Chapter 150: 86. The True Meaning of Connection
“Recently, I have been disappointed by two things. The first is that during dinner with His Majesty the King today, I learned that his health is deteriorating. The once vibrant King Godlin is now worn down by the passage of time and the affairs of the entire country, which should be a source of regret for us as subjects and people of Nali.”
“The second thing that is regrettable—or rather, shameful—is that the Pioneer Party, which was entrusted with the hopes of the people and supported by them, actually had a security lapse during the crucial visit of Queen Shval to Nali, resulting in forty-two individuals, including Prince Losang, Principal Ken, and Professor Fisher, being forced to face life-threatening dangers from the cult of the Sorceress Research Society!”
“I’d like to ask, where does His Excellency Martilon of the New Party place the dignity of Nali and the safety of its people? If such an important occasion can be infiltrated by an overseas cult, what about the ordinary people of Nali? Are our citizens at any moment at risk of losing their lives for no reason?”
“Your Highness Dexter, I have here the consumption records of New Party officials, including the Honorable Party Whip Klossi, at the Pink Pavilion. The amounts they spent are appalling! I implore the royal family to lead a thorough investigation into whether there is serious corruption among New Party members in various Nali institutions, in order to uphold the reputation of Godlin among the populace! This is my suggestion, please consider it, Your Highness.”
“Thoroughly investigate the New Party!”
“Thoroughly investigate the New Party!”
On the radio, members of the Griffin Party and other opposition parties were in a state of outrage; this was an emergency session of Parliament called today, with the topic being the response to the sudden attack on the delegation from Shval yesterday.
After relentless day and night investigations and field surveys by the Nali Police, they ultimately concluded that the mastermind behind this attack was the Sorceress Research Society from Cardu. The Nali government has already issued a statement, declaring that it will launch the harshest crackdown in history against the Sorceress Research Society.
Fisher changed into a suit and sat in his office, stroking his chin while listening to the live broadcast on the radio, his hand unknowingly writing something.
By the window outside the office, a brown-haired centaur girl tilted her head slightly, listening to the voice on the radio, and asked Fisher, “Fisher, is the New Party about to be finished? Does this mean I can go home soon?”
Her naive words made Fisher smile. He looked towards Xiatu by the window, shook his head, and replied, “The New Party won’t fall so easily. It not only represents itself but also the most deeply rooted and powerful class in Nali. That group of people will never let the New Party fall for their own interests, although this incident will indeed have an impact on them.”
Xiatu nodded, seeming to understand, as if she sighed in relief after hearing that the New Party wouldn’t collapse, not knowing if she was worried about being pulled into giving speeches again.
“Silence! Silence!”
“Bang! Bang!”
The sound of the gavel echoed, and Prince Dexter’s voice sounded very steady on the radio. Due to the seriousness of the situation, it was Prince Dexter Godlin who was entrusted with the presidency of the discussion and the matter of apologizing to Queen Shval.
Previously, it was also Prince Dexter who had fully delegated this responsibility to the New Party. Now that something had gone wrong, his face must be quite red. After hearing the words of the Griffin Party leader, he remained silent for a second or two without allowing the New Party a chance to defend themselves, stating, “I will return to discuss this matter with His Majesty the King, but I am truly very disappointed in the New Party. In the name of Godlin, I hereby order New Party members to conduct a self-discipline check before the midterm elections and cease all public speeches! Otherwise, I will initiate a new round of no-confidence votes against the New Party.”
“Alright, this meeting is adjourned!”
Upon hearing that New Party members were prohibited from making any public speeches, Xiatu perked up her ears and even a smile appeared on her face; it was clear she was happy about the prospect of slacking off.
Fisher turned off the radio and set down the pen he had been holding.
He was writing a reply to Elizabeth. After learning about his incident yesterday, she had sent him a letter of consolation that night.
She was currently inspecting the Royal Navy fleet stationed at Sterikang Port, fully responsible for the royal military and wouldn’t be back for a few days.
Originally, the royal military was overseen directly by the King, but due to the deteriorating health of Godlin the Ninth and Dexter’s lack of military talent, and frequent friction with Shval, the King was forced to appoint Elizabeth temporarily to manage military affairs for the kingdom’s safety.
