บท 29: A Pain Without Gain
Desmond woke up from his sleep and, following his usual routine, made his way to Alice's room. However, upon arriving, he was met with a gathering of concerned servants outside her door.
"Ms. Alice, please open the door."
"We've brought your favorite food, Miss."
*Ahem* Desmond, who had been standing among the servants, grew impatient.
As the servants turned around and noticed Desmond's presence, they pleaded with him, "Young master, please help us." They had brought food, clothes, and various other items for Alice.
Raising an eyebrow, Desmond inquired, "What happened exactly?"
"We're not sure. The guards brought Miss Alice to her room, and she suddenly woke up, asking for you," one servant explained.
"Yes, but when we informed her that you were busy with something, she became frightened. She wrapped herself in a blanket and kicked us all out, locking the door for the entire night. She didn't even eat anything," another servant added.
The guards had been correct in informing Alice that Desmond was occupied with his own matters. He had been late returning home, having spent the night searching the alleys and encountering several demons. Desmond's motivation wasn't solely revenge; he also found value in absorbing the demons' energy, which posed less risk than harming humans. After marking the demon locations on his system's map, he finally returned home and took a shower.
"I see. Step aside; let me try to persuade her."
Desmond knocked on Alice's door and called out to her, "Sis, it's me. Open the door."
With a click, Alice opened the door, her head and body still covered by a blanket.
Desmond greeted her with a smile, "Good morning, Ali—" However, before he could finish his greeting, Alice grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room. She promptly locked the door again, preventing anyone else from entering.
Inside the room, Alice swiftly pushed Desmond to the ground, leaving him lying on the floor while she rested on his chest.
Desmond remained patient, waiting for Alice to speak.
However, several seconds passed in silence, with Alice tightly embracing him. He also noticed the wetness on his shirt, indicating her tears.
Before Desmond could say anything, he heard Alice's sobs.
*sob* *sob* "I-I'm s-sorry, Desmond."
Desmond gently moved the blanket from Alice's face, revealing her tear-streaked cheeks. He tenderly stroked her hair and reassured her, "It's alright, no need to apologize. Just be more careful next time."
Alice continued to mumble through her tears, gradually calming down.
Looking into Desmond's eyes, she recounted the events of the previous day. As Desmond listened to her, he felt a sense of relief for having taken action against the shop owner.
"Alright, I understand now. Please eat your food," Desmond said, urging her to take care of herself.
Alice nodded, still clinging to Desmond.
"Now, I need to return to my practice, sis."
Desmond gently moved Alice aside and stood up.
Before he opened the door, he heard Alice's voice, "Thank you, Desmond," spoken softly but audible to him.
Leaving the room with a smile on his face, Desmond glanced at the waiting servants. "You can go in now," he informed them.
The servants immediately entered the room to attend to their tasks.
As Desmond made his way out, the servants began to gossip among themselves, "The relationship between the young master and the young lady is becoming closer and closer."
"What are you saying? Isn't that just a normal sibling relationship?"
"No, my own brother never treated me like that. I think we should report this to the Lord and Lady."
Hearing their conversation, Desmond pretended not to have heard and continued walking toward the yard.
.
.
.
At noon, after finishing his training, Desmond laid on the grass in the garden, contemplating the strange events that had unfolded. He pondered the significance of his connection with Alice and the unique bond they shared.
Time freezes?
Is this an innate ability?
Desmond commanded the system to replay yesterday's events. As the recording played, just seconds before the tail could impale Desmond's eyes, the image on the screen turned pitch black for a few moments before returning to normal.
That was peculiar; even the system couldn't capture that moment.
"Status."
[Scanning the Host's Body...]
[Scan Complete!]
[-Status-
Name: Desmond
Gender: Male
Age: 3 years
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman
Occupation: None
Unique Energy: 6.19
Strength: 7.04
Agility: 0.44
Stamina: 1.63]
Desmond frowned, a sense of unease creeping in. "Nothing has changed, but something feels off."
Numerous possibilities raced through his mind. Lying on the ground, he shifted his gaze upward, fixating on the graceful birds soaring across the sky.
Suddenly, time seemed to slow down. "No, this is entirely different." Time swiftly resumed its normal pace, leaving Desmond with a slight soreness in his eye.
The incident from yesterday felt like time had slowed down tenfold compared to this, and its duration had been considerably longer.
Frustration etched across Desmond's face, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Damn it, I despise this sensation.
"System, can you analyze yesterday's incident for me?" Desmond was aware that the system couldn't, but humans were inherently curious creatures.
[Creating a Task...
1 Slot Used
Status: Working 0%]
[Working 50%...]
It worked!
Desmond awaited the completion of the progress bar, but after a few seconds, it seemed to be stuck at 50%.
[ERROR | Reason: Insufficient Information]
[Saving to Database...]
[Saved Data!]
"I knew it, ahhhhh... this is so frustrating."
Standing up, Desmond brushed off his clothes.
He attempted to focus on an object once again, only to witness time slowing down momentarily before returning to normal.
Desmond's subsequent experiment involved running while fixating his eyes on an object, yielding the same result as before, albeit with increased energy consumption.
After several attempts, the sky gradually darkened, as daylight slowly faded away. Unbeknownst to Desmond, dusk had already arrived.
Turning around, he discovered his food in its usual place.
"Ah, it appears I was too absorbed. The first day ended in failure."
Curiosity blazed in Desmond's eyes. He would rather meet his demise at the hands of an enemy than succumb to the torment of unanswered questions.
Observing his surroundings, he noticed an absence of shadows within the forest.
"System, scan the area."
[Creating a Task...
1 Slot Used
Status: Working 0%]
[Working 50%...]
[Status: Completed]
[Saving to Database...]
[Saved Data!]
[System Conclusion: No individuals detected within a 1000-meter range.]
Hmm? Has the secret guard been assigned elsewhere?
Forget it. It's of no concern to me.
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