Chapter 426: 43. Method
“Please come this way, everyone.”
Before long, more people arrived outside the grand hall. It turned out that Duke Chuan had arranged a place for them to rest for the night. Since the palace under the tree could not accommodate anyone other than elves due to the restrictions of “rituals,” they ended up at the Prime’s residence of Xiong, where they had visited that morning.
Shiran had completely fallen into a deep sleep and, of course, could not return to his kingdom overnight. He was arranged to rest in Duke Chuan’s palace, and it seemed that Duke Chuan had to let him sleep in the master bedroom because his title was “Lord,” which was higher than Chuan’s.
On the way back, everyone felt a bit tired while sitting in the carriage, but mainly it was Tang Zeming Asuka who was more exhausted. Among all the people present, she had the weakest constitution. With her head drooped to the side, Mikhail noticed her condition and suddenly spoke up.
“Tang Zeming Asuka.”
“Yes, yes! I’m here!”
She straightened up immediately, looking like a student caught dozing off in class by her math teacher. She pursed her lips and looked at Mikhail, who maintained the same expression as before, and began to speak.
“What I’m about to say may not sound very nice, but given that we are fellow countrymen, I’ll remind you that this is not the era you lived in, nor is it governed by rule of law. The two elves you saw at the banquet have a life level far beyond your imagination, yet you failed to control your tongue, nearly causing problems.
“It’s a stroke of luck that nothing happened this time because this Fisher covered for you. At least there is also an angel present, but this is not a good phenomenon. Next time, it could cost you your life, and you might never return. Do you understand?”
Tang Zeming Asuka certainly understood that she had spoken too hastily at that moment. She had already reminded herself many times in her heart and made ample psychological preparations. However, when she actually saw the other party bringing over the little deer they had just encountered for amusement, her feelings of incongruity with this world emerged uncontrollably.
She sincerely apologized to everyone present, especially to Fisher, even though it seemed like he hadn’t really looked at her.
“I’m sorry. I truly apologize; I won’t cause you any trouble next time.”
Mikhail remained silent. Or rather, comforting a seventeen-year-old girl was not his strong suit; he was just giving a reminder to prevent this “fellow townsman” from unknowingly putting her life at risk.
Gouwen noticed that no one was responding to her, so she smiled and tried to ease the atmosphere, saying, “Just remember that. But you can’t be blamed; you haven’t lived here since childhood, so of course, you don’t understand the customs and feelings here. I also forgot to specifically remind you before coming. Having such a narrow escape this time should make your memory more vivid. By the way, what do we eat for dinner? Hela doesn’t need to eat, but we still need to.”
“Others will prepare it. The key now lies in what comes next. I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve heard similar concepts of fiefdom in our world, but people in our era generally know little about history because all those beautiful memories were destroyed in nuclear explosions. We are used to looking toward the future. Tang Zeming Asuka, what about you? You are more ancient than I am; have you heard similar concepts?”
Mikhail suddenly seemed to recall something and turned to ask Tang Zeming Asuka, who shook her head quickly, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and her voice grew quieter as she said,
“No, I didn’t choose history class. I haven’t heard of this concept.”
As expected, the underachiever Tang Zeming Asuka knew nothing. Mikhail wasn’t too surprised; he shook his head and said,
“It’s okay. The information we know now is already quite a bit. I have noted them down. It’s a pity I can’t use a microcomputer; otherwise, I could have recorded all of today’s conversations.”
He still had one eye uncovered, not wearing the prosthetic eye, which was the microcomputer he mentioned.
Next, Gouwen, Fisher, and Mikhail exchanged their views and roughly confirmed the planning for what would come next, except for Hela, who was just hanging around, leaving only Tang Zeming Asuka unable to contribute.
She was too young and didn’t have any skills, making her feel useless.
Perhaps she didn’t even know why it was her who crossed over and not a better, more capable Japanese high school student, just like Asuka from the anime who could pilot an Evangelion.
Asuka in the anime was impressive, a mixed-race prodigy, while Tang Zeming Asuka was just an ordinary high school student, feeling worthless and only causing trouble.
She silently hugged her knees a bit tighter, bit her lip, and pretended to listen attentively to her companions’ conversation. Fisher, seated beside her, noticed her little actions—truth be told, he was sufficiently sensitive to ladies and magic, but he did not comfort her further, allowing her to gradually digest the emotions and lessons that could help her move forward.
