013 Exploring the Old Mansion

“Chirp-chirp, who are you? Chirp-chirp, how did you get here?” The voice of the little ball of flame continued to call out in its peculiar chirping way. If one ignored its appearance and listened only to the sound, it would be easy to mistake it for a bird speaking. Teresa couldn’t help but grumble inwardly—one looks like a bird but doesn’t sound like one; the other sounds like a bird but appears as a ball of fire. What a bizarre place…

Though she was thinking this to herself, she answered the fiery creature’s question aloud, “I am Teresa. I was just pushed in here by someone, and now I can’t get out. I followed a big bird inside.”

At this point, the fiery ball was still gazing quietly at her. Teresa thought for a moment, then added, “A big bird that makes a ‘ka-ka’ sound.”

“Ka-ka,” the ball of flame seemed almost possessed by the spirit of the big bird and began to caw. “Ka-ka is bad, bringing strangers in. Ka-ka is bad and must be punished.”

From this, Teresa realized that “Ka-ka” must be the name of that oddly shaped bird. Inspiration struck, and she tentatively asked, “Is your name Chirp-chirp?”

“Chirp-chirp, chirp-chirp!” The little flame bobbed about joyfully, making Teresa dizzy just to watch. “You know Chirp-chirp? You’ve heard of Chirp-chirp? Chirp-chirp, Chirp-chirp is famous now, Chirp-chirp, Chirp-chirp…”

Watching the spinning Chirp-chirp, Teresa fell silent once more—who named this little thing, so lazy with names…

Whether or not it was because Teresa had guessed its name, the little ball of fire, Chirp-chirp, suddenly became much friendlier toward her. After finishing its gleeful spin, Chirp-chirp hopped up to Teresa’s shoulder, chirping happily, “Chirp-chirp, Chirp-chirp will take you to see the boss. Ka-ka is silly, lost the newcomer, Chirp-chirp is not silly like that.”

Teresa had no choice but to continue on under Chirp-chirp’s guidance. As they walked, she kept trying to ask Chirp-chirp about the manor and this miniature forest, but Chirp-chirp seemed to have grown cunning all of a sudden. No matter how she tried to probe, it played dumb, so that aside from idle chatter, she could glean not a single useful piece of information.

They hadn’t walked for long before the scene opened up before them. The once dense canopy let in shafts of sunlight, painting little circles on the ground. The earth had been cultivated and divided into neat plots, each growing different plants—some just sprouting, others already with stalks and leaves, some even bearing fruit. Teresa glanced over them and recognized only one or two as edible or medicinal.

“Ka-ka, the stranger walks so slowly, so very slowly,” came that familiar caw. Teresa looked in the direction of the sound and saw the big bird perched on a branch, cawing at her in mockery—mockery? Yes, that was unmistakably mockery gleaming in those golden eyes, and Teresa couldn’t help but feel vexed…

Being mocked by a bird—what kind of world was this?

While Teresa was still lost in her indignation, Chirp-chirp was already defending her. “Chirp-chirp, bad Ka-ka, led the way all wrong, Chirp-chirp, bad Ka-ka, got the newcomer lost, Ka-ka is silly, silly Ka-ka.”

“Ka-ka won’t stoop to bickering with silly Chirp-chirp, ka-ka.” Ka-ka lifted its head in disdain. At this, Chirp-chirp became agitated, its little eyes even glistening with tears!

With a crisp “smack!”, Ka-ka, in the midst of its smugness, was struck and tumbled to the ground, its sharp beak plunging into the dirt. Whether this was due to the force of the blow or the bird’s own sharp beak was hard to say.

“Don’t bully Chirp-chirp.” A deep, resonant voice followed. Unlike the odd accents of Ka-ka and Chirp-chirp, this voice was almost indistinguishable from a human’s. Yet Teresa clearly saw a small, feline figure step out from behind the branch where Ka-ka had been perched. This creature was about the size of something between a housecat and a leopard, with slender limbs, short fur, two tall pointed ears, and emerald green eyes as deep and steady as an old sage’s—eyes much the same color as Teresa’s own.

“Mu-mu!” Chirp-chirp, like a child who had found its parent after being bullied, leapt onto the feline’s back and rolled about in delight—indeed, the little flame rolling around on Mu-mu’s back looked entirely in its element.

Ka-ka, cowed by Mu-mu’s blow, pulled itself out of the dirt and didn’t dare return to its perch, instead crouching on the ground, rubbing its beak against a tree trunk and scattering bark everywhere.

