It didn’t take long for Arthur to fall dead asleep after lying down on the warm, fluffy bed. He had actually wanted to think over everything that happened that day in the silence of the night; alas the bed was just too soft for his tired body.

He didn’t realize his body was so out of juice. Not just physically, but mentally too.

Well to be fair, being dragged down to the depths of the moon by a Cthulhu horror would do that to anyone.

In fact, Arthur’s physical wounds and sore muscles had already mostly been healed by Zoe after they got out of the lava tube. The mental exhaustion, however, was not something she could simply magic away.

It only took 5 minutes, and he was already counting sheep in dreamland.

He didn’t even notice the email he got from TCS Observatory (Tecsov) in the middle of the night, even though the alert was quite blaring.

The first thing Arthur did after waking up was check his phone. Even though his worldview got flipped upside down, everyday habits were hard to get rid of.

He scrolled down the screen, absentmindedly reading the notifications. His body felt refreshed. He could help but stretch his back as a large yawn instinctively leaked from his mouth.

‘Oh, Tecsov? Huh, they actually want to hold the interview today. How unprofessional.’ Arthur read with sleepy eyes. Apparently, the management of Tecsov wanted him to visit the new headquarters that afternoon, bringing forward the day of the interview by 24 hours.

Unexpected circumstances had forced them to take such measures.

They even listed the cause. Arthur missed it the first time he read the message, probably because half his mind was still dreaming about tentacles. Then he read it again just to be sure. And again. And one last time.

His mouth went wide with shock.

‘Ugh’.

He closed his jaws immediately. He forgot to brush his teeth the previous night. Now something stank like rotten fish bits inside.

“It has come to our attention that you have come into contact with paranormal beings before the expected date set by TCS Observatory. The agency will provide full assistance when dealing with such matters, both professional and personal. We are equipped with a full set of expertise, and should you decide to join, you can expect to be given the authority to utilize them.

P.S – I’m talking about that girl in your home. Don’t be late.”

Arthur almost tripped after falling off the bed. The blanket tangled his feet like a wraith, and a grey blur ran out from under with a distressed Mrraaw!

Arthur had no time to mind the cat though. He just about ran to washroom.

The message from Tecsov was definitely shocking, but he really needed to brush his teeth if he wanted to express that shock properly.

***

Arthur made his way downstairs after freshening up, still thinking about the email. Zoe was already up. Arthur spotted her cooking breakfast in the kitchen. She was just about done too.

The morning meal was Thai fried rice, with a side of eggs and vegetables. The cat was already happily munching on some fresh fish. She had already forgotten the small shock she received earlier.

To be fair, she was a cat. Fish could make her forget all emotional trauma, loyalty, ethics, and everything else.

Arthur squinted his eyebrows. Something was wrong with the picture. Then he figured out what bugged him,

‘I’m pretty sure there was no fresh fish in the refrigerator when I checked yesterday… Oh well. Rather than the cat…’

“I’ve been thinking about this since yesterday but, do you actually need to eat?”

“No, I don’t. I like eating and tasting new things though. It’s fun!” Zoe replied enthusiastically. But her expression turned gloomy the next second, “I think I was close to getting food poisoning yesterday. That robe tasted like old men with bald heads. Yuck.”

Arthur was dumbfounded.

“I’ve got something to show you. Look at this.” Arthur passed the phone to her.

Zoe received the device with a complicated expression. She touched the holo-screen gently with her fingers. She then looked at the screen intently for a few seconds, as if judging the contents of the email. The eldritch maiden had a scowl on her face throughout the whole process.

“What do you think?”

“Ugh… Well, I don’t like how these semiconductors taste. The holo-particles also has texture like bland cotton. It’s all artificial flavoring, and bad for health too. I’d rather eat rice.” Zoe replied, her expression serious. She warily tried to return the phone to a stupefied Arthur.

“Not that! Ah, the email, look at the email.” Arthur said, slapping the table with his hand helplessly. He was very disadvantaged when dealing with this ancient neurotic.

“Oh, right! That. Let me see what is says first.” Zoe blushed, then read through the email seriously.

Inwardly, she was actually very surprised. Arthur was not usually the type to consult with her, of all people, about his problems. This was a rarity!

A few seconds later, the frown returned to her face. She was quite astounded by the content of the email, and a bit disappointed too.

The email wasn’t about Arthur’s problems, but her.

