Chapter 36: The Broken Horn of the Minotaur
The “Auren” mentioned by Nana is the original buyer of the dragon girls, who was previously mentioned in the Kexiening Circus. Before arriving at Feilon City, I thought he was just a wealthy local, but it turns out, unfortunately, he is a person sent by the Lord’s Mansion.
After a moment of silence, Fisher looked at Nana and said, “He had his eyes on me when I was in Brian City, so I left him in a place not far from there. We should still be able to dig up his bones now.”
“You!”
Nana frowned, about to speak when Feilon raised his hand to stop her.
It’s not that Fisher wanted to be so aggressive in front of the other person, but the fact is, if Auren hadn’t attempted to rob him of his carriage while he was in the city, he would not have killed him. Since he had done nothing wrong, he naturally had no reason to feel guilty, even in the other party’s territory.
“This situation is quite distant, so Nana had to entrust the task to mercenaries outside of Feilon City, and their quality cannot be guaranteed, which is common.” Compared to the Minotaur girl, Nana, Feilon’s tone was much kinder. “And since Mr. Fisher has already helped us achieve our goal by rescuing those dragon children, there’s nothing more to quibble about.”
“Goal?”
In other words, Feilon purchased these dragon girls to rescue them. But the problem is, Fisher had intentionally sought out the red dragon people because of the Apocalypse Prophecy, which led him to find Raphael and the others. Would Feilon really cross half a continent specifically to look for a group of captured dragon people? How did he know this information?
“There was a child by my side named Narl, who should have been captured along with the children around you. He told me that his companions were still in the hands of the slave traders, so I entrusted someone to bring them back. Unfortunately, the mercenaries I sent have not returned, so I had to send Narl back to his tribe.”
“Feilon City Lord is quite generous.”
Spending thousands of Nali gold coins to cross half a continent to bring back a few dragon people he had never met just to fulfill an under-aged child’s wish. If the Saint Nali Government had his kind of spirit and kindness, they wouldn’t be criticized every day, assuming the government could have a financially stable condition like Feilon.
So, where did the city lord of this Southern Continent obtain so much money?
“Hahaha, let’s put aside what happened earlier for now. In the evening, I’ll have Nana arrange accommodations for you. Rather than this, Mr. Fisher, would you like to visit my laboratory after dinner?”
“Oh?” Fisher became interested and asked, “What is Mr. Feilon researching now?”
“Mainly three directions: steam engine dynamics, ethics, and pathology. But right now, I’m mainly researching the third direction. Do you know there is a unique disease in the Southern Continent?”
At that moment, hearing Feilon’s mysterious words, Fisher suddenly thought of the Blue Madness that Keken had mentioned earlier.
“Are you referring to Blue Madness?”
Feilon paused for a second and then smiled, “Blue Madness? That’s a good name. Although the names are different, we should be researching the same condition. Let Nana arrange your rooms; I will also tidy up the laboratory. I have no habit of keeping it tidy, and I’m afraid it will be too messy to look at.”
He turned to glance at Nana, who immediately stood up to excuse herself to Fisher and the others, presumably to confirm their accommodations.
Feilon also excused himself and left. The restaurant was temporarily left with only Fisher and his group, along with a few maids.
When Fisher shared the plans discussed with Feilon with the dragon girls nearby, Ral was still eyeing the stylish mechanical toys outside, as it was clear what she was thinking.
“Everyone, please come this way.”
Before long, Nana appeared at the door of the restaurant. This time when she spoke, it was actually in Feimabaha Dragon Tongue.
“You can speak Dragon Tongue?”
Raphael looked at the Minotaur girl, surprised. The other party smiled and explained, “Not only Dragon Tongue, but I also understand Nali, Minotaur, as well as some werewolf and Southern Tribe common languages. There are only two vacant rooms left here, and Mr. Fisher, how do you want to arrange them? If necessary, this girl may have to share a bed with you.”
Nana looked at Raphael, and beneath her gentle smile, Raphael panicked, “I don’t want to share a room with him, I—”
“Ral wants to stay with Fisher; Sister Mill, come with me. Let Lady Raphael and Fashir sleep.”
