At this moment, Green's investigation had edged close to metaphysics. He looked deeply suspicious of everything, constantly applying a wizard's rationality to his thoughts, yet to ordinary people, he was hardly any different from a madman.
"Little Eight, Little Eight!"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt there was some great mystery within. It seemed he had already drawn close to certain truths, and Green could not help wanting to wake Little Eight and conduct some experiments. Yet Little Eight remained nothing more than a distorted child's drawing, standing quietly on Green's shoulder. It seemed that with Green's passing, Little Eight had died as well.
But!
From what Green knew of Little Eight, he knew Yeye could never have been the true reason.
Based on Green's understanding of Little Eight, after Yeye's death, Little Eight would be heartbroken and grief-stricken, perhaps even disappear without a trace for some time, but it would never mutilate itself into a vegetative state because of it. In the Endless World, everything and everyone Green had encountered kept growing as time flowed onward. Only Little Eight—its strength, its understanding, even its personality—had remained unchanged from beginning to end, forming a stark contrast with Green himself.
It seemed to possess a trait that rejected growth, or perhaps it was incomplete?
Then it was highly possible that upon learning of Yeye's death, Little Eight had triggered some innate characteristic of its life, perhaps even some mysterious power, and thus become what it was now. If he wanted to unravel this Mystery, he had to learn about Little Eight's origins!
No longer hesitating, Green took out his crystal ball.
A short while later, Milly's delighted face appeared within the crystal ball's screen, along with Mina behind her, casting sidelong glances with a proud curve at