Chapter 625: Research
“Teacher Fisher?”
Amidst the hazy mist, Jasmine’s cautious voice echoed from afar, causing both Fisher and Raphael, who was pressed against him, to stiffen slightly as they turned to look in that direction. However, both of them simultaneously refrained from speaking.
“…”
After a moment of bewilderment, it was Fisher who first reacted. Just as he was about to speak, Raphael firmly pressed her lips against his, silencing him completely.
Fisher quickly turned to her and saw her anxiously raising a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.
“Don’t speak.”
“…”
Fisher looked at her innocently, his body momentarily frozen in place. He just quietly listened with Raphael, paying attention to the faint sounds at the door and the movements she made.
“Eh, have they finished washing already? So fast?”
Jasmine’s puzzled voice came through, causing Raphael to relax slightly. But the next moment, Jasmine’s voice came again.
“No, the changing room door hasn’t been closed yet, and there are still clothes in the hamper. Could it be that she fell asleep inside?”
Changing room?
What changing room?
Fisher blinked and turned to Raphael, who widened her eyes and looked down at the white towel floating on the water’s surface, realizing that she had just opened the changing room to grab the towel.
However, Jasmine seemed to think it was the changing room that Fisher used and didn’t check whose clothes were actually in the hamper.
Now this was a problem; she had just shot herself in the foot.
“Teacher Fisher? Teacher Fisher, where are you? I’m here!”
Fisher looked at Raphael and tried to communicate with a simple expression and gaze.
“What should we do?”
“…”
He glanced up that way, gently removed the claw covering his lips, implying:
“Should we just let her come over?”
“No way!!”
Raphael thought for a moment, her face instantly turning red. She then firmly pressed both hands over his lips, clearly rejecting the idea.
She had just said that everyone had decided to go back to rest today. It was difficult enough for Jasmine to agree, and now she had come over to snack. Although Jasmine had secretly come over too, if she got caught, Raphael wouldn’t know where to put her face.
She was already having a baby; this was just too reckless.
But this wasn’t it, and that wasn’t it. Jasmine’s calls echoed like the death knell in the hot spring, seemingly certain that Fisher had not left but had instead fallen asleep in an unknown hot spring due to exhaustion.
At this point, they needed someone as lovely and insatiable as the Whale Folk to provide comfort.
“What should we do?”
Fisher silently looked at Raphael, seeking a solution, while Raphael bit her lip and whispered to him while leaning against him.
“Quick, make Jasmine leave.”
“How do I make her leave?”
“Ah, just make up some reason. Otherwise, I’m really going to be embarrassed!”
“…”
Seeing Raphael’s pitiful red face, Fisher had to consider the aftermath.
Despite having experienced the shock of the scene on Keken’s ship during the day, he might have indeed developed some fantasy about the so-called “blessing of a couple,” but upon careful thought, he still decided not to let Raphael suffer.
Alright, for Raphael’s mental health, Fisher decided to suppress his desires and help her through this awkward situation.
Fisher nodded, thought for a moment, then lightly tapped the surface of the water, feigning a very sleepy voice as he spoke.
“Jasmine?”
“Teacher Fisher, are you asleep?”
The voice was quite distant, meaning she was probably searching along the outer edge, unaware that Fisher had come directly to the middle to bathe.
“Ah, I accidentally fell asleep after relaxing. Why are you here? Are you also here to soak?”
“Ah? I…” Jasmine hesitated for a moment, then said a bit shyly, “Yes, I’m here to soak too, Teacher Fisher. What a coincidence, hehe.”
“…”
Why are both of you using the same excuse?
Fisher helplessly glanced at the Raphael in his arms, who shyly pushed his face away, urging him to get Jasmine to leave. He then had no choice but to speak again.
“I’m almost done washing and was just about to leave.”
“Hey, can’t you stay a bit longer? I’m coming over now!”
“Plop.”
Raphael irritably pinched his waist, seemingly blaming him for drawing in the adversary, but what could Fisher do? He couldn’t just straightforwardly tell her to leave; that would only raise suspicion.
“Wait, Jasmine, could you help me grab a towel from the changing room?”
“Eh?” Jasmine’s footsteps paused, and then she answered, “Okay, I’ll change my clothes while I’m at it. Just wait a moment, Teacher Fisher.”
Then came the sound of her footsteps heading toward the changing room. Once the door to the changing room closed, and the sound of rustling came from inside, Fisher looked at Raphael and said softly.
“This is a good opportunity; while she hasn’t discovered, you should leave quickly.”
“Okay.”
Raphael instinctively nodded and wanted to get up, but suddenly realized something and quickly turned to Fisher, saying.
“Huh? Wait, I’m leaving? Doesn’t that leave you here with Jasmine doing that kind of thing?”
“I have no choice; who knew you two thought exactly the same thing? Am I not allowed to today?”
