Only while eating breakfast did Shade ask Emilia why she had come so early. As expected, she had snuck out again:
"The three of us agreed to meet on the 1st Floor of the hotel at seven-thirty every day for breakfast. I got up an hour early to avoid them."
She even seemed proud while talking about it, but she had not forgotten to explain why she had come:
"We've been staying at the Three Cats Hotel for half a week now. The Academy's task of tracking down relics hasn't caused any problems, but ever since I moved into that room, I've started having frequent strange dreams."
Holding a fork, she frowned. At Shade's home, she was not wearing the charm that disguised her appearance, so she still looked youthful and beautiful:
"If they were only dreams, that would be one thing. But this morning, I woke from a nightmare and found an extra letter in my room. Oh, kitty, do you want something to eat?"
Little Mia disdainfully walked away and lay down beside Shade's hand again.
Emilia did not mind. As she spoke, she took out the letter and handed it to Shade. He touched the envelope and confirmed that the paper was ordinary. He then looked at the stamp and address. The stamp was the cheapest one-penny stamp, meaning the letter had been mailed within Tobesk City. But its image was a bloody hand against a black background. Shade was certain that no official stamp would bear such a design.
As for the address, it was written in a string of strange tadpole-like characters.
"I don't recognize this writing."
The elf eating fried egg spoke softly. Shade did not recognize it either, but he could decipher it as an address somewhere within the city.
He took out