Old man, your daughter's pretty great

"Ahem!" Callas cleared his throat, discreetly suppressing that little twinge of discomfort at feeling someone had their eye on his precious daughter. "Navia, come outside for a moment."

"Okay, Dad." Before getting up, Navia glanced at Xingsu again. "Mr. Xingsu, you absolutely have to join our tabletop troupe when you get the chance!"

Xingsu smiled and nodded, accepting her invitation.

Only then did Navia hurry outside.

"Ah..." Callas sighed. It seemed he still had a long way to go in training Navia to become the president of the Spina di Rosula.

"Didn't I ask you to sound him out?! How did you end up talking about the tabletop troupe?!" Callas frowned, feigning anger as he spoke to Navia in a low voice.

Navia blinked and scratched her head in bewilderment, her voice full of innocence. "Huh? Didn't you tell me to make him feel welcome? Besides, Xingsu speaks so gently, and his stories are interesting. He doesn't seem like some bad guy with ulterior motives..."

His daughter's blunt response left Callas speechless for a moment, and he rubbed his brow helplessly.

Clearly, father and daughter weren't particularly in sync when it came to communicating through looks.

Standing nearby, Clorinde quietly watched their amusing argument. The corners of her mouth unconsciously lifted slightly in a faint smile.

"Huh? Clorinde, you smiled!" That tiny detail hadn't escaped Navia's eyes.

"No, I didn't." Clorinde quickly suppressed that trace of a smile, returning to her usual calm, composed self as she denied it flatly.

"You definitely did. I saw it." Navia refused to let it go, leaning closer to continue arguing.

"All right, all right. You two chat for a bit. I'll go have a few words with this young man, Xingsu." With that, he walked toward Xingsu.

Xingsu sat obediently in his chair, his back straight and his hands resting neatly on his legs, which were held together. Hearing approaching footsteps, he looked up at Callas as he pushed the door open and entered.

"I came to speak with you alone to lay down a few rules for your temporary stay here." He got straight to the point. His tone wasn't stern, but it carried the pressure unique to the president of the Spina di Rosula. "Poisson may seem peaceful, but in reality, it's full of informants from various factions. Given your unusual identity, keeping a low profile is your safest way to protect yourself for now."

Xingsu nodded slightly and said sincerely, "I understand. I won't cause trouble for the Spina di Rosula."

"That's only the first rule," Callas continued. "If you run into any suspicious strangers in town, don't approach them on your own. Contact a member of the Spina di Rosula immediately. The people we have stationed locally can handle these matters far more safely than you could alone."

"I'll remember that."

As Callas studied the humble, well-mannered young scholar before him, he let down his guard a little.

"You spoke with my daughter just now, didn't you? What do you think of her?" Callas suddenly asked.

"She's lively, cheerful, and kind, curious about everything. She's a really wonderful person. And she's very warm toward me. When she was talking to me just now, she even..."

Callas had been quite pleased with those first few compliments about Navia, but as Xingsu went into ever greater detail, praising her virtues without pause, he gradually sensed something was off.

Callas suddenly felt as though he'd seen some blond delinquent on a souped-up scooter drift to a stop in front of him, then come up and say, "Oi, old man, your daughter's pretty great!"

They tightened.

His fists tightened.

Xingsu had wanted to praise Navia a little more to raise Callas's favorability toward him, but when he suddenly noticed Callas's clenched fists and bulging veins, his words stopped short. He forcibly swallowed what he had been about to say, instantly shutting his mouth obediently, not daring to say another word.

An eerie silence suddenly fell over the room.

Finally, Xingsu spoke cautiously, breaking the silence inside. "Uh, um, Mr. Callas, are you all right?"

Only after those words did Callas abruptly come back to his senses and realize how badly he'd lost his composure. He quickly suppressed the anger inside him, slowly unclenched his hands, and reined in his sharp aura, returning to his steady, composed self.

He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. "It's nothing. I just zoned out for a moment."

I can't let my innocent girl get too close to this outsider.

"All right, I've said everything I needed to say. By the way, what did you do in Sumeru before?"

"Uh, I was just an ordinary librarian, but don't worry. I'm a fast learner!"

At first, Callas took his claim of being a fast learner as nothing more than a polite remark. Later...

What happened later could wait until later.

"Hmm... All right, understood. Melus!" he called toward the door. "Show this young man around Poisson and help him get familiar with the place. He's one of our new townsfolk now."

Soon, a capable-looking man with graying hair answered the call and pushed open the door. After bowing respectfully to Callas, he turned to Xingsu.

"Mr. Xingsu, allow me to show you around. I'll also explain what you need to keep in mind in town."

Xingsu stood and offered a small word of thanks. "Sorry for the trouble."

Before leaving, he stole a glance at Callas. Although the man outwardly looked normal again, his gaze still held a trace of wariness toward him.

Sheesh, all I did was chat with his daughter a little. Surely that didn't warrant this...

Navia used "persuasion" on Clorinde, scoring a critical success.

Unable to hold out against her in the end, Clorinde forced out a smile.

"Hehe, see? I told you, you really do look pretty when you smile." Seeing her close friend smile, Navia smiled from the heart as well.

"All right, Navia, I'm heading back to the Court of Fontaine. Take care." Clorinde adjusted her outfit, preparing to set off on her return journey.

Navia waved, looking a little reluctant to part. "Okay, okay. Stay safe on the way!"

Just then, Melus came out of the room with Xingsu. Spotting the two figures from a distance, Navia waved enthusiastically at them and asked, "Melus! What are you two off to do?"

Melus stopped and bowed slightly to Navia. "Hello, Miss. I was just about to take this gentleman around Poisson so he can get familiar with the surroundings."

Navia's eyes lit up, and she immediately made up her mind, saying eagerly, "Perfect! I don't have anything to do today anyway, so I'll come along! We can see Clorinde off on the way, too!"

"Sure! That'll give us a chance to get to know each other better, too!" Xingsu smiled and nodded as well.

Bang!

The sound of a hand slamming hard against a table came from behind them.

Unfortunately, amid Navia and Xingsu's lively chatter, no one paid it any attention.