Chapter 223: The Last Lesson (Three-in-One, Extra Update for the Leader)
The waves of the Southern Ocean still roared as night fell. If one were to stand on the slowly moving Iceberg Queen, they would be lucky to gaze upon a rare and beautiful scene—an image constantly re-evolving in the dreams of countless navigators.
In the distance, where the sky met the ocean, each rise and fall of the waves seemed buried with countless stories. The moon hung awkwardly in the sky, casting vague bright semicircles on the undulating sea surface, creating the illusion of numerous mirror-like reflections each containing a different world.
On the deck, Fisher leaned against the railing in a white shirt, fortunate to be among the few witnesses to this splendid sight.
The chef aboard the Iceberg Queen was remarkably skilled; with top-notch Northern dishes, Fisher enjoyed a rare hearty meal, and others praised it as well. Later, he learned that the ship’s chef was also the former royal chef close to Captain Alagina back in the palace.
Fisher realized that since Alagina had killed her mother and defected from Sardinia, she had been accompanied by many; the seemingly plain sailors aboard were actually all skilled individuals with formal backgrounds from her Eastern Palace. No wonder they had managed to act as pirates at sea without ever failing over the years—this was backed by strength.
After finishing their meal, Jasmine and Isabel went back to their rooms to rest and did not come out again. Old Jack worried that Kalma and Holly might stir up trouble again, so he took the three little Mouse Daughters, who were still eager to argue with the Steel Knife Parrot, back to their room. Only Fisher, wearing Old Jack’s white bartender shirt, took the opportunity to stroll out under the moonlight to ease the pressure in his heart.
He leaned against the railing at the edge of the deck and pulled out a water-stained photo from his pocket under the bright moonlight.
The black-and-white photo depicted Fisher in his rented room in Saint Nali, with his usual workbench at the center, but there was no purple Lark Hart standing on it at that moment.
This photo was left for him by Renee as a means to contact her. Through the Lark in the picture, Fisher could summon her from thousands of miles away when she wasn’t by his side. However, since she left Saint Nali earlier, the Lark in the photo had disappeared without a trace.
Although Renee had told him that she would be busy during this time and might not be able to contact him, months had passed, and away from Saint Nali, Fisher couldn’t help but start worrying about whether she had encountered any accidents or dangers.
Under the moonlight, Fisher stared at the photo for a long time before reluctantly putting it back in his pocket. Just as he was about to tuck it away, a mocking voice interrupted him from his shoulder.
“Missing another sweetheart?”
Fisher glanced at Emhart, who had appeared beside him at some point.
“What do you mean another sweetheart?”
“Haha, after spending time together, the great Emhart has completely discerned your nature. While the brave males’ pursuits of beautiful ladies are always well-known tales, even recorded in many of the books I’ve read, those who are the most greedy in their pursuits usually meet unfortunate ends. In my view, you are just such a person.”
Listening to his words, Fisher raised an eyebrow, while Emhart continued, “Love is a double-edged sword, a mixture of sweetness and bitterness for anyone. Many people willingly repay the bitterness of their later years for the fleeting sweetness they once tasted. Think about it: if the lady you have feelings for discovers your affair with another woman, if her feelings aren’t deep, she can berate you and leave. But what if she develops deeper feelings and refuses to let go? Tsk tsk, that would be quite interesting.”
“I’ve only known you for a short time, and I’ve already gone through quite a bit. I can’t even imagine what might happen next. Don’t get me wrong; I’m just worried that before you fulfill your promises, those crazy ladies might kill you with a knife. You know, I lack combat ability and can’t help you at all. Moreover, morally, I look down on you from a high point alongside those ladies.”
Emhart spun around, striking a pompous pose, with his duck-like voice muttering while winking, making him quite annoying. Fisher squinted at him and suddenly said, “I suddenly know why Baemon is chasing you. You snuck into her library, read, and mocked her about how poorly she documented things, and she happened to hear it, right?”
Emhart’s cocky demeanor abruptly halted at Fisher’s words. He blinked nervously and stuttered, “Huh, how did you know… Pfft! Wh-what a harsh word! That was just a fair evaluation of the reading within reasonable bounds! Baemon is just too petty, or perhaps all demons are such bad guys. I bet you—Fisher is definitely not such a petty person.”
