The day had ended and Felicia had teleported Val home. He said that he would properly explain the situation to Lala and Braith.Both Cole and Felicia felt slight unease but decided to trust in the Dragon"s capabilities.
When Felicia teleported both of them home, Cole appeared to be distressed by something.
"What"s wrong?"
"Ah, it"s just that..."
Cole"s words trailed off and it seemed as if he didn"t have any actual intention to tell Felicia what was wrong. He entered the house and his expression seemed to ease up a bit but the distress was still there.
"Papa! Felicia!"
Eva came running towards them and hugged Cole the instant her eyes laid on him. She also hugged Felicia but she could only cling onto her leg. Cole had crouched down to her level so he could receive the hug in its full glory.
"Were you a good girl while Papa was away?"
"Un! Me and Libra read books together!"
"And where is Libra?"
"Over there!"
Eva pointed towards the Libra that was covered by a mountain of books in the living room. It was a complete mess and yet they seemed to have no problem with it. In fact, he seemed to be engrossed in a certain book.
「Is this really a children"s book? The ideas here are definitely not for children. How did the author not get called out for this?」
"Libra, go clean up."
Libra seemed to hear the command that came from Cole"s mouth and he followed it. However, they still seemed to be in a state of shock from the ideas presented in the books he had read together with Eva.
「This one even addresses politics that could happen in any time period... What kind of author is this...?」
Cole felt like chuckling slightly. He felt it like it was just yesterday that Libra would make a fuss for being accused of cheating. To Cole, they looked more like an older sibling playing with their younger one.
Eva then ran off to get her favorite storybook and Cole sat on the nearest sofa watching her. while Felicia went to go prepare dinner.
After she was able to get it before Libra then poofed back downstairs, she had planned to present it to Cole and ask for him to read it for her before she slept that night. But she didn"t get the chance to.
"Umm, Eva..."
"Yes?"
Cole picked her small body up and placed her on his thigh.
"Papa has to go somewhere for a week or two..."
"...?"
Cole tried explaining the circ.u.mstances in the gentlest and softest voice he could muster. But his voice trailed off in his fear of the little girl making a sad face. Because of this, Eva could only tilt her head in confusion since she didn"t fully hear what Cole had to say.
"I mean... Papa won"t be coming home for a while. It"s the same with Felicia."
"Eh?"
Surprise filled Eva"s face. Before she could let out a word of protest, Cole continued on.
"But don"t worry, We"ll come back from time to time within that period. Papa isn"t going to disappear or something. It"ll only be for a week or two."
"You can stay at home with Ms. Lala and Braith while we"re away. Libra will also be with you. You can bring all your favorite toys too."
He tried to emphasize that she wouldn"t be alone during the time they would be away. That she wouldn"t have to spend an eternity in a lonely library.
"Ok..."
"Don"t worry. When Papa comes back, I"ll show you all the wonderful places in the world. One by one, okay?"
"Un."
"Good girl."
Although it seemed like she was fine with it. Cole knew that she wasn"t.
He wanted to go and comfort her but he had a feeling that he wasn"t suited for the role or that even if he tried, she would just show her usual smile.
Eva went back to her room and crashed down onto her bed. She stared at the white bunny doll she had received from Cole. She didn"t bring it everywhere she went because she was afraid of it getting dirty. She had treasured it very much because that was the first actual gift she had received from him in the entirety of her short life.
She had actually named the doll "Crisscross" but she hadn"t told Cole or Felicia about that yet.
"Hey, Crisscross. Papa isn"t lying, right?"
"He isn"t going to disappear for 3 years like the last one did, right?"
"Right?"
She felt like making the doll pretend to talk but she couldn"t get herself to do so since she knew it was just fake and pointless. She felt like crying but she didn"t want to.
Because even if she cried, it wouldn"t do anything.
It was the same with the previous Cole and all the stories she read. He wouldn"t stay another day even if she bawled her eyes out.
The characters she loved that died wouldn"t end up being revived just because she cried.
And if crying actually did something, then that was fake and just pure fiction. Something that couldn"t happen in real life.
「He"ll be fine~!」
"Eh?"
Eva jumped back in surprise as Crisscross suddenly started to talk. She was aware of the existence of magic and such and knew that she would eventually also be able to use such but she firmly believed that dolls couldn"t talk.
Weird, right?
That"s what happens when you don"t read regular children"s storybooks.
"Eh??? Dolls can"t talk!"
「I"m not an ordinary doll! I am the magic doll, Crisscross~!」
"R-really?"
Eva expressed her obvious doubt. She felt slightly fearful since the doll had just started talking all of a sudden. The doll nodded to confirm her suspicions and then spun for a bit before loudly saying.
「Yeah! If you need someone to talk with, just call my name!」
"T-Then..."
Eva thought carefully about what she wanted to ask the doll. She didn"t know why but she felt the time she could use to talk with the doll was limited.
Thus, she decided to ask only one question.
"Crisscross, Papa will definitely return, r-right?"
「Of course! Your Papa loves you very much! So much that he gave me to you!」
The doll started to dance all over the baby blue sheets covering the fluffy bed. Eva felt her mood lighten when she saw the expressionless doll dance as if there was no tomorrow.
「That"s why, Eva. Don"t worry. They"ll definitely come back. They won"t ever truly leave you alone.」
"...Yeah."
Crisscross then hugged Eva with its soft cotton-filled arms.
Eva"s heart seemed to have calmed down somewhat. She suddenly as if a heavy burden that shouldn"t have been on her shoulders in the first place was lifted. Her eyes suddenly turned drowsy and fell asleep on the spot as the doll fell under her tiny body.
And as she did, a small smile appeared on her lips.
The doll that had helped lift her spirits no longer moved or talked and just laid there silently in her arms.
Outside her room, there was a certain Spirit breathing heavily in the hallway.
「*GASP*... How long has it been since I possessed a doll? That was so tiring. I felt so cramped and stuffy...」
Their face was covered in sweat and their dual-colored hair was soaked. They had opened up their shirt collar to get rid of the stuffiness they felt and had their hand continuously fan themselves.
After doing such an action, they leaned against the wooden wall of the hallway and continued to let out labored breaths.
*TAP*
*TAP*
*TAP*
Soon after, the sound of footsteps ascending a staircase could be heard.
The person that had appeared was Cole in his full silver-haired glory. He had in his hands two sets of dinnerware. He had a cheeky smile on his face for some reason and Libra already knew why.
"Are, are? What is my only Spirit doing here? You seemed to be so exhausted."
「I-I just came here to rest after putting all those books back in place.」
Libra said as they shifted their face away in embarra.s.sment.
"Uwaa... How hardworking."
「Shut up. s.h.i.tty master.」
"Hahaha..."
Cole laughed at the actions of the Spirit that he actually barely knew anything about. He had only formed a contract with Libra because he needed to. He usually left Libra to their own devices.
They used to pop up randomly from time to time but nowadays, it seemed as if they had now committed to the full-time job of being Eva"s older sibling. Cole could only feel gratefulness from the bottom of his heart and whether they wanted to or not, Libra could sense that since they were bound by a contract.
He just wanted the best for Eva. Cole had always had an innate fondness for Eva and trust for Felicia.
He didn"t know why himself. His best guess would be that they were the feelings left behind the previous owner.
"Hey, Libra."
「What?」
"Thank you."
That was all Cole said before he left the trays with Libra.