Chapter 134: 70. Prince Shivali
The giant beast in the sky emitted a long, distant low roar, its deep red body slowly moving towards Saint Nali, surrounded by blinking yellow lights like warning signals.
Rena was quite frightened by the appearance of the airship, but oddly enough, she wasn’t overly scared; it seemed she had seen something even bigger when she was in the ocean.
“Fisher, what is that? Is it your kind’s [companion sea beast]?”
Fisher shook his head, standing up with the cold Ramastia Fluid Sword in hand. When not in use, the mercury substance extending from the weapon’s hilt could be retracted and was hidden away somewhere.
“That’s an airship, a transportation tool created by humans. Its presence here means that dawn is near. You can discuss what I told you earlier with your father if you figure out how to explain that you sneaked out. I’m taking this Fluid Sword; that’s okay, right?”
Fisher raised the Fluid Sword in his hand; it was evident that this thing was quite a valuable treasure, but its cost was merely 1,350 euros minus the price of a bag, and Rena seemed very happy, giving Fisher a sense of deceiving a child.
So before leaving, a conscience-stricken Fisher asked Rena again.
To his surprise, she didn’t care at all. After all, this Fluid Sword somehow ended up in her bag; giving it to Fisher in exchange felt like picking up a piece of earth marrow for free.
“It’s fine! Hehe, I need to hurry back! My dad will probably wake up soon. If I’m discovered, I’m going to get in trouble, but I’ll talk to Dad about it. If I can’t find a royal adult, I’ll use that item to come find you.”
She tilted her little face up, her beautiful pink hair swaying with her movements.
At that moment, without those crab-like appendages, she looked like a cute porcelain doll. Fisher couldn’t help but touch her little head, only to find her hair was wet, which explained the slight shine he had noticed earlier.
“Alright, you go back. Be careful not to be spotted by other humans.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll go back directly from the ocean, so I won’t have to swim through the pipes you humans made. The tunnels underneath the pipes smell awful.”
The area below was probably connected to the sewers, and that place indeed didn’t smell nice. Fisher had had the fortune of smelling that odor before when he was with Captain Alagina at the end of Snakehead Street.
Fisher nodded and repeated how to use the paper airplane messenger one more time before heading back to Parker Park to find Carlo.
Rena waved at him from where she stood, and when she saw Fisher completely vanish from her sight, she hugged the beautiful piece of earth marrow tightly as she walked towards the sea, looking at it in delight. This caused her to completely not notice when a figure emerged from the ocean in front of her.
As Rena walked, her head suddenly bumped into something soft; there was no pain from the impact, but a faint fresh scent filled her nostrils.
Panicked, she looked up and found a strange girl staring directly at her.
The girl looked incredibly sweet, dressed in a white dress; apart from the incredibly soft demeanor, everything else about her looked human. Who else could it be but Jasmine?
Thinking she had been spotted by another human, Rena immediately prepared to call out for Fisher’s name, but before she could speak, the girl in front of her hurriedly hugged the small girl.
“Ah! Fisher! Let go of me!”
Rena struggled to break free from the panicking Jasmine’s embrace. Jasmine quickly whispered in the underwater language,
“Shh, don’t attract Teacher Fisher! If you do, my being a subhuman will be exposed. I’m Jasmine, a Whale Folk from the trench. You’re from the Crab Clan, right? I saw the blessing light from Lord Ramastia; you’re here to rescue me, aren’t you?”
Jasmine explained while holding onto Rena, only to realize that at some point, Rena had gone completely still. Shocked, she released the little girl from her arms, only to find her eyes closed as if she was suffocating, her normally lively big eyes weakly gazing at Jasmine as though she had seen something terrifying.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry…”
Jasmine repeatedly apologized to Rena, who had collapsed to the ground. At the same time, her flowing black hair took on a faint shiny hue, and under the witness of the ocean waves, her long hair gradually turned blue. Her ears also began to elongate, taking on the appearance of whale flippers.
