Could the academy's assessment have been wrong, then? Could certain people have concealed enough to leave its information at odds with the facts?
Ye Chuqi rubbed her chin, looked at Cyril, and smiled. "Cyril, why don't you check the Town Chief's health? He doesn't look well to me. He could use some proper rest."
"Hm?" Cyril's confusion lasted only a moment. He quickly took Ye Chuqi's suggestion and went over to Akes. It looked as though he was discussing a health check with the Town Chief.
It was so easy to work with smart people. The little gestures Cyril had made while communicating with the Griffin showed how clever he was. Quiet, well-behaved, and bright, he made a good partner. He was just too frail.
From their brief time together, Cyril had realized Ye Chuqi wasn't the sort to make pointless suggestions. If she had asked him to examine the Town Chief, she must have had a reason.
After a thorough examination, his only conclusion was that the Town Chief really had fallen ill from overwork. He was exhausted, his mental strength was weak, and he would need a long rest to recover.
Akes had also learned that quite a few Sea Beasts—Demon Beasts that lived in the ocean—had appeared near Mussel Bay. Though they weren't high-level, they had badly disrupted the daily passage of ships and the fishermen's lives. This had been going on for some time. With adventurers around, the Sea Beasts had stayed close to shore, harassing fishing boats and merchant ships before fleeing at the sight of an adventurer. They would slip beneath the waves and vanish, so things had remained more or less peaceful. Some people even joked that the Sea Beasts had created new work for adventurers. The losses suffered by the fishing boats