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Chapter 4: Toddler Sounds

"I wouldn't touch that book if I were you, young lady, for your own peace of mind." The secretary informed me. I was in the reception area of the CEO's office. A nurse administered medication to help me recover from the electric charge I received earlier, and a secretary sat by my side to assist.

My mind was currently troubled by what the man in the outdated clothing said about my university. It turned out that the university witnessed numerous historical events, most notably the Javini assault. It was the home of emigrants and notable figures who contributed significantly to the nation-building effort against the colonizers and werewolves.

"What exactly do you mean by that, miss?" I asked out of curiosity. The nurse massaged each and every edge of my fingertips.

The secretary exhaled a deep sigh and turned away to gaze out the window at the rising sun. "Ah, the sun's rays are beginning to warm our prosperous city," she exclaimed unexpectedly, abruptly ending our conversation.

"It's been years since I've seen a sunrise like this..."

I turned my head in the direction she was looking. As the sun's beams struck my pupils, my eyes rapidly dilated. I can sense a portion of my irises emitting thin haze, as if they were evaporating. It was not excruciating, but the effect it had on my eyes caused a bit of heat to circulate around my face.

The sunrise left me speechless, with my mouth agape. I rose to my feet and walked to the window. The airflow coming from the distant ocean collided with the warmth of the sun. As I embraced it with open arms, I allowed my tresses to flow with the wind until it almost hid half of my face.

“Lita!”

“Hey, Lita!”

I gingerly opened my eyes after hearing toddler voices calling my name. I gazed around and observed only the secretary and nurse conversing behind my back. I was unable to identify an identical match for these voices. With furrowed brows and shuddering shoulders, I took another glance around.

"Who is that?" I asked in vain until I occurred to glance down from the terrace and saw a pond filled with various species of fish. Gold fish, sanitation fish, you name it! They seemed to be conversing with me as they congregated in the center directly beneath my gaze.

Huh? Am I hallucinating? These fishes are talking to me?!

“No, it’s impossible…” I whispered.

“Lita! Lita!”

I nearly lost my balance when I literally heard them chanting my name in unison! I was also curious as to how they knew my name. I repeatedly shook my head and closed my eyes to bring my thoughts back to the present. Perhaps I am only imagining. I hope so!

“Lita, Lita!”

The voices of the fishes suddenly changed into those of the secretary at precisely the moment that I raised my head. As I gently opened my eyes, I saw that the group of fish was no longer congregating in front of me. They were swimming in various directions, behaving just like ordinary fishes!

I turned to where the secretary was shaking my shoulders to bring me back to my senses, just beside me. I gave her a quick once over with my eyes, but I couldn't bring myself to blink. “Y-Yes?”

The secretary said, "You must be tired," while offering me a kind and reassuring smile. She continued by saying, "The CEO wants to talk to you in private." The style in which she communicates will most certainly help you feel at ease. She has a kind manner and a laid-back demeanor.

At long last, I was able to blink my eyes several times. I pretended not to be affected by the sudden illusion by forcing a smile onto my face and tilting my head ever so little to the side.

“In private?” I wondered. “Is he finally letting me read the book?!”I was so excited that I nearly gave the secretary a hug as I expressed my joyous assumption.

My arms were about to land on the secretary's shoulders when she took a step backwards, which allowed her to put some gap between us. She gave me an awkward smile and motioned to me with her palms, which may suggest that I should respect the boundaries or space. I took a deep breath and then laughed out my clumsiness to cover off my shame.

Later on, I found myself in a situation where I had to sit in front of the CEO on a chair that was so tight that I was hesitant to even move an inch. It was only the two of us by ourselves, and I couldn't help but keep glancing around to see if the guy dressed in antique garb would come and join us. There are a few reasons why I find him intriguing; yet, there was a part of me that wanted to speak to him despite the fact that I couldn't describe why I felt like this.

After a number of uncomfortable minutes of quiet, the CEO broke the ice all of a sudden by saying, "You'll get a chance to talk with him later on or someday; he also wants to talk to you," I couldn't see what he was writing on his desk because he continually covered it with his hands whenever I tried to look. Either way, he was writing something that no one could probably read except himself.

After hearing him say that, I immediately swallowed my saliva, and for a few seconds, my legs were stunned. I didn't anticipate that he would be able to read my mind! Woah... What an acute precision! It is no surprise that he was the driving force behind the formation of werewolf hunters.

“A-Ah! O-Okay…”

"So, Amilita Plasmata," he began by saying my name, and I couldn't help but engage in excessive mental processing. "What is it about that book that has piqued your interest in reading it?"

“Well, our history—”

“I won’t accept that kind of answer.”

I froze.

When he peered at me with that menacing expression of his, I quickly blinked my eyes many times and looked down. “Ahm…”

The ring has not yet been given to me by him. I stole a glance at the ring he had put inside of the tube at the corner of his table. Should I be honest with him? His continuously tapping of his pen on the table, a tittering sound was produced, and just in the nick of time it similarly happened.

I bit my lower lip, pulled my knees together, and crumpled my jeans with my hands on the tap of my lap.

“I-I…”

Damn, I couldn’t say it!

“I want to figure out something about the ring…”

The CEO looked me dead in the eye, as if he were contemplating some profound thought. His sneakers tapped rhythmically on the tile floor, and that was all I could hear. He sighed heavily and sat back in his swivel chair.

"Yes, you may borrow the book, but there is a catch."

"I'd do whatever it takes to borrow that book from you!"

Why do I sound so desperate?

“Join Werewolf Hunters.”

W-What?

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