Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 22 Dinner at the Moretti House

Roger quickly took off the collar from Bandit's neck and put it in his pocket.

Bandit seemed completely unaware of what Roger was doing. He didn't even look up at Roger when the collar was removed, as if he didn't care at all about what he was doing.

"Could this cat be..."

Roger tried to pinch Bandit's cat paw, but the latter was completely unmoved.

But it no longer stared at the newspaper, but just maintained its previous posture, lying there quietly in a daze.

Roger frowned, then suddenly had an idea and tried to gently scratch Bandit's right thigh.

This time the tabby cat did react and retracted its right leg as if by reflex.

"It's a bit troublesome now."

As a young man who grew up in the information age, Roger knew very well how dangerous tactile dysfunction could be.

Because the sense of touch, especially the sense of pain, is actually a self-protection mechanism of the body. For example, the tingling sensation caused by being scalded by hot water or pricked by a needle will make people retract their hands like a conditioned reflex to avoid further harm.

Not to mention that tactile feedback also helps living organisms maintain a stable posture. Whether it is normal walking or maintaining a sense of balance, the lack of tactile feedback can cause extremely serious consequences.

According to the description, the side effect of wearing the "Scholar's Ring" for too long is "the inability to produce normal emotions and touch within 12 to 24 hours", but Roger does not know what emotions and types of touch Bandit is missing, or even whether these missing items will be replaced over time.

This uncertainty is more harmful than the loss of tactile sensation itself.

Fortunately, this adverse reaction will only last for 12 to 24 hours. Before making sure that Bandit has regained consciousness, Roger must keep an eye on it and protect it.

"It seems I underestimated this thing before. I have to be more careful when buying magical items in the future.

Considering that he had an appointment with Klein, Roger could only try to take Bandit to his home to observe him, but in this case he would need to ask for his opinion first to avoid being rude.

He put on his clothes, carefully picked up Bandit, and went to No. 2 Daffodil Street, freeing one hand to knock on the door.

It was Melissa who opened the door. She first greeted Roger politely, and then looked at the kitten in the latter's arms.

"Hey, what happened to Bandit?"

The girl immediately asked with concern.

"At noon, it accidentally took some medicine it shouldn't have taken, and it seems to have problems with its sense of touch.

"I took it to see a doctor, who said it was temporary, but it needed to be observed and the owner couldn't leave."

Hearing Melissa's exclamation, Benson and Klein, who was wiping his hands on his apron, also ran over.

Roger frowned and told the two of them what Bandit had encountered.

Unexpectedly, Klein seemed very happy. He waved his hand:

"Welcome, welcome. I can pack some food for Bandit as well."

Benson and Melissa also had no objection, which touched Roger deeply.

"What a warm family..."

He excused himself and carried the kitten into the Moretti family's home.

In the first two days after the two families moved to Daffodil Street, Roger also visited the Moretti family as a neighbor.

But compared to that time, the living room now has fewer decorations and many items full of life, and some marinated meat and cut vegetables are placed on the dining table.

"Sorry, dinner will have to wait."

Benson glanced at Klein's busy back, smiled sheepishly, poured Roger a glass of sweet iced tea that Klein had prepared in advance, and placed it on the table.

"You're welcome. I'm early anyway."

Roger took off his coat and placed it on the floor in the corner of the Moretti house, forming a stable circle. He also took off his wide-brimmed hat and placed the kitten inside.

After finishing all this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the sofa to sit down and chat with Benson. Meanwhile, Melissa took the initiative to sit next to Bandit, looking at it while quietly flipping through some mechanical design sketches in her hands.

"Benson, I see your sister seems to like mechanical things."

Roger took a sip of the sweet and sour black tea with a faint lemon aroma and said with a smile.

"Well, Melissa has been good at these things since she was a child. She even repaired my father's broken pocket watch on her own."

Benson sighed:

"Her dream is to become a steam machinist and she has been working hard towards this goal."

Roger nodded. According to his understanding, Melissa was indeed quite interested in mechanical devices such as gears and clockwork. With her own efforts, she was admitted to the Steam and Mechanical Department of Tingen Technical School and even became a Sequence 9 "generalist".

"dinner time."

By this time, Klein had already prepared a table full of dishes and invited everyone to sit down.

Roger took a look and felt that it was quite rich.

Salt cod, Dipsy pie, stewed vegetables, lamb stewed with peas, apple pie, mashed potatoes... In addition, there was a Chinese-style tomato stewed beef brisket and an egg fried rice, both of which seemed to be specially made to entertain Roger.

He nodded with some relief. It seemed that the life of the Moretti family had improved a lot in recent days.

"Thank you for your trouble." Roger said softly.

"Draft beer or sweet iced tea?" Klein took off his apron and asked with a smile.

"Draft beer, thank you," Roger replied.

Klein nodded and poured a glass of draft beer for him, Benson, and himself, and a glass of sweet iced tea for Melissa.

The four of them prayed devoutly to the Goddess of Night at the same time, then clinked their glasses and started eating.

Klein had clearly put a lot of thought into this meal, and it tasted very good, earning everyone's praise.

Especially the egg fried rice and tomato stewed beef brisket, which made Roger quite impressed.

In today's world, it is not easy to still eat these dishes from home.

After three rounds of drinks, the men were all a little drunk and started talking about the recent international situation.

"...Have you heard? The Feysac Empire has been very hostile to Loen recently, but due to the deployment of our latest ironclad ships and the significant increase in naval strength, they have been hesitant to take action.

"Honestly, I really don't want a war. Feysac and Loen are both regional powers. If a war breaks out, it's possible that it could escalate into a world war... Life has finally gotten a little better recently. I hope those high-ranking curly-haired baboons with questionable IQs won't act rashly..."

Benson burped in the middle of his complaint.

Klein nodded in agreement. "But Benson, you know those guys don't care about the lives of the people. With the rapid industrial development in recent years, many workers and even child laborers in Backlund have been lacking rest, and some have contracted unknown diseases... I also heard that people are disappearing almost every day. Many people have reported to the police, but most of the time, no one has heard of them."

Following Benson's words, Klein casually steered the conversation back to the unfinished topic from their previous Tarot Club conversation. He then glanced at Roger, as if expecting him to speak.

"Yes, that's why I've been studying hard... because this is also an opportunity for us, an opportunity to change the future and destiny of our entire society."

Benson didn't notice his brother's actions; his words were naturally referring to the upcoming civil service exam.

Although not many people knew about this matter at the moment, he did not avoid Roger because of it.

“Actually… there’s a huge conspiracy hidden behind these abnormal phenomena, and what we see is just the tip of the iceberg.

"What everyone thinks is just what some people want us to think. Few people realize the seriousness of the situation until it actually breaks out."

Roger pondered for a moment and suddenly said something.

"Metus, what do you think is the truth of the matter?"

Klein leaned forward and looked at Roger expectantly.

(End of this chapter)