After about half an hour, Sky and Rei walked out from the dining room and headed to the living room where Maria is already waiting for them.
"So... Both of you have gotten everything cleared?" Maria asked.
"Well, I would not really say that everything is cleared but we do have a clue for our next move." said Sky, with a subtle expression.
"Oh... I see." said Maria, who doesn't intend to dig in deeper.
"Hmm... If there is nothing else, I believe I can my leave right now." said Rei who is preparing to leave.
"Yes, you could. But don't you want to give Ai a short visit before you go? Isn't that your original intention for coming over?" said Sky.
"Eh? I am allowed to see her?" Rei asked, slightly surprised.
"As long as you didn't do anything out of your mind, yes." said Sky.
"Thanks. Don't worry, I promise you that it will just be a short peek." said Rei who sounds happy.
"It's alright. You are free to spend some time with her if you wish to, as long as she has no problems with that." said Sky.
Rei nodded and quickly headed upstairs.
As soon as Rei reached upstairs, she is surprised to see the door of Chris's is half opened. She slowly walked towards the door and peeked in. And as she peeked in, she is even more surprised. Instead of resting on the bed, she is playing with a giant toad, and yes, that toad is Toddy, and no it didn't get dissected that time, a pink bunny is hopping around her bedside, is obviously jealous of the toad. At the small table at the side of her bed is a bowl of untouched soup.
Then, Rei knocked the door twice before walked into the room. Thinking that it might be Maria again, Ai did not turn her head to look at Rei.
"Miss Ai, why are you playing with that giant toad?" Rei asked.
"Heh?"
Hearing that it's a different voice, So immediately turned her head around and looked at Rei with a surprised look.
"Ah... You are... Uhm... Your Highness from the Kingdom. Hmm... Good day, I guess? As about this toad, well, it's cute and I like it." said Ai with a slightly naive and frank tone.
"I see. Good day to you too. By the way, why are you not drinking that soup? Is it not nice? Rei asked, in a concerned tone.
"Well, I don't know whether it is good or not, but Maria-chan is only good at baking but bad at cooking, so I doubt if I want to try it." said Ai.
"I see. Don't worry, Lord Maria didn't cook that, I am the one that cooked today." said Rei.
"Ah... Really? Hmm... I guess it will be quite impolite if I leave it untouched then." said Ai as she got up and get that bowl of soup a try...
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After a short while, Rei walked down from the stairs with a slightly troubled look.
"Is there a problem?" Sky asked as he noticed that troubled look of Rei.
"Well... She said that she doesn't really like bone soup or anything with heavy meaty taste. But she still drink all the soup just to be polite." said Rei, rather troubled.
"I see... Well, she used to be one of the top killer in all the known dimensions after all, so it's quite understandable that she is getting sick of the bloody scent from bones and meats." said Sky, explaining to Rei on the reason behind Ai's pickiness.
"Ah... So that's why... Tsk... Now, speaking of this, I am indeed not knowing much about her. I don't even know what she likes." said Rei.
"Well, even we are having problems to fully understand her. But next time, if you want to come over for her, you can get her some desserts like puddings and cakes, she loves sweets a lot, just like Chris." said Sky.
"I see... So it will be anything chocolate or fruity... Hmm?... Hold on, are you saying that I am allowed to come over again?" Rei asked, slightly surprised.
"Well, yeah. As long as we are still here, of course." said Sky, in a casual tone.
"Thanks for that, I really appreciate it." said Rei, who sounds a bit happy.
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After Rei left the house, Maria looked at Sky with a confused look.
"What is it?" Sky asked as he noticed that confused look of Maria.
"I wondered why is Rei-chan so concerned about Ai-chan, like even when she commanded Terrence-kun to kidnap Ai-chan, it's sort of because she cared about Ai-chan too much but doesn't know the right way to show it." said Maria, rather confused.
"Hmm... I always thought it is quite obvious but I somehow overestimated your logic." said Sky.
"Heh?" Maria is as oblivious as always.
"Ah... Just forget about it. Anyway, I have got some important clues and there is somewhere I need to go right now, do you want to come along?" Sky asked, not intending to clear that confusion of Maria.
"Sure. Where are we going?" Maria asked.
"We will be going to the Gospeler's hideout, apparently, Grace is currently... Ah..."
Before Sky could finish his words, he suddenly felt a lightheadedness which caused him to lost balance and nearly fall if Maria didn't caught him in time.
"Darling! Are you alright? What's wrong?" Maria asked, rather shocked and worried.
"I'm alright, it's just the toll of using such a powerful magic continuously for such a long time." said Sky as he stood back up as if it is not a big deal...
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*Something out of the story
Sky: "Dear readers."
Chris: "Hmm?"
Sky: "This chapter is meant to be released for webnovel.com."
Chris: "Oh! This matter. Yes, if you're reading this chapter on another platform than webnovel.com, know that it's an illegal copy diffused without the Writer's authorization."
Sky: "As what Chris said. Right now, this story is free on the authorized platform, so please read it from authorized platforms as mental support for the writer."
Chris: "Mhm... There are two authorized platforms. One is webnovel.com. And another one is that messy and half-dead Weebly site that she uses for draft and backup... But not recommended."
Sky: "Ah... Haha. Yes, as Chris said."
Chris: "But look out, those scums might change this note to their own website link. So, be cautious.
Sky : "By the way, if the cover page is the old cover page that shows two stickmen, stop reading it, it's cursed and might cause the writer to stop writing."
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