“Huh?”
Mill’s face also turned red as she glared at Ral, who had rushed to Fisher’s side, seemingly blaming her for her nonsensical remarks.
Nana apologetically explained, “I’m sorry; there are many subhuman children in the mansion. To care for them, Mr. Feilon has hired many maids, so the rooms are a bit tight.”
“It’s okay; I can stay in the carriage.”
“The carriage?”
Though it seemed a little strange to stay in a carriage, since there weren’t enough rooms…
If it weren’t necessary, Fisher really didn’t want to explain his carriage situation to outsiders, like space magic or something. Before he could even voice this, Raphael jumped in and said, “Wait a minute, I can share the carriage with Fisher.”
Fisher glanced at Raphael’s profile beside him. Since she had no problem with it, being overly particular himself would be meaningless, and he nodded in agreement.
So, the arrangements were made: Fisher and Raphael would share a room, while Mill and the others would stay in another room.
Nana walked elegantly as she led Raphael upstairs, while the latter occasionally glanced at Nana’s light steps and her broken horn that had been replaced by a golden ornamental horn.
“What’s wrong?” Fisher asked.
Raphael glanced at Nana ahead and whispered, “I heard that the horns of Minotaurs are very important; once broken, there will be serious consequences. Breaking one horn leads to a loss of mobility, and they become extremely depressed. Breaking two horns might…”
Fisher also directed his gaze at the broken horn on her head. Previously, he had seen captured Minotaurs in the slave market. Some Minotaurs had beautiful horns that were often sawed off by humans as crafts, and those slaves looked just as Raphael described, appearing lifeless and devoid of any will to live.
Fisher suspected there was a certain connection between the Minotaur’s horns and their brain. Once damaged or broken, it could lead to feelings of depression and despair. Of course, it could also be a deeply-rooted cultural influence, embedding the concept of horns being essential in the Minotaurs’ minds, whereby losing their horns could feel akin to dying.
But Nana before him did not exhibit the corresponding symptoms; she looked just like any other normal Minotaur. This made Fisher doubt the correctness of his first conclusion.
“Here are your rooms. My room is right next to the one belonging to Mr. Feilon. If anything comes up, feel free to knock and call for me.”
There weren’t many rooms on the second floor. The largest master bedroom at the end belonged to Feilon. In front of his room was Nana’s bedroom, and further down the hall was Fisher’s room, with Ral and the others further down.
This should not have been originally designed as a guest room but rather a storage room for the master, but due to tight accommodations, it was simply tidied up for guests, as all the original guest rooms downstairs were allocated to the maids.
“Thank you.”
Nana looked at Fisher and then quietly descended the stairs to leave. Beneath her skirt, a golden-haired Minotaur tail swayed gently, brushing against her fair calf, its color matching her hair.
After Fisher arranged for Ral and the others on how they would sleep, he returned to his room. The crimson dragon girl was sitting on the only bed in the bedroom, her tail coiling around the pillow behind her.
“Go get some bedding; you’re sleeping on the floor.”
“…”
Raphael opened her mouth, glanced at Fisher, and then ran to the cabinet that Nana had mentioned to get bedding to lay on the ground. She wiped her face, then sat on the makeshift bed and said to Fisher, “Tonight, I’m going to duel you. I’ve already figured out how to defeat you!”
Fisher leaned on his staff and looked at her, “Did you think of that during dinner?”
“Yes, and also before entering the city.”
“Knock knock…”
The door outside was interrupted by a knock, followed by a maid’s voice, “Mr. Fisher, the City Lord has sent me to bring you to his laboratory.”
Fisher glanced at Raphael, hung his suit jacket on a nearby hanger, and said, “Then you’d better think it over carefully. Remember what I said earlier; we’ll duel tomorrow night. You still owe me a penalty. I’m going out for a bit; watch over Ral and the others.”
“…I know.”
Raphael pouted and replied.
(End of Chapter)