Fisher himself didn’t believe such words when he said them, let alone Raphael and Jasmine.
Raphael’s face turned crimson, as this was indeed unexpected. After they separated, both she and Jasmine chose to come over unplanned and ended up awkwardly running into each other.
But Raphael was already extremely embarrassed and angry, unwilling to admit it was her fault. After all, even if she hadn’t come, Jasmine would have come anyway. Moreover, Fisher’s attitude seemed to suggest he was welcoming, which made her doubt.
“Fisher, did you think about this long ago? Want me and Jasmine to—if I had known, I wouldn’t have said that to you in the morning! Taking things too far!”
“I didn’t, I didn’t.”
Alright, truth be told, there was a little bit of that, and Fisher had to admit it. He wasn’t sure if it was because he reunited with Keken for the first time in a long time today that he awakened the latent Nali genes.
But now was not the time to dwell on whether he had such intentions. Fisher merely glanced in the direction of the changing room through the mist and quickly turned to Raphael, saying.
“Hurry up. What if Jasmine comes out later? If worse comes to worst, just come back afterward?”
“…”
Raphael shot him an embarrassed glare but had no other choice. She could only shake herself upright from the water, wrapping the now completely soaked towel around her and quietly walking into the hazy mist.
Watching Raphael finally leave, Fisher couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, having helped her through this awkward crisis.
But just a few seconds later, a blurred figure dashed back through the mist.
Fisher froze slightly, turning to look, and it was none other than the nervous Raphael.
He looked at the returning Raphael in disbelief, tensing up himself, and quietly asked.
“Why are you back again?”
Raphael, looking tense, stepped back into the pool and nervously glanced toward the changing room as she told Fisher.
“I-I hadn’t even gotten to the door of the changing room when it opened; she’s already… changed. That’s too fast! She’s too anxious!”
“…”
Fisher opened his mouth and turned to look that way. Those who urgently seek something always possess an indescribable drive. At such a crucial moment, even the laziest people from the Western Continent would take on habits of drastic action.
But Fisher still didn’t understand. He quickly looked at Raphael and quietly asked.
“Then you shouldn’t have returned here. Wouldn’t it be better to hide in a faraway pool so she wouldn’t find you?”
“…”
Raphael’s green eyes were already a bit hazy. It was only through Fisher’s words that she realized it could have been like that, but since she had never experienced such a situation, she obviously wasn’t as calm as Fisher. Flustered, she could only ask.
“What to do now?”
What to do? Just wait to die.
Fisher had completely run out of ideas. He and Raphael exchanged helpless glances until Jasmine’s voice echoed again from a distance, resembling a death knell.
“Teacher Fisher, I’ve changed and come over~”
“!”
Raphael panickedly looked around, even starting to lower her head to glance at the water’s surface, unsure if she was considering the desperate option of diving underwater.
Not far away, Jasmine’s bare feet touching the ground made a series of sounds, her shadow coming closer and closer, her voice growing nearer and nearer.
“Teacher Fisher, you don’t mean Raphael is here, do you?”
“!!”
Raphael’s eyes widened as she covered her chest, her heart racing so fast it felt terrifying.
How could she know?!
“I was originally going to check on Teacher Fisher’s clothes, but it seems there are Raphael’s clothes in the changing room’s hamper.”
Fisher helplessly glanced at the already dumbfounded Raphael. Tonight, she had indeed made a series of blunders. Had he known, he wouldn’t have said they could rest today. Who would have thought she would have been caught red-handed?
Fisher sighed, and in the nearby mist, Jasmine, also wrapped in a towel, had arrived, catching sight of the flustered, flushed face of the still-dodging Raphael.
Jasmine pouted, grasping her towel, but it couldn’t hide the softness that resembled mountains. She looked at Raphael trying to sneak by and seemed to feel a soft, accusatory tone among the silence.
“…”
Raphael’s face turned slightly red as she could only try to assert herself.
“I-I was just here to take a bath and prepare to rest.”
“That’s so unfair, Raphael! You were the one who said we would rest tonight!”
“.But you didn’t listen to me, and you ran out secretly too. Were you also here to take a bath?”
Jasmine also felt a bit embarrassed, but after thinking for a moment, with her big whale tail swaying behind her, she walked straight toward the pool.
“Then of course, let’s take a bath!”
The warm water of the pool became fuzzy under the swirling mist, but it was apparent that her towel, along with her softness, began to float.
As a being living in the sea, once Jasmine entered the water, she became as agile as an elf.
She exhaled, her whale tail gently swaying, and swam toward Fisher. When she surfaced, her fair skin appeared even more translucent, making her azure hair look exceptionally radiant.
She sat beside Fisher but made no further movements, really coming over just to take a bath, as if to support her earlier statement.
Seeing this, Raphael also realized this seemed like an invisible step; even though they both understood each other’s intentions, externally, their purpose here was merely to cleanse their bodies.
