Chapter 208: Fontainebleau Water Color

"...Little Impas." Lesco watched you blink slowly, unconsciously whispering your name.

He stammered and spoke awkwardly—

"I, me too... I, I want to grow up with you!" The crimson sunlight reflected a glint of light in the corners of Lesko's eyes. He choked with sobs, "I don't want to be replaced! I don't want to be alone! But... woo~"

You just felt your teeth chattering, sniffing and hugging Lesko, screaming with emotion, unable to make any sense.

After ending the day hand in hand with fulfilled hearts, the Chief Judge sat in the Duke's office early the next morning.

Although you and Lesco were previously clueless and the other completely refused to communicate, by roughly determining the scope of your activities and sending the Shadow Chasing Court to Ilie Island for on-site investigations, the majority of this case has been solved.

"Little Lesko is coming home? So soon!" You looked up at Villette's calm face, feeling as if your sad mood was being sucked away and dissolved.

"He lied... Little Lesko, he lied to Melusin! He said he wanted to grow up with me!" You protested loudly, waving your arms. "He also said Melusin couldn't abandon me, and that we had to find the Water Monster Kingdom together..."

Lesko put his hands behind his back, twisted around uncomfortably, hid at the corner of the stairs upstairs from his office, and didn't dare to show up.

"Why, so soon... Master Villette?" His voice suddenly dropped. "If we hadn't been so lucky yesterday... would little Lesco have been bullied by those stubborn adults again when he got home..."

"Bullying?" Villette repeated the word that struck a nerve. "Can you be more specific?"

You nodded, confused. "Because, because no one believed what little Lesco said. So, no one listened to him. The adults all ignored him, and in the end, he had no choice but to go to the lake and tell the water monster..."

"This is bullying, this is bullying him!"

Navrette looked thoughtful. "Impas, do you know anything about autism?"

…

The day Lesco returned home, he was diagnosed with autism. His parents, previously busy with their business, hadn't noticed anything unusual. It wasn't until he disappeared that they finally took notice.

"Hmm... looks like a happy ending." The warden placed a small plate of cakes in front of you, picked up the black tea, and sighed casually.

You curled your lips and tilted your head, “This is not a happy ending!”

"Oh? Isn't that so?" The warden raised an eyebrow. "But didn't the doctor say that thanks to our Impas's timely guidance, his condition has improved to a mild level?"

"...Anyway, I'm just very unhappy." You can't explain this unpleasant feeling, but it's not directed at Lesko, but at autism.

For someone like you, a longtime resident of Haimo Village, the term "autism" is still too new. It can only be roughly understood as speaking little, being emotionally sensitive, and rejecting others.

You feel depressed when you think that everyone thinks little Lesko is sick and has delusions.

"He's not, he's not sick, and the Water Monster Kingdom isn't an illusion."

In the end, you can only organize this sentence.

The warden smiled and rubbed your head. You immediately buried your face in his palm, letting your center of gravity fall on you, and just lay there limply.

"Aren't you just avoiding seeing a doctor?" He pretended not to understand what you said.

"When the news about little Lesco came again, you were practicing the method of patting your belly with the Bulgemon, rubbing the lotion on your face vigorously. When you put your hands down, the direction of the hair texture was somewhat counterintuitive.

The warden handed you a picture book and explained that it was drawn by Lesco himself.

After hearing this, you immediately became bright and opened it -

"A long time ago, in the Serlo Sea Plain (note at the bottom [It is too close to the Narcissus Cross Kingdom on the Road of Hope, so I doubt it is here]), five hundred feet underwater, there was a grand and magnificent Water Monster Kingdom.

There live countless cute water fairies. Some of them look like birds, some like ducks, or frogs, squirrels... They live in houses built of colorful shells and corals.

During the day, they diligently look after the young sea beasts, watching them grow up, and at night they sing among the golden water plants...

The picture book ends on the day when the new king comes, "Rainbow Parade Day", which is the day when the water fairy prince "Teerxi" inherits the kingdom. Evil monsters invade the country.

You close the picture book, and almost immediately excitedly take out the notebook and paintbrush, lie on the table, and want to draw something.

Soon, the brush was thrown aside.

Ignoring the warden Ling Meilushin's disgusting look, you decided to reply first.

"Dear little Lesko..."

At this point, you don't know what to write anymore. Inexplicably, your instinctive impulse is to continue writing "It's nice to see you in person" or some boring small talk like "How have you been lately? I heard you've been blah blah..."

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It's really strange. It's obvious that little Lesko has been drawing picture books recently. There is no need to use words like "I heard".

