novelraw Chapter 144: Slander
Chapter 144: Slander
After hearing Fischer's words, Jasmine glanced at the extremely awkward position she and Fischer were in. Her face instantly flushed red. She hurriedly stood up, then crouched beside Fischer and whispered to him,
"S-Sorry..."
However, her soft tail remained resting on his knees. As she spoke, the tail gently patted his body, not unlike a mother soothing a child to sleep.
In the darkness, her blue eyes—which seemed to hold the entirety of the ocean—shimmered with a faint light. Coupled with the soft luminescence radiating from her non-human features, she looked as beautiful as a princess in the pitch-black environment. On her forehead, a crown resembling flowing water gently held up her silky hair, moving in rhythm with her breaths.
Fischer sat up and looked at Jasmine beside him. She seemed to be consciously using her body to block his line of sight, trying to hide the fish tail behind her.
Her body wasn't slimy, nor did it have any strange fishy smell. On the contrary, there was a fresh fragrance, like some kind of aquatic flower, carrying a sweet and pure scent.
Even though there was no water source around, Fischer noticed that her tail and hair were somewhat damp, as if soaked by water from an unknown origin.
Fischer's scrutinizing gaze moved quickly. Wherever he looked, Jasmine's skin seemed to heat up. Gradually, not just her face, but her neck and even other parts of her body began to flush with a cherry-pink hue.
Seeing her unusual reaction, Fischer hurriedly withdrew his appraising gaze. He feared that if he continued to stare, this delicate student in front of him would burst into tears.
Actually, she had already cried earlier."Are you a demi-human?"
Fischer's expression was composed, acting as if this was the first time he had discovered his student's true identity. His sudden question made Jasmine tremble in fright. She remained silent for a good while before nodding, then softly replied,
"Mhm..."
"I see."
Fischer prepared to stand up. In truth, he didn't plan on doing anything. Jasmine's identity being exposed was actually a good thing for him. He wouldn't tell anyone about this, which would make it much easier to eventually pry information about the Whale-kin and her purpose for coming ashore.
But the prerequisite was that they had to escape from this place safely first.
That was what Fischer thought. However, as Jasmine watched his back while he turned away to survey their surroundings, she might have misunderstood something. After hesitating for a second or two, she suddenly reached out and tightly grabbed Fischer's sleeve.
Fischer turned around in surprise, only to see Jasmine kneeling on the ground behind him with her head lowered. Her long blue hair obscured her face. Then, a quiet, almost animal-like voice reached his ears,
"F-Fischer, sir... Could you please not tell anyone else that I'm a demi-human?"
"I really enjoy studying at Saint-Nazareth University. I want to spend time with Isabelle, Milika, and the others... I'm also very honored to be your teaching assistant, and I really want to continue learning magic under you..."
"If my identity changes from a human to a demi-human, I won't be able to stay here anymore, so..."
Jasmine looked up with reddened eyes. Her face appeared incredibly beautiful yet delicate. The urge to comfort such a pitiful girl and stop her from crying would likely be the very first thought of anyone who laid eyes on her.
"I don't want others to find out that I belong to a demi-human race..."
Fischer was slightly taken aback. He turned his head back around but didn't pull his sleeve away from her grip.
"Let's figure out a way to escape from here first. After all, I'm quite curious about the demi-humans from the ocean and why you came ashore to disguise yourself as a human."
He slid his hand down from where Jasmine was tightly gripping his sleeve and gently grasped her wrist, pulling her up from the ground. Along the way, he also picked up the walking stick and Fluid Sword she had knocked over earlier. He then turned back and calmly said to her,
"You are my teaching assistant. If I really think about it, finding another student to replace you would be very troublesome. Besides, a teaching assistant and a professor should always be honest with each other, right? Alright, follow me so we can regroup with the others."
Hearing Fischer say, "a teaching assistant and a professor should always be honest with each other," it was unknown what Jasmine's mind had wandered to. Her face bloomed with a faint blush before she nodded happily and followed closely behind him.
'Reinar was right indeed. Mr. Fischer truly is a very kind human...'
Even though their surroundings were pitch-black, Jasmine felt as though a holy halo was radiating around the back of the man in front of her. She had no idea that Fischer had long known she wasn't a normal human, even if today was the first time he had truly seen a "Whale-kin" in their full form.
