novelraw Chapter 284: The Queen's Husband
Chapter 284: The Queen's Husband
Looking at the text inside the ring, Fisher's expression appeared somewhat surprised. The reason he said this text felt both familiar and alien was because he had once seen such writing in the Demi-Human Completion Handbook.
He looked at the text inside the ring, then also took out the Demi-Human Completion Handbook from his coat and placed it on his lap. Flipping open the title page, right beneath that epic world-ending prophecy, was the golden signature written by the owner of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook.
That line of text above was square and upright. The character shapes and structures seemed incredibly bizarre to Fisher, looking more like some sort of symbols rather than a language he was familiar with. Although he didn't understand the specific meanings represented by the shapes, the Demi-Human Completion Handbook thoughtfully provided translation work for him, allowing him to discern the alias used by its author.
【Contributor: First of all, I'm not a Demi-Human Girl Con (Original Text)】
Looking at that row of square, upright fonts following the contributor, Fisher compared it again to the 【唐沢あすか】 inside the ring. He simply felt that the structures of these two texts were very similar yet still somewhat different.
Based on his previous speculations, the writing used by the owner of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook was an analytic language that used symbols to express meaning. That is to say, this language didn't undergo morphological inflections like Fisher's Naris language did; it possessed extremely complex single-symbol ideograms and combinatorial arrangements.
Fisher guessed that this language formed words and sentences with different meanings through various symbols—that is, the arrangement and combination of characters. This was vastly different from the Naris language he currently used, but it shared similarities with the ancient Fimabahah Draconic Court Language, only that the writing of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook looked more minimalist. He didn't know if it had undergone a certain period of development and evolution.
The author of the Soul Completion Handbook, Caleb Uz, used yet another language, one similar to the Naris language Fisher used. This made Fisher suspect that these Transferred Persons from other worlds were very likely from different countries... taking it a step bolder, it was even possible they came from different worlds.
Returning to the text on this ring, it exhibited characteristics very similar yet slightly different from the writing used by the author of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook. This immediately made Fisher suspect the true identity of this ring's owner.
It was possible the owner of this ring was a Transferred Person holding the same status as the other completion handbook owners. It was also possible they were the descendants left in this world by other completion handbook owners, assuming they had produced offspring.Moreover, he also wasn't clear on what exactly the text on this ring meant. According to common sense, he could only deduce that it was highly likely the name of the blacksmith, or possibly words describing the ring's function.
Fisher put down the ring in his hand. Suddenly thinking of something, he placed a piece of paper in front of him and wrote down the text from both the completion handbook and the ring. Then, he looked at Emhart on his shoulder.
"Emhart, do you recognize these two kinds of writing?"
"Umm..." He floated over, rather arduously searching through the knowledge recorded in his belly. But evidently, there was absolutely no content that could correspond to these symbols possessing a bizarre aesthetic before him. So he shook his head and looked at Fisher.
"What is this? Writing, or some magic symbols? I've never seen such strange writing. I've seen the writings of many demi-human races, but just not this one."
Fisher then wrote the text written by Caleb Uz on the paper and asked,
"Then what about this kind?"
"This looks a lot like your Naris writing. Are you sure you didn't just make it up to trick me..."
He meticulously scrutinized it for a long time. Even after scraping through his belly's inventory once more, he still found nothing, and could only say this to Fisher with considerable regret.
Fisher nodded, not feeling too regretful about it. After all, the completion handbooks were inherently extremely mysterious; it was normal for outsiders not to know the information within. If he had the chance to obtain other completion handbooks in the future, he might have the opportunity to acquire more information about these Transferred Persons.
Alternatively, he could also inquire for more information from the Creator's Society. There was a [Lord of Fate] there who currently maintained a temporary cooperative relationship with him. Since she wanted him to look for the Magic Lord, he also had a legitimate reason to obtain information about this former president of the Creator's Society.
He temporarily put down the ring in his hand, his mind pondering unknown thoughts.
But unquestionably, the Flying Fish in the veil of night was getting further and further away from the Patroshen Islands, sailing toward the distant Sardin Woman's Country in the Northern Border.
At this moment, Sunset Valley, situated near the ocean at the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent, also slowly sank into the deep veil of night. But unlike the silence over the ocean, Sunset Valley appeared exceptionally lively at this time.
