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As I walk away from the place where I left the girl with pale skin and hair, I reflect on a topic that had never caught my attention before.
'Babysitting wasn't so bad...
If it weren't for the special circumstances of this occasion...
I wouldn't mind having to look after a child from time to time...
It would be nice to have a miniature Alessia when I go home...
Or a miniature Delia...
Considering the beauty of those who would be their mothers, they would surely be as adorable or even more adorable than the little girl I just left at her home...
Maybe...'
Emir: !!!
Suddenly, I see Beatrice's blue dot appear for a single second, just a few meters behind me, while I was distractedly rambling on about the possibility of being a father.
Then, as if struck by a bolt of inspiration, my brain connects the apparition with Zariche's words from a few minutes ago.
'The person who follows me everywhere from the shadows...
Shit...
I should have realised sooner.'
My mind starts racing, and the fleeting illusion of my fatherhood disappears as if it had never existed.
In an instant, I take Zariche out of my inventory, activate my Agility profile and use Sword breathing style.
Thereafter, I lunge with my hands outstretched in the direction where the strange blue dot was just a few moments ago.
As I imagined, my hands immediately grasp an invisible body, which begins to lose its invisibility as soon as it comes into contact with me.
'Activate Strength profile!...
So they weren't stress-induced hallucinations after all...
But...
Lately, I hardly ever saw the blue dot...
I thought I was finally getting rid of a disorder that had originated from an unhealthy combination of lack of sleep and accumulated stress...
I never would have imagined that she was spying on me...
What reasons could have led her to do so for so long without taking the opportunity to attack me or my girls?'
With my arms tightly wrapped around her body, Beatrice's figure becomes fully visible.
The attractive young spy is dressed in dirty, worn-out rags.
Her freckled face, red hair, and body are in a similar state to her clothes.
But her brown eyes have a feverish gleam of excitement that, combined with her disheveled appearance, gives her a wild look that I find somewhat sexy.
' - He was able to catch me even while my ability was activated! This man is incredible. It seems I will never fully get used to how wonderful he is.'
Moments later, a strong smell of dirt and sweat begins to invade my nostrils.
'Damn...
How disgusting...
I wish I could let go of her and walk away...
But if I do, she'll surely become invisible once again...
And I have so many questions to ask her...
But not here.'
Without thinking too much about it, I open an illusory door to the empty meadow I used to use for reflection, which, at this point, has become a multipurpose place I always turn to when I need some space.
'There is no point in trying to go unnoticed anymore...
Anyway, no one should be able to follow me through the illusory doors if they're not in my party...
Wait...
That's exactly what she's been doing...
Haa...
One more question to ask her.'
"Why were you spying on me, Miss Spy?" I ask after passing through the door, after which I begin to tie her wrists behind her back with one hand while holding her firmly with my other hand.
'Ohh? So you didn't know this person was following you... Shit, I shouldn't have said anything,' says Zariche's voice inside my head, and I instantly put it back in my inventory.
"I wasn't spying on you... And don't call me that," says Beatrice in a hoarse croak, as if she hasn't used her voice to speak in weeks.
"Why? That's what you are, isn't it?" I say, wondering what could have led this woman to neglect her hygiene to such an extent.
"No, I'm not anymore. Since that day when you and I..." she says, her filthy face turning slightly red with embarrassment.
"... I'm not a spy anymore! OK?"
"Then what are you?" I ask curiously.
"I... I'm just me. Whatever that means to you..." she says, avoiding my gaze.
"... I don't work for anyone"
"Aha... Then why are you following me, Miss Spy?" I ask as I begin to tie her legs with a second rope that I pull out of my inventory.
"I told you not to call me that, damn it!..." she says irritably, looking me straight in the eye for a moment, after which she looks away again and continues talking, a slight blush coloring her dirty, pale face.
"... And about following you... I... I just want to... You're an intriguing person. I've never met a man like you before. So... pure."
"Pure? Me? That's a good one. But I guess you're not quite right in the head, judging by your unkempt appearance... Hmm, maybe it's partly my fault..."
As I speak, Beatrice occasionally gives me longing looks before looking away again with something resembling shyness.
"... But I had no way of knowing what side effects that drug you tried to use on me would have. Anyway, I suppose it's better than death."
"I'm perfectly fine in the head..." the seemingly former spy mutters, looking down at the floor with a frown.
"... My appearance... It's not something I've been concerned about lately. When you know that the rest of the world can't notice your presence, regardless of what you look or smell like, those kinds of things quickly lose their importance... The only thing that really matters is continuing to eat, drink, and sleep..."
'I suppose I can understand that point of view a little'
"... But if I had known you could find me, I would have made an effort to be more presentable for you."
"Why would you care what I think of you? I'm nothing to you," I say with confusion, moving away from her a little, now that I've finished tying her arms and legs to prevent her from escaping from me.
"That's not true! You are my..." she says, and a violent blush colors her face, causing her to stop talking.
' - My hope... My dream... My everything... But I can't tell you any of that.'
"Your... What?" I ask when I see that she doesn't seem likely to continue talking.
"My target," Beatrice says reluctantly, as if cursing the words she is using.
"I thought that was Alessia," I say, increasingly confused.
'I thought that the Drial Zenith Kingdom still had nothing significant against me...
All I did was destroy their Admiral General's weapon...
Which in turn made it impossible for them to continue the war...
Yes... Maybe they do have something against me...
But I didn't think they knew how to find me...
Haa... I'm such a fool...
Looking back, if Cael was able to discover my identity, I suppose they could too.'
"She is the target of the King of Drial Cenit, but I already told you I don't work for him anymore," she says, looking me in the eye with a hint of a smile.
' - To think that if it weren't for Alessandra's daughter, I would never have met him... I'll never be able to repay her enough for that.'
"Right... You said you work alone. So... what do you want from me?..." I ask, but Beatrice doesn't seem to have any intention of answering me and just looks at me while biting her lower lip.
"... Kill me? Rob me? No, that doesn't make sense."
"I just want to follow you and watch you..." she says, turning her gaze to the floor and blushing once more as I look at her in confusion.
' - And I also want to bite you, fuck you, and have you fuck me back with that wild strength you have, make you mine... But I'm not going to tell you any of that.'
"... Nothing else."
'I guess that's why she shows up as a blue dot on the map...
And that would explain why she hasn't done anything to harm me or my girls, despite all the time she's been watching us from the shadows...
But...
It just doesn't make sense.'
"Sure... Don't expect me to believe that... But let's move on to another topic for now. How do you follow me through my illusory doors?" I ask with some irritation.
Nothing she's telling me makes any sense, and that's starting to make me lose my patience.