"By the way, Professor Fischer..."
Jasmine's voice suddenly echoed from behind him. When Fischer turned to look at her, he saw her suddenly extending a finger toward his face. In his line of sight, the surging blue currents within her eyes seemed to come alive, slowly beginning to rotate. In the very next second, his cheek began to itch.
When Fischer reached up to touch his cheek, he realized that the spot where a cut had previously been was now completely healed.
Was this a unique ability of hers, or an innate talent shared by all Whale-kin?
A recovery effect of this caliber was already comparable to a fourth- or fifth-ring healing spell. If someone suffered even more severe injuries, could they also be fully restored using this method?
Noticing Fischer staring at her in confusion, Jasmine hurriedly explained,
"I... I can grant Some 'Life Force' to other people. It can help Professor Fischer's injuries heal much faster..."
"...Thank you."
After thanking Jasmine, Fischer kept this question in his heart, planning to find another opportunity later to uncover the answer.
He turned his head to survey their surroundings, which had once again fallen completely silent. He had no idea where those terrifying monsters from earlier had gone. Ever since Jasmine—looking like a gargantuan leviathan from the deep sea—had crashed down from the fourth floor, the monsters in the vicinity had temporarily vanished.
According to his original plan, Mr. Fischer was preparing to head down to the first floor to regroup with the others. Only by gathering together would they be able to brainstorm a proper strategy to escape.
Leading Jasmine along, Fischer noticed that although she had legs, she was extremely unaccustomed to walking. She even needed to lower her head to look at the path, quietly muttering "one-two, one-two" to count her steps as she moved. At this snail's pace, Fischer had no idea when they would finally reach the ground floor.
When Fischer turned around to look at her, she embarrassedly glanced at the wall beside them, attempting to use this cute act of distraction to cover up her awkward walking posture.
Because... there was no need to walk back in the ocean! She had only been practicing for less than half a year since coming ashore. Compared to other Whale-kin, Jasmine was already considered a highly skilled "walking trainee."
However, when she came violently crashing down just now, her speed had been unimaginably fast. He wondered what kind of state she had been in at that moment. Thinking of this, Fischer voiced his question,
"Your state earlier was very strange. It was like you had turned into a completely different person. What happened?"
Fischer recalled that in the asylum in Naris, there was sometimes a bizarre mental illness where patients seemed to possess two completely independent people inside their bodies. They had vastly different personalities and habits, crammed into a narrow vessel, constantly arguing with each other every day. He believed the condition was called "Dissociative Identity Disorder."
He suspected that Jasmine might be suffering from this exact illness, hence his probing question to understand the situation.
If it was true, considering the murderous aura of her "second personality" from earlier, Fischer felt it was necessary to re-evaluate his research approach to Jasmine to prevent any accidents.
"I... I came out to look for you earlier, Professor Fischer, but I was frightened by the hideous monsters outside, so I attacked them... Plus, it's too dark outside. I actually thought you were a monster too, Professor Fischer..."
Hearing Jasmine's explanation, dark lines formed on Fischer's forehead. While he understood she meant she had been "blinded by killing intent," was he really that hard to distinguish from those incredibly ugly monsters?
"In other words, you were fully conscious at the time?"
"...Mhm. Whenever I get scared, I... become like that."
The small, animal-like voice sounded from behind him again. Fischer walked back to the spot she had just come from, only to see the walls completely covered in deep cracks, looking as though they had been crushed by some kind of tremendous force. If he hadn't seen her orchestrate the attack with his own eyes, Fischer absolutely wouldn't have believed that this timid girl could possess such monstrous strength.
Could it be that all demi-human races were such overpowered existences?
No, that wasn't right. Fischer had only seen this kind of special situation manifest with Raphaela... and Raphaela was supposedly the "Crimson Dragon Queen" detailed in the World-Ending Prophecy...
Then, was there a possibility that Jasmine was the "Son of the Sea" mentioned in the prophecy?
Thinking of this, Fischer turned his head to look at Jasmine. There was no specific emotion decipherable from his gaze, leading Jasmine to think she had frightened him. She quickly blurted out a panicked explanation,
"O-Our state is just a little more special when we're fighting! I'm completely fine on normal days!"
"No, it's fine."
