Chapter 8: Raising a Rabbit for Fun
Suddenly, the cheerful music of a ringtone broke the silence in the room.
Maxwell Peary quickly picked up the phone to answer it.
"You realized you lost your phone?"
The gloominess vanished from his face. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, and his tone, now higher, held a faint trace of pleasure.
A gust of cold wind blew, and Nia Mitchell shivered in the phone booth. Even through the phone, she could almost feel his breath against her ear as he spoke.
"Huh?"
Nia Mitchell bit her lip in embarrassment, her left hand twisting the telephone cord. "Uncle Peary."
Her crimson lips parted slightly, and the soft, gentle words "Uncle Peary" slowly escaped them. She watched the rain fall harder and harder, feeling utterly helpless and lost.
"Uncle Peary, it’s raining outside, I don’t have any money, I don’t have a place to stay, I... I’m so hungry..."
「Ten minutes later—」
A silver-gray Rolls-Royce sped aggressively down the road, splashing water in its wake. Hurried pedestrians quickly moved out of its way, fearing they might provoke someone important.