“No, I am.”
“Ugh! You are absolutely flustering… Let go!”
Fisher expressionlessly reached out and forcefully stuffed him into his pocket. Emhart struggled weakly for a while, his muffled protest turning into indistinguishable “mm-mm” sounds. Once he was completely shoved into the pocket, he quieted down and stopped moving.
Even though Emhart was taught a lesson, the words he had spoken kept echoing in Fisher’s mind, even reminding him of Elizabeth.
The surroundings finally fell silent again. The moonlight deepened, and Fisher stood frozen in place, gazing at the cold moonlight for a long time. Eventually, he felt as if the moon was gradually emitting a faint, bone-chilling golden glow, akin to Elizabeth’s hollow eyes staring directly at him.
“Fisher!”
In a daze, it seemed he heard Elizabeth’s fragile and hollow call. His heartbeat felt as if gripped by her icy hand, sending shivers through him. He took a deep breath, wanting to reach out and grasp her frigid palm, but once again, another voice called out from beside him, dispelling the illusion before him and interrupting his thoughts.
“Fisher?”
Fisher blinked momentarily and turned to look over his shoulder. He found that he didn’t know when a tall lady dressed in black had stood at the stairway leading down from the captain’s room to the deck.
Captain Alagina looked at him with some confusion. It was clear that she was the one who had just called out, not Elizabeth.
In that moment, Fisher’s inner chill gradually dissipated, and the distant golden moonlight slowly faded to silver. He also adjusted his expression.
Since escaping from Saint Nali, Fisher had suspected he might be suffering from “Elizabeth Trauma.” Whenever he had free time, Elizabeth would shadow him in his mind, her frail, hollow, and cold figure refusing to dissipate despite Fisher’s efforts.
“Good evening, Captain Alagina.”
Thinking of this, Fisher greeted her quite naturally.
Alagina’s expression showed no signs of change, standing in the shadow like an aristocrat. Her bright blue eyes glanced at the rather thin clothing Fisher wore before she suggested gently, “It’s a bit cold outside at night. Put on your clothes.”
Fisher glanced at the outer coat he held in his hand but didn’t put it on.
To be honest, he had felt a faint scent of sea salt on the collar of the garment when he wore it earlier. It was unclear if the fragrance came from Alagina’s hair or skin; in any case, no matter how he wore it, he could not help but feel uncomfortable, almost as if he were wearing women’s clothing.
Yet, it seemed this clothing was inherently women’s wear, merely the attire of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
“No need, I’m about to go back to rest anyway.”
“Yeah.”
The moment those words left Alagina’s mouth, she felt a bit regretful.
She seemed to feel she should have said something else, rather than such a dry response.
In reality, Alagina had no experience in pursuing men whatsoever. Even if she had a little with men from Sardinia, when it came to Fisher, a man from outside her kingdom whom she did like, it felt rather tricky.
She had previously consulted with her crew, who mentioned that men from other nations seemed not to need to pursue women; instead, they were the ones who pursued women.
But Alagina instinctively felt this was very inappropriate, as she didn’t believe in luck falling from the sky, thinking that what she could grasp herself would be more reliable than waiting for someone else to bestow it.
“By the way, I forgot to apologize to you.”
“Apologize?”
Fisher walked toward Alagina while holding the clothing. Just as he was about to return to his room to rest, he suddenly remembered something and said, “Right, you previously entrusted me with that precious family heirloom necklace as a token of our agreement. I had put it in my rented room, but I left in a hurry this time and didn’t bring it with me. So, I’m not sure when I can go back to retrieve that necklace.”
“. It’s fine.”
Alagina calmly shook her head upon hearing this, her expression still unchanged, “My father left that necklace to me not as a memento, as he has always been in my heart. Similarly, giving the necklace to a man I like is what he hoped to see, and so do I. Since you remember our promise, its purpose has been fulfilled; it doesn’t matter whether it can be retrieved or not.”
“Perhaps it’s precisely because you didn’t have time to get the necklace in your haste to leave Saint Nali that gave me the chance to meet you at sea. Fate can be explained in many ways. Even the Frost Phoenix adheres to the predetermined course of destiny. So, there’s no need to feel sorry. I am just very happy to see you here and be able to help you a bit.”
