novelraw Chapter 109: Old Jack's Phone Call
Chapter 109: Old Jack's Phone Call
True to her word, Renee didn't stay long in Saint-Nazareth. That evening, after she and Fischer enjoyed a delightful play, Fischer bought her a necklace as a gift. She fawned over it endlessly, fastening it around her neck and showing it off every which way.
By the next morning, Fischer awoke to find the dark-haired lady already gone.
Renee seemed to dislike the scene of parting. Each reunion was clearly something she prepared for with care, yet when the time came to leave, she simply vanished without a word.
Fischer didn't mind. He lingered for a while in the room still saturated with her fragrance before heading to school.
The matters demanding his attention these days were few and clear. Beyond the daily routine of teaching, there was the matter of Karo, the artificial Witch. She was still hiding in the Pink Pavilion. Fischer was uneasy about the role the Pink Pavilion was playing in the upcoming Schwari visit to Naris. Something about that "entertainment establishment" seemed to raise too many red flags.
Another task was to resume studying the Soul Completion Handbook. During the Southern Continent expedition he had refrained from spending mana to extract information from it, fearing danger. Now that life was stable, Fischer felt it was time to explore this volume — so unlike the Demi-Human Completion Handbook.
He had a nagging feeling the Soul Completion Handbook was the more serious of the two. His own Handbook was useless without demi-human girls to study. There were still no leads on the Sea Child or the God of the Sky. Fischer decided to start by trying to research the centaur girl Xi Yate and see what came of it.
When Fischer stepped into the washroom, he discovered that the faucet wouldn't yield a single drop.
"Fischer, didn't I tell you? The water's shut off today. They say a pipe system some distance from here has broken down — heaven knows how it's affecting us. But I saved up plenty of water yesterday. It's in the bucket beside you."
"Ah, right."Masha's reminder floated in from outside. Fischer came fully awake. Renee's fragrance seemed to have some sedative property — he always slept deeply when lingering traces of it remained. He didn't know the exact mechanism.
Masha had left some bread. Fischer took it with him on his way out. While waiting for the tram, it occurred to him that he should probably stay in the university dormitory for a while. The Schwari delegation would arrive soon, and spending this much time commuting every day wouldn't do.
He'd call Masha tonight to let her know.
At approximately eight-twenty in the morning, Fischer arrived at the classroom right on time. As always, he placed his coat, hat, and walking stick on the rack beside the lectern. A casual sweep of the room revealed that, apart from Princess Isabel and Jasmine in the front row, many of the faces had changed.
Evidently, a fair number of students couldn't handle his rigor and had swapped into Roger's section. If he checked his office mailbox, he'd find their transfer requests waiting.
Fischer paid it no mind and simply began the lesson.
"Having covered the essence of magic, in today's class we will examine the components of a complete spell and the precautions to observe when learning to engrave each part..."
A straightforward lecture wrapped up quickly. This time, he also assigned the first homework — due by next Monday, submitted to his office mailbox.
After distributing the problem set, he left without a backward glance at the students grimacing over their assignments.
"Hey, Mr. Fischer — just finished class?"
"Yes."
When Fischer entered the Magic Academy's faculty office, he found Roger there along with a strikingly young woman seated in a chair, chatting with him. Seeing Fischer walk in, the young woman's eyes lit up and she rose to greet him.
"Mr. Fischer, hello."
"Ah, this is Serena — one of our Magic Academy's few magic professors. An honorary member of the Magic Association and a magic researcher from the Nazarene Development Company."
Saint-Nazareth University received funding from the Development Company, which had also lent personnel to alleviate Chancellor Kaine's staffing crisis. Clearly, when it came to needling the Gryphon Party, they spared no effort.
"Nice to meet you, Fischer."
"We were just talking about yesterday's Gothrin Festival. Hey, Lady Laofang had too much to drink at the reception, and she said you don't deserve to be called a gentleman at all. She also said your personality is as cold as your appearance. Ha! What on earth did you do to her during the festivities?"
Serena's cheeks flushed — clearly the gossip had originated with her. She waved her hands frantically.
"Lady Laofang had far too much to drink. That was surely just the alcohol talking."
Fischer thought back to how he'd deflected Elizabeth and Renee's clash onto Laofang multiple times yesterday. The assessment was entirely reasonable.
