Chapter 7 ： Misunderstand

"Why are you capturing me?" Perry still wanted to know why Larkin was treating him this way.

"You know what you did!" Larkin replied sternly, her beautiful eyes staring at Perry, making him feel uncomfortable.

Did Henry cause trouble?

"I think there's been a misunderstanding here," Perry said, unable to explain what had happened due to not having Henry's memories.

"Yeah, it must be a misunderstanding! Henry's helped us before. A kind person like him couldn't possibly do anything wrong," Rufus quickly chimed in, trying to help.

It seemed that, in their eyes, Henry was a very upstanding person.

"Yeah, maybe you misunderstood something?" Toto also stood in front of Perry, blocking Larkin from getting closer. "Henry's just a glutton, not a troublemaker. If he ate your apples, I can replace them!"

Alright, it appeared Henry had a reputation for being a glutton, too.

"You're the ones who've being deceived!" Larkin pointed angrily at Perry. "This guy stole something from me!"

Stole something? How could Henry have stolen something? Perry's heart tightened, and he began to panic.

"Your stuff? What exactly?" Rufus asked, puzzled.

"Well is ——... that's not important right now!" Larkin's face suddenly flushed, as if she found it hard to say, with a slight hint of laughter she was trying to suppress.

This odd reaction left the three of them even more confused.

What exactly was this about?

"No matter what it is, yesterday only this guy ——Henry passed by my place. The thing is gone, so it must've been him!" Larkin insisted firmly.

Henry, what on earth did you do yesterday?

"But Henry's lost his memory! He doesn't remember anything that happened before," Toto explained. "And I really don't think Henry would steal."

Toto, you trust Henry too much.

"Yeah, I don't believe Henry would steal either. He's our benefactor after all," Rufus added in Perry's defense.

"Lost his memory? Is he faking it? That ma—hahaha!" Larkin suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter as she started to say something.

The sudden laughter left the three of them speechless. 

What was going on with her? 

Rufus, however, seemed to recall something but didn't mention it out loud.

Even though they didn't know why Larkin was laughing, Toto rebutted, "That's impossible. I can vouch that Henry's really lost his memory. As greedy as he is, he didn't even snatch an apple when he first woke up."

Perry was grateful for Toto's defense, but the way he put it made him feel slightly embarrassed.

"Maybe it's you who made a mistake, Larkin," Rufus guessed that Larkin might not have actually lost anything.

"I didn't make a mistake! I need to find it quickly, or Arno will find out ..." Larkin's face turned serious again as she muttered under her breath, so softly it was barely audible. However, her muttering didn't escape Rufus's sharp ears.

"Arno? Did you just mention Arno's name? Larkin, did you take something from him again...?" Rufus began to piece things together.

"Of course not! You misheard me! Stop imagining things!" Larkin hurriedly cut him off, her expression growing more nervous.

"You're looking awfully guilty," Toto pointed out directly.

"I am not!" Larkin retorted forcefully, but her flustered expression only deepened their suspicions.

"It's obvious." Rufus chuckled, backing up Toto's observation.

Regardless of how things developed, Perry decided to step forward to resolve the misunderstanding. He spoke up, "I really have lost my memory, but I don't think I stole anything. I'm here because I'm looking for the Mushcat."

"What? M—? So it was you who took it!" Larkin's expression changed immediately upon hearing that word, and she angrily pointed at Perry.

"Wait, so you're looking for the Mushcat? I thought you'd taken Arno something and lost it! You know how bad Arno's temper has been lately," Rufus sighed with relief.

"...That's not it at all!" Larkin averted her gaze, avoiding Rufus's eyes completely.

"...Really? Then why didn't you just say 'Mushcat' right from the start?" Rufus said, feeling exasperated.

"I would have ... if it weren't for you making me fall victim to that prank spell! Now I can't say the word 'm-a-t-c-h-e-s' without laughing uncontrollably!" Larkin's face reddened as she spelled out the word, clearly trying to say "matches," but each time she tried, she broke into laughter again.

"A prank spell? What kind of prank spell?" Toto asked curiously, and Perry looked at them, equally confused.