Sunset Valley was the base of operations for the [Bat-kin] demi-humans. According to Southern Continent legends, the Bat-kin had always been the most loyal guards of the Femabaha Dragon Court. Even during the long years after the Dragon Court came crashing down, they still maintained their respect toward the Dragon-kin. This was also why they were willing to take in the Southern Branch Dragon-kin who had left their homeland.
Currently, the high mountains on both sides of Sunset Valley were filled with the light of fires. Countless demi-humans from different places and races spontaneously stood on the open grounds on both sides. Regardless of age, at this moment, their gazes were all fixed on the procession steadily approaching in the distance through the dark night.
"Lady Raphael has returned!"
"The Dragon Queen has returned... Wait, they brought Centaur Race members back!"
Among the continuously marching procession in the dark night, quite a few sharp-eyed demi-humans spotted the Centaur demi-humans following behind the Dragon-kin army, and couldn't help but cheer loudly.
The Centaur Race had always been a population that would come and go without a trace. Not even humans from the West Continent had been able to catch their tails. Yet now, they were willing to follow the Dragon Queen back to Sunset Valley, this emerging demi-human gathering place. This couldn't help but excite the demi-human races staying at the base.
Many demi-humans looked with burning gazes at the red Dragon-kin riding a massive [Ramagan] at the forefront. Her figure appeared rather slight compared to the giant horse-like monster beneath her, but even such a monster could only docilely submit beneath her, amply demonstrating the Dragon Queen's majesty.
There were also many Dragon-kin in Sunset Valley who had lost battles and ultimately joined the [New Dragon Court]. At this moment, looking at Raphael—who was as dazzling as a sun even beneath the moonlight—their eyes appeared somewhat complex.
On one hand, their lives had undergone drastic changes because of Raphael. On the other hand, they also witnessed the lives of other demi-human races wandering destitute because of humans. These demi-humans were all immensely grateful to Raphael. Such sentiments more or less moved them, making their feelings toward this new master of the Dragon Court very complex now.
The Dragon Court, huh...
That was a very distant term. It should have originally stayed slumbering beneath the soil of the Southern Continent, never to awaken again. Actually, the Dragon-kin also hadn't felt that anyone could ever establish such a great nation again.
But such thoughts naturally vanished into thin air upon seeing Raphael, because she was simply far too dazzling.
She had already gathered three branches of the Dragon-kin tribes. Only the Northern Branch, located near the north, remained unvisited by her in person. In places unnoticed by humans, her name had begun to be sung by all demi-humans. It was as if the Dragon Court, already buried in the graveyard, had unfurled one of its wings, gradually blanketing the Southern Continent under its shadow.
The Dragon-kin young girl sitting on the Ramagan saw the firelight covering the mountains and plains. She gently reached out her hand and waved it toward the darkness. Immediately, two silent shadows descended upon the mountain peaks. It was only when those two shadows landed in front of Raphael that their appearances were truly revealed.
It turned out they were two demi-humans with quite a bit of black fur growing on their faces. One male and one female, but their specific physical appearances didn't have much difference. Where their arms should be grew two fleshy wings connecting to their bodies by a membrane, making their statures appear quite massive. However, their eyes presented an eerie grayish-white, looking vacant as if they lacked pupils.
These two were the clan leaders of the Bat-kin, Emre, and his wife Ekes. They were also the leaders who initially took in the Southern Branch Dragon-kin. They saw that Raphael's potential was boundless; she was exactly the Dragon-kin their population had awaited for many years. Because of this, they decided to pour the entire Bat-kin tribe's strength into helping Raphael establish the New Dragon Court.
"Lady Raphael, you've returned..."
"Have the matters with the other Dragon-kin tribes been resolved?"
The dual horns on the head of Raphael, who was sitting on the Ramagan, were crimson. She glanced at the numerous Dragon-kin compatriots in the procession behind her, who were shocked by the spectacle before them. She nodded and said,
"The Eastern and Western branches have already been annihilated, their clan leaders are dead, and I've brought back the remaining compatriots. The Northern Branch tribe heard of my offensive, and their clan leader sent me a letter of surrender; they are also in the procession behind me. Upon returning, we also encountered Centaur Race members migrating in the wild, so we opportunely brought them back too... Faxir, Kexir, I'll leave arranging these Dragon-kin to you two. I have matters to discuss with Emre and the others."
