The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 279: The Eerie Text on the Ring

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't say that name!"

Right as Fischer spoke that name, Eimhart's mouth gaped wide open in front of him. Before Fischer could even react, he swiftly shrank back and floated above the bookshelf, poking half his head out. The eye on his protruding book cover darted around shiftily, acting as though he was deeply afraid that a terrifying demon god would suddenly appear from some spot on the ship.

"Is she really that terrifying? Even true Mythic Species shouldn't have any taboos preventing their names from being spoken, right?"

Fischer said this based on evidence. Based on his prior experiences, he had only ever encountered one existence possessing the terrifying authority of "speak their name, and they shall know of your existence"—and that was the smelly snake who loved blasting water into his face... oh wait, the 【God of Life】, Ramastia.

Even if they were categorized according to Life Ranks, Fischer didn't believe Ramastia was an existence merely at the Mythic Rank. It was highly likely He was an existence of an even higher rank than a Mythic Species.

No matter how powerful Baimon was, she should still fall under the category of a Mythic Species. She simply couldn't be compared to a god like Ramastia.

"You don't understand! This bastard Baimon's behavior is the most bizarre and eerie out of all the demons! Back in ancient times, she loved playing the role of different people to participate in or bear witness to certain periods of history. Even the Sanctuary failed to completely resist her infiltration and allowed her to successfully enter... Hey, do you think there's a possibility that Jesse right now is actually Baimon in disguise?! No, no, this is too dangerous! We need to hurry up and run away!"

Watching Eimhart playing dead while shrinking atop the bookshelf and shivering incessantly, Fischer roughly guessed that he definitely hadn't enjoyed any good fruit when he was captured by Baimon in the Abyss. However, unlike Eimhart, he currently wasn't worried that Baimon would pay attention to him just because he discovered the method to summon her.

The reason was very simple: since Baimon was willing to let Eimhart go back then, she definitely hadn't taken this sentient relic too seriously. Eimhart's current terror of her stemmed entirely from post-traumatic stress.

"Calm down, Eimhart. This is merely a method used by ancient humans to summon Baimon. We won't be repeating the steps described above, and you've already recorded the contents on it. Nothing will happen."Eimhart, who was hiding atop the bookshelf, poked his head out slightly more. Only after seeing that the parchment had already been clamped back underneath the book cover by Fischer did he take several deep breaths. He trembled as he floated back down and landed upon Fischer's shoulder.

"Fine then. Cough cough... Actually, it's not like I'm afraid of her or anything. I'm merely a little worried for your safety. You know, a special human like you is precisely her type. What if she disguises herself as a beautiful woman to seduce you? And on top of that, you're a guy who can't control his lower half. If that time really comes, you'll definitely fall into her trap..."

Having his face covered in black lines, Fischer smacked Eimhart on the head, interrupting his slander. However, he didn't stand up. Instead, he continued to flip backward through the "Flying Fish Logbook" in his hands.

On the very first page following the title page, every piece of information regarding the Flying Fish was written down, including its various specifications, personnel roster, and so on.

Fischer's gaze very quickly paused on the words "Captain: Jesse." At the same time, next to that line of text, there was an already-yellowing old photograph. It depicted a young, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man wearing an old-standard-issue captain's uniform of the Nazarene Development Company, looking bright, sunny, and entirely full of youthful vigor.

No expression of surprise surfaced on Fischer's face. He merely lingered his gaze on the young man's seemingly glowing eyes in the photograph. Several seconds later, he continued to flip several pages back. All the subsequent contents were stories strictly concerning the genuine Captain Jesse's sailing voyages.

The stories detailed how a student who had just graduated from the Royal Academy was propelled by Captain Blake's encouragement, determinedly abandoning his original major to head out to sea and contribute to Naris's pioneering efforts. Brimming with anticipation, he joined the Development Company. Fueled by passionate, hot-blooded motivation, he learned a wealthy breadth of sailing knowledge and obtained a ship that was entirely his own: the "Flying Fish."

