Of course, Cassandra knew what an Obscurus was.
Any pure-blood family with even the slightest historical background would know about them. Obscurials were terrifying magical tragedies born from suppression and despair.
But according to everything she had ever learned, Obscurials were unstable monsters without proper self-awareness.
None of them could remain rational.
Which was exactly why she never connected Lucas's black mist transformation to an Obscurus at all.
"Since you were captured by them…" Cassandra hesitated before speaking again. "Then why are you now…"
Her voice gradually trailed off.
She had too many questions.
Where had he learned those spells? Why was he so powerful? How had he escaped? And most importantly, why did he feel so dangerous despite acting calm and polite?
At the same time, another part of her instincts screamed warnings nonstop.
This was someone capable of casually casting Unforgivable Curses.
A normal person should stay quiet around someone like that instead of asking endless questions.
And yet, despite her nervousness, she still asked anyway.
Somehow, deep down, Cassandra subconsciously believed Lucas wouldn't hurt her.
Of course, the moment the question left her mouth, she regretted it immediately.
What if he found her annoying and simply hit her with Avada Kedavra on the spot?
She definitely didn't want to die yet.
Her thoughts tangled together chaotically until even she couldn't understand her own emotions anymore.
Fortunately, Lucas had absolutely no intention of killing her.
He wasn't Voldy Pants.
Right now, his only priority was dealing with the werewolf camps as quickly as possible. According to the system's usual behaviour, the more violently righteous he acted, the more excited it became.
Which meant completing the mission would almost certainly unlock more rewards.
Questionable system or not, it remained absurdly generous.
"My story…" Lucas sighed softly while unconsciously lifting his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky. "It's a long one."
To be fair, he wasn't deliberately trying to look dramatic.
He genuinely had no idea how to explain anything.
How exactly was he supposed to tell people he was a transmigrator with a suspiciously evil "White Wizard System"? Even he thought it sounded insane.
What Lucas completely failed to realize was that after the Charm boost, his every movement had become absurdly influential.
At this point, he had become an existence even more unreasonable than a Veela.
And unlike Veela charm, his worked on literally everyone regardless of age or gender.
A casual sigh.
A slight smile.
A trace of sadness.
Every tiny emotion unconsciously influenced the people around him.
Naturally, this was entirely the system's fault.
Its logic was extremely straightforward.
A future Great White Wizard obviously needed overwhelming charisma. Was it unreasonable for audiences to become emotionally invested whenever he spoke?
Not at all.
The system felt extremely proud of itself.
Meanwhile, Cassandra's imagination had already gone completely out of control.
Lucas's slightly troubled expression instantly transformed into deep melancholy in her eyes.
Looking at the boy standing before her, Cassandra suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to help him somehow.
"Miss Vole." Lucas finally turned back toward her with a small smile. "My story's complicated, and I still have important things to deal with right now."
Then he added apologetically:
"Why don't you head back to your family first? If we meet again someday, maybe I'll tell you the whole story."
Of course, the real reason was much simpler.
He hadn't made up the details yet.
Cassandra lowered her gaze slightly.
"My three attendants…" Her voice became quieter. "Two of them were killed. And one disappeared earlier. He probably…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
Although she normally acted proud and demanding around servants, that arrogance was mostly habit and upbringing. Seeing them die still affected her deeply.
"I'm sorry," Lucas said softly.
For a moment, he genuinely didn't know how to comfort her.
Cassandra hesitated before suddenly speaking again.
"So… could I follow you for a while?"
Then she quickly turned her face away as though embarrassed.
"Don't misunderstand! I just want to look for my missing attendant. Maybe he's still alive."
Lucas rubbed his nose awkwardly.
Suddenly acquiring an extra travelling companion definitely complicated things.
Still, leaving an eleven-year-old girl alone in the Albanian forest wasn't exactly a responsible option either.
Especially not when Voldemort might still be wandering around nearby somewhere.
For one horrifying moment, Lucas's imagination betrayed him completely.
He suddenly pictured Voldemort attached to the back of Cassandra's head like Professor Quirrell.
The cursed mental image almost made him physically recoil.
His intelligence stat really was becoming dangerous.
"Alright," Lucas finally agreed. "You can come with me."
Then his expression turned serious.
"But if anything dangerous happens, you need to hide immediately."
He coughed lightly before adding:
"It's not that I doubt your abilities. It's just… my spell control isn't very stable. I might accidentally hit you."
Cassandra stared at him silently.
Not stable?
This boy had casually tortured adult dark wizards into rolling around screaming with the Cruciatus Curse.
Most underage wizards couldn't even produce enough power from an Unforgivable Curse to cause more than a nosebleed.
And he was saying his spell control wasn't stable?
Still, Cassandra understood perfectly well that Lucas was simply trying to protect her dignity.
Which somehow made her chest feel strangely warm.
Does he care that much about my feelings?
Her thoughts immediately started running wild again.
A moment later, even the tips of her ears had turned red.
Just then—
"Ding! Host has successfully obtained Cassandra Vole's extremely high favorability!"
"Reward granted: One random talent!"
"Would the host like to claim it?"
Lucas blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
Saving someone's life earning gratitude made sense.
But getting rewarded by the system because of it?
This thing was getting more ridiculous every minute.
"Ding! Correct! Extremely normal levels of favorability! Congratulations, host! Would you like to receive your random talent reward?"
"Claim it."