Epilogue

The date was August 31st. Barely more than 72 hours had passed since the battle between Izanami's minions and December's cast, but not everything was resolved just yet. Walking slowly through the streets in the early morning, Second Earth's Suou Pavlichenko fidgeted anxiously with her hands, extremely on edge as she continued on towards her destination.

Once it had become clear that Izanami had lost his battle, that girl who had been consumed by thoughts of revenge had spent the days since thinking long and hard about what it was she really wanted now. Having lost all possibility of returning to her old life on the Second Earth, and no longer desiring revenge against her counterpart on this one, she found herself left with only two clear options.

One: She could run away. Run away and get as far from the people that knew she existed as she could get to start a new life as a beggar or something on the streets. It wasn't much of a plan, but it would be easier than her other option.

The other option being: She could accept First Earth's Suou's proposition. Take her up on the offer she made to try and give her a happy life here. It wasn't clear what all she really intended to do – what lengths she planned to go to – but it held its share of temptation for the girl that had wanted a return to a perfect life.

But even though she knew it had nothing to do with her counterpart's offer, Suou did feel grievously unworthy to receive such kindness after everything she had done. So, regardless of whether she would stay or run, Second Earth's Suou wanted to do something as a show of gratitude for the offer.

She had searched the memories of First Earth's Suou in her head, and found something she hoped she could help with. If she could at least get that person to listen to her – have them hear the story in full – then maybe there was a chance this would give some happiness back to her counterpart as well.

It wasn't a guarantee – in fact, she was far more confident that her plan would backfire and nothing good would come of it – but she felt the need to try. So, when she looked up and saw a certain apartment complex looming in front of her, she took a deep breath, swallowed audibly, and walked up the stairs to reach the correct door.

She hesitated as she held a hand out to knock. Shaking, she considered one last time the option of just running away. She still might, even if she went through with this, but it was a line she wouldn't be able to backpedal on once she crossed it. Still, her renewed kindheartedness would not allow her to walk away from this, so with a few rapid movements, she forced herself to knock on the door.

No response came from inside, but after an awkward moment, the door creaked open and a woman appeared from inside. "Please don't close the door!" Suou hurriedly pleaded with the woman at the door as her eyes went wide with shock. "I'm not actually who you think I am."

The woman did not respond, but neither did she make a move to close the door. There, standing stock-still in the doorway, was Asako Nakimiya, Suou Pavlichenko's mother.


After a slew of documentation, testimonies, and other legal processes, what was now referred to as the Battle of Kojiki had officially come to a close. There were a few matters that still needed to be squared off for everything to really be settled, but according to August, anything passed this point would simply be considered part of the 'Epilogue' for December's story – nothing to worry about.

His insistence to continue December's novelist moniker in his place wasn't very well received by his peers, but the terminology held a certain amount of weight to it in light of what else had been discovered while documenting December's death scene. To their surprise, a letter had been found from December addressed simply to 'the cast'.

As it turned out, even if he had not met such an untimely end, December had apparently not planned to stick around very long following the Battle of Kojiki. The letter had made an apology for his 'abrupt exit' – stating that an author should not overstay his welcome within the pages of his own story – and then left them with a list of instructions that would assist them in cleaning up their loose ends.

For those still reeling from December's death, the letter was like one final blow to knock them down. And for that reason, Irene Baltar found herself picking at the tab of a beer can without making any real attempt to open it. Presently, she sat in a wheelchair next to the hospital vending machine, and while continuing to stare at the beer can in her hand, she absently muttered, "Damn him…" to herself.

For about the millionth time, Irene cursed at the memory of December. But she hadn't realized her nearby audience as she repeated the phrase, and jumped when Hazuki's voice suddenly addressed her. "Did you actually end up falling for that man?" She asked in a flat tone while adjusting the position of her arm in its sling.

"God, no!" Irene groaned denial after a moment of shock. "But the bastard sure knows how to get inside your head. And it ticks me off that he was planning to ditch us either way. You'd think someone like him would feel a little more responsibility for the consequences of his actions."

"He definitely got off easy." Hazuki agreed with the sentiment while obtaining her own drink from the vending machine and leaning against the wall. "But if January hadn't killed him, I would have."

"What?" And joining the party, leg in a brace and using a crutch, Misaki voiced confusion at Hazuki's declaration. "Why would say that?"

