Is this little guy negotiating with himself?
Ronald blinked his gray bean-shaped eyes, which were a different color to Patricia’s, stunned for a few seconds before he grasped the situation.
—This was perfectly reasonable.
In those fantastical storybook worlds, not only cats and dogs but even rocks and rivers could anthropomorphize and engage in logical conversations with humans.
Ronald turned his head for one last look at the innkeeper who was still repeating his line "I’m at work," then turned and squatted down in front of the talking black kitten:
"Little guy, I think we can strike a deal."
"You’re not a common sight, a human as smart as you, come with me!"
After their brief negotiation, the black kitten stretched out on the ground before lightly leaping to perch on Ronald’s shoulder.
Then, using its fluffy paws, it scratched Ronald’s hair to make it as comfortable as possible, while the other paw pointed directly to the side:
"Great detective, look over here."
"Follow this road eastward, round a few corners, and we should see the pancake shop."
"Alright," Ronald nodded slightly.
He waved to Patricia behind him, and the two of them, along with the cat, walked eastward along the street.
Soon, the first obstacle appeared in front of the pair and the cat.
A group of cartoon-style pedestrians crowded the middle of the road, completely blocking the way forward.
"What are they doing?"
Ronald walked forward, puzzled, to check.
At the center surrounded by these Springs citizens was an open space where a pure white lion lay, muttering:
"Why should I, an animal, perform for the human queen at your festival? I’d rather perform for the lioness at the zoo! Strike! I want to strike! I need a rest! Even if you give me more meat, I won’t work, this is just unreasonable!"
Ronald silently watched this scene, then casually pushed the ordinary citizens in front who were watching the lion’s strike.
Ronald had pushed with all his might, but the people did not move an inch, and did not even turn around to look at Ronald.
This situation was like when the Complete Technique unfolded its decree.
The city had now turned into a maze, and the obstructed roads like the dead ends within it, with no choice but to find another route rather than trying to push through directly.
"Ronald, what’s this all about?"
That’s when Patricia caught up from behind.
Looking at the familiar street scene unfolding before her, the girl’s eyes were clearly bewildered. In Patricia’s life, neither her noble education nor her training as a swordsman had prepared her to deal with such situations.
Ronald immediately explained:
"We’re probably in a maze; for places where the path is blocked, we can only think of a way around."
Hearing Ronald’s explanation, Patricia uncertainly pointed to another wall:
"Around it... do you mean over there?"
Ronald followed the direction Patricia pointed.
It was a ladder set against the edge of the wall, leading directly to the roof of a row of adjoining apartments.
—In a maze storybook.
—This was a very common correct path!
"That’s right, let’s go!"
Ronald’s expression brightened.
This was actually just right.
Previously, he had been wholeheartedly following the path led by the small cat on his shoulder, while Patricia simply followed behind, which naturally gave her some spare time to observe their surroundings and discover this small path ahead of time.
The two of them, along with the cat, immediately climbed the ladder to the rooftop.
The terrain here was also very unique.
Irregular buildings were connected by planks resembling tightropes, and the ends of the eaves or roofs were dead-ends in this maze, covering most of the residential area.
Ronald tried to jump directly from the rooftop to the ground.
However, even if he managed to make the jump, he would be rebounded back to his original position by an invisible wall of air.
Just like those paper mazes he used to watch as a child.
Here, one could only move at designated spots.
— But as long as there was a path to walk, it was fine.
Previously, moving eastward was the key to breaking through the maze. Ronald wandered back and forth across the rooftop maze with Patricia, spending more than seven or eight minutes before they returned to the ground via a staircase that wrapped around a chimney.
At that moment, the black cat on Ronald’s shoulder jumped down on its own and darted into a shop without looking back.
Following the direction the cat had left for, Find the newest release on NoveI(F)ire.net
they were at their destination—the Parso Pancake Shop.
In the world of picture books, there was no need to worry about lining up; Ronald zigzagged a few times amongst the long queue and successfully entered the pancake shop.
Then, a scream pierced his ears:
"I don’t want to be eaten by this cat!"
Ronald turned his head to see a cartoon-faced pancake, tears streaming down its face, being carried in the mouth of the black cat from earlier and dragged across the ground towards the corner of the counter.
Although the pancake’s cries for help were very loud,
neither the customers in the shop, nor the staff, nor the black cat that wanted to eat it, seemed to have any intention of rescuing the poor thing from its plight.
During Ronald’s silence, a staff member at the counter called out to him:
"Mr. Detective, are you here to eat our pancakes?"
Ronald replied quite empathetically,
"Actually, I’m investigating a case. The culprit was supposed to have bought pancakes here today!"
"That’s really a coincidence!" the owner of the pancake shop responded exaggeratedly, "This morning, just as the shop opened, a group of suspicious individuals came here to buy pancakes."
"While they were in line, I saw them holding boat tickets for the port area. If you head west toward the city, you should be able to catch them!"
Ronald immediately realized he had skirted around a typical, straightforward trap.
If he had not followed the rules of this game and had instead rushed directly to the city gate leading out of the Edge Forest, even if he blocked the exit route, he would most certainly have faced a thorough defeat.
Only by following the clues and crossing the entire Springs to reach the port area would he have the only chance of catching those fugitives.
Ronald nodded to the pancake shop owner in thanks.
Looking back, the black cat was still lingering by the side of the pancake shop counter.
Then, as if it felt Ronald’s beady eyes on it,
the adorable little creature paused its pancake feasting process and raised a paw to point outside:
"If you’re heading west,"
"You can find my relative in the business district; it’s very familiar with that area."