Ink's Notes: Hi guys, time to update this! Sorry for the delay, I've had people visiting and I was working on a thing before that for another thing (really, it has nothing to do with this, but it took up a lot of time, so), but I had time, and time was had, and this got written for an update to do the thing!

...language is failing me, let's just post the chapter.

Chapter Two – Mayor of Old Ashton, Doctor S.K.C.

The Laytonmobile pulled up at a small inn with no issue, and the car was unloaded of its passengers and their belongings, all of whom calmly filed into the inn's lobby. Luke paused before he entered, thinking that he'd seen something brown and furry trot past into an alleyway, but someone tugged the back of his shirt and he quickly picked up his pace to follow after them. He vaguely noticed that no one was close enough to have tugged his shirt, but filed away the information for later when Robin waved him over.

"What's going on, Professor, Robin, Flora?" he asked the other three, and Robin passed him what appeared to be a sliding block puzzle.

"The innkeeper, Miss Floriana, was rather amused that her name is similar to our dear Flora's own, and so she offered us this to help us pass the time until she's sorted out the situation with the room key," Robin explained.

Luke paused before he started working on the puzzle to examine the innkeeper. She appeared to be an older woman, though likely no older than sixty, with short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a long black dress with a magenta sash wrapped around her waist. She had an odd gaze that Luke was tempted to call a lonely one, but he didn't get much further than that when he remembered he had a puzzle in his hands. Not one to turn down a chance at solving a puzzle, he set to work on it right away, reading some instructions that were etched into the top of the puzzle to explain what the puzzle was meant to look like when he was finished with it.

PUZZLE TWO
A simple eight-piece sliding block puzzle on a three by three grid. One of the pieces has a picture of a red car on it, and another has a yellow gate on it. Simply slide around the pieces until the red car is facing the yellow gate, with the empty slot between them.

It didn't take Luke that long to finish the puzzle. "All right, it seems like…" he pointed outwards. "Your puzzle has been solved!" With those words and a grin, he handed the block puzzle back to Floriana, who accepted it with a gentle smile. "That's just a taste of how the Professor's apprentice solves puzzles, ma'am!"

"Professor?" the innkeeper wondered, turning to look at Professor Layton. "You're the mayor's friends, then?" Her expression shifted subtly, and both Layton and Robin noticed how the woman's face changed. She almost seemed to be somewhat more welcoming and friendly than she did before. "You should have said so, I could have prepared something…"

"No need to worry, ma'am," Layton assured the woman, lifting his hands to be as nonthreatening and gentle as possible. "We're simply checking in before we go and visit the mayor. Although, have you got any recommendations for places we can visit or get some food while we're in town?"

"If you want good food, you should stop by Silonus'," Floriana recommended. "The owner, Silo, is a friend of mine, though we're all friends here in Old Ashton…" The woman seemed a little embarrassed by the admission, but continued to speak anyway. "He'll be happy to help you if he hears you're friends with our mayor."

"Doctor S.K.C. is rather popular amongst the populace, isn't he?" Robin observed, and the woman nodded in response. "Is there any reason why?"

"The Doctor came to Old Ashton upon hearing that there was a sick girl here who our village doctors were having no luck with curing," she explained. "Not only was he able to cure her, but he decided to stay here and become a doctor for the village, bringing his wife and daughter along with him."

Professor Layton's expression changed to one of confusion for just a moment, which didn't go unnoticed by Robin. "The Doctor has a daughter?" she asked for him, quickly and seamlessly covering up the reason for asking the question by adding, "Perhaps we can introduce her to Luke and Flora while we're here."

Floriana nodded in response. "I'm sure that the Doctor would appreciate it," she offered a smile, though it seemed somewhat forced – not for distaste at the people before her, but simply for the fact that she didn't really smile that often. She produced two room keys - one for Professor Layton, and one for Robin - then informed them which room they would be staying in for the duration of their time here.

Once the four had deposited anything they wouldn't need in their room at the inn, they headed outside to ask someone for directions to the mayor's house, Robin carrying the Professor's briefcase. No sooner than they walked out the door did they spot a dark-skinned woman with light brown hair and eyes to match, dressed in a long sleeved navy blue shirt with bright pink fabric on the ends, boots and a skirt that matched the pink and stockings that matched the shirt. A light brown handbag had been slung across her shoulder and was resting under her arm, and she was smiling widely at them.

