Another Life

Early the following Sunday morning, at Sakuraya Kyoya, Jack appeared.

Jack, who showed Sakura's cage, was guided into the hall and told Hyogo, "In this Kyoto mansion, as he had been told to work as a servant for a while, he was told to go near left," and Hyogo asked the other servants to go and get the beads.

Hyogo doesn't know what Jack looks like. But the cage I brought is undoubtedly authentic.

Besides, I thought there was something behind the left-hand side to go out of their way and tell Kyoya to go as a servant. Of course, the left-hand proximity is the one who dropped in, and there's no easy hassle of cracking his mouth. Therefore, he said that he would consult with the beads at the same time.

"Excuse me. A bead."

"Uhm, come on in"

When the beads in Japanese clothes came to the hall, they sat upright like an old woman, and the moment they opened them, they saw Jack, and they looked surprised for a moment, and immediately pretended to be at peace, and came inside with a gratuity.

"I'm sorry to call you. The man named Jack was ordered by his father-in-law to work for a while with the Sakura family's imprint and as a servant at the Kyoto Mansion.

Just so you know, I'm trying to make sure... who knows?

Pearl said calmly to the question of the armory.

"Yeah, I know. This person says Jack and is from the Knights of Pandora...... is that Pandora's instruction?

And Jack lay down gracefully upon the question of the bead, saying,

"No, Your Excellency's instructions. The princess doesn't know about this.

Could you spare me any further questions? "

In Jack's words, he understood and said all the beads convinced that the left and near were enough to say not only Pandora, but also Hyogo and himself.

"I see... Dear Hyogo, let's hire this person as an away cleaner. Jazz, show him around."

"That's right, Dear Pearl. Thank you. Sit down."

So he said to the bead, confirming that no one was there, that Jacques was leaving, who was guided by the jazz.

"Who is it, that man... too dangerous? Pearl, what kind of guy is he?

"That man, while he is a Raven by saying Jack, is a man who specializes in intelligence and assassination. My father didn't even let us know what it was about and sent Jack..."

"Assassination... is it also the assassination of a major player at the core of the Luthai Empire? This is what a warring man does... sorry Pearl, I honestly don't like assassinations and plots like that."

"I know. Willow, in this world, you don't have to say that, you just have to go for the king's sword."

"Right..."

That said the Hyogo, saying nothing more, took a sip of the tea served in front of him.

That night the figure of Jack the Shinobi was in the garden of the Pusheng Mansion next to the Bulge Mansion, south of your place.

On that day, the clouds were thick, and the moons and stars that illuminated the dark night had disappeared, and precisely to infiltrate, it was a good idea, but Jack could hardly get inside the mansion.

Even to get here, I scratched quite a few guard nets and managed to get here, but at the end of Jack's low, lying gaze, there were countless shielding traps under the floor and wary ninjas.

Why, you're so wary, it would be unusual... Oh, so I thought you said today that Dia and Bear told His Excellency to try and compete on a pine tree far away which could shed lightning from the distance, and the result was a draw. That pine tree, that's definitely it.

With that in mind, the pine trees that Jack saw as chilli became two straight and burnt, as if there had been a great lightning strike.

My lord definitely made Dia and the bear do this, and they must have gotten more alert. Really, every time that guy comes to me, he's unscrupulous... well, the master of the tavern, it was surprisingly fun.

Anyway, it's easy to kill all the people in this mansion, but then they could suspect Raven's involvement. That's not what Your Excellency wants, and above all, it makes His Excellency question Raven's abilities.

... I don't really want to do that.

Jack thought so, basically sticking his finger into his left eye and pulling out his left eye.

Jack felt no pain or bleed, and when he wrapped his pulled out eyeballs in his hands, he breathed a flutter and opened his hands, and there was a little mouse there.

Every time I stopped chanting when I used the Devil's Eye, it got easier, but it still makes me sick.

With that in mind, when he opened a small space transfer ahead of that rat, he jumped out of Jack's hand into the space transfer and moved to the roof of the mansion.

Well, for sure, there 'll be a shield ninja in the attic, too.

Jack, so smiling, disappeared to the ground on a space transfer and moved to the roof of the adjacent mansion.

Come on, I wonder which target you're targeting. Sure, the information tells me he's a weird guy hiding his eyes in a mask, but to say he's wearing a mask doesn't know which one is real.

