Mu Tianyuan's reply to the Little Fox was quite straightforward: "What are you talking about? Even if this old man has a granddaughter, I can't ask him! Am I that frivolous? At the very least, even if I can't 'try before I buy,' I still need to 'inspect the goods' first!" If this white-bearded old grandpa really had a granddaughter,
he'd at least have to see what she looked like before deciding whether or not to pursue her. He couldn't just pre-order without inspecting the goods. What if he pre-ordered, and then this white-bearded old grandpa's granddaughter weighed several hundred catties? Would he accept her or not? If he didn't accept, he'd already pre-ordered. If he did, he didn't have such good teeth. He couldn't just wait for her to successfully lose weight, right?
At this moment, the white-bearded old grandpa turned his head and began asking Ran if she liked these paintings. The old man had been squatting and watching from the side for a long time. It was only because these two were here appreciating his favorite paintings that he presumptuously came over to strike up a conversation. By the way, it wasn't that the old man was meticulous and specifically watched Mu Tianyuan and his group. It was simply that the entire art gallery only had Mu Tianyuan, Uncle Mouri, Ran, and Conan—four visitors in total. How could such a unique group not attract the old man's attention?
Ran was a polite girl. Upon seeing the old man ask if she also liked these paintings, she immediately nodded repeatedly. Then Ran, a little curious, began to inquire about what the old man did. Only then did the old man realize he hadn't introduced himself.
Actually, it couldn't really be blamed on the old man's rudeness; it was just that he hadn't conversed with people for many years, so his steps were a bit rusty. After Ran asked, the old man introduced himself. It turned out this white-bearded old grandpa's surname was Ochiai, and he was the director of this art gallery.
After introducing himself, the old man intended to take his leave. However, just then, Director Ochiai suddenly noticed one of his employees tidying a hanging oil painting on the wall without wearing gloves. At that moment, the old man reacted as if he had seen his wife run off with someone. He then walked over to the staff member and began shouting at him.
Watching the somewhat overreactive director, Mu Tianyuan stroked his chin and muttered, "It seems this old man really cherishes these paintings. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so neurotic."
"Didn't he say so? These are his children; it's unavoidable that he'd be so invested," the Little Fox turned her head and replied indifferently.
Just as the director was sending away the staff member who wasn't wearing gloves to do other work, two people suddenly arrived. Then, one of the short, stout men looked at the director and said, "The crowd is still as small as ever, Director Ochiai."
"Boss Manaka."
The director turned his head and recognized the newcomer, greeting him blandly. The man called Manaka didn't mind the director's attitude. He just glanced left and right, then said, "This place will close in ten days. For this period, please take good care of these... rusty junk." After saying this, Boss Manaka ignored Director Ochiai's reaction and gestured to another man who had been following him, walking off to the side.
After Boss Manaka walked away, Ran walked to the director's side and said with some regret, "Is this art gallery going to disappear soon?"
"Yes," Director Ochiai nodded, then said helplessly, "The previous owner went bankrupt and had to sell the art gallery to this... Mr. Manaka."
At this moment, a bushy-browed, big-eyed staff member nearby said unhappily, "The previous owner sold the art gallery to him because he promised to continue operating it. But that guy bought it not long ago and is already going to renovate it into a restaurant."
Mu Tianyuan and the others didn't know what to say about this. Although this Mr. Manaka broke his word, since he paid for it, it was his business what he wanted to do with it. Forget changing it into a restaurant; even if he wanted to change it into a toilet, as long as he was happy, it was fine.
Just then, they suddenly heard a clang. Mu Tianyuan was startled by the sudden noise. He turned his head and saw a knight's helmet had fallen to the ground. The staff member who had been sent away by the director earlier was standing nearby, pulling a cart full of knight armor.
At this moment, Boss Manaka also looked over. After saying a few words to the staff member, he laughed loudly and left. The staff member, displeased by Manaka's words, threw the helmet onto the pile of armor. Seeing this, Conan had been prepared for the director to rage again, but to his surprise, the director didn't even glance at it and left.
Seeing this, Conan was a little confused. Earlier, Director Ochiai had been furious when a staff member touched an art piece without gloves. So why was the director ignoring it now? Was he blind? As Conan wondered, he heard Mu Tianyuan say, "Say, this armor seems pretty interesting. I wonder if this art gallery has any more replicas like this in stock, and how much a set would cost."
