Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 95 The Scars on the Child's Body

Although the man was forced to shut up, what he said still made some sense to Rebecca.

Although Rebecca wasn't good at this, she still mustered the courage to say it:
"Your hair looks great too."

Kai shook her head repeatedly, scratching her long, gray hair in distress, and said with a frown:

“It doesn’t look good. My hair color wasn’t like this before. Locals in Galid City all have black hair, and so did I before, but now it looks like this… Grandma Freya said it’s a nutrition issue.”

The girl was clearly very unhappy with her gray hair color.

Just from these few words, you can tell that her gray hair color is an anomaly in the local area.

Perhaps to outsiders like Milo and Rebecca, their unusual hair color is nothing special, but the girl may have faced discrimination and exclusion in the conservative and closed-off Galid community because of it.

It is indeed possible that this is caused by malnutrition.

Because Milo could see that Kay's body was very thin, her arms were almost skin and bones, and the veins on the back of her hands were clearly visible.

"When you go to places outside of Galid in the future, you will see all kinds of different hair colors. It's nothing special. I just think your hair color is very nice. I have a friend who loves to go to pleasure houses and has the same hair color."

As Milo spoke, he took off his tricorn hat, revealing his unkempt, messy hair:
"If you really think you're not good-looking, take a look at my hairstyle first."

……

Milo never dreamed that he could chime in on a conversation between two women about hairstyles and hair color, and with such great effect that Kay couldn't help but smile sweetly when she saw his messy hair.

It turns out that Milo is better than Rebecca at charming girls.

The initial awkwardness between the two and Kai gradually disappeared from the moment she laughed.

Kai probably rarely spoke to outsiders.

She was curious about everything outside of Galid, or more accurately, about the world outside of the town of Ikham.

She remained crouched the entire time, like a well-behaved kitten, her eyes wide, chin in hand, listening expectantly to what Milo and Rebecca had to say.

Even though Milo and Rebecca only mentioned some very ordinary things, she was very excited, such as the means of transportation they used to get to Galid City—the train, and the gloomy weather in Nanwei City. Anything that had never appeared in the town of Icam could be used to satisfy Kai's curiosity.

Her appearance is not only cute, but also heartbreaking.

……

As the conversation continued, Kai became increasingly pleased.

She discovered that although the two older brothers and sisters in front of her were dressed in a frightening manner, they were actually very kind. They were ten times gentler than the grumpy Grandma Freya, a hundred times gentler than the big black dog in the town, and a thousand times kinder than the people in Galid City...

Kai excitedly said things like, "I definitely want to visit Nanwei City someday."

But as time went on, Milo and Rebecca's expressions gradually became somewhat obscure and strangely somber.

They both seemed to have noticed something strange, but neither of them spoke out. Their conversation was limited to exchanging glances.

……

During their conversation, Milo and Rebecca would occasionally turn back to look towards the direction of the law enforcement office across the main road. There, Walker had finished unloading provisions for the horses and carriages and then started cleaning them. Seeing Milo and the others chatting happily, he seemed quite at ease and even waved to them from across the road.

At that moment, a boy's voice came from inside the house.

The remaining three children had already tidied up all the tableware and were carrying them to the kitchen to wash, but the huge metal lunchbox was still a bit difficult for them to handle. Kai, who was outside, heard the commotion and rushed back.

"I already told you to just leave it after you finish eating and I'll clean it up, really."

……

Watching Kai's retreating figure, Milo and Rebecca's faces darkened completely.

They turned around, holding their cups, and each sat on a corner of the steps.

They remained silent for more than ten seconds.

In the end, it was Rebecca who spoke first:

"You saw it too, didn't you? The child has strange wounds on his wrists, like some kind of strangulation marks, and they've bled from them."

“I saw it, she had it on her ankle too.”

Milo looked at the half-full cup of tea with a complicated expression, then glanced up at Walker across the main road, and finally let out a sneer:
"I used to think your sixth sense was really accurate."

“But didn’t you hear? That child’s mouth was full of Quawalk’s words. Even Freya, who raised her longer, only got the nickname ‘fierce old lady’ from her.” Rebecca was clearly contradicting herself because the rational judgment she was making now did not match the information Kai had given her.

