The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 112: Replenishing Magic

Fischer had a research laboratory on the outskirts of Saint-Nazareth. Strictly speaking, it wasn't really his — it belonged to Tlander.

Tlander owned an unused stable on the city's outskirts, an investment from his student days when it had housed a fine collection of horses.

After graduation, when he ran for a seat in the Pioneer Party, the massive costs of campaigning forced him to sell every horse. He had even planned to sell the land itself. But the location was poor — purchased without much investment foresight — and at the time no one could have predicted that a royally chartered Saint-Nazareth University would be built nearby. The plot couldn't fetch a decent price.

Fischer had scraped together some money and leased the land from Tlander on a sixty-year term — practically buying it — and eased a bit of the man's financial pressure. From then on, Fischer used the old stable as a lab. However, his research rarely demanded an actual laboratory, so he seldom came here.

Now it served perfectly to house this demon.

Descending from the carriage, the demon did not lapse into her earlier comatose slumber. When the carriage stopped, she opened her eyes, yawned, and leapt down from the back with the bottles cradled in her arms.

Following Fischer to the stable, she surveyed the surroundings. Once she confirmed no other humans were present, she removed her cloak, baring those four twisted obsidian horns, and drew a deep breath of the fresh suburban air.

"Mm, nice place. Perfect for sleeping."

Fischer ignored her every-other-sentence sleep commentary. He produced a key, unlocked the door, and revealed a room already gathering dust. Nobody had tended it in a long time; the mess was unavoidable.

Fischer grabbed a broom with practiced ease and swept the floor. Eliog, meanwhile, carefully set her bottles aside, plucked the dust cover off Fischer's cot, and planted herself on it with the ease of a homeowner. She began twisting the cap off a bottle."Come to think of it, I never asked — what's your name, human?"

"Fischer. And please don't drink yet. You'll get drunk, and I need to do my research."

At the mention of research, her expression soured — as though she were already regretting the deal.

The bed was comfortable, the surroundings quiet, and the hour was afternoon — sleeping conditions didn't get better than this. But a deal was a deal. She grudgingly set the bottle on the floor beside the cot.

"Fine. I'm Eliog, a demon. Pleasure to meet you. Oh, and this research of yours — is it tiring?"

"Not at all. You don't even have to move."

Fischer retrieved measuring instruments from a drawer, took out sheets for recording data, tested whether the lights still worked, and once everything was in order, pointed to the examination chair.

"All set. Come lie down over here."

"Yeah, yeah."

She dragged herself over with glacial slowness and flopped onto the chair. When Fischer adjusted the lamp over her, she didn't flinch — far calmer than Raphaela had been during her first session.

Fischer donned a magically crafted monocle and watched as she removed her cloak, revealing the sparse outfit underneath. His gaze swept over her wheat-toned skin. Through the monocle, serpentine mana circuits glowing like lava threads became visible.

"Can you remove your weapons?"

"Sure, doesn't matter."

Her weapons were the two curved blades — one long, one short — strapped to her back. Their design was unique.

The longer blade was shaped like a twisting serpent — something between a saber and a spear. A wooden scabbard preserved its edge, clearly well-used over many years.

The short blade was entirely different — crescent-shaped, its wooden sheath covered in extraordinarily intricate engravings. It was leagues above the longer weapon in quality.

Fischer spared the weapons only a cursory glance before returning his attention to the demon lying obediently on the chair.

Eliog, too, was studying the human. She noted the intense focus in Fischer's eyes, and the lazy flicker of interest in her own gaze deepened.

"You said you came to Saint-Nazareth to hunt a sinner? What kind of sinner?"

"Oh, a human."

"A human?"

Fischer paused in surprise. Most humans had no idea demon-kin even existed — yet the sinner they were hunting was a human? Who could command such notice?

"A human who committed a grave crime. I was ordered to hunt him. Problem is, I slept too long, so I've lost track of where he is now..."

'So the job was botched because of her own laziness?'

After only half a day together, Fischer felt he already had a solid read on this demon's character: absolute, consummate sloth. If even Fischer could spot it, he couldn't fathom how her fellow demons had dared assign her this mission.

"Well, since I've got no money and need to cooperate with your research, it's only natural that I can't continue hunting the sinner right now. What a shame..."

Eliog spoke the word "shame" while grinning so wide her face could barely contain it — the picture of someone profoundly proud of shirking duty.