"Yo!" the bouncy woman – and there was really no other way to describe this woman besides bouncy, as everything she did was with a jump in her step – greeted the four of them.

"Hello, miss," Flora smiled and respectfully curtsied. Not to be outdone, Luke gave a short bow to her. "We're trying to reach Doctor S.K.C.'s place of residence. Do you know the way?"

"You wanna get to the mayor's place, huh? Well, have I got the thing for you!" she grinned, reaching into her handbag and rummaging around inside of it.

"You seem awfully excited, miss…" Layton motioned for the woman to give her name.

"Aimelia, but Aimi is fine by me, Mr. Hat Man!" she grinned, snapping her fingers with a wink before resuming her search through the bag. After a moment, her bouncy nature melted away and comically large tears welled up in her eyes.

"…Miss Aimi?" Robin asked, when it was apparent that Layton wasn't going to respond on account of still getting over being called 'Mr. Hat Man'. "Is something the matter?"

Aimi slowly turned her head to face the four, and Luke was inclined to call her cartoonish with the way that her eyes had welled up with tears and she was sniffling like she'd just made a huge mistake in something very important. Slowly but surely, she produced a map that had a few holes in it, followed by some scraps of paper that looked like they might fit into the holes – not perfectly, but well enough to restore it. "I- I must have accidentally broken the map. I'm sorry…" she sniffled, looking as if the entire world was ending around her.

Layton took the broken map and the small paper pieces from her, examining them for a moment before he passed them off to Luke and Flora. "No need to worry, miss. Luke and Flora will have the map fixed before you know it."

"R-Really?" Aimi asked, slowly wiping away her tears.

"Don't worry about a thing, miss Aimi!" Luke grinned. "Flora and I will piece this right back together for you!" They set it down on the ground between them and got on their hands and knees to get a better look at it.

PUZZLE THREE
Oh no! Aimi has accidentally torn her map in a few crucial places! Fortunately, the pieces that were torn out by accident can be replaced fairly easily with a little bit of tape. However, you'll need to figure out which piece goes where, since Aimi's not the type to memorize maps.

While Luke and Flora worked on putting the map back together using some tape that Robin provided for them, Layton and Robin took the time to chat to Aimi to see if they could learn anything about what was going on in Old Ashton.

"The Doctor has called us here to investigate this 'white specter' that people have been worried about," Professor Layton informed Aimi, who nodded along in a way that said she was listening but didn't really understand what he was saying. "Do you happen to know anything about it, or any other odd things that might be happening here in Old Ashton?"

Aimi thought for a few moments. "Well, I haven't seen this white scepter that you're talking about," Layton refrained from correcting her but Robin could tell that he wanted to. "But there has been some other weird stuff going on in town. Like…" she considered how to phrase it, before clapping her hands together. "Slavvy and Kiya have been complaining that food's been going missing from their shop, just the stuff that's about to go off but it's still going missing, so they're wondering if there's a thief or something," Aimi nodded sagely, crossing her arms. "And some people have been hearing this singing stuff at night, but no one really knows where it's coming from since it seems to echo around the buildings and stuff…" A little more consideration before she uncrossed her arms, then hit her open palm with her fist. "Oh! And Tam and Felix have been saying stuff's been going missing from the hospital and general stores, too. Is that it? I think that's it," she folded her arms again, satisfied with what she'd given them.

Before Layton and Robin could ponder this development, Luke piped up. "Got it!" he grinned widely. "Professor, miss Aimi, we put it back together!" As he said so, Flora held up the map, which had been taped back together, and passed the tape back to Robin, who returned it to the Professor's briefcase. "We can get to the Doctor's house now, right?"

"That's right, Luke," Layton smiled, taking the map from Flora, studying it for a moment before offering it to Aimi.

"Oh- no, no, that's for you!" Aimi grinned. "Actually, I was told to give that to you so you guys could get around town more easily." She slumped over. "But then it broke…"

"Don't worry about it!" Luke smiled at her. "We got to solve a puzzle, so that makes it okay, miss Aimi!"