[In ancient times, all your rewards for researching subhuman races had the following bonuses: Reproductive ability +50%, Constitution -20%, other attribute bonuses +10%. However, the cost of binding the subhuman race’s soul link would double, and no physical rewards would be gained.]
[Rewards for the first stage of research on Tapirfolk and Mantisfolk have been unlocked.]
[Reproductive ability +7, Constitution +4, Vibrant Vitality]
[Vibrant Vitality: Your stamina, reproductive power, and magic recovery speed will increase slightly.]
While on the carriage, the rewards from the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans had already been conveyed to Fisher through the illusory text before him. To be honest, apart from the last one, [Vibrant Vitality], which he could use, the other two either complicated matters for him or provided negligible bonuses.
Fisher himself didn’t know what his reproductive ability was at present. When he unleashed his desires previously, he had taken precautions against pregnancy because he was increasingly certain that the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans increased his reproductive ability rather than reproductive level, which meant that as his ability grew, he would definitely succeed regardless of the opponent’s level.
And the increase in constitution was becoming less and less significant. At the thirteenth level, those four points of constitution seemed negligible, and to continue increasing it, he would either have to go for the Supplement Handbook’s series tag rewards or seek other methods.
The carriage gradually came to a stop, and Fisher glanced at Hela across from him, then followed Gouwen to get out of the carriage.
Xiong had been waiting at the door for a while, along with Lu An, the Deerfolk he met that morning. Upon seeing Fisher get down from the carriage, his eyes lit up, and he stepped forward to salute him, saying,
“Benefactor! If it weren’t for you today, my little girl might have fallen victim to Lord Shiran’s malice. I truly thank you for your mediation!”
Clearly, Xiong had already told him about what happened in the hall today. Fisher nodded and didn’t awkwardly imitate their etiquette, simply saying, “It’s alright; it’s all fine now.”
“Please come in, please come in! I have prepared food for you all.”
Xiong’s residence was not very spacious, and when Fisher entered, he could see many women, mostly subhuman. They referred to Xiong as “father,” and upon inquiry, he learned that most of these subhuman women had fled from other countries to Chuan Kingdom and were voluntarily adopted by Xiong, raised as his adopted daughters. He had never married during his life but had many adoptive sons and daughters.
When it was time to eat, the shy deerfolk Luk Ming even personally came to thank Fisher, as it seemed everyone regarded Fisher’s actions at that time as noble without any idea of his connection with Shiran. Fisher was more than happy to see this.
Dinner was quite lavish. Several of Xiong’s adoptive daughters poured drinks and served dishes for the guests. Fisher discreetly glanced at the enormous scorpion tail behind one of the subhuman adoptive daughters and occasionally glanced at another’s small arms and wings, resembling sparrows, even feeling like he was tainted by Shiran’s perversion.
But only he knew that it was the additional reproductive ability causing a stir again; human women were even more deadly in their allure.
He struggled to control his perception of the women around him, forcefully pushing aside the fragrant breezes emanating from them, but even so, he still seemed a bit unnatural.
Equally unnatural was Gouwen, who had been standing behind everyone since entering, as if the feminine atmosphere inside the house would dirty him. Several times, Xiong’s adoptive daughters tried pouring him drinks, which he graciously declined, saying he would do it himself and not trouble them.
Tang Zeming Asuka buried her head in her food, and in comparison, only Hela and Mikhail seemed carefree, expressions normal while eating heartily.
Halfway through the meal, Xiong, feeling quite aged and losing his appetite after only a few bites, glanced at Hela’s extremely prominent halo and wings in the distance, sighed suddenly, and lamented,
“You all come from the Holy Realm. When I think hard about it, I actually have some connections with you all. I was once a slave in the Holy Realm when I was young. I am not originally from the Tree Continent.”
“You were a slave in the Holy Realm before?”
Everyone present looked at the elderly man with surprise. He nodded and said,
“Yes, sixty years ago, when I was only twelve, I began my first day in the Holy Realm as a slave to the angels, collecting the forging materials they needed. One day, the angels went to the Tree Continent to celebrate a birthday and selected many slaves from the first day to leave the Holy Realm along with the angel [Sorobato], who governs the laws.”
Gouwen slowed his chewing, seemingly affected by a name in the other’s words, and his gentle smile gradually faded, but he soon returned to normal, lifted his utensils, and continued eating while waiting for Xiong to speak again.
“It seems that for the angels, this journey to the Tree Continent was not a good thing. There were so many of us, and Sorobato paid little attention to us, resulting in many slaves dying along the way. I was unwilling to die like this, so when we arrived at the Tree Continent to exchange slaves, I escaped.”
