novelraw Chapter 178: Ant
Chapter 178: Ant
Forced to pay the thirty-five Ores for breakfast, Fisher walked out of the breakfast shop with a foul expression. Even Fisher wouldn't have expected that he would actually be scammed out of money by a prince.
And he was still emulating Godolin II like this? He wasn't even willing to pay a few dozen Ores for breakfast?
Complaints were complaints, but Fisher didn't gain nothing from Dexter's visit this time. At least it was worth much more than those thirty-five Ores for breakfast.
It was normal for Dexter and Lensis to not get along. Lensis was seven years younger than Dexter and even one year younger than Elizabeth, but he was unequivocally Godolin IX's most beloved child.
Because by the time the two younger brother and sister were born, Godolin IX's original queen had already been dead for a long time. Therefore, the energy Godolin IX poured into them was also far less than for the previous few princes and princesses; more often than not, it was still their elder brother and older sister who took care of them.
As for Lensis, he was the youngest prince born to the original queen, and naturally received Godolin IX's partiality, just like it was a compensation for his own queen.
But partiality was partiality. Regarding how to choose an heir, Godolin IX ought to still be clear-headed; his best choice was Prince Dexter.
Nowadays, the financial power of the entire nation was already in Dexter's hands. Elizabeth managed the military and completely didn't interfere with political affairs, possessing no opportunity to inherit the grand lineage. Only Lensis was left, still struggling by relying on petty tricks.
But speaking purely from strength, it was obvious that Lensis couldn't outplay Dexter, otherwise he wouldn't have had so much leverage and evidence caught in Dexter's hands.
The current Lensis was like a piece of meat on a chopping board. The charity gala on the weekend was the time Dexter would use the knife against Lensis, and he could take advantage of the time Dexter made his move to plan his own matters. This was also the intention Dexter revealed to him when he was about to leave.Dexter, this eldest prince, was actually very interesting. He had methods and bold vision, but equally valued kinship and benevolence, otherwise he wouldn't have said he wanted to place Lensis under house arrest in the Golden Palace.
Similarly, even though his communication with Elizabeth was sparse, he actually didn't mind her taking the military power. He actually supported Elizabeth freely choosing her marriage partner, lacking any thought of forcing a change to her marriage.
While thinking, Fisher had already arrived at the Naris Petrie Bank. After donating seventy thousand Narios according to plan, the bank staff made a phone call to Keken, and Fisher easily obtained an emerald-green charity banquet admission ticket.
The ease of the process and the speed were simply beyond Fisher's imagination. Even Fisher had to sigh that having connections in Saint-Nazareth truly made handling matters very easy.
After coming out of the Petrie Bank, Fisher walked towards the Saint-Nazareth carriage market again. Truly purchasing a carriage required special order, so the carriage market he was currently going to basically provided rental services.
Naris's pioneering fervor was reflected in every aspect of society. In order to scrape together enough principal, many fanatic gentlemen put all their eggs in one basket, mortgaging their own carriages, mansions, and even pets to Naris's banks to loan the first pot of principal. However, once they couldn't pay back the interest, these things would flow into the Naris market in the form of auctions.
Many merchants with considerable business acumen bought these carriages at auction. Doing so not only allowed them to rent them out to various events that lacked funds but required extravagance, such as weddings and the like, but they could also rent the carriages to people providing passenger transport services in Saint-Nazareth, otherwise what did you think was the reason Fisher could frequently ride carriages by the street previously.
Fisher himself loved carriages. His own previous carriage was a custom build that he spent a massive price on, and he also spent quite a bit of thought decorating it. Not only did he design many hidden slots and storage compartments on the outside, but he also placed a space-extending magic inside. It could be called a "mobile high-class house."
That should have been a carriage that could be called a top-tier luxury car, definitely one-of-a-kind within Naris's borders. It was just that when Raphaela left, Fisher directly gave that carriage to her as a gift, otherwise that Dragonewt would have had to walk on foot across half a continent to return to her tribe.
