The rabbit stood by the window for a long time, looking at the cloudy sky outside, pinching the monocle in his hand, and it took a long time to come back to his senses.

He walked back to the table, put his monocle aside, and grabbed the handwritten letter with the graffiti on the back again.

However, he still couldn't understand what was written on it, and the extra knowledge given by Benjamin was mostly the basics of the extraordinary world, even including the basic reading and writing of the ancient Hermetic language, but not the normal written text of Rune.

Even though the rabbit didn't understand what Ancient Hermes was, he rummaged through the extra content in his mind for a moment and realized that it was a language used in occult rituals to communicate extraordinary powers.

The rabbit always felt that Benjamin was deliberate, so he ruled out the ability to speak Rune.

But soon, the rabbit turned his gaze to the monocle next to him, which, according to Benjamin, might be useful?

The rabbit hesitated for a moment, but took a deep breath and carefully placed it in front of his left eye.

Nothing terrible happened, and the lenses were so quiet that there was nothing strange about them, hiding in front of one of his eyes.

The rabbit closed his right eye and only opened his left eye to look at the paper, and even though the meaning of the individual words was still vague, the rabbit could understand the sentences they were composing, as if another voice was whispering in his head:

"I won't make this letter too complicated, and I don't know when you'll be able to read it, or maybe you'll seek help from someone else to get an idea of what it's about.

"You just think it's a small talk, you don't know who I am, it's just a friend of yours from the past, gossip with anticipation. I've been forgotten and don't wonder where I've gone."

The handwriting of the last sentence is somewhat sloppy, and the writer picks up the pace, distorting individual words.

"I've always known you're smart, and even if all I've left behind are pictures, you'll at least understand most of it. Even if you don't understand, you can leave here with money and identification, leave behind the environment we have set up temporarily, and pursue the life you want to live."

The rabbit flipped the letter to the back again, his fingertips stroking the simple but clear and straightforward pictures, and the corners of his mouth gradually curled.

If he had seen this much later, and had forgotten Esther, he would probably only wonder why this person was doing this. But now, when the rabbit saw Esther's message, warmth welled up in his heart and overflowed to the bottom of his eyes.

The heat in his eyes only encouraged him, and he had no complaints about the path he had been arranged, especially now that he had Benjamin stuffed into his head, and the rabbit felt that he could be closer to the path Esther had taken, like the "Thief" thing......

Benjamin gave him a lot of messy and trivial knowledge, and the rabbit still needs time to sort it out slowly.

But that would have to wait until he was older, and he didn't mind going according to Esther's plan right now. The rabbit looked back at the full bookcase, and at the same time realized that she seemed to value his studies very much.

At least he had to be able to read the letter without this lens, and the rabbit skimmed through the last paragraph:

"I don't think you really like working in a restaurant, but you don't necessarily say no to the gentleman who knocks on your door. Also, 'The separation was a joint decision between me and you, and it may have been cruel, but it was the best outcome for you and me.'

"Your path is always under your feet, and on the wildfire-burned grasslands, there will always be new blades of grass that sprout and flourish when spring comes.

"I believe you have such resilience and such a future.

"A former friend."

The left eye began to dizzy and difficult to concentrate, and the migraine from the monocle caused the rabbit to shake his head twice until he insisted on reading the last sentence.

He slowly lowered the thin piece of paper and monocle in his hand, but put more weight on his shoulder, which made him sit up straight, as if something was holding his back.

The rabbit's hand was on the paper, imagining Esther writing this

The expression of the text, and perhaps a magpie full of unhappiness next to it. Benjamin would probably have sneered again, looked at the letter with disdain, and then privately considered the breach of the agreement.

The boy's smile grew softer and gentle, Esther had done too much to prepare him for a life that he had never dared to dream of before, but told him that although he could give up, he would choose what he wanted.

There is no door in the cage, and the heavens and the earth are free.

So what does he want?

The rabbit picked up the monocle again, and pointed it at the gloomy light that fell from the window, and instead of being dazzled, he could clearly see that inside the lens, something squirmed, and then regained its composure in an instant.

"Then I want to be extraordinary...... Is that okay?"

The boy's eyes were determined, and no one answered him, only himself.

——

The magpie's shadow weaved through the dense woods, and finally flew halfway up the mountainside, a dilapidated hut that threatened to collapse at any moment.

Benjamin didn't choose to move directly here because of the ancient traps in the vicinity. If he steals the distance directly, it is very likely that he will touch the area where there is an anomaly, thus attracting unnecessary trouble, such as other Amon clones, or extraordinary powers remaining nearby.

