Interrogation Anxiety

Hands clasped behind his back, posture erect, the dark elf looked at her with an intimidating aura. Something about him seemed to say, "I am in charge here, you will submit to me. You are no match for me."

Alesha gulped, worried about what would come next. Seth had laid a basic groundwork but it wasn't much. It was basically just a warning to not try and deceive the Headmaster. But because of her quest, she had to find a way to tell part of the truth, but not the whole. Was the quest a dud from the start? Did he have a way to expose her, just like that professor had when she was first summoned?

"Alright, Alesha, let the interrogation begin. First: did you or did you not intentionally kill the professor that looked into your mind?"

"I did not. I don't know how it happened."

The headmaster nodded. "Understood. Second: were you aware beforehand that you were capable of automatically killing those who attempted to look in on your mind?"

"I was not."

"Very well. Third: Were you aware of your second personality before coming here, and did you intentionally hide it from us upon your arrival?"

Alesha paused, sorting out how to phrase things. She needed to tell the truth in such a way that it would be interpreted the way she wanted. "Yes, I was aware of my second consciousness beforehand, and yes, I did intentionally keep its existence from you. I was unaware, however, that such a thing would be reason enough to be sent home. If I had known, I would have told you that I have a second personality sooner."

The headmaster laughed heartily. "You really hate being here that much, do you? I apologize for the inconvenience we've caused you. Alright, last question: do you intend to harm anyone else here at the Academy during the remainder of your stay?"

Relieved that she had long since finished the quest to feed Korak to others, Alesha responded with: "I do not."

The dark elf relaxed, smiled and clasped his hands together. "Alright! Then you are free to return to your lodgings. Your interrogation is completed."

Alesha blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"As I said! You are free to go. There will be special arrangements made for Seth's Final Exam, and you both will be exempt from the Third Task, for everyone's safety. I'm not about to punish one of my students for an unforeseeable accident, after all!"

Alesha was very confused. For the headmaster of a (supposedly) prestigious academy, his attitude was surprisingly lax. Did he actually not care about the safety of his students at all? Or was he just too trusting? Why was this "interrogation" so easy?

Suddenly, the headmaster leaned in uncomfortably close, tilting her chin up with one finger and staring directly into her eyes as he said, "I can see my behavior confuses you. Do you think I am too lenient? Hmm?"

Alesha backpedaled out of his reach. "I, uh, yeah. I'm just a little lost is all. I mean, if someone was killed back home, even by accident, there's no way taking care of things would be this simple."

"Really?" the headmaster asked, a curious expression on his ageless face. "I suppose some demons might tightly manage something like death in order to avoid self-destruction. Hmm, how interesting."

"Wait!" Alesha spoke up frantically, "That's not it at all! I- I grew up human. I live in a society of humans. That's the reason."

The headmaster huffed. "You're no fun. I knew you were delusional but I had no idea it was this bad. Anyway, shoo shoo, I've got work to do." He waved her off without a second glance.

Dumbstruck, Alesha wanted to protest, but decided it wasn't worth it. Even though the interrogation had ended favorably, there was no reason the headmaster couldn't take back his verdict. She didn't want to risk offending someone like that. So instead, she left the headmaster's strange hotel-like office, counting her lucky stars that things had gone so smoothly.

----

[Ding! Quest Completed!]

[Quest: Tell the Truth -- But Not the Whole Truth!

Goal: Give the Academy a satisfactory explanation for your behavior without exposing the truth about the System!

Quest Conditions: convince Seth and the investigators that you have a second personality, do not expose the System's origins or true nature

Reward: 1 future quest refusal opportunity, 100 XP, 2 Chaos Energy]

"Really, that was the easiest quest yet," Alesha muttered. "Rogork, why are you being so generous all of the sudden?"

No response came.

"Rogork?"

When the System again refused to respond, she wondered where it had gone. Was it missing? Was it just being quiet? It made her feel antsy.

Something else was bothering her, and she wasn't sure what it was. Closing her eyes as she lay on her bed sideways (her stupid wings meant she couldn't lay on her back anymore), she searched within herself for the answer.

Was she feeling anxious because things were going too smoothly after her evolution? The interrogation had been easy, as had the quest along with it. But why? Was the System trying to subliminally convince her that evolution made things easier? No, it wasn't omnipotent. If it could influence outside factors… nevermind, that was a possibility she absolutely didn't want to explore, even in theory.

So what was it that was making her so uneasy? She didn't have any Chaos Energy accumulated anymore, so she shouldn't be feeling pressure to cause chaos.

Wait.

After evolving, she had become a Dragonchild (whatever that meant), with a Chaos Dragon bloodline. That probably meant she had more Chaos Dragon blood than before. Could it be that she was anxious because she didn't have enough Chaos Energy?

Impulsively, she pulled a bottle of Korak out of her inventory and downed it with one gulp.

She felt something about her bite change. Investigating with her tongue, she found that her teeth were now all sharp, not just the ones in the front.

"Well, that didn't help at all," she muttered in dissatisfaction.

Inside, she was still just as anxious as before.