One-Eyed Monster

The silence in Dean Hoffman’s office is a bit awkward; everyone here actually wants to speak, but no one is willing to start. It seems whoever speaks first will disrupt the whole atmosphere on the scene...

Igor looks around; he feels he won’t be the first to speak because he has nothing to say at the moment. He’s waiting for Senior Stim to finish reading that Spirit Book.

At this moment, Igor actually misses that Spirit Book—not the book itself, but its incessant chatter. Igor thinks if that Spirit Book were still the same as before, this strange atmosphere would have been broken long ago, and no one would remain silent now!

Unfortunately, for some reason, the Spirit Book isn’t saying anything at this moment. It’s a completely different scene...

The atmosphere continues to be awkward; no one is willing to speak first. Dean Hoffman’s snoring has a nice rhythm—loud and then muffled—making people want to follow suit in taking a nap.

Perkins thought setting off fireworks outside would make things livelier, but the effect was the opposite. Not only did it not spark heated discussions, but it made everyone even quieter.

What’s going on? Do they not know how to start the topic, or are they overly cautious? Perkins begins to speculate. After all, he’s not an Adventurer with Class and often makes subjective guesses, unlike those with Spirit Sensing ability who can deduce parts of events just by observing some details... Perkins can’t do it; he lacks that skill, and deductive reasoning and prediction for him are aged practices that consume lots of time. Yet, even so, Perkins yearns to know the events’ course and doesn’t want to be the first to speak because he doesn’t want to derail the topic. He understands his shortcomings; once he starts talking, he becomes loquacious and can’t focus on the key points, so he chooses not to speak randomly.

As for Governor Rostov, being a Politician, he is even less likely to speak casually at such moments, as he mainly wants to understand the situation and make appropriate responses later.

Governor Rostov thought it would be best for Dean Hoffman to start the conversation, but the elderly dean is asleep. Whether intentionally or not, it has made the situation awkward.

Silence always needs to be broken. The key is how to break it and by whom. Everyone is looking at each other, but no one speaks.

The sporadic snoring of Dean Hoffman and the sound of Stim flipping pages became the only clear sounds in the office...

Night has fallen; lights flicker intermittently. Igor’s belly, just recently filled, starts rumbling again.

This Guru Guru sound instantly broke the silence.

Igor bows his head embarrassedly. He hasn’t had time to think about what’s strange about stealing food from the kitchen and then bumping into Stim. He forgot about that kitchen matter until his belly’s rumbling reminded him of it again. Thinking about the fried balls makes him feel awkward. He wonders who made them for him; it doesn’t seem like Dean Hoffman; could it be Teacher Hadi? But Teacher Hadi isn’t here...

Guru Guru... Igor’s stomach is beyond his control; thinking about it, he ate quite a few fried balls earlier. So why is he hungry again now?

The more he thinks about it, the more embarrassed Igor becomes; he wishes he could find a place to hide.

Thanks to the stomach sounds, the previously awkward and eerie dean’s office suddenly lightened up.

Though still no one speaks, a smile begins to float around the office. Hustace has been restraining himself behind his father’s tall figure, but being young and unlike Politicians who can control their emotions, Igor’s stomach protest brings forth a suppressed laughter he can’t contain even as his body trembles.

Perkins couldn’t help laughing seeing Hustace, and laughter indeed is infectious; even the always stoic Sol Brothers crack a smile.

”S-sorry...” Igor, seeing everyone with a half-smiling expression, realizes it’s his belly’s fault for the awkwardness.

Hahaha, Perkins suddenly bursts out laughing, completely disregarding Igor’s feelings.

”S-sorry...” Igor’s face turns red; he wishes even more now to disappear into a crack.

Perkins’ exaggerated laughter even wakes up the dozing Dean Hoffman, who was startled awake by the laughter. He looks in the direction of the laughter and sees Perkins rocking back and forth clutching his stomach.

Perkins’ performance successfully attracts the attention of others in the office; they all turn towards him, even the devoted reading Stim lifts his head in surprise at him.

”Uh, sorry!” Perkins realizes his laughter was a bit reckless and quickly apologizes to everyone.

”Cough, cough, what’s so funny?” Dean Hoffman stands up, stretches lazily, ”Sigh, getting old, missed a good laugh moment.”

”Uh, it was the sound from my stomach...” Igor admits, his face flushed.

”Ah, hungry? Did you find food? There should be a surprise in the kitchen!” Dean Hoffman winks at Igor.

”Well, I already ate it...” Igor lowers his head.

”Oh, I see. Looks like the food made by Sol Brothers suits your taste, huh?” Dean Hoffman says.

Sol... Igor hadn’t thought; it was these two who made the fried balls.

”Knew you’d like them, so tried making some for you,” Stan Sol says softly.

”Uh…”

”It’s the only way I can express our gratitude,” Tobin, who hasn’t spoken, now chimes in.

”Uh, thank you!”

”We should be thanking you; you’ve helped us greatly.”

”I didn’t do anything!” Igor feels puzzled why the Sol Brothers are thanking him.

”You brought Tobin Sol back to us, Igor!” Perkins interjects.

”Uh, but…”

”You didn’t just bring Tobin Sol back; you also brought important information. We need to plan for the future.”

Igor finally understands Governor Rostov’s words. Perhaps in the future, a storm is brewing, but they are psychologically prepared for it coming.