What attracted Arrietty was a pipe.
A curved bowl, an extremely long stem, brown wood with brown lacquer, the surface seemingly waxed to a mirror-like shine. Picking it up and sniffing it at the tip of her nose, there was a faint scent of grass.
"A pipe?"
Arrietty held the pipe, which looked like a toy to Mori Tsukisa, staring blankly.
"Arrietty?"
"My Grandpa."
The Little Sprite silently held up the pipe toward Mori Tsukisa. "My Grandpa, he once had a pipe exactly like this."
Back then, the old man always loved to tease his granddaughter as if it were his greatest daily pleasure. Every time he saw Arrietty getting angry and throwing a tantrum, he would take a deep puff from his pipe and blow thick, heavy smoke from his nose.
The smoke made the little one even angrier, and she would pull his beard even harder.
Arrietty even clearly remembered it smelled of salty cheese and some nuts. The last time she saw Grandpa, he also emitted a faint floral fragrance.
The pipe... The Little Sprite held the pipe and looked it over but couldn't see anything different about it.
Imhotep stood not far away and explained softly to Mori Tsukisa, "This was a collection from a Pharaoh many, many generations ago. I found it during an inventory after I embarked on the path of the High Priest."
The young girl remembered that during her second journey, Aminatu had said these Little Sprites were gifts for her. So... was the news about the 'Road of Gold' given to her at the same time?
Unfortunately, the pipe incident happened after the Avada Kedavra incident. She didn't know how to contact Aminatu and had no way to ask clearly what was going on.
Let's just treat it as... good news for now.
"Arrietty."
Mori Tsukisa called out and beckoned to the Little Sprite. "Since you've found it, you can study it slowly after we return."
"You're the most formidable one now, so don't be anxious, okay?" Mori Tsukisa extended her index finger, letting the Little Sprite climb up, step onto her shoulder, jump onto her ear, and burrow into her hair.
The brown pipe was carefully tucked away into Mori Tsukisa's small bag.
"Your Excellency the Mage...?" Imhotep looked over.
Mori Tsukisa shook her head; she could actually glimpse some of the worried Arrietty's thoughts.
Since the cyttorak incident, the seemingly carefree Little Sprites had been spurred by their leader to train all day, and even the non-combatants would learn a thing or two.
She was afraid of being unable to protect herself.
Sigh, silly girl... The vast City of the Dead, the city of those who have passed.
Mori Tsukisa waited nearby on a camel, watching Imhotep spread his arms and chant an incantation. The yellow sand that blotted out the sky soon gathered into a tornado that reached from the heavens to the earth. Wherever the sand swept, it was just like the Hamunaptra Mori Tsukisa had seen at sunrise—
Last time it was a slow emergence; this time it was a slow erasure.
The storm blew the yellow sand, and from within the clouds, one could vaguely glimpse the roar of thunder and lightning. The sea of sand beneath their feet trembled and surged, fluctuating like ocean waves, kicking up golden waves of sand!
Bang!
Layers of yellow sand poured down frantically like a rainstorm!
This thousand-year-old city was buried back under the yellow sand bit by bit before Mori Tsukisa's eyes.
"Imhotep, let me make this clear first." Mori Tsukisa leaned back in Nagini's arms on the camel, while the High Priest held the reins in front.
"A Planeswalker is a peculiar creature, and your power is unstable—previously from a deity, and later from a curse. If you and your lover become my Attendants..."
"...I cannot be certain if your current magical power will still exist."
Imhotep patted the camel's nose and bowed. "I do not care about magical power, Your Excellency. I only want my lover."
"Very well," Arrietty tapped Nagini's fingernail, as if her previous worry had never existed. "Look, a heterosexual has finally appeared among us."
Nagini was quite surprised by Arrietty's bluntness.
"Because you always like to put on an act in front of the Queen." The Little Sprite bared her teeth huffily. "What, are you trying to tell me that you, like that dead baldy, are also hetero...?"
"Of course I am," Nagini teased with a smile in her eyes.
"Like hell you are. The first time I saw you, you were bent into a spiral."
"That was my beast form; no snake is rigid, Arrietty. Are you imitating the Master's way of speaking?"
"Do I even need to?" The Little Sprite curled her lip and gave Nagini a meaningful look. "Oh... the submissive form?"
The clip-clop of hooves trod across the yellow sand as they rode into the distance, leaving behind a row of small footprints and a string of pleasant camel bell chimes...
Fort Baydon.
United Hotel, Second Floor, Guest Room.
Evelyn was nearly frantic with worry.
The woman grabbed stacks of clothes from her suitcase and threw them onto the bed. O'Connell waited behind her; as soon as Evelyn set them down, the man would pack them right back into the suitcase.
She had just finished organizing stacks of research materials when the man scooped them up and roughly tossed them into the suitcase—when she repeated the action, the man threw other things in after them.
Two people: one putting things in, one taking things out.
Finally, after more than ten minutes of busywork, the suitcase remained completely empty.
"O'Connell!" Evelyn stood with her hands on her hips, looking aggressive. "I told you, didn't I?"
"What you told me was 'take you to Hamunaptra.' Now, I'm throwing in the extra bonus of 'protecting you while you leave.'" O'Connell patted his holster. "You saved my life, and I'm paying you back."
Evelyn arched an eyebrow mockingly and stomped forward, poking the man's chest with her index finger, clearly incensed by his attitude. "Your life was saved by Mori Tsukisa. You really know how to show gratitude, don't you? Mr. O'Connell."
"Have you forgotten who pulled out the gold coins for that damned warden? You think she's a Child, so you can just toss her around whenever you want?"
"But you paid her back the money." O'Connell grabbed Evelyn's finger. "It's not like you don't understand the current situation."
"You should understand every word those Black-Robed Figures said better than I do."
Evelyn angrily pulled her finger away and clenched it into a fist, looking at the man with disappointment in her eyes.
"Yes, I understand! So what? My sister is missing! She's likely been kidnapped! I have to find her!"
With her messy hair loose, the woman glared at the man she once had feelings for, unable to believe he actually wanted to take her away first. How could he be like this?
"That's my business! Evelyn, I said I'd put you on a ship back home first. I'll stay behind to look for your sister! I'll stay! What use is it... for you to stay here?!"
O'Connell was also dying of anger. Was there something wrong with this woman's head?
What use was she here?
"I'm staying! Do you understand? I must be going crazy..."
Knock—knock.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
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