Chapter 80: 17. Centaur
After completing an important task, even Fisher couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment, which brought him great joy, as if even the scenery outside had improved. Along the way, he no longer saw the researchers from the Royal Academy dressed in their black robes, unsure whether they had returned to the research institute or gone to work part-time at the Pink Pavilion.
Damien’s earlier words had refreshed his understanding of the principal; he hadn’t expected Damien to take such a drastic step as to sever his own arm and specifically call on Fisher to chastise those corrupt researchers. Because the Griffin Party members value their reputation so much, the old Nali-style pride in them hadn’t faded; they couldn’t bear others speaking ill of them, otherwise, they wouldn’t have monopolized education for so many years.
After leaving the Royal Academy, he continued toward the tram station. From the Royal Academy’s location, he could clearly see the golden palace in the center of Saint Nali and the clusters of parasol trees outside. However, the gates there rarely opened, and due to his deteriorating health, the king hadn’t left the Golden Palace in a long time; only the royal spokesman represented him.
“Everyone, please continue to pay attention to the New Party’s legislation. We have decided to renovate the aging Fourth District, and the living standards there will see significant improvements!”
“We always prioritize the welfare, life, and liberty of Nali citizens. We hope you will support us in continuing to serve Saint Nali!”
“The Southern Continent Subhuman Protection Association has been established, and we have set the headquarters next to Saint Nali University to promote young people’s protection of life!”
“Please take a look at our brochure!”
At a crossroads a distance away from the Royal Academy, Fisher saw the neatly dressed speakers from the New Party standing in front of a huge blimp sign, continuously shouting. Ahead, many supporters of the New Party had gathered, excitedly raising their hands in support of the speeches.
The New Party’s announcements had almost reached the Griffin Party’s stronghold; it seemed the New Party was poised for victory in the midterm elections.
What caught Fisher’s attention was not the sweating New Party speaker, but the girl standing behind the staff, gently waving a small New Party flag.
The girl had beautiful brown hair, and aside from her large drooping ears, her upper body resembled that of a human. However, her lower body was an enormous body with horse legs. The horse’s body was covered with a long coat that completely wrapped her beautiful brown fur, while her upper body was dressed like an ordinary Nali lady, making her appearance quite strange.
She was a subhuman of the Centaur species!
At that moment, she looked bewildered at the passionate crowd of humans, only occasionally waving the small New Party flag in her hand, seemingly to confirm that the New Party had indeed established a “Southern Continent Subhuman Protection Association.”
“Everyone, please come forward to see our specific policies for the upcoming midterm election! Don’t worry, our New Party promises to complete the aforementioned plans on time! The results of the first half are evident to all!”
“That’s right! We need more job opportunities!”
“Schools! My two children need to go to school!”
The crowd hurried to receive the brochures distributed by the New Party; the centaur also held a small stack in her hands, carefully lifting one to hand to a citizen approaching, but the human glanced at her and seemed to avoid her in disdain before rushing off to get brochures elsewhere.
The New Party officials were too busy to pay attention to her. She opened her mouth and then awkwardly retreated to the New Party’s banner, waving the small flag beneath the huge sign of the “Southern Continent Subhuman Protection Association.”
Fisher had never seen a centaur before; this was the first time he had encountered this subhuman, as centaurs did not have a fixed settlement and often migrated throughout the Southern Continent.
The records Fisher had seen were from the time the pioneers first encountered a group of centaurs when they landed on the Southern Continent. He had attempted to shoot one down for a specimen but failed and ended up scaring them all away.
Since humans began to invade the Southern Continent in large numbers, centaurs had gradually vanished. Fisher guessed they had hidden deep in the mountains where few ventured. He never expected to encounter one so far from the Southern Continent, not knowing how the New Party had found her.
As Fisher looked at the centaur standing behind, he reached out for one of their midterm election brochures and began flipping through it as he walked toward the tram station. As he flipped quickly, he finally found their announced “Southern Continent Subhuman Protection Association” in the corner of the last page.
