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It had been weeks since anyone last saw Tracy and Luca. They hadn’t come to eat with others nor joined any match. They also didn’t tell anyone where they went, but everyone had the same guess that they were locking themselves in a laboratory, just like always.
This wasn’t the first they refused any communication with other human in order to finish whatever innovation they were doing. Sometimes they were useful, sometimes they were useless. Their first work was an automatic cloth washer the first time, then special device for Tracy’s robot that made it dance, then a small doll that yelled at random time of the day. They once made a pranking device that they were able to sell to Yidhra so she could prank survivors easier. However, this time was different.
The door of a laboratory was thrown open. Tracy and Luca walked out of the room with bags under their eyes. Neither of them had slept in days. When they were focusing on something, they wouldn’t sleep at all unless their bodies got shut down. Behind them was Tracy’s robot that was holding something that looked like a pet collar with ribbon and a small device attached to it.
Both survivors agreed that they would take a rest before continuing their plan for this new invention. This thing was perfect and didn’t need any further maintenance anyway. They ended up sleeping for two whole days before meeting again to discuss it over some tea.
“Who do you think should get this thing?”
“Whoever pay most, obviously.”
“But I don’t want to give it to someone who won’t appreciate my work. We should select the best candidate. I have the list right here.”
Tracy looked at the paper in Luca’s hand. It had many names of survivors and hunters who are their potential costumers. They had one thing in common, they all have their favorite pets. Victor with his dog, Mary with her mini self, Edgar with Mini Jack, and so forth.
“Good morning you two. Long time no see.”
Jose walked into tearoom and greeted them. Mini Hastur also walked after him. He looked sleepy and had a fish plushie in his hands. Tracy and Luca also greeted him back.
“Is that the new piece you have been created for these past few weeks? What does it do?”
“I’ll show you.”
Luca picked Mini Hastur up from the floor and put the device around his neck. It made some weird electric noise before letting out the sweetest one anyone could have imagined.
“Sleepy…”
All three of them gasped and closed their mouths. Mini Hastur, upon realizing that the thing under his head was revealing his thought, immediately woke up. He seemed confused yet excited.
“Everyone hears Hashas talk. Hashas happy!” Mini Hastur said and jumped in glee.
“That device makes pets talk?!” Jose exclaimed.
“That’s right. It’s pet translator. We are selling it to-”
“I want it. How much?”
“50,000 echoes.”
“WHAT”
Jose looked at them in disbelief. He really couldn’t afford that. He couldn’t even afford to get Akechi Goro skin. The price made him hesitated, until Mini Hastur spoke again.
“Hashas is happy he can say about what he likes… Hashas likes Jose.”
The first officer was frozen in place. His soul left this mortal shell as soon as his pet said that. He was so happy, maybe too happy. He couldn’t express it and just stood there. He didn’t even flinch when Luca shook him. A few awkward moments later, he took a deep breath and gave them a warm smile.
“I will come back with the echoes. Please take care of Mini Hastur for me.”
Jose didn’t wait for their answer and left the room. Luca and Tracy looked at each other with confusion.
“Looks like we can put away your list for now.”
“I wonder where he is going to get the money.”
“Selling his watch I guess.”
Mini Hastur skipped along a hall like an ecstatic boy that he was. He was eager to talk to people and say what he had been wanting to say or at least had normal conversation without using his whole body to communicate for the first time in his life.
Mini Hastur didn’t have to wander for too long before he met someone. It was Norton and Fool’s Gold. They had several books in their arms and were chatting about something. They were on their way to a library to return the books. Mini Hastur immediately ran after them and tapped Norton’s leg to get his attention.
“Mini Hastur? What do you want?” Norton asked, then he remembered something. “Wait, you can’t talk… whatever. You are probably looking for Jose as always.”
“No no no” Mini Hastur shook his head. “Luca and Tracy made a new toy. Hashas can speak now. Hashas wants to speak about many things… to many people!”
