Chapter 311: 86. Proof of Death
Breakfast was enjoyed in a harmonious atmosphere. Ilos returned to her room to tidy up her things. She hadn’t brought much when she arrived, but now she had quite a few items, including clothes and some money given to her by Heidi Lin according to Valentina’s instructions.
According to Valentina’s orders, she would be properly sent back to the church by members of the Turan Family, and she naturally wouldn’t have to spend any money on the way. So these items were given to Ilos as tokens of friendship.
It was only when Fisher helped her pack her belongings into a box that he suddenly realized Ilos had only brought with her the Genesis he had copied for her. He glanced down at the book, couldn’t resist flipping through a few pages, and after a few seconds of pause, he put it down.
Sometimes, objects mean more than just what they are to a person; they inevitably carry a bit of memory and experience. The Genesis had once symbolized his childhood, and now it added the figure of a Moon Rabbit Tribe nun into its significance.
“Mr. Fisher, I forgot to thank you earlier. After you supplemented the pages, it’s been much smoother for me to study the Genesis. I’ve been reading it every night these past few days.”
“No need to thank me; you let me study it too, didn’t you? It’s part of the deal, although I didn’t expect your body to be so frail. Just a touch brings that kind of phenomenon. Take good care of yourself when you return.”
Fisher smiled slightly, placing the Genesis back in her hands. He then stood up, glanced at the arranged luggage beside him, and caught sight of her long white ears gently twitching from his words.
No matter how many times he saw them, he found her long ears very cute.
“Let’s go; I’ll take you to the bottom of the ship. Valentina has arranged for the Turan family to escort you back; you’ll take the train home and should arrive in the Sardinia Kingdom tonight.”
“Mm, thank you, Mr. Fisher.”
Fisher dragged the luggage down the stairs, and Ilos quickly shook her head and followed him. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke up.
“Mr. Fisher, please be careful on your journey. I know your abilities are strong, but do not let your guard down. The Mother will bless each of her children, and I’ll pray for you in the church.”
“It’s fine. The only time it gets dangerous is when he’s surrounded by a few of his ex-girlfriends. Otherwise, this guy is pretty tough; you don’t have to worry. By the way, would you like to be one of his ex-girlfriends? The more, the merrier, and there might be some benefits.”
Emhart’s rancid book suddenly poked out of Fisher’s pocket with dead fish eyes and spoke to Ilos, causing her to cover her mouth in amusement. It seemed she could tell that the book’s mood this morning was not good, so of course, she wouldn’t take its words seriously.
“Alright, when Mr. Fisher comes back to the Healing Rot Church, please invite me personally.”
“Your mother.”
Seeing Ilos’s playful expression, Emhart felt like he had spoken the “truth” but was not taken seriously. He felt as if he had swallowed a fly and almost let out an elegant remark, only to be sealed back in Fisher’s pocket by Fisher’s merciless hand.
“It looks like Mr. Book isn’t in a good mood today. Did you two argue last night?”
“No, but he’s angry.”
“I see.”
Fisher and Ilos quickly arrived at the Unicorn Whale’s lift door, where Valentina had been waiting for a while, with a smiling Heidi Lin standing behind her. After greeting each other, Valentina glanced at the black carriage slowly approaching the port and spoke to Ilos.
“The family has already come. After sending you off, they will send word back to me. Tonight, you will arrive at McDowell in the Sardinia Kingdom, rest in the capital there, and return to the Healing Rot Church in Furnace Town tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Miss Valentina. May the Mother bless your efforts.”
Valentina nodded with a smile, waiting for the mechanical lift to slowly open its doors before Ilos stepped in. Fisher, not intending to disembark, placed her luggage into the lift for the last time and said, “Take care.”
Ilos nodded, and as the lift door slowly closed and the elevator descended, her ears also wiggled along with it. Just before the elevator vanished, she suddenly called out to Fisher.
“Mr. Fisher! After this is over, please make sure to come back. Although my earlier comment about ex-girlfriends doesn’t count, the other parts still apply.”
The rest of her words were unclear and inaudible, but Fisher was momentarily stunned, a look of surprise on his face. A second later, he suddenly realized something and turned back to see Valentina in her wheelchair, pursing her lips and instinctively avoiding his gaze, as if feeling a bit cold.
Heidi Lin behind them also had trembling lips, and faced with the recent scene, even she couldn’t help but start speculating about Fisher with the greatest malice.
“Why does it feel like you were just studying those subhuman women out of sheer lust?”
“That’s not the case.”
Fisher’s expression was calm as he silently took the dead fish-eyed Emhart out and walked towards his room. He needed to deal with this relic, Sir Book, which had been throwing temper tantrums.