The eldritch maiden sighed, saying, “This… Did these Tecsov people put a tracker on you too? It’s awfully suspicious how they knew what happened yesterday.”

“I know right?! And that job offer. I’ll be honest here; I am quite interested in it. It’s just that, there’s definitely something wrong with these people. This email is way too coincidental. No matter how prestigious a company they are, if they can spy on us like that, they’re bad news.”

“Umm, wait a moment.” Saying that, Zoe chanted something under her breath. From what Artur could see, her eyes started glowing a dim yellow, her pupils going out of focus. As if she was looking at something far away. There were tiny runes and letters circling inside her iris.

A small pulse went out. Other than that, nothing else seemed to happen. All Arthur could do was wait with bated breath.

A few seconds later, Zoe stopped chanting. She glanced at Arthur, her turquoise eyes returning to normal.

The maiden said with a thoughtful look, “I just used a detection magic to scan for prying. I couldn’t detect anything like the tracker Liu Feng used yesterday, or anything similar. That means two things. Either they didn’t actually spy on us, or the method of spying is of such a high level that even I can’t detect it. Well, I highly doubt the latter though.”

“Wait, what about non-magical ways of spying? What if they actually used some high-tech super powered x-ray telescope or something?” Arthur asked skeptically.

“My magic detects intent! I don’t use low-level cantrips like that monk, wallowing in poverty. If something, somewhere in this area had the intent to spy on use, I’d know. I can see all the threads of information and causality extending from our house to their destinations, and there were no threads of espionage among them. I’m pretty confident in this magic eye spell. I got it from a dragon!” Zoe stated with her chest puffed out, quite proud of her high levels of magic mastery.

‘D-Dragon!’ Arthur almost jumped, but managed to tame his excited nerves. ‘Ok, leave that for later. Still, wow, Dragons are real? Well, why not?’

“I-I see. So, what do you think I should do?” Arthur wanted Zoe’s opinion on the matter, even though he had already given it some thought.

Personally, he was inclined to at least give Tecsov a chance. So far, they hadn’t really tried anything unsavory, unlike Liu Feng who put a tracker on him. At least, Zoe’s magic couldn’t detect anything like that.

More importantly… if they really could help him with Zoe and his parents’ case, he would definitely regret not seizing this chance.

After all, they did directly mention that they would help him with personal matters.

The tricky question was, did he actually trust them?

The simple answer was a resounding no. Purely because he’d never actually met or interacted with any of them.

That brought it back to the dilemma, should he go or not?

“You don’t actually… need the job for money, right?” Zoe cautiously asked, not trying to poke a nerve.

“I don’t. Actually, I forgot to tell you this yesterday. I was planning to turn this place into an inn. It is built like a ryokan, after all. It should be a good way to earn a stable income now that the bad luck is gone.” Arthur gestured around the room. Then he realized his mistake.

He hurriedly exclaimed with bashful uncertainty, “N-Not like I’m blaming you or anything! Besides, I’m confident I can successfully run this place. It would be even better if we ran this place together! I mean, if you want to, that is. In case… mom and dad comes back one day an- ”

Zoe smiled, then gave Arthur a tight hug before he could continue rambling, “Idiot, you don’t have to ask me that. I’ve been living here since before you were ever born. You wouldn’t actually kick me out if I disagreed, would you?”

“What! No, I didn’t mean it like that! You can stay here as long as you want! Even if you laze around like a useless bum. No, actually, you don’t need to work at all. Let me take care of you!” Arthur frantically spouted nonsense, unsuccessfully trying to hide his embarrassment. He did not want the conversation to go in that direction.

“Hmph, don’t call me a lazy bum. I can cook better than you. Even chef Ramsey said my butter chicken was amazing!” Of course, one of the staple skills of an established foodie was cooking. Sect archives weren’t the only things Zoe raided over the years. Recipe books were one of the most prized loot for this cheeky bandit.

“Right, that reminds me. Should we go buy s-” Arthur agreed with her claim. Her butter chicken was amazing.

Then he regretfully shook his head, as if to shake away a delicious food fantasy, “We’ve gone off-topic. So, should I go or not? They want me to go today. Rather abrupt I’d say.”

