Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Something Was Wrong with Nina.

Watching Nina run lightly up the stairs, Duncan still did not understand what was going on. He scratched his hair in confusion and muttered: “What is that child grinning about…”

Then he heard Morris’s voice from beside the counter: “To be honest, you are very different from the impression I had of you, Mr. Duncan.”

“Very different?” Duncan raised one eyebrow. “What kind of impression did you have of me?”

As he spoke, he walked out from behind the counter, hung a “Temporarily Closed” sign on the door, and moved a chair to the side of the counter. Once he was sure the other man was a teacher here for a home visit and not an ordinary guest, it would clearly be improper to keep him standing.

“Thank you,” Morris said with a nod. After sitting down, he looked toward Duncan with a gentle, scholarly smile. “I have never met you, but I have heard of Nina’s family situation from some channels. Forgive me for being rude, but according to the rumors I heard, Nina has an uncle who drinks, gambles, and has a violent temper. That child lives in a terrible home atmosphere, so at school she almost has no friends. The other students are not very willing to talk to her.”

Duncan was at the side brewing coffee. When he heard Morris’s words, his hands paused for two seconds without thinking. Then he finished what he was doing at his usual pace. He carried two cups of coffee back to the counter and pushed one toward the old man: “I hope you don’t mind that I only have this cheap stuff here. Even the best coffee in the Lower City is about this level.”

He sat down across from the old man. Each of them held a steaming cup of coffee. The ancient dagger lay between them, but for now neither of them paid it any attention.

“Strictly speaking… those rumors are all true,” Duncan said slowly. “I was ill before, a serious illness. When painkillers stopped working, I could only rely on strong liquor to numb my nerves. That was a very ruined period of time. Unfortunately, it happened to fall in several key years of Nina’s adolescence. Now it seems that it affected her more than I thought.”

Morris studied Duncan carefully. After a long moment, he spoke in a thoughtful tone: “Is that so? But to me, you do not look like someone who has just come out of such a state. You look more like a gentleman who has never fallen into it at all, someone who has always been cheerful and positive. The quick wit and humor you show when you speak do not look like they were dulled by alcohol.”

As he spoke, he took a sip of coffee. He did not comment on the drink. He only added as if in passing: “I think my judgment of people is usually quite accurate.”

“Maybe I just adjusted my mindset quickly,” Duncan said with a relaxed smile. He had to admit the old man’s eye for people was very sharp, but he believed that no matter how sharp it was, it could not see the secret hidden inside this body, so he did not feel nervous at all. “Nina is almost an adult. I am her only guardian. I have to show a bit of responsibility.”

“In any case, that is good for the child,” Morris said, giving Duncan a deep look. “She is at a crucial stage in her studies. Many people say that after graduating from a public high school, you can only go and tighten bolts in a factory. But they always overlook one thing: knowledge itself is a precious wealth. One day in your life it will suddenly show its meaning, and that is often when you no longer have a chance to return to school.”

The old gentleman spoke and then shook his head. “Sadly, most of the parents I have dealt with do not agree with this. Their attention is fixed on making their children graduate as soon as possible and find a job.”

When Duncan heard this, he suddenly felt very close to him. He knew this talk well. When he had been a teacher, he had often said similar things to students or to their parents, but no one had listened to him…

But soon Duncan put away this feeling of meeting a colleague. After he thought for a moment about the environment he was in now, he shook his head slightly:

“Because this is the Lower City, Mr. Morris. Your view is very wise and far-sighted, but most people here really do need to pay off last month’s bills as soon as they can. You cannot say their sight is too short just because of that.”

“That is true. Many people actually want to look farther ahead, but the high walls of life always block our view of the distance,” the old gentleman said with a sigh. “Sorry. When you soak in books for too long, you tend to ignore the practical problems of life… You are someone who thinks things through. It seems some of my worries were unnecessary.”

“Worries?” Duncan frowned. “By the way, has something happened with Nina at school recently? Have her grades dropped?”

“Her grades have always been very good, but recently… she has been a bit absent-minded,” Morris said, choosing his words. “She daydreams in class, sleeps during self-study, and even gets distracted in lab. In last week’s chemistry class, she even set the lab bench on fire. These things never happened before… at least they never happened with her.”

The old gentleman paused, then added: “In the quiz two days ago, her results did not actually drop. But if this state continues, it is hard to say what her grades will be by the time she graduates. It is true that the paths open after public high school are limited, but there is still a difference between assembling machines in a factory in the Lower City and maintaining a steam core in the Cathedral in the Upper City. As Nina’s guardian, you should take this seriously.”

“Nina has been absent-minded in class a lot lately?” Duncan frowned again. “She has not told me anything about that…”

“A girl this age will not tell you much,” Morris said, shaking his head. “At first I thought something had happened at home, or that her ‘drunken uncle’ had done something lately and that was affecting her state at school. That is why I came for this home visit. But now it seems… that is not the reason.”

For a while, Duncan did not speak. He tried to recall whether Nina had showed any odd behavior in front of him over the past few days, and thought over her daily routine. After a few seconds, Morris asked again: “You are the person who knows her best. Has that child had any odd changes lately? For example, not resting well, or feeling unwell?”

Duncan thought for a long time and could only spread his hands: “…Shameful as it is, I cannot think of an answer.”

He really could not. A week ago, he had not even known Nina. How could he know what changes she had compared to before?

Morris did not seem surprised by Duncan’s answer. He had probably already lowered his expectations for “Nina’s uncle” based on neighborhood rumors before he came. So now he simply said out of habit: “You should pay more attention to her. Especially for a girl this age, material support alone is not enough.”

When Duncan heard this, a thought suddenly popped into his mind: “Could she be in love?”

To be honest, this idea came at least in part from Zhou Ming’s experience as a People’s Teacher…

When Morris heard this, his expression turned a little strange. The old man gave Duncan a weird look: “It is a girls’ school…”

Duncan thought for a moment and said with a serious face: “A girls’ school is fine too.”

Morris’s eyes widened slightly.

This old gentleman, who had always devoted himself to his studies, was deeply shaken.

“Ahem, all right, I was only speaking casually,” Duncan said. Seeing the old man’s reaction, he knew this topic might be a bit beyond his range, so he quickly coughed twice to break the awkwardness. “I will have a good talk with Nina. She should be willing to tell me.”

“Ah… oh, of course,” the old gentleman finally reacted. He still seemed caught in his shock, and his words came half a beat slow. “From what I know… Nina is a very honest, very straightforward child. If you talk to her properly, she should not resist much.”

Duncan nodded: “Besides that, is there anything else? Has Nina been strange in any other way at school lately?”

“Other than being absent-minded and distracted, not really,” the old gentleman said after thinking for a moment, then shook his head. “I mainly came today to talk about this and to understand her real home situation. By the way, speaking of that, Nina’s parents, was it because of…”

“The accident eleven years ago,” Duncan said. “There is an official record of it. The chemical plant leak in the Sixth District.”

“So that was it,” the old gentleman sighed. “I remember that accident. At the time, my daughter and I happened to be near the Crossroad District. When the chemical plant leaked, the disturbance was huge. The affected crowd even pushed all the way to the edge of the Upper City… The later investigation said many cultists took the chance to cause trouble that night, and that they were the ones who sabotaged the plant…”

Duncan’s heart moved. Keeping his face calm, he asked casually: “Wasn’t there also a big fire in the Lower City that night?”

“A fire? I do not remember any big fire,” Morris said with a frown. “You must be mistaken.”

“…Seems I remembered wrong,” Duncan said with a smile, pressing his forehead. “I really should stay away from alcohol.”