Come to think of it, right now it should still be gathering dust somewhere in the Southern Continent. That carriage wasn't suitable for combat, so Raphaela shouldn't carry that carriage along with her to fight wars...
Nowadays, Fisher, who had become cash-strapped again, could only casually pick a black, understated carriage in the carriage market, incidentally renting two black thoroughbred horses to pull the carriage.
Not only would he need to use it during the charity gala, but for the next few days, he also planned to take Jasmine out of Naris's urban area to the upper reaches of the Klein River northeast of Saint-Nazareth. That place was unfrequented by people and situated in the mountains, making it extremely suitable for letting Jasmine practice how to achieve balance.
As for why he chose that place, it was related to the charity gala action on the weekend.
The location of the Healing House was extremely secluded, exactly situated in the middle reaches of the Klein River, which fit its positioning as a sanatorium extremely well.
But what Fisher truly considered was how to escape with Jasmine after entering the underground. If the action went smoothly, they would of course exit exactly how they entered. But in case it didn't go smoothly, Fisher could only consider using magic to shatter the barrier connecting to the river channel under the Healing House, and then escaping along the river.
Before this, Fisher still wanted to go scout the location, getting a rough grasp of the clear situation of the Klein River.
It was almost nine-thirty when Fisher finally carried the chicken meat back to his rental house. Ms. Martha had already gone out to exercise. By the time Fisher pushed open the door to his room, Jasmine was sprawled on the sofa, weak and feeble and motionless. One look and she appeared like she was about to collapse from hunger.
It wasn't until Fisher appeared carrying the food that the tip of her nose instantly twitched abruptly, and then from the tip of her nose to her entire body, it was as if she was sequentially bestowed with vitality.
Eventually, her whale tail curled up first, and her head also followed, raising up with eyes shining. But she still didn't ask about the food first, instead softly speaking a sentence to Fisher, making one's heart warm like a wife waiting for her husband to come over.
"Fisher, welcome back..."
Fisher was slightly stunned upon hearing it. Only at this moment, he suddenly could somewhat empathize with what kind of feeling other Naris gentlemen with families had when returning home, especially since Jasmine was still the most beautiful type among that category of ladies.
Looking at that completely defenseless Jasmine who was harmless to people and animals, Fisher paused for a second. Subsequently, he rather obscurely shifted his somewhat invasive gaze away, concurrently nodding and responding.
"Breakfast, quickly come over and eat."
"Mhm!"
Pinching her skirt, Jasmine ran down from the sofa with bare feet, and then helped Fisher move the extra plates to the table.
Looking at that fragrant roast chicken, Jasmine once again made a praying gesture. Amidst the blue long hair on her head, a hair crown that seemed to be composed of water flow gently supported her long hair, making her look extremely elegant.
"Thank you Fisher for bestowing me with delicious food, awooo..."
While Jasmine actually started eating, Fisher looked at that crown-like water flow hair crown, suddenly guessing that the other ocean demi-humans recognized the Whale-kin as the royal family in the ocean precisely because of this point.
After all, they rarely met each other. Who could know that the Whale-kin were essentially a very lazy species, lazybones who waited every year for other ocean demi-humans to throw fish down into the ocean trench?
"Speaking of which, what's the deal with that water flow hair crown on your forehead?"
Eating the roast chicken, Jasmine raised her head, looked at that swath of water flow on her head, and then said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Ah, this... it's a Directional Compass Artifact my aunt made for me. Because it's too dark in the sea, every time I swam out of the ocean trench I wouldn't know how to go back... When I was little, if I got lost I would just squat in the coral bushes and cry. My mom searched for a long time before she could find me..."
Speaking of her dark history when she was little, Jasmine touched that water flow hair crown on her head with some embarrassment. Her fingers passing through that hair crown stirred up a few droplets of water, and those water droplets were very quickly attracted back into the hair crown, circulating along with it.
Mhm? This was actually a Directional Compass Artifact?
