Susie's Growth

The moment the words left Fanny's mouth, she noticed Xio and Jane looking at her. She blinked, suddenly realizing she might have sounded accusatory, and hurried to explain:

"Ah, I'm not complaining. I'm just surprised... Emma has spent the past few days going through every book we brought back from the tomb, and she still couldn't find a suitable cipher key..."

Hey, Miss Fanny. A descendant of the tomb's owner is sitting right here. She may have dug up her ancestor's resting place herself, but that doesn't mean she's happy about other people doing it...

Abner kept that thought to himself. After a moment's consideration, he told Fanny, "I did decipher the baron's diary, but some of the knowledge in it is dangerous. I can't tell you about it directly... Pass that on to Emma. If she still wants to hear it, I'll find time to share some of the less dangerous parts with her."

Why tell Emma instead of me? Fanny almost asked. Then something occurred to her, and she shut her mouth in frustration, giving a reluctant nod.

Abner could tell exactly what she was thinking, but he didn't change his mind. Miss Emma could be reckless at times, despite being a Storm believer, but she was far more sensible than Miss Fanny, who often acted without thinking.

They chatted a while longer. Once daylight filled the sky and the rain stopped, Fanny and Fors said their goodbyes and went home to catch up on sleep.

Xio had planned to ask her superior at MI9 to reimburse her for the Demon-Hunting Bullets she had used the night before, but Abner stopped her.

"You want me to go to Harvest Church with you? Why?" Xio asked, puzzled.

"Jane, Fors, Mr. Fool, and I seem to be the only ones