Chapter 114: 50. Shadow
Against the night wind, Fisher was walking towards the forest where he had arranged to meet Carlo. There was still some time left until their agreed meeting time, so Fisher took out the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans from his arms, wanting to confirm whether the content he had studied earlier was completely recorded in it.
He saw the golden text swirling gracefully, accurately transcribing the content that Fisher had written in the experimental research report onto the handbook. Fisher lingered a moment on the words that gleamed with light related to [Demon], and then looked again at the illusory text floating before him.
[Progress on Research of Demon Species: 22%]
[Progress on Research of Demon Society: 1%]
So it reached 22% progress in one go? Fisher was a bit surprised by this research progress.
This was thanks to that lazy guy Eil, who offered no resistance to the research and let Fisher conduct it as he pleased, which is why the progress was so quick. It had taken Raphael a long time to reach the same progress due to his uncooperative nature.
Thinking of that red dragon girl, who glanced at him with her tail raised, Fisher couldn’t help but smile.
His gaze moved downward, where a line of golden text read,
[Unlocked Rewards: Constitution +3, Charm +2, Fallen Resistance]
[Fallen Resistance: “Conquer those damned demon girls with iron will and body!”]
Why was the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans so excited about these kinds of explanations, as if encouraging Fisher from behind to hurry up and freeze those demons?
And how exactly did the charm bonus manifest?
Fisher had just felt his body become stronger, but his appearance hadn’t changed at all, and nothing else had changed physically.
Charm was such a vague concept; different people or races had different aesthetics and needs. Was this charm supposed to be universal for all these people?
There was no answer for the moment, so Fisher simply put the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans back into his arms.
Previously, he had refrained from asking Eil about the so-called “Dynasty” she came from in order to lower her guard, lest the body research make no progress. After all, she had made it clear that she didn’t want to be asked about the Dynasty.
But Fisher wasn’t in a hurry; he was now interested in the body training mentioned by Eil. After his observations earlier, he felt that this demon had a profound understanding of how to strengthen body training and should yield many results.
While pondering about what had happened earlier, Fisher soon arrived at the forest where he had arranged to meet Carlo.
At this moment, the sun had completely set, and a bright moon was rising from another direction.
There were not many people in the suburbs of Saint Nali, especially towards the direction of Godlin the First’s royal tomb. Fisher leaned against a tree, silently listening to the sound of the quiet night wind.
After waiting for a short while, he faintly heard footsteps in the distance. Fisher did not stick his head out first; he waited until the person approached and stood still, surveying the surroundings. Then a soft, trembling female voice said,
“Fischer?”
Carlo’s body trembled slightly. Although he psychologically identified as male, at this moment he awkwardly hugged himself with both hands, seeming a bit scared.
Strangely enough, before he became an artificial sorceress, he was fearless. Now, as his feminization deepened, even the objects of his night fantasies had started to turn into men.
He gritted his teeth, suppressing the fear that arose from his heart. The next moment, he saw a tall gentleman slowly walk out from the shadowy woods, nearly causing Carlo to fall to the ground in fright.
The gentleman was holding a staff, his expression somewhat stern, as cold as the moon above.
“I’m here.”
“I thought you stood me up.”
Carlo pouted, but his body honestly moved towards Fisher’s direction, as if this could dispel some of his fear.
When he got closer, Fisher noticed a faint green glow around him, indicating a level one insect-repelling spell, commonly used during outdoor adventures.
“You’re late.”
“Hey, take a look at what a place you arranged to meet in. At this late hour, making me run out to the suburbs of Saint Nali—now I have to think about how to get back.”
Carlo shot Fisher a glare and suddenly seemed to recall something, saying,
“Oh, right! I forgot to remind you. There’s something strange about you. It has a scent similar to the Mother’s Grace that the Sorceress Research Society is studying. If they see you, they will surely want to take you back. You’d better be careful.”
Fisher thought back to that witch Bart, who had charged at him like mad, claiming he had [Mother’s Grace]. He realized he had several special things about him; firstly, the two Supplement Handbooks, and secondly, perhaps Renee.
He considered the latter possibility to be more likely, as those madmen from the Sorceress Research Society believed witches were the nearest to the Mother, and he had spent a considerable time with Renee, likely leaving some traces on him.
But if her traces were mistaken for Mother’s Grace, it only indicated how unique this girl Renee was.
Either those madmen judged Mother’s Grace based on a witch’s magical power, or Renee was the most unique witch of all, for example,
[Undying Sorceress]
“I understand, I’ll be careful.” Fisher pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and continued, “I’ve received news about the delegation from Shivali coming to visit. It’s in the next few weeks under the pretext of academic exchange. They will hold an academic conference at Saint Nali University behind me.”
Hearing the news provided by Fisher, Carlo’s expression immediately brightened, and his gaze turned to the buildings of Saint Nali University in the distance where lights had begun to flicker, saying,
“Have you figured out how to help me escape?”
Fisher glanced at him and then asked,
“I need to know more about the information regarding your dealings with the Pink Pavilion. You’d better tell me everything about your escape to Nali. I need to understand the true intentions of the Pink Pavilion to help you.”
Carlo opened his mouth, seeming to consider whether to trust the man before him. After a long hesitation, he finally said,
“After I escaped from the Sorceress Research Society, I took a boat to Saint Nali. The Sorceress Research Society’s minions were close on my heels. I killed quite a few of them, but ultimately I was isolated and exhausted from dealing with their relentless pursuit. At that time, the people from the Pink Pavilion found me. They brought me to meet their leader, an old man named Blake.”
“Blake?” Fisher paused slightly upon hearing the name and then asked, “Is it Blake Vasily?”
Carlo looked at him in confusion upon hearing Fisher’s question,
“How would I know his full name? Anyway, he was just a rich old man.”