The night wind carried her sea salt-like fragrance, lifting a strand of her hair, revealing her delicate neck and rosy earlobes. Fisher had already taken a couple of steps up the stairs when he paused slightly after hearing this, but he didn’t pick up the conversation with Alagina. Instead, he looked up at the hazy moonlit night and asked, “Are you heading back to rest?”
“I still need to check the engine room of the ship. The crew mentioned the steam engine might have a small issue.”
“Okay, I’ll head back to rest then. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Fisher nodded and walked up the stairs toward his room, while Alagina stood in place, watching him leave. Afterward, she pressed her hand against her chest, seemingly feeling a bit shy and warm. After a long pause, she turned and walked toward the cabin below the deck.
As Fisher walked along the stairs toward his room, as the scent of sea salt that belonged to Alagina gradually faded away, he suddenly realized that Emhart’s words about himself were indeed correct.
If he hadn’t been so greedy, he might not have unconsciously spoken with Alagina like that.
Fisher, oh Fisher, from now on, you must be a bit restrained when it comes to the ladies of humanity.
He thought to himself, but by this time, he had already reached the door of his room. The night was deep; the lights in Jasmine’s and his own room were already off. Not wanting to disturb their sleep, Fisher didn’t call out for Emhart to come out and apologize.
He gently pushed open the door, revealing a quiet and spacious room inside.
Old Jack and the three Mouse Daughters were sleeping in the only bed in the room. Children were hard to contain; when Fisher had gone out for a walk earlier, the three lively Mouse Daughters could no longer hold back their exhaustion, having battled their eyelids up and down while still clamoring to go out and duel the Steel Knife Parrot.
In the end, mid-sentence, they fell asleep in Old Jack’s embrace, who, at his age, had also succumbed to tiredness after a night of fleeing and soon turned off the lights to rest.
Fisher pulled back the covers and lay down on the floor. The gentle rocking motion of the ship during its journey caused him to shift onto his side, closing his eyes and shaking off all thoughts from his mind, letting sleep envelop his consciousness and allow it to fall freely.
“Haah…”
Uncertain how long he had rested, or when exactly he had awakened, in the midst of drowsiness, he faintly sensed someone approaching nearby. At first, he thought it was just a phantom dream and did not pay much attention to it. But when the cool sea breeze from outside brushed against his cheek, he felt something was off.
He opened his weary eyes slightly, and saw that the moonlight outside remained unchanged, yet a crack had appeared in his door, unknown to him, and the most terrifying part was that there was a figure kneeling beside his bed!
Fisher’s drowsiness instantly diminished, but he still didn’t move hastily. He maintained his side-sleeping position. In his peripheral vision, he saw a whale tail behind the figure next to him, along with the faint sounds of flapping ears coming from the figure.
Jasmine?
Confirming that the person in front of him was Jasmine and not an enemy, Fisher’s heart relaxed by half.
However, before he could fully relax, his heart skipped a beat again.
The reason was simple: Jasmine suddenly clasped her hands together in a hammer shape, then knelt forward a step, moving to the edge of Fisher’s bed, tightly closing her eyes, and aimed her hands at Fisher’s head.
“I’m so sorry, Fisher.”
Wait, she came to my room this late just to hit herself?
Her eyes closed in preparation to deliver a mighty blow startled Fisher awake. He knew Jasmine’s strength; after this hit, she would probably break through the floor, not to mention harm his fragile head.
“Jasmine.”
In the next moment, just as she raised her hand to strike, Fisher quickly opened his eyes to stop her.
Hearing Fisher’s voice, her actions paused slightly. Her pitch-black eyes flared open in panic, looking at the now-awake Fisher lying there.
“Eh? F-Fisher, I… I…”
Her head seemed to be steaming out of nervousness. Seeing Fisher awake on the bed made her look down at her tightly clenched hands, and in her fluster, she stuttered, unable to express anything coherent. Even the motion to strike Fisher was forgotten.
“I’m so sorry!”
The atmosphere stilled for a second before Jasmine suddenly gave up, closing her eyes again. She raised her hands and directly aimed to strike Fisher’s head again.
