NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 207: Inspectors
Before the first rays of the morning sun could bathe the town in light, spirals of smoke had ascended from a bamboo house.
A tall and skinny Asiatic Cat owner adhered to his customary routine of being an early riser. He would get off his bed at the first faint traces of light gracing the skies and begin his day’s work.
The elderly man poured washed rice into a pot and positioned it directly in the center of the fire stove, thereby beginning the cooking process. While waiting by the side, he began to gnaw on his long tobacco pipe. — This was one of the few pastimes that he enjoyed.
An hour in the morning was worth two in the evening.
The swirling smoke rising from the stove, accompanied by the gentle dawn breeze, never failed to captivate the elderly man’s interest, even though it was a familiar sight of his daily routine.
Was life not a succession of waiting games? A youth anticipated maturity; A teenager eagerly yearned for the opportunity to carve out a piece of heaven for themselves. When it came to the affair of the heart, a lover awaited the arrival of their soulmate. An elderly who had advanced in age counted the days they had left as they gazed at their children beneath them, eagerly awaiting the day they would reunite with their significant one in the afterlife.
“Dad.” A melodious voice, reminiscent of a chiming bell, called out to the elderly man who was lost in distant thoughts.
As he caught sight of the individual that had shown up, his wrinkle-filled face revealed a kind and amiable expression.
“Little Yu, what brings you up this early?” The Asiatic Cat owner’s voice brimmed with kindness and love as he stretched his rough and calloused hand to stroke the girl’s head.
“When haven’t I woken up early to help you? Besides, I’m not a child anymore.” The ever-obedient Little Yu pouted and feigned an unhappy expression on her face.
“Haha.” A smile of gratitude extended across the Asiatic Cat owner’s face. With a satisfied look on his face, he glanced at the elegant girl before him who was in the prime of her youth. Her slender and fair limbs possessed a graceful symmetry that seemed to embody divine proportions. One only needed a single glance to recognize her as a blossoming beauty.
His daughter had grown up well.
Each of her frowns and smiles always reminded the elderly man of his long-departed partner… Those memories flooded into his mind uncontrollably, causing him to fall into a slight daze.
“Dad! You’re smoking that again!? Didn’t the doctor tell you that it’s really bad for your health?” Little Yu rebuked him.
After the Asiatic Cat owner returned to his senses, he realized that his beloved long tobacco pipe was no longer in his mouth.
“Sigh, Xiao Yu, It’s all talk from the doctor, nothing more. Besides, your dad is already getting on in years, and this is the only little joy he takes pleasure in…” The Asiatic Cat Owner heaved a sigh, as he reached out for the long tobacco pipe in Little Yu’s grasp without any hesitation.
“That won’t do! While you don’t have to quit using this unhealthy thing completely, you must smoke sparingly!” Little Yu persisted, not relenting in the slightest as she warily pulled her hand back.
“Alright, alright, your dad understands. Since the rice is almost done cooking, let’s open the store. I imagine our customers are getting tired of waiting.” The Asiatic Cat owner stroked Little Yu’s fur in helplessness.
“Okay. Little Yu will head out and open up the store. You can just wait here, dad.” Little Yu obediently nodded. However, she did not return the long tobacco pipe to its owner. Instead, she brought it along with her as she readied the store for the day.
“This child…” The Asiatic Cat owner found himself torn between laughter and tears as he stood there and shook his head.
The business of this restaurant was clearly in a league of its own when compared to its competitors. After all, it was the only establishment in poverty-stricken Nolan City that boasted a comprehensive range of amenities.
Even so, there was no notable sense of jealousy or envy among their peers.
Each of them was simply trying to earn a livelihood through their own restaurant. They would extend a helping hand to one another whenever possible, preferring cooperation over confrontation.
With the exception of a few extreme individuals, the Asiatic Cat Race was known for their mild disposition. Even if one harbored dislike towards their fellow clansman, they would not resort to schemes or deceit to get at them.