"Because that bastard lied to me." Hazuki asserted, but the statement only confused Misaki more.

"I don't understand, didn't you get exactly what he promised you?"

"That I did," Hazuki admitted with a dry tone before pointing out the hidden problem. "I was able to take my revenge against John Smith, a man who we now know – officially died 7 months ago at the hands of Izanami – was only brought back recently to serve as his pawn – and was only needed to fill that role because of events even December admitted to not realizing he'd set in motion."

Hazuki held up a finger for each of the points she brought up, and as she finished her list, realization dawned on both Misaki and Irene's faces. "There's no way to explain it away, December didn't know that Izanami would come to the forefront when he started this mess, which means there's no way he could have known that John Smith would be available to fulfill his end of our bargain. He lied to get me to cooperate with him, and it was only by some twisted form of a miracle that it ended up becoming a reality."

There was a pause among the women as they let that knowledge sink in; December really couldn't have known about John Smith when he had started gathering his cast. It made them wonder what else he might have been lying about in the beginning, pretending to be certain of without any way of knowing if he could do it.

"Perhaps…" Misaki began after a moment. "That just goes to show how confident he was."

"More like arrogant." Hazuki argued, but then the sound of Irene finally popping open her beer can drew the others' attention to her.

"Well, none of that ever mattered to me." She spoke indifferently and took a large gulp of her drink, "I didn't trust a word that man said to me from the very beginning. The only thing I was concerned with was the outcome."

"So, you're saying you're satisfied with how things turned out?" Hazuki confirmed, but Irene scoffed at the notion.

"Hardly, but that's not the point." She declared. "There never was a 'script'. Whatever part December played in bringing this mess about, we're the ones that fought to settle it. So rather than work yourselves up over whether or not December was lying to you, I say you should consider what it is you accomplished since meeting him."

Hazuki shared a look of surprise with Misaki after hearing Irene's take on the matter, and then turned a quizzical look back on her. "I'll ask again: did you actually end up falling for that man?"

Irene faltered for a moment – not understanding – but it dawned on her that while she had meant it to be dismissive of December, her words could have sounded like a defense of his actions instead. "No! For the love of god, no!" She denied it again, but Hazuki didn't look very convinced, and she felt her face flush embarrassment from the implication. "I'm going back to my room."

Irene operated the joystick for her wheelchair and made her way down the hall. And once she was out of earshot, Misaki continued the conversation. "You know, she does kind of have a point."

"You think so?"

"In the end, nothing really went the way December intended it to. Maybe he did trick us into this, but we all had to make our own decisions to end up here."

Hazuki sighed as if unsatisfied by Misaki's assessment, "I suppose you would be more positive about this – now that your dear BK-201 is around again."

Now it was Misaki's turn to flush with embarrassment, but before she had time to say anything about it, Kouno and Saito suddenly appeared around the corner and stole her attention as Hazuki took the chance to slip away.


"Are you two really sure about all this?" Madame Oreille asked as she went over the paperwork for the rather unique request. "It's not too late to change your minds."

And sitting across from her, Amara and Harvey nodded with steadfast affirmation. "I don't know if this was included in what Happy Ending thought we had to gain by cooperating with him or not, but after everything we've learned through playing our parts, this is the only choice for us." Amara explained their thought process.

"There's nothing left for us in this life." Harvey added. "We'll help you clean up with the Syndicate, but after that, we're done. We want to be Human again."

That was the decision the two of them had come to. In the wake of having learned how to become a Regressor and everything they'd discovered about their daughter Carmine; the old married couple had decided that what they really wanted was a chance to live a normal life again. Having explained as much to Oreille, she had made an arrangement that would essentially put the two of them into Witness Protection after they lost their powers.

It wasn't a decision they made lightly, but it was what they wanted. Oreille felt like she understood where they were coming from, so she nodded and turned the document around for them to sign. And once the signatures Harvey Baxter and Amara Baxter were scribbled on the document, everything was official.

"That's that, then." Oreille noted before gathering the papers up to place in a file on the side of her desk, which she then stamped with a seal that marked it as CONFIDENTIAL. "We'll have everything ready for after the raid. This will be your last fight, let's make it a good one."

