Lucius had come by to mooch lunch, then left. Perhaps he felt he hadn't been much help, because he'd only eaten two servings before hurrying off.
Kraft naturally covered the bill. After chatting with the owner for a while, he returned to the loft, picked up the stack of papers again, and held them up to the sunlight. He marked with arrows how the pale area around the blue dot representing Kup had been shrinking.
"I still don't feel entirely at ease." Kraft's little streak of obsessiveness was acting up. He was the kind of person who always worried he'd forgotten to fill in his answer sheet after an exam; the more he thought about it, the worse it felt.
His nap was ruined for the day. Picking up his case and fastening his Bird-Beak Mask, Kraft headed out the door and made for the Salt Tide District.
He believed in getting things done the same day. If he didn't figure out what was going on with this, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep. It was like having a splinter under your skin—not particularly painful, but the occasional prick made it hard to sit still.
To calm his restless mind, he set out with what little patience he had left, not yet worn away by the endless investigations.
After making the journey back and forth so many times, he was starting to get used to navigating the area. The narrow, winding paths no longer impeded his steps. He deftly dodged wooden beams and stepped over piles of junk, now more familiar with the place than the locals.
Without Lucius, who could never manage to walk quickly no matter what, Kraft was able to move faster. He followed the map in his mind straight to his destination.
Before