However, as his sailing missions were executed time and time again, this Captain Jesse grew increasingly lost. He had witnessed far too much slaughter and pillaging in the Southern Continent. Those splatters of spilled blood and wretched screams caused him to introspect whether his initial goals were truly what he had witnessed today.

Captain Jesse was a man who possessed a conscience. He had earned a great deal of money through sailing, yet he hadn't abandoned his bottom line because of this immense wealth and glory.

Under the day and night introspection of the pioneering sins, he grew deeply weary of the voyages he had once never tired of, and he developed a resistance toward the Development Company he once viewed as a pioneer of light.

"This is Captain Jesse of the Development Company's final mission. The Flying Fish has been ordered to escort treasures excavated from ruins in the Southern Continent back to Naris. This includes two relics as well as a massive quantity of Southern Continent gold coins. Regretfully, these treasures will never make it back to Naris. My crew and I have resolved to rebel against the Development Company. We shall abandon our original route and sail further east."

This was content situated much further back. The remaining pages of the book were very thin. It seemed he had already reached the very end of this Captain Jesse's life. Only after a gap of several months from the previous timestamp did the next record appear in the captain's log. Consequently, this was also the absolute last thing this Captain Jesse ever recorded.

"Our ship has been placed on the wanted list by the Development Company. Originally, we planned to take these treasures to the eastern coast of the Western Continent, but their encirclement and interception forced us to abandon this idea... Right now, we can only head for the Northern Border. Our next stop is the Patroshen Islands."

"Because of the hardships we've experienced during this period, my crew members have begun to harbor dissent. I can sense the little thoughts burying deep in their hearts. I must be careful... I feel somewhat regretful that I told them where those treasures are buried. I underestimated the greed of humanity."

"Melissa, my darling. I don't know if I'll still be able to see you alive. I also know I'll never have the chance to say these words to you ever again, but getting engaged to you was truly the most correct decision I've ever made in my entire life. I love you deeply. The Mother Goddess bears witness to my loyalty toward you... I'm sorry, I might never be able to return to Naris ever again."

There were absolutely no more contents remaining. Fischer slowly moved his gaze away from the final paragraph in the book, then rather casually tossed the long-dust-ridden book onto the desk in front of him.

"It seems that when those crew members killed the captain, they failed to discover this logbook hidden deep within the bookshelf... And rightfully so, that old man didn't look like someone who loved to read. While those crew members were busy scrambling for the treasures, they naturally wouldn't bother checking the bookshelf. Let's go. It's time to see what those treasures actually look like."

At this moment, the hazy fluctuations of magic transmitted from the cabins down below. Fischer stood up from his chair. An entirely pitch-black sword hilt plopped into his palm without him seemingly noticing. He gently pushed open the captain's cabin door and walked out into the moonlight.

The deck was entirely silent. He brought Eimhart along and walked all the way toward the cabins situated beneath the deck.

Magical lights hung across the wooden corridors of the lower cabins. Whether it was due to the magic crests becoming unstable after far too much time had passed or some other reason, the lights merely flickered seemingly on and off, adding an extra layer of eeriness to the already incredibly narrow corridor.

Fischer took a lap around the first underground floor, but he didn't discover any traces of the old man posing as Jesse, so he continued walking down to the next level.

As he walked, he observed the situations on both sides of the corridors. On certain walls and handrails, incredibly obvious blade marks and bullet holes could be seen. Oftentimes, not too far from these marks, you could discover several patches of completely dried bloodstains that had seemingly fused entirely with the wooden floorboards, exactly like the bloodstains Fischer saw when he first boarded the ship.

Every single one of these marks corroborated the story written following that captain's log. Infighting had broke out on the Flying Fish, and the cause was precisely the treasures aboard the ship.