She joked, and Amara rolled her eyes with a huff of laughter. "Not really our prerogative right now, but we'll see what we can do." She said and stood up with Harvey to leave, and as they stepped outside the office, looked down at July waiting just outside. "You're up, kid." Amara said, shoving him inside and closing the door.

"And now for you." Oreille leaned back in her chair as July took a seat opposite of her. "You seem to have made your position clear, and August was understanding enough to provide a convenient excuse for you to stay behind in Japan, but now we need to tag it with something a little more official. So, while it might be a bit of an odd position for a Doll to fill, you will act as our liaison officer with MI-6 from now on.

"If that works for you, I just need your signature on this." Madame Oreille pulled out another set of documents and set them down in front of him. "July will do fine." She added, realizing she only knew the Doll's codename.

"Of course," July nodded, picking up a pen to sign with. "And after this, I'm going to need a favor."

"Favor?" Oreille was taken aback by the suddenness of this request. "What might that be?"

Signing the document, July met Madame Oreille's gaze and held a single finger to his lips, which only intrigued Oreille further as she instinctively leaned in closer to the Doll to listen.


As for the remaining MI-6 members, their parts in this tale really had come to an end. As one of them had all but been December's co-author during this project and the others had originally been labeled as 'antagonists', it would not be their place to intrude on the conclusions of everyone else's story. Although, even without that excuse, as soon as she had given the initial report to her superiors, March had been ordered to make her way back to Europe with May, August, and the bodies of January and December, so their hands were tied.

But it was also true that this victory may not have been possible without their help, so Hei, Yin, Mao, and Suou accompanied Goro to see the agents off at the airport. "It may not have been under the best of circumstances," March began as she shook Goro's hand, then Hei's. "But it was a pleasure meeting you all."

Yin spoke in response, "And thank you for your aid in our fight."

"No thanks needed; it had to be done, after all." March said dismissively.

"And if not for me, this never would have been an issue to begin with." August admitted.

"No," Hei dismissed that notion easily. "Izanami would have become a problem eventually with or without yours and December's influence. If anything, we should be grateful that it happened like this and not years later while we were all scattered and unprepared."

"That's a nice way of looking at it." August mused. "Hopefully I can convince my superiors to see it that way, too."

"If they don't, I'm sure you can just disappear on them again." Mao spoke in a low voice so as to not attract attention to himself. He was still using the black panther body – having grown somewhat attached to the form – so for the sake of appearances in the public airport, he had short leash around his neck being held by Hei. "That's the kind of man you are, right?"

"I am at that," August laughed softly at the suggestion.

"Just don't go making any more trouble for us afterwards." Goro added, and March rolled her eyes at the whole discussion.

"Well, we should go ahead and board our flight," March decided as she looked at the clock, and casually placed a hand on May's shoulder. "Say goodbye, May."

"Goodbye," The doll parroted, but then looked to Suou and added, "You're nervous?"

"Huh?" Suou was confused for a moment, then raised a hand to her chest in realization as March flinched her hand back. "Oh, yeah, I guess I am…"

"You sure you don't want us to take a quick look around?" March asked after an awkward pause.

She and January had set up a system of blood markers around the city when they'd been looking for December, but Suou had refused to use any of the Dolls to seek out the other Suou Pavlichenko over the past few days, feeling a need to show some level of trust after their reconciliation. Still, March made one last offer as it was becoming increasingly likely she wouldn't be coming back.

"N-no, it's alright." Suou refused again, but didn't sound very sure of herself. "She'll come back soon. I have to believe that."

"Very well," March accepted, and this time took May by the hand. "Good luck with everything."

"Thank you." Suou nodded.

With that, the three MI-6 agents turned around and made their way towards their plane, but just before the disappeared into the crowd, Suou saw May turn her head back and wave at her. Absently, she waved back, but nobody else indicated that they had noticed or found it odd.

With all that said and done, the group made their way back outside, and Goro shook Hei's hand once more before parting ways. "I suppose we'll see you at the raid; give my best to Madame Oreille."

Hei nodded, and Goro got into his car to drive away. "Let's go." Hei said to the others, and they started walking down the opposite direction.

However, as they made their way, the sound of screeching tires echoed out from the distance. The group paid it no real heed at first, but as the sound continued to grow louder – closer – it became more distracting. And eventually, the car responsible for the sound screeched onto the street ahead of them and began speeding passed them. Except that as soon as it did pass them, the car jolted to a stop, really drawing their curiosity, and they watched as the driver's side door opened up just a second later.