Zoe put her index finger on her chin, looking thoughtfully, “I— personally think it’s too risky for you to meddle with supernatural affairs. You’re basically a noncombatant. However, umm, I also don’t want to let go of any clue that might lead us to Juliet and Patrick. So-”

“Then it’s settled than. I’ll go to the interview this afternoon.”

“And then we’ll capture their boss and make her talk!”

There was a brief silence. Then Arthur said, “Wait, it’s my job interview. Why would you want to go?”

Zoe angrily looked at him, “What do you mean job interview, you just said the job wasn’t even the point. Also, don’t ask stupid questions. There’s no way I would let you walk in some suspicious company alone. What if they end up capturing you.”

“No no no, in the first place, what do you mean capture?”

“Exactly as I said. They definitely know something, or at least pretend to know it. We’ll have to capture their boss and make her talk. Some miss Vileplume was it?”

Zoe glared at him defiantly. No matter what he said, it seemed like she would not concede on this point. She definitely would not let him go there alone.

Arthur could actually agree to that, after all she was worried for his safety and could guarantee it to a certain extent.

However, random criminal activities were a big no-no!

Zoe normally seemed so cheerful and bubbly; people often mistook her for a clueless airhead. What they didn’t know was, she was only so carefree with those whom she considered friends and family.

Towards most strangers, she was completely indifferent. Not to mention, she could be very cold and ruthless to anything or anyone she considered a threat.

“No, look here you psycho. They said they’d help. Get it? Help. I’m not asking you to blindly believe it, I won’t either. However! So far, they haven’t shown any hostility and only offered us help. You cannot randomly kidnap people and make them talk just because they might have bad intentions.

Remember what mom used to tell you, no arbitrary illegal activities in the Tullett household will be permitted!” Arthur used his trump card, his mom’s threats, to emotionally blackmail the eldritch maiden into conceding.

When he saw Zoe’s expression slowly turn conflicted, he brought out the carrot, “I’ll ask them if you can come too. Since they already know you live here, I’m sure they’ll agree. We’ll be extra careful throughout the whole thing. It won’t be too late to take action after figuring out their motives. So let’s just hear them out first, okay?”

“Hmph, if you say so. However! First sign of anything fishy, and I’m letting my scourgekins out. All of them!” That made Arthur almost regret bringing out the carrot. He really didn’t want to bring her. This girl obviously had violent tendencies, and maybe some deep-rooted mental problems too.

He squinted his eyes, thinking if he should book a session with a therapist online. In the end, he just sighed and put away those thoughts. If they were going to cooperate, he needed to compromise.

Also, Arthur himself wasn’t entirely guilt free either. Not that he felt bad for taking advantage of Zoe’s feelings. That was a privilege he would proudly abuse as a family member.

“… Fine, let me send them a reply first.” Arthur only hesitated for a second before sending Tecsov and affirmative reply along with his enquiry. By the time he finished breakfast, Tecsov replied back. Of course, they agreed to let the eldritch maiden tag along.

Thus, the matter was settled.

***

Arthur and Zoe spent the rest of the day talking about this and that. Five years was a long time for ordinary humans. Even Zoe, who was an ageless being, felt that she hadn’t seen Arthur for five thousand years, not just five.

That probably had to do with her muddy state of mind.

In any case, they had a lot of stories to share. Arthur talked about his life at university, the friends he had, and even about his almost nonexistent love life.

Zoe, well, mostly listened to Arthur talk. Here and there she said a bit about her past, just to sate his curiosity.

At one point, they decided to finally name the cat. They had both agreed to keep her, and of course a proper name was a must.

They argued on what to name her for a long time, but just couldn’t agree on a name they both liked. It turned out to be harder than they imagined.

Mainly because they had vastly different views on what were proper pet names. Not to mention, both of them were really bad at it.

Zoe vehemently refused to name her ‘Snuffles’, ‘Greyie’ or ‘Whitey’. ‘Dame Floofypaws the bringer of death’ was also firmly denied. Arthur insisted on naming her ‘The Grey Shadow’ which only earn him a swollen ear.

The eldritch maiden herself on the other hand, kept trying to name the cat after sweet confectionaries, candies and fruits. Arthur feared if they really named the cat ‘Skittles’ or ‘KittyKat’, Zoe might start taking the name literally one day in case the storeroom ran out of skittles.

Finally, they wrote down some names they both found acceptable on some pieces of paper, and let the cat herself choose. The cat, of course, refused to let go of the fish in favor of some paper she could not eat.