Captain Jesse had decided to flee with the Development Company's cargo out of his conscience. However, looking at the situation now, the crew members under his command simply didn't possess such noble sentiments. From the very beginning, they had their sights set on those gold coins and jewels.

During the voyage, Jesse was murdered by the crew members joining forces. The remaining crew members then engaged in brutal combat over how to distribute the spoils. This continued until a final victor emerged to claim all the treasures for himself.

He was originally supposed to take the Flying Fish and the treasures on board and go far away, but he never expected to be intercepted by a completely unreasonable gang on the Patroshen Islands.

In order to survive, he hid the treasures on the ship, ensuring the gang couldn't find what they were looking for. He lied to Fischer that he was the captain of the Flying Fish in order to gain sympathy. Absolutely everything he did was precisely for this very day—returning to the ship to retrieve the treasures he yearned for day and night.

Just as Fischer moved toward the lower level, a pitch-black gun barrel had already taken aim at his back at some unknown point in time. An elderly finger pressed hard against the trigger. Yet, right as he was about to exert force and fire, the man in front of him abruptly turned his head. His eyes revealed a freezing chill as he stared at the old man hiding within a room, poking half his head out.

That singular glance chilled the old man's heart. Before his brain could even react, his finger had already acted one step ahead and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The sound of the musket exploded in the darkness. However, a mercury-like sword blade flying even faster than the bullet had already extended out and slashed the bullet right out of mid-air, causing a shower of sparks as brilliant as fireworks to erupt seamlessly in the darkness.

Fischer's body didn't move. In his stead, the liquid sword blade surged toward the old man's palm.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

The rapidly flowing liquid blade extended outwards, furiously dancing across the old man's hand several times, leaving behind a series of deep cuts where bone could visibly be seen. However, arriving even faster than the bone-piercing agony assaulting his brain was the increasingly approaching figure of that Naris man.

This guy... was he truly not human?!

"Monster!"

The musket fell to the ground. Fischer's hand had already clutched his neck. Showing absolutely zero intent to respect the elderly or cherish the young, his right hand instantly struck violently upwards, moving from the elbow, to the knee, to the shoulder, and finally, his head...

Fischer's massive hand viciously twisted. By the time he tossed the old man right before him out, the man's four limbs collapsed powerlessly onto the ground, much like a doll whose joints had all been forcibly dismantled. The only thing remaining was his utterly terrified gaze, which was still firmly locked onto Fischer.

"It's a misunderstanding... A misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding! I thought... I thought someone from the gang was chasing after me, so I..."

Fischer slowly retracted the sword hilt in his hand back into his embrace while sweeping a glance across the scenario transpiring within the room. There, situated near the window of this guest room, an impressively clear 【Concealment Magic】 had manifested. This magic had already been activated by some sort of password right at this moment. Faint dots of golden light flickered from within the illusory space situated behind the magic. Clearly, what was hidden inside this magic was precisely the treasure they had concealed earlier.

Fischer stomped one foot down onto the old man. A half-smile played on his face.

"Do you know? Greedy people will always be too anxious to expose their own flaws. If you truly boarded the ship and did absolutely nothing instead of rushing to open the magic, I might have actually had to spend a little more effort prying the password to open this magic out of your brain..."

"How does it feel to monopolize all the treasures after murdering the captain? Now that you've finally successfully laid eyes on the very thing you desired as you have wished, are you satisfied?"

Although Fischer hadn't harbored any good intentions toward this old man when he first boarded the ship, the moment Fischer learned of the story that took place aboard the ship, coupled with the concealment magic being opened by him, this old man was already a dead man. Whether he actually opened fire on him or not was completely irrelevant.

"No... you... how could you possibly know?! Listen to me, I had absolutely no part in what happened on this ship! It was the other crew members who made a move against the captain! I merely acted in self-defense! You just want the treasures on the ship, right? I can give you absolutely all the treasures! As long as you can spare my life and let me get off the ship, these things will all be yours!"