Blake Vasily, the name belonged to that legendary captain. After he was commanded to explore the continent and the oceans, his fame soared, and he became immensely wealthy, marrying and venturing out to explore until his old age when he returned to retire in Saint Nali.
If this “initial pioneer” was indeed the backer of the Pink Pavilion, Fisher wouldn’t be surprised.
He was very wealthy and politically astute. Fisher had once heard that he was a charming and passionate gentleman. Who would have thought he would open the best brothel in Saint Nali during his later years?
“He asked you to assassinate the diplomatic members of Shivali?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t force me. He said that after Shivali reestablishes relations with Nali, many of their products will no longer hold a monopoly. To ensure that only they can sell those medicines and the like, he wanted me to casually assassinate one of the diplomatic members but suggested it should be someone less important since they only wanted a cold war and not a real battle.”
After hearing Carlo’s words, Fisher fell into deep thought.
So, the Pink Pavilion was trying to ensure their monopoly in the pharmaceutical market of Saint Nali by having Carlo assassinate the diplomatic delegation from Shivali?
Once Carlo accepted the task, he had to pursue it, or he would lose the protection the Pink Pavilion had offered him for these past few months. The Pink Pavilion would not let it go easily, which also explained why he had struck a deal with Fisher.
Carlo looked at Fisher, who was lost in thought, realizing he was suspicious of the Pink Pavilion’s other intentions, so he tentatively began to explain,
“I don’t think they seem too eager about this. Is it possible they just want to test if they can maintain the drug monopoly without any other special motives? That’s why I took the initiative to accept this task.”
Fisher glanced at him as if looking at a pet pig,
“What if they’re just pretending not to be eager? That might just be a trap for you.”
This statement left Carlo speechless. Reluctantly, he looked away and fell silent, feeling ashamed.
According to Carlo’s information, the Pink Pavilion might indeed only be trying to maintain their monopoly in the pharmaceutical market of Nali; however, they might have other deeper motives as well. Thus, it would be safer to assume they had further intentions until proven otherwise.
With a plan in mind, Fisher said to Carlo,
“Firstly, when the academic conference happens, you need to mingle as usual at Saint Nali University and create a facade of being there to assassinate for the Pink Pavilion.”
“So I’ll actually be escaping, and you’ll help me get rid of the Pink Pavilion on my tail, right?”
Fisher completely treated him like a pet pig, continuing in the same tone,
“Then, you need to ensure that every member of the diplomatic delegation remains unharmed.”
“Huh? I have to protect them too? No way! What if no one ends up dead, and the Pink Pavilion comes after me, and you leave me hanging? Don’t forget I have leads on the Undying Sorceress!”
Fisher gave him a sympathetic look while extinguishing his cigarette butt, saying,
“Only if everyone in the delegation survives do you have a right to live. When you agreed to this task from the Pink Pavilion, your next move was basically a dead end.”
Fisher glared at him coldly,
“Scenario one: You fail the assassination. Whether you can escape or not, neither the authorities, the Pink Pavilion, nor the Sorceress Research Society will let you go; scenario two: You succeed in the assassination, and both Nali and Shivali will hunt you down to death. Which do you think is scarier, the Sorceress Research Society and the Pink Pavilion, or the two major nations?”
The more Carlo listened, the more his delayed intellect slowly began to grasp the gravity of the situation, and he unconsciously began to sweat coldly.
Only at this moment did he realize how suffocating it was to lack intelligence. Since he escaped and entered the Pink Pavilion, every choice he made had been wrong, and obviously, wrong choices could only lead to wrong outcomes.
“If you stand by my side and protect the people of the diplomatic delegation from harm, I can leverage the power of the two major authorities to save you from those two factions. That’s the only way I can think of. Don’t look at me; I’m not the Mother. I can’t save you alone.”
“I… I know! I’ll do everything you say. So, I just need to get into Saint Nali University and make sure everyone in the diplomatic delegation doesn’t die to escape, right?”
However, Fisher suddenly thought that if he were someone with bad intentions towards Carlo, it would surely be another trap for this guy.
If he completed everything and dropped him, that would be a dead end for Carlo, and he wouldn’t have to do so much to help him arrange an escape route while achieving all his goals, right?
Fortunately, Fisher still had a little conscience.
He nodded as an acknowledgment and turned to look at the school in the night wind.
But suddenly he spotted a shadow outside the school’s fence rapidly approaching. The shadow was the size of a normal person but moved incredibly swiftly, easily leaping over the tall fence in a few moves.
After surmounting the wall, Fisher vaguely saw a wide, unidentifiable tail hanging down behind the figure.
What was that?
A subhuman?
Or some other kind of monster?
Fisher frowned, hesitating for just a second before quickly picking up his staff and hat, hurrying towards the school in an attempt to catch the figure that had just slipped inside.
Carlo, who hoped to say something, saw Fisher start to run, and he called out in confusion, “Hey!” But Fisher ignored him.
As he ran quickly toward the school, he called over his shoulder without looking back,
“You can go back now. Remember what I said; if there’s any new information, just tell me through a messenger!”
“Huh?”
Carlo thought they had been discovered by someone, so he hurriedly hid behind the trees, scanning the surroundings but finding nothing after looking for a while, only the buzzing mosquitoes and the gentle night wind occasionally brushing past.
At this moment, the artificial sorceress, who had been called out to the suburbs in the dead of night and had been abandoned after just a few words, felt anger towards the retreating Fisher, the gentleman’s character truly atrocious!
Silently cursing that man in his heart, he gradually realized he was now completely alone.
So, scared, he hugged himself, trembling, and cautiously made his way towards Saint Nali, slowly disappearing into the darkness.
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(End of this chapter)
