A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!-Chapter 136: A Sudden Collapse

Qiong Xing normally did not pick fights with people, but he could not simply let it go, so he had given the prince a small lecture.

"Hahahahaha! You actually scolded a prince? That’s amazing. You’re really something."

"As expected of our grandchild. A good child like you deserves a candy."

"No, thank you."

It seemed that they had completely decided that he was their grandchild.

Even though Qiong Xing himself did not accept that at all.

"Um... so... if you’re not angry that I made the prince an adventurer without permission, then why was I called here?"

Since they were praising him instead, Qiong Xing could not understand the situation at all.

"Ah, that’s simple, I just wanted to see you."

"Huh?"

The reason was so unexpected that not only Qiong Xing but also Albe who was waiting at the entrance opened his mouth in surprise.

"The last time, there were a lot of things going on, so we didn’t get a chance to talk to you properly. Today seems like a good time, so I thought we could have some tea together."

What exactly was "a good time," and what did he want to talk about?

Qiong Xing felt a little annoyed at the awkward situation and thought about leaving, but when he looked around, there were chairs for everyone and drinks already prepared.

Apparently, someone had gone through the trouble of setting it all up and the way the seats were arranged toward the back made it impossible to escape.

"Come on, sit down, sit down. Don’t worry, I even set up a chair for the little one. I’ll put it next to your seat."

"..."

It seemed there was no choice but to sit.

Qiong Xing sighing in resignation and nodded to Albe and took the seat as instructed.

The chair prepared for the small Cari was perfectly sized for his height as if someone had measured it carefully without anyone noticing.

"So... what did you want to talk about?"

"Huh? Oh, anything really. Your favorite food, what you do on your days off... whatever comes to mind."

...Was he serious? Qiong Xing wondered.

Why was he being trapped in a room by someone he had only just met and forced to have a conversation that felt like a formal matchmaking meeting?

He didn’t distrust these people and he certainly didn’t think they were bad, but the whole situation felt... strange.

"Don’t worry about that old man. I just really wanted to have tea together, that’s all."

Hmm.

If it was just tea, Qiong Xing thought he could at least be happy about having a new drinking buddy.

"That’s unfair. Let me join too."

Hehe, drinking tea surrounded by your beloved wife and adorable grandchild... this is a dream come true.

Qiong Xing: Wait, this person is actually scary!

Sarin let out an eerie laugh and Albe shivered beside him.

So scary!

"Don’t worry about that idiot over there. By the way, how long are you going to keep taking the herb gathering requests? There are plenty of other kinds of requests. If you don’t try them, your rank won’t go up."

"Hmm... that’s true. But there aren’t that many I can do... Besides, this little one seems to really enjoy gathering herbs, so I thought it would be fine to let him do it for now."

Indeed, if there were urgent needs in life, rushing might make sense.

But Qiong Xing had no such worries.

If Cari and the others were happy, that was enough.

"Yeah, it’s true that difficult requests aren’t easy with kids... but... ah, if you’re motivated, I have a request you could take on too."

"What is it?"

Katarina seemed hesitant as she handed over a sheet of paper to him.

"An assistant to make healing potion?"

Qiong Xing frowned.

What was that?

Then, when he looked closely at the client’s name, he recognized it immediately.

"This is the same person who requested a commission from me before, right?" Qiong Xing asked.

"Ah, yeah. That’s an old friend of ours. Apparently, they really liked you and kept asking to meet you. But you don’t come to the guild that often, right? The schedules didn’t match, so they got impatient and sent this kind of request instead," Katarina explained.

That was ridiculous.

The way it was said made it sound like the person had sent the request just to meet Qiong Xing and nothing more.

Why did people in this world always expect Qiong Xing to play some kind of host or caretaker role?

"As the guild master here, I’d be glad if you accepted it... but, well... this person’s personality is a little unusual. Annoying, maybe, or a bit loud... in short, it’s not a type I’d usually recommend. So if you decide to take it, you should be prepared," she added.

Indeed, unless you were a close old friend, dealing with someone like that would probably be difficult.

Qiong Xing thought carefully about what to do.

And Cari?

Either because the discussion wasn’t very exciting or because he was tired from moving around, he had started dozing off in the middle of the conversation and was now resting on Qiong Xing’s lap.

They decided to give a reply to the request another day.

Since it was already late, they returned to their hideout.

"...Albe, could you watch Cari for a moment?" Qiong Xing asked.

"Sure, but... what’s wrong? Did you forget something?"

He paused and handed Cari who he had been carrying to Albe.

He knew it was a little unusual, but thought it was fine since they were almost home.

"No... I’m just a little weak and I don’t have the strength to hold Cari right now," Qiong Xing admitted.

He tried to steady his unsteady legs, but it was too much.

He then collapsed onto the ground and unable to keep going.

"W-wait, wait, what... what should I do?" Albe stammered, he clearly unsure what to do.

Qiong Xing didn’t have the energy to answer.