The two men walked out of the tower's doorway openly, in front of crowds of onlookers and heavily armed soldiers.
But no one was suspicious of them, because under Jared's light manipulation, he had already changed their appearance into the same shape as the soldiers outside, so no one felt suspicious even when watching them walk out. When they walked into the crowd, they immediately reverted to their original forms and disappeared into the crowd.
Caroline played uneasily with the umbrella in her hand, her face a little grim.
(... Maybe we shouldn't...)
"We have to do it."
Jared's answer was decisive, revealing no emotion.
"We can't break our word, and you and I both know that we can't do much about it alone, even if we do find those people. And you know very well why Mr. Florence said those words of abandonment."
(... Yes...)
Caroline was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Yes, Florence was a little man, just as in the original world, Jared and Caroline's team hired little men to relay information to their peers, to ask for information or to buy and sell goods. And then they'd be silenced for reasons of profit and secrecy. That's right, Florence is such a small person, although we do not know what the conspiracy in front of us, but his identity is at most just a piece of the puzzle that can be replaced at any time, there is no value at all. In simple terms, he would be killed and forgotten, perhaps not even remembered by name.
If they just disappear, they'll be safe forever.
But if they don't stop, they'll soon put themselves in danger.
If it had been just the two of them, they might have been able to do it. But now, they have another mission, to find Florence's daughter and protect her.
And if we go any deeper, we're going to get her involved.
It was because he saw this that Florence gave up her revenge.
(Mr. Merchant really loves his daughter very much.)
"Perhaps this is kinship."
Jared swept around and said indifferently. Caroline, sensing that something was wrong with his mood, immediately stopped talking and hid herself in the shadow of the umbrella. Jared had been alone for as long as he could remember, and couldn't remember why he'd been abandoned, perhaps because of his powers, perhaps not. Though Jared didn't care much about it himself, his packmates made a conscious effort to talk less about family in front of him. After all, they all had fond childhood memories to anchor them, and Jared didn't have any of those.
"Caroline."
(What's up?)
Caroline was a little nervous. Maybe she shouldn't have brought it up?
"I suddenly realized that we forgot something very important ..."
Jared scratched the back of his head in considerable distress and frowned.
"Where is Mr. Florence's home?"
(...)
It's amazing how an important, legitimate issue can be forgotten.
Sometimes things do get awkward, but luckily, there's Caroline.
(Same place as this odor, please.)
Jared gazed at Caroline, who was half crouching, handing out the Ring of Florence to the pack of wild dogs, which, after a moment's sniffing with their noses outstretched, howled and scurried away, disappearing into the depths of the alley.
"Very nice. What are they saying?"
(... Go get them some fresh meat if you can.)
"Roger."
Caroline's "thought communication" can communicate, but it's not limited to humans. No matter what kind of animal it was, as long as it could make a sound, as long as it could express its thoughts, then Caroline could understand it. Although it could not reach the level of understanding everything, but with other animals and insects to communicate, is already completely enough. So Caroline is not alone, although she has little contact with humans, but with her contact with the animals, but not less. It's just that Caroline rarely communicates with animals.
Led by a familiar pack of wild dogs, the two arrived at a house in the business district that looked very ordinary, but carried a rather restful air. It was obvious that Florence was a man who knew how to live. But when they got here, they hesitated. After all, according to Florence's words, his daughter had been looking forward to seeing him, but now he was dead. Whether he died of disease or was killed, he was still dead.
The dead can't meet, of course.
But only for a moment, for Jared had stepped forward and knocked on the door at Caroline's hesitant look.
"... Dad? Dad, you're back?! It's so good ...!"
A brown-haired girl cheered as she opened the door, and when she saw the stranger in front of her, she stood frozen in fear, then quickly stepped back. Blinking uneasily, she looked at the strange visitor.
"Please ... Excuse me, are you ...?"
"It doesn't matter who we are, we can talk about that later, but I think there's something you need to know."
With that, Jared pulled out the ring. And when the girl saw the ring, her face immediately changed.
"This ... this is my dad's?"
"Your Father ..."
Jared paused for a moment, perhaps searching for an adjective that would be more gentle and harmonizing, but not knowing whether his vocabulary was too poor or he had given up the search, he finally began to speak.
"He's dead."