Heidi Lin watched Fisher walk down the corridor behind her and was about to say something, but Valentina in her wheelchair intervened first with orders.
“Alright, Heidi Lin, go notify the captain. We will leave Nebarun Kingdom today and head to Miya to have a good talk with the Snow Fox Tribe.”
“Understood.”
The train station in Nebarun was not bustling today, but people were still coming and going. Since this large transport machine that greatly facilitates travel was introduced to the Northern Region, the business-minded Northerners discovered its hidden value and became keen on road and bridge construction.
However, the weather in the Northern Region differed greatly from that of the Western Continent. Even the best builders in the West, upon seeing the widespread frozen ground and snow in the North, could only put down their hammers and curse at the Mother. Thus, the train routes in the North are characterized by scarcity and long travel times.
Fortunately, the key line between the Sardinia Kingdom and Nebarun was still fairly smooth. This line stretches south to McDowell in the Sardinia Kingdom and north to the midpoint of Sema Snow Mountain at the northernmost end of Miya, making it the most critical railway in the entire Northern Region.
Thus, even in such cold weather, the train station remained lively, with Ilos, who was about to leave Nebarun, being one of the many.
“Miss Ilos, by order of the young lady, we have arranged for your passage documentation and procedures between the kingdoms, but we cannot cross the border. So once you enter the train station, you may need to find your own car and seat. But rest assured, your luggage has been checked, and staff will escort you back to Furnace Town upon arrival at McDowell.”
“Ah, that’s okay. I already know.”
After getting off the carriage, Ilos waved goodbye to the several staff members from the Turan Family. All her luggage had been checked by the train officials, and she only had a few coins, the magic ring Fisher had given her, and the Genesis she held tightly.
After handing over the responsibility to the Turan Family staff, she walked alone into the bustling train station and quickly found her boarding platform.
With some time left before boarding, Ilos had to sit on a long bench set up on the platform. She was draped in a heavy sweater, covering her black nun’s attire. However, due to her long ears, she still attracted looks from other human passengers.
Time passed slowly, and feeling a bit bored, she opened the Genesis in her hands and began to study the contents carefully. The version Fisher provided was a relatively new one. Compared to the older edition, it contained additional details and some content, including the “Blade-less Knight” used by the Mother to punish humanity.
Ilos was engrossed in reading the Genesis, and time quickly flew by. It wasn’t until a shrill whistle sounded from a distance that she suddenly realized she might miss her train.
In a hurry, she stood up, only to find that the crowd was gradually enclosing her like a solid wall.
“Excuse me, could I get through, please. Ah!”
But it seemed no one was willing to listen to her words; the crowd surged past her like a tide, and Ilos found herself struggling to reach out to someone for help. That person, however, brushed past her effortlessly, and in an instant, the frail Ilos was knocked to the ground.
“Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!”
Ilos fell to the ground with a thud, surrounded by a drumming sound of footsteps that made her difficult to breathe. She loosened her grip, and the Genesis flew uncontrollably out of her hands, landing several centimeters away on the cold ground.
Not knowing if it was an illusion, the crowd rushed by even faster, compressing her space tighter. She gasped and looked up, but every person seemed to ignore her, marching forward with expressionless faces.
Just as confusion and unease arose in Ilos’s heart, a gloved hand gently picked up the Genesis she had dropped.
As one hand grabbed the book, another stroked the cover before opening it to read a few lines of the content.
Breathing heavily, Ilos suddenly sensed someone in front of her. Just as she was about to look up, a calm voice, indistinguishable in gender, rang in her ears.
“Is this book yours, miss?”
The voice was not loud, yet it abruptly interrupted the suffocating footsteps, causing the crowd to slow their pace, giving Ilos a chance to look up at the figure before her.
Not far away, a strange man wearing a gentleman’s hat and a black coat was crouching down, having picked up her fallen Genesis. The bird-beak mask that seemed to be embedded in his face lowered slightly, obviously reading the contents of the book.
After reading for several seconds, he gently raised his head to look at the rabbit lady still sitting on the ground.
“Ah, yes, that is mine.”
“Good. I just happened to see you drop something, so… can you get up? The ground is quite cold.”
As the surrounding crowd began to disperse, Ilos, still gasping for breath, looked around, watching as the platform gradually became more spacious and feeling a bit shaken.
So this is what rushing to catch a train feels like? She had almost been crushed by the crowd.
Quickly dusting herself off, she stood up and approached the strange gentleman, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why there suddenly seemed to be so many people, and nobody would listen to me. I accidentally got knocked over. This is my book; thank you for picking it up. It’s very important to me.”
