Chapter 127. Story
"Grandpa, how did you know I'm a girl? Everyone else thinks I'm a mouse," Lily asked as she tilted her chin and looked at the elderly man who handed her a doll.
Lily wasn't the only one pondering over this question; Charles was curious as well. How was the old man so certain that Lily was a human-turned-mouse and not a mouse with human memories?
"Then do you know how to turn me back to human?" Lily asked with apparent nervousness in her voice.
However, Tobba ignored her question and stuffed the doll into the group of mice before he continued rummaging through the rubbish heap.
"Here, this is for you," Tobba said as he pulled out half of a tattered book and dangled it before Feuerbach.
The green-haired youth, who had never displayed a single hint of anxiety before Charles, suddenly darted out of the room like a mouse that had seen a cat.
"Throw that thing away! NOW!!" Feuerbach's eyes widened in shock, and his lips went pale.
"What's wrong?" With his sharp vision, Charles noticed that the book didn't have a cover, and he could discern the content within.
Mushroom Soup (for 3 servings)
Ingredients A
Hard ham 1 stick
White silk mushrooms 200g
Ingredients B Chart your course back to the origins of this substance at n0v^lbin
Condensed milk 5g
Kelp 25g
Cooking oil 5ml
Chicken stock powder ...
Just then, Richard wielded control over their body and exclaimed, "I'll do it! Let me. Practice makes perfect. Let a fellow madman speak to another."
"What story do you wanna hear? Have you ever heard the story of The Little Red Riding Hood?" Richard spoke as though he was trying to placate a child.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She's a pretty girl. On her birthday, her grandmother gave her a red riding hood made of velvet..."
Within minutes, Richard was done telling the brief bedtime tale. Sitting nearby, Lily had listened intently and enjoyed the story. However, squatting on a heap of trash, Tobba shook his head vigorously with a frown on his face.
"No. I don't want to hear this story. I've heard of this story. Not this story, tell another one."
"Then what do you want to hear? You can foresee the future, can't you? Since you could predict our arrival, weren't you able to predict the story that I would tell you? Just tell me which story it is, and I'll just repeat it to you," Richard proposed as he scratched his head in frustration.
"I don't know! I only know you will definitely tell me a story, and it is a really interesting one. I was very happy after I listened to it."
"Argh, this old man..." Richard's eyes narrowed with hostility as he sized up Tobba. He was mentally calculating the chances of successfully extracting the location of the fuel from him by using force.
However, he hesitated when he recalled how Tobba had intimidated the pirates earlier. He wasn't sure if Tobba was really crazy or just feigning it. He could actually be hiding his actual strength.
"I happen to have a story," Charles said as he snatched back the body's control. Taking in a deep breath, he spoke calmly. "A long time ago, there was a man who lived in his world. He was just a normal person living a normal life.
”One day, an incident, a disaster, fell upon him. The sea swallowed all his classmates but brought him to a strange world. In this new world, the sea was everywhere in sight, and light didn't exist...."
Charles' narration was calm and steady, without any ounce of emotion. However, squatting on a heap of trash, Tobba listened with his full focus.
Unbeknownst to them, Feuerbach, who had exited into the alley earlier, had entered the room again. Listening to the story, a thought emerged in his mind as he stared at Charles' back.
"After nine long years and enduring countless hardships, he finally found the way home. But now, the ship he needs to return home has run out of fuel. He needed fuel, and only an old man knew of the location. Whether he could return home or not was dependent on the old man's willingness to help."
"This story is great! So awesome!" Tobba clapped in excitement and jumped up and down like a monkey.
"Ah, this story is too good. I have to write it down somewhere, or I'll surely forget it again."
Tobba combed through the trash and dug out a yellowed notebook. He picked up a black rock and furiously scribbled away on the yellow pages.
Tobba didn't seem like he could actually write as he drew various lines in a chaotic manner across the pages. In a few seconds, the yellow pages were covered with random black lines.
"All right. I'm done recording! Let's go. I'll take you guys to go look for the fuel, and then you can go home," Tobba said with a satisfied grin and stuffed the notebook into his bosom. He then stood out and walked out of the room.
Receiving Lily and Feuerbach's questioning gazes, Charles offered no explanation. He motioned the two to follow along as he trailed after Tobba.