At about five o'clock in the morning, there was a brief autumn rain in Bruno City.
Hesta was still wandering the streets without an umbrella or looking for shelter from the rain. Such drizzle didn't have much impact on her, especially at this moment, when she was eager to face a storm that was sweeping the sky and the ground.
At six o'clock in the morning, Hestad showed up at Ava Morgan's house, dripping wet.
By the time she realized where she was, Ava's yard appeared to her left.
This is a single-family villa with a garden in the front yard and backyard. The two-meter-high bushes serve as a barrier, blocking the view of passers-by, but through the occasional gaps in the trees, Hestad can see some of the yard. details like the garden, the stone path, some girls already working in the yard.
She walked to the main door, where a golden door plate hung on the black iron gate:
Hereditary Honorary Citizen Ava Morgan House
She pressed the doorbell, and soon a young girl with two thick braids appeared behind the door.
"……you are?"
"Eureka Demon." Hesta looked at her, "Ms. Morgan once said that she was willing to provide me with some help, so I-"
"Oh, I know you, please come in."
The young girl quickly opened the door and welcomed Hesta in.
"Ava told us that a lady named Eureka might come to visit in the next two days, but there are other visitors now. Would you mind going to the glass room first and waiting?"
"no problem."
Following the young girl, Hestad crossed the front yard of the mansion.
On this humid morning, Ava's yard is filled with the fresh smell of vegetation. Some hibiscus that withered last night have fallen on the grass, their crimson petals condensed with dew, and there are more buds tightly wrapped in green calyx on the branches, which will gradually bloom in the frosty late autumn.
When entering the house, Hesta glanced at the umbrella stand by the door, where four wet long-handled umbrellas were neatly placed.
The young girl led Hesta to the glass room, which was about ten square meters and located on the side of the villa. The three walls and roof here are made of glass. There are many monsteras and spider plants placed on the walls, and there is a swing chair and a small round table in the middle.
Due to the warm temperature inside the house, a layer of mist formed on the inside of the glass. After Hesta sat down on the swing chair, he could barely see what was outside, only the endless green shadows gently moving in the wind outside the hazy window.
The young girl quickly brought bread, butter, a cup of coffee and some biscuits. When she walked to the kitchen, she remembered that she had forgotten to ask Hesta how much he needed. After thinking about it, she directly served three to the big man. It was for one person, but I didn’t expect Hesta to finish it all quickly.
Theoretically serving three people, it should actually be enough for four people.
"God..." the young girl blinked, "...you, do you still need it?"
"No need," Hesta replied, "Is there any water?"
"Yes...but there is no ice water, only hot water, is that okay?"
"That's great, thank you."
After drinking two glasses of hot water, Hesta felt that her stomach seemed to be slowly opening, and she felt sleepy.
She opened the window at hand, letting the biting and clear cold wind from outside blow into the room.
It started to rain again outside, and the rain pattered on the glass above Hesta's head, but it made the small room even quieter.
Hesta leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
At a quarter past seven, she heard some footsteps coming from outside. She turned around and saw several people coming down the grand staircase. They were both men and women. Their coat pockets were full of metal pen casings. They were all putting on their coats and facing the direction. Go to the door.
Hesta watched them walking across the living room, talking in low voices.
Not long after, the girl with two rough braided hair came again. Her steps were always very lively, and Hesta could easily recognize her.
Going up the stairs, Hesta gradually felt the building's own style - if anyone looked down at Ava's residence from the air, they would find that it is an equal-armed cross, with the center part being the living room on the first floor. Above is a curved dome.
Looking down from a high place, Hestad can more clearly feel the order hidden in the furnishings. The ubiquitous symmetry here outlines an invisible but extremely clear axis. The owner of the house rationally and restrainedly abandoned all meaningless decorations and patterns, keeping all the paintings, sofas, tables and chairs in the house... A very harmonious master-slave relationship.
She was brought to Ava's study, then opened the door and walked in alone, where Ava sat at her huge desk.
Although Hesta had entered the room, Ava did not raise her head. She was holding a quill and writing something on a large white paper.
In her hand lay a glass of water with some ice cubes floating on it.
Ava was wearing a long mouse-gray nightgown today and a pair of gold-rimmed metal round glasses on the bridge of her nose. Even when she was sitting, her waist and back were still straight. She said nothing, her eyes always followed the tip of her pen, very seriously.
This scene suddenly reminded Hesta of Molly.
There was a wooden chair placed in front of Ava's desk. Apart from this, there was no other place to sit in the study.
Hestad neither greeted Ava nor sat on the wooden chair. She walked slowly along the wall and visited Ava's bookshelf - there were some photos on it that aroused Hestad's interest.
She first saw a bust of a girl with long chestnut hair. The girl was wearing a cloak and holding a black cane in her hand. Her eyes did not look directly at the camera, but looked at the camera with a cold attitude. Diagonally above.
Hesta also has a photo of this type. It was taken by the base as a souvenir for her the year she secretly graduated from the base.
In the lower right corner of this photo, there are three lines of smooth small words:
Ava Morgan
Graduation commemoration at the age of seventeen
04104576
Hesta was startled. She remembered that Mrs. Lavitt was born in this year, which aroused her surprise - Mrs. Lavitt was seventeen years younger than Ava.
Hesta stared at the cane that Ava was holding tightly in this photo. The pattern on it made her feel like she had seen it somewhere. She tried to recall it, but she couldn't remember it.
But when Hesta looked at another photo, she instantly recalled the origin of this cane: it was Miss Chiba's cane, and she would bring it whenever she needed to replace her prosthetic limb.
The photo that awakened Hesta's memory was a photo of Miss Chiba and Ava.
The moment he saw this photo, Hesta's eyes widened - Chiba in the photo was very young, she was thin, and her height was less than Ava's shoulders.
The photo was taken in early autumn. Chiba was wearing the base's dark green fitness uniform and pants, standing with Ava on the tree-lined avenue behind the reserve apartment.
Chiba's entire right arm and left leg were now free. She stared at the camera with obvious resistance and vigilance.
And the cane that belonged to Ava in the previous photo was now in Chiba's hand.
Hesta glanced at the shooting time——
This is Chiba, 12, and Ava, 56.
