Barrett tilted his head and looked past EeDechi. "Captain, who's this little girl? Don't tell me you rescued her from a brothel again?"
A slender girl with fair, smooth skin and golden hair stood there timidly. Her name was Kilua.
"A brothel? Where's the brothel?" Franco asked at once, his head whipping left and right as he latched onto the one detail that mattered.
"Her name's Kilua. I bought her freedom from two slave traders," EeDechi said, taking the girl's hand and pulling her forward to introduce her.
She quickly explained Kilua's background, adding that the child had lost her memory and that she was helping her look for her parents.
"Very suspicious. Extremely suspicious!" Barrett's brow tightened as he began circling the clearly uneasy Kilua.
His right hand settled on his sword hilt. His expression turned hard, his gaze sharp enough to cut. EeDechi had seen that look before—it was the same one he wore when he was about to finish off a monster.
Barrett stopped in front of Kilua and stared down at her. The girl barely reached his waist. His broad frame loomed over her like a mountain.
He fixed her with a cold stare, then suddenly bent forward, bearing down on her with crushing weight. Kilua flinched hard.
"Listen, girl. I know you're not suffering from amnesia. Who are you really? Where did you come from? You'd better tell the truth, or that little head of yours is coming off."
Barrett's voice was low and vicious. His eyes bulged wide, the muscles in his face twisting into a savage mask. He looked like a tiger about to tear into a helpless lamb.
Kilua was so frightened that she fell back onto her bottom and burst into loud wails. "Waaah… So scary! Mister is so scary! Waaah…" Tears poured down her face like water from a broken dam.
"Barrett, why are you being so mean? You scared the poor girl." EeDechi scolded him as she scooped Kilua up from the ground, held her close, and gently comforted her.
Barrett let out a long sigh. He deliberately relaxed the fierce expression he had forced onto his face until it returned to normal.
He said helplessly, "Captain, you're still so naive. You actually believe a story full of holes like that. An amnesiac seer? Hah. She has to be some kind of evil creature in disguise! Or maybe she's a spy sent by Ainz Ooal Gown!"
"Impossible," EeDechi said softly, stroking Kilua's little head. "Her Justice Value is 162, and it's never changed. She can't be a bad person."
"I believe she's not a bad person either, so why don't we drop her off at an orphanage?" Barrett suggested quickly.
"I don't want to go to an orphanage!" Kilua said pitifully. She clung tightly to EeDechi's thigh, her face still streaked with tears, looking utterly adorable in her misery.
"We're an adventurer party, not nuns and priests from a monastery. Dragging this dead weight around will waste our time and put her in danger too," Barrett argued.
Kilua wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke earnestly, "I know Wild Magic. I won't hold you back at all!"
"Wild Magic? Isn't that a power only dragons possess?" Barrett frowned as he stared at her.
"Mhm, I'm a descendant of the Dragon Progenitor, a half-dragon hybrid!" Kilua declared with a straight face. "Among the legends of the Three Dragon Gods beneath the World Throne, one is the Dragon Progenitor, and I'm his descendant!"
EeDechi and Barrett exchanged a glance, both of them surprised.
The Three Dragon Gods beneath the World Throne were the Dragon Progenitor, the Dragon Emperor, and the Dragon Endbringer. The Dragon Progenitor governed creation, the Dragon Emperor ruled over dominion, and the Dragon Endbringer presided over destruction.
It wasn't a widely known legend, but it was a rare truth. The World Will had created the three of them and appointed them to manage the world.
The Dragon Emperor had already fallen in battle. The Dragon Progenitor was said to have died long ago—its physical body now rested inside EeDechi's Aetherial Secret Coffer. The Dragon Endbringer resided in the ring on EeDechi's hand.
EeDechi and her companions planned to travel to the City Alliance, repair the "Apocalyptic Mourning Bell" skyship, then head to "Heaven," where the World Will resided. There they would defeat the World Will, shatter the shackles binding them, and break past Level 100.
"Dragon Endbringer, come out and take a look. Do you recognize this little girl?" EeDechi said to the ring.
A burly, powerfully built figure flashed into existence behind EeDechi. He focused his gaze, thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't recognize her. But I can sense a familiar aura on her—like an old acquaintance. I just can't remember who."
After being captured by the Eight Greed Kings, Dragon Endbringer had all his memories extracted. He could only answer based on that vague feeling.
