Cole introduced Zhujiao to Eva. She was cautious at first but seeing that he seemed kinda sensible and looked like a good person, she decided to leave him be."But Papa, why do you have to bring him home?"
"For research purposes."
They gave Val back to Lala who seemed to have forgotten every single thing he had cried about a week or two ago. And then bid their farewells to the family.
"Make sure to have Val come and tell us when the baby"s born!"
"Of course!"
"So, I"m suddenly a messenger pigeon?"
They were about to leave them with Val being stuck with a future job whether or not he liked it, but just as Felicia was about to open a portal back home...
"Hmmm... Why do I get the feeling that we"re forgetting someone?"
Felicia put her finger to her chin and c.o.c.ked her head to the side. She thought hard and hard
"No, I"m pretty sure this is everyone."
Eva alternated between Cole"s and Felicia"s faces with a worried gaze. Her father obviously knew that they were forgetting someone but he played the fool. Eva had no idea as to why he would want to do this.
"Is this some sort of test? If so, I feel bad for Big Bro Li..."
Just as Eva was thinking that a puff of black smoke started circling around Cole"s feet. It snaked around him and made its way onto his shoulder and then quickly turned into Libra"s familiar appearance.
「I see you"re back. You weren"t planning on leaving me behind?」
"I wasn"t. I was just planning to see how far until you could no longer teleport back to me."
"So we were forgetting someone!"
"Big Bro Li, maybe you should stay inside Crisscross. That way we won"t forget you."
Felicia lightly smacked her fist against her palm while Eva pushed her bunny doll against Libra"s leg, slightly nudging it against him repeatedly. It was if she was gesturing that he should probably get in it already.
「No, my chest feels super stuffy whenever I go inside stuffed toys.」
"Crisscross is what she named it?"
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A stray thought crossed Cole"s mind but he quickly went back to the objective at hand.
"Anyway, it"s time to go home. I still have to get this dude settled in."
Cole put his hand on Zhujiao"s shoulder whose mind was preoccupied with a question.
"Is this a boy or a girl? The child called them "Big Bro" but..."
Felicia finally opened a portal back to the〈Neutral Zone〉and it connected right to there doorstep. She was about to be the first step in but a hand pulled her back.
"Eh?! Oh, it"s just you, Cole."
Felicia turned her head to look behind her. Cole had his hand holding the collar of her clothes with his gaze focused on the other side of the portal.
She turned her eyes back to the portal, but she couldn"t feel anything out of place. It was the same sight she was used to seeing over the course of 6 years of living in the〈Neutral Zone〉
"Cole, what"s wrong?"
Felicia asked as she tugged Cole"s coat slightly to get his attention. His eyes were lowered and she couldn"t tell what was going on inside his head.
Cole focused his attention back to the portal and then asked Felicia to wait here or maybe 30 meters away from the house. He said that he"ll deal with a few possible intruders.
"Eh, but what are we supposed to do while waiting?"
It seemed that Felicia"s main concern was no his safety or the safety of their home, but rather the looming threat of boredom. Cole paused for a second and then reached out into his coat to bring out a box of UNO cards.
"Play with this if you"re bored."
And with that, Cole jumped into the portal and Felicia closed it. But her expression as she did wasn"t exactly the best. She had a very confused expression as she stared at the box of cards in her hands.
"What is this game?"
Just as she was busy reading the instructions at the back of the box, a small hand could be felt tugging at the hem of her skirt.
"...Felicia, are we not going home yet?"
Felicia looked down at Eva. Her grey eyes, which were pretty much a carbon copy of her own, were staring at her. There wasn"t any emotion, in particular, that could be found in her eyes. But an old memory ended up flashing through her mind for just a small moment.
Felicia crouched down on the ground and then propped the box of cards in front of Eva"s face.
"Nope, instead let"s play this."
Eva looked at Felicia"s face behind the box of cards. She was smiling very much as she used to in the past.
"..."
And Eva wasn"t sure how to feel about that.
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"Haa... That was one tiring hike!"
Igor Stypochkin said as he stretched his back to try and somehow get rid of the tiring sensation. He had to cross the nefarious Verlorene Mountain Range.
But to get there in the first place, he had to take a plane all the way to Alaska and then take, not even a yacht, but a dingy boat during a tsunami to the edge of the island where the mountain range on the〈Neutral Zone〉"s side was located.
His mood might have brightened if the plane ride was at least enjoyable but he had to go choose the Economy Cla.s.s because his boss had told him he had to lay low for the mission.
And then finally he had to make the entire hike through the mountain before night fell due to the beasts that lurked during the night in the〈Neutral Zone〉
Igor let out a sigh and stared at the grey sky above him. His interest was piqued since their plot to just cause a little bit of chaos in New York was ruined by a dude who had popped up from nowhere.
It was also supposed to be a quick a.s.sessment of the dude who wanted to join their ranks but he ended up getting caught.
"Eh, whatever. I can"t be seen looking like such a lazy b.u.m. Not only would it make a bad impression on the dude. If my subordinates somehow saw me, they would lose respect."
Igor swept his hand through his blonde hair and loosened the collar of his redshirt. He turned his hand partially into water and took a good look at his appearance.
"Once again, I look like the stereotypical western foreigner."
He reverted his hand back to its normal state and started walking to the exit of the Mountain Range which wasn"t that far.
As he waded through the monochromatic trees and descended down the mountain slope, Igor noticed a house near the base of the mountain.
It was a log cabin quite big in size.
Igor went close to the cabin, if it could be called that with its size, and opened the gla.s.s sliding door at the back.
"Huh, it ain"t locked..."
Igor quieted down his footsteps and closed the sliding door behind him. He proceeded with caution in the unfamiliar environment and took out his MP-443 Grach out of his pocket.
He stuck his back against the walls of the house as he checked for signs of life by looking for a certain amount of water content.
"Water content..."
As Igor was coming closer to what he could a.s.sume to either be the living room, or kitchen of the house, he sensed it.
About five people approaching from a different entrance. Most of them felt like they were in their teens.
"Maybe this is where that man lives?"
"I hope so..."
"If it"s not, then this entire journey would have been a waste."
"It would be nice if I get to see him again..."
"You mean WE, Emilia."
They didn"t seem to hold any sort of caution or sense of danger as they explored the premises. Igor adjusted himself a bit so he would be barely able to see their appearances.
"What the--"
Igor instantly retracted his head and held his gun tighter as beads of sweat started to form.
"Could they be from the〈Fantasia Zone〉? Looks like Max"s wet dreams and fantasies have the possibility of becoming true."
He started to formulate a plan and decided to see what would be the next action they take. They seemed to be able to and were speaking English so he may be able to just talk it out.
"That would be super boring though."
Igor let out an excited grin as to what might come next.
"Guys, I"ll check this side of the house. You guys go check upstairs."
The only male voice Igor heard in the group made his way over to where he was hiding. When he pa.s.sed the entryway into the corridor, Igor grabbed him and held his throat in his free hand as the lower part of his body became liquidy and bound the man so he couldn"t escape.
"Now, now. Don"t make a sound. Just a small shriek and I"ll shoot."
The man"s eyes were covered in fear and he could feel him sweating buckets. Such a reaction made it clear that the adolescent knew about guns and the terror it brought with them.
"Why don"t we play a little game.?"