༺ There’s Ice Cream At My Friend’s House! (1) ༻
3 AM.
A dark and quiet time.
“Pizza bread….”
Naru was still fast asleep.
Even though there was a power outage and a thief breaking in, she hadn’t woken up even once.
That’s how soundly she was sleeping.
“Naru, Dad bought pizza bread and is going to eat it all alone.”
“Uh….”
“Hehe. I’m just kidding. I didn’t bring any pizza bread.”
I lightly flicked Naru’s cheek with my finger.
“Urr…!”
Take a look at that grumble.
Of course, Naru still didn’t wake up.
I then shifted my gaze from the sleeping Naru.
Brigitte was meditating in the living room of the lab.
“Brigitte, how’s your condition?”
I asked Brigitte.
She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, wearing a thin silk robe.
From what I heard, it was a meditation technique that she had learned from the bald Enkidus.
Brigitte replied with her eyes closed.
“I’m feeling better now.”
Certainly, she looked fine to me.
Brigitte seemed capable of winning battles against the venom even without an antidote.
Although her path is slightly different from those who have developed immunity to venom or reached the Adamantine Body’s realm like Enkidus, she was born a sturdy warrior.
“Did you find the scoundrel who stole my clothes?”
Brigitte asked me after concluding her meditation.
I gave a somewhat vague answer.
“I roughly determined their location. It’s on 61st Street. But it’s a bit late, so I decided to come back.”
“61st Street?”
Brigitte furrowed her brows momentarily.
I wondered if the venom had flared up again, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Judas, as you know, the City-State of Freesia systematically divides the territory from 1st to 60th Street based on importance.”
“I know. 1st Street has the central city hall, and 55th Street is a run-down slum.”
Naru was kidnapped by the Alubaba Thieves on 55th Street not too long ago.
I already knew that the higher-numbered streets generally had worse security.
When I was speculating to myself about why Brigitte brought this up, she kindly explained.
“Freesia’s streets officially end on 60th Street. However, you’re saying that this thief is on 61st Street.”
“Oh, now that you mention it.”
A non-existent 61st Street.
Truly intriguing.
Brigitte brought out a map.
It was a map with Freesia City-State’s territory finely detailed.
“So, starting from the central city, the streets are numbered clockwise from 1st Street towards the outskirts. 61st Street is roughly around here, similar to the extraterritorial zone of Freesia.”
“A lawless zone, huh?”
“Yes. Judas, as you know, the war was fierce. Many refugees fled to this neutral country. Among them were many villains who couldn’t assimilate into society. Those guys settled there.”
I understand it’s a chaotic place.
And, on some level, it felt familiar.
Trashy places like these are common no matter where you go.
Brigitte added a few more words.
“It’s an excellent place for villains to gather. However, if we recklessly stir things up, criminals will swarm out like a kicked hornets’ nest. So, Judas, not going alone today was the right decision.”
“Is that so?”
“Anyway, well, that’s that. I’m going to sleep.”
Brigitte lay down on the couch.
Should I take a short nap too?
…
..
.
“Dad, did you sleep well…!”
Naru woke up and cheerfully greeted me.
Even though I had briefly dozed off at the table, I snapped back to attention.
When I turned my head, the bright morning sun from the balcony was streaming into the lab.
The time was 7 AM.
It felt like I had just blinked my eyes, but four hours had passed.
Did someone steal my time?
“Dad, are you awake? Naru’s awake!”
Naru woke up on her own without my prompting.
She sleeps well at night and wakes up early in the morning.
Was she a morning person? How surprising.
It’s not the best disposition for becoming an excellent thief.
But it’s a good habit for becoming a princess.
“Naru slept well! She ate pizza bread in her dreams! But since she’s never eaten it before, she doesn’t know what it tastes like!”
Naru enthusiastically described her dreams.
Watching her, I recalled my younger self.
I was a first-grader back then, and I was considered somewhat scatterbrained, to the point where people suspected I had ADHD. But compared to the current Naru, I was relatively calm.
“So, Naru rode a rainbow and chased clouds. When the clouds went whoosh-whoosh, they ran away. Can clouds turn into horses, Dad?”
Naru seemed to enjoy chatting and sharing stories.
Is it typical for girls her age to like talking about anything and everything?
Or is it just Naru?
I don’t know.
So, I just nodded and marveled at Naru’s story, saying, “I see,” as Naru raised her hand as if she remembered something.
“And today is the day we go to Naru’s friend’s house! Cecily’s house!”
“Oh, right.”
Naru, me, and Brigitte were invited to the Ragdoll family’s mansion.
We received the invitation as a token of gratitude for rescuing little Cecily from the Alubaba Thieves.
“It’s Naru’s first time visiting a friend’s house! I’m looking forward to it!”
A friend’s house.
What was it like when I first visited a friend’s house?
I recalled myself in the first grade.
The most astonishing thing when I first visited a friend’s house was the snacks on the dining table.
A huge refrigerator with a lot of ice cream.
It was unimaginable in our house where anything edible disappeared instantly.
My friend’s mother was also younger than I had expected.
Today, Naru, visiting a friend’s house for the first time in her life, must be wondering what she would feel and think. As I thought about my childhood, Naru added.
“Cecily might be an imp! So, like Cariotete said, I have to put the Yaluballu grass under her pillow! Naru will do her best…!”
That’s right.
For Naru, it was like an infiltration mission rather than just a visit.
Then, Brigitte said at that time.
“Naru, now it’s time to get ready for school.”
“I like going to school, Dad! They say we’ll have sweet and sour pork for lunch today!”