It's hard to think. I wish Adele or someone else had done this kind of work.

Well, did you even have a ninja in the attic? First, gather information.

In Jack's left eye, he saw footage of a rat running through the attic.

In the dark attic, the sight in Jack's eyes through the rat was as if seen with a dark-eyed goggle, and at the end of that sight there were several shield ninjas.

Rats stopped in one room, checking from the ceiling one room at a time.

Damn, this is why so many guys like Robin are human. But until you were asleep, you were surprised at the mask.

Well, thanks to you, it helped me figure out who's the target right away.

That's what I thought. At the end of Jack's manipulative rat gaze was Zhonghui's figure sleeping with three women.

But... is it real, or is he? Well, anyway, do you want to check on the other rooms?

With that in mind, Jack was surprised when he checked the next room and opened his meditating right eye as well.

The sight seen from the attic was that of Zhonghui, sleeping with three women wearing the same mask as earlier.

Got hit, didn't you have a shadow fighter ready... hmm? This could be...

At that moment, Jack felt something uncomfortable.

In the information on Zhonghui that Jack examined earlier, he says that the battle is not good at all, and that he is the ruthless, root-holding type, without much listening to people. However, Zhonghui as Bullet Zheng-Yin was an excellent man as Bullet Zheng-Yin to be controlled, whoever his opponent was.

Why is such a loyal hui in the anti-continental this time? That was just because the left proximity was annoying, he had concerns about Iris, and he wanted to get it wayward.

And for better or worse, he is a man all the way. It was hard to think of sleeping with more than one woman, like Zhonghui was close to the left.

Want to give it a try?

That's what Jack thought, from the roof of the adjacent mansion, near the slightly visible, ringed rope, opened a small space transfer, putting bitterness into it, and the moment he slashed that rope, he was about to sound surprised, not surprised.

When I said Karan Karan, it was the moment the song fell. From the attic, Jack's rat's sight shows the women he slept with taking the knife out of his nose and alerting him.

Was that, after all, the ninja of the escort woman? Could it be that the other Bullet Jung Yoon slept with three women as well... that one for sure, I guess an escort.

This means that there are also Shinobi in this mansion, both above and below, and Shadow Warriors, protected by the woman Shinobi.

Stop, stop. He said he couldn't assassinate only Bullet Jong-yoon without being alerted to his Excellency's orders. Think of another hand?

Jack, who thought so, ruled out how to attack sleep at night, but just in case, confirmed the other rooms as well.

Then Jack realized something. Besides the guard's ninja, it was normal to have samurai, but servants have many women for some reason. And there was something strange about the structure inside the mansion.

Something's wrong. The internal capacity predicted from outside the calculation is different from the actual capacity.

That's what Jack thought, moving the rat out of the attic, down the hall, and running down the hallway, he discovered that one woman was walking.

The woman walked down the hallway with a candlestick, but the eyes of the young woman, reflected in the candlestick's unique soft, swaying lights, were void.

That could be the Devil's Eye, it's brainwashed!... No, Iris' wife hadn't been brainwashed, even though she had seen Bullet Jong-yoon many times. What did you say? Is he capable of being close to the Devil's Eye?

The best I can think of is that eye mask. Under that mask, it would be good to see something close to the demonic eye. It's brainwashed, I'm sure.

With that in mind, Jack confirmed who was in the various rooms. So what I found out was that all the women who were awake were blind, as if they were brainwashed.

This guy is either Bullet Jong-yoon is a demon eye user or has something close to it, or has anyone told his subordinates so... but only women are brainwashed. What's this supposed to mean?

Anyway, it's getting harder and harder to assassinate...... ha... it's a hassle. Think of another way to get back out here?

With that in mind, Jack moved the rat into the attic again, and he moved himself to Kyoya Shrine with a space transfer.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

The next morning, near left, he was sitting in his own chair in the office, slightly irritated.

Worried about the condition, Chloe put the coffee on her desk and said,

"My lord, is something wrong?

"There was no shit. Yesterday, during a wedding meeting with Lord Oyaji, well, he was allowed to change his name, but he told me that he would send 500 military men and servants in as tea servants.

Five hundred, five hundred! If we let that family in, a thousand people will cross lightly. You'll have a little Fresian kingdom in this Lake City.