"Suou!" Much to their surprise, the woman that emerged from the vehicle ran straight for them while shouting Suou's name.

To the side, Mao suppressed a shout of shock and Suou felt a surge of conflicting emotions as her eyes went wide at seeing her mother show up out of the blue. "Mama!?"

Her declaration caused Hei to hesitate as he had been about to step between Suou and the stranger, and the woman practically collapsed into a heavy embrace around Suou, and she was surprised to find that her mother was shaking, and heard tears in her voice as she spoke again. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry about everything!"

Suou could barely process what was happening. Her mother was here – had known where to find her – had come looking for her… to apologize? Desperate to make sense of it, she pried the older woman out of the embrace to look her in the eye. "Hold on a minute. Why are you apologizing? How did you even know where to find me?"

Asako blinked dumbly at those questions, but looked back at her car and Suou followed her gaze. There, she was just able to make out the figure watching them from the backseat window, realizing with a start that it was her own face looking back at her – Second Earth's Suou.

The girl frantically ducked down in the car when she realized she'd been spotted, but the sight of her put a few of the pieces in place for First Earth's Suou to get at least a tentative grasp on her current situation. "She just kind of showed up at my apartment." Her mother began to explain. "Said she wasn't you and asked for a chance to explain, but I was just so shocked to see you again, after what I'd said last time…" She started, but at the mention of 'last time', Suou flinched.

Of course, how could she forget? That was the day Suou had found out what she really was. When what she'd thought would be a happy reunion with her mother had turned into one of the worst existential crises she could ever imagine. The day her mother had called her a monster.

"I'm sorry!" Seeing her reaction though, Asako hurried to apologize again, grabbing her arms with desperation in her eyes. She'd had desperation in her eyes last time too, Suou thought. But it was different this time – it was pleading now, not just afraid. "I'm sorry for everything! If I could take it all back… I don't even deserve to be here right now; but I had to at least tell you that I was sorry."

Asako had averted her gaze in the middle of her apologies, looking down with shame, and Suou took another moment to try and come to terms with what was happening right now. Her mother was here. She had come to apologize for the things she'd said and done the last time they met – to let Suou know she regretting pushing her away before.

To accomplish… what, exactly? Suou felt like she should realize the answer the that already, but her mind was still playing catchup with the situation. Feeling dazed, Suou slowly – gently – pulled herself out of her mother's grip. Asako didn't try to stop her, but watched as she made her way to the car to open the back-seat door.

There, Second Earth's Suou pulled herself out of her hiding crouch and looked up nervously at her counterpart. "You brought her here?"

"I- uh…" Second Earth's Suou stammered her response. "This didn't exactly go the way I planned it, but… yes?"

She seemed uncertain about it herself, but First Earth's Suou pressed the matter anyways. "Why?"

Second Earth's Suou hesitated for a moment. "I just thought… you offered me so much. It didn't seem right to accept without trying to do something in return."

"What were you trying to do?" First Earth's Suou asked, still feeling like she should already know the answer.

"I was- I mean…" Her counterpart appeared to share the sentiment, as she seemed taken aback by the question. "You did want to be with her again, didn't you?"

Reconciliation.

Finally, First Earth's Suou's thoughts caught up with the situation. It was so strange to be reminded of all this now. First Earth's Suou had hardly had time to spare a thought for the last time she'd seen her mother since being re-awoken, and because of her lost time, that encounter felt a lot more recent to her than it actually was.

Meanwhile, her mother had probably never stopped thinking about it. She doubted anyone would have bothered to inform Asako of what had happened to Suou back then, so for the last seven months, she'd have been dealing with the knowledge that a clone of her daughter was out there somewhere, living a life she knew nothing about.

How must those thoughts have affected her? She supposed she could imagine a little of what it was like now, after how she reacted to seeing Second Earth's Suou for the first time. Still, now that it was on the table, did that really mean it was okay for First Earth's Suou to reconcile with her mother?

As she thought that though, she realized what a ridiculous question it was. Was it 'okay' to accept it? Second Earth's Suou had done all this just because she didn't think it was 'okay' to accept her own offer without giving something in kind. Whether it was 'okay' or not wasn't the issue here. The real question was: what choice would make her happier?

