Chapter 728: 28. Renee Fragrance
“Buzz.”
Since Hamon Hamon left, this place temporarily became a very rudimentary laboratory for Fisher, Gouwen, and David. According to the previous division of labor, the highly encrypted document inside the mechanism was handed over to David to handle, as Fisher and Gouwen were basically clueless about it.
However, according to David, he didn’t have full confidence in unlocking that document and could only do his best.
Meanwhile, Fisher and Gouwen were responsible for studying the true forms of Mikhail and Michael, with Emhart acting as a scribe, helping them record experimental data and so forth.
This process was not simple, as the fungal cluster formed by Mikhail and Michael had a very high rank and would subconsciously attack anyone who approached the central illusion, leaving Fisher and Gouwen in quite a predicament.
However, Fisher quickly came up with a method, first using the means of Chaotic Being to form a false body to attract their attention, and then using the Fluid Sword to collect the fungal filaments from a distance for study.
Before long, they encountered the same bottleneck as David.
Initially, Fisher thought that Hamon Hamon’s “Not Me” and the Life Completion Manual’s “Chaotic Being” were quite similar, especially when they acted upon life, as both would cause changes in the essence of life.
But after repeated comparisons, and even after inviting Hamon Hamon to conduct experiments, he realized that the differences between the two were significant.
He remembered that the process of fully reading the Life Completion Manual required a “Supreme Treasure,” which was the life property that would not change its color no matter how it was affected. Therefore, the ability of Chaotic Being was more about expanding the forms of life, while “Not Me” was entirely different.
“Not Me” changed any matter completely and irrevocably; under such power, the changes before and after would hardly have any similarity, let alone be the same.
Even Hamon Hamon himself would be thoroughly altered under the influence of authority, yet the current situation before Hamon Hamon was that, after being affected by the power, Michael and Mikhail still retained a part of their past nature, which had drawn his particular attention.
However, knowing this still provided no benefit to Fisher and Gouwen’s research; just the various characteristics and possible answers recorded by Emhart left him feeling stuffed and miserable.
So, what about Renee?
Hmm.
She was slacking off.
Watching another strand of white fungal filament in her hands being completely consumed without providing any answers, Fisher rubbed his temples in distress, while Gouwen sighed beside him.
“Let’s take a break, then we’ll go get new fungal filaments. I’ll go check on David’s progress over there.”
“Okay.”
“Uh, Fisher, I can’t take it anymore.”
Emhart, weak and lifeless, lay on the table, wriggling and muttering like this.
Since Hamon Hamon left, they had been continually working for two days already. Fisher and Gouwen were both of higher rank, so it didn’t matter to them, they were just feeling a bit down due to the lack of progress; but Emhart, being a pure laborer, was exhausted.
Fisher looked at him with sympathy, then gently lifted him and placed him in his arms to let him rest for a while.
After that, he finally raised his gaze to the top of the space filled with fungal filaments, and saw Renee, with her black hair and purple eyes, lying sideways on a platform about ten meters high, supporting her chin and spacing out.
Actually, it couldn’t be blamed on Renee for not doing anything; as previously mentioned, the incarnation of a deity is merely a manifestation of their authority and consciousness. If the true body isn’t nearby, the effect is quite limited. Coincidentally, Renee’s true body was still busy near the boundary, so she couldn’t really help with analyzing Hamon Hamon’s authority.
Plus, she originally didn’t like to deal with these things.
Fisher remembered that when he was at Saint Nali, it was just like this; while Fisher busied himself with academic matters, she sat nearby bored, and when she got really bored, she would turn on “alarm clock mode,” talking to herself and making a racket.
If Fisher could endure “alarm clock mode,” no matter what silly things she said, then our Miss Renee would evolve into a pure “troublemaker.”
Either she would come over to tease you, or she would engage in “helping while actually being a hindrance,” forcing Fisher to put down what he was doing and take her to do something else.
As for now, it was unknown if it was because she recognized the urgency of the situation, unlike the small troubles at Saint Nali, so she was holding back from causing chaos, but she couldn’t help Fisher and the others in any way.
Mainly just keeping him company.
But at that moment when Fisher glanced at Renee, she suddenly lowered her head and made eye contact with him.
“Stare~”
“.
One or two seconds later, Renee’s cheeks puffed up slightly. Then she yawned, sat up, and slowly floated down.
“So, any progress?”
Fisher shook his head, looking at the fungal material on the table that had been taken multiple times but yielded nothing of substance as he said, “No, there’s nothing special about the fungal filaments, and we haven’t found any traces of souls on the filament’s main body. According to Hamon Hamon, His authority would simultaneously alienate the soul, transforming it into a completely incomprehensible existence.”
Materially, it was entirely alienated by Hamon Hamon’s authority, and it seemed the same for the soul, but that which remains unchanged must appear in two aspects.
Gouwen speculated that it was possible that when a part of the physical body was transformed into fungal filaments, some structure was preserved, as when they previously extracted the filaments, they discovered structures similar to fingers and palms.