"Isn't this what you came for? Everyone's in it for this. There's no need to take unnecessary actions, right? If you let me go, I can just swim back to the Patroshen Islands. As long as..."

Standing in the darkness, Fischer ignored his pleas. He slowly raised the liquid sword in his hand and took aim at the powerlessly struggling old man on the floor.

"Enough, shut up. If you have any excuses to make, say them directly in front of the Mother Goddess's throne when you go to see Her... Oh, right, one more thing. Captain Jesse sends his regards."

"Crack!"

The old man's pupils widened faintly. In the next moment, a flash of silver light plunged violently into his neck, entirely separating his head from his body. Even at the moment of death, his hands remained tightly clutching the golden compass resting against his chest, as though he wished to entirely embed his fingers into the gold.

"Whoa, he seems to have completely soiled himself. How disgusting... Wait, Fischer, now that you've killed him, are you actually capable of sailing the ship? Especially sailing it all the way to the Northern Border."

"This ship is driven by steam power. As long as the heading is correct, we won't end up in the wrong place. I learned how to pilot steamships at the military academy. Furthermore, there's magic and you assisting me here, so there's no need to worry about not having enough hands."

"...I'm merely a book! How can I help you sail a ship?"

"There's always something you can help out with, Crewmate Eimhart."

"..."

Fischer moved his gaze away from the old man's corpse on the floor and looked at the space hidden behind the magic before him. He leaned in a little closer and saw the jewels, gold, and two bizarrely shaped items hidden inside. Aside from that, there were also a few ancient documents belonging to the Development Company.

It seemed this magic was originally meant for the captain to store these important documents. Who knew that Captain Jesse would actually set up another hidden compartment behind his own bookshelf as well.

Fischer took out the gold, jewels, and the two bizarrely shaped relics. However, the lighting in this room was simply far too dim. It was highly likely that the lighting magic crest was on the verge of disappearing entirely. As such, he could only temporarily leave the gold here while he dragged the old man's corpse and carried the two relics back up to the deck.

After tossing the old man's corpse into the sea, he returned to Jesse's brightly lit captain's cabin and carefully examined the two bizarrely shaped relics before him.

The appearance of the first item was very easily recognizable. Even though its shape was weird, it carried a highly premium aesthetic beauty. Unfurling into the complete shape of a chestplate, it was incredibly thin and light, forged from some kind of metal. Holding it in his palm, Fischer didn't feel any weight to it whatsoever; it was as light as a feather.

"Fischer! That thing is a chestplate manufactured by the Holy Progeny! Its effects are exactly what you'd think: not only is it incredibly lightweight, but it's also especially tough! Furthermore, this piece is considered one of the highly premium-quality Holy Artifacts! Take a look, the patterns scattered across it are incredibly even, proving that the Holy Progeny who forged this was definitely an incredibly skilled, high-level blacksmith!"

Fischer placed the chestplate against his own chest to test it out. He suddenly discovered that the chestplate actually took the initiative to adjust its size to fit his body! The moment he placed the Angel Chestplate onto his body, the chestplate tightly adhered itself to his physique, as though it was an item custom-tailored specifically for Fischer.

After this, Fischer took it off again, preparing to test out exactly how strong it was. Striking the surface of the chestplate with his full strength bare-handed failed to leave even a single trace behind. Even with the addition of the liquid sword, it only produced a few microscopic scratches. It seemed the chestplate would face absolutely no issues enduring physical attacks ranging from the Eighth to Ninth Tier.

Since this was something he could use himself, Fischer wore it directly underneath his dress shirt. After moving around a few times and confirming it wouldn't cause any discomfort, he contentedly turned his gaze toward the next relic.

It was an entirely pitch-black ring. There were absolutely no gemstones socketed onto it, but the band of the ring was incredibly wide—at least twice as wide as the rings Fischer usually used to engrave magic on.

"Eimhart, do you recognize this thing?"