However, at the same time, the King forbade her from interfering with any Nali political matters, clearly preparing to pass the throne to Dexter.
Elizabeth was already aware of this incident; in her letter, she asked whether Fisher was injured and said she would visit him again when she returned.
Fisher briefly wrote that he was fine and described the situation at that time.
After a moment of hesitation, he recorded his suspicion that the mastermind was not the Sorceress Research Society. After all, once Elizabeth returned, he would start investigating the matters of the Pink Pavilion, and Elizabeth could not possibly be involved with the Pink Pavilion; she was trustworthy, and her assistance would be essential then.
As he reached the end of the letter, Fisher paused his pen slightly, seemingly recalling her desolate expression in front of the carriage. He halted for a few seconds, then added a line of consolation as a closing:
“The nights at Sterikang Port are quite cold; please take care of yourself. There is no need to worry about Nali; the situation has already stabilized.”
“—Fisher”
Afterwards, he sealed the letter with a work envelope, preparing to mail it later.
“Well, after this I won’t have to give any speeches, and no members of the New Party will manage me. This is really wonderful! How about going for a run with me? I’m feeling quite good right now.”
“…Sure.”
Fisher glanced at Xiatu beside him and as he contemplated agreeing, there was a knock on the office door.
“Come in.”
The door opened slightly, just a crack, revealing a pair of bright, water-like eyes. Fisher and Xiatu turned towards the door, and then the face of the owner of those eyes turned slightly flushed.
“Jasmine?”
“Professor Fisher.”
Fisher had to speak first before the girl at the door dared to open the door a bit more, revealing her proud figure in a dress.
As soon as the door opened, Xiatu, startled by what she saw, instinctively glanced at herself, only to notice her hooves beneath her petite frame.
One look was enough to tell she was definitely not a match, right?
Jasmine, on the other hand, was captivated by the centaur’s lower body and seemed to be seeing a subhuman for the first time.
However, Xiatu probably still thought Jasmine was human. She carefully scrutinized Jasmine as she entered the room and then shook her head, saying to Fisher,
“Forget it, you can go ahead and be busy. I’ll head out now.”
“Okay, I’ll come find you next time.”
“Hehe, I’ll wait for you to come.”
It seemed that Xiatu was still not very natural in front of other humans; only together with the warm and equal gaze of Fisher could she converse freely.
Fisher smiled and bade her goodbye as he watched her trot back towards the Southern Continent Subhuman Protection Association.
He would investigate that centaur girl later. Meanwhile, Fisher explained Jasmine’s identity to her:
“That girl is a subhuman from the Southern Continent, working for the New Party in Nali. Have a seat.”
“Sure.”
Fisher poured a cup of coffee for Jasmine, and as she watched his back, Jasmine fiddled with her little dress, unsure whether Fisher had revealed her identity as a subhuman. However, apart from the Nali police calling her in to report occurrences related to magic, no one else had approached her.
“Are you worried that I revealed your identity as a subhuman?”
“Ah! No, no,” Jasmine shook her head, but when Fisher sat across from her, she nodded softly and said, “Because… because you really don’t need to hide this from me, Professor Fisher… I secretly came in to study, which is against the university rules.”
“You’re right; humans have never encountered subhumans from the ocean before, and yet you’ve unconsciously blended into human society. For both public and private reasons, I have to question whether you come with ill intentions towards us.”
“I don’t! I mean no harm to humans. I really like humans, whether it’s Milica, Isabel, or… or you, Professor Fisher. You are all so kind, and I cherish the time spent with you, so… so that’s why I want to continue living like this.”
Fisher looked straight at her, momentarily speechless until Jasmine became more tense, and he finally said, “I’m willing to believe that you mean no harm to us and I’m also willing to help you keep your identity a secret.”
“Really?”
“But it’s not without cost.”
If Jasmine had not been blessed by Ramastia, her long ears would certainly be fluttering like a beached whale right now.
“Eh?”
Jasmine froze for a moment, then seemed to think of something, tightening her grip on her dress, her face flushing with a layer of cherry color, and her eyes began to moisten.
This naive girl was easily flustered, like an unprotected flower ready to be picked.
She felt like crying because she had experienced the feeling of being threatened for the first time, wasn’t what Professor Fisher said something along those lines?
