Rhodes Island's Psychologist

Ch 143: The Only Contact

Lin Yie has never expected Silence and Ifrit to visit him. Otherwise, he would have put on some clothes first.

*Cough*

Silence says with a stern voice, "Ifrit, what did I teach you again?"

Ifrit freezes, reluctantly lowering her head in front of Lin Yie, "Good morning, Dr. Lin...", muttering in a smaller voice, "But he's not wearing-"

But when Silence glances at her, Ifrit swallows her words, sputtering out, "I'm sorry, Dr. Lin."Ifrit freezes. She lowers her head reluctantly in front of Lin Yie, "Good morning, Dr. Lin..." And in a smaller voice, she mutters, "But he's not wearing-"

But when Silence glances at her, Ifrit swallows her words. She mutters, "I'm sorry, Dr. Lin."

"Uh, it's fine," Lin Yie says, "Are you here for Ansel?"

Please be Ansel. Please be Ansel. Please be Ansel.

But no.

"You should have heard about it from Ptilopsis," Silence says, "It's about the errand."

Lin Yie nods, "If you need my help, I'll go."

Silence smiles, "That's great, but before that, there's somewhere else I have to go to first. It might take two or three days."

Lin Yie could guess why she had visited, looking at the little fire dragon, "You want me to take care of Ifrit in the meantime?"

"Ha?", Ifrit speaks up disgruntledly, before Silence could reply to him, "Who needs your care?"

"Ifrit," Silence softly admonishes, "You're being rude."

Ifrit lowers her head and falls into silence.

Lin Yie had already seen this scene unfold numerous times, yet each time he saw it, it still always felt really funny to him.

"I hope that you can help me by taking care of Ifrit for the next two days." Silence says, "This kid doesn't like socializing with other people. Even now, she still hasn't made any friends."

"I don't need them.", Ifrit weakly mumbles, staring at the floor.

"You do."

Ifrit falls silent again.

Lin Yie looks at Ifrit in silence. He could understand the feeling, the helplessness from hearing "Your mom thinks you need it." After all, he had lived a whole life in the shadow of that phrase.

Anyway, he's in a different world now.

He coughs a few times to change the topic, "I don't mind, but shouldn't Ptilopsis still be here? Why me?"

"Ptilopsis is coming with me," Silence sighs softly, "And that kid can't even take care of herself... let alone take care of Ifrit as well."

"Alright," Lin Yie nods, "Leave Ifrit to me then."

"You don't need to do much," Silence says, "Just remember to bring her to the cafeteria when it's time to eat. This kid doesn't go there on her own."

Silence sighs again, like a mother who's exhausted after taking care of her child.

After getting Lin Yie's promise, Silence leaves with Ifrit to get ready for tomorrow's departure.

As Lin Yie watches them leave, he can't help but feel like Rhodes Island had hired him as a nanny that takes care of kids, rather than as a psychologist.

{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}

After having breakfast, Lin Yie went to work as usual. Surprisingly, he hasn't been sleeping in as much these days. It felt like saying goodbye to his old lazy self.

When he arrives at his office, Lin Yie found Skadi facing away from him, gazing out the window at the sky. This time, she was wearing her own clothes, but without that wide-brimmed hat.

"Good morning."

Skadi turns around and nods, "I'm leaving."

Lin Yie pauses, "Again?"

She nods.

Lin Yie sighs. Despite knowing about it, he still felt a bit disappointed, "Then be careful when you're outside."

"Careful? No one can hurt me," She shakes her head, "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Lin Yie says, "I feel stronger now."

She nods, "Wave leaping strike shouldn't hurt your body. You're just not used to it. Give it some time, and you'll feel better."

"Maybe, but I have a question."

"Um?"

Lin Yie points at his head, "I felt intoxicated last night. Was that normal?"

"It's not serious," Skadi says, "It probably won't happen again."

She walks toward the door with her sword on her back, as if she only came here to let him know about her departure.

"When are you coming back?"

"Don't know."

"Can I have your number?"

Skadi turned back to stare at him.

"Uh, you don't have a phone?" Lin Yie asks, "I thought Rhodes Island gave one to everybody."

"I do," She takes her phone out of her pocket, "But I rarely use it... It's not dead. How surprising."

"If you don't use it, how do you communicate with Rhodes Island?"

"I don't need to communicate with anyone, and Kal'tsit would call me if there's anything I need to do. Also, I can't charge my phone on battlefields."

She hands her phone to him.

Lin Yie opens her contact list, and as she hinted, it's empty.

He types in his name and his number. There, now he was her first and only contact.

"You should add more people."

Skadi takes her phone from him and says softly, "You are enough."

She opens the door, "Farewell, Lin Yie."*Cough*

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Draft by Demosama

Proofread by PanzerComrade56