Barrett noticed that the instant Dragon Endbringer appeared, Kilua's body trembled for a split second and her pupils dilated. But she quickly returned to normal, showing no further reaction.
It was a suspicious detail, though it could also be explained as the girl simply being frightened by Dragon Endbringer… Barrett thought to himself, growing even more wary of her.
Barrett towered over Kilua and looked down at her coldly. "Listen here, girl. We're not good people. I've killed more people than you've eaten candies."
He pointed at Franco. "And this mage is an old pervert. You're so young and cute—I'm worried you'll end up suffering at his hands. Heh heh…"
Kilua's face turned deathly pale, but she still spoke firmly. "I'm not afraid. I want to stay with the Captain!"
"Hey! Old man, don't slander me! I've got zero interest in flat-as-a-board girls with no curves front or back!" Franco protested quickly.
EeDechi didn't look convinced. Her expression turned serious as she stared at Franco. "If you lay a single hand on Kilua, I'll cut off whatever's between your legs!"
"We're an adventurer party fighting the most dangerous Demon King—Ainz Ooal Gown. We don't take useless trash!" Barrett said with a stern face, still trying to persuade EeDechi to send Kilua away.
"I'm not useless trash! I know Wild Magic!" Kilua said hurriedly. She held both hands out in front of her and activated her power.
On the ground, a granite boulder half the height of a person suddenly unfolded two thin layers of stone from its sides. They flapped like wings, and the rock lifted off.
The once-solid stone came to life, transforming into a heavy stone bird. Its stone wings beat nonstop as it slowly rose into the sky.
"This little spell is kind of interesting," Franco said appreciatively.
"That's it? What use is that to us?" Barrett said dismissively.
Kilua's spirits sank. The stone bird dropped back to the ground and turned into an ordinary rock again.
"Besides that, I can see other people's soul flames. At the same time, I can judge their talents."
Kilua dropped her childish, playacting expression. Her face grew serious, carrying the faint bearing of a high priestess.
She continued, "I can see our Captain's soul flame—it's like a towering torch reaching the sky, burning fiercely! I can sense that the Captain's potential is endless, with the power to overturn the entire world!"
"Really?" Barrett believed in EeDechi's strength and potential, though he didn't know just how strong she could become.
Kilua tensed her little face and declared solemnly, "I once saw Ainz Ooal Gown from afar. Compared to the Captain, his soul flame is tiny and insignificant—like the difference between a torch and the sun!"
"Do I really have that much power?" EeDechi asked in surprise, looking at Kilua.
Kilua nodded solemnly, her expression brooking no doubt.
Barrett scratched his head and asked, "Then why are we being chased all over the world by Ainz Ooal Gown right now?"
Kilua spoke seriously. "My spiritual sense can see a valve restricting the Captain's power. As long as the Captain willingly exchanges something, that valve can be opened and her endless potential released!"
"What would I have to exchange?" EeDechi asked curiously.
"That's something you will have to discover on your own," Kilua said mysteriously, putting on the air of a fake prophet with plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
"What's the difference between saying that and saying nothing at all?" EeDechi replied, a hint of dissatisfaction creeping into her voice.
"Um… maybe you won't want to make the exchange," Kilua said cautiously.
"As long as it lets me defeat Ainz Ooal Gown, what wouldn't I be willing to give up?" EeDechi declared with righteous conviction. "Let's get moving again. We'll head to the Eight Greed Kings Desert, then pass through the Vast Stellar Gate and make for the City Alliance."
Barrett thought seriously for a moment. Although he couldn't figure out what little Kilua was plotting, she showed no signs of intending to do harm and clearly wasn't from an evil faction.
The Captain definitely wouldn't want to abandon Kilua at an orphanage. Fine, he'd indulge EeDechi this once. Barrett sighed inwardly.
Still, he was curious to see how EeDechi's potential would be unlocked, just as Kilua had described.
Barrett bent down again, his cold eyes fixed on Kilua. His piercing gaze seemed to bore straight into her heart.
He spoke one word at a time. "Don't play any tricks. I'll be watching you the entire time."
"Don't worry, mister! I really, really won't play any tricks!" Kilua lifted her little head and met Barrett's gaze without fear.
"Best if that's true." Barrett gave a cold laugh and walked forward.