But at the ends of her black elongated ears, two oval-shaped white spots appeared. Her legs didn’t disappear, but from the back of her dress, a large black tail that was longer than her legs burst forth from obscurity, extending completely and resting on the wet sand.
The translucent waters in her beautiful eyes sprang to life, created by an unknown force of flowing water, gently entwining her deep blue silky hair.
Rena opened her eyes, staring blankly at the girl before her, now looking sanctified and beautiful, unable to speak for a moment.
“Royal… Royal adult.”
The giant tail behind Jasmine flicked, and structures resembling dorsal fins sprouted from it, splashing the cool seawater away a short distance.
Whale Folk tails are very long, adapted for movement in the depths of the sea, although they are quite lazy, with their activity radius probably limited to that trench.
But as Jasmine’s mother said, Jasmine was a Whale Folk that even Lord Ramastia found beautiful, causing Rena to be momentarily mesmerized.
“I’m Jasmine! What’s your name?”
“Rena! Lady Jasmine, we are the Crab Folk sent by Lord Xianghun to help you. Dad hasn’t been able to contact you, so we’ve been quite anxious.”
“Mm, that’s why I came to find you. Do you know Teacher Fisher? I just saw you two talking.”
“Ah, Fisher is the one I met on the surface… um, the human on the big ship. He was very kind to me and even gave me a beautiful thing. See!”
Rena raised the piece of earth marrow in her hand, and Jasmine recognized it as the item Fisher had bought at the Magic Market before.
“Fisher is a good person; he said he could help the royal adults and gave me a way to contact him, but I still need to ask my dad about it. I sneaked out, but now that I’ve found the royal adult, he won’t scold me, hehe.”
“I see, then take me to meet your father quickly.”
Jasmine smiled, but her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the direction Fisher had left, wondering what she was thinking. Meanwhile, her enormous whale tail slapped the water, creating a small opening in the waves.
Teacher Fisher, huh? He is indeed a very kind human.
Jasmine kept her hiding under the sea a secret from Fisher; he was not eavesdropping on Rena and Jasmine’s conversation from somewhere else, as Carlo was still back in Parker Park.
After waking him up, Fisher didn’t rest and hastily took him by carriage back to Saint Nali University.
The visiting group from Shivali had already arrived at Saint Nali. If they waited any longer, the difficulties for Carlo to enter would drastically increase.
Even if this guy was very sleepy, Fisher still roughly shook him awake, then pulled him to quickly climb back through the window into his office.
“You wait here; I’ll go get you some clothes.”
After placing Carlo in his office, Fisher dashed to his staff bedroom to grab the attire prepared earlier for a servant. During this time, Carlo needed a suitable identity to make appearances outside.
Fisher tossed a set of men’s clothing in front of him, causing Carlo to purse his lips with a stiff expression.
“Is this all there is?”
“Do you want a lady’s outfit?”
“Well… that wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Not available.”
Carlo irritably took the clothes Fisher handed over, and once Fisher turned around, he began changing into the clothing in the office.
By the time Fisher turned back, Carlo had already donned a black servant outfit, though his brown long hair was somewhat distracting; it was fine, though—Carlo didn’t need to show his face all the time—he just needed to discreetly protect the visiting group once the academic conference began.
Almost prepared, Fisher didn’t bother with him further, instructing him to stay in his staff dormitory and not to move around, just to follow his arrangements.
Outside, lively voices filled the school. Normally, weekends were quite empty since many students took the opportunity to go play in the Saint Nali city area on their days off, but this week, due to Shivali’s visit, students were temporarily prohibited from going out.
Having settled Carlo, he had just walked out of his staff dormitory when he noticed an anxious Roger hovering at the office door. When he saw Fisher, he finally sighed with relief and said,
“Thank heavens! I thought you had gone home; I was about to call your house!”
“What’s going on?”
According to the original plan, the visiting group from Shivali was supposed to enter Saint Nali University tomorrow. They would first be warmly greeted by officials from the New Party and then spend a day in the city.