Nevertheless, Lord Oyaji thought that a few people would definitely come in, as was customary in the previous world, but I didn't expect them to send so much... Exactly, we can't monitor these numbers. "

"So, you admit it?

Near left answered the word with exasperation, lighting the flue.

"You'll have to admit it. Well, there's still untouched land in the military district, and we'll have to keep it locked up in one place somewhere.

Ah! If this is the case, I should have married Chloe. Mardi's a good guy, too, and the tribe at Chloe's is easy because everyone treats him casually.

Even in the same elf, it's a big difference... back in Nassau, Chloe. What's up?

And there was Chloe, whose face turned bright red, at the end of his near-left gaze.

Oh, I see, the more we get married...

With that in mind, the left proximity smoked a spa and a cigarette in the flue, and when some subtle air was flowing, the door was knocked and the orchid looked up and said.

"My lord, you are all here...... is something wrong?

"No, I'm fine. Come on in."

That said, near left drops fire on Kang and Ashtray, Keith and Krueger. Elias and Lune of the Knights of the Holy Guidance. Amelia and Gabriella of the Knights of Witches came in.

Keith and Krueger were flat because they knew what they were saying, and the four remaining people didn't seem to understand the point at all.

And they all sat on the couch, and the two deputy commanders, standing behind the captain, said Amilia.

"My lord. How did you say this at the gathering?

I think it's about the military, and there's even Secretary Keith... who I've been trying to get along with lately. "

Amelia... I know how that feels. I'm one of a kind.

"We had a serious story today, and we had a gathering.

I thought I'd put the castle in the hands of the Knights of the Holy Guide and the Knights of Witches. "

At that moment Amiria stood up and shouted unexpectedly.

"Seriously!

"... My lord, why don't you let me know why?

In contrast to Amelia, who rejoiced innocently, Elias said carefully.

"Have you ever heard the word" castle "?

When he looked at the question on the left hand side and said that everyone on the spot could not tell, the left side began to explain.

"A castle is a castle that has an auxiliary role to protect the main castle. In this case, the central main castle, here in Lake City, is the Leitz Castle, protected to the north by Lord Wood. To the east, Fort Alum, guarded by the Knights of Pandora. Nassau is in the southeast.

So I want to build a castle on the west side and one on the southwest side, place the castle like a star, work with each other's castles, and protect Lake City in the center.

Everyone, as you know, is relieved that the east is the Kingdom of Salz, but the Seventh Confederation has collapsed in the west, and the Principality of Nabrich has been created, but the remaining merchants in the south and west may take hostilities. In that case, Valchia would attack from the southwest, or once in the Principality of Nabrich, from the west.

In that way, in Valchia today, we can march almost unhindered until Lake City… If Lake City, where the institutions of the Eastern Union are concentrated, becomes a battlefield, it will only be a battle, and it will be quite damaging for the Eastern Union.

Of course, the downside of the castle is that if they take the castle, it could become the castle of the enemy stronghold.

So I want to leave these two castles to the Knights of Saint Guidance and the Knights of Witches (Night Witches), which I trust the most. Of course, there are times when I think about the Knights personnel that will increase in the future.

I wonder, would you do the castle lord?

And Elias put his arms together, and meditated his eyes, saying unto the narrative near his left.

"Okay, it's always at the forefront that you'll be the Knights of the Holy Guidance"

"I even dreamed that we would get the Knights' Castle. I have no objection, and I won't let anyone take it from me."

Good. These two look fine...... and Saheiji will be horrified that Amiria is gone too.

My son-in-law has a narrow shoulder. Well, he doesn't seem to appreciate it.

"I'm glad you two agreed. The cost will be discussed between the military and Valkia, and we will decide... that... even if I design it, okay?

No, of course, the name of the castle can be decided by the heads of each regiment... but I was wondering if you could just let me design it... "

So when he saw Elias and Amiria, he smiled.

"Yes, of course. Please. If you have designed that new section of Nassau, you can rest assured."

"Ellis, are you that awesome?

So he said to Amilia, surprised, Elias put his arms together and remembered.

"Nassau's new section is amazing. How could you have prevented 36,000 soldiers of the Empire, while under construction, with practically 2,000 men?

Before I arrived in Nassau, I thought about Lord Bullet and how to drop Nassau, but I didn't have an answer in the end. "

... What are Bullet and Father-in-law doing?