“I thought you would just rush over and hang Walker up and torture him, like that kind of torture to extract a confession.” Milo glanced at Rebecca.

“If we weren’t in Icom, I really would have done that.” Rebecca took a deep breath.

She was trying to calm her impulsive emotions.

Milo blinked. It seemed that in Rebecca's mind, the mission in Icam was like a boulder weighing on her, not only suppressing her impulsive nature but also interfering with her judgment to some extent.

“You’re the boss, so you get to decide. But I need to check if the other kids have these marks too. Oh, and you probably don’t want this anymore, so I’m taking it.” Milo muttered to himself, then stood up, picked up Rebecca’s teacup as well, and turned to walk back into the house.

He carried two teacups into the kitchen, and as he passed through the living room, he squinted and glanced at the boys.

As he expected, the boys also had the same marks on their wrists and ankles.

It looks like the marks left by some kind of rough hemp rope binding, and it must have been bound very tightly.

As Milo watched the children playing and laughing, a clear guess had already formed in his mind.

His gaze swept across the living room, searching for any structural elements or furniture that could potentially serve as anchor points for the restraints...

Although he didn't really want the reality to be the same as he had guessed, he couldn't forget what the strange law enforcement officer in the Galid Law Enforcement Office had said to Milo and Rebecca.

……

He carried the teacup to the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and helped Kai wash the tableware and lunchboxes.

The two continued to chat and laugh throughout the process.

When Milo asked about the scars on Kai's wrist, Kai simply said in a casual tone that it was a mark left from an accidental injury.

When Milo met Kai's gaze, he tried very hard to find even the slightest hint of fear or distress in Kai's eyes.

But no, not at all.

Her eyes were still so pure, and her smile was still so sincere.

Milo found it very strange...

"Kai, we had a great chat, didn't we?" Milo asked Kai as he wrung out the cloth to wipe the dishes.

"I'm so happy! I haven't talked this much in ages. I'm so happy today." Kai nodded frantically.

"So, would we be considered... half friends?" Milo continued to try to guide the conversation.

"Ah~ only half?" Kai pouted, frowned, and said with some disappointment.

"Friends should help each other. Only by helping each other can we be considered true friends. That's my understanding. So, is there anything you need my help with? Anything is fine with me." Milo immediately started making up some things he had never said before.

"This is the first time I've heard this argument, and it does make some sense, but you've already washed my things, so doesn't that count?!" Kai held up the cutlery in his hand, shook it, and grinned.

“…” Milo scratched his head helplessly: “I guess it counts, I guess.”

Well, I was fooled all along.

……

Now Milo is also caught in the same self-contradictory state as Rebecca.

But whatever the truth is, the injuries on the children are real, so Kai must be lying.

However, Milo saw no sign in her eyes that she was being forced to lie.

He wandered around the house for a bit, then headed straight outside.

Outside the door, Rebecca was still sitting on the steps, maintaining the same pensive posture as before.

As Milo passed by Rebecca, he tossed her a sentence:
"You stay here and keep watch, I'm going out for a walk."

"What do you want to do?" Rebecca stood up abruptly.

She had assumed that this time Milo would play the impulsive, hot-headed character and go and arrest Walker and torture him, but Milo was heading west of the town.

She shouted at Milo:

"Where are you going?"

Rebecca had considered stopping Milo's solo operation, or even following in his footsteps, since the town of Icam was ultimately under the control of the Solomon gang, and the two of them were openly entering Icam to conduct an investigation. Under such circumstances, acting alone would be extremely dangerous.

But Milo's words made Rebecca stop in her tracks:
“When you’re sitting here watching and you get restless and want to leave, just think about Daisy.”

She was stunned by Milo's words.

It took me a while to realize what Milo was trying to say.

But before she could say anything more, Milo's figure had already disappeared into the alleyways of the town. Rebecca rubbed her forehead, glanced back at the four children inside the house, then at Walker who was busy across the main road, and finally resisted the urge to put a gun to Walker's head and interrogate him for the truth.

"That bastard is even more reckless than me."

(End of this chapter)