Fischer's measuring tape ran inch by inch along her frame. He found that the demon's body was vastly harder and hotter than a human's — somewhat reminiscent of dragon-kin, except demons had no scales.

Eliog noticed where his gaze lingered and offered an explanation with a smile.

"We live deep underground. If your body isn't tough enough, the magma will reduce you to slag. Ordinary weapons can't hurt us."

"I see."

Fischer quietly committed every observation to memory. As his understanding deepened, the Handbook against his chest warmed faintly, as though certain pages within had begun glowing gold, automatically recording the research findings.

"Fischer... that's your name, right? I haven't received payment yet, but there's no reason I can't start your training now. First thing — you need to fix your terrible human habits."

"Hm?"

Fischer paused in measuring her tail, turning to look at the demon who had not budged a single muscle since settling into the chair. He wasn't sure what she meant.

"Heh, clearly you don't get it. Your body is leagues beyond a normal human's, yet you're still treating it with normal human routines. It's like having a massive soul-devouring volcano beast — all that enormous power — but you've never fed it properly. So it just keeps getting thinner and weaker. It's still a fearsome beast, but it can never unleash its full strength."

"You need to train. Train without restraint — exercise relentlessly. Oh, and you should also vent your urges from time to time."

At this last part, her interest surged to a full ten. She twisted around in the chair to face him.

"At your age, you should be doing that sort of thing every day. Your vitality is overflowing, but there's no outlet. Flame that can't be released will burn through its vessel. You'd think the principle was obvious."

Fischer quickly understood what she was getting at. He thought it over and conceded the demon had a point.

First, his body had been enhanced through the Handbook's dragon-kin augmentation, making him far stronger than an ordinary human. In the Southern Continent, constant combat had kept him sharp. But since returning to the Western Continent, he'd barely exerted himself. Some mornings he could feel that his muscles weren't as responsive as they used to be.

As for the other matter... that, too, made sense.

During his time with Raphaela, not only had her body felt smooth and comfortable, but he had to admit that he himself had felt physically at ease for those few days — entirely free of the restless heat that otherwise simmered nonstop.

Dragon-kin had the tail-bonding mechanism to regulate desire. But what about humans — creatures in a permanent state of low-grade agitation? Fischer had been suppressing it with willpower for a long time, and it was starting to take its toll. Combined with Renee's teasing over the past few days, he'd been feeling genuinely irritable.

Fischer reconsidered. He discarded his earlier dismissiveness toward the demon's "training" offer and asked.

"So what you're saying is, I need a certain intensity of physical training to maintain my current condition?"

"More or less. But that's just the basics. The real question is how you use your body. Of course, if all you want is to live a bit longer — just some fitness — then forget I said anything. But if you want to learn actual combat technique, I'll teach you everything I've got."

Her words were lazy, yet carried an unshakeable confidence. She pointed at Fischer's body, sketching a rough blueprint.

"First, a daily exercise regimen. Then clear out your stock. Keep that up for a while, and then you can decide whether you want to learn my combat techniques. Fair warning, though — I can't stay here forever. Drag it out too long and I'll be expelled from the dynasty..."

Fischer deliberated for precisely one second, then nodded without further hesitation.

"Understood. I want both — the physical conditioning and the combat training."

"Oh? Quick decision. I like that kind of decisiveness. Good."

Despite praising his decisiveness, she couldn't even be bothered to turn her head and nod. She expressed her approval through eye contact alone.

Fischer didn't take the demon's claims entirely at face value. He quietly continued his examination. But agreeing now cost him nothing.

He finished recording Eliog's external measurements. Other details — the properties of her tail and horns — remained unstudied. But it was nearly dinnertime. He had rushed to Serpent's Head Street without even eating lunch to retrieve this demon.

After several pages of notes, hunger finally dragged Fischer back to reality.

He rubbed his eyes and removed the monocle, only to discover that the demon — who had been silent for quite some time — had fallen asleep again. No wonder she'd stopped making a sound during the examination.

"Mm... you done?"

Before Fischer could call out to her, she yawned enormously and woke on her own. As her jaw stretched wide, the air in front of her face shimmered from the heat.

"Yes, that's enough for today. I'll get you something to eat tonight. What would you like?"

Eliog blinked and looked at Fischer.

"Meat, booze, that kind of thing. Oh, but if you want to save money, there's another way to feel full."

"What way?"

Eliog sat up, pointed suggestively at the gentleman before her, and grinned.

"Hey, human — ever heard of 'replenishing magic'?"