“Wow. They finally made something useful.” Fool’s Gold scoffed. “Well, what do you want to say to us?”
“Hashas likes both Norton!”
The confession shocked and confused them to the point that they didn’t react for a moment.
“What are you talking about?”
“Small Norton always shares snack and big Norton has many pretty rocks, so Hashas likes both Norton thissssss much.”
Mini Hastur spread his tiny arms as wide as he could, which wasn’t much, just a little wider than his head. Norton stared at him with weird expression. It was true that he always gave Mini Hastur food but those were all leftover. For big Norton, it’s the opposite. He had fallen right into Mini Hastur’s cuteness trap. Never in his life had he ever thought someone would like him, especially for his collection, so he would take whatever this was.
“My, now I understand why Jose is obsessed with you. Such a cutie patootie.” Fool’s Gold said and pat Mini Hastur’s head. “Alright you are coming with me.”
Around half an hour later, Jose came back to the tearoom with a piece of paper in his hand. It was a blank cheque signed by Hastur. Luca was a little surprised unlike Tracy.
“How did you get money from Hastur?”
“I just told him what it was for. No further question was needed.” He smiled with confidence. “Well, where is Mini Hastur?”
The room fell silent as everyone looked around for the baby, but he was nowhere to be seen. They started searching the room, looked behind curtains and underneath tables, yet no one found him.
“Maybe he sneaked out when we weren’t looking.”
“That’s possible. He can walk through objects after all.”
As Jose frantically searched around, the door of tearoom was pushed open and Melly walked in. She noticed the group in panic and decided to ask.
“What’s wrong?”
“I lost Mini Hastur. I’m so dead. Hastur is going to kill me!”
“Calm down. I just saw him at a library. He was with Norton and Fool’s Gold. They were trying to teach him how to say words.” She laughed. “I also joined them too. I taught him ‘metamorphosis’ but all he could say was ‘memamafofit’. That laughter was the hardest to hide in my life.”
All of them couldn’t help but laughed too. After that, Jose sighed in relief and thanked her before leaving to find Mini Hastur. However, when he arrived at the library, neither Nortons nor Mini Hastur was there. Only one he saw was Florian who was smiling while looking at his book in front of him.
“Our dear first officer is in a library? How rare.”
Jose turned to a voice that called to him. Mike was standing there with a few books in his hands and a smug look on his face.
“You may see me come here more often if Orpheus starts bringing in updated map or latest navigation guide.”
“Or liquor shelf.”
“That would work too.” Jose chuckled. “Anyway, have any of you seen Mini Hastur or Norton?”
“I did.” Florian spoke up. “Norton and Fool’s Gold brought him in and they tried to teach him words. But they already left.”
“I heard him saying he liked those two. I also joined them and asked if he liked me. That little pet said he liked me as much as he liked radish. That’s my favorite vegetable. He’s so sweet.” He said with a joyful voice.
Jose listened to Florian’s story without interrupting. He wanted to tell him so bad that Mini Hastur hated radish so much that if anyone tried to feed him one, that person might end up at the bottom of the lake even without his dad’s intervention. He also wanted to tell him the reason Mini Hastur didn’t like him was because he once used his air bag while Mini Hastur was sleeping on it, resulting in him getting sent into the air. It wasn’t his fault but still, he’d better keep his mouth shut.
“I see. Do you know where they went?”
“I’m not sure, but I heard them talking about getting snack for Mini Hastur. Maybe they went to the kitchen.”
Jose thanked Florian and left the library. However, when he arrived at the kitchen, it was in absolute chaos. Food was everywhere it shouldn’t be, such as on the ceiling or out of a window. Aside from maids that were cleaning, there was only Naib there, eating some roasted meat.
“What happened?”
“The shortest answer would be a war.”
“What about long answer?”
“Fool’s Gold and Norton brought Mini Hastur here to get some food. Mini Hastur found a rat eating a bag of grain and it chased him around. He was so scared that he threw whatever he could find at it which some were food. I eventually caught that rat though. The food thief received execution by fire.”
