The one who'd forced her way into the selection process.
She wasn't a bad choice by any metric, or rather, it was impossible to come up with a metric that would exclude her for any reason.
Aside from her simply being too good, but that was something the over-the-top elite Azure Dragons would never think to include.
She was a genius who, as a former child prodigy, had spent her youth collecting graduate degrees. By adulthood, she was already an expert in enough fields that she could teach a whole school by herself.
If she had something approaching a flaw, it was that she wasn't specialized in raising children like Alici and Jordi were.
But even then, she did personally tutor more than a couple elites to fund her own personal passion projects.
The reason the Azure Dragons, and Van in particular, were wary of her is that she was first and foremost a researcher. She wanted to study Kid and Lilac, not truly raise and care for them.
Of course, they weren't too worried. They really didn't think Kid would volunteer to be studied, particularly after her negative reaction to even just visiting a doctor.
But that didn't deter Savi, nor did the two hour walk or the knowledge she'd be living in a cave.
Intelligence helped, but being a prodigy really just means having adult-like intellect at a child's age. What really got her this far was her almost relentless dedication to her goals.
In Terra, where dungeon grades spilled over into education grades, twin statements were born:
An E rank adventurer is still an adventurer.
Es get degrees.
Of course, she still mostly got As, with the occasional S.
So, when she heard Van say, "Hey, kiddo," and when she got to see the pair of children she'd hoped to study, her thoughts were calculating indeed.
***
"These are the four candidates we found," Van continued as he began to introduce them, one by one.
The first was apparently named Alici Foster.
She seemed awfully ideal for helping take care of Lilac. The guild had found a perfect choice. I didn't dismiss her immediately.
"But wouldn't you be able to help more kids in the city?" I asked.
"You're right, but I'd still rather work in the countryside, whether it's here or somewhere else. But the kids I normally help already have parents or guardians."
"Do all imperial children have parents...?"
"No, not all. Sometimes things happen, and they're raised by other relatives, or put into foster care. Imperial law dictates that every imperial child should have a guardian though."
"I see..."
At least she was able to answer my questions earnestly, but it was still clear she viewed me as a child.
I was used to it, but it could still be a problem when she was eventually forced to realize that I wasn't really one.
Still, she wasn't a bad option if I could get it through to her that she was here for Lilac, not me.
But I moved on to the next candidate.
"This is Jordi," Van explained. "She's a tutor who helps children become adventurers. You already have a Skill, but I think there's some overlap regardless."
"I see. Have you ever helped anyone become normal?"
"Normal?" She asked, not seeming to understand my question.
"I don't need your help, Lilac does. She was raised by monsters, and needs to learn how normal people behave. I don't think I approve of her becoming an adventurer."
"I see... yes, you should consider other candidates. I could help, but I'm sure they're more skilled at what you need."
"Oh. Thank you for being honest..."
"Ah, Kid," Van spoke up. "Actually... I'm here to make sure everything they say is truthful, so..."
"Haha, it's as the kid calling you a kid says," Jordi added. "Though I don't have a personal habit of lying to future employers, since setting expectations is important."
"Ah..."
'So I can ask blunt questions and receive actual answers.'
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Magic is certainly convenient.
The third candidate was a well-dressed woman who'd already lost some points.
Her name was Valenti, and while Alici and Jordi seemed fine, she was still a bit out of breath from the walk here.
"She's from an old noble family, but you don't have to worry. We've filtered out dozens of candidates like that who'd hoped to take advantage of you. Valenti here just wants to ensure you'll succeed in life."
"Ah..." Valenti raised a hand. "Not just that, please don't sell me short like that. I'll absolutely do my best to turn Lilac into a happy child too."
She was quick in recognizing what my priorities were.
"But... you're worn out just walking here. What if we move even further away from the portal?"
"That's... that's fine," she answered hesitantly. "I'm not here for a job, but because I want to help. If I can't walk that far, I'll hire people to do deliveries, or have something built. Naturally, I'll ensure you two live in comfort too, and get properly pampered like you deserve!"
'Huh... why does she think I deserve to be pampered?'
Regardless, I'd heard enough to decide against her.
So far, Alici was the only valid candidate.
Me turning to look at the fourth woman was enough for Van to introduce her.
"This is Savi. She's a doctorate of philosophy, chemistry, biology, magical sciences, and an actual medical doctor too. She's made various advances in science her whole life, even when she was your age."
"Aren't you a bit overqualified?" I asked, wondering why she'd even want to be here.
***
HoverBees: Is this Kid? (img)
OutsiderFan71: Um... where did you find that?
Popcorn5: You should probably remove that...
HoverBees: It's not mine though.
Popcorn5: Whose is it then?
Tiribi8: Um...
Tiribi8: Am I in trouble...
Popcorn5: You might want a lawyer.
