The next morning, Angel woke to the tickle of a cat's paw.
Of course, she had actually noticed her contracted messenger, Black Cat Wensa, leaving the Spirit World and arriving aboard the Red Haired Woman long before. But since she considered her harmless, she had not opened her eyes immediately. As a result, the black cat had pounced on her face and rubbed it with her soft paw pads, waking her from her feigned sleep.
When Angel sprang up from the bed, Wensa immediately leaped away, landing lightly on all fours on the table. In the morning sunlight streaming through the porthole, her sleek black fur actually reflected a hint of gold, blending into an arc of light that looked rather sacred.
No, I must still be half asleep. Otherwise, how could I think a demoness cat looked holy... Angel muttered to herself, quickly straightened the clothes that had become somewhat rumpled in her sleep, and looked at her messenger.
"Trissy or Shermane?"
Few people knew the incantation to summon Wensa. Helene was aboard the ship, so almost the only remaining possibilities were those two.
"They wrote you a letter together."
Wensa narrowed her lake-blue eyes and patted a letter on the table with her paw, indicating that it had been delivered. Then her figure faded as she prepared to return to the Spirit World.
"Wait!" Angel immediately stopped her and pointed out the window. Beyond it, besides the rising sun, lay the stretch of sea shrouded in dark clouds and mist that had barely changed. "Is that where the Fountain of Youth is?"
"Of course."
Wensa answered without even looking, as though she already knew where she was.
"But after arriving yesterday, I explored the mist once. There was nothing inside."
Angel objected.
"That's because you used the wrong