After opening for business, customers began entering the shop in succession, with the majority of them being familiar faces.
When it came to living in a small and lifeless city, the likelihood of meeting someone familiar on the street was similar to drawing a blank card in a lottery.
This was something that everyone had long grown accustomed to.
However, it was destined that today would not unfold as smoothly as usual.
“Thud, thud…” The sound of thick and heavy footsteps stepping on the wooden floor of the bamboo restaurant resounded.
Following that, the customers noticed that something was obstructing the sunlight from entering through the door.
Their curiosity piqued, they shifted their gaze upwards, which immediately triggered a symphony of ‘clanking’ noises as their tableware cascaded to the floor.
The customers of the Asiatic Cat turned deathly pale, their bodies shivering uncontrollably. The trembling was so intense that even the old-fashioned stools they sat on seemed unable to withstand it.
“Uhm, A-A-Achoo!” A sneeze reverberated through the entire bamboo house, causing a momentary tremor that left a series of small cracks on the delicate wooden floor.
“Hmph… What sort of wretched establishment is this? Why are the beams so short? And the air here is too foul. If it weren’t for the urgency of the matter, I would have never set foot in such a decrepit cottage. It’s clearly designed for dwarfs.” The coarse voice dripped with disdain and displeasure.
His tone carried a thick sense of prejudice, yet none of the Asiatic Cats dared to speak out and challenge his claims.
Those near the door cursed their misfortune, as a pallor reminiscent of a corpse surfaced on their face. The urge to escape instinctively rose inside them, but fear rendered their feet feeble and powerless.
The customers who were sitting inside the store tried their hardest to shrink their bodies and turn their backs towards the scene as they silently prayed for trouble not to find them.
Three trolls, donned in leather armor that exposed their chest, had approached the restaurant. Their brows furrowed slightly upon realizing that the door frame was too low for them to pass through. With a resounding crash, they ruthlessly shattered it and strutted into the store.
“Hmph! Just a bunch of weak ants.” Sweeping his lion-like eyes around, the corners of one troll’s mouth curled into a cold smile. The gaze he cast on the customers in the restaurant was different from how he regarded sentient beings of equal rank to himself.
“Who’s the owner?!” A hoarse and crude voice reverberated through the air like a gust of raging wind.
The bamboo restaurant trembled, on the verge of collapse.
A few moments later, an elderly Asiatic Cat man hurriedly emerged from the back kitchen.
“Coming, coming! I’m here. What can I do for the three honorable troll sires? Feel free to express your desires and consider this meal as a welcome reception; It’s on the house.” The Asiatic Cat Owner spoke deferentially with a fawning smile written all over his face.
“A meal? Are you kidding me? Do you think the rubbish made by an old geezer like you is worthy of our palate?” The troll on the left sneered with disdain.
“Let’s drop the charade, you old fool. Listen carefully, we aren’t here to eat your meal. We’ve received a tip that your restaurant is harboring dissidents! You’d better be honest with us if you want to avoid physical pain!” The leading troll wore a sinister expression on his face as he delivered these words with a chilling smile.
“Ahhh? Dissidents… I’m innocent, honorable sires! I’m nothing but a sack of old bones, how could I possibly collude with dissidents? Something must have gone wrong somewhere, I swear.” The wrinkle-filled face of the Asiatic Cat owner instantly turned pale and drained of color as those words reached his ears. Emotionally shaken, he frantically apologized and was on the brink of kneeling down in desperation.
“Stop spewing rubbish! Get out of my way now, or I’ll shatter this pathetic store along with your old bones!” The troll gestured in a ferocious manner.
“Honorable sires… My humble establishment harbors no dissidents…” The elderly store owner’s heart was filled with bitterness, yet he stood his ground and refused to back down despite the verbal threats.
It was not that he had a guilty conscience, but rather… The trolls’ method of conducting a thorough search for suspects was overly straightforward and brutal — The store would have undergone a complete ‘makeover’ by the time they were finished.
