Chapter 153: Beastman Researcher
{TL: By Creed}
For now, let’s not worry about the lodging situation…
After leaving our luggage in the room, we headed back out into the city.
According to Edward and Emilia, the beastman researcher lives on the outskirts of Blue Island. Apparently, he moved away from the bustling city center to focus on his studies.
On a hill with a sweeping view of the city, we found the researcher’s house.
"Excuse me!"
I knocked on the door and called out.
… But there was no response.
"Excuse meee!"
I knocked again, this time raising my voice a little.
Still, there was no answer.
I tried turning the doorknob just to check, but it clicked, locked.
"Is he out?"
"Hmm… I don’t feel any sign of anyone here."
"You can tell that just by feeling?"
She could tell if someone was home or not just by sensing their presence? Sometimes Sofia’s abilities are unreal.
… Or maybe it’s not just sometimes, but always?
"So, what now? Should we wait for him to come back?"
"I’d like to, but… hmm, maybe it’s better not to."
"Why not?"
"Look at the mailbox."
The mailbox was stuffed with a pile of letters and papers, showing that the owner hadn’t been home for quite some time.
"Whether he’s off on a job or a trip, it seems he’s been away for a while."
"This is quite a problem…"
"How about we just pick the lock and investigate the inside ourselves?"
"We don’t even know what we’d look for, and that would be, well, illegal."
"Hah, I was kidding! Just joking!"
No, Licorice was serious. I kept that thought to myself, though.
"Is the scholar really not here?"
"Seems like it, yeah. What a shame."
"Mama, it’s okay, it’s okay."
"Ahhh… My daughter is just too cute, I feel like I’m going to lose it!"
"Squeak."
With hearts in her eyes, Sofia hugged Aisha tightly. Although she seemed to be trying to be gentle, it was still a little much, and Aisha squirmed in her arms.
"Sofia, calm down."
"Huh?! Sorry, Aisha..."
"It’s okay. I don’t mind."
Sofia’s love for Aisha was so overwhelming that it made her lose control. Aisha seemed to understand this, and she looked happy about it.
"Well, for now, should we ask someone from a nearby house?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
We headed to a house a little further away. This one wasn’t empty, and we were able to gather some information about the beastman researcher.
Apparently, he had recently been hired for a lecture and moved to another town. According to the schedule, he wouldn’t be back for a week.
"Thank you very much."
After finishing the conversation, we returned to the front of the researcher’s house.
"He left two days ago, so he won’t be back for another five days."
"See? Breaking in would have been faster, wouldn’t it?"
"Why is it always you, Licorice, who comes up with these extreme ideas...?"
I had heard that fairies were supposed to be a calm and gentle species, but… maybe Licorice is an exception?
Either way, it’s bad for Aisha’s upbringing to hear talk like that, so I really hope she doesn’t suggest things like that.
"For now, let’s leave a letter."
He should be back in five days, but plans can change. It would be a problem if we missed each other, so we decided to leave a letter informing him of our visit.
After sorting through the overflowing mailbox, I put our letter inside. For now, that was all we could do.
"So, what should we do now?"
We had five days of free time ahead of us. The lodging wasn’t a concern, but figuring out how to pass the time was the real issue.
"Since we’re here, how about we take on some local requests?"
"Oh, that sounds good."
With a change of location comes a change of requests.
There might be some interesting jobs unique to Blue Island.
"Ugh… This is ridiculous. You two are seriously trying to do work even here? Are you both workaholics? Honestly, how exhausting."
Licorice dramatically sighed, drawing attention to herself.
"Don’t just work all the time. Take a break once in a while. If you don’t, Licorice won’t get to rest either."
"Licorice rests as much as she wants, whenever she wants, doesn’t she...?"
"Shut up!"
Licorice floated up into the air and landed on top of Aisha’s head. Then, she pointed dramatically at us.
"Alright, Aisha. Spill what’s been on your mind!"
"Huh?"
"You’ve got something you want to do, right?"
"..."
Licorice wasn’t just saying something random…
Aisha glanced at me and Sofia for a moment.
Her tail was swaying anxiously.
It seemed like she had something she wanted to say, but, as Licorice had mentioned, she was holding back.
I squatted down to meet Aisha’s gaze.
"What’s wrong, Aisha? If you want to say something, don’t hold back."
"Fate’s right. Don’t be shy about it."
"Um… well…"
Aisha briefly looked at the sea, then turned her gaze back to us.
"It’s my first time seeing the sea… I want to play."
"I see."
Now that I thought about it, Aisha’s request was quite normal.
The sea, something she had never seen before.
Of course, a child would want to play.
"Alright. Let’s go play at the sea, then."
"Is it okay…?"
"Of course."
"I’m sorry, Aisha. You were probably worried you’d be interrupting our work, but it’s fine. We don’t need to worry about money right now, so there’s no pressure to work. And honestly, I want to play with you at the sea too."
"Wow…!"
Aisha’s face lit up with joy. She must have really wanted to play at the sea.
I felt a bit guilty. If Licorice hadn’t brought it up, I might not have noticed.
"Thank you, Licorice."
"Hehe, don’t worry about it. I’m just a pro at picking up on these things. It’s nothing. Oh, but tonight, I want to eat meat. Meat!"
"Got it."
And so…
Until the beastman researcher returned, we decided to enjoy the sea.
TL Note: Licorice saves the day.
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