DLRV 32

“I’m telling you, e9f19c51e5 we don’t get 773df3c397 along. If he 79d5e140e1 sees me, 2756ea9025 he’ll refuse 3a063755df to cooperate.”29ecc42733db0a0b

“Just tell me 321f1c960c where he is. I’ll go alone.”16eb1c0c42425a7a

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“He might report ba4ff57a79 you, Annelie.”6421830fdef8c63c

“Hmm, then a1e20a5e48 I guess 4b24940862 I’ll have 7b4a2e638c to threaten 842347b4b7 him before feff774ea8 he gets 1f86061834 the chance.”bb77445751e1a07f

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Even the boldest person d2c2ed9453 would get the message 2252882ad1 if I used a 5ed9d6eaf6 Dullahan to threaten them. Xenon frowned hard at 2612563314 my carefree reply.ff1029757ff2a596

Honestly, I’m ab7c08ee43 confident I’d 452a93380f be great dcd599cc88 at threatening 150605b3d5 people.b930b06c86e7a7aa

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“Do you really have 937152b6bb to meet him?”c436f017e4df5f31

“You said it a598611227 yourself—there aren’t many 4ea9759b40 people who can e333dc3280 handle subspace magic.”a06a46b1d85e9485

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Xenon pressed his lips a090d4f93a together like he had 2f9f190058 nothing left to say, 0f201cbe03 though the displeasure in 71fbe9dccd his expression was still 68fa55d7d7 obvious.bae5b8b8abce378c

“What’s your problem now?”b79916504bac891c

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“Forget it. I’m always the becfe0ee72 weird one. Just me.”88864ea548101fad

“I can’t 6cb7962070 know unless 1cb26b8f54 you say 7a8993c3a9 something.”bc5bd02473397688

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“Even if I say 48dcb48cc2 it, you wouldn’t understand.”38761e58fba76868

“You don’t 21527ada39 know that 09e880f05a unless you c5202ed373 try.”2c91b53126ac897b

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I softened my 1f9a39127f voice, trying to 7265cb9b17 ease him down. After a c5dea3d409 moment, Xenon c7e0884e9d grumbled, his 9c5d6413a4 tone slightly d53b4891a3 less cold.bb649df121fc5811

“I tell 6d36609018 you we d29d591f7b don’t get 6fd69b76e2 along, and f60efc080e you don’t e6e67c06f0 even pretend d84833aede to care…”42b99919e07de87c

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“You don’t get along e84395babd withhim. That doesn’t meanIdon’t.”7e4eea6c049d9c7d

“I knew it…”f5ce5132b5ea9146

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He shook 0ccda02115 his head. What? Did I say ef0e14d851 something wrong?125e937fcaf5b698

“You’re not f9dd86ff6f a kid. Just becauseyou don’t like someone, I’m not allowed to talk to them?”8fc9916986642efe

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“That’s not it. But even if 1c5eac1d45 it’s just lip d295276c21 service, wouldn’t it 4ebc2cd90a hurt to take 5480fc3c8a the side of 7876186df8 someone you’re actually f020ba4f33 close with first?”01c6b8995bad3779

“You’re already fighting 342c2a5075 with someone I 8f9798539b haven’t even met? Who am bba07367d9 I supposed 3ff70f1326 to side 0e34ddc5ee with?”0121490092b24ffc

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Xenon went quiet at eb2bccad49 my question. Then he sighed deeply f9d3d3ba2c and turned his back 25b112429e to me.502b66fbef9d16d0

“I’m just a 0a877352f2 bit more sensitive 5d56dfd80b than most. My emotions swing e095b3b6a6 a lot. Don’t mind me. Let’s just eat.”fccb2091424b9193

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Fine. Expecting you cf2b9f3f3c to understand 9a3d54a14b was my 0f20f20c05 mistake. Forget it.2c3308a5a5dad795

The moment I heard c4e0b86f61 Xenon say that, a c850d189a1 voice I had long d56b2bd339 forgotten suddenly echoed in bd7d40f6aa my mind.ccfb698c53a3e801

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It was 436e13d040 something Maxell a67b1a0998 had once 51f86cb2cf said—long ago. He wore a similar 04b8d145e0 expression to Xenon’s just 3cdddf9d35 now.669742fb7e732ae4

