over to her without showing signs of hostility. Sitting beside her, it began to sniff her.

What’s wrong?

『 Perhaps it finds you interesting. 』

Aria tilted her head at this but remained still otherwise.

Hm. Anyways, Ki how did you get so much magical power? Your aura is immense!

“Ki?” whined Ki as it tilted its head.

『 If you wish, we can analyze Ki to help us discern how it acquired its aura. 』

Okay, I guess we can try that.

『 Analyzing Magical Aura… Complete. The aura of this creature is unusually copious, it most likely an abnormal case. It seems this creature’s aura specializes in Elusive type magic allowing it to evade enemies and even hide its own auras. This is probably what allows it to be here without disrupting Wendel. You were able to detect it however, thanks to your Sharpened Senses skill. Just a note, this creature’s high abundance of aura increased its intellect greatly compared to the usual wild-life. 』

I see..

Before she could continue, Wendel stirred attracting Aria’s attention. Aria quickly returned to her prior sleeping position while motioning Ki to hide behind her. Ki complied and soon Wendel sat up with a yawn. Aria peeked through her nearly closed eyes. Wendel's disheveled top exposed her shoulders which she fixed before stretching. She scanned the area before getting up.

She tried to be quiet but the attempt didn’t last long as she bumped into some pots with her foot. She grimaced as the pots clanged against each other. Surprisingly Leo didn’t wake up from the commotion. After confirming that no one stirred, she carefully drank water from a canteen and glanced about as if looking for something.

Could it be? Can she still feel Ki's magic aura? Ki can you hide your aura any more?

Surprisingly, Ki seemed to concentrate for a moment before its aura began to dissipate. Before long, his aura disappeared and Aria herself couldn't sense his aura even though she was right next to him.

Returning her attention to Wendel, Aria watched quietly while Wendel continued to search. She put away the canteen and concentrated to find the aura she previously felt. Once she realized she couldn’t sense anything, Wendel decided it was okay to go back to sleep and the rest of the night went without a hitch. Eventually, Aria fell asleep again letting Ki rest next to her.

--

In the morning, they began roaming through the forest again. Ki followed behind, still unknown to Wendel and Leo.

Huh? I thought we would exit the forest.

『 Considering the equipment of this group and their previous conversations. They could be adventurers sent on a mission before they happened to come across you.』

A mission huh.. by the way, you were quiet last night Guide. Is anything wrong? By any chance, were you jealous that I met Ki?

『 No. I merely had nothing to say. 』

If you say so, Guide.

Suddenly Leo stopped. He turned and faced Aria with a serious expression before speaking.

"Uhhm... I’m going to tell you a couple things that I feel you should know. We’re actually adventurers here on a job request to subjugate a monster,” said Leo. “Running into you was a surprise, and quite frankly, I’m still a bit wary about you. No offense. You see, monsters are a common occurrence. Especially in this area, so for all we know, you could be some kind of monster that mimics human appearance. Anyways, right near this forest is a common travel path that merchants and travelers use all the time. Therefore adventurers are sent out to clear them out. However they continue to re-populate the Forest of Lyca. Which is why we are here now.”

“Leo, she’s just a child,” Wendel said tiredly. “You’re expecting her to understand a lot of things children her age wouldn’t know.”

I see. Anyways, it looks like you were right Guide. They are a pair of adventurers.

Aria slowly nodded in acknowledgment.

“To be honest, I really don’t think you’re some kind of monster, and I trust Wendel. That’s the only reason you’re still with us right now,” sighed Leo. He ran his hand through his hair. “Especially with how adorable you look, it’s really hard to even think there is a possibility that you’re a monster. A-anyways, this has been nagging me so I wanted to apologize to you for even thinking of the possibility. I’m sorry. And I know you’re just a child so you probably don’t really understand what I’m saying at all but I’m not taking anything I just said back. Will you forgive me?”

Wendel tittered at Leo’s condition.

I could have been a danger to them, but they still treated me nicely and gave me food. They are such nice people.

Aria’s eyes opened in admiration and she smiled lightly.

"... I'll take that as a yes?" said Leo with a confused look. He looked at Wendel and she shrugged as well while smiling. "By the way I’ve been wondering but... can you talk or even understand what I’m saying?"

Well, I might be able to but...

Aria fiddled with her fingers shyly as she mustered up the courage to attempt speaking.

"Y-Yes," muttered Aria. Her eyes widened in surprise and she covered her mouth. She somehow spoke without realizing it. It came out soft, but a little dry which forced her to clear her throat. But she spoke nonetheless.

The two stared in surprise.They had expected her to shrug or stare at them questioningly, but she instead actually spoke despite remaining silent for so long until now.

“Well what a neat surprise, you can talk! Though you’re pretty quiet, you sound so adorable!” Wendel was the first to recover.

Quiet? Was I too quiet? I’m not used to this.

“Well then. I guess we can just get going and finish our mission!” said Leo with forced enthusiasm. Just as he turned around to take a step, a monstrous roar was heard. Leo’s eyebrow raised as he immediately prepared for combat. “I guess it’ll be sooner than we thought.”