Raising Wonders

Chapter 12: Upside Down (Part 2)

Mask entered their room with a tray full of food. Compared to the solemn atmosphere they had left downstairs, their room was bright and lively.

"You're much prettier than Arten let on," the Handler said as she admired Chloe's skin and hair. "Is it because you're still young? You're so soft."

"Um- well," Chloe couldn't deal with the Handler's affection and praise, squirming but also enjoying it.

"Give the girl some space," Mask laid the tray on the table. "How was the trip up?"

The Handler glared at him, "Just about as lovely as you'd expect."

"Well you made it here in one piece, so it couldn't have been that bad."

"Ha," she breathed heavily. "If it were for anyone else I'd never come so far."

"I know, thank you."

The amount of sincerity in his voice caused the Handler to redden, the quip she had been preparing in her mind gone, "You-. Well as long as you appreciate me. I swear you've become a lot sweeter after meeting Chloe."

Mask frowned but after some thought had to agree, "You may be right there. Regardless we need to get to business." He handed her several blank sheet of paper. When the Handler took it however, words and ink appeared. Details of the Toren's key players began to show themselves.

"Wow," the Handler's eyes widened. "This is detailed. You must have worked hard."

"I had quite a bit of help this past week," Mask gently patted Chloe's head. Her eyes which revealed Titles had been incredibly helpful to show who was a threat and gave key evidence to their weaknesses.

The Handler clearly didn't believe his words and looked at the pair as if they were joking. As the two said nothing, she realised they were serious.

"Chloe, this women is one of the few people I trust with more than just work. In the end you can say what you'd like."

The small girl nodded, "I can see Titles and other details as well."

"Pfft," the Handler scoffed. "What, so you're like a walking tablet of the One. If that were true then you'd-"

Chloe's eyes glinted, "Lilia Matsuri, you're thir-."

"That's enough, stop looking!" the Handler cut her off. Chloe had barely began to read through her information and peeked a bit more before. The women was 31 years old and half feline beastkin, half human. She looked entirely human however.

Mask chuckled at her expense, only to pause in thought, "Matsuri hmmm... that's quite a family line."

"Wow," the Handler was both impressed and annoyed. "One, that is a huge invasion of privacy. Two, keep what you saw a secret. That's an incredible ability, and an even more dangerous one."

"If you're from the Matsuri family...," Mask continued to ponder.

"Stop thinking about it," the Handler glared at him. "I've cut my ties with them. While we both trust each other, there are things we both haven't spoken about because they're a bother."

"You're right," he let it go.

"And you," she looked to Chloe, "why are you staring at me so intensely still? My Titles can't be that amazing."