"Sanbica is upstairs in her room," Bisky shrugged. "It can't be helped. She's still not used to interacting with so many strangers."
Shizuku raised a hand. "I've only met her once."
"I've seen her several times," Wing said with a helpless look, "but mostly just chance encounters at the Hunter Association headquarters."
Bisky spread his hands and smiled. "She's such a shy girl, oh... so cute. I really want to use her as a pillow."
"Since she's so socially anxious, how can she manage her work?" Germain asked the crucial question.
"She studies viruses and spends most of her time in the lab," Bisky explained. "And when she's working, her personality does a 180-degree turn."
"What do you mean?" Germain inquired.
"She becomes very focused and forgets her social anxiety," Bisky replied. "She's very serious and responsible about her work. To her, patients are different from other people."
After hearing this, Germain nodded. "Then I have no doubts about her. But we need to discuss the final preparation details. Shouldn't we ask her to come down and participate?"
"It doesn't matter; she's probably thought of this already," Bisky said, laughing. She then retrieved a tablet from behind the pillow and placed it on the table.
The tablet's screen lit up, showing a chat interface with a small speaker icon in the lower right corner, indicating it was in speaker mode.
Seeing this scene, Germain, Shizuku, and Wing were all astonished.
On the tablet screen, rows of large characters appeared in size 1 font.
"Hi, I'm Sanbica, and I apologize for communicating like this."
Shizuku moved closer to Germain and asked, "So Sanbica is mute? No wonder she didn't respond when I knocked earlier... Or wait, is she deaf?"
Upon hearing this, Bisky burst into laughter and collapsed back on the sofa in an ungraceful manner. It was then up to disciple Wing to gently remind her to mind her manners.
Meanwhile, "sorry" kept scrolling across the tablet screen repeatedly.
"What's going on?" Shizuku asked with a puzzled and slightly dejected look. She didn't quite understand what was so funny.
"Sanbica isn't deaf or mute," Germain explained. "She's just shy and afraid to talk to strangers. Your knocking on the door must have startled her."
"Oh..." Shizuku nodded thoughtfully, though it wasn't clear if she fully grasped the explanation.
Germain noticed Bisky laughing heartily. Once her laughter subsided, he said, "Let's begin our discussion now."
After an hour and a half, the discussion concluded.
"We'll rest during the day tomorrow and depart as usual at 1 a.m. on the 1st," Germain announced, glancing out the window. "It's almost evening. What are we doing for dinner tonight?"
Germain's gaze fell on the two women and the tablet computer. Bisky and Shizuku shook their heads, while Sanbica on the other side of the tablet simply pretended not to exist.
He realized a rather serious issue: "Are you suggesting I cook dinner for five people?"
Germain's culinary expertise lay in home-cooked dishes with eggs, such as fried rice with egg, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and fried eggs. However, cooking for five at once was a new challenge for him.
"I... I'll do it." Wing stood up from the sofa, adjusting his glasses with a smile. "As long as everyone doesn't mind."
"Oh! Let Wing handle it, this kid's really good at cooking. He'll definitely make a great house husband someday!" Bisky showered him with praise.
Wing rarely received such compliments from the teacher and couldn't help but scratch the back of his head shyly.
"In that case, I'll pitch in too," Germain said. "I can help with washing and chopping vegetables."
"Okay, thank you," Wing replied.
The two men headed into the kitchen, silently agreeing not to disturb Bisky, Shizuku, and Sanbica.
Half an hour later, Wing prepared a variety of dishes on the long table, and Sanbica's portion was taken to her room by Bisky.
Once the meal was served, everyone began to enjoy dinner. Wing's cooking wasn't restaurant-level, but it was more than satisfactory.
Watching everyone enjoy his food, Wing couldn't help but smile contentedly.
However, Bisky, ever mindful of appearances, reminded him, "Wing, um, your posture."
Wing blushed at the gentle reprimand and adjusted himself reflexively.
"Germain, I have an idea," Bisky said, pointing her knife across the table. "Do you know the one-star gourmet hunter Menchi?"
"Yeah," Germain nodded as he twirled spaghetti on his fork. "I've seen her and her partner Buhara before."
"Great. Their cooking is incredible. I once tasted it and nearly bit my tongue off, it was so good," Bisky grinned mischievously. "We should get them involved."
Germain looked at Bisky, who always seemed to challenge the Hunter Association under Chairman Netero's watch, and felt a kinship with her rebellious spirit.
As midnight on March 31st passed and April Fools' Day arrived on April 1st.
At one in the morning, the lakeside mansion glowed brightly. Except for Sanbica, who had retired for the night, the other three gathered together.
"This is the 'transmission lantern' and the 'messenger ghost'..." Wing crouched down, marveling at the faintly glowing lantern and the four slender, pale ghosts.
"Is everyone ready?" Germain confirmed one last time, and the other three nodded solemnly.
"Then, join hands with the little ghost," Germain instructed, "our journey begins."
In succession, Germain, Bisky, Wing, and Shizuku reached out, clasping the thin fingers of the little ghosts. They heard surprised gasps and felt a chilling sensation.
Finally, Bisky called out to the tablet computer placed nearby: "Sanbica, we're leaving. Please watch over things here."
An "OK" response quickly appeared on the tablet.
With no further hesitation, Bisky knew they were ready.
"Lantern Location: Spider Valley Bottom"
"Cooling Time: 2 hours (already cooled)"
With a sudden whirl of the world around them, Germain and his four companions, along with the messenger imp and the lantern, vanished without a trace from the floor.
After a while, a small, cautious figure peeked out from the stairs, carefully scanning the first floor. Convinced it wasn't an April Fool's prank, she descended slowly.
In the past, she'd often been teased by those fond of her during such moments, causing her some psychological trauma.
Now, seeing everyone suddenly vanish, she believed 80% of what had been said about the journey to the Dark Continent.
Still warmly dressed, Sanbica picked up her tablet and placed it against her nearly flat chest. The realization struck that she was now alone in a house amidst the wilderness.
Her mind raced with scattered thoughts as she nervously swallowed. Leaving the hall lights on, she set the tablet on the table and hurried back upstairs.
********
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