"That's actually a much kinder review than I expected. I was afraid she'd compose a poem cursing me."
"Ha ha ha! She wouldn't go that far. Lady Laofang was responding to ladies who asked about you, the eligible gentleman. Once Princess Elizabeth left, the women at least had the courage to inquire."
With that, Roger straightened his collar — he had a class to teach. Serena did too. She patted Roger's back, clearly peeved that he'd shared the story with Fischer, but neither man thought it was a big deal.
Fischer watched the middle-aged man and the young woman leave. He suspected they were more than colleagues — probably involved romantically.
In the years of Saint-Nazareth's rapid economic boom, all the individuality that had been repressed by propriety and decorum seemed to have burst forth at once. Not only were fashion styles more daring, but attitudes toward romance had shifted too. Quite a few writers even celebrated May-December romances — Laofang being a prime example.
'A gorgeous young lady and a mature, wealthy gentleman' — that was exactly her preferred theme.
Fischer shook his head. He didn't concern himself with his colleagues' private lives. He pulled the transfer requests from his mailbox, skimmed the names, then tossed them aside. He picked up a pen and began writing a letter to the Witch Karo.
The Schwari visit was approaching. He needed to bring her out for a talk. He also had questions — about the Pink Pavilion.
After finishing the letter, Fischer produced the folded paper airplane messenger from inside his coat. He slipped the letter into the crease. The moment the letter was inserted, the airplane seemed to come alive — its sides clamping tightly around the envelope, its wings beginning to bob and flutter as it rose into the air.
As it floated upward, it gradually turned translucent. In this state, only the sender and recipient could see the messenger.
Fischer watched it wobble skyward and wing its way toward the heart of Saint-Nazareth, then turned away.
With nothing else pressing, Fischer had been planning to pull out the Soul Completion Handbook for study. But then he glanced out the window at the Southern Continent Demi-Human Protection Association's quarters and decided to go try binding Xi Yate with the Demi-Human Completion Handbook first.
Binding a new research subject placed enormous strain on the body. Fischer was worried that if he depleted his mana studying the Soul Completion Handbook and then tried to bind afterward, he might collapse on the spot.
Fischer climbed out the window and headed over. This time, however, the short wall revealed no centaur girl kneeling in the dirt harvesting vegetables. The enclosure was completely empty — she had apparently been summoned by the Pioneer Party people for yet another promotional event.
It seemed they hauled her off to such appearances regularly — a tool trotted out whenever there was "love and peace" to preach.
Fischer's outlook on researching the centaur girl grew suddenly bleak. Perhaps he could chat with her now and again, but if she was never around for proper study, it would be a problem. Locking in a research subject was a grueling process; without the opportunity for any actual progress, it might not be worth it.
Fischer frowned and walked back toward his office. He hadn't even climbed back through the window when he noticed his desk phone ringing insistently. 'Who would be calling me?'
He picked up the receiver. A familiar, aged voice crackled through.
"Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Fischer Benavides."
Fischer raised an eyebrow.
"Old Jack? How do you know my office number?"
"Oh, Fischer — it's you. I called your rental flat first. Ms. Masha answered and told me you're teaching at Saint-Nazareth University. I asked the operator to connect me to the university, and they transferred me to your office."
Listening to this convoluted chain of phone transfers left Fischer caught between a laugh and a groan. But if the man had gone through all that trouble to reach him, it had to be something urgent.
"What happened? Is there some kind of emergency?"
A pause on the other end — as though Jack were confirming something. After a second or two, the old man continued.
"Here's the thing. The day before yesterday, a strange customer came in. She ordered a mountain of drinks, got drunk, and passed out at the table. She hasn't moved since — all the way to this morning. If she weren't still breathing, I'd have tossed her out by now."
"You're saying she's been asleep in your tavern for a day and a night and still hasn't woken up?"
"That's right. I couldn't hold back last night and gave her a shake. Good heavens — it knocked her cloak off, and she's not even human! She's got things growing on her body that humans don't have. She's a demi-human!"
"A demi-human?"
"Yes, and I've never seen one of her kind before. Maybe I'm just ignorant, but she looks really strange... You're the only person around me who knows anything about demi-humans. Would you come take a look?"
A spark flickered in Fischer's eyes. He agreed at once.
"All right. I'll be right over."