“Don’t say that! The Shivali anti-magic scholar group didn’t stay in the city; they just left the airship and rushed here! They specifically asked to see you! Principal Ken sent me to find you.”
So urgent?
It seems that this visit wasn’t solely for political purposes, as those scholars seemed quite energized by their theories and couldn’t help but seek trouble as soon as they arrived in Saint Nali?
“I understand; I’ll go change clothes.”
“Don’t change! They are almost here, and I reckon those scholars from Shivali won’t care about your attire; just go!”
Fisher found it somewhat amusing; since he had already said that, he could only tidy up the suit he hadn’t changed from rolling around in Parker Park the previous night and headed towards the entrance of Saint Nali University.
As he made his way, Ken was already waiting for him at the entrance. Upon seeing Fisher, he nodded.
“Relax; they just want to meet with you first. The specifics of the academic matters can wait until next Monday.”
Although Ken knew that Fisher wouldn’t be too flustered, he still wanted to alleviate some of Fisher’s stress.
Fisher nodded to show that he understood but didn’t look at Ken because, in his line of sight, deep red carriages were approaching Saint Nali University. Behind them were also several carriages of Saint Nali police and New Party officials.
The leading deep red carriage was engraved with intricate patterns of a white giant snake, distinguishing it from all the other vehicles. As they waited for the dusty carriages to stop, the front carriage door slowly opened, and a very sturdy young man stepped out.
The man was quite young but very muscular, wearing the red half-open long sleeve often worn by Shivali, revealing his strong chest muscles. His expression was plain, with a dark tattoo on his forehead resembling a twisted sun.
Shivali nobles have a habit of tattooing their family crest on their bodies, and while it could be on any part of the body, even the buttocks, back, and thighs left unregulated, it was Fisher’s first time seeing a Shivali person with such a thing tattooed on their face.
And that sun was not ordinary; it symbolized the Shivali royal family, the sun clan, Laurent.
Then, the person descending before him must be Prince Losang Laurent, come to visit Saint Nali.
As he stepped out of the carriage, the subsequent deep red carriages opened one after another, with various scholars emerging from inside. These scholars varied in gender and dressed differently, but not only did they come themselves; some also brought their families, and one tough-looking individual even brought a male Sheepkin along!
Fisher and the senior officials at Saint Nali University exchanged strange looks as they looked at the delicate-looking subhuman with sheep horns standing behind a Shivali scholar, momentarily confused about that guy’s thought processes.
Rumor had it that Shivali nobles liked to engage in sheep—this brother right here, well, he was literally exemplifying it.
Thankfully, the board of directors of Saint Nali University was not a bunch of clueless fools. Before Prince Shivali noticed the awkward gazes directed towards him, he hurriedly stepped forward to offer the visiting guests a welcome and blessing.
“Honorable Prince Losang, welcome to Saint Nali University as our guest. On behalf of the board of directors and all the faculty and students of Saint Nali University, I welcome your arrival.”
Prince Losang nodded and said in Nali language,
“I have long heard of the scholarly sanctum authorized by the royal family here in Nali. My visit to Saint Nali is to witness the academic prowess of Nali. May I ask, Mr. Director, where is Fisher Benavides?”
Fisher raised his eyebrows slightly at the back; all eyes from the director and those nearby fell upon him, causing the prince to quickly notice that the person he was looking for was the gentleman standing in the back.
He walked straight towards Fisher, looked at him, and then spoke to Fisher,
“I extend my respects to you and your theories on behalf of the Queen of Shivali. The academic circles in Shivali have studied your papers, but at the same time, some doubts have arisen. I hope we can exchange opinions candidly at the upcoming academic conference to contribute together to humanity’s exploration of the unknown.”
By the time they realized what was happening, many curious students had gathered along the sides of the road, watching with great interest as the prince extended his hand to Professor Fisher at the entrance.
Fisher was slightly stunned but also shook hands symbolically to show friendliness.
“May we both gain much from this.”
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(End of this chapter)