The gentleman with the bird-beak mask nodded, gently placing the book into Ilos’s hands. He glanced behind him, his voice still calm.
“A train just came, so it’s normal for people to rush to catch it. Just be careful next time. Though, situations like this are rare. By the way, why is this book so important to you?”
As Ilos carefully stuffed the Genesis inside her heavy fur coat’s lining, she inadvertently revealed the black nun’s garb beneath. The gentleman gazed at her nun collar for a while, seemingly deep in thought.
“Because I am a nun, and the Genesis is important to the Mother’s children. By the way, am I late? My train hasn’t left, has it? Let me check… thankfully, it hasn’t reached boarding time yet. That scared me.”
Ilos sighed in relief and sat back down on the bench. Strangely, the bustling crowd had seemingly vanished, leaving only her and the stranger.
Was she being too ignorant? Was riding a train always like this?
Having come from the countryside, Ilos turned her head to look around, pondering this, but didn’t notice that the gentleman in the bird-beak mask had somehow also seated himself on the distant other end of the bench.
“You are a subhuman yet a nun. How remarkable. I heard that churches on the Western Continent do not tolerate subhumans and heretics. How did you become a nun?”
“As long as you have sincere faith, everyone is a beloved child of the Mother.”
Ilos puffed her cheeks, responding to the silent gentleman beside her with words she learned from Fisher.
“Even if you’re a subhuman?”
“Mm hm. What’s wrong with being a subhuman? I have a license. The last Healing Rot Church in McDowell is under my management. I’m more devout than other nuns; the Mother will love me.”
The gentleman beside her shook his head in amused disbelief, and his elegant demeanor relaxed a bit. He simply said,
“Indeed, I can perceive that your faith is sincere.”
“I haven’t even asked yet. Why are you wearing such a scary mask on your face?”
“Don’t you have a pair of scary big ears on your head?”
Ilos was infuriated and at a loss for words. What does it mean to have scary big ears? This was the most beautiful aspect of the Moon Rabbit Tribe!
This guy was clearly different from Mr. Fisher, discriminating against subhumans!
Ilos immediately felt disinclined to continue talking. However, thinking that the man had just helped her pick up the Genesis, was it too rude not to speak to him?
Just as she was considering this, the ringing of a bell echoed in the train station, and another sharp whistle sounded from the tracks, interrupting Ilos’s thoughts.
She turned to glance at the clock and hurriedly stood up.
“Oh no, my train is here! I need to get on quickly, or I’ll be knocked over by those people again. Aren’t you getting on?”
Ilos clutched the Genesis hidden in her fur coat and made her way toward the train car, recalling her earlier panic. To her surprise, there were very few passengers, and it was nothing like the frightening scene from before. She shook her head in confusion and turned back to see the strange gentleman still seated, showing no sign of wanting to move.
Hearing Ilos’s words, he looked up, pointed to another track behind him, and spoke.
“I’m not taking the same line as you; I’m headed to Miya, which is in the opposite direction. Although what happened earlier won’t happen again, you really should exercise your body. You’re too weak; that won’t do.”
Facing the advice from this gentleman, Ilos pouted, but she nodded in agreement.
“I understand. By the way, I forgot to ask your name. You helped me earlier, and I’m not very polite since I rarely leave the church. My name is Ilos, and I am a nun at the Healing Rot Church.”
“I’m Erwind.”
“Alright then. I’m off. May the Mother bless you, Mr. Erwind.”
Ilos made a standard gesture of prayer to the Mother, her warm and adorable smile catching the attention of nearby boarding passengers. However, the gentleman in the bird-beak mask remained motionless, offering no extra response aside from a nod.
“The Mother has already blessed you, lucky little rabbit. Goodbye.”
“Huh?”
Ilos had already boarded the train. At this moment, she suddenly heard Erwind’s words and was a bit bewildered, not quite understanding what he meant. When she turned to look, the bird-beak mask had obscured his expression, leaving her with nothing to glean.
“Woo woo woo!”
The train doors slowly closed, and she stood at the entrance, watching Erwind wave goodbye to her from his seat. She foolishly waved back, feeling a bit lost.
Although she couldn’t comprehend his words, he seemed to be a very gentle person, albeit somewhat strange.
Ilos slowly made her way to her seat, her nose twitching slightly as if she smelled something unpleasant. She cautiously touched the spot where a passerby had bumped into her, only to see a small bloodstain blooming on her palm.
Hmm?
Ilos tilted her head, unsure when that small drop of blood had gotten there. She assumed it must have been an accident from brushing up against someone, unaware that this was a mark of proof given to her by death after a brush with mortality.
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(The End of This Chapter)