"... hey?"
For a moment, a smile appeared on the girl's face, a twisted smile, as if she'd heard a joke. Or rather, she was trying to think of it as a joke. An untrue lie. Caroline sighed softly and lowered her head, saying nothing. Jared was kind to his own people, but he was cold to others. Just like this, he had no qualms about telling the news of his death. Although the girl was to be placed in Florence's care, she was still an outsider to Jared.
"I'm not kidding."
Jared increased his tone, but the girl suddenly took a few steps back and closed the door with a bang.
(... You shouldn't be so direct...)
"Everyone dies."
In the face of Caroline's accusations, Jared said without turning his head.
"We have to accept it, and if we can't accept it, then we're going to go and keep them company."
(I understand,of course, but she's still a child ...)
"We've come this way too, don't forget, Caroline."
Caroline was silent, then she stepped to Jared's side and gazed at the closed door of the room before her.
（So, what do we do next?)
"There is only waiting ..."
Jared just sat right down on the front steps and gazed at the sky that was already beginning to be engulfed in dark clouds.
"If she can't accept it herself, then we'll just keep waiting."
(... Sometimes, I think you're cruel.)
Caroline sat beside Jared, leaning over his shoulder with nonchalant sarcasm.
It's raining.
The crystals of nature fall like water sprites, dancing in a cool and transparent dance, and the sound of "ding dong dong dong" sounds very beautiful. Perhaps this is a miracle of natural beauty, a random rain, are nature's playing field. There they formed a variety of sounds, mixed and blended into a beautiful movement. At that moment, Caroline had already stood up, using the umbrella in her hand to shield herself from the increasing rain, and at the same time looking uneasily at the figure still sitting in front of the steps, already drenched.
(Jared, come and get out of the rain, it's not good for your health.)
"You're right, you're not well in your own right so just stay there. As for me ... there's nothing wrong with a free cold shower now and then."
(... Are you regretting this?)
"..."
Though Jared said nothing, Caroline knew that he was scolding himself for not being so careless, and indeed, it wouldn't have been difficult to get the two of them to follow him in if they had been strongly urged to do so. But they had trusted blindly, and had paid dearly for it. And it's not their fault, after all, they know too little about this world.
Caroline understood that Jared was rarely emotional, and although he usually acted very gently and was easy to get along with, only those who really knew him and had spent a lot of time with him would know that although Jared acted very relaxed on weekdays, he really did what needed to be done, and would never be sloppy.
But now, looking out into the rain, Caroline knew that he was blaming himself.
The door slowly opened and the girl once again peeked timidly out of it, her eyes red and swollen, obviously having cried.
"Two, two ... please come in ... please."
Upon entering the room, and before even changing out of his wet clothes, Jared once again reached out to the girl and handed her the ring. This time, the girl visibly hesitated for a moment, but then, with a trembling hand, she slowly took the ring from Jared's hand. Then, biting her lip, she said thank you. But it was clear that Jared wasn't going to stop there. He reached out and took the scroll from Caroline, and the girl took it.
Then ...
"You guys talk."
With that, Jared walked himself into one of the rooms and closed the door behind him. Caroline and the girl were left staring at each other.
(Jared, what are we gonna talk about? ...)
"Talk all you want, right?"
Jared smiled at Caroline's question as he took off his clothes. He couldn't introduce himself every time he was the middleman, and Caroline, it was time to try and come out on her own.
In fact, all Jared had done to change his clothes was to wring them out. But it was clear that when he came out, Caroline's eyes had already commented on the unattractiveness of his wrinkled clothes.
"I think, you should know it too."
Ignoring Caroline's protests for the moment, Jared walked over to the girl and looked at her and said.
"Mr. Florence was a good businessman ... Caroline and I admired him, but now that he's gone ... I'm not going to say that I understand your feelings, because I can't. After all, I'm not you, so I wouldn't say anything like that to offend your feelings for Mr. Florence. And now, both Caroline and I have sworn to Mr. Florence that we will protect you. He said he wanted us to be your guardians. That's all I can say. As for the property, it's all yours. We don't need anything, so ..."
"Wait a minute."
The girl suddenly interrupted him, and then gazed at Jared with wide, surprised eyes, as if he had said something incredible.
"You mean, Father made you my guardians?"