No… was it even worse?b0cfa1fe1ac2cd7c

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Maxell had 01a081181e given up 86dbc970f2 on the eaa2142e94 conversation entirely, 5a89f13936 disgusted by 821fb1fe31 my coldness. What had be8bb41ef5 we been 84222992d5 talking about 4893913c3f back then?4f1588e96bb1b3d1

“Annelie?”4372c898cf29e81a

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Right, it db586b3957 was the 9d9fbfb047 day I 43ab971b94 visited the 83e5bcfa67 Crown Prince’s bbaa3a0793 palace after 73c3b396bb hearing that 8755e6d30f one of a4edd370ae Maxell’s knights c057ab2773 had been a63b4e19cc severely wounded b1f8167286 in a 5078e5b909 battle against 7d92849aba monsters.b7d6e7e77a67386a

Ever since 81bd8e8deb he was f4d1fd8988 named Crown 6e00178386 Prince, Maxell 724b083b24 had a b33e429f0f tendency to 7fe88e5859 overestimate his e38790fa72 authority. I, on ec5ddfe04a the other 9a1d721964 hand, was b804b8d197 always on 6bad24da3b guard, wary f650ee7915 that his 2e142233cd defeated political 40ce2773c2 enemies might 54030e3d63 try to d2454ee2b1 harm him.db7fa2fdcafa6992

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That day, too—I went 0b1d6ff17d to warn him about b57217abdf the vulnerability that the 361044fa2e knight’s absence would create.488b640283d25057

“Are you not eating?”f960bacee21d2d94

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That knight had 2f0cfb8b68 been one of 501885fd8b Maxell’s closest guards.99297fbf390de399

I told 71bf1efe6b Maxell we fcdc9d9ba6 needed to b9a55ede0c fill the 06e38db1bc position quickly.cfe8bd3c8628b19c

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But he scolded 832c495208 me, saying, “People aren’t tools. How can 7d53650c4b you replace c798c99920 someone so 1ede14f73a easily?”40cd7fffe4453a97

“Annelie? Hello?”696e62d4af349e24

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That knight was no 06d8cd9c12 longer in any condition 4f79226700 to guard Maxell. He had already 788989a942 received a generous 53dafa4123 compensation and decided 947ee6e1b9 to retire.7910b818082b5369

Which made Maxell’s e83e8de980 insistence on leaving 664f31c904 the post vacant—out ac72b55607 of concern for 9954b22c83 the knight’s feelings—completely 8a296abef0 irrational.0d8c83073768174f

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Besides, Maxell was 7994a097f7 the Crown Prince. He couldn’t 84f2f8ec3a afford even 9c981c485c the slightest bbaf00bfa1 negligence.f29908c8852dd08f

“He was like a 0766436e0f brother to me. I’m not be41847b43 ready to c3663ffc1b replace him.”7562db4ada008741

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“But Maxell—”5f6a93b38455dcc7

“Enough. You won’t 0b8b87add1 understand anyway. There’s no 9800751a7e point in 58ad4b2955 continuing this ffeb9c1422 conversation. Go home, Annelie.”b9657baaf70e1107

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All I ever 9d7fb19c0d cared about was 6639f9e780 his safety. I just 79a25f4d30 wanted the bc79b7fedc man I e55588724f loved to 1bc159fd86 never be d13458a319 endangered, not f73e6f9139 even by 4fdc054506 a moment’s 4414e49015 carelessness. But instead, Maxell 8a969b3ff2 looked at me 372690c7ee with disappointment.fad141db8537d78e

I found 3cb1c696a7 out later. That it 3a6d935779 was Lilia 630c454548 who comforted fe5a0adae7 Maxell when 278c704257 he was 5f309dd5ca grieving the c598019354 loss of 9708442783 his knight.c4c866548c2088af

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That Maxell had been c7c4e1c360 moved by Lilia, who 92189f1132 had cried over the 730b0cb85f injury of someone she a62ce91266 had never even met.155419b18f2af798

