Some time later, the others settled down to sleep on their banana leaves, using more of the broad leaves as makeshift blankets.

Given that I had been unconscious for eight hours, I volunteered to take the first watch.

The only person who remained awake was Celeste.

Once she was sure the others were deeply asleep, she stood up and glanced around. When her gaze landed on me, she gave a small, silent nod, then turned and walked out of the rock shelter. As she left, I noticed she was clutching the banana-leaf-wrapped meat tight against her chest, almost as if hiding it.

'Hmm…'

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as I watched her diminishing figure. Although her actions were decidedly odd, after a few moments, I forced myself to look away and continued absorbing mana at the corner where I sat.

However, barely a minute later, I could no longer control my curiosity.

'Why does her Bond never take its human form? Why doesn't it ever eat with us?'

I looked back at the direction Celeste had left. 'Is she going to feed her Bond now?'

My mind reeled with possibilities for a while, and when the need to know became overwhelming, I decided to go have a look. I wasn't sure exactly what I expected to find, but I was definitely curious.

I stood up, briefly debated whether I should invade her privacy, but after a few seconds, I abandoned the thought and began moving quietly.

The only light illuminating the surroundings was the light from the moon and stars above, which at this height was surprisingly bright, casting long, definite shadows.

It didn't take long before I could make out the silhouettes of two figures sitting in the shadows cast by a large rock. One sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, while the other... the other was indistinct, low to the ground as if feeding like an animal.

'Is that Celeste with her bond?'

I kept approaching quickly to get a better look, but then I mistakenly nudged a loose stone with my boot, sending a sharp, loud scrape echoing in the night, instantly drawing the attention of the two girls.

'Goddamnit!' I winced, folding my hands in frustrated apology.

Both girls instantly snapped their gazes to me. While one immediately stood up, the other girl immediately turned away, hiding her face.

"Brother?"

The one who stood spoke, and that was how I knew that she was Celeste, which meant the one on the floor was her bond.

Since I was now caught, I decided to just commit and approach them.

"Uh… hi," I waved, while also rubbing my head awkwardly in embarrassment. "I saw you uhm..." I gestured with two thumbs toward the direction of the rock shelter. "I saw you suddenly leave on your own. I thought maybe you couldn't sleep, so I came to check on you."

[You have acquired 5 karma points.]

[Available Karma points: N 1,870 / P 860]

As I approached, I could see Celeste sheepishly turn to look at the girl who sat with her face turned away.

That was when something caught my attention: the girl on the ground had unnaturally gray skin, a jarring contrast to Celeste's pale complexion.

'Huh?'

I narrowed my eyes, studying the figure. The girl was small, slender, and childlike, dressed in a dirty white gown. Her long, flowing red hair completely shielded her face, making her look like a huddled phantom.

Her hands were dirty, and I could clearly see her clutching the meat skewer in one hand.

I looked away from her to Celeste with a questioning look on my face. Celeste bit her lip, a look of contemplation passing over her features. After a few tense seconds, she finally exhaled in resignation. Then she turned and crouched beside the girl, holding her shoulder, and said nervously, "It's okay..."

At Celeste's voice, the girl slowly turned to face her, then, with agonizing slowness, she rotated to look at me, her eyes darting up as if expecting a blow.

That was when I finally saw the features of the girl's face.

'What in the world?'

She did not look human. She resembled the woman Celeste transformed into when using her bonded ability, but significantly younger, almost as if this was a child version. A small red horn protruded from the right side of her head, and on that same side of her face, a large burn scar stretched from her temple down to her jawline, pulling the corner of her eye downward.

As I studied the strange little girl, so many questions ran through my mind all at once.

What exactly was I looking at?

From what I knew, every bond had three active forms: a weapon form, a creature form and a human form. So what sort of form was this?

Was this supposed to be the human form of Celeste's bond? How?

This looked nothing like a human, but rather like a creature. In fact, a demon of sorts would be a better description.

The little demon looked utterly terrified, and barely a few seconds after meeting my gaze, she whimpered and quickly turned away, burying her face in Celeste's chest.

Celeste turned to me, though her eyes were wide with frantic anxiety, then said nervously, "This is my bonded. Her moniker is the Demon of Resignation."

I swallowed, trying my best to hide my shock. Although my mind was suddenly barraged with questions, it was impolite to stare, and it was even more impolite to begin barraging questions at the two girls who were already radiating anxiety.

I took a step forward, crouched in front of them, and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Demon of Resignation."

The little demon slowly turned to face me.

I then reached out to my inventory, took out a pouch of water and offered it to her. "Here… have this also."

She looked immediately to Celeste, whose face was a mask of utter surprise. Celeste gave a gentle nod, and only then did the demon turn back to me, reaching out a hesitant hand to grasp the pouch.

The very instant our hands broke contact, a notification popped up:

[You have acquired 50 Karma points.]

[Available Karma points: N 1,870 / P 910]

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