Even accounting for countless possibilities, Fisher couldn't have imagined that this thing actually had such a function...
That is to say, this thing was actually not something every Whale-kin had. Then, was it possible that because her mother called herself the "Ocean Emperor," the other tribes would address the Whale-kin as the royal family?
Jasmine showed the main body of that Relic to Fisher. It turned out to be a tiny clip made of gold, clipping a small wisp of hair on the back of Jasmine's head.
Then Jasmine gently tapped that hair clip, and the water flow hair crown on her head abruptly changed direction, pointing towards a certain place in the South Ocean adjacent to Saint-Nazareth. Tapping it again, that water flow would disappear, shrinking back into the tiny hair clip.
"Although after growing up I rarely get lost anymore, I still like using this as a hair clip. Because when I'm in the sea I can't really feel the weight of my hair, now that I've come to land I'm not very accustomed to it..."
"It looks like your aunt dots on you very much."
"Mhm... Actually, making Relics is very difficult. But as long as I say I want one, Aunt will make it for me, even if the requests I raise actually sound very childish..."
Speaking of her aunt, Jasmine seemed to think of a certain female figure in the ocean with a hearty smile. Even the speed at which she ate the roast chicken slowed down significantly. Evidently, Jasmine's feelings for her aunt were very deep.
Aside from this, Jasmine said Muxi had also made an Auto-Tracking Fishing Net Artifact used for catching fish for her, as well as an earplug Artifact to prevent hearing Ramastia's voice, and an Artifact that automatically caught the fish thrown down by other ocean demi-humans every year.
All these assorted things, anyway they were all Artifacts with magical functions, but not of much specific use.
Rather than calling them Artifacts, it was more like toys made for Jasmine when she was little.
It seemed knowing how to make Artifacts genuinely meant one could do whatever they wanted. This made Fisher want to help Jasmine find her aunt even more; this way, he could also learn a bit about how Artifacts were made.
Speaking of which, "Relic" was actually the name the human academic world used for these items left behind from antiquity. As for what true name they should be called, Fisher had no idea.
The reason Jasmine also called this kind of thing a Relic was because her Naris language was bestowed by Ramastia.
And the Naris language was fundamentally a vocabulary script. For every additional noun, one needed to use a new pronunciation to coin a word. Jasmine was not a native Naris person, so of course she didn't possess such an ability. Therefore, she could only follow the Naris people in calling it a Relic.
The more Fisher listened, the funnier he found it to be. Moreover, Jasmine said the Artifacts Muxi made basically all used gold as raw materials, because there was an abundance of gold on the seabed.
No wonder the wealth sent up by that group of ocean demi-humans was basically all gold. This was the exact opposite of the situation where the Naris homeland had no gold mines.
However, ever since Black arrived in the Southern Continent decades ago, Naris leaped to become a major gold-producing nation of the West Continent. This had to "thank" that group of crude Goblin bosses occupying the mines in the Southern Continent...
While Jasmine was eating, Fisher wrote a letter to Elizabeth. He roughly spoke about the matter of Dexter coming over to find him, and enclosed a messenger used for communication along with the letter, so as to avoid her not being able to find him if he wasn't in the rental house later.
Regarding Anna's side, Fisher didn't plan on calling her out again, at most reminding her that he was going out when passing by the entrance of the Pink Pavilion.
By the time Jasmine almost finished eating her breakfast, Fisher tidied up a bit, and then let Jasmine put on a cloak and sit in the compartment of the carriage.
After all, she still had a large whale tail behind her. It was currently daytime, and it was her first time appearing on the streets of Naris strutting about like this. Consequently, Fisher watched her cover that massive tail behind her that was basically about to stick to her back, panting "heave-ho, heave-ho" while staring at the ground and running onto the carriage.
Actually, if Jasmine wasn't an ocean demi-human but an ordinary demi-human of other common varieties, Fisher wouldn't need to hide her like this, because many Naris gentlemen raised demi-human servants at home.
