Seeing Oliver sick, his chest heaving with shallow breaths, panic seized me.

  I didn't hesitate. I focused my mana.

  [Analyze]

  A window popped up, hovering over his sweating face.

  'Core rejection?'

  I looked at Alicia. "What happened? Is he dying?"

  Alicia didn't look worried. She looked annoyed. She was wiping her hands on a rag, ignoring Oliver's groans.

  "He hit a wall," she said dismissively. "He'll be fine in a few days."

  She turned to me, her eyes landing on my basket.

  "Enough about him. What did you bring?"

  I blinked. My father was gasping for air, and she wanted to see my weeds?

  I handed her the basket.

  Alicia rummaged through it. She inspected the cut stems.

  "Clean cuts," she noted, raising an eyebrow. "Roots left in the soil. You didn't mangle the leaves."

  She looked at me, a rare expression of approval crossing her face.

  "Not bad. I was ready to lecture you on the difference between harvesting and butchering, but... you did good. For a first day."

  'Thank the gods,' I thought. 'I dodged a bullet.'

  Just then, Nora rushed in from the kitchen. She held a steaming mug of dark, herbal brew.

  "Oh, Oliver," she cooed, her voice thick with worry.

  She knelt beside the chair and pressed the cup to his lips.

  "Drink," she urged.

  Oliver was so weak he couldn't even lift his head. Nora had to tilt it back for him, massaging his throat to help him swallow.

  After he finished the brew, Nora turned to me. Her expression shifted instantly from worried wife to proud mother.

  "And how was your day, sweetie?" she asked, smoothing my hair. "Did you have fun?"

  "Yes," I said. "Gathered herbs."

  She smiled, tired but genuine. "That's wonderful. Can we stay here for a few days? Until Daddy feels better?"

  "Okay," I nodded.

  I wanted to understand. Why did he "hit a wall"?

  I focused my mana flow.

  I looked at Oliver.

  He was on fire.

  Invisible waves of heat were radiating off him, distorting the air. And in the center of his chest, moving slowly outward, was a dense, bright point of energy.

  It was a rogue particle. A Binder? An Alpha?

  It was fighting him. It was exiting his body, and tearing his mana channels as it went.

  'I see,' I thought. 'He tried to add a particle. Now his body is expelling it.'

  There was nothing I could do. The particle had to leave on its own.

  We ate a quiet dinner, and I went to sleep listening to Oliver's labored breathing.

  The next morning, Oliver was still pale, but conscious.

  After breakfast, Nora took over my education.

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  "Alicia is busy with patients," Nora said, setting up a table with dried herbs. "So I'll teach you how to process what you found."

  Nora was a fantastic teacher. She was patient, kind, and encouraging.

  "Gentle hands," she whispered, guiding my fingers as I crushed dried leaves. "See? You have such good dexterity, Vivian. I'm so proud of you."

  I beamed. It felt good.

  Of course, Alicia couldn't let me be happy for long. After lunch, she dragged me away for a lecture on "The Political Implications of High Elven Trade Routes."

  But I had a secret weapon now.

  "Foraging," I announced the moment the clock hit two.

  "Go," Alicia waved a hand. "Take the basket."

  I escaped.

  It took three days for the rogue particle to fully exit Oliver's body, and another three for the fever to break.

  By the end of the week, I understood why most villagers, even the patrolmen, stopped at the second ring. Advancing was painful. It was dangerous. It was a gamble with your life.

  We returned home, but I kept my routine. Every afternoon, I went to the jungle.

  I was scanning the ground for mint when I saw it.

  A trail.

  It was a trail of mana.

  It looked like a low hanging fog, but instead of mist, it was made of that same shimmering heat signature I had seen leaving Oliver's body. It got denser the further it went into the trees.

  'Curious.'

  I looked around. The other children were busy gorging themselves on Blood Berries near the tree line. No one was watching me.

  'Stealth mode.'

  I pushed mana into the bracelet.

  Vwoom.

  The world distorted. Sound muffled. The kaleidoscope effect took over my vision, but the mana trail remained clear. In fact, against the grey, distorted world, the heat trail glowed even brighter.

  I followed it.

  I walked for ten minutes, deeper than I usually dared to go.

  Someone was there.

  I cut the mana flow to the bracelet.

  Pop.

  The world snapped back to normal sound and color.

