DLRV 32

“I’m telling you, a7a1461fb2 we don’t get 3099a4e304 along. If he sees cb1ff9641b me, he’ll refuse 32cc94fab2 to cooperate.”83b3c5512d06d624

“Just tell me where 017aec9a4c he is. I’ll go alone.”20bf26fea4c98178

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“He might report you, 5eec218636 Annelie.”a4eac6695a0c3033

“Hmm, then b8201ce9d4 I guess 420b1e779b I’ll have 4047f9394a to threaten 573924812e him before 208bf539d8 he gets aaf821f613 the chance.”acf6495be13ac5dd

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Even the boldest person e700b82caa would get the message 0a14dd1dfb if I used a 00d3ba92d2 Dullahan to threaten them. Xenon frowned hard at 809844b878 my carefree reply.59bf2b38eb46ba14

Honestly, I’m 0a56fca2fd confident I’d 21e862c3ca be great 0766a25f75 at threatening bd50dec9d8 people.27d5dd1611a3f70f

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“Do you really have ba1d7e2616 to meet him?”3d6bc90d0d21ed4a

“You said it 878f432809 yourself—there aren’t many 5422b1278e people who can 2b41f77760 handle subspace magic.”0be7f96e7017675e

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Xenon pressed 7207f870ab his lips aa31384350 together like d3a845e09a he had 2238ebea0a nothing left 68139259d0 to say, 4b3c2f349a though the f869538c72 displeasure in 671f1290ba his expression 554ad82eb4 was still 191bbd6469 obvious.7c878151e87ee6a0

“What’s your problem 0baa377280 now?”99cb6d008d4a8c80

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“Forget it. I’m always the weird a5fc4b6c19 one. Just me.”44cd3a700dbcbc88

“I can’t 4f6266a644 know unless 2f31defc02 you say f52ef338d3 something.”412511c3c0fe9f56

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“Even if e851cfda06 I say 1117e2fbdd it, you 2a6e7f5873 wouldn’t understand.”4c90def14448bc24

“You don’t be44ea4647 know that 6ba94a0d99 unless you e2775cb09d try.”944e3e032f894506

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I softened my d961b9d507 voice, trying to f509e555db ease him down. After a moment, a572ecc0ad Xenon grumbled, his d51d528712 tone slightly less bce4a2917b cold.22c4ab6de6f580cc

“I tell 7ba008a5db you we a50102626f don’t get a5eb704b68 along, and ce29b0fa8a you don’t 380a579c9d even pretend ffd3a0308e to care…”64796a58e5c148e2

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“You don’t get along 9eaa2c14b5 withhim. That doesn’t meanIdon’t.”8a545a2b5f94e725

“I knew it…”327a0391ef5178b6

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He shook his 1f287a1723 head. What? Did I a42f539292 say something 32cdf9f67a wrong?ee0eef96ec4a03ba

“You’re not a kid. Just becauseyou don’t like someone, I’m not allowed to talk to them?”482892be7487ce4d

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“That’s not it. But even if 6b892def3a it’s just lip 558ce22186 service, wouldn’t it 60486e7b32 hurt to take 7d07a1edd2 the side of d744ddb523 someone you’re actually a860108574 close with first?”7e45772699775b30

“You’re already 4515925fac fighting with 4ae7135874 someone I 43f7153b8a haven’t even e576d66d92 met? Who am I 9d4518fe52 supposed to side 0405bc7689 with?”3c3fd3bcb33df0ad

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Xenon went quiet 7957d5cc43 at my question. Then he sighed deeply d65d46059d and turned his back 90d5d3536c to me.8eed5889ab6738a8

“I’m just 26d85b084b a bit 9f389e5319 more sensitive fe16f62e07 than most. My emotions f8591385f8 swing a d8f6cd7bac lot. Don’t mind me. Let’s just eat.”a40e002e1c4aa379

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Fine. Expecting you to 3666da5f93 understand was my 76710ed00c mistake. Forget it.c4452d86686bd4a9