Aimi perked right back up again. "Really? You really mean it?" Luke nodded. "Oh, yay! Thank you~!" She picked the boy up and hugged him tightly with a deceptively high amount of strength for someone of her stature, then let him drop right back down to the ground. "See you guys around!" With that, she took off at a jog, and before long was out of sight.

"…That was… sudden," Layton stated, very clearly not wanting to use any other words to describe Aimi's behavior.

"I would have liked to ask her more about those other happenings in the town," Robin admitted. "I suppose we can find her later, or ask someone else. Perhaps the mayor knows more."

"Agreed," Layton smiled as he looked over the map again. "Shall we make our way to the Mayor's house?"

Luke, Flora and Robin agreed, and the four began following the map to reach Doctor S.K.C.'s house, periodically taking note of landmarks so that they wouldn't get lost when navigating the streets in the future. As they did so, Luke paused as he saw something, turning to look at what it was. He saw a mass of brown fur dash into an alley, and before he knew it he found himself chasing after it.

"Luke-!" Layton called and made to chase him, but Robin blocked his path with her hand.

"You go meet the mayor with Flora. I'll go after him," Robin reassured him, then took off at a run after the boy, moving with surprising ease for a woman wearing high heels.

Layton hesitated, then looked down at Flora and put a hand on her shoulder. The girl looked as if she desperately wanted to go after the both of them, but Layton's hand on her shoulder was keeping her there. "Don't worry. Robin will keep him safe," he smiled at her, and she looked up at him in confusion. "I'm not quite sure how yet, but Robin has experience keeping an eye on children. She noticed even before I did that he'd run off, and anticipated that I might cause confusion by going after him. It'd be better if the two of us stick together and head to the mayor's house. Besides, Luke can always ask some animals to lead him and Robin there."

Flora looked uncertain, but trusted her foster father's judgment. Still, she gripped his hand tightly as they made their way towards the mayor's house, following the map that they'd been given.

It took the two of them another five minutes to reach the place that the map was telling them was the mayor's house, but much to Flora's confusion, the house didn't look all that much different than any of the other houses in the area. It was a quaint little cottage with a small barn off to the side, and Flora thought that Luke might like to meet whatever animal or animals lived inside of it. As the two got close to the house, the smell of baking cookies filled the air, and Flora began gravitating closer towards it, only being stopped by Layton steering her back on track towards the front door.

He lifted a hand and knocked three times. When there was no response, he repeated the action, only slightly more loudly than before. This time, his efforts were rewarded by a female voice calling out from somewhere inside. "Coming~!" it almost sang, and no more than a minute later, the door opened to let them in. Standing in the doorway was a woman who carried herself with a casual air, yet was rather elegant in her actions and movements. Her hair was a gentle strawberry blonde color and her eyes were green, contrasting completely with the long purple dress and tan sandals she wore and the red apron with the words KISS FOR COOKIE printed on it. "Ah! You two must be my husband's friends. Although I was under the impression that your apprentice was a boy…" The woman almost looked a little bit disappointed at Flora being a girl.

"You must be thinking of Luke," Layton informed her. "He saw something that caught his eye and went to investigate it with my assistant. This is Flora, my adoptive daughter," he introduced the girl, who gently curtsied in response.

There was an odd gleam in the woman's eyes as Layton explained the situation. "Oh, is that how it is~?" she hummed. "I see, I see!" She laughed in a way that a noblewoman might, before motioning for the two of them to come in. "Well, come in, come in! My husband's just stepped out for a moment to pick up some groceries with Colt, but he'll be back in a few minutes most likely, don't be shy! I have cookies in the oven, you're free to help yourself once they come out, sit down, sit down!" Layton and Flora were ushered inside as the woman closed the door and guided them over to the living room, where she sat them down on the couch and returned back to the kitchen. Layton and Flora were both left sitting in stunned silence, feeling oddly out of their element and as if they'd missed a beat somewhere.

"…What just happened?" Flora asked after about half a minute, and for once Layton didn't have an answer for her.

The woman soon returned, carrying a tray of cookies, which were set down on the coffee table. "Go on, have one!" she smiled, and Layton and Flora both took a cookie, biting into it. Flora's expression lit up quite happily and she began munching away, while Layton nodded with a smile to indicate that he approved.

"These are delicious!" Flora smiled happily when she'd finished the first and was reaching for a second. "Can you teach me how to make these later?"

