Jenkin's wife died. What did that have to do with me, Arthur?
I wasn't the one who cursed her, was I?
Or did you think I was the Grim Reaper?
That any ordinary person who came near me would die?
Arthur rolled his eyes at Maltz.
Maltz composed himself, then asked quite seriously.
"Want to take a look at the scene?"
"Yes!"
Arthur nodded firmly.
He needed attention, so he couldn't abandon Jenkin's case. Besides, he was curious. It had clearly been a forged-check case, so how had someone else ended up dead?
It probably didn't have much to do with him.
What was going on behind the scenes?
As Arthur pondered this, he picked up his old Medium's Case. The [Athos Box] remained hidden beside him, carried by the [Hand of the Void]-the trouble with the Rat Council had only happened yesterday. Switching cases immediately would be a little too conspicuous. He needed to wait until things had settled down.
"Good morning, Ms. Anna!"
When Arthur tucked Anna into his coat, Maltz greeted her quite naturally. The people who knew Arthur had all grown used to Anna's presence. Once their initial fear and subsequent curiosity had faded, they simply treated her like anyone else.
Anna still didn't respond, though.
Only after putting Pendragon into the cat carrier to bring along as well did Arthur leave.
Arthur had previously worried that Pendragon would suffer the stress reactions Ms. Amanda had mentioned. But several outings, including one long trip, had produced nothing of the sort. As long as there was food, Pendragon didn't care, displaying extraordinary endurance and... capacity for consumption.
"Has Pan gotten fat?"
Maltz was still studying Pendragon critically in the carriage.
"Not fat. Just rounded out."
As Arthur explained, he scratched Pendragon's head through the carrier. Amused, Maltz