Taking advantage of Jotun talking to the police, Aisha tugged on Shiller's sleeve. The two of them walked out the back door together and stood in front of a window facing the backyard.
"I don't think he's a good person." Aisha concluded first.
"I feel the sa way," Shiller nodded, "but it doesn't matter. We're not here for him. It's good enough that he can provide us with a place to stay."
"Why do you think so?" Shiller asked again.
"I can't explain it, it's just a feeling that he's a bit off in the head," Aisha shook her head, "judging by his appearance, he should be a shy nerd. But would soone who's not good at socializing really invite strangers to stay at his house?"
"Also, even though he didn't show it, he seed oddly excited. The way he looked at was weird," Aisha rubbed her arm and said, "His sister looks about my age. Could he have so strange fetish?"
"It's not that complicated," Shiller said, "from the fact that he likes my theories, I can already tell he's not a good person."
"Why?"
"How could anyone who likes the Psychoanalysis thod be a good person?"
"... That's a good point."
Shiller accompanied Aisha on the swing in the backyard. After finishing his conversation with the police, Jotun walked over, his fingers intertwined, looking sowhat hesitant to speak.
"What's wrong?" Shiller looked at him and asked, "Why are the police here? Is there so trouble?"
"It's nothing," Jotun shook his head and said, "because the sighting of the alien spaceship happened in the wheat field on my farm. There are often outsiders wandering around the area. The police ca to remind to stay safe and not go out unnecessarily for a while."
"Indeed, you should," Shiller nodded, seemingly in agreent, "Seeing new faces in a small town would certainly make the police nervous. They even stopped when I arrived and specifically warned to be careful."
"You've encountered the police before?" Jotun's voice cracked a little. He imdiately realized sothing, cleared his throat, and said, "They can be overly nervous. They didn't do anything to you, did they?"
"No. My daughter told them she wanted to see aliens, so they didn't ask much more. But the officer did ntion that it seems so people have gone missing recently. Do you know anything about that?"
"Oh, yes," Jotun responded, "I've heard about it too, but I haven't been to town recently, so I don't know what's going on."
Shiller nodded. Aisha stopped swinging and looked at Shiller, saying, "Dad, I'm a bit hungry!"
Shiller patted her head and said, "Then let's go to the car and get sothing to eat."
Shiller did have so snacks prepared in the car, especially to placate Aisha, but nothing substantial enough for a al. He said this just to gauge Jotun's reaction.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Jotun took two steps forward and said, "You're guests in my ho. It would reflect poorly on my hospitality if you had to eat your own food."
"There's a large vegetable garden on my farm. It's the harvest season, and I've picked quite a lot of fresh vegetables. I can cook pretty well. Let show off my skills..." Jotun offered.
"That sounds like too much trouble," Shiller declined, "You've already been kind enough to invite us to stay, saving us accommodation costs. Asking you to cook too would be too much."
"It's no trouble at all. I quite enjoy cooking." Jotun smiled, "I'll go pick so vegetables. It won't take long."
With that, he turned and headed towards the barn, as if afraid Shiller would change his mind. Shiller and Aisha exchanged a look.
When Jotun's figure completely disappeared, Shiller whispered to Aisha, "Go get the small box on the far right of the trunk. It contains dangerous items. Do not open it and be very careful not to break it."
Aisha nodded and quickly ran through the house, around the front yard, to the garage, and retrieved a black small box from the trunk. Then she swiftly ran back.
Shiller took the box and put it in his coat pocket. Aisha, curious, asked, "What is it?"
Shiller shook his head without elaborating, rely saying, "It's a weapon we might need later."
"You really should practice shooting, Professor. Having a handgun would solve all these problems," Aisha shrugged.
"Not necessarily. Without a suppressor, it's too noisy, and with a suppressor, it's cumberso to carry. If soone else got hold of it, it'd be disastrous."
"That's surprising," Aisha exclaid, "I never thought you'd know so much about firearms, Professor."
Recognizing Aisha's joke, Shiller patted her head. Aisha smiled at him.
They returned to the sofa in the house, but through the window, they saw another police car stopping in front of the house.
"Who do you think it is this ti?" Shiller asked.
"It should be real police this ti."
"You think the previous ones weren't real?"
"Of course not," Aisha shook her head, "Uncle Jas said that in Arica, police officers must always work in pairs for any field task, except for routine patrols, especially when approaching residential hos. One knocks while the other stays on guard, or it's against regulations."
"Everyone knows this rule. Even impostors trying to pass off as police would find a partner so they'd be believable."
"The fact that the previous male officer was alone was already suspicious. And the fact Jotun still opened the door under those circumstances was even more suspicious."
"Smart girl," Shiller complinted.
The knock on the door echoed. With the hoowner absent, Shiller had to open the door.