And as she thought that, she realized she already knew the answer. Mind made up, First Earth's Suou turned back towards Asako who perked up nervously as she approached. She stood before the woman for a moment in silence, and then raised her arms to return her earlier embrace. "Mama!" She called out, relief in her voice.

Asako's eyes went wide at the accepting hug. For everything Second Earth's Suou had explained to her, she hadn't really believed that Suou would accept her apology. But now that she had, Asako felt pure joy rise within her, and couldn't help but cry into her daughter's shoulder as she hugged her back. "Thank you, Suou."

Meanwhile, Hei and the rest continued to stand there awkwardly to the side, unsure what to do but unwilling to simply leave. A moment later though, a new car pulled up next to Hei and surprisingly, Madame Oreille stepped out of it, looking immediately to Suou and Asako. "Well I'll be damned…" She muttered to herself.

"What are you doing here?" Hei asked. She should have had her hands full preparing for the raid against the Syndicate.

"There was something I… needed to confirm." Oreille's reply was vague, and Hei noticed that her attention seemed oddly fixed on Suou and her mother. Transfixed, even.

"What happened?" He decided to press. "Did you find something out?"

In response to this, Oreille huffed a laugh through her nose, grinned conspiratorially at the Black Reaper, and lifted a single finger to her lips, indicating a secret.


Up in the air on their way out of Japan, the MI-6 agents sat comfortably in their seats on the private jet. While May was off to the side staring out the window, the two Contractors sat opposite one another at the table, where August lounged back in his chair while March took to an early lunch.

And after letting some time pass in silence, March finally addressed the elephant in the room. "So, are we ever going to talk about December's final request?"

With his top hat settled atop his face, August supplied a retort. "Must we? We both know what it meant."

"He died while performing his Obeisance, August!" March grew more serious, setting aside her utensils to make her point. "You're right, we do both know what that means. It means that somewhere out there is a person who just gained the ability to see the future – December's Retainer."

"And?" August however, maintained his lax posture and sounded disinterested in her conclusion. "What does that have to with us?"

"The MI-6 will want to find whoever it is, if they can deduce their identity."

"Probably, though that does depend on a few key factors."

"And what factors are those?" March questioned, suddenly confused.

"Well for starters," Came August's reply. "It depends on whether or not we tell the MI-6 that he died performing his Obeisance."

At that, March started. She had not included specific details about the deaths of December or January during her initial report to their superiors, but they were expecting a full debrief as soon as the trio of agents got back to headquarters.

That August was suggesting they obscure some of the facts like this should not have surprised her, but still she asked, "Why would you want to hide it? December has had years to himself since leaving the MI-6. He could have groomed a successor during that time, we should want to know who a man like him left such a valuable ability to."

"Don't be ridiculous. December wouldn't have groomed someone to be his Retainer; that's not how he operates." August seemed to be chiding March for her supposition, as if he thought she should know better. "He's an author, March. If that man were going to die and leave somebody behind as his Retainer at the end of his own story, he would have better sense than to give it to somebody no one had ever seen or heard of before.

"He would have made sure to give that Revenue to someone that could make more immediate use of it. Someone from his current cast of characters."

Again, March felt shocked. With eyes wide, she stared at August realized what he was hinting at. "You son of a bitch; you already know who it is!" August didn't even budge at the accusation, but March suddenly felt like she could sense the smug energy radiating off him from underneath his top hat. "And you're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Well, it depends," August said again, and now March was sure she could hear the haughtiness in his tone. "Are you going to tell our superiors that December left a Retainer?"

March chewed on that question for a moment. If she didn't agree to August's request, it wouldn't leave her in the dark. He'd already dropped that the Retainer was someone they could pick out from among December's 'cast', so it should only take a little prodding to discover which one of them had inherited his ability.

But no, that wasn't really what this was about. August wasn't trying to haggle with the information, he just wanted to know what March stood. He knew who the Retainer was – hell as she thought about it, she realized it was possible he WAS the Retainer – but either way, August wanted that person to remain a secret. Because if they didn't, and that person was snatched up against their will by the MI-6, it would stain December's legacy.

December had left the MI-6 in the first place for a reason. Even if they couldn't be certain what that reason had been, it only made sense that he wouldn't want any successor of his to be entangled with that organization either. They needed to have more freedom than that, if they were to pick up where he'd left off.