But Fisher thought it might be related to the soul.
As Fisher reached this point, Renee subtly pouted.
“You think it’s related to the soul. Could it be because of the ocean?”
“.
Fisher was slightly taken aback, a gasp sounding in his heart.
Wow, after what happened with Hela, Renee must have been gearing up since then, but it was just that she hadn’t had the time because there were more critical matters at hand; now, as she was just getting a moment of quiet, here she was!
Looking at the purple eyes of Renee, which awaited an answer, Fisher sighed and decided to face it.
“It’s not that. In fact, even until now, I still haven’t fully connected her with the ‘ocean’ which is said to govern souls.”
“So, you still have her in mind?”
Renee instantly caught the loophole in Fisher’s words, and her expression turned jealous.
Fisher raised an eyebrow, walked from one side of the experimental table to the other, leaned on the edge of the table, and said softly, “. I’m afraid not, or I wouldn’t have clashed with her for you earlier.”
“Hmph~”
Renee wrinkled her nose, and her previously jealous expression seemed to shift from overcast to sunny.
She huffed, lightly tapped Fisher’s shoulder with her fair hand, and as her gaze flickered, she asked, “So what about what Hamon Hamon and Gouwen said before? What exactly happened when you jumped into the Sea of Chaos to save her?”
“At that time, there was a Trans who had been bewitched by the outer gods; she occupied the Dragon Continent, which is a part of the Southern Continent now, called the Ideal Nation.”
Fisher recounted the general situation from that time to Renee, and of course, he was a hundred percent honest with her, as evidenced by the fact that he even told her about the process of turning Hela from asexual to female.
“I didn’t know at that time that she was the ocean. To be honest, she concealed it too well, and her rank was too high; it was practically seamless. When I was on the Tree Continent, Gouwen and I were being chased by the Duke of Peach of the Nineteen Rank. At that time, we were on the brink of life and death, and the Duke of Peach nearly killed me before death itself caught up with me. At that time, her rank was not far from Gouwen’s now, yet she resolutely blocked in front of us and almost died right before my eyes.”
“But all of this was just an act.”
“.Yes.”
Fisher’s gaze fell a little. In truth, when he recounted all this, he couldn’t help but feel sad; she was after the precious nature on him. If it weren’t for the precious property he possessed, perhaps someone like him would never even catch her eye.
Everything in the past might have been a pretense crafted by her to reclaim what originally belonged to her, but since he had taken it seriously at the time, it was only natural for him to feel disappointed.
Well, let’s consider this his punishment for earlier misconduct.
As he thought about this, Fisher didn’t dwell on it too much; he quickly adjusted his state and looked at Renee, saying,
“Back then, she played a game with me called ‘One for Three,’ and I figured it probably means ‘pay one price, receive three gifts.’ Moreover, when she left, she lowered two fingers, seemingly implying two gifts were granted.”
“A price for three gifts—not to mention, that one price must surely be that precious property of yours.”
“Ah, I have a clue about one of the gifts.”
“What is it?”
Fisher turned to Renee and said,
“You.”
“.
Renee smiled tightly without real amusement, her fists slowly clenching.
“Although I know what you mean, turning me into her gift really makes me mad~”
“To be precise, Renee, it’s your authority.”
Bringing this matter up, Fisher relayed all the information he speculated to Renee.
Previously, when he left ten thousand years ago, the Mother suddenly descended from nowhere, and based on subsequent records, she had no consciousness and bore no mission of destruction, almost as if she were sending infinite authority into the world as a tool to assist deities. Thus, Fisher believed this celestial gift was the first bestowed by Hela.
“But if that’s the case, the earlier incarnation of the ocean targeting me and trying to take my authority doesn’t make sense.”
“.
Fisher contemplated, recalling the words that Heidi Lin said before she left, murmuring,
“No, she came here because of you, but her purpose is not to take away your authority, but something else.”
“Something else? But I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. Hmm, I’ll check my body later.”
“Oh, your true body?”
Fisher’s tone rose slightly, and Renee shot him a glare.
“Yeah.”
“Alright then, what about the other gift she has already granted? I’ve thought a long time about this gift but can’t pinpoint its equivalent.”
Looking at Fisher in front of her, Renee suddenly spoke softly,
“Could it actually be that my authority is the second gift she granted? As for the first gift, it’s the ‘intimacy’ with her?”
“.
Fisher blinked, his face showing disbelief, “Surely not?”
“Hehe, what if? This is with the ocean! To share a bed with the legendary ocean. My goodness, Fisher, you’re simply the cream of the crop inside and outside the boundary! Counting with fingers, you not only saved the legendary ocean’s life, but slept with her, isn’t that amazing? Can I ask for your autograph, Mr. Fisher?”
Renee counted with her fingers, her face filled with admiration, and her tone was jokingly exaggerated to the point of sarcasm.
“Snap!”