Facing the incoming strong wind, Fisher’s gaze sharpened, seizing the moment to suddenly stand up and firmly grasp her hands, pushing her down beneath him.
“Thud.”
In fact, the movements of the two were not large, but they still produced a slight sound.
In the room were Old Jack and Kalma, and next door was Alagina. Creating a commotion would not be fun.
Actually, Jasmine had no strength to resist at all. Or rather, after her night raid on him failed, she became flustered and lost her composure, fearing that Fisher would say or do something to her, and she certainly wouldn’t simply speak up.
Moreover, just now, Jasmine wouldn’t have simply knocked herself out and dragged herself back to the sea, right?
“Ugh.”
Just as Jasmine was about to say something, Fisher gently raised his index finger, indicating for her to remain silent. This made her movement come to an abrupt halt, and she bit her lip, feeling somewhat wronged.
Now that he had grabbed Jasmine, Fisher suddenly noticed that her hair and eyes had completely turned black, and her wet black hair looked like it was continuously oozing pitch-black ink, dampening her long hair. Drops of crystalline tears slid down her cheeks to the ground, yet not a sound was heard.
“Smack.”
At that moment, the whale tail beneath her suddenly tapped the ground restlessly, and after the sound echoed in the room, Kalma, who was asleep in bed, immediately sat up in a daze. Fisher and Jasmine both turned to look, only to find that she hadn’t opened her eyes; her little hands waved about randomly in the air.
“Stinky bird… Ugh.”
After mumbling those two indistinct phrases, she seemed to lose power like a turned-off machine, collapsing back onto the bed in Old Jack’s embrace.
“Get out.”
After Kalma lay back down, Fisher let out a sigh of relief, then glanced at the still deep moonlight outside, and pointed towards the door.
After this gesture, he released Jasmine, stood up, and walked out the door.
Lying on the ground, Jasmine gently covered her chest, sat up, and looked at Fisher, who was gradually walking away towards the deck. After hesitating for a second, she stood up and followed him.
The deck in the deep night was very dim, and the entire Iceberg Queen seemed to be invisible in the cold sea area. With the chilling night wind blowing, Fisher, who had not been asleep for long, suddenly felt more awake.
He walked down the stairs to the deck again, and just as he stood still and stretched his body, he heard what seemed to be something flapping its wings atop the mast.
“Flap, flap.”
He turned to look and saw the colorful parrot quietly perched on the mast, tilting its head as it regarded him. Fisher calmly locked eyes with it for a second, and once it confirmed Fisher’s identity, it flapped its wings and flew off to another place, vanishing somewhere out of sight.
“Fisher.”
Behind him, Jasmine, hugging her arms, stood on the stairs with a dodging expression.
Fisher turned back. He hadn’t been able to see clearly in the dim room earlier, but now that he had walked out, he discovered not only had her hair and pupils turned completely black, but even her fair skin began to grow a complex and eerie pattern. The impact of this sight was significant, much like a normally docile orca suddenly baring its teeth at you with an overwhelming presence.
Yet her expression remained that of the delicate Miss Jasmine from before, even showing clear signs of remorse because of what had just happened.
“Fisher, I… I’m sorry about just now.”
Hearing Jasmine’s indistinct voice that was like the night wind, Fisher casually smiled as he stood by the railing.
“It’s alright. I actually wanted to talk to you before. If you hadn’t barged into my room, I wouldn’t have had the chance to speak with you; you ignored me in the morning.”
“B-because Fisher… always knows other women, so I wanted to bring you back to the sea to apologize.”
She also walked over to the nearby railing, but she stood a full meter away from Fisher. She gently put her hand on the side railing, but as soon as her hands touched the iron railing, a slight corrosive mark was left behind, causing her to quickly retract her hands in fright.
In such a short time, had her curse already begun to spread this much?
Fisher, however, did not mind the distance, instead staring straight at Jasmine, who was looking at the sea. After a long silence, he suddenly spoke.
“Actually, what you’re really thinking about right now isn’t about me, is it?”
Jasmine lowered her head but did not reply, her tail behind her and the long ears on her head drooping slightly.