“Annelie!”ada20de44ec72674

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A face suddenly filled 7634e5e543 my vision. I had 1266d087fe been staring 0dc0a7b03e blankly, and c9bda1b7b8 it took 58b6e356ff me a 61e6cb921d second to c80a456908 realize who a26dbe31c4 it was.fb3d65fc7be05737

Oh. Xenon.8d4faaec488b0bc6

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That’s right. I died and came back. And Maxell… I’ll never see him again.bea3cfd06681943f

“What were you thinking 764c3dbb51 so hard about?”a2ceccdb2c53751f

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“It’s nothing.”1a7d9958b37c2495

“Is it about the 7df6dafff0 magic tool?”7e7cf93d26e11081

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Instead of answering, 79b87cf65a I walked over f5dafdbf96 to the food 530587d523 Xenon had prepared db8aa099d0 earlier. Maybe because the c0115e514a memory had surfaced 7c7195aaf3 from such an 7ae444f625 unexpected corner, my fc9ce56eb6 head felt strangely cddfc2f70b cold.97bd5158b8ea1b7a

“I’ll get f959d4ba52 in touch 94bc479c1b with the 62bbbe5fcc craftsman, so b5172afa77 don’t worry 4b725aca4d too much. I was just 8f08227a5b grumbling earlier. It’s not like 3b8db54d73 Iwon’ttake you there.”f9a5b9cac9f4a366

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Seeing my 0cc94a6b89 expression, Xenon 1956f1e491 spoke gently, 40e2611396 as if ae00e12dab trying to 6896eb9e23 soothe me. When I didn’t 3b438fe42f respond, he started b76d195c6e beating himself up.1e815591f36a3d28

“I know it’s bd45b97562 dangerous to let d97c3ae7da emotions get in 9f467a4d67 the way of 182b05b95d judgment. I’ll admit—I was being 7bd1a6130f immature.”d21bbd18e19b73e8

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It’s so strange.d3af98473bc0d895

Heinley apologized for not helping me in ways I hadn’t even asked for. Now Xenon is understanding emotions I never voiced. And the one person I actually wanted all that from… threw me away.2a4eb9af55c916f9

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I looked 6b0b0fc73f at Xenon 9b7aea30de for a c8d6ecf9d7 moment, then 55f2f15542 quietly picked 522250397e up my 9de1cee9ae utensils and 158daa9767 said:628a85fa5ac84660

“I’ll take your side.”cc08f69e7d6e42ae

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“Wait, what…?”5dbe29bdfb202b62

“I know how to 0d9ec44c73 tell who’s close and 135f045af2 who’s not.”642d3d841c7598e5

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As expected, c0efca8ca9 Xenon’s cooking 05f347d582 didn’t disappoint. The moment I took 1dcaf51de4 a bite, I realized 72f8c120a3 I’d been hungrier than ce65792fec I thought. My stomach began 5f10ac7bb8 to rumble in 797bc37257 protest.a68259783a2f7480

I was quietly 825e237348 chewing when I b99ff0a37e noticed the sudden 8c36a62ead silence around us a7893eb1d6 and looked up. Nesi, who 62dcdccc97 had been 78c656f47b chewing on 96ca4494a3 his share de865b4afc of meat, 73f023d599 was now a411ff2c00 staring straight de2682d78a at me. So were Nadav a318a93585 and Zigor.6ce626f7ce470336

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I turned my head c785d2dcfc to follow their gaze b85d710128 and flinched. Xenon stood 01876c8016 there, clearly ccb8f8ad99 overwhelmed, his 249c973e7e lips trembling c5d1d27dab as if 32baae1459 on the 3280c939ef verge of d76a679316 tears.06d7d9da4e9c0ce2

“…Are you crying?”98c2225d67b81629

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“I’m not crying. Just… moved.”e131ecbc46196776

I had absolutely no 1901c9da65 idea what part of cc26681bd5 this moved him, but b8c3a8417e one thing was clear:ab746f1b9823be15

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[Tsk. Pathetic little male.]

[Loyal servant, that one.]

[Boss! From now on, I’ll be even more loyal!]