"Larkin got hit by the Laughing Matches spell. It's a prank toy. If you're under its spell, every time you say the word 'matches,' you can't stop laughing," Rufus explained. "I was planning to use it to prank Zolo, but Larkin lit the match herself."

"I didn't know it was yours! It was just lying next to the firewood, so I used it," Larkin protested innocently.

"Well, that's what you get for taking without asking. Consider it your own punishment," Rufus shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"How do you break the spell?" Perry asked out of curiosity.

"You need to find all seven Laughing Matches than burn it, and the spell will lift on its own," Rufus explained. "But the matches hide themselves randomly, and I don't know where they are."

"You've already found six of them, haven't you? You're only one match away! That's impressive. Finding things is your strong point, but I'm still better with a bow," Rufus couldn't resist boasting.

"Hmph, I'm the number one archer around here," Larkin said proudly, lifting her chin. "I'm way better than you, second place idiot."

To prevent them from arguing, Perry quickly concluded, "I didn't take your Mushcat. You're looking for it because it has the last match, right?"

"Yes, the last one... it's on that Mushcat. I was so close to breaking the prank spell, but then it disappeared. And then I heard that some outsider was looking for the Mushcat. How could you not be the most suspicious person here?"

"Ah, I see..." Larkin finally realized and covered her mouth, mocking, "You're really unlucky, huh? You were just one step away from breaking the spell."

"This is all your fault!" She turned to glare at Rufus.

"I already apologized, and I promised to clean the treehouse for a week. Can't we drop it?" Rufus quickly backed off, clearly not wanting to stir up more trouble.

Larkin ignored Rufus and instead focused on Perry. "You say you're just here for the Mushcat, mine is missing. You passed by my place, so it must be you who took it!"

I thought elves lived in treehouses? How did Henry even get up there?

"Wait! It wasn't me! It—it was the Mushcat that ran off!" Perry denied, whether Henry had stolen something or not, he couldn't admit it—otherwise, he'd be locked up by Larkin.

"Yeah, yeah! Rufus just heard Grandpa Harden say that Mushcats tend to run off by themselves," Toto chimed in.

"Exactly, and I've got Grandpa Harden's notes here too. It has detailed records of Mushcat behavior," Perry said, handing the notebook to Larkin.

Larkin strode over to Perry and took the notebook, flipping through a few pages. She saw that it indeed contained Grandpa Harden's handwriting, and her expression gradually softened.

As Larkin carefully read the notes, the three boys stood silently watching her.

"So, that explains the muddy footprints in my room... Sorry, I misunderstood you." After a few minutes, Larkin put down the notebook and finally offered a sincere apology.

After reading the information, Larkin seemed to recall something.

"No wonder there are some dirt marks on the floor of my room. Maybe I misunderstood you. But you did pass by my room and Mushcat disappeared. I still doubt you. For now, I pretend to believe that you are innocent." After a few minutes, she put down the notes and finally came to this conclusion.

"Since you tied someone up without any evidence, it's no wonder Arno is so worried about you. You should remove Henry's handcuffs now." Rufus stretched out his hand and motioned Larkin to hand over the key.

Larkin scratched her head and smiled awkwardly. "Well... I don't have the key. I, uh, borrowed Arno's handcuffs without asking, and I forgot to bring the key..."

"..." The three of them stared at her in silence, while Perry felt like crying inside—why was he so unlucky?

"You've got to be kidding me. You really stole Arno's stuff? You know how bad his temper's been lately!" Rufus raised his voice. "This handcuff situation is entirely your fault; you're the real thief."

"...I had no choice. I couldn't borrow a pair, from other so I took Arno's. Besides, Arno's not on duty right now, so I can grab the key real quick," Larkin muttered, her eyes darting around guiltily.

Now that it was clear this was Larkin unprofessional arrest, Perry finally let out a sigh of relief.

From the conversation just now, it seemed like Henry was seen as some kind of savior in their eyes. Even though he was an outsider, Rufus and Toto trusted him so much. 

What kind of person was Henry, really?

Can I really live up to being Henry?