The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1706 Do You Call It Adoption?

Back in Gralpedrin, Rae did a casual backstroke through the diminishing pool of blood.

Opal had been refilling it with illusionary blood, so the level didnʼt drop, but the energy level was nearly depleted, which would mark the end of her bath time.

”Are you going to let the blind girl go?” Opal asked as she fluttered overhead into Raeʼs line of sight.

”No, that one is interesting, I think that I will keep her.”

”Do I get a vote?” The blind girl asked, vaguely aware of what was going on by the sound of swimming, and the auras of the two monsters.

”Not on this.

Besides, where would you go anyhow? Did you have family somewhere outside the city? I didnʼt sense any more in Gralpedrin.” Rae explained.

”What do you mean more? I am an orphan. I was raised by a single mother, who passed away years ago.”

Opal frowned as she circled the girlʼs head.

”Utter nonsense. I might not be as good at the whole aura matching thing as

Rae is, but your mother was a member of the Gralpedrin Templars. She looked just like you.”

”Looked?”

”Her head is currently spiked to the wall of the New Home Merchant Clan!” ”Oh.”

Rae dipped under the water, then came up and spit up a fountain of blood like a breaching whale.

”Your father was here in the compound as well. His blood is in the pool.”

”What the actual fuck?”

”Right? They let the blind kid think that she was an orphan, and just moved across town while you suffered alone.”

That was not her major concern with Raeʼs answer.

”Are you swimming in a pool of blood?”

”Naturally. I am a blood destruction spider. Itʼs essential to my advancement. Plus, itʼs thicker than water, so I float really well.”

The girl shuddered at the mental image, though she couldnʼt see anything that was happening around her, and had no idea how she had come to be here. She was hiding in one of the Clanʼs less used buildings, but she had felt herself being moved, and then she heard the conversation between the spider and whatever small flying creature the other voice was.

”What are you going to do to me? Iʼm not good with pain.”

Rae laughed. ”No, it wonʼt be painful. Iʼm just going to relocate you somewhere safe.

You can see me with whatever skill you have, and that means that I canʼt leave you out here to grow up unattended. So, I will put you with a bunch of other interesting creatures, and some baby dragons.

It will be fine, the Clan Leader even lets us send them to school.”

”So, youʼre... adopting me?” She asked hesitantly.

Rae paused her swim and frowned.

”Is that what they call it? I think thatʼs for children, not pets. Perhaps itʼs for pets too. Opal, do you know?”

”Iʼm pretty sure itʼs the same for both. Itʼs adopted if youʼre fond of them, and took them in if youʼre neutral. Youʼre fond of this Girl, so itʼs adopted.”

”Meisje, my name is Meisje,” the girl stammered.

”Thatʼs just a Girl in Elvish.” Opal noted.

”Wait, what?”

”We already knew that. We can see it with the system interface. But your name, it is an Elvish word that literally translates to ʼgirlʼ Specifically, a young one. For the Elves, thatʼs under about fifty, but they use it for human girls that are teenage or younger.” Opal explained helpfully.

Meisje sat down. ”So, my parents named me ʼGirlʼ, abandoned me when they realized that I was blind, and just moved across town so that I would think that

they were dead, but they didnʼt have to do anything?”

”Yeah, pretty much. Donʼt worry, though. They died horrible deaths.” Rae consoled her.

”I donʼt know if you meant that to be sympathetic or not.”

Opal laughed at the girlʼs confusion, then landed right on top of the girlʼs head.

”Hey, since youʼre a mage, why didnʼt you just learn a skill to see? Like, we gave echolocation to a deaf Rogue, and she could use it just fine, though her ears were broken. Surely, there is something that you could use.”

”Well, I canʼt read the damned skill books, now can I?”

Rae laughed as she drained the last of the essence from the pool.

”The girl has a point. She has soul sight, but soul sight canʼt read books.”

Opal giggled. ”Oh, we should bless her with a skill. But I think that this one calls for Karl to make something special. Just returning basic sight to her wouldnʼt be any fun. Maybe permanent x-ray vision. Or expanding her visual range into the Chaotic spectrum.”

”Did I do something to you? Why are you thinking of ways to torture me?” Meisje pleaded.

”No, those are good things.” Opal insisted.

”I am not entirely certain that is true. I can see souls already, and I know things that I would rather not know. Seeing through clothing sounds like just another

way to suffer.”

”But nobody could hide things from you. Knowledge is power.”

Rae raised her hand to stop the little Fae.

”No, sheʼs got a point. Always seeing through clothing would be inappropriate for younger audiences. We donʼt need to traumatize the Girl with wrinkly old man balls in public.

Besides, if we just give her vision back, there are naked Elves everywhere.” ”WHY?” Meisje complained, not understanding what they were talking about.

”Oh, they just dislike clothing. Donʼt worry, itʼs all women. Well, almost all women. Then there are the baby dragons, but they donʼt transform yet.” Rac explained.

”I would like to point out that you arenʼt wearing anything either,” Opal added. ”I just got out of the bath. Iʼve still got to polish my skin before I get dressed. Blood gets sticky if you donʼt follow the process.”

Meisje sighed. She had been captured by a pair of insane beasts. But they werenʼt trying to kill her, even though the rest of the Clan was all dead. Her soul sight said that very few had managed to escape the area alive.

The only ones left in town were the noncombatants and the other Clans who had refused to follow the Templars.