How could he possibly continue running the business under such circumstances? He had actually envisioned spending the rest of his twilight years in this store.
Even if he had to take a step back and throw this old life of his away, the young maiden in his household was currently in her youth; Her body was developing and going through puberty. Without a stable income source, she would be left to starve from now on… If any unforeseen misfortune befell her, he would not have the courage to face his partner in the afterlife.
Like water breaching a dam, bitterness flooded his heart in that moment.
However, trolls were anything but gentlemen who engaged in amicable discussions and reasoning. To put it bluntly, they were a group of rude and unreasonable hooligans.
“So you’re still not going to get out the way, huh, old man? Fine, since you can’t see what’s good for you, let me help loosen your muscles and bones for free!” The fiendish troll clenched his fist, creating cracking noises as he did so.
“Sir Troll, I…” Tears streamed down the elderly store owner’s face as his knees gave out. He instantly knelt down and began repeatedly knocking his head against the wooden floor.
Unable to bear witness to the unfolding situation, the customers turned their heads away and did their best to ignore what was happening before them. They shifted their focus towards eating the food that had grown cold in their bowls.
This was not because of an unwillingness to help, but rather, an inability to do so.
If they were to overestimate their ability to lend a hand, it would only exacerbate the situation and potentially put their own lives at risk. It was simply not a risk worth taking.
Since the matter did not concern them directly, it was best for them to leave it be. After all, everyone had their own lives to live. Unless someone held a death wish, it was wise not to invite trouble upon themselves.
“I apologize, honorable troll sires. My dad was confused earlier. Please enter our shop and conduct your search.” At that instance, a crisp and resonant voice broke through the tense atmosphere.
A figure hurriedly walked out from the kitchen and supported the elderly store owner who was prostrating on the ground.
“You are…” The lead troll narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized the cat-eared girl who was a remarkable beauty in her prime.
“I’m the daughter of the owner. If you have any suspicions about our humble establishment, honorable sires, you may proceed with your search. I just kindly ask that you refrain from making things difficult for my father…” Little Yu spoke, her head slightly lowered.
“Lift your head!” The troll on the side berated her.
“…” Little Yu revealed a sliver of her face.
“Woohoo! You actually have quite the good look! Tch, you’re really…” The troll’s mind was already consumed with excitement, as he made no effort to conceal his intent gaze that was roaming around the young girl’s body.
“Little girl, do you want us to spare your father?” The troll approached her with a sneering face, before bending over in a provocative manner.
“Y-Yes, may I implore that you show mercy…” Little Yu timidly took a step back.
“Hehehe… Well, it’s not like we can’t do that… But…” The troll licked his sausage-like lips in a provocative manner, as he teased the girl before him with a gaze filled with subtleties.
“So you wish to settle your father’s debt, right? Then you better be prepared!”
“Wh-…” The colors instantly drained from Little Yu’s beautiful face.
“Honorable sires! My daughter is still young and couldn’t bear such a thing. You can do whatever you want to this old body of mine, so please show mercy…” The elderly store owner immediately got down on his knees and pleaded, however he was flung against the side wall by a troll’s palm. His eyes rolled back and he went into unconsciousness, leaving his fate hanging in uncertainty.
“Get lost! Who the heck cares about you!”
“Dad!!” Overwhelmed by grief, Little Yu tried to rush in and check up on the elderly store owner, yet something tightly grabbed onto her wrist in a vice-like grip.
“Where are you going, honey? Hehe, you can forget about getting off the bed if you don’t entertain us and make us happy. Hahahaha!…”
“The owner of this store and that Asiatic Cat lady are both kind-hearted people. Release them. There is no skill in bullying women and children.” A cold and emotionless voice resounded from behind the trolls.
“Heh? Let me see which despicable scoundrel dares to disrupt our brothers’ amusement??” One of the trolls narrowed his eyes. When he turned around, he caught sight of a man wearing a helmet with a cross-shaped visor and donning brigandine armor, with a silver and a black sword hanging from his waist.