"Certainly! Actually, I was planning on teaching my daughter, so perhaps you and your friend can join the two of us," the doctor's wife smiled.

"I don't know how good an idea that is. Luke tends to eat an awful lot, so we might wind up with all of the cookie dough eaten before we can put anything in the oven," Flora explained, taking a bite out of her second cookie.

Before any responses could be made, the front door opened again, and Layton and Flora both turned to see who was there. A tall man with messy black hair and brown eyes dressed in a casual collared light blue tee shirt, black pants and black shoes walked in, carrying a few bags, followed by a goat of all things who, Flora was astonished to notice, wiped his hooves on the welcome mat before entering, carrying another shopping bag in his mouth. The woman moved over to the goat, taking the bag from him and petting his head, before giving him a cookie, which he happily accepted.

"Layton!" the man happily greeted, outstretching his arms as if he might give the Professor a hug. "It's been years! How have you been?" He paused, remembering that he was carrying groceries, and Flora was inclined to believe that the only reason he wasn't giving the Professor a hug was because his hands were otherwise occupied. He took a moment to pass the bags off to his wife, but not before greeting her with a kiss, and she took the bags to the kitchen for him. "I see you've already met my wife Aria."

"Not so much 'met' as 'got caught up in her excitement,'" Layton smiled in a friendly manner that indicated he meant no offense by the words. "It has been a long time, Senkou." He got to his feet and offered a hand to the man.

Senkou took his hand, but instead of shaking it, he brought it up and gently kissed it, and Flora would have missed how awkward the Professor's expression got from the action of affection if she hadn't been watching him at the time. "Er, I thought he was S.K.C.?" she asked, largely to get attention off of the Professor and onto herself.

"S.K.C. is more like an alias that I use," he smiled at her, crouching down and gently ruffling her hair. "My name is Senkou Canera. Sen – Kou – Canera. S-K-C." He noticed what she was holding in her hands. "I see that my wife has won you over with her baking?" Flora nodded mutely as she took another bite from it. "Aria is the best cook in Old Ashton, and I'm inclined to up the ante to saying that she might even be the best in Europe." He hummed in consideration. "You don't seem to be any older than seventeen… I believe that you'll get along with Pyrrhos, Indra, Alex and Michi," he smiled sweetly, patting her head and looking over at Layton. "Perhaps you can take her and your apprentice to meet them sometime? They don't often see kids from other places."

"They're children who live in Old Ashton, then?" Layton asked.

"Yup. Pyrrhos, Indra and Alex are all orphans, but Michi is my daughter. She's been a little bit distant as of late, like she's hiding something…" he shook his head. "Well, never mind. How about we spend some time catching up? I can fill you in on the details of what's happening in town when your apprentice gets back with your girlfriend."

Flora nearly choked on the cookie, and Layton suddenly looked a lot more awkward than he had before. "…Robin is my assistant. There's nothing between us."

"Really? An attractive woman such as her and there's nothing between you two? Hmm, oh well. I suppose the love that you and I shared is not something that is so easily replaced."

At this point, the Professor was having to strain to keep a straight face, and Flora decided to try and change the topic. "So, um, the goat?" The animal had trotted over to the table where the cookies were and helped himself to another. Flora pet him on the head. "Er, why do you have a goat?"

"Ah, that's Colt," Senkou smiled at Flora in a very fatherly way. "Technically, he's my daughter's, but Aria and I help take care of him. He's a very intelligent animal."

Flora nodded in understanding as she continued to pet Colt, having finished her second cookie. "I think Luke might like him," she idly noted, and then frowned, wondering why Luke and Robin hadn't managed to find the house yet and where on earth the two had run off to.

PUZZLES SOLVED – THREE

CURRENT MYSTERIES:

The White Specter – Several residents of Old Ashton have reportedly seen a mysterious white specter. No one knows anything else about it.

Missing Food – According to Aimi, food that is about to go off has been going missing.

Missing Supplies – According to Aimi, some supplies from the hospital and the general store have gone missing.

Robin Nico – A woman with an air of mystery around herself who is working as the Professor's assistant. She has experience working with children and is very good at moving silently and quickly despite her footwear of choice being high heels.

Michi – Mayor Senkou's daughter, whom he notes has been growing more distant lately, as if she's hiding something, although he's not sure what or why.