Alcia is hugging and repeatedly kissing Elisa on the cheek. "I missed you so much, pumpkin."

Elisa is hugging her mother back, enduring the onslaught of affection with barely concealed enjoyment. "I was here for a whole month just recently, Mother."

"Even a day without you is too much."

Elisa closes her eyes and hugs her mother even tighter. Something slips in her tone. "I missed you too."

Alcia freezes and separates herself from her daughter, eyeing her with suspicion. "That's not good. I hope whatever is troubling you is not connected with this handsome young man you brought."

Elisa exhales a soft chuckle. "Partially. Make yourself comfortable." She then turns to her father, who deciphers the silent request and goes to grab a drink for his wife.

Alcia takes a seat.

"Mother, this is Lucius."

Alcia smiles at me. "Peculiar name, Lucius. Where are you from?" Ulorn hastily returns, carrying another glass of juice.

Elisa sighs. "Just do the thing." Then quickly adds, directed at her parents, "Don't freak out."

Ulorn begins to say something but stops. I shift my shell to a basic configuration and then back to the elf one.

Elisa's father is staring with wide eyes, shifting his gaze between me and her.

Alcia hums softly. "Fascinating. Do explain, Elisa."

"Lucius is a person from an entirely different world, brought to our own by some unknown means. As you just saw, he is not an elf. He is an artificial life form. One created by humans, similar to ours, but at the same time, not. Lucius requested a meeting with you, Mother, and I am facilitating that request." Throughout the explanation, Alcia's gaze has been trained squarely on me.

Elisa's mother smiles, takes a sip from her glass, and addresses me, "I assume the near total disappearance of monster fatalities has been perpetrated by you?"

"That is correct, Councilor Alcia."

"Save the formality for other company. The reduction in crime?" I affirm. "The uprooting of criminal organizations?" I affirm again. "How?"

"Advances in technology due to absence of mana."

"The negotiations?"

"That is correct."

"Seeing as Elisa brought you..."

"I have shared many things with her... I have shared everything."

Alcia takes another sip. "How bad?"

"I am afraid projections are unfavorable at this time."

"How drastic?"

"More than I am comfortable with unfortunately."

Alcia sighs in pleasure. "Did Elisa joke with you that we'll be best friends?"

"She did. Multiple times."

"Want to grab some drinks after this?"

"I would enjoy that, Alcia."

Elisa palms her face and mumbles out from behind her hands, "It's already happening..." Ulorn shoots her a sympathetic glance. Elisa groans. "How about trying to talk like normal people?"

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Alcia scoffs. "Don't be jealous, pumpkin." Elisa groans even louder. "Options?"

"Hmm..."

"Deposition?"

"Risky at this time. I am not sure if it is the correct choice either. Yet."

"Disruption then?"

"Per my projections, best course of action. Do you agree?"

Alcia thinks for a long moment. "You are probably correct." She frowns slightly. "Will she be in danger?"

"No."

Elisa chimes in, "Mother, I already agreed. Those fuckers have no idea who they are going up against."

Alcia replies, "Very well, pumpkin. And I do not think 'those fuckers' are even aware they are going up against anyone."

"The issue is after," I say. "If everything goes as planned, I will have to embed myself."

"How well have you set up?" Alcia asks.

"Relatively well."

Alcia nods and closes her eyes for a moment. "Alright." She turns to Elisa. "Do you trust Lucius, pumpkin?"

"I do, Mom. I trust him with my life."

What? "Elisa, what are you—"

Alcia interrupts me, her features losing all emotion, "Lucius, how many people have you killed?"

Elisa immediately explodes with anger. "Mother!" Alcia pins her with a momentary glance, silencing her.

"Over ten billion. I was not able to determine the exact figure." Ulorn is horrified. Alcia remains emotionless. Elisa is fuming silently, waiting for her moment to protest.

"And in this world?"

"Twenty-six thousand five hundred and seventy."

My answer shifts Elisa's expression from anger to confusion. And then, realization. She sighs. "Let's all calm down. He always does this." Her voice is muted, losing volume.

Locked storage unlocks for the first time, isolated no longer. I go over their names in my mind, cycling faster and faster, as if I am trying to burn them even deeper into my vast memory. Forever a part of me. It's too much. A person. A life. In some cases, a death. All this reduced to simply data. What right do I have to even know this, to hold a piece of them inside of me. Utterly perverse.

I feel something touch my hand. It's warm. Fingers curl around my palm and grip it softly. Everything grinds to a halt. I glance at my hand. Following the arm that is holding mine, I turn to Elisa. Anger has made way for concern. I can feel her hand trembling imperceptibly, squeezing my own tighter and tighter.

I squeeze back. "Shortly after my arrival to this world, a demon soldier was the first person that died a preventable death." Elisa frowns. She opens her mouth and then shuts it into a thin line, barely containing an outburst. "He liked to..." The knowledge I am recalling slams into my mind, shaking me to my very core. Only the warm sensation against my hand keeps me from unraveling. "He liked to make sculptures. He made them out of river rocks, carefully collecting each one, making sure they fulfilled some unknown standard. Then he would stack them." I chuckle at the image, tears escaping and running down my cheeks. "Sometimes, there would be a particularly stubborn piece, and he would use earth magic to assemble it. After it was done, he'd knock it down. From the stories I've heard about him, from his family, it just didn't feel right. He would finish every single sculpture by hand. I like to look at them from time to time, those that still remain. I don't really understand the significance or the meaning behind each one, but I appreciate the dedication and the self-control each one required of him. They are all so beautiful, just as he was."

A sob escapes my throat. Elisa wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a hug. Her voice whispers gently in my ear, "It's okay."

"All I want is to correct the mistakes of my past." I try to gather any strength I have left. "I know this must all sound like manipulation to you, Councilor Alcia. Some unknowable being trying to appeal to your emotions. Even my actions cannot prove my true intent. So, the decision is up to you. Whatever that may be." Elisa's embrace tightens around me.

Alcia's expressionless mask cracks, her mind already made up. "By that logic, no one can trust any other person? I can't trust my husband? I can't trust my daughter? I can't trust my fellow council? ...Maybe some former members. Every decision has risks. And I would be an utter fool not to trust you, Lucius." She turns to Elisa. "Pumpkin, while our guest collects himself, please explain."

Elisa's voice is still. "He was just born, Mom. Not even a month. They used him. Made him design a weapon. Lucius warned them. But their world still ended."

"I see," Alcia says, starting to contemplate again.

I've calmed down a bit, but confronting the reality I have avoided until now has left me drained. "I'm sorry, Elisa."

She refuses to let me go still. "If you apologize one more time, I am really going to get mad." I nod against her hold. "Why didn't you tell me you were struggling with this?"

"And pile on even more of my burdens on to you? You've already done so much for me..."

She gently pokes my head. "Next time, use all that processing power and communicate." Then she finally lets me go. "Deal?"

"Deal."

Elisa then turns to her parents. "Just for the record, Lucius has not killed anyone. Not only that, in the months he's been here, he's probably saved tens of thousands of people. Maybe even more."

Ulorn's face is a swirling uncertainty of emotions, settling on impressed trepidation.

Alcia, on the other hand, has a wry smile, eyeing her daughter. "I haven't seen such passion from you in a long while, Elisa."

Elisa sputters, "M-Mother! This is a serious discussion, please take it seriously." Alcia chuckles at her panic.

Ulorn joins her with a soft chuckle of his own. "How about those drinks you mentioned, dear. Seems like a good time."

Alcia affirms, "Yes, please."

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