With that in mind, Elias questioned me near left when I was putting my hand on my head like I said I had a headache.

"So where will the place be?

"Chloe."

When the left proximity said so, Chloe said as she spread the map of Valchia on the table and pointed it in the flue as the left proximity approached.

"One is a castle with mountains near the village of Isana.

Location, here. A little east of the village of Isana, there is an independent mountain, not a U-shaped mountain range south of the street. I'd like to build a castle here in the mountains, but what do you think?

When he said so, Lune put his hand on his chin and said as if he could see that the enemy army was actually marching in front of him.

"It's true that here, the streets that run to sew mountains are thin, travel elongated in the great army, and we can beat even a few of our enemies if we travel through the mountains. From the enemy, if you ignore the castle and march, it will be the same thing as exposing your flank, so you won't be able to ignore it... Your character is seeping out."

Lune, you were poisoned at the end.

Near left that thought, Elias said.

"Now the castle here, let the Knights of the Holy Guidance enter. This castle can't be that big because it's in the mountains.

Then I wonder if the few elite Knights of Our Holy Leadership deserve it. "

"Hey, Ellis!... what the fuck?

So he slammed the desk, and Amelia glanced at Elias, and said unto him, Hands in hand.

"Amelia, I agree. I think we should leave the castle here to the few elite Knights of Saint Guidance."

"So where are we?

And he said unto Amiria, who was unworthy of her age and was unchastily corrupt, and looked upon her left hand, and pointed at her with a flue.

"Here."

That being said, the place near left pointed was the intersection of the streets leading from west to east and the streets leading from north to south, where the great rivers flowing southwest from the Great Lakes of Lake City were greatly bent and in the centre of which was made a huge Central America.

But the place was a place where the streets were crossed, which seemed to be busy, but it was a place where there were abandoned villages, and there were mountains just to the northeast, just grasslands spreading.

The reason for becoming an abandoned village is simple. The streets stretching from north to south, to the south, are only stretched with the sea of luche trees in the territory of the Kingdom of Salz, where the streets stop and are just the end of the line.

And the streets that lead east to west lead east to Rennes, king's capital of the Kingdom of Salz, but along the way, there is Nassau.

When Nassau is present, the bandits go out and the flow of the deal stops. Thus the village, which was in the land, gradually went lonely, and the conscription of the Serenity Empire during the war, also conscripted all the young men, and for various reasons ceased to return as it was, and became an abandoned village.

Knowing that, Amelia said with displeasure:

"My lord, it looks like streets are crossing here, but not here. People don't get together."

"What, Amiria was willing to build a city, not a castle?

"Yes, no... that's not true..."

That's how he tried to hide his feelings, and he smiled at Amiria, who couldn't hide them.

"What, wasn't it? I was going to build a giant fortified city here."

"Huh!?"

And whosoever was not near the left in the word was astonished. But the left-hand side began to explain with a confident look.

"'Cause, right? This is a stronghold where streets intersect, there's no reason not to develop. There are two reasons to develop.

The first is that now the Kingdom of Salz is beginning to explore the forests of Luche. With this pioneering, the endless streets will be stretched out to Belkheim, the southernmost port town ahead.

Because the streets are also stretched from Belkheim, as if the forests of Luche had been formed and blocked where the streets originally existed. Then it would make sense that if we pioneered the Luche Forest, the streets would connect.

The second is the banking system that starts next time. The fate of this lies in expelling Nassau's bandits.

Bandits don't push in with force, they just have to make it an undivided job... well you'll buy Nassau's bandit's objection, but leave that to me and my mom. I'll crush you. "

In its near-left word, Amiria sparkled her eyes, convinced that it was handsome, and said it near-left.

"Well, you can make a mansion like this one. And I want more gardens than I can beat your lord's garden!

... it has nothing to do with defense.

"Amiria. Let me tell you something, there's a good reason why this garden is so big."

"Huh?"

"This Lake City, for example, is a three-storey neighborhood of general, military and central districts, separated by moats and walls, but this garden makes it an emergency refuge for the people when attacked by the enemy.

The woods were also better with trees, but if you put cloth on the roof or something, you can do something about it... yes, if you can do the Tampa exercise area, why not go to the Garden Castle, the residence of the Tampa guard, between the two father-in-law superior and Amilia?

