A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!-Chapter 59: A Sunny Detour

Qiong Xing himself had no complaints or feelings of suffocation being here, but he had sometimes wanted to go outside, so this was perfect timing.

"Then let’s go! As for Cari..."

"He’s playing with the other kids."

Apparently, Joa had seen him before they left.

Since there was no need to interfere, Qiong Xing tried to leave as planned, but he felt something brush against his foot.

"Hm? ...Ah, it’s Mayo. Aren’t you going to stay with Cari?"

He had always thought Mayo was always together with him, but it seemed that Cari had gotten caught up playing with his friends.

Mayo then crawled up from Qiong Xing’s feet to wrap around his neck and nuzzling against his cheek.

Apologizing for leaving him alone, Qiong Xing patted his head.

"Then the three of us will go. Could you tell Cari and the others later?"

"Sure~ Have a good trip~"

Qiong Xing left the hideout with Joa and entrusting Fei with the message.

"So? What was that about muscles?"

"Hm? ...Ah, I just said I wanted cool muscles like everyone else."

"...Forget it."

Why did everyone react the same way?

Although Qiong Xing’s current appearance probably made them think, "No way!" he himself secretly thought maybe it was kind of cool.

"Is it the amount of food, do you think? I tend to get a stomach ache if I eat too much, so I can’t eat that much."

"......."

"Or maybe it’s the food itself? Everyone eats a lot of meat, so I should eat more meat too..."

"...We’ve arrived."

Qiong Xing who is still lost in thought about how to build muscle didn’t notice Joa’s exasperated expression.

After climbing the cliff, Joa set him down, but Qiong Xing’s desire for building his muscle remained strong.

"Right now, I can carry Cari, but I want to be strong enough to carry even Leander and Elias. Is it really exercise? Should I run every day..."

"Which one is it?"

"Ah, this way. Joa, how did you build that chest? Do you have a secret? Some special exercise?"

"None."

Even while walking, Qiong Xing asked Joa for advice on how to achieve his ideal muscles.

"See, see. Looking at you, it doesn’t seem like it’s from training, more like it naturally developed. So the secret must be in daily movement."

"Hey, where are we?"

"Hm? ...Where is this place?"

"...I’m the one asking."

It seemed that answering absentmindedly while lost in thoughts about building muscles had been a mistake.

Before he realized it, Qiong Xing had ended up on an unfamiliar path.

Although it could barely be called a path.

It was in the middle of the forest, so it was really just a game trail and not a proper road at all.

"Well... maybe we should take a little break."

This wasn’t because of the rule to stay put if lost, but because Qiong Xing had been walking nonstop and talking endlessly about how to build muscles and now he had exhausted a considerable amount of energy.

"...Yeah, you’re right."

It was at that moment that Joa finally understood what it meant to be so exasperated that one could say nothing.

After they decided to took a rest, Joa then sat down beside Qiong Xing who handed him a water pouch.

Joa thanked him and drank the water.

"...Why is this so cold?"

Although it looked like a normal water pouch, the water inside was so cold it felt as if it had just been drawn from a stream.

"Who knows? It’s been like this from the start, so I assumed that’s just how it is."

Only someone like you could accept that.

If you could apply that same patience to giving up on building muscles, it would be impressive.

Qiong Xing seemed to be thinking desperately, but the problem was inherent.

Putting aside the differences between beastmen and humans, Qiong Xing probably had a body that didn’t gain muscle easily.

It’s not that it was impossible, but no matter how much he exercised, he would only get sore, and he wouldn’t come close to Joa’s chest, not even Elias, who was small even among beastmen, would be difficult to surpass.

"The weather is so nice today~ I wish we could all bask in the sun while having tea."

"Geez, old man." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He remembered the old man who used to do the same thing.

Even while telling him not to treat him like an elder, whenever something was asked of him, the old man would make excuses, saying he couldn’t do it.

If you asked him to make tea, he would complain it was too cold or too hot.

And yet, he would drink it anyway, leaving Joa repeatedly thinking, "Then just drink it without complaining!"

...It’s so nostalgic.

"Do you have mochi here?"

"Mochi?"

Hearing a name he had never known, Joa asked what it was and Qiong Xing looked terribly disappointed.

"I used to like sweet rice balls... I wonder if there’s a substitute here. I wonder if I could even make some..."

Qiong Xing seemed to have started thinking about something again and judging that he probably wasn’t listening to what was being said, the other person checked the surroundings.

It didn’t look like there were any magical beasts nearby.

With that reassurance, he lay down on the ground. Sure enough, the weather felt pleasant and drowsiness began to creep in.

"But there’s no red bean paste. If only there were red beans..."

Qiong Xing’s high and gentle voice caused Joa’s eyelids to slowly droop.

How many years had it been since he had taken a nap like this?

The calm and comfortable feeling was something Joa hadn’t experienced in a long time and when he thought that even this might be thanks to Qiong Xing, it didn’t feel so bad.

"Joa, Joa, look at this!"

Feeling his body being shaken, he opened his eyes to find something bright red right in front of him.

"I can’t tell what it is."