The description read: “Under active construction.”
Fisher sneered, throwing the brochure casually into the trash bin by the road.
After buying some food and books, Fisher quickly arrived at the tram station, only to find that the station he had come to was temporarily out of service. The station supervisor, frantically apologizing to the surrounding citizens, was locking the door.
“Sorry! Sorry, everyone! The electric track ahead is damaged. Line 3 is temporarily out of service today! Please look for further notices from the transportation bureau regarding the specific restoration time!”
“Oh my god! You bastards, I’ve paid so many taxes, and this is how the transportation bureau treats us?”
“I still need to pick up my child from school!”
“Sorry, sorry everyone. There has been an incident ahead, and the police have blocked part of the tracks; we can’t do anything about it.”
Fisher stood at the back of the crowd, looking toward a certain direction in front of the tracks. The previous stations in that direction were Karen Street; something seemed to have happened there. He frowned, recalling that Martha had mentioned she would go to Karen Street to see what was going on.
In a flash of thought, he squeezed through the crowd that had gathered behind and called for a carriage at the roadside. It would take less than twenty minutes to get to his rental house from here, much faster than taking the tram.
After getting off the carriage, Fisher hurried home. Sure enough, the house was empty, and Martha had not returned.
Fisher’s frown deepened; just as he was worried about Martha and turned to head to Karen Street to check the situation, he heard a familiar voice from outside the back of the house.
“Fisher! You’re back! I thought you would come back even later. Oh my back!”
Hearing Martha’s lively voice, Fisher’s tense heart instantly relaxed. He turned to see Martha leaning against her waist on the side of the road, accompanied by a tall woman who was supporting her.
The lady was dressed in a suit that only men would wear in Nali and had no hat on her head, thus showing off her beautiful silver hair tied into a long ponytail. Her face was beautiful but always carried an air of coldness, even the expressionless Martha beside her showed no fluctuation, though she glanced at Fisher as he came out of the house with a staff, her eyes shifting slightly.
Fisher recognized this person as Captain Alagina, a pirate he had met at sea a month ago. He hadn’t expected to see her here, especially in this manner.
“I heard something happened on Karen Street, and even the tram station was closed, so I called for a carriage to hurry back,” she said.
“Oh, I didn’t even make it! I fell on my way back from buying butter. That damn carriage was going too fast; I almost got hit by that blind little punk. Luckily, this lady came over to help me.”
Martha gratefully glanced at Alagina beside her, who nodded and looked past Fisher to see if Renee was with him but didn’t notice her. She then said, “Sir, we meet again.”
“.”
Martha looked at Alagina, then back at Fisher, and seemed to realize something and said, “Oh my god, you actually know each other? Who is this lady? You never told me!”
“I met her on the ship when I was returning from the Southern Continent; we only saw each other once.”
Fisher first explained Alagina’s identity without mentioning that she was a passenger who had boarded forcefully. He figured that if he told Martha that Alagina was a pirate, she would definitely be scared.
Alagina looked at Fisher, then nodded in acknowledgment.
“Alright, Martha, it’s good that you’re fine. You should go inside; I’ll talk with this lady.”
“Oh, alright, you two catch up. I need to rest a bit; I’m still feeling a little dizzy. That kid drove the carriage faster than my son did. He broke his left hand because of this when he was eighteen; I’m sure that coachman will too. It’s only a matter of time.”
Fisher found it amusing at Martha’s soft murmurs of curses, and after promising to thank the lady properly, she carried the butter she had bought into the house, leaving only Fisher and Alagina outside.
Alagina glanced at Fisher’s back, and when he turned to face her, she averted her gaze to the ground before him, waiting “politely” for Fisher to speak.
With residents coming and going around them, Fisher pointed to the empty courtyard behind them.
“There’s too many people here; let’s talk over there.”
“…Okay.”
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(End of Chapter)