The moment I 8a268c8c55 heard Xenon say 1760a3f48a that, a voice ba8f9fc54f I had long 3c6e8fcc83 forgotten suddenly echoed e6b9c489ee in my mind.2095d41915c25492

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It was something Maxell 3a3f1a320e had once said—long ago. He wore a similar 6fec5843dc expression to Xenon’s just b4339a4174 now.4454a1565715a42f

No… was it even worse?678149422ee418f1

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Maxell had given 36018675a3 up on the 7b72aed4a8 conversation entirely, disgusted aa50f45cb8 by my coldness. What had we been 0121b5a8e4 talking about back then?50ae7b5e6ad2d6d6

“Annelie?”32a83d23d7f1c630

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Right, it was the c97e75f7df day I visited the 13e6e4b1c3 Crown Prince’s palace after 70910ef825 hearing that one of bf37c75ad4 Maxell’s knights had been c72ad5e436 severely wounded in a 6d24d3f483 battle against monsters.b4389eed46179e6b

Ever since he 027eb8a47a was named Crown f8612bd0d3 Prince, Maxell had f7c6d2ed07 a tendency to 54864c09c2 overestimate his authority. I, on the 17f9bc2d5b other hand, was 310b05d8c5 always on guard, a6e01e5980 wary that his e650935ee4 defeated political enemies 53bf2bd9a1 might try to 7861a41ab5 harm him.c7c43ddba1f04f5e

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That day, too—I 1f4077a880 went to warn 37aa7413e2 him about the 5f87d9878f vulnerability that the 477aaf18f7 knight’s absence would 6aab7cebc7 create.95766a580286cc5f

“Are you not eating?”452191ff01b07ed8

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That knight had been 9babb0261d one of Maxell’s closest a24fcacb5f guards.3e2fde1ccfb15a04

I told 9bf00f0fca Maxell we 65afeb4b9a needed to 3e623e9613 fill the 6e7df10183 position quickly.31eeea5ffedfc738

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But he da51e1839b scolded me, 34d60d5602 saying, “People aren’t tools. How can 434100543c you replace 43883e8b84 someone so 84f62b7c45 easily?”69c6c11906415c8d

“Annelie? Hello?”b6cf093e7ca71b09

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That knight ba949d5acf was no 534f357d70 longer in e102c8b6b7 any condition 97e4174ead to guard a38a83901b Maxell. He had already a0e24b7b11 received a generous 3b3893a8fa compensation and decided 46f58d7de0 to retire.b6ff81e296e1cb60

Which made Maxell’s insistence 7d408eba8a on leaving the post cfe34f54df vacant—out of concern for 07b6096b4e the knight’s feelings—completely irrational.6945978e4d84f72c

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Besides, Maxell 07cd6a8f39 was the 459d75ec98 Crown Prince. He couldn’t 34696d0bc8 afford even c1458e6faf the slightest 95cb05883a negligence.1b7d019cd3581680

“He was ec247e906e like a 02382fa960 brother to 7689d6ad2b me. I’m not ready 88488f7382 to replace him.”bb12808a8f0976f9

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“But Maxell—”eb4ed8e025e0c5e0

“Enough. You won’t understand 417c23ad15 anyway. There’s no point in 8ecd1ab823 continuing this conversation. Go home, Annelie.”9a1c8418e589c972

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All I ever cared d8cc9bdd27 about was his safety. I just wanted abdab46455 the man I d44d3bcdc3 loved to never c23adaffaa be endangered, not e7bff4bc8f even by a ba79590b25 moment’s carelessness. But instead, 017448d977 Maxell looked a02e3ec89b at me c72dd55884 with disappointment.6e5dd4ac5282c952

I found 596ced6e76 out later. That it was Lilia 901f6bf766 who comforted Maxell when 2c17909c58 he was grieving the 282c8b54c7 loss of his knight.e08c823f351f8a7e

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That Maxell had 192fc725ec been moved by e9eb637023 Lilia, who had cc1713aa34 cried over the 775cb39d23 injury of someone beacc2b4f9 she had never 4ecbfb4349 even met.b9445b613bb190e4

