«Hey, squirrel or anything. Sincis? Did you say that you are hungry?» asked Amadeus.

The squirrel's eyes became clear. It squealed, jumped up, and tucked its tail. Grasping it with all four paws, the squirrel fell on its back.

«Let's get out of here,» Amadeus said.

She put on her cloak and took the squirrel in her arms, and the squirrel immediately fell silent.

«Tell me you didn't see anything,» the squirrel whisperer.

«I didn't see anything,» whispered Amadeus, and after a second pause, she continued, «No nuts there.»

The squirrel whimpered and began to shake her lower lip.

«Okay. Don't worry so much. I'm joking,» said Amadeus as she continued walking.

«I'm not worried,» said the squirrel with wet eyes.

«Her personality is just the same... I think there's even a term for it... Tsundere. Good idea,» thought Amadeus.

«Then what about Tsuri?» asked Amadeus to little Sincis.

«Tsuri, what?» asked the squirrel.

«Your name,» Amadeus replied.

Little Sincis wondered, sniffing her nose.

«All right... I'll take that name,» the squirrel said, trying to hide her happiness with already dry eyes.

At that moment, the squirrel's eyes glowed gold for a few seconds.

«HEY! I can walk myself... But, so be it. You can carry me, just a little longer,» Tsuri said.

«The mood changed again in a second,» thought Amadeus.

Coming out of the Adobe of Arachne, Amadeus picked some fruit for Tsuri and made a bonfire. It was deep into the night.

Amadeus lay down by the fire and looked up at the sky.

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«I'm in such a lousy mood I don't even feel like eating,» she pondered, looking up at the stars.

«When I evolved... What was that? I was looking at everything from the outside, and it was so... Weird. But why exactly the moment of my mother's death? There are many memories, much bloodier...» thought Amadeus, «The last demon clan was scorched to the ground. And as the last bearer of demon blood, I was targeted by the scientists... Tch...» no matter how much she pondered it, it remains a mystery who exterminated all the demons.

«The longer I think about it, the more my head hurts. Okay... Then, I'll just go to sleep...» she thought and sank into dreamland.

***

Amadeus awoke at dawn. Tsuri was still asleep, but the bonfire had long since gone out. Amadeus put her hair in a braid and went to the river. After a few minutes of walking, she came to the shore and took a swim. Amadeus spotted a few fish.

«Apparently fish for breakfast today,» she thought.

Amadeus had caught enough fish and decided to walk back, picking up some fruit along the way. She was approaching the camp when she heard a child crying. Quickly running toward the sound, she saw a squirrel.

«Tsuri, why are you crying?» asked Amadeus.

«Perhaps she was having a nightmare?» she thought.

Tsuri immediately jumped on the girl and shouted through her tears, «I thought you left me!»

«Tsuri, I'm not leaving you. You might want to leave on your own,» Amadeus said, reassuring her.

«R-Really?» asked Tsuri when the tears stopped.

«Of course,» replied Amadeus, stroking her head.

After a brief tantrum, Tsuri and Amadeus ate breakfast and moved on.

«By the way, Tsuri, why did you collect black stones from the spiders?» asked Amadeus.

«Why? All people collect them for something!» replied Tsuri.

«You mean you don't know what they're for?» asked Amadeus, raising an eyebrow.

«Of course not!!!» replied Tsuri, raising her tail.

Why would she want to know such a thing? Right now, Amadeus wanted to hit her over the head for being stupid.

«Tsuri, tell me if you find mushrooms you've never seen, and you don't know if they're poisonous or not, will you eat them?» asked Amadeus.

«Of course! The mushrooms are delicious!» having said that, Tsuri started jumping happily from side to side and wagging her tail.

«I don't think Tsuri is the right name. I should have called you Silli,» said Amadeus as her eye twitched.

After about three hours of walking, they came to the edge of the forest. In the distance, they could see high walls, and in front of them were fields of, some kind, of crops.

«Piece of cake,» thought Amadeus.

Finding the settlement was not difficult for her. They walked along the road the whole time, and Amadeus asked Tsuri to climb a tall tree and point out a direction of the edge of the forest.

Some horse-drawn carts and people were moving along the dirt road leading to the gate. A small queue gathered in front of the fortress gates. The guards methodically searched the former, and less fanatically the latter.

«Ordinary walls, a drawbridge, and a dry moat, nothing impressive, at least in appearance,» thought Amadeus, «Some medievalism.»

There were several watchtowers on the walls, and a patrol passed between them. Behind the walls were visible the roofs of some of the houses, and the smoke from the pipes of the lower ones.

«Bows, spears, shields, and no firearms? There's magic at here, I thought,» she pondered, «Magical Middle Ages.»