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[X] Untie her. Ask her what happened.
[X] Custom

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"Wriggle?" says Grimnír incredulously.

"W-who are you?" whispers the girl. "I-I'm not afraid!"

He pauses before the person. Her short green hair and the pair of distinctive antennae protruding from it are unmistakable - this girl is definitely Wriggle Nightbug. However, she seems to be wearing her usual boyish costume, and she doesn't have a heavy cloak and hood. None of her clothes have any magic runes or symbols.

Wait... is this a trap? But then, how did she change clothes so quickly? And how did she tie herself up? This is getting really confusing. However, he can't just leave her like this.

"It's me, Grimnír," he says carefully.

"Grim?" says the girl. "H-hey, where are you touching!"

"Stop squirming and let me get these ropes off..."

It takes him a couple of minutes to remove the bindings. He notices immediately that the rope is quite durable, and he senses a faint energy coming from it, not unlike his own magical barrier. Was it preventing Wriggle from using energy attacks? As he unties the last knot, he takes the rope and keeps it in his sack, just in case.

"There, I think that was the last one," he says. "Hey, are you alri -"

Suddenly, he feels something tackle him down to the ground. The back of his head hits a rock when he lands. His vision goes blurry for a moment in pain. Then, he gradually becomes conscious of a small, shuddering figure clutching tightly around his body.

"You came to rescue me," whispers Wriggle. "Y-you really came..."

His eyes widen in surprise, and, having nothing to say, he stays silent. Then, he realizes that the girl is sobbing silently. Gently, he wraps his arms around her. They stay together like that until she calms down. A few minutes later, she pulls herself away from him and wipes away her tears.

"So," says Grimnír. "Do you know who did this to you?"

The firefly girl, still sitting on the ground, shakes her head.

"It was so fast," she says. "Something flew up at me, and the next thing I know, I'm tied up and blindfolded. I couldn't even use danmaku to free myself."

"Couldn't you call your insect friends?" he asked.

"I already tried that," she replies. "For some reason, none of the bugs of the forest are listening to me anymore. It must have been that bad man with the trident!"

But that person saved his life, Grimnír notes to himself. This is getting complicated. He doesn't know who to trust anymore. He takes a moment to think.

"Wait... how long have you been here?"

"I have no idea," says Wriggle sadly. "I couldn't tell if it was day or night with my eyes covered."

Suddenly, the girl's stomach grumbles loudly.

"But it must have been a while. I'm so hungry..." she mumbles.

"Err..."

Grimnír rummages through his sack, but the only thing that looks edible are the mushrooms. But he isn't going to give her those. They might be poisonous, and he has no idea what they are even used for.

"Sorry," he says. "I really don't have anything to eat right now. We'll have to get out of here. Can you stand up?"

"Of course I can," says Wriggle defiantly as she forces herself up. "I'm not some weak human like -"

Suddenly, she loses her balance and starts falling. Grimnír barely catches her before she hits the ground.

"Umm... maybe I should carry you?" he suggests.

Wriggle looks up at him in surprise. Then, she looks away, her cheeks turning a little bit pink.

"W-well... maybe just a little," she whispers.

...

It took him several minutes to get back. He didn't realize how difficult it was to fly while carrying someone on his back. The firefly girl was actually pretty light, but he needed to exert more effort to manipulate the wind currents. Wriggle herself was pretty quiet during the trip, and he only realized that she had fallen asleep when he arrived at the clearing.

"Is she alright?" cries a familiar voice from below.

"Yeah," he replies. "Just tired and hungry, I guess."

As he lands, he takes something from his pocket. He quickly hands the medicine bottle back to Meiling.

"You look a lot better now," he comments.

"E-eh?" says Meiling as she looks at the medicine. "B-but how did you know about this?"

"Well about that," says Grimnír. "Would you know anyone that -"

Then, he senses someone else approaching. Turning to his left, he can see Alice speeding toward him. Behind her are a troop of dolls carrying some kind of make-shift hammock. He can see a pitiful figure that could only be Mystia resting upon it. She still looks unconscious, but most of her wounds have been bandaged.

"Oh my... what happened here?" cries Alice as she looks at the devastated ground.

"Long story," he says. "In any case, we better get Wriggle and Mystia back to Eientei."

"Ah!" says Meiling. "M-miss Alice? How unexpected, ha ha..."

"Eh? What are you doing here?" the dollkeeper asks.

"Nothing!" replies the gatekeeper. "Nothing at all! Just out for a walk... ha ha..."

Both he and Alice frown at Meiling. What the heck is she trying to hide?

"A-anyway," she continues. "I better get back to the Mansion and report to Sakuya and the mistress. That nothing of interest was found, of course! Ahahaha..."

At those words, Meiling laughs uneasily as she slowly starts walking away.

Grimnír pauses for a moment.
[ ] Don't let her escape. Block her path if you have to.
[ ] Convince her to tell you what she knows. (Specify how)
[ ] Forget about it. You have other things to worry about.
[ ] Custom