“Is he alright? Where is he now?”
“I guess so, didn’t see any of his cotton anywhere. I also heard them talking about gathering some ‘pretty stone’ in a mine. Maybe they are going to Golden Cave.”
“I suppose you are not coming with us.”
“No. I’ll wait up here.”
Norton handed a pickaxe to Fool’s Gold who was preparing to go into a mine of Golden Cave. By ‘prepare’, he was just searching for any area that wasn’t covered in dust to place his personal pickaxe. This thing was good for both mining and hitting survivors, but he’d rather keep it clean from dirt.
“Can Hashas have it too?”
Norton looked at other pickaxes in a box then Mini Hastur. The size was obviously unfit, yet he spread his arms out, thinking he could carry the weight. Norton, with evil smile on his face, gave him the heaviest one. It made him stagger a few times before falling on his back. He wiggled his arms and tentacles like a puppy that tried to roll over. The prospector bursted out laughing, even called his hunter self to watch.
“Oops- Hahahaha”
“Mean!”
Finally, the pickaxe was lifted off Mini Hastur. He was mad at Norton and tried to hit him, but his small tentacles could do no damage. His flame of anger was promptly extinguished when a piece of sweet breed was handed to him.
“Mini Hastur, look what I made for you.”
Fool’s Gold kneeled down and handed something to Mini Hastur. It was a pickaxe perfect for his size made by tying a pointy rock to a pencil. Despite its look, it was quite sturdy.
Mini Hastur tested it by hitting a pebble he found on the ground, but just like his tentacles, it did no damage. Not even a small crack. Still, Mini Hastur was happy he got to join Fool’s Gold in mining.
“Fi…nally…”
Jose sat down near the gate of Golden Cave. It took him hours to travel to this place even on a horse’s back. After a short break, he took a deep breath and enter the area. He looked around to see where he should go first. Suddenly, he heard a clanking sound from a hut near the elevator. He went there and saw Norton sitting at a workshop table. He was inspecting raw ore. There were a few more on his left and several cut ones on his right.
“Norton? Why are you here?”
“Hmm?” The prospector turned his head. “Why can’t I?”
“Not that you can’t… I was told Mini Hastur was with you and Fool’s Gold. Where are they?”
Norton didn’t answer and just pointed behind Jose. There, Fool’s Gold was walking towards them with Mini Hastur on his shoulder. He was holding a lot of rocks and raw gems. Mini Hastur also had a rock in his hands. It was as big as his upper eye. Both of them were covered in dirt.
When Mini Hastur saw Jose, he jumped down from Fool’s Gold shoulder and rushed to him. He held the rock up high to show it to Jose, yet he couldn’t even reach higher than his head.
“Jose Jose! Rock!”
The first officer kneeled down and inspected it. It was an ordinary rock that didn’t have anything special beside being unusually round, but Mini Hastur liked round things, so it wasn’t surprising.
“I just helped you find that thing but you immediately left me after seeing him. How sad.” Fool’s Gold said in mocking tone.
“Too bad. I’m his second favorite person.” Jose gave him a cunning smile.
Mini Hastur ran pass Jose and handed the rock to Norton. He picked it up and carefully cracked it open. Mini Hastur’s eyes were filled with more and more excitement each time the hammer hit the hard surface. Finally, the crack separated its host into two pieces, and magnificent purple crystals were revealed to their eyes. Its spiny shards reflected faint light from a lantern and created wonderful scintillation all over them.
Everyone was amazed by its beauty, especially Mini Hastur. He kept shouting ‘pretty rock’ while doing his little happy dance that eventually turned into rapidly jumping. Norton cleaned and got rid of any sharp corner on the shell before handing both pieces back to the little pet.
“By the way, why is he dirty?”
“We went into a mine. Of course some dirt would fall on us. Just give him a bath.”
Mini Hastur who heard one of his favorite words turned to Jose and Fool’s Gold.
“Bath bath bath! Hashas likes bath. Let’s go let’s go.”