OutsiderFan71: I dunno if a lawyer can protect you from the ADs.
Hero194: Huh? It's just a drawing though?
***
For some reason, my question made Van smirk.
"I'm not overqualified. In terms of qualifications, if you just need a caretaker and a psychologist, Alici is more qualified than me."
I nodded. That was true.
"However," Savi continued, "I don't think my qualifications matter. The only thing that matters is whether you trust me or not. Ah, I suppose some people mistake qualification for trust."
"Why wouldn't they matter?" I asked.
"Because I'd be happy to work for free. No, I'd be willing to pay to be here."
That sounded awfully similar to Valenti's answer.
"Why?"
"Ah. Because I'm interested in this world, or... dungeon, I suppose. Even the Demon King is fascinated, and yet the Empire hasn't done anything. I guess they've hamstrung themselves? Well, that doesn't matter to me, since I'm just a private citizen."
"So you just want to study us?"
"Not just you. This whole world. If doing so requires playing caretaker, tutor, psychologist, or even foster family, then so be it."
"What do you plan to do with the results?"
"Ah..."
Her eyes widened in some sort of realization. Had she suddenly realized why I might be concerned about a total stranger studying me?
"Do you mind if I look around before I answer that?" She eventually asked. "I'd like to know what the job entails, and what sort of person I'd be working for."
"You're not sure? I guess it's fine."
I didn't really want such a person looking around, but it wasn't like I had any secrets I needed to keep.
"You two should look around too, in case you're selected," Jordi advised.
It was a shame I didn't need someone like her. She already seemed pretty good at building up others. Perhaps if Lilac were already an ordinary kid hoping to become an adventurer, she would have been the best choice, but for now, someone who can help me teach her how to hope in the first place would be better.
"R-right."
"Naturally."
And so the trio of women who hadn't disqualified themselves began to look around.
Since I prefer to avoid people, I'm not the best at reading them, but I'm also not awful at it.
Valenti showed the sort of distaste at my home that struck another point against her. It wasn't outright disgust, but I doubted she'd enjoy living here.
Though she was already practically disqualified too, so unless she had a secret reason to hire her that overcame everything else, letting her roam around was just a polite formality.
Even Jordi looked around from where she stood, before flashing me a grin, earning her another sadly useless point. "Not bad. To be honest, it doesn't look like either of you need someone like me. I'll be shocked if you're not an S rank when you grow up. Well, at least an A rank, haha."
"She's already an S rank, though she only has a D rank license."
Van needlessly volunteered. I wish he hadn't, but I guess it was his guild that got me that license, so I couldn't really stop him.
"Haha, is that so? I knew it!"
Meanwhile, Alici and Savi looked about everything curiously, although they seemed to care about different aspects.
Alici was focused on my home, looking at my tent, my food supply, and other things like that.
Meanwhile, Savi looked at all my projects. "Do you mind if I ask you questions?"
'Wasn't that a question?'
"Sure," I answered.
"What's this? Why do you have multiple?"
"Uh... because they're different mixes."
"Is that the case for these as well? And these?"
"Yes. Those aren't different, but I made a bunch that were."
She was asking about the various compost sites I set up, the potted plants I was growing, and even the bricks.
"Did you import the materials? Wait... did you even make the pots?"
"Sort of. I took some clay from the Red Forest, and bought some Terran soil, but a lot of it's from here. Probably over half."
"Fascinating. Then I can do this one of two ways. I can be a caretaker from Terra, research on my own time, and publish my findings through the usual channels... or I can renounce my imperial citizenship, become an inhabitant of this dungeon, and publish my findings to its boss."
"Huh?" "Wha?" "?!"
A chorus of surprised expressions came from... well, everyone but Lilac and myself.
"Is that possible?" I asked Van.
"I'm... not sure?"
"I am though," Savi answered for him.
"Is she telling the truth?"
"I... she is, but that doesn't mean she's right. I'll ask the legal team, if you're really stuck on this."
"Sure," Savi didn't seem bothered by his answer, and explained the process to me anyway, at least how she understood it.
Basically, imperial citizens are allowed to renounce their citizenship, losing various benefits in the process.
Since dungeons with portals exclusively on imperial soil have certain automatic diplomatic rights, it wouldn't mean she can't go back to the Empire, but she'd be visiting as a legal outsider, limiting her rights a bit.
Of course, I'd have to approve her as a citizen of Lost for that to happen.
Since sentient outsiders could have all sorts of governments, merely being a provable representative would normally be enough for that.
There once was an expectation of shared ancestry, which gradually shifted to any familial bond, but that became ancient history in the Empire, and only some other countries still had those sort of laws.
Basically, the Empire has such a long history of naturally absorbing foreign cultures that they long stopped caring if their citizens became foreigners.
It was almost arrogant, as if they viewed every foreign power as merely being in a state prior to becoming an imperial colony.