“In reality, you are developing a rejection or confusion towards humans and the world on land. But because of Isabel, or because of me, you want to find a bit of evidence to speak well of the world on land, convincing yourself to continue on this journey with me. But as Isabel gradually becomes more silent, and I encounter other women, this way of proving it becomes increasingly precarious; your curse is the proof.”
Jasmine bit her lips but remained silent, although her gaze was filled with bright tears. Fisher saw through her inner thoughts and continued to ask,
“Jasmine, so now I want to ask you, what do you think of humans, and what do you think of me?”
She reluctantly turned her head to look at Fisher, her gaze shimmering not only with tears but also with large swathes of confusion and helplessness.
Perhaps she had some regrets, for asking her mother to let her come ashore to find her aunt, which had led her to encounter so many hardships, and she wouldn’t have spent every night awake due to nightmares, getting up in the morning pretending to be strong and setting out with Fisher.
And kind-hearted as she was, even now with Fisher asking her such questions, she still wanted to tell a lie.
To speak about the happy things during this time on the shore, to mention the good people she met while remaining silent about the fears and anxieties in her heart.
But facing Fisher’s gaze, she opened her mouth and slowly began to reveal a corner of her heart.
“I… I don’t know.”
“Isabel told me that her family appears harmonious on the surface, but in reality, the relationships between siblings and between subordinates and friends are always filled with calculations of interests, even to the extent that they always want to put the other party to death; perhaps, even the small circle I lived in, Saint Nali University, is like this; or rather, all humans are like this.”
“Fisher, human society is too complex for me. In the past, I could unreservedly choose the same path as my aunt. I used to praise my aunt’s steadfast courage. But now, I can no longer guarantee that.”
“Humans, valuing time and their own goals, always want to obtain everything they desire by any means within such a short time. This makes it very hard for me to trust humans again; the more I want to believe, the heavier the curse within me becomes.”
“Sometimes I can’t help but think, even if Isabel and I are friends now, when years or decades have passed, will she coldly regard me as some kind of pawn? And even you, Fisher, as much as I currently like you, at times, I still can’t help but doubt whether you might easily change heart and abandon me when you meet other women.”
“I don’t even understand the concept of liking; I don’t even know what you like to do, what you like to eat, don’t know anything about your past or your world. I simply speed up my heartbeat upon seeing you, and I simply feel dislike when I see other women approaching you, and just because you care about me, I say I like you.”
“If such simple reasons could lead to liking, it’s not even enough to compare to my aunt and Blake. How could I expect that our ending would be better than theirs?”
“I’m sorry, I… I’m just so afraid, too afraid to know what to do. No one from the whale folk ever told me what to do. So… ugh.”
Fisher turned to look, seeing that among her drooping black hair, at some point, glistening tear droplets were continuously gathering and falling. Though there were many tears, they still hadn’t taken away the confusion and anxiety in her eyes.
Indeed, Jasmine was still an immature whale folk; this was why Fisher had subconsciously taken care of her before.
Fisher regarded her as his student, an unripe child. If she were a typical lady, she would have been easily fooled long ago, but he could not do that with Jasmine.
Yet, after all, children do not need to have their doubts cleared. But now Jasmine was in need of that.
Fisher did not continue on the topic, but suddenly seemed to recall something, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an ancient sheepskin scroll from the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, which was precisely the 20% reward he obtained from studying Jasmine.
【Lake Fairy Poem.】
It was written in hurried Nali language,
【Start from here to prosper, here to sing of victory, here to wear the crown and reach the peak, here to await your return.】
Under the moonlight, Fisher glanced at the scroll in his hand and suddenly began to tell a story that seemed unrelated to the present.
“Jasmine, Godlin the First, who pioneered the Nali Dynasty, is undoubtedly an exceptionally admirable hero. You must have read his story in the library. At the age of 25, he led his troops to rebellion at Nali Lake, traveling eastward from the West Continent’s western seaboard, the most desolate place at that time, delivering the most devastating blow to the crumbling Central Empire.”
“He loved citizens from different places, and his outstanding charisma swayed many heroes. Even Shivali and Cardu generously left behind many poems praising his achievements, commemorating his great deeds. Such a glorious figure, in fact, wiped out the bureaucrats of the Central Empire on his march; in fact, the royal family of the Central Empire was not spared from his massacre, including innocent women and children.”
