The time to leave was drawing closer.
Mori Tsukisa spent a little money (a gift from the organization behind Mr. Abdullah) to buy the house she had been living in so comfortably.
After finding Hamunaptra and completing the deal with Bastet, the girl planned to go see Laputa with little Baru.
And then she wouldn't come back.
She would leave that house and some gold jewelry inside for Baru.
She planned to ask the Curator, who seemed to manage quite well locally, to look after this somewhat mischievous, poor Boy.
"You're letting that old guy look after a Child?"
In any case, Jonathan didn't much like Curator Terence. He always felt the man looked at him and his sister with a scrutinizing gaze—don't deny it, he was a Golden Finger who had survived many battles and read countless people.
"True." Mori Tsukisa looked at Jonathan and suddenly changed the subject. "The religion you believe in really did give me some pointers..."
"What's that got to do with me?"
"An old man with a long white beard... and a delicate young Child..." Mori Tsukisa pressed her index finger to the corner of her mouth. "Oh dear, that seems a bit disgusting. No, I can't entrust Baru to Curator Terence."
Jonathan:... "You're targeting my religion! Not all priests are like that!"
Mori Tsukisa seemed convinced that something terrible would happen, and she had even lumped Jonathan into some strange category—one could tell by the way she was dodging him.
"That's illegal, Jonathan. I hope you can wait until the person you like is an adult..."
"Besides, waiting is a very romantic thing."
Jonathan crossly turned his back on Mori Tsukisa. "I don't want to talk to a sick person anymore. And besides, when I can't outargue you, I realize I can't outfight you either."
"Jonathan, does your sister know about this?" Mori Tsukisa poked her head out with concern.
"Mori Tsukisa! I will not break the law!"
The young girl had a sudden realization. "So, the person is an adult? Then there's no problem... As expected, with Miss Afawaf last time, Jonathan just wanted to steal her wallet, right?"
"Shut up! I like them with big chests! I don't like—"
This exasperated look reminded Mori Tsukisa of that black sea urchin.
Bastet had been busy lately gathering information about the followers of Anubis; He was determined to find out if things were really as Mori Tsukisa had said.
"Anyway, I don't recommend entrusting a Child to that old fossil." Jonathan calmed his breathing and spoke from a distance. "He can't even keep his own museum straight."
"If you like the kid, why don't you take him yourself?" Jonathan said, then realized, "Right, yes, an underage noble lady, is that it?"
"Then you might as well give him to me."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mori Tsukisa scanned Jonathan with extreme suspicion.
The man no longer got exasperated; instead, he lowered his eyes and waved his hand in helpless explanation. "No, not to me, to Eve. We can still manage to find a place for the kid back in Britain."
Mori Tsukisa felt quite at ease with Eve. That girl, who always looked after her like a mother or an older sister, was both gentle and brave. If Baru were given to her, the two of them would surely have a great time chatting about topics like 'adventure' and 'travel.'
But... "I'll think about it..." Mori Tsukisa shook her head in refusal. "It would trouble Eve, and I don't want that. Besides, I must ask for Baru's opinion."
"The brat will like me." Jonathan pointed to himself. "I can do it. Let me take that little rascal, and I can even pass on all the skills I've learned in my life to him."
The man extended two fingers, making a gesture as if pinching something.
Mori Tsukisa squinted at him. "And then you'd have someone to take you to the hospital when your arm gets broken?"
"I've never failed." Jonathan shrugged. "But are you really leaving just like that? Eve will be heartbroken."
—That's why I'm not telling her yet.
Jonathan had no objection to this; to him, Mori Tsukisa's departure was something very much worth celebrating.
His sister could finally get away from this girl who constantly made him tremble with a bone-chilling cold—it was true that he liked and approved of Mori Tsukisa; who wouldn't like such an innocent, beautiful girl with such a great figure? Besides, his sister loved her too.
But on the other hand, he was somewhat afraid of her, as if... he had encountered a lion in the wilderness.
She was friendly and intimate, not only wrapping you in thick fur to sleep but also setting out at the crack of dawn to bring back prey for her human friend.
You could comfortably stroke her soft fur and listen to her purring.
—But when she opened her bloody maw and revealed teeth as sharp as knives... while yawning, you would still worry that she might accidentally bite your head off.
These two things were not mutually exclusive.
So when Jonathan learned of this, he was incredibly happy.
"Oh... really, I'm just so ha—" The man could hardly keep the corners of his mouth from curling up. "I'm so sad."
"What a pity, we've only spent a short time together. I almost thought of you as my second sister."
Mori Tsukisa didn't bother responding to Jonathan, while the man's incessant chatter continued in her ear.
"Hey, how are you leaving? By ship?" Jonathan suggested with a look of feigned regret. "Remember that ticket in Afawaf's wallet last time? Why don't you go visit that giant ship?"
"The ship of the century, unsinkable! If Eve weren't uninterested, I would have wanted to buy two second-class tickets to take her there."
Jonathan babbled on, his footsteps feeling much lighter, when suddenly, Mori Tsukisa whirled around.
A pair of pitch-black eyes.
"Jonathan, don't take Eve on that ship."
Jonathan was startled!
"Oh, oh... okay..." He scratched his thigh and inconspicuously took two steps back. "Oh... I think I should go have dinner... Goodbye, Little Forest..."
"Jonathan."
The man's retreating figure froze.
"I'm serious, don't take Eve on that ship, okay?" Mori Tsukisa tilted her head, her voice softening. "I want to give you two first-class tickets as a gift, for its second voyage."
"So, have Evelyn wait for my mail, okay?"
It would sink on its first trip anyway.
After saying goodbye to Jonathan, who looked like he'd just gotten a bargain, Mori Tsukisa prepared to have dinner and then meet up with Bastet.
—Today was indeed a day worth celebrating; Bastet planned to invite her to an interesting place.
An interesting place?
"Lest you go back and spread word that I was a poor host—" The black cat puffed out its cheeks. "The other side of this World, do you want to see it?"
"The other side?"
"That's right," the black cat yawned. "It should be quite interesting for you. Don't you like all those messy things?"
Without waiting for an answer, Bastet jumped onto Mori Tsukisa's shoulder and pointed a small paw toward another path.
"Hurry up, hurry up, I'm already getting hungry!"
Mori Tsukisa patted the cat's head, and her figure soon vanished into the darkness.
"By the way! I went back and looked at that story..."
"It wasn't like what you said at all!"
—"But mine is more interesting."
"Your idea of 'interesting' is comparing me to a horse?"
—"Horse-faced Cat Monster, a creature both mysterious and terrifying."
"Great, Spherical Planeswalker."
—"Horse-faced Cat Monster with a short tail!"
"Spherical Mage with Huge Boobs!"
—"...Thanks?"
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