But it doesn't matter. You erase what you wrote before and write a new beginning -

Little Lesko:

I miss you so much. But even so, I don’t have another human! (Graffiti thumbs up)

It’s just that my practice (Mello Peterburg’s simple drawing) is a bit lonely. There’s no one to hold my hand anymore. Yesterday, Bubble Seahorse chased me and spit on me (it was raining)…

Oh, and I saw your picture book! I think I dreamed about the sea monster mentioned above. It's called Minas Turbo, loves making friends, and looks super, super big!

……』

Because there were so many stickers on the letter, the envelope prepared by the warden was a little too crowded, so you had to fold it into a flat penguin, put a [sea dew flower] in it, and put it all in.

You watched the warden eagerly with anticipation as he examined it, shaking your letter before watching him slowly stand up and leave. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped.

You held your breath as he turned around, "Huh? Such an important letter, isn't your brother Meilushin coming with you?"

You quickly shook your head and waved your hands frantically, urging him to go faster.

Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, the warden left and Sister Sigwen arrived.

——She comes to check your daily maintenance work.

“…” You slowly raised your head and saw Sister 37’s expression as she crossed her arms helplessly and tilted her head to look at you. Your heart skipped a beat.

"That won't do, little Impas." Sigwen shook her head. "Making human friends is indeed a happy thing. I once had such friends. But if you can't fulfill the promise you made with your friends... I'm very worried about you."

This passage refers to the agreement between you and little Lesco to grow up together.

With your messy hair on your head, you pointed at your fingers guiltily and nodded heavily, "I'm sorry, 3... Sister Sigwen, I will study hard."

Compared to 37-sister, with "sister" after her name, Sigwen will calm down faster. I don't know the reason, but it won't affect your ability to notice and use it.

"After settling down, you successfully graduated after a year of training in beauty and makeup, amidst the back and forth correspondence.

"Very good, little Impas. You've already developed a set of skincare tips that suit you." Sigwen smiled and patted your head. "I think, in order to grow taller, you'll definitely persevere no matter what."

Before you could even begin to rejoice, you heard her whisper with a sigh of relief, "That's great! This way, I don't have to worry about running into humans who deceive my lovely brother in Melo Petersburg. I can also research other uses for the medicine I asked the Duke to prepare."

……ah?

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No, what medicine?

—This is so strange, I decided to forget it. (Nods)

Simply leave Melo Petersburg right in front of you, and you quickly put aside the sense of danger that Sister Sigwen brought to you at that moment.

After taking the elevator up, you were bored and threw a coin into the Lujing Spring to make a wish. Actually, your original plan was to visit little Lesco at his house first, but unfortunately, plans didn't keep up with changes...

The Duke told you that Villette asked him to inform you, and Sedna told him that Sister Sigwen asked the Meluseens to keep all the things she had prepared for you that might be of use at the Opicle Opera House.

You were almost confused by this sentence.

Anyway, you have to go to the Opéraclay Opera House to pick up your luggage. If you want to go to the east side of Ile d'Ile, you have to take a detour on the way to the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences...

Sister Serlo, who works at the Obi Klai Opera House, gave you a hug as soon as she saw you. Although she couldn't get your things for the time being, she also tried her best to persuade you to stay here and watch the performance.

Not only did Sister Serlo persuade you, but she also teamed up with her other two sisters, [Effie] and [Villeda]. The three of them happily held you in the middle, so you had no choice but to compromise.

"The one who will be performing at the Oprykle Opera House this time is the great magician [Linnie]!" The more lively Effie takes the initiative to introduce him to you.

"Little Impas, why don't you stay and watch the show? It's so rare that Linnie is on the schedule! If it wasn't so exciting, Thurlow wouldn't have bought two tickets!"

"Why two?" You are a little confused.

Seruo covered her face. "Because Effie and I both need to work that day, we will definitely be very busy, so I only prepared something for you and Velada!"

"Eh? There's one for me?" Villeda took a step back, eyes wide open. "But I also had to maintain order outside that day!"

Finally, the three sisters had no choice but to suggest that you invite your friends to watch the magic show together. You and the two tickets in your hand were all confused. But time was too tight, and you didn't even have time to invite little Lesco.

After much deliberation, you decide to ask the warden for his advice. He is the smartest human you have ever met, except for Lord Villette.

What made Meilushin's teeth ache was that she only got a response of "Oh? You never thought about me? That's a bit sad."

you:……

As the day of the performance approaches, the sisters' kindness makes you anxious. If you go alone or don't go at all, Sister Seruo, who is checking tickets, will find out.

So, how did you finally solve this problem?

You're on the street, and you immediately hug the thigh of the person you like the most, "Please, be my friend and go to the magic show with me! (Fried Egg Tears)"

"..." The human's expression was a little strange.

Thankfully, he didn't refuse, so you quickly explained, "Well, here's the thing: I just recently finished my training, and my sisters gave me two tickets to see a performance at the Oprykle Opera House."

"But it's too late, and my friend lives quite far from here..."