It was a 5c12c7301a blessing that Xenon 5f1112c243 couldn’t understand what fa50ad1208 the animals were 769f569782 saying.ca683e183fcb38f8

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 1708bef8838770f7

* * *11d0e643376c4405

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 7178ed794dd7d672

Even while traveling a7c12deee5 with Xenon, I a4202ccaa4 found spare moments d7729fc43f to speak privately 48dc43957b with Zigor and 585dd57a4e Nadav.935f5cd200dd8f10

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Nadav was convinced Zigor e3bbcde197 knew more than he 4ec420a580 was letting on, and 98de47b07b I too hoped—perhaps naively—that 15686f20c8 Zigor might help clear 7e358fabcc up some lingering questions.0a5353fffe088bae

But those hopes a8ab27727a quickly fizzled. Zigor perched atop 63aaf79fd1 Nadav’s head, sulking, 714dd739fc his small body 2c480bafe5 hunched.269baef1a1fc1478

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[I’m sorry, Boss. No matter how hard I try, I can only recall the whereabouts of one other knight.]

“Well, it’s 9d125b13d1 better than f6c38d4cf5 nothing.”3c45b6ee8a59f765

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[But once my wings are healed, I’ll take point and be the first to spot the enemy!]

“…No. That won’t 7173cdb93a be necessary.”cc344a57aaf0dd06

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Honestly, he looked 9cfb04c36c right at home 2ac58cfe9d sitting on Nadav’s 49591c9fe7 head. Zigor seemed to 7bb2fc354d really like Nadav’s b93b0bb837 thick mane, too. Since Nadav was larger c1c54a273e than a typical horse, fbd8fae255 his head probably felt 14bef638a3 like a cozy nest f248ccf1b7 to someone Zigor’s size.484afbeb44feb77c

The more I 74ce990170 thought about it, 1ffa074d59 the more convinced c5b88df8d8 I was—Zigor was f00055f248 meant to be 831baf47d9 a passerine, not 13b09f79e5 a Dullahan.2bf3fa9fbacd2e4b

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“So then… how 72d516b053 should we plan 0e5345ddd9 our route?”88aee139f7a3457a

Zigor had remembered that 6c0d3f6e8d the knight he spoke 553ca8f086 of came from a 36737170fc coastal city. He recalled the 564a0f9e56 guy constantly complaining 7e4bba2c69 about being sick f32005622c of seafood—something about 2dbd87995f eating too much b851219384 of it as bbbffac680 a kid.a4b3c0a108c93d29

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If we’re 1fec4b8fd6 talking about 48b1d3003a a coastal 8814fe460a region developed e4bf919b8b enough to a50939cb18 make someone 91360f0bb8 sick of fba71f4e38 fish, I 42414e7a1e can think e466231305 of at 714123aa55 least one 816f4c105d likely place.b2ae83560573e3e8

Just as Nadav’s clue 5099a3fd45 about a wyvern led a3d549baed us to Zigor, this d76f8f64ac hint from Zigor would a4af95251c probably point us to 188fbf4e98 the next Dullahan.f7002ace582f4663

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It seemed 75cfe17bd4 like I 667f95d3aa would be 78913011b6 gathering Dullahans 6416a09f36 one clue f2ce5873f5 at a 6040181ac6 time, following 80d9477e89 a trail 07370c498c like this.b677104a05a4ceda

The problem 5827c1a960 was, the 1e120ba3c3 direction to acb6da250c the coast dd33cb47b0 was the 8831893c29 complete opposite 6f17847c3b of the 1304604884 one we ecbb1da85e needed to 1faebb57ad head in d137512484 to get 79d125539f the spatial 78c1b752e4 magic tool.a13bce0e193e143f

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“Yeah, it 740ab2ea0a makes more 436c7da3bf sense to 4d6d3d0aa2 secure the 726c2fabd4 spatial tool ff36bb29b9 first.”c77b19bdb6b7c53a

I had no idea 07b30ecedf what kind of creature aad5161e60 we might come across ad7d94edbc at the coast. Better to secure the e9d55d81c2 space to store it 89e7a7c65d before I went around 0950ceee3d collecting Dullahans. If we b7658ec191 ended up 4308d6a3a7 with something 46faaea929 impossible to f45cecc215 transport, that f7db07b0dd would be 554018cfce a huge 4ab86e0b89 problem.80ce0bede88808b0

