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[X] Don't let her escape. Block her path if you have to.
[X] Custom

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"A-anyway," says Meiling. "I better get back to the Mansion to make my report. That nothing of interest was found, of course! Ahahaha..."

She laughs uneasily as she starts walking away from them. Grimnír hesitates for a moment to think. Then, he gently shakes Wriggle awake.

"Uuu... w-what?" mutters the firefly girl.

"I need to put you down for a bit," he says as he carefully lets her off his back. Wriggle sleepily complies as she rubs her eyes.

"Huh? Where did the bug youkai pop out from?" asks Alice.

"Later," he says.

As the gatekeeper turns around to leave, Grimnír takes to the air and quickly flies in front of her. He raises both of his arms to block her path.

"We need answers," he says sternly. "I can't let you run off like this."

"E-eh?" cries Meiling. "B-but I don't know anything! Really!"

He shakes his head at her obvious lie. Then, he lowers his voice to a whisper so that the others can't hear them.

"I just saved your life," he whispers. "If you know anything that could help us..."

"I-I have no idea!" says the gatekeeper.

"Please," he adds carefully. "This isn't some isolated incident. Too many are getting hurt. We can't just stand here and watch."

A minute passes in silence as Meiling looks away, her face conflicted. For a moment, she acts like she is about to run off again. But then, she answers in a low voice.

"Neither can we..." she whispers back. "But we don't know much about it, either. This was the first time I've seen the enemy face-to-face."

"The enemy?" he repeats.

Meiling nods solemnly.

"The Mansion was attacked," she says. "It was really dangerous. That cloaked figure was only one of them."

"Attacked?" he says. "What the hell is going on?"

She frowns at him.

"As for saving my life, I'll have to apologize. This is all I can tell you. You see, my life already belongs to someone else. I can't betray the master's trust."

With those words, she gives him a low bow.

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" cries Meiling loudly. "I-I really have to go now!"

Before he can stop her, the gatekeeper speeds past him and is soon out of sight. Seems like she won't tell him anything else, and she made it a point to tell only him. Grimnír pauses to think. Are the incidents related?

"Is something wrong?" asks Alice.

He jumps in surprise.

"Eh?" he mumbles. "Ah, sorry... didn't see you there..."

Alice frowns at him and waits patiently for an explanation.

[ ] Tell Alice about the battle with the cloaked figure.
[ ] Tell Alice about the identity of the 'enemy'.
[ ] Tell Alice about Yukari.
[ ] Tell Alice about the Wolf Knight.
[ ] Tell Alice about finding Wriggle in the cave.
[ ] Tell Alice about the attack Meiling mentioned.
[ ] Don't tell Alice anything.
[ ] Custom