Grimm paused. For a moment his face ran through the stages of grief in quick succession. He opened his mouth, shut it again, then looked at Sophia's expression and realized she wasn't joking. The cold stare she leveled at him told him exactly where he stood.
She genuinely thought he was some kind of fanatic.
To be fair, he didn't blame her. If he replayed the scene from her point of view, he would've probably come to the same conclusion.
An injured guy reeking of blood, surrounded by a carnage of human corpses. A sight like that would raise questions for anyone with a working brain.
He needed to clear this now.
He drew a slow breath and started talking. Everything from the moment he stepped into the goblin settlement. The dead bodies of Gerald's teammates scattered around. A normal case of plundering within the tower. Gerald attacking him. The fight.
He went into detail and didn't skip anything. He had no intention of dying in a tent because a powerful woman misread a situation he could fix by simply explaining it.
Sophia didn't interrupt. She listened the whole time, leaning back slightly with her arms crossed. Her expression shifted in small ways as he spoke. She frowned at the part about the corpses. She looked annoyed at the mention of plundering. Her eyes drifted to his hands when he explained Gerald's body deteriorating. But she didn't question anything. She just listened.
When he finished, the tent fell quiet.
Sophia stayed silent long enough that Grimm started to wonder if she was about to draw a weapon. Then she cleared her throat. Her voice had lost the sharp edge from earlier.
"Your name is Grimm, right?" she asked, not addressing anything he had just told her.
He nodded. "Yeah. It is."
She muttered something under her breath. It wasn't meant for him to hear, but he caught it anyway. Something about it being a strange name. He didn't take offense. He'd heard worse. And even if he hadn't, what would it matter?
She continued. "From what I gathered, you're an orphan. And you lost your memory in an accident a while back, correct?"
Grimm studied her. He was sure he'd never met this woman. The previous Grimm hadn't met her either. So how did she know that? And more importantly, how did she gather those details while inside the tower? It wasn't hard to guess. Someone like her wouldn't look into a nobody like him which means she had gathered those information while he was out cold.
Not that it mattered. With her stats, she could squash him like a bug. Better to nod now and think later.
"Yes," he said.
She hummed, hand under her chin, watching him like she was fitting pieces together. "And you registered your talent as E rank Gluttony for your Pathfinder license, yes? Or was that a mistake?"
Grimm forced his expression to stay steady. "That's right."
Her brows pulled together. "If that's true, then explain something for me." She leaned forward. "How did you defeat an opponent whose level spiked to fifteen mid battle? And how did you overpower an abnormal opponent of that level with an absurd healing factor while being at level ten?"
Grimm didn't flinch. He expected this. Anyone with half a brain would find his strength suspicious. His registered talent was weak on paper and didn't match what he could actually do. It was only a matter of time before someone asked.
He wasn't going to reveal his Ex rank inate talent. And definitely not the one that absorbs attributes. That sort of thing got people hunted, dissected, or dragged into a lab by men who smiled while talking about 'research'.
He already had his answer ready.
"I got lucky," he said. "I happened to get a good profession."
Sophia stared long enough to make him sweat on the inside.
It was obvious she didn't buy it, not fully. She watched him as if waiting for a twitch or crack in the mask. But Grimm didn't falter, he held her stare. If she wanted to kill him, she wouldn't be talking. That alone gave him a bit of confidence.
After a moment her gaze softened and she let out a quiet sigh. "Everyone has their secrets, I suppose."
That was as close to acceptance as he'd get.
She stood and brushed off her dress. "I'm stepping out for a bit. I'll be back soon." She paused at the entrance. "Help yourself to the food. You've been out for a while."
Grimm blinked. "How long?"
But she was already gone.
He exhaled and pushed himself to his feet. A table sat in the corner with a plate covered by a cloth. He pulled it off. Bread, roasted meat, a bowl of soup. The smell hit him hard. His stomach growled loud enough to echo. He sat and dug in. Each bite felt like warmth spreading through his veins.
---
Outside the tent.
Sophia took a long breath as she stepped into the open. The night was calm. The sky stretched overhead, filled with a blanket of stars that looked almost too perfect.
She stood still for a moment, watching them. "Beautiful," she murmured. "Almost makes you wonder if they're real or just a magical illusion."
A faint smile touched her lips before fading. She didn't let herself drift off like that. Not tonight.
She walked until the tent was a distant glow, then stopped beneath a tree. She leaned back and closed her eyes.
The moment she activated her talent, threads of golden light appeared above her head. Invisible to normal eyes. They wove together like strings on a harp, vibrating softly.
She focused on one.
"Casper," she whispered. "You awake?"
A heartbeat of silence.
Then a voice crackled in her mind. A young man, groggy and irritated.
"Captain? Seriously? Why now?"
Her brows creased. "What do you mean why now? Don't tell me you're slacking off again. You'd better not be playing one of your stupid games."
"Gaming?" he said. "If only. I was sleeping. You know, that thing normal people do at night."
Sophia paused for a beat. She didn't admit anything, but the silence said enough. Casper snorted.
She cleared her throat. "Anyway. Back on topic. Did you gather the information I asked for?"