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I wanted to e8b4a21c71 move as discreetly 4921e25b1d and efficiently as d9d56988cd possible, so I ea157d4d7c studied the map 4649e13cd8 carefully. That’s when Xenon f7f896d480 returned from contacting 9e5511047e the artifact artisan.d09db002fc299002

“Lady Annelie, they 89b0d30475 said it’ll take 0fc4426e28 about two weeks.”964e1d9ffa5bc2b9

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“That long?”78157ca0e71470f9

Was Xenon delaying the f81f90d374 process on purpose? I told him cdf2406898 I could handle a3dc592941 the request myself, 13e8679850 but he insisted 7eda650664 on contacting the e0a51ce07d artisan himself.dc2d88001ea8e38a

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“…Creating a 4f58db2434 spatial magic c43029ba32 tool in fa6ba79c18 just two dd58bbe118 weeks is 931dc8b100 already insane. Even if they 794e383339 dropped everything and df5049b02d worked nonstop, it’d ff9bd5dfeb take at least 919f61aae1 a full month. And it’s not ad88554846 just one or accc2b090b two—there are ten. Do you 2e095942db have any 13c4aaf704 idea how 4041e70c69 much I 9757bce8eb had to ee1175abd6 stretch the 60b2638044 truth just 3345cd1695 to make 043f2f8421 it happen?”48c45ce573ce7aba

“Normally, with the 45e230bff6 kind of money ac8d29321e we’re paying, they 245175437e don’t ask questions.”5f5e8b6260686670

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“Ugh… this guy isn’tnormal.Anyway, I told him 8d86fc4905 it was urgent, so 239e981fba he’ll do it, but e2da1765b1 still…”b875b0474aadea8b

Xenon ran a 3379078b62 hand through his 3a7f15b901 hair, visibly drained. It must’ve been a d564e6321e pain trying to reach d483fb2696 the artisan, especially since 3546824a61 he’d mentioned their relationship 198307a4c5 wasn’t the best. No wonder c758aaae22 the guy 628ac61f94 wasn’t eager e070c4dcc3 to help, 2ae10ada87 even for a9ce9e2928 money.d00ceca3cd4b4d77

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“So… what 19834ed6d7 did you 7c65cdf6d6 end up fce7076d94 telling him?”5e46a0de5547c6f6

“…You’re not going to e1554946a6 be mad, right?”8bb5264b5172bb18

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The serious 26ea3dd998 tone in 7ba5e5ae74 response to 33fa5a83db my casual 10af7af339 question gave c1b9b73195 me pause. I gave him a d3642c6040 reluctant nod, and he 6edf583955 cleared his throat, avoiding 617fac4ce1 my gaze.687081ddb281edcc

“I said c0d8b022fa it was 7676033cbd for an 1fb7a6fc0f overly enthusiastic 8a6237e2b7 animal lover.”5147b858b48facef

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“Overly enthusiastic?”4b2672d222e445dd

“Yes. So please… act like c3b463bac7 one. You have cdd0116a28 to beverypassionate about animals.”0b6ac2dc5602932d

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“…Wouldn’t a 459254290e normal animal 3989d39a72 lover be 4c346911f0 enough?”295e6137dbb7066c

“Anormalanimal lover wouldn’t 739bdda6ea spend this kind 22afba195f of money on d98b41b888 a spatial magic 222d15c52a tool.”f5547b0326c4417d

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I had to 720cb0115d admit, he had 02a8cd93ad a point. Only someone with 3d474650f5 an extreme hoarding 457d31fc49 impulse or obsessive 2d3eef2fcc dedication would pay af75f1f59f that much.d958e9f2ed543595

His argument made enough fe4e3e804b sense that I quietly 1ac2eb8f96 suppressed my irritation and 32714633ca agreed.5c70b948f0ea7ff4

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An overly enthusiastic c1c839bc06 animal lover, huh.5e3b82d05fee414d

If the people f3c1403de8 at the Roam 1294d3aa37 estate heard that, c4b3903608 they’d have a a55ed85f8d fit. Kind of a d853187e0d shame I won’t 5d5683baab get to see 74c8bc106d their faces when 7b4742540b they do.474ca8ff76df3357

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