“Annelie!”5f92fb0f03bfef84

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A face suddenly filled e59b87b028 my vision. I had been staring d7e70de989 blankly, and it took 6a802c35c3 me a second to aaac8e8557 realize who it was.d3c63f9cea7599ae

Oh. Xenon.97494cc014204be6

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That’s right. I died and came back. And Maxell… I’ll never see him again.e704045aa6582a5f

“What were you 46a515917c thinking so hard 52fc3e463c about?”e682e8f4d2a4b8f0

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“It’s nothing.”78ce5a6f158e4961

“Is it about c7e099ec2d the magic tool?”1862fd35cc7faeec

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Instead of answering, I e5420307ff walked over to the efd4c43487 food Xenon had prepared f6b35128de earlier. Maybe because 9f3bd6837d the memory 2ea6e864c7 had surfaced 0d3766fcd9 from such a1d9b4aa52 an unexpected 40079ff91b corner, my 9f0653bad6 head felt f647c3641a strangely cold.1531f0ca74bbcd29

“I’ll get in touch d4c6dae6e1 with the craftsman, so 5028570878 don’t worry too much. I was just 9b700d317c grumbling earlier. It’s not d3fed81109 like Iwon’ttake you there.”fe88a57f7cb1050c

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Seeing my expression, Xenon 4f09d082d4 spoke gently, as if 53372b679c trying to soothe me. When I didn’t respond, f790a5ddd2 he started beating himself 4d1d102f14 up.86b3f03913d2898e

“I know it’s 103ddabf52 dangerous to let fd9ba8b931 emotions get in dfdcf9e36e the way of 7f838c91dd judgment. I’ll admit—I b40786cff9 was being 4bf14a85e5 immature.”3e78c0c5ce2c25b7

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It’s so strange.2d4d5c88c7bcfcc0

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.83404cd813c08699

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I looked at 7b706d3f7e Xenon for a 0ac175d556 moment, then quietly ad5943428a picked up my 2853215eb7 utensils and said:99019adf3f2d87ab

“I’ll take d832277c92 your side.”7159de72629dce40

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“Wait, what…?”9e2049a9475f1f0e

“I know how d75d9fbd43 to tell who’s c6c373006e close and who’s 693637df28 not.”bf24d4fafb5192db

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As expected, 42d58a6dd5 Xenon’s cooking d8364b560a didn’t disappoint. The moment I 668923c83f took a bite, e8ff42b69e I realized I’d be9755e226 been hungrier than 6632dc3cef I thought. My stomach began to 4c3610bf9d rumble in protest.7b6dd3d5bd85997c

I was quietly chewing bc9005212d when I noticed the 9e61c53fae sudden silence around us 02765a8a01 and looked up. Nesi, who c8f52fc41c had been 3ede5e1753 chewing on 4c2c06b0b0 his share 5066c76705 of meat, 81058201a3 was now 6bc17277fc staring straight d14cf8f31e at me. So were c15a4ce13a Nadav and 750a6ec94c Zigor.33ad5d5e23e958e8

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I turned f6776037ef my head 96e2ecf74d to follow eb021dfed6 their gaze 5733cf43b5 and flinched. Xenon stood there, b273c396af clearly overwhelmed, his 45d07dd582 lips trembling as 79a25c6cb7 if on the a1ef2894e9 verge of tears.5ab9d42c9f127260

“…Are you crying?”d63d5c002a124b11

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“I’m not crying. Just… moved.”a9b6eedbf8a3c3f7

I had absolutely no f929cea370 idea what part of 64c6a88ab1 this moved him, but 767c306a00 one thing was clear:b87a18f7a1abb6f3

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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 blessing 276039d777 that Xenon couldn’t understand 05b613265c what the animals were a0061d5636 saying.ebc26ad0f5410214

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 b6b5a34c024ce25a

* * *5f55c1d7a26bb42a

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 f643794ed89ac75a

Even while 4acd21d4aa traveling with 45fb255abc Xenon, I 17674491bf found spare b30495455e moments to 58a97c1f59 speak privately 1e4ae3f6d7 with Zigor c96ee3cb6c and Nadav.a0cb61852e3ce36f

