Isabella walked over, took the photograph, and giggled. "If you wanted to look, you could've just asked me."
She sat down beside Lilith. "Jealous, aren't you? When Dad takes me back to Backlund, I'll take lots more, and I'll bring you all along to take some together!"
"...Okay."
Lilith hesitated for a moment, then asked quietly, "Isabella... yesterday-no, the day before yesterday-I think I saw the man in this photograph."
"..."
Isabella's pupils contracted, but then she laughed. "That's impossible! My dad is in Backlund. How could you have seen him here?"
"It's true."
Lilith said anxiously, "I wouldn't mistake him! Maybe your dad has already come back!"
"Impossible!"
"Really... why don't you go take a look? If I mistook someone else for him, I'll apologize. If it really is him, he'll be worried if he can't find you!"
"I said it's impossible!"
Isabella raised her voice a little, startling Lilith.
She hurriedly apologized. "Sorry, Lilith. I... I just don't want to waste time. Besides, Dad said that as soon as he came back from Backlund, he'd come find me first thing! So you must have mistaken someone else for him!"
"..."
She grabbed Lilith's hand and led her outside. "Come on, you must be hungry. Let's go eat."
The two went into the living room. Plates had been set at everyone's places, and the other three were portioning out the food. Thanks to the huge sum they had earned yesterday, today's food was considerably more plentiful than on the evening Lilith had arrived.
There was fragrant, crisply toasted bread, sausages fried until they glistened with oil, and a small bowl of Meat and Vegetable Soup for each of them. The aroma of food filled the room.
Isabella lifted her Meat and Vegetable Soup and said, "Thanks to Lilith, we