Chapter 105: Compatibility Issues
To ascertain Agnes’s current state, the group began taking turns questioning the girl, who was still in a curious-baby phase.
Leona, seemingly Agnes’s favorite, was pushed forward by Abyss to ask the first questions: “Agnes… um… do you have any memories? Don’t call me Papa. Can you say anything else?”
“Mm… mm… woo…” Hearing Leona, Agnes sat there blankly for a moment, then suddenly her expression changed, looking like she was about to cry.
Did she think her Papa rejected her? Leona instantly regretted it. She frantically patted her chest and said loudly, “Don’t, don’t, don’t cry! I’m your Papa! I’m your Papa, okay! I like you the most!”
Only then did Agnes finally smile through her tears.
Leona was clearly out of her depth. Defeated, she retreated, replaced by Flora, who had high affinity and was very popular with children.
Flora looked at the adorable and clueless girl before her. Thinking about having to interact with her in the future made her feel a little nervous. She cleared her throat, overcame her apprehension, put on her best smile, and softly said to Agnes, “Agnes, do you remember me? I am Saint Flora. You learned about me before, right?”
Perhaps Flora’s affinity worked; Agnes, seemingly simple-minded, actually began to seriously consider her words.
Agnes carefully studied Flora’s face. She subconsciously started to shake her head, then hesitated and stopped, finally lowering her head with a confused expression, unsure how to respond.
“…Her memory might not be completely gone,” Abyss whispered to Arcaiste. “The memories are indeed stored in her soul.”
“Then why doesn’t she remember things from before?” Arcaiste, naturally hoping the Agnes he finally got to see wouldn’t remain like this, also whispered back.
Baggs and Maggie glanced at Abyss, seeking answers. In the study of souls, Necromancers were the ultimate authorities; they could only rely on Abyss for clarification.
“The specific reason is currently unverifiable, but I have a relatively plausible theory – the deceased I awakened before either had no body, awakened directly as ghosts, or had bodies, and I woke them up directly in their original bodies. Agnes is a special case. She had no body, but I used the mechanism she left behind to reconstruct her body, then summoned her soul into this vessel. This might cause temporary compatibility issues.”
“I don’t understand,” Maggie said earnestly.
“Meaning, her soul isn’t yet accustomed to this new body. Although she has returned to the mortal world, she needs a period of adjustment to truly remember her past. When she used magic just now to dispel the plague spread by that Necromancer, she seemed quite proficient, indicating her knowledge – at least her magical knowledge – is still intact. So I think her memory can slowly recover. You can rest assured for now,” Abyss explained with a smile.
“Then what can we do?” Baggs asked.
“Play with her?” Abyss shrugged. “I’m not very good at taking care of children. Does anyone here have experience with kids?”
“This… embarrassingly, I have no knowledge in this area. I haven’t even been in a relationship yet…” Arcaiste sighed.
He wasn’t lying. Someone with his perpetually melancholic demeanor would indeed have difficulty attracting the opposite sex; just looking at him was enough to make a girl depressed.
“Master, didn’t you often take care of me in place of my mother before she passed away? You definitely have experience,” Maggie suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said to Baggs perched on her shoulder. “Why don’t you play with Agnes? You can turn into many animals to accompany her, like a bear. Ah, speaking of bears, I suddenly remembered seeing a sister who turned into a bear these past few days. The bear she turned into was particularly beautiful and even wore a small flower on her ear. Speaking of small flowers…”
Baggs immediately waved his front paws in refusal: “Ah, this, although I do have experience taking care of you, the results of my upbringing are plain for all to see. It’s probably best not to expect too much from me, right?”
“What, Master? What do you mean?”
Everyone except the clueless Maggie suddenly understood – indeed, Baggs had raised a child, and now that child was not only mischievous but also a super chatterbox.
Flora, gaining some confidence after realizing she could communicate with Agnes, immediately started asking her other questions. Although Agnes couldn’t answer well, she seemed to fully understand what Flora was saying, nodding or shaking her head in response to some questions – the child had only lost her memory and some language ability, she wasn’t mentally impaired.
“Regardless, our goal has finally been achieved, even if not perfectly,” Rebecca smiled, crouching nearby, watching Flora interact friendly with Agnes. “We successfully awakened Agnes. Even if she has temporary amnesia, she has finally become Abyss’s familiar, and she doesn’t seem hostile towards us. I think that’s enough.”
“Mm. Our remaining task now is to eliminate that Lord of Bullying fellow,” Abyss also looked at Agnes and nodded. “I suspect the Lord of Bullying has already reached some agreement with that Prodo guy, and the Iron Lilies are currently a major threat as well. This experienced Outer God, having just broken free from the Church’s restraints not long ago, has already established such deep roots. He’s a very challenging enemy.”
“The ecological disaster we worried about due to animals gaining magical abilities hasn’t happened yet; instead, it’s us sentient beings who have fallen into chaos first,” Baggs wagged his tail, his tone laced with melancholy.
Everyone nodded in agreement. The concentrated attack by the Iron Lilies this time had also caused some damage to the Druid gathering. Although the Druids had healing methods, keeping casualties relatively low, the Druid school had few members in total, so even small losses were significant. There was no reason not to feel pained by this. If not for Flora’s superb Divine Arts, many Keshel villagers might have died this time. The threat posed by enemies using increasingly powerful brain crystals was constantly growing.
“Ah, right, speaking of which, ABC, did you let those two Necromancers go earlier? Why didn’t you keep them for interrogation?” Leona suddenly slapped her forehead. “That old hag earlier didn’t dare touch me, but she kept making sarcastic remarks. I hate her so much. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely shut her mouth and insult her non-stop for half an hour.”
“Keep them? That would be the worst strategy. They have nothing useful to offer me,” Abyss suddenly smiled mysteriously. “Letting them run back to Master to complain is exactly the result I wanted. Do you remember that the old hag Fidia you mentioned previously used our exclusive spell link without permission?”
“Eh… you mean?”
“That’s our private domain. Anyone who trespasses casually will be marked by me,” Abyss’s smile grew wider. “Soon, she will regret why she thought she was being clever.”
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