The policeman outside, seeing that it wasn't the hoowner who opened the door, imdiately drew his gun. Shiller quickly raised his hands to show he ant no harm, "We're tourists. Mr. Jotun invited and my daughter to stay. He went to fetch sothing from the barn and will be back soon."
Seeing a little girl behind Shiller, the police were not relieved, but instead, waved their gun to signal Shiller to step back.
Aisha stepped up to the police. The female officer in the back ca forward to inquire about the situation. After confirming that Aisha and Shiller were indeed father and daughter, the police holstered their guns.
Upon learning Shiller was a university professor, they breathed a sigh of relief. People in the Central State were quite respectful toward intellectuals, especially in areas lacking educational resources.
The female officer shook Shiller's hand and said, "The town's been a bit chaotic lately. It's a good idea for you to stay here. But it's best not to take your daughter to any remote places. Three people have gone missing already."
Shiller put on a concerned look and said, "Three people? Are they all outsiders? Or so locals too?"
"So far, they're all outsiders. But since it's the season for buying farming machinery, many locals have gone out and haven't returned yet. We can't confirm if any of them have fallen victim."
The officer sighed, looking worried. Shiller understood that in small places like this, police officers were usually locals too. The town's safety directly affected their personal lives.
"I'll be careful," Shiller said, "My daughter is very interested in aliens. But probably only for a short ti. So, we'll likely leave by tomorrow or the day after. It should be safe."
The officer nodded, "Don't bla for being overly cautious. Among the missing are a mother and daughter. The daughter is about the sa age as your daughter. We highly suspect it's a serial killer case, but we lack enough police force in town. We have to wait for reinforcents."
"Until everything is clear and the perpetrator is brought to justice, you must keep a close eye on your daughter. Let's not have more tragedies."
Shiller nodded and saw the police off.
Turning around, he found Jotun standing behind him.
It should have been a rather shocking scene, but Jotun was holding a lot of random vegetables, with dirt sared on his hair and forehead, making it sowhat comical.
"What did the police tell you?" Jotun asked.
"Nothing much. Just reminded and my daughter to stay safe. They said one of the missing was a mother and daughter. Suspected to be a serial killer case. Told us to be careful."
Jotun nodded, said nothing more, and went to cook. Shiller took Aisha back to the backyard swings.
Actually, Aisha preferred to bite the swing rather than swing on it. So no matter how high the swing went, she seed rather bored.
Just as Shiller was about to take her inside to watch TV, he saw a shadow flickering in the bushes behind the fence to the right of the backyard. Then ca two faint tapping sounds.
Realizing soone might be purposefully making the noise, Shiller walked over and found a man squatting at the junction of the backyard fence and the house wall, wearing a police uniform. It was the sa officer who had stopped Shiller's car the other day.
"Hello, officer. What are you doing here?"
"I ca to warn you," the officer kept his voice low, "The Mr. Jotun who invited you and your daughter to stay may be dangerous. The recent disappearance cases near the town could be related to him. It's best for you to leave here as soon as possible."
Shiller frowned and said, "Do you have any evidence?"
"If I had, I'd have arrested him already. Investigations take ti. Without city reinforcents, the police station doesn't allow rash actions. So, it's just my personal suspicion."
"But you should listen to . He's obviously not right. There were many suspicious points in the case of his sister's sudden death. But because the Jotun parents insisted on not pursuing it, the investigation was dropped. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
"Alright, just now he said he wanted to cook for and Aisha. I thought he was a good person."
"Don't eat anything he gives you," the officer stressed, "Leave here quickly and drive to town. There's more police there, and it's much safer."
Just then, Shiller heard the backyard door open—and probably Jotun arriving. So, he stood up, noticing Jotun walking over.
But the police officer had already left before Jotun arrived. So, he saw nothing.
"Professor, dinner's ready," Jotun smiled.
Shiller and Aisha went to the dining table. The al was simple: a fresh vegetable salad, grilled steak, and mashed potatoes.
Though the dishes weren't complicated, they slled delicious and looked good. It seed Jotun wasn't lying about his cooking skills.
Shiller first served himself so salad, then filled Aisha's plate with vegetables, reminding her like a good father to eat more veggies.
Aisha already had half a steak in her mouth, nodding as she chewed. Shiller then started eating his salad.
"Don't you want so salad dressing? Professor, we make our own mayonnaise..." Jotun placed a bottle next to Shiller.
"No thanks. I never eat any dressings," Shiller said, pushing the steak to Aisha. She didn't hesitate, and after quickly finishing her portion, she started on Shiller's.
"You really should try it. The mayonnaise is entirely vegetarian. It's really good."
"Can I try so?" Aisha suddenly asked.
"Uh, mayonnaise is high in oil and sugar, not very healthy for a child. What do you think, Professor?"
"Alright, Aisha. No more sweets for you. Finish your steak, and then we'll go to the wheat field to see if we can spot any aliens. Rember, if we don't see anything tonight, we'll leave tomorrow morning."
Aisha grumbled a bit but nodded.
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