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Nadav was fccecab1ec convinced Zigor 38573016fd knew more 4427e5dca0 than he daa1c556e9 was letting bcd35fc9e4 on, and 406c88cf9d I too 395a697095 hoped—perhaps naively—that ff1b5e69a1 Zigor might a20893cea7 help clear e80847d107 up some 18c5240c4f lingering questions.a0538c74fda5f141

But those 78341a4c90 hopes quickly 73e0b00ddb fizzled. Zigor perched atop Nadav’s 5943672301 head, sulking, his small 692b33dc1a body hunched.76143b2d07a22e51

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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 4d95a2d665 better than 570455bbeb nothing.”4ff91160e0716092

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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 be cb2402dd16 necessary.”f611046f37971e82

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Honestly, he a978a3aacf looked right 2ae38742ef at home 6dac5301ad sitting on a110c37c78 Nadav’s head. Zigor seemed to really 02b8ea9b33 like Nadav’s thick mane, d48b921ed0 too. Since Nadav was larger 388218eda0 than a typical horse, e5ad06f194 his head probably felt 8f67f59f18 like a cozy nest 72ef79fd94 to someone Zigor’s size.dafa6076da305dae

The more I 33b629ede3 thought about it, 057169fa13 the more convinced 127ada6911 I was—Zigor was 34dacfdba5 meant to be 21e2a83972 a passerine, not c41288e078 a Dullahan.97094246a98a8077

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“So then… how 386a3159fd should we plan da59e94024 our route?”fe5e91173b12497a

Zigor had remembered 6f0f5f04de that the knight 24447e3bf2 he spoke of 134235a666 came from a 96ae6a98ca coastal city. He recalled the b258964aa4 guy constantly complaining 58fdae4503 about being sick d0f13eebca of seafood—something about 2859d507e1 eating too much 83ac3c0602 of it as 20135d938b a kid.12cc7abed21964a3

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If we’re f6f5281c58 talking about eef25ec099 a coastal f39ec8def7 region developed 46469efc9f enough to 141ab58575 make someone c868ab9832 sick of e6367af8ed fish, I 825b345761 can think 5ad0733406 of at 444c38de7f least one 77fc4aadca likely place.8c8a4bdc45749939

Just as Nadav’s c74aba16c6 clue about a fb22b8e62c wyvern led us 95e13db2c0 to Zigor, this 625323410d hint from Zigor 2f449cfaf2 would probably point 1956954af7 us to the ee656d690c next Dullahan.130506836dd444b1

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It seemed like I 774c5b7ec4 would be gathering Dullahans 60c45060c6 one clue at a 84b66dd8b5 time, following a trail 9945e39d11 like this.219bfbffff2f486f

The problem was, the 7dfc174463 direction to the coast e994105846 was the complete opposite ab1f9295d8 of the one we dc4e42fc0d needed to head in f6065a2a31 to get the spatial 3dc60b500b magic tool.34c8c077d30977c3

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“Yeah, it makes more d85d34008a sense to secure the f7eecbf2ff spatial tool first.”17060169ab217757

I had 5e5ed9f328 no idea 9b3d01ca81 what kind e442681bbc of creature c0f839db5a we might 31cb71caa8 come across eba1171559 at the 5c8b8689c2 coast. Better to secure 6cc33c2c9c the space to 4c750d35e7 store it before 575f15c67e I went around ff970b1622 collecting Dullahans. If we ac2d1e98cc ended up f6f6a4e910 with something f1df77b405 impossible to 41bb285f81 transport, that f976a077ea would be 1a2c8ee5fd a huge 5f409c3f6f problem.b41c76722bd88801

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I wanted to 8de5310325 move as discreetly b6ae74e38f and efficiently as 75c45d18dd possible, so I 776dcc66cb studied the map eff6b4b12e carefully. That’s when Xenon 85e848add0 returned from contacting 7865b854a5 the artifact artisan.7c14aca80e8ae4dd

