After leaving the stone house, Angel looked around at the shimmering reflections and suddenly had no idea where to go.
Where was the Tooth Fairy Ruins branch again?
Angel asked Laplace. After a moment's thought, Laplace said, "Every Tooth Fairy Ruins branch has a blue Shell Book decoration. Look for a mirror marked with one."
That sounded simple enough, but as Angel surveyed the trading district's crowded array of shimmering mirrors, his head filled with reflections and glimmers. Finding one particular mark would be no easy task.
While Angel was puzzling over it, the red-skinned, one-eyed creature stammered, "I-I can lead the way, my lords. I'll lead the way."
"All right. Lead on."
The creature nodded shakily and edged forward, one cautious step after another.
Watching it tremble, Angel almost said, "Don't be afraid. We're not going to eat you." But they had stopped it in its tracks and detained it, which was rather like something a bully would do. Trying to comfort it now felt hypocritical.
He decided against it. Once they had talked, he could give it a mild punishment if it meant them harm. If not, they could pretend nothing had happened.
Neither Laplace nor Rabbit Girl objected to Angel stopping the creature. It had acted strangely at first, as though it had recognized them as humans and intended to do something. Angel was human; it was only natural for him to have questions.
Meanwhile, the creature imagined every horrifying possibility: its escape being cut off, an attack from behind as it led the way, even its body being destroyed after death. Amid those thoughts, they finally reached the Tooth Fairy Ruins branch.
The sight of the mirror marking the branch let it relax a little. Fighting was forbidden inside the Tooth Fairy Ruins. The ruins would