"You said 'replicas'?" Conan was startled by Mu Tianyuan's words, then seemed to realize something. Mu Tianyuan nodded. "Yeah, replicas. And not even well-made ones. Look, they didn't even bother to age them.
Besides, generally, small museums like this, aside from... themed exhibitions, usually put out replicas to fool people. Anyway... ordinary folks like us can't tell the difference. Moreover, if these weren't replicas but genuine artifacts, how could they be piled up like junk and pushed around on a flat cart?"
Conan nodded from the side. If they were replicas, it made sense why the director would ignore them. Since they weren't genuine, he naturally didn't feel bad about them. It was like comparing one's own child to a found one.
Afterward, Mu Tianyuan and the others accompanied Ran as she continued to explore. However, after walking around for a while, Mu Tianyuan didn't want to move anymore. He looked at Ran, who was still enthusiastically exploring, and said, "Lord Ran, I request a break. You know, I had food poisoning a few days ago, and I haven't fully recovered yet. My body is weak."
"Uh, okay, then let's rest for a bit." Ran heard Mu Tianyuan's words and, recalling his unfortunate experience of being poisoned by her own mother a few days ago, nodded with a slightly awkward smile. Although Ran was in high spirits and Mu Tianyuan's food poisoning had nothing to do with her, it was her mother's fault. As a daughter, hearing Mu Tianyuan bring it up, even after several days, she still felt embarrassed.
Uncle Mouri and Conan, hearing Mu Tianyuan and Ran's conversation, especially Ran's agreement to rest, immediately became excited. Thank goodness, we can finally rest! Seriously, all this walking around has made us tired! And not just tired, the boredom is the key! But before Conan and Uncle Mouri could be happy for a second,
they heard Mu Tianyuan point to a circular seat or flower bed in the corridor, probably meant for visitors to rest, and say to Ran, "Lord Ran, it seems you haven't explored enough yet, so you don't need to accompany me. I'll sit here for a while; you two can continue exploring. Just don't forget me when you leave."
Uncle Mouri and Conan: "..." Damn it, do you have to be so considerate? If you're so considerate, why don't you consider us too?! We really don't want to keep walking, you know?! We want to rest here too, you know?! "Well, okay, Little Mu, you rest here first." Ran nodded immediately after hearing Mu Tianyuan's words, then turned to look at Uncle Mouri and Conan, who looked like their fathers had died, and said, "Dad, Conan, let's continue to the other exhibition halls!"
Uncle Mouri and Conan: "..." No! We want to rest too! In the end, Uncle Mouri and Conan couldn't win against Ran. They cast a look of envy, jealousy, and resentment at Mu Tianyuan, who was sitting there leisurely humming a tune while helping the Little Fox comb her long fur, then helplessly followed the enthusiastic Ran to continue being "edified."
Mu Tianyuan had actually mostly recovered yesterday, but he just didn't want to walk around anymore. After tricking Ran and the others away, Mu Tianyuan sat on that thing—whether it was a flower bed or something else, he didn't know—combing the Little Fox's fur and chatting with her. After greeting Ran and the others as they passed him twice, Mu Tianyuan heard footsteps again and whispered to the Little Fox, "This is the third time, 33:3, right? I really don't understand what Ran gets out of walking around so much."
"It's not Ran this time. There's only one set of footsteps, and it's the... director old grandpa from before." The Little Fox replied, closing her eyes to rest. Mu Tianyuan listened carefully, and indeed it was. Although he couldn't tell whose footsteps they were, he could distinguish between a few people's footsteps. Just then, Director Ochiai came out from around the corner. Mu Tianyuan smiled and waved at Director Ochiai, "Hello, Mr. Director."
"Uh, hello." The director didn't expect someone to be lounging there. His expression immediately changed a little upon seeing Mu Tianyuan, but it was only for an instant. Then the director smiled and greeted Mu Tianyuan. After a few pleasantries, the director walked towards a nearby exhibition hall. Then the director took out a "No Entry" sign from the exhibition hall and placed it in front of the hall. After looking at Mu Tianyuan with an inexplicable gaze, he returned to that... exhibition hall again.
"What did that old man mean by that look he just gave me?" Mu Tianyuan scratched his head, whispering to the Little Fox, puzzled. Before the Little Fox, who was resting with her eyes closed, could reply, Mu Tianyuan suddenly said in horror, "Speaking of which, this plot seems so much like certain movies! What does this old man really want to do to me?!"
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