  Sitting against a tree, clutching her knees, was a woman.

  She looked terrible. Her clothes were tattered rags, stained with mud and green slime. Her brown hair was a matted mess.

  She looked up, her eyes wide with fear.

  "Water," she croaked. Her voice was dry as sandpaper.

  I blinked.

  'A mysterious woman in the woods?'

  My Isekai brain kicked in.

  'Is she a princess? A fallen noble? If I save her, will she grant me a legendary sword? Will she fall in love with me and make me King?'

  'Or maybe she's a high level mage who will teach me lost arts.'

  I unhooked the waterskin from my belt.

  "Here," I said, handing it to her.

  She snatched it, drinking greedily. Water spilled down her chin. She drained the whole thing in seconds.

  She handed the empty skin back, wiping her mouth. She looked at me properly for the first time.

  Then, her expression shifted from gratitude to anger.

  "What are you doing here?" she scolded, her voice gaining a little strength. "You're just a baby! Where are your parents?"

  I stared at her.

  'So much for the princess treatment.'

  "Village," I pointed back the way I came.

  "You shouldn't be out here alone," she admonished, trying to stand but stumbling. "There are wolves. And monsters. Go home! I'm going to tell your mother you were wandering off."

  I sighed.

  "I am foraging," I said, using my best 'adult' diction. "And you look like you need help more than I do."

  She froze. She stared at me.

  "Did you...?" She tilted her head. "How old are you?"

  "Almost three."

  "Are you a dwarf?" she asked suspiciously. "Or a halfling?"

  "Human," I said. "Just smart."

  She laughed. It was a dry, rasping sound, but it broke the tension.

  "Okay. Smart human baby. Can you help me get to the village?"

  "Yes," I said.

  "Lead the way."

  We walked back. I guided her around the blood berries where Jace and his friends were probably pelting each other with red mush.

  When we entered the village, heads turned. A toddler leading a ragged, unknown woman was quite the sight.

  I took her straight to the Hut.

  "Nora!" I called out. "Guest!"

  Nora came out of the back room. She took one look at the woman and gasped.

  "Oh, you poor thing."

  She didn't ask questions. She just ushered the woman to a chair and ran to get water and clean clothes.

  Alicia emerged from her office. She scanned the woman with a critical eye.

  "She's malnourished," Alicia stated clinically. "But no diseases. No curses."

  Nora brought a simple dress and elped the woman change behind a screen. When she emerged, she looked much better. She had a kind face, despite the exhaustion.

  "Thank you," she whispered, holding the warm tea Nora gave her. "My name is Lyra."

  "I'm Nora. This is Alicia. And you met my son, Vivian."

  "He's... very articulate," Lyra said, eyeing me.

  "He is," Nora smiled. "So, Lyra... how did you end up in the woods?"

  Lyra looked down at her cup. Her hands trembled.

  "I lived in the city," she began, her voice quiet. "With my parents. But six months ago... there was a fire. An accident."

  She took a shaky breath.

  "They died. I lost everything. The house, the shop... everything."

  Nora covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry."

  "I had nowhere to go," Lyra continued. "I lived in the slums for a while. Begging. Then... a dwarf found me. He seemed nice. He offered me a room and a job."

  She gripped the cup tighter.

  "I signed a contract. I thought it was for work. But that night... I overheard him talking."

  She looked up, tears in her eyes.

  "He was going to sell me. To a slave merchant. The contract... it wasn't for work. I had signed myself away."

  Nora gasped. Alicia's eyes narrowed dangerously.

  "I ran," Lyra whispered. "I ran in the middle of the night. I didn't take anything. I just ran until I couldn't run anymore. I thought... I thought dying in the woods would be better than being a slave."

  She looked at me.

  "Then I saw him."

  Silence filled the room.

  Nora was crying. She reached out and hugged Lyra.

  "You're safe here," Nora said fiercely. "You are safe."

  "I can't impose," Lyra sobbed. "I have nothing to pay you with."

  "Nonsense," Alicia said, though her tone was softer than usual. "We have an empty bed in the back. You can work for your keep once you're strong enough. We need someone to sweep the floors."

  "Thank you," Lyra wept. "Thank you."

  I watched her.

  It was a sad story. A tragic story.

  'Welcome to the family, Lyra,' I thought.