So after much coercion and begging, the cat finally turned her attention towards the bickering duo. She stretched out a paw and shoved away a piece of paper that was too close to her fish.

Whether or not she intentionally chose it was another matter.

“Ok, from here on, you shall be named Snowy!” Zoe proclaimed proudly as she held up the grumpy cat like, talking like that baboon from Lion King.

That made Arthur laugh. Suddenly, he realized something, ‘Wait a minute! Something’s fishy!’

He thought hard for a few seconds, then identified the problem.

“Hold on, didn’t I say we can’t name her after food? You just had a Snowy Strawberry Tart from Snowy Pastries!” Arthur exclaimed. Snowy Strawberry Tart was Zoe’s favorite pastry.

“You said we can’t name her after candies! No one said anything about pastries!” Zoe denied his accusation.

“Argh… you know what, fine. You win. Let’s just go with Snowy.” Arthur was tired of all the arguing. It was almost time for the interview too. He just made a mental note not to make the same mistake again.

The crafty eldritch might look like a dumb airhead, but one would definitely be sorry if they underestimate her ability to argue nonstop.

“Yay!” Zoe fist pumped happily. “She’s so cute! Like plump little fruit. It’s been soooo long since I last snuggled a real cat! Aha~n, so warm and cuddly too! A fake offshoot can’t even compare!”

That got Arthur’s attention. He stopped brooding and asked the maiden, “Come to think of it, didn’t you say you sent your offshoots to look for clues all over the Earth? How did you do that from the moon?”

“Oh that. Umm, like this.” Zoe stopped squishing the recently named Snowy, who ran off to the corner after jumping down. It apparently wasn’t in the mood for hugs at the moment, so Zoe’s affection was annoying it quite a bit.

“Mew!” She called out once. Then started playing with one of the deactivated Roombas.

Zoe on the other hand, raised her hand for Arthur to see. Suddenly, before Arthur could even react, a stream of Lovecraftian creepy crawlies started rushing out of her hand.

For one long second, his face was expressionless. Time seemed to have slowed down, and the world around him twisted into a shiny silver sphere.

Arthur blinked once, then he blinked again. His hand automatically raised up. One above his head, clenching into a fist. The other one protecting his face.

His left foot also subconsciously raised up, like a baseball pitched getting ready to throw the ball. However, his nerves were a hundred, no a thousand times more tense.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Meow!”

Arthur jumped up in fright. He turned around and left the dumbfounded Zoe alone, running to the stairs.

“What the hell was that? WHAT THE FARKING HELL WAS THAT?” He screamed from the second floor. His voice quivered with fear, rage, shame, and a few other emotions.

“Ah, well, like I told you before. I can turn my cells… erm, my offshoots, or scourgekin, into any lifeform I’ve eaten before, right?” After recalling the horde of horror, Zoe walked to the stairs. But she didn’t climb up, opting to give the man a few seconds to calm down.

The eldritch maiden smacked her head, thinking, ‘Geez, my bad. I forgot he was afraid of cockroaches. Should not have shown him my modified versions …’

“… And?” Arthur asked.

“… Bugs and insects are the most inconspicuous. Also, I can easily modify their genes and turn them into all kinds if things. They are very good at avoiding modern technology.” Zoe replied.

After a while, Arthur spoke again, “Don’t.”

“You’re being ridiculous. The effi-”

“DON’T. At least, not so suddenly. Not where I can see it.”

“… Okay okay, I get it. Stop crying you big baby. Come down from there or we’ll be late for the interview.” Zoe finally agreed with an exasperated sigh.

“I’m not crying!” Arthur denied. The high note to his voice, however, betrayed his claim.

Arthur slowly made his way down the stairs, carefully checking for tiny xenomorphs every step. He didn’t want to continue this particular conversation at all.

Also, Zoe was right. Now was not the time to be freaking out. It would be bad if he lost his calm before the interview no matter what the reason.

Hence, after accentuating again that he definitely was not crying to Zoe, they left for Tecsov.

They forgot to placate Snowy though. The cat was hissing and trying to find more of the Lovecraftian bugs in every nook and cranny. The big female owner suddenly ate all the crunchy grubs without sharing, and this had displeased her greatly.

She had been protecting them from those moving dust blowers for so long, and this was how they repaid her?

Let the dust blowers run free in their lair today. That should teach them to treasure her more.