"Galilea! Hey, Galileaaaa!"
My voice rang through the silent mansion.
I waited a moment until a door at the far end opened and Galilea stepped out.
"Yaaaawn. What’s all the racket... Whoa?! Master Lloyd. What brings you here in the middle of the night? And who’s the lady?"
"Her name is Lamia. It looks like she was part of some monster synthesis experiment. I want you to look after her here."
"G-Good evening..."
"Monster synthesis? ...Whoa! You aren't kidding. Her lower half is a snake!"
Seeing Galilea recoil, Lamia hurriedly bowed her head.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I won't be any trouble at all, so please, let me stay here! I have nowhere else to go!"
As she bowed again and again, Galilea waved his hands to calm her down.
"...Ah, no, I was just caught off guard. Don't worry about it. Lamia, was it? We'll take proper care of you, so rest easy."
"R-Really?!"
"Of course. To tell you the truth, I’m a 'Cursed One' myself. I’ve been persecuted since the day I was born with these strange abilities. I don't know what you've been through, but you've certainly had a rough time of it. This territory aims to be a place where people like us can live in peace. For now, I'll give you a room in the mansion. You can stay as long as you like until you've figured out your next steps. If you want, I can even hire you as a housekeeper. If you wear a nice long skirt, you’ll be able to hide that lower half well enough."
At Galilea's words, Lamia’s eyes began to brim with tears.
"Th-Thank you! Thank you so much...! Truly...!"
"Don't mention it. We've got to look out for each other in times of trouble. Hahaha!"
Galilea laughed boisterously, resting a hand on Lamia's shoulder.
Yeah, Galilea really does have a knack for taking care of people. I can leave this to him.
As I nodded to myself, Galilea leaned in and whispered into my ear.
"...Master Lloyd, even for you, this is going a bit far. Synthesizing a human with a monster?"
"Hey, I didn't do this."
What exactly was this man misunderstanding?
When I glared at him, Galilea hurriedly slapped his own bald head.
"H-Hahaha! My apologies. Since it was you, Master Lloyd, I just assumed...! Sorry, sorry."
"Good grief, how rude. There's no way I would conduct human experimentation."
"...I mean, you did plenty of it to us," Galilea muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something?"
"N-No, nothing at all! Come now, Lamia, you must be exhausted. I’ll show you to your room."
"Y-Yes..."
Galilea began leading Lamia deeper into the mansion.
"Ah, wait a second."
"Is something the matter?"
"I wanted to give this to Lamia."
I pulled a thick stack of documents from my bag.
"What are these...?"
"I borrowed them from that laboratory. If you study these, you might find a way to return to your original form."
The papers I'd scavenged from the lab contained a massive amount of documented data on monster synthesis research. If we looked into it thoroughly, we might find a lead.
However, Lamia looked at the papers and shook her head, her expression bordering on tears.
"It's impossible... I mean, I have no idea what any of this says..."
"Don't be so timid. You were at least a fledgling mage once, weren't you? Besides, if you don't do this, you'll be stuck like that forever."
"That's...!"
Lamia’s entire body shuddered at my words. She looked down at her lower half, her eyes glistening.
During our fight, she had utilized magic. That meant she had been a mage originally.
A mage is a seeker of knowledge.
Even if she was timid, even if she had lost her memories, it was a mage's true nature to seek out and master knowledge. Lamia had to be the same way.
There was nothing she couldn't achieve if she set her mind to it.
"I'll do it...!"
After staring at the floor for a moment, Lamia spoke with a trembling voice.
"It happened to me, so I have to be the one to fix it... right!"
"Exactly. But don't worry. I'll help as much as I can, and I'm always available for a consultation."
"And you’ve got me too! Just tell me if you need anything, Lamia!"
Hearing our words, Lamia bowed deeply and vigorously.
"Yes! Please, I'll be in your care!"
It seemed she’d found her resolve.
If Lamia investigated the synthesis, we would likely learn all sorts of things about the process along the way. Perfect.
"By the way, Master Lloyd, I’ve discovered something regarding Holy Magic."
Galilea called out to me as I prepared to leave.
"I tried it out on some criminals, and it seems that stuff has the power to purify a villain's spirit. They turned into unnervingly good people."
"Ah, I already know about that. I tested it myself."
"Oops, as expected of Master Lloyd. ...But did you know about this? Whisper whisper whisper."
My eyes widened as Galilea murmured into my ear.
"Oh? No, I didn't know that..."
"Heheh, I thought as much. Well, I don't know if it’ll be useful for anything, but I thought I’d report it anyway."
"I appreciate it. Keep up the good work. And look after Lamia."
"You bet! Leave it to me!"
After thanking Galilea for his efforts, I used Spatial Transfer to return to the castle.