As Raphael spoke, she suddenly thought of something. She leaped down from the Ramagan, landing in front of the two Bat-kin. Behind her, Faxir and Kexir, sitting in Fisher's carriage, nodded and expressed their compliance one after another. And behind them, Lar blinked her eyes. Just as she was about to jump off the carriage to follow Raphael, she was interrupted by Raphael suddenly turning her head.
"Also, Lar, help me take the carriage back to my resting place first, then go assist Faxir and the others."
Lar's motion of getting off the carriage paused slightly. Even the tail behind her drooped weakly. She curled her lips, glancing at Faxir and Kexir, who were snickering in front of her. Then, she weakly raised the dagger in her hand and replied,
"Mhm, I know, Lady Raphael..."
Raphael nodded in satisfaction, following the Bat-kin clan leaders toward the cave deep within Sunset Valley. The places the Bat-kin inhabited were very dark, located in extremely deep underground caves, but that didn't mean they wouldn't operate outside the caves. In fact, they were a very dexterous race, and were also exceedingly adept at combat.
Many of the buildings constructed along the way for the fleeing demi-humans and Dragon-kin were their handiwork. If their eyesight wasn't so incredibly poor that they couldn't find suitable minerals underground, the problem with weapons would also be resolved by now.
But now, with the Centaur Race joining, there was no need to worry. The Centaur Race migrated everywhere and had good relationships with demi-human tribes all over. Whether or not the New Dragon Court could be established depended on them.
"Lady Raphael, why must you always carry that carriage with you? It doesn't look like a carriage designed for combat at all, and since it is a human creation after all, I'm worried it will draw criticism from other demi-humans."
"Demi-humans won't raise criticisms because of what kind of carriage I use. As long as I can keep winning, they will trust me and the New Dragon Court... That carriage is the key to my victories."
"Is that so..."
Ekes nodded. Although she didn't understand the specific reasons behind it, seeing Lady Raphael looking so confident put her heart at ease.
"By the way, Lady Raphael, you seem to have collected all four branch sigils. According to our records, these four sigils are the keys to opening the ancient Dragon Court's imperial palace. It's just a pity that the palace's location has been lost... deep underground, there are legends of Demon-kin existences. Should we contact the Demon-kin to ask about the specific location of the imperial palace?"
"Demon-kin are immortal existences; they definitely know the location of the imperial palace. But trading with the Demon-kin usually requires extremely precious items as exchange, we..."
As Raphael listened, her expression turned somewhat odd. She gently reached her claw inside her breastplate, pulling out a quaint-looking scroll from deep within. It was exactly the [Femabaha Dragon Court Ruins Map] Fisher had gifted her upon leaving.
"Look at this. Could the location recorded on this be the location of the imperial palace?"
The footsteps of the two Bat-kin paused slightly. After exchanging a glance, it was still Emre who reached out and took the scroll she handed over. Following that, the throats of the two of them began to throb slightly, seemingly emitting some kind of sound wave inaudible to human ears.
Those sound waves slowly covered the entire scroll. The paint on the scroll and the grooves on the paper were all taken into their brains. After a second of silence, Ekes's expression became surprised,
"This blueprint is a map produced by the ancient Dragon Court's [Central Palace]. It indeed looks very likely... You might not be too clear on the history. Because the Southern Continent is simply too vast, to better govern this land, your ancestors established the Branch and Leaf Dragon Courts in the four cardinal directions of the continent, which are the predecessors of today's four branch tribes."
"And the four branch sigils you collected today were the exact tokens the Central Palace distributed to the Branch and Leaf Dragon Courts back then. When an incident occurred at the Central Palace, the four branch Dragon Courts could hold the tokens to rally their forces back to the center and open the imperial palace. But looking at it now, some kind of incident must have occurred at the center back then that made the four branches abandon their reinforcement..."
"This map is an extremely precious item. I thought all the relics from the true Dragon Court's Central Palace had already completely vanished in the long river of history. I didn't expect a heritage item to be left in the Southern Branch tribe. This is truly..."
Upon hearing this, Raphael didn't display a joyful expression. She only looked somewhat blankly at the unrolled scroll. Only then did she smile, shake her head, and say,
"Regrettably, my tribe did not retain such a treasure."
"This item was gifted to me by my husband when we parted."