How cruel… how cruel…
“Tell me your purpose for coming ashore, and let me study subhumans like you. I am very interested in subhumans from the ocean. I won’t disclose this to outsiders.”
“…”
Jasmine opened her mouth, only realizing how to respond after hearing Fisher’s conditions. Suddenly, she had an impulse to find a gutter to hide in for the rest of her life.
She had thought that Professor Fisher wanted to do something bad to her, which left her feeling a mix of shame and a strange unspeakable sensation.
Thus, when Fisher spoke his true intentions, her wild imagination had left her utterly embarrassed.
However, Jasmine recalled that Fisher is one of the few—no, perhaps the only—scholars among humans who study subhumans. Earlier, she wanted to choose the subhuman studies class he was offering when the semester started, but it seemed that only she had signed up for that course, so it did not get established.
Moreover, Rena had also mentioned that Professor Fisher was very kind and that if she wanted to seek help, she could approach him.
After thinking for a bit, Jasmine, blushing, clutched her chest and sincerely replied, “I trust you, Professor Fisher, so I won’t hide anything from you. If you want to research, that’s fine. But can you also tell me more about humans? After all, I’m your student assistant, and we should be… mutually open with each other.”
This was something Fisher had previously said to her amidst magic, and she seemed to remember it quite well.
“No need to be so formal; research is mutual. Feel free to ask me anything at any time.”
Fisher smiled. After Jasmine took a sip of her coffee, he took out the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans.
She obviously couldn’t see it, only Fisher’s eyes seeing a line of illusory text.
[Research Subject: 0/2]
[Jasmine, Young Whale Folk]
That’s right, now Fisher intended to bind Jasmine; this way he could earn rewards from his research later. However, he was still somewhat doubtful of whether she was the [Mysterious Child of the Sea]. He would see if he could discover her differences from other Whale Folks later.
Fisher had noticed a pattern; these world-ending entities were always the most unique members of their own kind.
It could be due to peculiar thoughts, unique characteristics, or remarkable physical strength.
However, since the Child of the Sea did not have any specific modifiers like [Crimson Dragon Queen] or [Undead Sorceress], simply being “Mysterious” was something Fisher had yet to comprehend.
Nevertheless, there were two opportunities to study the Whale Folk, giving Fisher a cost for trial and error. He hoped to first learn about their society and physiological structures, and understand the ecology of Ocean Subhumans, which might help him better identify the specific identity of the world-ending entity.
He touched [Bind] with his consciousness, and the familiar pain instantly engulfed Fisher’s body. But this time, it should be due to the elevation of his soul; he clearly saw how the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans bound a subhuman.
The pages of the handbook suddenly glowed, and countless illusory golden threads surged from within, connecting Fisher’s soul from the void. The means of connection felt gentle, but the pain in his soul felt like an electric shock, even after elevating his soul, the pain showed no signs of diminishing.
It turns out this intense pain originates from his soul rather than his body; no wonder it hurts so much.
Fisher tried to ensure that his expression did not reveal any flaws, so he sat in his office chair, as if countless complex connections were being born between him and the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, but there was no relation to Jasmine, so during the binding, only he felt the pain; thus the handbook tortured only him.
“Professor Fisher?”
“I’m fine, just thinking about a few things.”
Yet Jasmine sensed something was amiss. Just as she was about to step forward, Fisher shook his head, regaining his composure and indicating that he was merely pondering over some issues.
He had successfully bound, and a new line of text appeared before him.
[Research Progress on Whale Folk Biology: 2%]
[Research Progress on Whale Folk Society: 0%]
The Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans radiated a slight warmth, and then that golden glow gradually diminished, returning to looking like an ordinary book, resembling a fairy tale book.
The voting for the all-subscription side stories has now ended; let’s discuss some results.
The serious side story is [Fisher and Elizabeth’s Past].
The non-serious side story is [41. An Uneasy Night, Raphael].
I will prepare the side stories in advance, and afterwards, there will probably be one or two side stories updated in the group each month.
The group for subscribers will only be established when the subscriber count increases, probably around September.
By the way, I ask for your votes, tips, and support. This is very important to me.
Thank you so much for your support!
(End of Chapter)
