Chapter 134 Letter and Painting (Part 1)
"Eh? Miss Lich is Mi You's acquaintance?" Mrs. Amanda responded, "Mi You is a regular customer of ours. How about this, I'll give you a 10% discount."
"Speaking of Mi You, I haven't heard from her for a while," Jiang You said before Mrs. Amanda could finish her line. "Has she contacted you recently?"
"No," Mrs. Amanda was a little confused by Jiang You's preemptive words, but she still subconsciously continued Jiang You's words and answered, "I haven't seen her for a long time. Is it a year? Or two years? After she dropped out of school, she embarked on a journey, wandering all the way. She didn't have a fixed residence, and communication became difficult.
"I did receive a few letters from her. She said she met someone my mother knew while traveling and that she took good care of her... but I haven't heard from her since."
As Lady Amanda spoke, she stared at Jiang You for a moment, then suddenly gasped, "How could it be? I see that your bond with Mi You is on the verge of extinction... Only a few faint threads remain..."
She then raised her hand, looked at her palm for a moment, and murmured, "My fate with Mi You is over... Wait, this means something's happened to Mi You!"
"Indeed, I regret to inform you that Ms. Mi You has unfortunately passed away. We suspect she may be involved in a case." Jiang You sighed softly and took out her universal token: "The Knights are investigating the case. Please help us provide some clues."
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"Mi You is a regular customer of mine, and also a good friend." Mrs. Amanda sat at the small table by the windowsill, holding up her slightly cold cup of black tea, and calmed down. "We have the same taste in couples, so we get along very well."
Takumi: Did she just hear some familiar words? ...Although Lady Amanda occasionally makes some crazy remarks, could she really be a charlatan who can see into other worlds?!
Mi You's mother is a famous potion master. She has high, even unrealistic, expectations for her. However, Mi You is a sentimental and sensitive person. She likes to feel the nature, experience emotions, and immerse herself in the world of books and pictures. She has no interest in those boring magical characters.
"Magical elementals are very intelligent creatures, sensitive to the emotions of their summoners. If you like them, they'll likely like you back; but if you dislike them from the outset, they won't respond to your reluctant call. No one likes someone who dislikes them, and this is true for magical elementals as well.
Under her mother's high-pressure upbringing, Mi You's personality has become somewhat stubborn and withdrawn, opening her heart only to a select few. Most of the time, she's like a piece of duckweed drifting with the current, muddling through life and letting herself be swept along by the currents of fate.
Jiang You nodded. The image of Mi You described by Amanda was almost the same as what she and Andre had judged.
"She drifted here to fulfill the expectations of the Great Magician of Huntington. Because of her mother's upbringing, Mi You has never refused others since she was a child. Even if she disliked the decisions, she didn't dare or couldn't object. She only learned passive resistance and silently messed things up. She believed that if she continued like this, one day she would be able to wait for her own freedom."
"This lifestyle is a bit negative..." said Jiang You.
"Who says it's not true... But we outsiders haven't experienced their suffering, so it's not right for us to dictate their lifestyle." Lady Amanda stroked the pink snake that had crawled onto her shoulder. "Mi You has complicated feelings for her mother. She loves her mother deeply, but she also hates the control and oppression she imposes on her.
After her mother's death, Mi You said she felt an inexplicable sense of relief, a sense of ease she had never felt before. But at the same time, she despised herself for this unfilial thought, often falling into self-torture.
“Novels and picture books are where she escapes from reality.”
"Then do you know where she went after leaving the magic academy?" asked Jiang You.
"I really know that." Mrs. Amanda stood up and took out a stack of letters from under the counter. She picked out a few and handed them to Jiang You. "Although it's inconvenient to communicate while traveling, Mi You doesn't have many friends. From time to time, she still finds the Raven Post Office to send letters. However, she doesn't always leave a return address, and she may not wait for my reply before leaving. So this is more like her one-sided confession and emotional release.
"The frequency of her letters isn't fixed; sometimes there are more, sometimes less. The most recent one was received almost a year ago. Oh, and sometimes, these letters also include her paintings. The scenery in these paintings looks very real. I haven't been to these cities, but I imagine that these scenes must have been witnessed by Mi You herself, and recorded with her brush. Perhaps they can provide some help in your investigation."
Takumi counted and found that Mi-you had sent her twelve letters and seven unframed watercolors. She carefully folded the letters and paintings, sealed them in a waterproof brown paper bag, and stuffed them into her skull.
"We'll investigate thoroughly," she promised earnestly, leaving her Ravencage number. "If you remember any clues, please write to me."
"Okay. But you really don't want a bestselling novel?"
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When Andrei returned to the store, he saw Jiangyou walking back with a stack of "Extremely Familiar" picture albums in his arms.
"Andre!" Jiang You also saw him, "Come and help me get a few books, they are so heavy... huhu!"
The reliable boyfriend didn't bother to ask her where she got so many familiar picture albums that seemed to have him in them. He took everything from Jiangyou in one breath. Jiangyou took a few breaths, her eyes bright with fire. She stood on her bony paws and whispered in Andre's ear, "I found a lot of useful clues!"
"I've also found out a lot of stuff," Andre said. "Shall we pack some food and discuss it slowly back at the hotel?"
"good!"
So Andrei took the large pot of pork porridge, along with the casserole, and packed up a double portion of fried chicken, fried pork ribs, wolf-tooth potatoes, and milk tea. Together with Jiangyou, they half-carried and half-shouldered the bags back to the hotel. The guests at the inn were initially skeptical of his behavior, but when Uncle Dimitri explained that these two were the real owner and his wife, they instantly relaxed.
——Indeed, do the boss and his wife have to queue up to eat in the store?
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