Little pet gave Jose puppy eyes while pulling his legs. Most pets didn’t like taking bath, but Mini Hastur who already lived in water loved it very much. Fool’s Gold was sad he was leaving, but that was his problem. They said goodbye to both miners and left Golden Cave.
“Alright, I think it’s warm enough.”
Jose poured the last pitcher of hot water into a tub, followed by a little bit of perfume, mysterious soap that created lots of bubbles, and Mini Hastur. The tiny god immediately dived and disappeared under bubble valley the moment his little tentacles touched the water.
“Oh no, where is Mini Hastur~?”
Jose went and got a brush from a cabinet. Suddenly, Mini Hastur jumped out of water like a dolphin, splashing the liquid everywhere.
“There you are.” Jose wiped his face with a towel, then scrubbed Mini Hastur all over his body until he was covered in bubble.
After Mini Hastur was all clean, Jose washed him for the last time with warm water. Cutie baby had turned from a ball of dust and dirt into the cleanest ball that smelled like delicate flower. He wanted to squeeze and smooch him so bad, but that cuteness aggression would scare this baby for sure.
Jose looked for another towel to dry him, but the one he used turned out to be the last one, so he told Mini Hastur to wait there and went out to get more. While he was waiting, the door was slightly opened, then Mini Mary and Mini Michi walked in. They waved at Mini Hastur and he waved back at them.
Michi picked her friend up and flied to the top of a table Mini Hastur was at. They went to a box near a hand mirror and worked together to open it, but for some reason, the box they had opened so many times was heavier than usual, probably because there was a lock on it. Mini Hastur helped remove it for them by hitting it with tentacle until it broke.
Inside the box was a manicure set and a few bottles of nail paint. Though, those bottles didn’t look like they belong to the set, because Victorian women didn’t paint their nails. But neither Mary nor Michiko was British, so they picked their favorite color and started applying it on their nails with their custom made tiny nail polish brush.
Mini Hastur look at the girls curiously. Their fingers now had cute dots of red and gold. He looked at his hands and became sad, because he only had two thumbs. Mini Michi understood him right away. She pulled him to the box and started painting his hands, making dots where his fingers should be. Mini Mary also pulled out cosmetic box and applied powder, blush, and lipstick on him. She also put them on herself and Mini Michi. When they were done, all of them became the most gorgeous pets in the manor.
Mini Mary noticed a ribbon collar and went to check it out. She put it on her head like a tiara and spun around. She seemed to like it so much, even went to show it to Michi.
“Ribbon pretty~ ah!”
Mini Mary got startled by her own voice and look around to find where it came from. Mini Hastur managed to calm her down and communicate to let her know how it happened. Both Mini Mary and Michi were thrilled and wanted to try it out. They took turn speaking while Mini Hastur continued playing with cosmetics.
A few minutes later, Jose finally came back with towels. When he saw Mini Hastur covered in thick makeup, he almost choked trying to not burst out laughing. His little pet looked absolutely ridiculous, yet adorable. His red face was covered in white and pink, even his bright yellow hood had some stains on it. Someone also drew a pair of fat lips and weird looking eyelashes using lipstick and mascara on him.
Jose looked at the two little girls who were playing a game of tug of war using a ribbon worth 50,000 echoes. He put an end to it by taking the device away and put it back on Mini Hastur.
“You two are going to destroy it for sure if you keep doing that.” He spoke.
Both pets were devastated, but they didn’t dare to protest. Seeing them sad made Mini Hastur sad too, so he approached them.
“Sharing is good. Hashas gives this toy.” Mini Hastur said as he removed the collar and handed it to his friends.
Mini Mary and Michi were so happy and they took turn wearing it again without fighting. They decided that they wanted to share with others too so they left to go find more pets to play with. Jose smiled and patted Mini Hastur’s head.
“You are such a good boy. I’m so proud of you.”
“Now…”
“How do I explain to your dad you just gave away his 50,000 echoes…”