Naru enthusiastically prepared for school.
I gave her the square chocolate that I had received from the Thieves’ Guild yesterday.
Yesterday, the muscle thief, Baraba or something like that, gave me the chocolate, saying, “You’re a formidable opponent. I admit defeat. As a sign of respect, I’ll give you chocolate that I made myself.”
A big guy who uses a fruit knife that’s 10 cm in size and gives handmade chocolates.
Unexpectedly, his sensibilities were quite girlish.
“Oh, holy shh, chocolate…! Naru never tasted chocolate before…!”
“Remember to brush your teeth after eating.”
“Ung, ung!”
After eating the breakfast prepared by Brigitte, Naru went energetically forward.
* * *
“Hehe.”
Naru felt good.
It was because she was going to her friend’s house today.
“Cecily!”
“Naru!”
Naru and Cecily, who had been waiting for her in front of the classroom, exchanged handshakes.
Then, the red-haired girl, Elizabeth, who had been watching them, hesitated and extended her palm.
“Naru, hello.”
“Elizabeth!”
Clap—
Naru also gave Elizabeth’s palm a light clap.
Then, as if she felt a little relieved, Elizabeth asked, “Did you sleep well?”
Naru thought it would be nice to tell her about the dream she had last night.
“Last night, Naru ate pizza bread in her dreams, but the clouds ran away!”
“Weird dream.”
Cecily tilted her head.
Cecily’s eyes seemed to notice something strange.
It was the ribbon on Naru’s head.
“A ribbon?”
“Dad gave it to me! It’s like a butterfly! Naru likes butterflies! And Brigitte gave me a paper that lets you make contracts with animals! Naru has to catch animals!”
Naru took out the “Magic Scroll” from her bag.
When Elizabeth, a smart girl, saw it, her eyes widened.
“An amazing thing. Cool! We have about five magic scrolls at our house, too, but my dad doesn’t let me touch them!”
“You have five of them? Elizabeth’s house must be amazing?”
“Our house? It’s just an ordinary house. But I’d like Naru to come and play once. We have a big dog. A Silver Retriever.”
“Oh, holy shh! A dog! I want to visit Elizabeth’s house!”
Naru exclaimed.
Seeing that, Cecily grinned and said,
“We have cats at our house. Two of them.”
“Cats! That’s amazing! Can I see them if I visit Cecily’s house today?”
“I guess.”
Cecily proudly puffed her chest.
Looking at Cecily like that, Elizabeth frowned slightly.
“We have horses and carriages at our house.”
“Doesn’t Cecily’s house have those too?”
Cecily and Elizabeth developed a competitive spirit.
Feeling that boasting about what they had in front of Naru was a great honor or a game, they raised their self-esteem for a while.
During this time, Naru asked them.
“Then do you have chocolate too?”
In response to Naru’s question, Cecily and Elizabeth looked at each other.
then shook their heads.
“No.”
“We don’t.”
“But Naru does! Let’s share it!”
Naru, who was sharing the chocolate her father had given her,
soon heard the ding-dong-ding-dong of the bell ringing, and the children rushed into the classroom.
“Naru, I’ll buy you pizza bread today.”
Elizabeth said to Naru.
The latter exclaimed, “Wow, holy shh…! Pizza bread that I ate in my dreams…!” she seemed very happy.
Elizabeth thought that Naru was a very amusing friend.
Of course, the expressions of the other children watching them were quite serious.
“Elizabeth is buying bread for Naru.”
“Is Naru forcing her? She framed her as a thief and now she’s even making her buy bread.”
“…She’s a scary kid. Tywin, what do you think?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to bother with such fools.”
Screech—
The classroom door opened, and the teacher walked in.
As always, Salome was as pretty as ever, but some shadows under her eyes indicated that she hadn’t slept well.
“Be quiet, everyone. Your noisy voices can be heard in the corridor. We have an outdoor class today, so let’s all go outside. We’ll see the animals in the school’s stable.”
“Animals! Naru likes animals!”
“I know, so please be quiet.”
Salome clicked her tongue as she looked at Naru.
To think the girl who had the potential to become the greatest thief liked animals.
‘Looking at Judas’ form from yesterday, it doesn’t seem impossible to steal Naru. But the magician Brigitte is a formidable opponent. How did she ignore the scorpion venom?’
Salome remembered the research laboratory she had infiltrated last night.
She had gone to casually greet and assess her opponent.
Judas’ skills were not as impressive as she had thought, but the danger posed by the magician Brigitte was higher than she had expected.
‘Should I ask the Tenebris guys to help with Naru’s abduction? I heard that the women of the red-light district are specialists in abducting women.’
Salome remembered the minions serving Nocturne, the god of darkness. Should she ask them for help? But then, Salome shook her head.
‘No, that woman is too messy. The fate of the abducted girls is always miserable. If she sees Naru, she’ll definitely feel interested.’
In Salome’s opinion, Naru had great talent.
A great talent for crime.
If those guys saw Naru, they would think, “She would make a great successor.”
‘…For now, it’s better not to tell them about Naru. There’s nothing good in getting them involved. Let Naru continue attending the academy for a while.’
Whoosh—
Before she knew it, all the children had rushed out of the classroom.
It was a nice spring day for an outdoor class.
“Naru is going to look for animals!”
Naru was already looking forward to finding a good animal to be her friend.
“I want a baby dragon!”
To surpass Elizabeth’s retriever and Cecily’s cat, she thought she needed something like a baby dragon. Of course, Cecily shook her head.
“Naru, there are no dragons in Freesia. At best, there are lizards.”
“Hyaagh…!”
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