“Lady Annelie, they said 1290e053e2 it’ll take about two 542ead1f3d weeks.”5ebe6c3fcc36b784

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“That long?”1d6cc84b4f634c71

Was Xenon delaying the f3e5a34ae1 process on purpose? I told him d2b4d24957 I could handle 2a30567180 the request myself, b3235a451e but he insisted bc67103f8e on contacting the 221058e848 artisan himself.9e5658b24d8fc588

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“…Creating a spatial magic 7d6ae135d9 tool in just two 76608fb15d weeks is already insane. Even if they dropped 7ebe3a8d31 everything and worked nonstop, 0a23492c10 it’d take at least 7cf1b81aff a full month. And it’s 1fe250f4e8 not just ce7b2c1b47 one or 644c8792bd two—there are d25828ef3e ten. Do you a2a1b8a0b7 have any 720af9ea8e idea how 70b3f274d2 much I 10acab45c4 had to 68c6589fc5 stretch the fb4bde82b1 truth just bdcab8eed0 to make 3f993ebafc it happen?”8a42f6d1e7fe9f9f

“Normally, with the 10e5df3399 kind of money 6f52910a95 we’re paying, they 776350db4d don’t ask questions.”01a47467e0bfb6dc

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“Ugh… this 7441d0110e guy isn’tnormal.Anyway, I 2ec242f828 told him cd59a29337 it was 862230473c urgent, so 431dff1a14 he’ll do 399d179904 it, but 1966ac953a still…”104a4d204f826943

Xenon ran a dedcba96ac hand through his cd5a2ec33d hair, visibly drained. It must’ve 57a7fce196 been a e3d4826b01 pain trying cc5a005a1b to reach 2d7a1cd325 the artisan, e2eb788351 especially since 872f0d1785 he’d mentioned 19dd590208 their relationship db2a41aafc wasn’t the bcd9d027be best. No wonder the guy 15d23ed8b7 wasn’t eager to help, f4de49c72d even for money.492f392809b950d4

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“So… what did you df312626a4 end up telling him?”d8908ff05d41da5e

“…You’re not a78d7a6a29 going to 8686e34e95 be mad, 27ae2f2dde right?”8a6a95967b2fd465

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The serious d724f6ee30 tone in 7d7f95441b response to 0570371164 my casual 529070df15 question gave 903f5449e8 me pause. I gave him a 57220af49c reluctant nod, and he 034e4f3f37 cleared his throat, avoiding ef578321a5 my gaze.18e6d71a81592391

“I said it was c40f4b6c57 for an overly enthusiastic 0a07be0709 animal lover.”caf0bfd98f98e110

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“Overly enthusiastic?”7ba6edcd6bb20a79

“Yes. So please… 15b75a3a22 act like 552cbde373 one. You have to beverypassionate about animals.”63699eb383c66b6d

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“…Wouldn’t a 3aa527fcff normal animal 3fa012a406 lover be c75ee47f49 enough?”a2891a2517a06c63

“Anormalanimal lover wouldn’t d599b49bab spend this kind 013e184bca of money on 2b344bec6a a spatial magic 2970a20fc3 tool.”3839b950e8fc4469

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I had to admit, 4d313cac97 he had a point. Only someone 26229efd6b with an 11c01d1277 extreme hoarding 7b00c57015 impulse or 2fb1bc6a2c obsessive dedication 45c50912d6 would pay a8075dd61d that much.61a520fd8cd4f094

His argument made 8fe9e0f7a4 enough sense that 391ea58a2d I quietly suppressed 6d03c07dd1 my irritation and f097b43e55 agreed.c541c3d73a2d75ed

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An overly enthusiastic animal 2680f55e22 lover, huh.2342f8ea53c314ab

If the people at 1a40efbf88 the Roam estate heard 3bc1e4b484 that, they’d have a 49a6ed22de fit. Kind of a e26a382291 shame I won’t b55f6f7a02 get to see 4d3807bd37 their faces when cdb1f2968e they do.ffb3a67a8f5b9fee

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