"I'll start with the questions." Mark said and she nodded. "When did you discover you could do more than an average human could?"
"What? Are you talking about abilities?" She asked and he nodded. "Well," she thought back with the bone of the chicken leg sticking out of her mouth. "...that would be when that guy with the red hair tried to kill me. I felt a rush of power and kicked him into the wall. Can that be considered as an ability?"
Mark looked at the book in his hand. What she said did happen but it did not align with what was recorded.
'Just why... Why won't she tell the truth?' he wondered. 'Is there a reason she's hiding it? Is she scared of anyone, perhaps?'
He raised his head to watch her gnaw on her bone like a puppy.
"Miss Alice," he called. "Please know that S-class awakeneds are the most powerful humans on Earth and there is no one that can threaten them."
"Duh, who doesn't know that?" She said and he searched her facial expression before sighing.
If it wasn't fear then what in the world was stopping her from admitting the truth?
Well, he would continue to monitor her and ask questions. Maybe she would come around soon and spill it.
That evening, Alice was delighted to be served Steak along with the fried chicken she so much loved. It was delicious. So delicious that she was moved to tears.
"Does it taste bad?" Mark asked but she shook her head and said,
"I feel like it's my last supper." She said. "Will I get killed after this meal?"
"What makes you think like that?"
"Because it's so good. Only when a person is about to die, a prisoner for that matter, will they be given the best food to taste. But not all prisoners are lucky to eat, not to talk of a delicious meal like this, so I guess it's my luck."
Mark watched her and sighed.
Why was she speaking of death so lightly? It was like she was expecting it any and every moment, so it didn't take her by surprise.
"Don't worry, you won't be killed tomorrow or the day after. I assure you." He said and though she could not take his word for it, she looked forward to the meals he would continue to provide her till her last breath.
The next day, they were going to conduct a body examination before proceeding with her interrogations.
No more machines in the meantime until they figured out why they always broke when used on her.
There were speculations that the machines could not handle the level of her powers, which was why they always broke down, so they would work on that, hoping to provide mana Crystals with incredible mana flow and density.
"Alright, for your body examination," Mark began and Alice blinked, paying keen attention.
There were also professionals in charge of her body examination waiting around with their instruments. Tapes and notepads to get her measurements for God knows what.
"... for your body examination," Mark continued. "You'll have to take off your clothes." He said but did not expect her to suddenly start taking off her top.
He stopped her right away, dragging her top back down, and said,
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked and she tilted her head.
"I could've sworn you just told me to strip." She said, and his eyebrows furrowed angrily.
"Strip? I told you to..." He felt angry but let it out with a sigh and asked, "How can you just take off your clothes when you have next to nothing underneath? Don't you have any dignity as a female?"
Alice went silent. And then she scoffed.
"Dignity? What's that?"
He stared at her in disbelief. What was this now? This wasn't a normal thing to her, was it?
He stared at her face but she didn't look like she was bluffing. Really... Was taking off her clothes in front of a bunch of men a normal thing for her?
"Boss, you shouldn't let the fact that you're surprised show so much." Alice suddenly said. "Where I'm from, there's no such thing as female dignity. We're all equal in the sight of our 'owner' so if it's to strip right here in front of you all," she rolled her eyes from one corner of the room to the next and then back to him. "...or to suddenly start dancing naked, I can do either without a shred of shame."
Mark was speechless. For a moment, he got so angry, but what was he angry about? He turned his head to the side, gritting his teeth. She was still young. How could they do this to such a young girl?
Alice stared at him, wondering what the big deal was.
Yeah, she knew it wasn't normal for a girl to feel no shame about stripping but she wasn't a normal girl.
She grew up in a violent environment and had to do as she was told. If not, it was death waiting for her.
And...
'I thought men liked bold girls. Hmm, I guess not all of them. He's pretty angry.' she thought and placed her hands behind her head, waiting to be told what to do next. 'So, if he doesn't want me to strip, why did he tell me to take my clothes off for the examination?'
"Alice," Mark suddenly called after recovering from his sudden anger. "... I was going to tell you that for the examination, you'll need to take care of your clothes. So, take the sports bra and shorts from that table and change into it." He said and sighed. "Not for you to take off your clothes in front of us."
Alice blinked.
"Oh!"
She probably should've let him finish his words. Well, no matter.
"If you were going to say that, you could've said it first." She said, picking up the sealed sports bra and shorts from the table, and snickering to herself. "It could've really saved us a lot of 'what just happened'." She looked at the pack, paused, and then rolled her eyes towards him. "So, I'm guessing you don't want me to change right here, right?"
"Miss Alice!"
"Haha, I'm just joking." She laughed and ran in the direction of her cell. Her restraints had been taken off so she felt carefree, running in a corridor she always walked slowly on.
Mark realized she wasn't in her restraints and yelled at the guards,
"What are you doing? Go after her!"