Seeing her counting Fisher’s sins with her fingers, he quickly reached out and grabbed her hand, causing Renee’s gaze to tremble as she looked at him.
“Don’t tease me, there’s no way that could be a gift. I mean, comparing to your previous authority.”
This line was actually focused on the latter half; although Renee didn’t want Fisher to compare her to a gift granted by Hela, if “sharing a bed with the ocean” couldn’t compare with “your appearance,” wouldn’t that sound a bit nicer?
Renee obviously caught a hint of the subtext; her face flushed red, and she immediately turned serious, though she still lightly huffed.
“You’re still a deity, putting on a show that makes you abandon all sense of gender just to tease and tantalize you. That’s really something.”
“You’re right, Lady Renee.”
“.
Looking at the genuinely repentant and self-reflective Fisher before her, Renee, who usually followed the principle of “confessing takes leniency, resisting brings severity,” didn’t make much of it; after all, thinking back, if the ocean really was willing to stoop so low as to deceive, not to mention gentlemen like Fisher, who loved subhuman races, even the deities inside the Spirit Realm wouldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t fall into her trap.
However, there was one thing that Renee still cared about.
Renee hesitated for a moment, her charm-filled purple eyes flickering with a hint of shyness, and she cleared her throat, wanting to speak several times but swallowing the words back down. After a moment of silence, she finally whispered something very softly,
“.”
“What?”
With Fisher’s current rank, he couldn’t hear clearly, so he puzzledly asked.
“Thud!”
With a red face, Renee punched his shoulder lightly, then opened her mouth. Finally, after a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.
Though the words were still soft, they were understandable,
“I mean you. I… is doing that kind of thing really so important?”
“What thing?”
Fisher asked innocently, almost provoking a storm in Renee, but before she could angrily retaliate, he quickly explained,
“How could I? Actually, I don’t care about that.”
“Then how come everything except me…”
“.
How should this be put?
Fisher looked at the slightly blushing Renee beside him, a blend of shyness and confusion written on her face, and his heart felt like it had a thousand tangled emotions pouring out, but gradually, those chaotic thoughts began to calm down.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve always thought of myself as a human. I always feel like, even though I’ve gained many mysteries, and even my true body has become strangely shaped, my understanding of myself seems not to have changed much, still just a flawed and greedy person. Perhaps I want more and better things to decorate my affections but can only resort to this primitive way to vent my possessiveness towards each other, just like she does, and they do as well.”
“But this world doesn’t only have this way. Physical expression of affection might be just an embellishment in the eyes of some people, while for others it’s everything—like Mikhail and Michael. Michael never changed gender even until death, neither male nor female, but looking at the remnants of their life, I doubt anyone would question the bond of friendship they shared for thousands of years. Therefore, Renee, my answer to your question is the same.”
As he spoke, Fisher smiled gently at Renee, lightly tapping her shoulder as she had done to him before, and said,
“Don’t pay attention to what she (the ocean) said. Didn’t you just mock me for being deceived? Don’t follow in my footsteps.”
“.
The corners of Renee’s mouth slowly curled upwards. She swayed slightly to the light touch on her shoulder, first tilting towards the other direction and then gently swaying back, her head resting on Fisher’s shoulder with a soft thud.
Fisher opened his mouth and turned to look at the Renee who had leaned on his shoulder; after leaning against him, she didn’t pull away, just stayed resting against Fisher.
“.
Fisher traced her eyes and eyebrows, no matter how he looked, he felt she was worlds apart from the so-called “Ch.” and the supposed “infinite authority,” even when they had looked alike the previous time they met.
Perhaps it was simply that Renee was Renee.
“I’m tired; let me lean on you for a bit.”
“It’s been me and Gouwen doing all the experiments, even David is deciphering documents; haven’t you just been lying around?”
“.
Renee’s cheeks puffed up slightly, and she was about to get up, but Fisher quickly reached out and wrapped around her leaving shoulder, pulling her back in, sincerely saying,
“I was wrong.”
“Hmph!”
Renee comfortably snuggled back against Fisher’s shoulder, a faint fragrance wafting into his nose, suddenly bringing him back to the feeling of staying at home in Saint Nali.
Though it was just a rented place, it was actually Fisher’s home, wasn’t it?
The room back then always carried Renee’s fragrance, lingering even after she temporarily left.
That fragrance accompanied Fisher through all his time in the room.
Wherever her scent was, that was Fisher’s home.
Perhaps that’s what it felt like.
So, when Renee and Elizabeth were at odds at Saint Nali University, Fisher was still worried that if Elizabeth got angry, she would call her fleet to bomb Lady Martha’s rented place; if that happened, that room, filled with her faint fragrance, would surely be leveled to the ground.
“Boom!”
Just as Fisher was peacefully leaning against Renee, the entire shelter suddenly shook violently, accompanied by a strange rumbling sound, pulling Fisher and Renee’s attention back to reality.
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(End of this chapter)