After all, the intelligence of demi-humans and humans wasn't actually that different. If one ignored their appearance that had a certain gap compared to humans, employing slaves at an extremely cheap price was a very cost-effective matter.
However, Jasmine was the kind of ocean demi-human that other people had never even seen before, and furthermore, the very demi-human that Black and Lensis personally wanted to catch. Therefore, Fisher was so cautious. Fortunately, there weren't many people near Fisher's rental house right now.
Forgot to mention, the average age of the residents in the block where Martha lived was actually the highest in the entirety of Saint-Nazareth; it was entirely composed of old men and women missing teeth and walking with canes. Yet even doing so, their life routine was much more regular than young people like Fisher.
Fisher shook his head and finally sat on the position for driving the carriage once again. The last time he sat in this position was still in the Southern Continent when he was with Raphaela and the others. At that time, Raphaela frequently sat together with him. She would quietly open a crack in the carriage compartment door, and then reveal a pair of emerald-green eyes, staring at Fisher driving the carriage in front.
Fisher was slightly stunned. Holding the reigns, he suddenly turned around to look at the carriage compartment behind him. At some unknown point, the compartment door at this moment had also been pushed open a crack, revealing a pair of watery, large blue eyes inside; it was none other than Miss Jasmine.
"Fisher, where are we going now?"
Before coming out, Fisher hadn't even told Jasmine where they were going, and she just foolishly followed him onto the carriage. This made Fisher suspect whether if he sold her, she would even help him count the money...
"Going to the Klein River, one of the eight major rivers of Naris. It's precisely in the direction of Saint-Nazareth University, but the distance is extremely far apart."
Hearing that it was the direction of Saint-Nazareth University, Jasmine opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end hesitated to speak, and didn't utter a word.
Actually, Fisher guessed that she wanted to go meet Milika and Isabel, who were attending school at Saint-Nazareth University. But evidently, this was an excessive and impossible request to fulfill. The Naris authorities were currently still looking for her.
Fisher knew but also didn't say it out loud. He merely lightly waved the horsewhip, driving the carriage slowly on the streets of Naris.
Although he wasn't preparing to go find Anna, Fisher still decided to report a message to her. He deliberately took a detour, passing by the front of the Pink Pavilion on Nateon Street.
Originally, he merely wanted to let her know he was going out now just like last time, and driving the carriage out also meant his rough affairs had already been arranged properly. The result he hadn't expected was that he directly saw Anna right at the entrance.
To be accurate, it wasn't the entrance of the Pink Pavilion, but in front of a shop a bit further up Nateon Street.
She was still wearing a set of extremely conservative Naris clothing, wearing an imported hat embedded with white gauze balls. The shop in front of her was separated from her by merely a glass window. Through the glass, she could see the exquisite small cakes and desserts like macarons made by the shop owner inside.
Fisher noticed that beautiful lady standing by the street side, yet never expected that she actually loved eating sweets. Because she was already carrying a small box of egg tarts in her hand, yet she still stood by the window evaluating the cakes and stuff inside...
The black carriage behind her slowly passed by. Anna also turned her head, seemingly sensing something. She accurately saw the gentleman wearing a gentleman's hat in front of the carriage. Her gaze shifted slightly, and she reached out to cover her imported hat, obscuring her eyes.
Now that he saw Anna directly, Fisher altered his plan, "unintentionally" dropping a small paper airplane to the roadside. It hadn't rained yesterday, so that paper airplane fell straight to the ground.
"Hey, that damned fellow, how could he litter?!"
A shop owner sweeping the floor beside her raised his broom and angrily glared at that gradually departing black carriage. Just as he was about to pick up that paper airplane, a fragrant wind assaulted from behind him. He turned around to look, and a stunningly beautiful lady with a tranquil smile reached out a hand towards him.
"Excuse me, could you give that paper airplane to me?"
"Ah, sure, sure..."
"Many thanks."