The castle of the Ruthai Empire is a great place to prepare against the brave. If you tell Tampa Shogun, he'll be happy to show you around, and if there's anything you two can do to slow down in the hot springs nearby. "

And Amiria, when she heard the word near the left, said with a little redness.

"Hey Ellis... you want to go?

"Right. I'd like to see the defenses of the castle of the Ruthai Empire.

The last time Takatomi Castle gave me a tour of the interior, I didn't get it. "

"Huh!? Oh yeah..."

And he put his arms together, and said to Elias, Amiria said with a little pity.

Hmm? Why did Amelia say sorry... maybe she's in love with her father-in-law?

Oh, no, that won't be there. Such a brain muscle to my father-in-law...

That's what Keith asked.

"With that said, my lord, how much do you think about building costs?

Building costs... Sure, building costs for the old castle were about 100 billion yen. Well, the cost of transporting stone walls and civil works should have been a significant proportion. Transportation costs are likely to cut costs considerably with space transfer.

After that, using all the reinforced concrete methods we have developed, it would be quite a reduction... wouldn't it?

"Well, it's four years old, a billion shillings a year, so it's 250 million shillings a year."

'Not so much!'

And it came to pass, when everyone was astonished, that the left hand side smiled.

"This is a simple calculation if you build a castle properly. Transportation costs can be considerably shredded by space transfers, as can the recently developed method of constructing reinforced concrete.

So later calculations, it's Keith and Krueger's turn. I'll make some simple drawings later. "

"As it were, well, building costs, after you look at the drawings,"

"Well..."

Keith and Krueger's face, who said so, were tight.

That evening, Chloe was on a left-hand request, coming to see Kyoya's arsenal. And the Hyogo came in smiling, and said unto Chloe, who sat down in the hall, waiting.

"Oh, sorry Chloe. Mira's audition was delayed by a fever."

"No, I haven't waited that long. But Mira, because she's so strong?

To Chloe's question, the face of the always-ringent arsenal collapsed as if it had melted.

"Hey, they might call me a parent idiot, but Mira will be really strong in the future... maybe she'll be Raven in the future. Lately, the archdeacon is dealing with someone."

You look really happy, Mr. Hyogo. I wonder if this would be the case if I had a child with His Excellency, too.

And he smiled, and said unto him the bead that had come in open.

"Master Hyogosuke, if you lose your mind here now, Mira won't be able to do it."

"Oh, oh, you did. Don't get involved in majesty. Chloe, what happened today?

And Chloe looked to the armory, and said,

"Today, I'm here to tell you of Your Excellency's request. Born in the next few months, the celebration of the Son of the Emperor wants us to find out who gives what. Mr. Hyogo said it would be easier to find out because he could be locked away.

Your Excellency is busy building a new castle in Valchia. "

I see, don't let the gift of celebration be worn or gifted better than the superior? Father-in-law, you're so concerned. But the castle... don't worry about it.

"I understand. But a castle... a castle?

"Right. He says he doesn't have enough branches in Lake City, and he's going to build two new branches.

Because of this, the castle will be home to the Knights of the Holy Guide and the Knights of the Witches.

Um... is Jack here?

I see. Is the liaison Chloe?

"Oh, I'm letting you clean away"

"Now, if you'll excuse me around here because I still have work to do too. On my way home, can I go say hello to Jack?

Oh, I don't mind.

"Thank you. I'll sit down. Now, Mr. Hyogo, Princess, if you'll excuse me."

Chloe, who said so, lay down on the two of them, and went out, and Hyogo said with his arms in his arms.

"The liaison is Chloe... well, he's the most loyal minister."

"Right...... but does my father really, do you think he would do an assassination?

And it came to pass, at the question of the bead, that Hyogo put his eyes together, and put his arms together, and said, Quietly.

"You will. Those in his days on his father-in-law would not have lived this had he not been better at assassinations and plots.

Besides, it was that bullet that was fighting over Yamato's rule with my father-in-law. And two Iga invasions... because my father-in-law is so beaten up by the fear and effectiveness of assassinations and plots that he doesn't like them.

My father-in-law is too realistic... "

That said, the open-eyed Hyogo had remembered the near-left thing that he had started to meet at an early age.

Well, he said he was cleaning away, but where are you?

