I took back control and began scouting the Basement 3rd Floor.
I really hoped I’d find Annette's Sister here. Having grown accustomed to the routine, I proceeded with the search.
Wait—there. I found a cell where several beastman children were being kept.
They wore collars and tattered rags that screamed "slave." Bingo.
The hygiene in that cell was abysmal. A box filled with rotting leftovers sat in the corner, emitting a foul odor. I wondered if that was their feeding trough... they'd surely get sick eating that. Maybe beastmen were just hardy enough to endure it?
Actually, no. Some of the children were clutching their stomachs in agony. It clearly wasn't fine.
Now, as for a Cat Beastman girl who looked like Annette... let’s see.
Nothing. That one was a Dog Beastman, over there was a Rabbit Beastman. A Bird Beastman.
Oh, that one! ...No, damn. It was a cat, but it was a boy.
"I guess there aren't any cat girls here..."
As I muttered those words, a sharp, piercing gaze fixed on me. It was the cat-eared boy.
"Hey, you."
He was actually talking to me.
"Wait, are you talking to a Slime?"
"Yeah. You're a Slime, but you speak... What are you? I might know something about a cat girl. Get me out of here and I'll tell you."
"I don't mind letting you out, but tell me first."
"No way. Let me out first."
What a cheeky brat.
"Look, I have to find Annette's Sister. Releasing a loudmouth like you is a low priority."
"Annette! Do you know Annette?! Is she okay?!"
The boy lunged at the iron bars, the metal clanging under his grip. He stared at me desperately.
"Hey, keep it down. Don't make such a racket. You're scaring the other kids."
"I’m not sure if she’s okay, to be honest. But she’s alive, and she asked me to help her sister escape, too."
"I see. Her sister... Sister? Since when did she have a sister?"
"What? She said they were twins. That they were bought and brought here together."
"That’s impossible... Though, now that I think about it, she did used to mutter to the walls sometimes..."
Oof. So that was the deal.
Was it an imaginary friend? As in, there never was a sister to begin with?
Or was it memory corruption? A hallucination or a false memory triggered by that Red Horn?
"Okay, I think I understand the situation. So, what are you to Annette? And what's your name?"
"We're just fellow Cat Beastman companions. My name is Zold."
Was that it? Well, if that’s all he had to say, fine.
Given his age, I doubted Zold even realized if he had feelings for her.
"Anyway, if you're saying Annette doesn't have a sister, then I don't have any business here right now. I'm leaving."
"Hey! Let us out! I told you what you wanted to know!"
"Listen... Annette has a Red Horn growing out of her head right now. If I don't do something about it, she's probably going to die."
"D-Die? Annette?"
When I told the shaken boy I was looking for a way to remove it, Zold fell silent.
"Sorry, but I have a priority list. I help the people I like, and I met her first. I’ll come back to let you out when I come for Annette, so just wait quietly until then."
"...Fine."
"Also, keep me a secret. It’ll be harder to move around if I'm caught before the escape."
Now then, I should double-check to see if the sister really isn't here.
『Spirit-sama? Is there really no sister?』
『There's a chance Zold is just talking nonsense. Between Annette and Zold, which one do you trust?』
『Annette.』
『Exactly. Besides, even if Zold is telling the truth, it doesn't necessarily contradict her story. It's hard to say if Annette can even access her real memories in her current state. I'd say it's fifty-fifty.』
『Oh... Spirit-sama, you're so smart. As expected.』
If it was an imaginary friend, that would also make sense. Subjected to the extreme stress of slavery, Annette might have created a fictional sister to cope. It was a distinct possibility.
I had to keep both options in mind while I searched. I honestly couldn't tell which reality would be better for her.
Ultimately, I finished scouting the rest of the Basement 3rd Floor, but I didn't find anyone who looked like her.
It was starting to look like Zold might be right.
I wondered about the floor below, the Basement 4th Floor... and headed down the stairs.
I confirmed it was a Monster's Den and a dumping ground before turning back.
The Monster's Den seemed to stretch further beyond the iron bars, but in my current weak Slime form, it would be suicide to venture deeper.
Furthermore, the area ahead looked like a natural cave. While there were lights, there were no Safe Zones like the spaces behind the walls.
It might have been a dungeon. It was a logical setup—building a Research Institute on top of a dungeon to easily harvest materials. Even the inefficient, winding staircases between the basement levels made sense if they were designed as security measures against the dungeon below. The high walls around the facility served the same purpose.
On the Basement 4th Floor, I only saw a single worker in a full-body protective suit.
This person was likely on the side counted as a servant.
There was no point in looking further. Since I was there, I used Predation on some trash to bulk up my body a little.
Now, the question was whether I should tell Annette that I couldn't find her sister...
If she's in a different facility, there might still be some hope. But would there be? Any salvation at all?
I was starting to get the feeling there wasn't.