So that was what this came down to. Was March for December, or against him? Was she August's enemy, or his ally in protecting this secret? If she decided they were enemies, August might just up and vanish on her right now, and then she'd be in even more trouble with her superiors.

In the end, March heaved a big, heavy sigh and slumped back in her chair, letting go of the tension in her body. "Alright August, you win. I won't tell anyone that December left a Retainer behind."

"She's not lying." But startling March all over again, May suddenly chipped into the conversation.

March turned to the Doll, who continued to stare out the window, and held a hand to her own chest. "May! What are you…?" She started, but was distracted as August began laughing at her reaction. "What!?"

Finally, August took his top hat off his face and leaned forward. "It's nothing to be so shocked about. I simply asked May to confirm your intent for me, that's all. Now I know I have nothing to worry about."

March wasn't sure she liked that answer, but she forced herself to calm down and meet August's eyes. "So, who is it then? Who did December leave his ability to?"

Pleased with himself, August grinned mischievously and – just to be coy – put a finger to his lips, nailing in that she was not to tell anyone about this.


And so – with everything else said and done – the day of the raid came and by following the instructions left to them by December, every last surviving member of the Syndicate was captured or killed.

Afterwards, eventually, most of December's cast fell back into at least somewhat familiar routines. Goro, Misaki, Kouno, Saito, and now Hazuki again returned to their regular duties in Section 3 while Hei, Mao, Yin agreed to remain under Madame Oreille's command within the CIA, joined now by Irene. And as the lot of them were still seen under the umbrella known as the 'New Syndicate', they expected they would all continue to work closely with one another.

As for Harvey and Amara, as promised, the pair were assisted in regressing back into regular humans. It had turned out to be a strange experience for them, symptoms similar to those of withdrawal overtook the two of them after a time as they were locked away and bound in manners that would prevent them from escaping with their abilities. But when they were finally deemed 'in violation' of their Contracts by whatever powers decided such things, they immediately calmed. There were no lingering after effects, although as 'irregular' as they might have been as Contractors, both admitted to feeling a stark difference in their dispositions upon the change in their status.

It wasn't that they were suddenly different people or anything, but they felt more desire than when they were Contractors, as though their drive to succeed and achieve had suddenly been renewed and heightened. It gave them a unique perspective on how January reacted to his defeat upon becoming a Regressor, and in that state of renewed desire, as soon as the two of them had a moment alone, Amara spoke up. "Hey, Harvey?"

"Yeah?"

"…I want another kid."

Stunned silence and an incredulous look from behind sunglasses was her only response, but she had expected that, and simply looked back at him and grinned.

And in regards to the Suous, Oreille also worked out a unique compromise. It was a stickier situation since they weren't becoming Regressors like Amara and Harvey, but she owed them at least a little leeway considering everything she'd done to land them where they currently were. They would still be considered under her jurisdiction of command like Hei and the others, but would be treated more like reserve forces, allowing them to have something akin to a normal life as they both began living with Asako Nakimiya, an arrangement that also constituted giving Second Earth's Suou some legal documentation.

She rejected the notion of changing her name for convenience sake, however. "I am Suou." She had said. "That's all there is to it."

So, when you stopped to think about it all, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise who December chose to be his Retainer. There were only two others before this point, and both of them ended up playing significant roles in his story. Therefore, as any decent writer would understand, his choice of Retainer would need to be someone he could trust, and also who fulfilled the principle 'Rule of Three'.

There was Hei – a human given the power of a Contractor by his late sister. And then January – a Contractor bestowed with a second ability by an old co-worker. So when one looked at the structure of this world twisted by the Gates and the beings that inhabited it, it became clear where December would look for his third.

At the very least, that was how July internalized it now. It was the explanation that made the most sense, that after having seen both a human and a Contractor capable of receiving a Revenue, he would want to confirm that the same could be done with a Doll. And who better to receive his ability than the Doll that had helped him gather cast members and guide his main protagonist through this story.

In the end, he had to wonder if it had even been about choosing someone to continue his legacy, or if even this was just about doing what made the end of his story the most interesting. Either way, July was glad for it, and as he began to glow with Lancelnopt radiation, told himself that he would make the best of this gift he had received.