As she spoke, she was about to cry again. Shade wanted to wipe away her tears, but felt that such a gesture might seem frivolous. After hesitating for a moment, Miss Isabella gathered her courage and asked him:
"May I hug you?"
"Of course. Before I left last time, didn't I hug you too?"
So the Witch opened her arms and truly embraced Shade. Firelight from the fireplace cast both their figures onto the moldy wall. Their shadows did not move, and neither did they.
Only after a long while did Miss Isabella release Shade and whisper:
"Sorry. I seem to have lost my composure and forgotten to praise you. The Return to Original Nature Principle you used just now was quite good. Your talent is even better than I thought."
She was only slightly shorter than Shade, so they were nearly at eye level. Perhaps the first half of her words had made her feel weak, so she tried to reclaim some of her "dignity" with the latter half.
"I have no future here. All I can do is help you as best I can, so... I will wait for every one of your visits."
"I'll keep coming. Oh, I've already found the Hope Diamond!"
Only then did Shade remember that matter, sensing that the atmosphere seemed somewhat off. But at least this ruined home truly felt warm now:
"That relic is in the hands of the Seventh Chosen One. Once I finish dealing with Moon Bay, I'll be able to borrow it."
Miss Isabella had originally wanted to smile and nod, but she suddenly froze, then understood everything at once:
"A god is about to descend!"
This was something Shade already knew, so her saying it did not count as revealing something that had yet to happen.
"So