“You escaped from a mythical being?”
Fisher scratched his chin, looking at Xiong, who evidently had a zero-level status, not believing he could achieve such a feat.
But Xiong shook his head decisively and said,
“I certainly don’t have that kind of ability. I’m just an ordinary person. No matter how hard I try, I can’t escape from such terrifying beings. But because I stayed in Chuan Kingdom, you can probably guess that the elf who came to exchange slaves was none other than Duke Chuan. He noticed I had escaped but did not pursue me.
“He reluctantly sent other slaves, given as gifts, to the royal capital but left me behind. It was only when I met him again later that I learned he was different from other elves. He was very kind and compassionate, making him stand out among the elves.”
In the distance, Hela sighed with a smile while looking at Xiong.
“If I weren’t here, you would likely hold the same view of angels, right? Especially since you were sent by Sorobato. That guy, even though he is an angel of the Fourth Day, often sneaks down from the First Day ruled by Lord Remiel to act tyrannically among mortals. He forged the [Life Gospel Sacred Object], which is a sacred object banned by the Holy Realm.”
The so-called Gospel Sacred Objects are items forged by incorporating fragments of the rules. As for the fragments of the rules, there are only a few kinds; the rules of life can certainly be integrated. But the forging materials transform from those magical materials into living beings.
Due to the intricate relationships between the Heavenly Lock and the God of Life, Ramastia, in order to avoid unnecessary troubles, Michael had long prohibited the Fifth Day’s forge from making such sacred objects. Yet Sorobato still forged the Life Gospel Sacred Object outside the Holy Realm. There’s no need to investigate where he forged it, but this clearly indicates the angel’s violent temperament.
“Indeed, during my transport by Sorobato, I suffered a lot, but humans differ from the long-lived. For us, sixty years is an incredibly long time. Sorobato overlooked me, and I no longer think about those past things. Now, Chuan Kingdom is everything to me.”
Xiong took a sip of wine. His age was indeed too great, making him feel tired, so even drinking a bit of wine began to weigh heavily on him, convincing him he needed to return to rest, leaving his adoptive daughters to continue taking care of Fisher and the others.
Fisher turned to look at Tang Zeming Asuka sitting next to him, finding that there were still some leftovers in her bowl, and since she couldn’t drink, he dipped his finger into some wine, drawing a circle on the table.
“Have you had enough to eat?”
“Ah!”
She jumped in surprise, clutching her heart and backing away a bit. When she saw it was Fisher next to her, she finally sighed in relief and forced a smile, saying,
“I’ve eaten enough, Mr. Fisher.”
“That’s good,”
Fisher continued to shove food into his mouth, showing no extra expression. On the contrary, Tang Zeming Asuka, called by him, snapped out of her daze, finally starting to eat the food in her bowl that had gone cold.
After a moment’s hesitation, Tang Zeming Asuka suddenly spoke, only to collide with Fisher, who wanted to speak next.
“You—”
“Sorry, you go first, Mr. Fisher.”
“You go ahead, what do you want to say?”
“Um, about today, I’m sorry for causing you trouble. I shouldn’t have spoken hastily and put you in the position of mediating between me and that elf.”
Fisher halted his chewing for a moment, glancing at Tang Zeming Asuka, who looked genuinely remorseful. Her inability to help caused her to feel guilty for creating trouble. Mikhail’s reminder in the carriage had intensified her introspection, making it hard for her to eat, probably still stuck on what had happened earlier.
Fisher pondered for a moment, sighed, and suddenly said,
“It’s not entirely for your sake; I genuinely have a strong interest in subhumans. That Lord Shiran is also interested in the subhumans, so talking to him isn’t a chore for me. Moreover, what you said at that time, while it might have dampened the atmosphere, wouldn’t have had serious consequences. We are emissaries of the Holy Realm; he wouldn’t dare to act against us.”
Tang Zeming Asuka bit her lip. Even if Fisher spoke the truth, she felt he was trying to make her relax by acknowledging it openly.
The Angel Hela had said that Mr. Fisher had an academic interest in subhumans—how could he possibly treat them as bizarrely as Lord Shiran?
She truly felt useless.
Tang Zeming Asuka didn’t want to trouble Fisher or the entire team for her sake; she wanted to help out somehow.
Or at least, she didn’t want to hold them back.
She needed a way.
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(End of Chapter)