Anna smiled slightly, and subsequently stuffed the paper airplane back into her small bag without betraying her expression, possessing no further intention to buy macarons. She walked briskly toward the direction of the Pink Pavilion.
Inside the Pink Pavilion, it was still as usual. Even though it was morning, there were already quite a few guests seeking pleasure within. A faint white smoke wafted over, making the room seem as idyllic as a fairyland.
Inside the hall, countless girls reclining on their sides on chairs saluted Anna respectfully.
"Ms. Anna, the newly arrived fellow from yesterday wants to leave again..."
Right as she came in, two girls dressed thinly walked to her side, whispering so to Anna.
Anna cast a glance at them, abruptly thought of something, extended a hand and waved to them, saying.
"Take me to see."
"Yes."
The two ladies led the way in front, and Anna slowly passed through the hall and numerous rooms behind them, walking toward the inner layers.
Unlike the resplendent in gold and jade outside, the inner rooms were situated underground, with quite a cold feeling filling them.
Descending along the spiral black staircase, Anna walked to the front of a room below the ground under the guidance of the two girls. Pushing open the room door, inside, a girl wearing a short shirt was curled up on the bed.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, she was like a startled bird, turning her head to look at the doorway. Upon seeing that cold-faced Anna, that girl's disheveled hair shook along with her head.
"N-No, quickly let me go... Either let me go, or give me a little... a little medicine, just a little is fine..."
That girl crawled on the floor, as if undergoing a massive torment. With an evasive look in her eyes, she extended a hand toward Anna, as if wanting to grasp onto hope, frantically begging Anna for salvation.
Looking at that girl tortured entirely out of human form by the drugs, Anna sighed, waved her hand at the two girls beside her, and softly opened her mouth to speak.
"You girls go out, I'll handle it."
"Yes, Ms. Anna."
The two girls retreated out of the room, and gently closed the door.
And Anna waked slowly towards that girl crawling on the floor. Watching her continuously trembling facial muscles, she opened her mouth and asked.
"How did you get hooked on the drug?"
"It-It was at home, at home they used it, I'm also begging you, I will work hard, I'll do whatever you want me to, just give me a little... Guh..."
Before she finished speaking, Anna's palm was already gently attached to her forehead. Strange to say, after this single hand touched that girl, that girl's voice came to an abrupt end. One could only see her widened pupils from within Anna's fair fingertips.
Even though the girl pointlessly in front of her was a West Continent person she once hated the most, it was only after staying in the West Continent for a long time that she finally discovered that there were actually also many and numerous hardships like the person in front of her here.
Regardless of whether they were from the Southern Continent or the West Continent, whether they were humans or demi-humans, in the eyes of that group of people, they were ultimately nothing more than ants, existences that couldn't even enter their eyes. Who would care whether this group of people lived or died?
"Rest well for a while. Once you fall asleep, you won't feel uncomfortable anymore..."
On the shadows of the wall, where Anna's hand linked with it, a blurry and utterly muddled shadow was projected amidst the weak firelight in the room.
If you looked carefully at the shadow at that connecting point, only then would you discover that as if spreading out from the shadow on Anna's hand, it tightly clamped onto the front of that girl's body.
The candle flickered further. Sequentially, the girl in front rolled her eyes up, abruptly lost consciousness, and collapsed to the floor. Her muscles still spasmed from time to time, but the ferocious desperation on her face pleading for drugs had already slowly faded away. Evidently, she had completely lost consciousness.
Anna looked at the girl on the floor for a long time, subsequently slowly pulling out the paper airplane Fisher had just thrown to her from her small bag, looking at the magical splendor flickering on it.
Not knowing what she thought of, Anna smiled slightly. After putting the paper airplane away, she walked slowly out of this tiny room.
The door slowly closed. From the outside, Anna's gradually fading voice came once again.
"Notify me when she wakes up, then call Aurile to teach her the rules. if she dares to run out or steal the pavilion's drugs again, break her legs."