"The plan is this."
After greeting the happy cat, Shade called the priest over to sit with him, while Mrs. Freeman held the boy and sat on the single sofa farther away.
"Don't move around."
Keeping the cat still on his lap, Shade watched Mia stare wide-eyed as he covered her with a pillowcase. A few seconds later, the pillowcase sank slightly, as though Mia had shrunk out of thin air. When he removed it, a wooden toy of Mia, reduced by about a third, appeared on Shade's lap.
The oil painting was placed on the tea table, and Shade set the wooden Mia toy on it.
"We can't interfere with what's inside the painting from outside it, but things inside the painting can interfere with other things inside the painting."
As he spoke, he let go. The lifelike, adorable wooden puppet of Mia, with its wide eyes, immediately melted into the oil painting. Because the puppet was too large, it did not enter the house model. Instead, it appeared on the tabletop and changed back from its puppet form into its normal form.
Suddenly appearing in an unfamiliar environment, the cat showed fear again. But before its fur could stand on end, Shade reached his hand into the painting and gently patted the cat's little head.
"Meow~"
The orange cat was no longer afraid. It narrowed its eyes and lowered its head to lick its paws. The cat trusted that wherever Shade was, there would be no danger.
"This. Go touch this."
After patting the cat a few times, Shade pointed toward the toy house model on the table. Unsure whether sounds from outside could travel inside, he also gestured with his hand.
The increasingly clever cat immediately looked towards his finger, at the house model. But because it