She shook her tail and nodded while clutching her towel, timidly saying,
“Alright, let’s take a bath then.”
The Dragon Queen and the Whale Priestess fell silent at the same time, but this left Fisher feeling quite distressed. He sat still, feeling the stirred spring water around him from their movements, like tangible touches, carrying a hint of fragrance and announcing their simultaneous arrival.
And for some reason, he always felt that the temperature in the pool suddenly rose by dozens of degrees, becoming extremely hot.
“…”
He swallowed hard, covering his face with his hand, leaning against the stone wall behind him, letting the warm spring water flow down his face, washing over his visibly muscular upper body.
Raphael and Jasmine caught a glimpse of the flowing drops, their throats slightly moving before quickly averting their gazes. They each lowered their heads, soaking in the hot water, making it seem like they had come to wash up, devoid of any desire.
“.Huh.”
Covering his face and saying nothing, Jasmine seemed to feel the atmosphere was a bit awkward. She exhaled a warm breath, glancing at the thick mist surrounding them, and softly said,
“How quiet it is.”
“This is deep in the Dragon Court; it used to be this quiet whenever we came here to wash up.”
In the past, they frequently visited together. However, Fisher’s presence made the atmosphere feel odd. Suddenly quieting down, Raphael and Jasmine instantly regained that past feeling, leading Raphael to say.
“I’m not talking about the silence here; this calmness feels like it disappeared two and a half years ago. After that, we’ve been preparing for war. Although everyone is really tired after working until night, it’s finally a relief to have the main worries disappear.”
“Yeah, without Barbatos and that group of demons, both the fake court and the Human Allied Forces are just a scattered mess. It won’t be long before we can liberate the entire Southern Continent.”
“You can definitely do it, Raphael.”
“.We definitely can.”
Listening to Raphael, Jasmine still seemed confused. She stretched out her fair hand from the water, speaking with a hint of insecurity.
“But it’s possible that destruction is already upon us. Even you, Raphael, have entered the mythical rank. I’ve still stagnated and can’t fulfill Mom’s promise. Maybe I don’t know when Mom will appear and drag me back to the underwater world.”
At this moment, Fisher, having stayed composed, with even his muscles starting to bulge, suddenly placed his hand on his face, recalling something. He asked Jasmine,
“Jasmine, didn’t you sense back when you were in the Demon Dynasty that the base might be your chance to enter the mythical rank? Besides, you mentioned that you dreamed of your father.”
“Um.” Jasmine thought for a moment, then turned to Fisher with a smile, saying, “But maybe that was just a dream, or maybe Dad missed me, which is why I dreamt of what I wanted?”
“The base?”
Gouwen is in the Spirit Realm, and the crevice is a dream domain, so Fisher didn’t think Jasmine’s dream was baseless. It indeed might be Gouwen reminding her of something.
Crevices are incarnations of the Spirit Realm’s pollution power, meaning Jasmine’s chance to enter the mythical rank is actually related to the Spirit Realm’s pollution?
Why does that sound a bit dangerous?
But if Jasmine is Xu’s daughter, there’s no reason she would stagnate at the mythical rank for so long.
Although the saying “dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes give birth to phoenixes” is too absolute, Jasmine herself is involved in the Apocalypse Prophecy. The blessings on her from Ramastia are directly evident. Given these three factors, Jasmine cannot be so mediocre, both logically and reasonably.
The only possible explanation would be that Jasmine possesses something special that she has yet to discover.
Noticing this, Raphael also realized Jasmine’s underlying disappointment beneath her smile and spoke to comfort her.
“Don’t worry, Jasmine. You’re just one tiny opportunity away. I also didn’t expect to enter the mythical rank when I lost consciousness. Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. I actually wish I could have stayed before reaching the mythical rank; that way, my baby wouldn’t have to face such calamity. But worrying will only bind us, so relax. We will figure this out.”
“Um.”
Jasmine nodded, placing her hand on her chest, sending ripples surging through the water that splashed against Fisher’s skin, making his gaze grow even darker.
The atmosphere between them gradually warmed, but for Fisher, it felt intensely heated.
He sighed and suddenly reached out, unexpectedly wrapping both of them in his arms under their surprised gazes.
“Teacher Fisher?!”
The towel on the water slipped off and fell behind them, accompanied by their overlapping voices of embarrassment and annoyance.
“Fisher, w-why are you…?!”
Raphael’s tail and claw lightly slapped his back, while Jasmine clung to his chest, making him appear increasingly like an uncontrollable beast.
As a response, he racked his brain but couldn’t think of a proper reason, so he had to use a clumsy excuse.
“…I have a research project that requires your cooperation.”
“Huh? A research project? Now? What research… Wait.”
“Teacher Fisher?!”
The sounds of splashing water filled the hot spring, and the dense mist harmoniously rose up, concealing the scene within, transforming it into an indescribable secret realm.
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(The End)