Fischer analyzed the black ring in his hands. Although there was a faint, mystical sheen unique exclusively to relics shimmering on it, it had yet to display any sorts of effects up to this point.

"Uhm... I don't recognize this thing at all. Furthermore, this Holy Artifact looks just a little bit... um, rough?"

"Rough?"

Fischer shot a surprised glance at Eimhart beside him. This guy highly revered the Angel-kin and basically never spewed any disrespectful words toward them from his mouth. For this relic to receive a review like this inevitably caused Fischer to suspect that this item was highly likely not crafted by the Angel-kin.

Could it have been made by Muxi? Or perhaps some other living being who learned forging techniques from the Angel-kin?

"Oh right, the hair tie Jasmine was wearing on her head earlier was also a relic. Compared to this relic, which one possesses better craftsmanship?"

"Mhm... I think the one placed upon that Whale-kin girl's hair was crafted slightly better."

"Is that so..."

Fischer touched his chin. He immediately proceeded to test out the relic, only to discover that no matter how he struck it, it produced zero effects. However, when the mana circuits on Fischer's hand lit up, this ring actually began to burst out with fine, dense micro-lights. Furthermore, Fischer's mana didn't leave a single trace upon it!

This incredibly peculiar discovery attracted Fischer's attention. His experience as a magician granted him a tiny bit of inspiration regarding exactly what the usage of this relic was.

"I think I know exactly what this thing is used for..."

"Huh? Does it have some sort of effect?"

Fischer didn't speak. He reached out and brought his engraving knife covered with magic material over. Following that, Fischer dipped a tiny bit of magic material and, under Eimhart's immensely shocked gaze, began to carve a simple First-Ring magic onto it.

"Wait, what are you doing?! Recklessly engraving magic onto a relic is highly likely to cause the relic to be damaged..."

"Don't worry, let me try this out."

It didn't take long at all for Fischer to finish engraving a First-Ring magic. He chose the First-Ring Light magic, 【Illumination】. Following that, he wore the ring upon his finger and took aim at the night sky outside. The instant the mana was activated, a dazzling radiance blindingly pierced out from the ring—countless times brighter than ordinary! It nearly blinded Eimhart's eye entirely, causing him to almost start cursing loudly in rage.

"Your mom! Is this truly a First-Ring magic? Why is it so bright?! MY EYE!!"

Fischer completely ignored his complaints. At this moment, he seemed extremely thrilled. Because Eimhart was correct—this was simply not an effect a First-Ring magic should possess! This intensity of illumination had clearly completely reached the limits of the Second or even Third-Ring...

In other words, engraving magic onto this ring could enhance the power of the engraved magic! This was precisely the true effect of this relic!

Fischer lowered his head and watched as the First-Ring magic crest he had just engraved upon the ring slowly vanished. Aside from that tiny bit of lingering World Echo fluctuation, the ring looked as if it had practically never been engraved with magic at all. It suffered zero deprecation or wear and tear! This caused Fischer to continue clicking his tongue in wonder as he watched.

If he had allowed Jesse to bring this item back to Saint-Nazareth, this item would most likely command a sky-high price within magician circles!

One must know that material consumption was a massive headache in the magic community. Yet this ring could not only entirely eliminate magic consumption, but it could also even boost the power of the magic as well! It was simply a relic custom-designed perfectly for magicians!

Acting exactly as if it was an immense treasure, Fischer wore the ring upon his hand, giving off the feeling that he couldn't bear to ever part with it. However, right during this wearing process, he suddenly discovered that a line of text seemed to be carved onto the inner band of the ring! It caused an incredibly distinct sensation of indentation against Fischer's skin.

He furrowed his brows and pulled the ring off his hand, holding it up against the lighting within the room. Under that lighting, the characters inscribed upon the inner band of the ring slowly surfaced.

It was a line of text that Fischer felt incredibly familiar, yet also unfamiliar with. The words written upon it read:

【唐沢あすか】

(Karasawa Asuka)