With a flick of its long tail, Mu-mu placed Chirp-chirp gently onto a branch, then, with a powerful spring, leaped in front of Teresa. Their emerald eyes met and regarded each other for a long moment before Mu-mu finally spoke: “Come with me.”

Watching Mu-mu turn and stride away with feline grace, Teresa let out a long sigh—why did she have to keep traipsing around? At this rate, she would soon have walked her entire three-day quota in one afternoon…

Though she sighed inwardly, she had little choice. After all, she had trespassed—albeit through trickery—so she must defer to the will of the manor’s master, mustn’t she?

—After all, Ka-ka, Chirp-chirp, and Mu-mu were surely the original inhabitants of the estate.

They passed through the fields and around a hedge, and suddenly the scene brightened—no longer shielded by trees, the sunlight was dazzlingly clear. And there, beneath its golden glow, stood an ancient manor. Entirely built of wood, its style was completely different from the stone and brick buildings of the present. Large floor-to-ceiling windows gave the manor an airy, transparent feeling—though most of them were draped with curtains. On the veranda that jutted out from the house stood a rocking chair, bathed in sunlight, radiating a sense of utter leisure and comfort.

Teresa fell in love with this tranquil house at first glance.

With a few light leaps, Mu-mu bounded into the corridor and through a half-open mirrored door, its voice floating back, “Master, you have a guest.”

As Teresa waited, both eager and anxious, an old man with wild hair emerged from the mirrored door, Mu-mu perched on his shoulder. The old man was extraordinarily tall—standing on the veranda, he nearly brushed the eaves above. He was extremely thin, cloaked in a voluminous robe that made him look like a scarecrow draped in cloth. His presence was cold, his gaze icy and his demeanor frosty; the moment he appeared, the air around seemed to chill.

Teresa guessed this must be the master of the house and immediately curtsied in proper lady’s fashion. “Good day. Teresa Borje, intruding by mistake. Please forgive my discourtesy.”

Because the courtesy was that of a junior, Teresa lowered her eyes, giving an impression of utmost deference. Even with her gaze averted, she could feel the cold, penetrating stare the old man fixed upon her—it sent an involuntary chill through her.

Under such a gaze, a second felt like an eternity. As Teresa suffered in silence, the old man finally spoke: “Two days a week, you’ll serve at the old manor. Any days you choose.”

“What?” The abruptness of this left Teresa utterly confused. She looked up, dumbfounded, words of protest on the tip of her tongue—only to swallow them the moment she met those icy gray eyes. Her instincts screamed that questioning or refusing would be dangerous—extremely dangerous!

Perhaps her reaction pleased the old man. He flicked his finger, and a crisp snap echoed through the manor’s stillness. In that instant, Teresa felt something brush past her—a sensation so strange she couldn’t help but arch her brows. Before she could even puzzle out what the gesture meant, Mu-mu leapt down from the old man’s shoulder and ambled past her, tossing out, “Come with me.”

Mu-mu led the way, guiding Teresa along winding stone paths around most of the wooden house. She didn’t know how, but before long they arrived at the main entrance of the vast courtyard—the wrought iron gate, always tightly shut, now stood half open, leaving just enough space for one person to slip through.

“Go now, and remember the agreement,” Mu-mu instructed before disappearing into the grove beside the pebble path, vanishing in a few swift bounds.

Teresa was truly exhausted. Everything she had experienced today—especially within this manor—had left her head aching and her body drained. She didn’t want to think anymore; dragging her weary body, she slipped sideways through the iron gate.

With a dull clang, the gate swung shut behind her the moment she stepped outside. Teresa looked up at the leafy shade and let out a long breath—

“So tired…”

…

“Teresa!” A delighted shout rang out from nearby. She turned, but before she could see clearly, strong arms swept her into a tight embrace, a big hand thumping her back in joyful reunion.

“Archil, if you keep thumping me, I’ll end up with internal injuries,” Teresa muttered helplessly.

At her words, Archil immediately let go, scrutinizing her from top to bottom and side to side. Seeing that she was only a bit weary in spirit and otherwise unharmed, he finally relaxed. Without waiting for her to ask, he began chattering away, detailing everything that had happened to the group after they were separated. Teresa could only sigh at the tricks of fate—for the ordeal she had suffered, the wager that had caused her so much trouble had, it turned out, ended with nothing at all. The reason was simple: both sides’ crests had been taken by a third party. Without the tokens, neither Pedia’s group nor Nuans’ companions could continue, and the game was over. At the start, both parties had overlooked one thing—today was the busiest day of the Treasure Hunt Festival, and the whole city was bustling with…