“He burned many texts left by the Central Empire, slaughtered the original members of the church, caused the pope to prostrate before him and kiss his hand, leaving countless blood on his hands, with the souls wronged by him able to line up from Saint Nali all the way to Cardu. Yet even such a person waited until his death for your mother to return.”
“Eh?”
Hearing this, Jasmine’s pupils widened slightly, seemingly astonished to the point of disbelief.
But Fisher merely smiled slightly and continued,
“Have you not always wanted to know who your mother lent her sword to? Now I can tell you the answer. Your mother, the Ocean Emperor, the Destruction God of the Ocean, personally lent her sword to the first emperor of Nali, Godlin the First. Considering that the lifespan of whale folk is one year equals eighty human years, your mother, 720 years before this year’s Godlin Festival, lent her sword to the struggling young Godlin the First at the age of just 25.”
“The markings left beneath the waters of Nali Lake are indeed from your mother. Your mother knew well at the time she lent out the sword that by human standards, she wouldn’t get the sword back until Godlin the First died. But why did she still lend it to him?”
Fisher read through the Lake Fairy Poem in his hand, perhaps he knew the answer long ago.
“The reason is that your mother fell in love with Godlin the First, yet in the end, she did not stay on land like Muxi, choosing to part ways with him. In fact, the true agreement between your mother and Godlin the First was that when he reached 35 and pacified the world, he would return your mother’s sword and marry her.”
“Godlin, who was kept in the dark, at the age of 33 fulfilled his dream by defeating the colossal empire that had loomed over the continent for a thousand years. However, instead of establishing a country at the original capital of the Central Empire, he traveled all the way back to his impoverished birthplace, Saint Nali.”
“At 34, he established a country in Saint Nali, waiting for your mother to return and fulfill their agreement; and by 35, the ten-year promise time was up, he built magnificent royal courtyards by the lake for your mother, yet she still did not return.”
“Historical records state that Godlin the First married at age 37; this is a very dangerous age for an emperor of an empire, and it is likely only this overwhelming Godlin the First dared to make such a decision against everyone’s opposition.”
“And did your mother not know that Godlin the First had long passed away? Why did she still insist on sending a whale folk to the shore to deliver messages every eighty years? Why did she even write that rather childish nickname for her child, ‘Child of the Sea,’ in the letters sent to Godlin the First’s descendants?”
Jasmine stared blankly at Fisher, but suddenly, she thought of the magic her mother made a pact with that human.
“Blood pact… magic?”
“Yeah, your mother knew that he had descendants through the blood pact magic she established, and thus decided to leave the sword on land to continue to protect his descendants; and the deceased Godlin the First, until he passed away at 87 beside Nali Lake, never left Saint Nali, and even left his royal tomb beside Nali Lake.”
“Jasmine, until his death, Godlin the First was waiting for your mother to return.”
Fisher handed the Lake Fairy Poem to Jasmine. In truth, he had known this matter since he and Jasmine were in the waterway beneath Nali Lake, but due to the tense situation at that time, he never had the chance to discuss it with her.
“Of course, I’m telling you this not to imply that there are good people among humans or that not all of them are bad. What I really want to say is, a person’s merits and demerits and evaluations are so ambiguous that it is difficult to judge. At that time, there were still many who resented Godlin the First because of those who died because of him, even now there are those touched by his love story with the Ocean Emperor.”
“Jasmine, the world is like this, it does not change the established facts because of anyone’s feelings. Even if the heart is filled with pain and suffering, or if there is any resentment, it has no effect. But the insights and growth you gain from experiencing these events are the true essence. The thoughts you develop and the actions you take because of them are real.”
“Grievances will continue to be passed down, but we must grow because of them.”
A hint of blue light flickered in Jasmine’s pitch-dark pupils. She looked at Fisher, staring for several seconds until she had completely memorized his figure in her mind, then she suddenly turned her head to look at the calm surface of the sea below the ship.
The night wind swept by, Fisher’s words came to an end, but Jasmine spoke.
“Fisher, I need to return to the ocean.”
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(End of this chapter)