With that in mind, Chloe came away to look around, but Jack was nowhere to be seen.

Even to gather information, are you going?

With that in mind, it was when Polypoli and I tried to go home in ear. From behind Chloe, there was a voice.

"Chloe, what's up?

"Wow! Don't be surprised... Jack, what happened to those eyes?

In front of Chloe, who looked back in surprise, stood Jack, who hid his left eye with his eyelid.

"Oh, I left my left eye. Hey, when you're done with your job, I'll get back to you.

Yeah, just fine, I wanted to ask you something. "

"I don't know... what do you want me to do?

That's what Jack told Chloe about last night.

"I snuck into the target's mansion last night, and this is the trouble, and there's a trap against Shinobi that looks like an idiot, and the Shinobi of the guard is like an idiot, so it's been tough."

"Well, given the position of the goal, it would be natural. Can't you do that?

"Don't be silly, you can do it. But there are shadow fighters, they both act together... and all the time, they're together, and when they're sleeping, they're in the next room with each other, and they're both sleeping with three women of protection, so I don't know which is the goal.

I can't do the work I've undertaken at the same time. So, can you bring Iris to the front of the mansion, as you can see?

When Chloe heard the word, she looked disgusted for a moment and said,

"Master Iris... why?

"Apparently, the goal is to fall in love with Master Iris. So, if Master Iris meets his goals, he will always make a difference. My heart is hard to hide... so I want to see the difference.

Dates and times are always good. But make sure you get through the gate and enter the country on an authorized route.

If all of a sudden you come somewhere with a spatial transfer, this one grabs the position too "

I don't know, but I don't know.

"Okay, I'll talk to His Excellency. Anything else?

"Right, for future contact, even under the floor there, put the letter down. I'm not always here. That's about it."

"Okay. I'll do that in the future... can anyone tell the difference?

"Oh, and you're in love with His Excellency."

In Jack's words, Chloe had turned bright red to her ears, but she noticed something and asked Jack.

"So you know how your Excellency feels, too?

For example... For example, what do you think of me... "

When Jack heard the words, he thought for a while and said:

"Are you a kid? If you saw that, anyone would know.

Well, anyway, I'm gonna plant it for a little while, so goodbye. "

"Oh, hey!

Jack, who said so, disappeared from the spot without listening to Chloe.

That's all you can say...... hmm? Can anyone tell...... next time I'll ask Orchid or Viola.

With that in mind, Chloe went home.

That night Chloe, bathed, wrapped her bath towel around her body, and returned to her room, on the bed, sitting near her left.

"Huh!? Sorry..."

Chloe turned away from Chloe so that she wouldn't look at Chloe unexpectedly. Chloe said it in a different reaction.

"I thought you were coming, so I wasn't surprised. Well, it was faster than I expected.

Everyone in this room won't think you're here, and we can talk about examples… just in case, we'll talk nearby. "

And Chloe, who said so, sat beside him on the left hand side.

Hey, my reason would suck!

Chloe has been attacking me lately... ok, let's be a little mean and see the usual illuminating Chloe.

"Next door, you won't hear me."

That said the proximity left, when he held Chloe's shoulder and drew her closer, he held Chloe in confusion, and put her on his lap and said it in his ear.

"Now we can talk."

"Oh, right..."

Chloe's arm was shaking slightly.

I'm shaking...... I knew Chloe had to be like this. But my dos minds and fools are about to run wild... bear with me.

"So, did Jack say anything?

And Chloe returned unto me with the word near left, and held him near left, and said in his ear.

"Jack says I need a favor. The goal is to have shadow fighters, and they also have masks, so they don't know which is the goal.

So they want Iris to enter the country on a regular route and contact the target. "

"Using Iris as a goal?

"Yes... I don't know if I can say this, but apparently the goal is to see and confirm Iris's reaction."

No, even if you know it on the spot, over time, you won't. I said, kill him right away, he'll be suspicious... but you know that too Jack, so I'll leave it to you.

"Okay, I'll let you go tomorrow. Chloe, I'm sorry, but I need an Iris escort."

When Chloe heard the words, she chewed her lips, meditated her eyes, and calmed her heart before saying.

"Ok...... just let me stay like this for a bit"

When he heard the word, the left-hand side, without saying anything, was just stroking Chloe's head.