CHAPTER 447: CHAPTER 447: YOU BROUGHT ME TO SOMEONE’S HOUSE WITHOUT WARNING?!

For a moment, Isabella didn’t move. She just blinked, her fan still open and glowing faintly in her grip, eyes darting between the dozens—no, hundreds—of tiny glowing shapes creeping out from the mossy walls and shallow corners of the cavern.

The first one was no bigger than a rabbit, with fur like shimmering starlight and eyes that reflected the pond’s glow. But the others—oh, the others were stranger. Some had translucent wings that looked like drifting glass petals. Some slithered half-snakelike across the rocks, leaving glowing trails. One even floated, its tail a puff of mist and its body gently pulsing like jelly.

They were breathtaking.

And horrifying.

And kind of adorable, in the worst possible combination.

"Bubu..." Isabella whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "Should I be scared? Should I—" she raised her fan an inch, "—slash?"

"Negative, Host," Bubu said. "They are not hostile."

"They’re not—what?" Isabella hissed, taking a step back as the creatures blinked at her in eerie synchronization, like one big glowing audience. "Bubu, there’s like twenty... no, thirty... okay, maybe a hundred of them! Don’t you dare say this is normal."

"They are the native inhabitants of this sector," Bubu replied smoothly. "It seems you have entered their nest."

"Nest?!" Isabella’s voice jumped an octave. "You brought me to someone’s house without warning?!"

Glimora pressed herself closer to Isabella’s neck, tiny paws digging into her collar. Isabella held her protectively, eyes darting around as the luminous creatures edged closer, watching her with curious, unblinking stares.

"They are harmless," Bubu said. "You startled them when you entered. They have been observing you the entire time."

"What." Isabella froze. "The. Entire. Time?"

"Yes."

She turned slowly, looking at the glowing water, the moss, the cracks in the cave walls—realizing all at once that those faint flickers of light she’d assumed were reflections had actually been eyes.

Her skin prickled. "You mean to tell me these things were watching me drag a half-dead bird man across their floor like some mountain janitor, and you didn’t think to mention it?"

"Must I tell you everything?" Bubu asked innocently.

"Yes!" she snapped, whirling to face the cube. "You must tell me everything! You’re my system, that’s literally your job!"

"My job," Bubu said calmly, "is to guide and assist you through tasks, not narrate every atmospheric detail of your surroundings."

Isabella glared. "You’re so full of technicalities, it’s painful."

"Accuracy prevents panic."

"Oh, I’m so calm right now, can’t you tell?" she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Glimora squeaked like she was agreeing with her mother.

Isabella sighed through her nose, fanning herself with her fan despite not being hot—more of a nervous reflex than anything. "Fine. So... should I keep the fan or what?"

"You may hold it if you feel comforted by it."

"Oh, don’t you patronize me." Isabella lowered the fan, glaring at the smug glimmer of Bubu’s screen, then finally folded it shut and tucked it back into her space. "You’re lucky I can’t throw you across the room."

"I have no physical form," Bubu replied simply.

"Exactly. Lucky."

A few of the glowing creatures shifted, whispering softly among themselves. Their voices were high and musical, like tiny wind chimes shaken by a faint breeze. Isabella turned to look at them, her heart still hammering but her curiosity piqued.

They were still staring—but not in a predatory way. More like... fascination.

Slowly, carefully, Isabella crouched down, lowering herself to their level. Her knees cracked as she did, and she winced. "Okay, hi," she said softly, trying a smile. "I, uh... come in peace?"

Glimora, ever the tiny diplomat, jumped down from her arm and approached one of the glowing creatures. The other creatures instantly tilted their heads, eyes widening as if surprised the small furball was friendly.

"Careful, baby," Isabella murmured, her hands half-raised, ready to intervene if one of the creatures made a wrong move.

But instead, they began whispering again. Their voices came in bursts of sound—fragmented, overlapping, strange but somehow melodic.

"Mort... al?" one said.

"Wo...man..." another chimed softly.

Their voices overlapped and blended, echoing in the cavern, creating a surreal harmony. Isabella blinked, straining to listen. "Bubu, am I... am I hearing them right?"

"Yes. They are speaking Common Tongue—fragmented, but legible," Bubu said.

"Then why does it sound like my brain’s being tickled?" she muttered.

The voices continued, sharper this time. "Mortal woman. Mortal woman. Pregnant... baby..."

Isabella froze.

Her head snapped toward Bubu. "No. No, no, no. There is no way that word just came out of their mouths."

"They are referencing your current physiological state."

"I know that! Why does everybody on this mountain keep knowing I’m pregnant before I do anything?!" she yelled, standing up so fast that Glimora startled and hid behind her leg. "Is there, like, a giant neon sign floating above my head that says ’expecting soon’?!"

Bubu’s tone was maddeningly calm. "On this mountain, most creatures are spiritually attuned. They can sense life energy."

"Oh, come on!" Isabella groaned, dragging her hands down her face. "Can I have one normal conversation with someone who doesn’t immediately bring up the tiny life inside me?!"

Glimora chirped indignantly as if offended on behalf of the "tiny life." Isabella sighed, patting her head apologetically. "Not you, baby. You’re an angel."

From the front, one of the glowing creatures tilted its head, eyes wide like two molten orbs. "Angel?" it echoed softly, the word lilting out like a question.

"Oh, now you repeat that one," Isabella muttered.

They whispered again, their tiny voices fluttering through the cave like ripples on water. "Pregnant. Baby. Life. Glow. Warm."

Bubu floated forward slightly, voice thoughtful. "Their perception of you is positive, Host. They are not hostile."

"Well, thank the gods for that," Isabella said, rolling her eyes. "Because I really didn’t want to add ’tiny magical gremlins’ to my list of people trying to kill me this week."

A ripple of sound moved through the group—like laughter, soft and strange, but not unpleasant. It echoed off the cave walls, weaving into the sound of the waterfall.

"They appear amused," Bubu said.

"Yeah, great," Isabella muttered. "My humiliation is their entertainment. Classic."

Still, she couldn’t help but smile a little. Something about their wide-eyed wonder and curious tilts of their heads reminded her of Glimora when she first hatched. There was an innocence in the way they mimicked her expressions—confused, intrigued, alive.

"They’re... kind of cute," she admitted quietly.