Halfway up the hill from the hut lies an even more dilapidated castle, with its towering, symmetrical spire visible even through the dense woods, and its decolored façade swallowed up by vines, like a monstrous monstrosity dormant.

Esther was sitting on a tree stump in front of the hut, with a compass in her hand that was constantly spinning wildly.

As the magpie fell from the sky, she subconsciously looked up to catch its flapping wings until the magpie retracted its wings and landed on her shoulder.

Esther's expression was visibly nervous, "How's the situation around here?" You've got six more minutes to investigate today."

"Are you a pocket watch? How do you know so accurately?" The magpie steadied herself on her shoulder, gradually relaxing, "There are people wandering on the path on the edge of that castle, and I followed it to see twice, but it is just ordinary people. Just keep an eye on the compass, as long as it's still within two hands, we don't have anything to worry about."

Esther looked at the compass in her hand suspiciously, the solid base made of brass was not light, so she lay it flat on her lap. The base of the compass has clock-like scales, but they are not evenly distributed and do not have any symbolic patterns or characters.

The five hands were of different lengths, and only the shortest two were spinning wildly at the moment, and Esther could even feel a little cool breeze blowing from them.

The compass looks very old, with a rusty base and edges of the brass, but the dial and hands are so smooth that they have not been left by time.

"So what the hell is this thing?" Esther couldn't help but ask again, she had asked Benjamin this question a lot in the past two days, and even though he was vague every time, Esther didn't give up.

"It's just a gadget, nothing special." The magpie muttered quietly.

This is also the third time that Esther has heard this sentence, and Benjamin has other words, but he will not directly tell her the true purpose of the compass.

By the time Benjamin was gone, there was only one pointer left, so Esther had a suspicion that it was some kind of item to detect "thieves" in the vicinity.

Maybe it's also a special creation of Jacob's family, after all, it's a very old family, and it's not surprising that some of the things at the bottom of the box are pressed.

Esther didn't ask for a more specific explanation, and simply changed the subject first: "Tomorrow is *** day, we will go back to Port Prydz tomorrow morning?"

The magpie looked at the sky, "Well, we'll go to the castle and get something after dark tonight."

"I don't like that castle," Esther's brow furrowed immediately, "but I don't feel comfortable at the first sight of it."

The magpie shook its tail feathers impatiently, "That castle is indeed quite dangerous. Your hunch is always right, and it's best to believe it. Even if it's an unintentional intuition, it's likely to be the best choice for you."

"You don't have to think about it, do you?"

The magpie held back his voice

"You summed it up very well, it looks like you've used your brain."

Esther pondered for a few seconds, "Is it a danger that can be handled by one person or can it be done by two?"

"It's dangerous for me to go in alone, but I'm not so dangerous if I use you as bait." The magpie's voice did not fluctuate in any way, and this was said quite naturally.

Esther's eyes widened as she glared at the magpie crouching on her shoulder, but the magpie just winked at her.

The moment Esther reached for the magpie, her shoulders lightened.

The magpie appeared on another bare wooden pole, looked at Esther, who was a little annoyed, and chuckled for a moment before Benjamin spoke again: "Don't worry, as long as you hold this compass, I can know where you are, if you are in danger, just hit the other party with it."

Esther checked the compass with a wide face in her hand, and the heavy base seemed to have the effect of bricks, but when she heard Benjamin say that she wanted to smash it out, Esther really couldn't understand this "way of use":

"This thing looks like an antique, and the effect is so strange, isn't it a treasure in Jacob's family?"

The magpie shook its head and lowered its voice, "To be honest, I don't remember where it came from."

Benjamin lied, and he knew Esther would be able to hear it.

This compass was originally a magical item specially made by the Zoroasd family, but it was a failure. It cannot accurately identify the parasitic creatures, but only serves as a warning, and as a result, its only use is to detect nearby "thieves".

Including "stolen", it is also a lie, and after being swallowed with extraordinary characteristics, that Zoroaster also changed his surname to Amon.

Esther just stared at the magpie, and after a while felt bored, because almost every word Benjamin said today was a mixed bag, making it difficult for her to tell the difference accurately.

Esther looked at the lush forests with no place to stay, thinking about tomorrow's meeting. Because there is still a tarot meeting tomorrow afternoon, in the six minutes that Benjamin has just left, Esther has already seized the time to ask the "fool" for leave in advance.

A man and a bird each stared at a bush and said nothing.