The so-called'Serial Killer Incident' came to an end after the one-eyed man's body was discovered that night.
During that time, Jack visited once more, seemingly specifically to check if Sen Getsusa was missing any parts.
Meeting this handsome rogue painter again, the girl chatted with him about recent events.
The two of them went to the cemetery where Mary was buried.
To Sen Getsusa, that cemetery was basically a mass grave, but for people of this era, being willing to spend money on a 'proper' marked plot meant they loved that person enough.
"Three days left, are you ready?"
On the way back, Jack pulled cash from his pocket and paid for Sen Getsusa.
He had recently won some money gambling and was spending it lavishly.
The girl bought a large bag of candy and cured sausages, and also placed an order at the blacksmith shop—specifically requesting the best blacksmith to craft a set of miniature tools for her.
Jack thought Sen Getsusa was wasting money.
"Ready for what?"
"The titanic! Did you forget? We have a date!" Jack helped carry the candy bag, complaining about Sen Getsusa as they walked: "No noble lady would go to a filthy blacksmith shop herself. What do you want those things for?"
"To play with dolls?"
He was a painter too, so he could naturally see that the design Sen Getsusa gave the blacksmith had been carefully thought out.
He just didn't understand why hammers, scissors, and rapiers had to be made into small models.
"Of course, women love playing with dolls. Is there a problem?"
Jack looked at the girl with a complicated expression: "No, I just think that as decorations, dolls should be paired with things like white porcelain teacups or roses.
You're getting a hammer, a rapier..."
"Mine is an armed-style doll."
Jack shot her a sidelong glance.
"Don't be late in three days; the big ship won't wait for anyone, Miss Forest."
Sen Getsusa nodded. "Your clothes?"
Jack was wearing a light blue suit today, different from the one Sen Getsusa had given him last time—this one gave off a more mature vibe.
"Won a few rounds."
"I advise you not to touch gambling; it will ruin your life." Sen Getsusa took the candy bag, carried the cured sausages up the stone steps, and pulled a ring of keys from her satchel.
At the door, Jack turned left, preparing to head back to the tavern for a few more hands of poker.
Hearing Sen Getsusa's warning, he quirked his lips playfully: "My sister is being too overbearing. Don't worry, I have no interest in cards. I love the cash in their pockets."
"What a coincidence, they love your cash too."
Sen Getsusa pushed the door open; she caught a glimpse of a red figure waving at her before quickly hiding back around the corner.
"If you end up in massive debt and get your hands and feet chopped off, I'll pick an open spot for you next to Miss Mary's grave."
"Otherwise, it won't be big enough to hold your inflating ego."
Sen Getsusa entered without looking back, closing the door with a bang.
Jack stood at the door grinning as the girl disappeared inside. He shrugged, shouted toward the door, and turned to walk down the other side of the street.
"Don't be late, Miss Forest!"
...Arrietty had been in high spirits lately. Perhaps experiencing a life-and-death situation with her Queen had made her truly realize how interesting the days ahead would be.
"I long for an exciting life, and I'm definitely not the only one!"
The knightess was babbling non-stop, trying to persuade her parents to mail a letter that would summon the rest of the Tontatta Tribe.
"Gather our kin, and the Queen will take us all away."
Pod shook his head in refusal; beside him stood a Boy.
Hair loose like a savage, the lad carried an outlandishly large wooden bow across his shoulder.
He was Spiller, the orphaned last of the Spiller line who had once saved Pod's life.
"Arrietty, we have rules: stay away from humans," Spiller said in a low voice, hawk-eyed and calloused.
Arrietty rolled her eyes. "You don't understand anything.
Spiller, the Queen isn't human—she's a Planeswalker.
If the Tontatta Tribe has any path left, this is it."
She turned to her parents. "I don't expect to convince you; I just hope, when reality hits, you'll think about whether you'll come with me."
Homily bowed her head, near tears, unable to believe her daughter's words.
"You're leaving us? Going off alone with that human?"
Arrietty sighed. "Of course not, Mother. I love you.
I'll simply ask the Queen to carry you off."
Grinning, she opened the door and pointed outside. "She's waiting. Seeing is believing—come see the future of the Tontatta Tribe."
Sen Getsusa sat in a chair.
On the tabletop stood Pod's family and the Boy called Spiller.
"Now, human, tell me—what exactly are you planning?"
Despite their time together, Pod still regarded Sen Getsusa with instinctive wariness.
He shielded wife and daughter, eyes fixed on the girl sucking a toffee.
Spiller nocked an arrow, quietly drawing a bead on Sen Getsusa's eye—
—only to be flattened by Arrietty's fist.
Black-eyed, he glared at her.
As the scuffle ended, the tiny folk saw Sen Getsusa rise and set a potted plant on the table.
A plant once withered, now blooming in impossible brilliance.
Without a word she stepped back, leaned against the wall, pointed to the plant, then to Arrietty.
"Try it," she said.
Pod and Homily exchanged bewildered looks.
Arrietty brushed Spiller's hand aside and walked up to the pot.
It was calling her.
As the girl approached, the rhombic rhizome began to glow, speckled with mint-green motes of light.
The closer Arrietty came, the denser the sparks became.
The whole tabletop was soon bathed in pale jade radiance.
She climbed the pot and stood beside the glowing rhizome.
In an instant, emerald flecks converged on her, weaving into jewel-bright threads.
They sprang from the root, shot out of the room, and scattered in countless filaments toward every horizon.
Heart-shaped leaves beneath the rhizome quivered in the light.
Tiny leaf-Hearts detached, drifted to Arrietty, and began to circle her.
Each leaf bore a miniature face.
The faces of other Tontatta scattered across the World.
Arrietty's cheeks flushed with excitement.
She touched the leaves gently, arraying them before her, stepped back, and addressed her bewildered kin.
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