It wasn't just fine. Going by Raphaela's pattern, the world-destroyers recorded in the apocalyptic prophecy were likely to be extremely distinctive, special individuals within their respective races.
For example, the combat capabilities between Raphaela and the identically aged Kexir and Faxir were like heaven and earth. In Fischer's eyes, she was practically a humanoid steam engine. When she fought against others, it could only be described as "smashing dead wood."
Fischer still remained oblivious to the overall situation of the Whale-kin species. If Jasmine indeed proved to be a uniquely special case, then there was a high probability that she was the "Son of the Sea" he had been trying to locate.
Just as they prepared to take their next slow steps downward, the entire building visibly shook once again. Outside the windows, countless, innumerable monsters resembling cockroaches and insects began squirming and moving, startling the Jasmine beside him.
"Professor Fischer, they're here again..."
"Don't worry."
Deeply afraid that she might lapse into her frenzied fighting state again, Fischer had to reassure her first. However, heavily pondering the endless stream of monsters outside, he fell into deep thought.
Since earlier, they had raced from the fourth floor down to the first, and then straight back up to the fourth floor again. Just how many waves of these monsters had they repelled in that short timespan? Even a conservative estimate would be several hundred kills, yet they were now spewing an unceasing wave of horrors outside once more, as if there was simply no end to them.
In the beginning, Fischer actually believed that the mastermind behind the scenes had truly slaughtered this multitude of people just to transform them all into Human-Insects. But now, he suddenly thought of a new possibility: what if the monsters they had just slain hadn't truly died? Perhaps they instantly resurrected the moment they were killed, and the location of their rebirth was the exact core where this colossal transcendant-ring Spatial Magic had been engraved.
Having thought of this, Fischer turned back to look at Jasmine. Noticing that her current state meant she would walk incredibly slowly, and fearing that she would lose control and cause a huge ruckus if she snapped back into her battle state, Fischer knew that if she unhesitatingly dove into a chaotic horde of that many people, he wouldn't be able to help keep her demi-human identity a secret even if he wanted to.
She possessed such bizarre ears and an obvious tail, not to mention the faint glow she naturally emitted in the darkness. The others weren't blind; it would be impossible for them not to recognize Jasmine as a demi-human.
Therefore, making a split-second decision, Fischer reached forward and grabbed her palm. Instantly, he felt the soft, delicate, and slightly moist touch of her little hand.
Jasmine looked at the Fischer in front of her with a flushed face. She saw him looking down below with a stoic expression as he said,
"Follow me. Just don't fight to avoid letting others find out you're a demi-human... Is there any way for you to turn back into a human?"
"Water... If I can get in touch with some water, I'll be able to contact Lord Ramastia."
Upon hearing the name "Ramastia," Fischer shot her a swift glance before nodding.
"Alright. In that case, let's head to the restroom on the first floor. We'll wait until you change back to normal before rejoining the others."
"Mhm!"
Jasmine looked at Fischer tightly gripping her left hand and decided to clear the messy thoughts out of her head. She had genuinely panicked earlier, just from Professor Fischer grabbing her hand. Now, it seemed she had just been severely overthinking things.
'Jasmine, oh Jasmine, we are in an incredibly perilous situation right now. How could your mind be wandering off to these things?'
'Plus, Professor Fischer is clearly an exceptionally outstanding and upstanding gentleman at a glance. He's not exactly some weird pervert... Even though he's surprisingly friendly toward demi-humans, he ought to be just like any other human and wouldn't possibly develop feelings of affection for a demi-human...'
'Jasmine, oh Jasmine, you're practically slandering Professor Fischer in your head! You definitely can't do this anymore!'
In her eyes, Fischer remained enveloped by a holy halo, looking as pure and divine as a fabled sage from legendary tales...
Fischer, however, had absolutely zero inkling of her inner monologues. He handed the glowing walking stick back to Jasmine. But what neither of them noticed was that, completely dissimilar from when he had briefly lent it to Roger earlier, the instant Jasmine took hold of it this time, a layer of deep purple light shimmered faintly across its surface. It was almost as though it was secretly transmitting some sort of message to someone else.
Fischer stared down the dark stairwell and drew in a deep breath. He held the Ramastia's Fluid Sword steadily in his grip, finally prepared to regroup with the others.