novelraw Chapter 30: That Night
Chapter 30: That Night
"Sometimes it’s really surprising… What exactly is Lord Fischer after? Willing to take such a risk for a Demi-human..."
Korriri looked up at the massive lake slowly descending beneath the moonlight. Such a breathtaking scene—one she’d probably only witness once in a lifetime. Beside her, Fischer had returned and was picking up his coat from the ground, using it to cover his upper body.
But the moment the scorched fabric touched his skin, he winced from the pain.
"To go so far for that Dragonkin girl… What is it you want from her? Her tribe, her as a slave? Or… are you just after her body?"
Korriri’s voice remained flat even as she said that last part, which made the giant spider, Sia, hug herself in fright and take two steps back.
Fischer lit a cigarette, waited a long moment, and gave a vague answer:
"Heh… to save the world."
"..."
Even as the words left his mouth, he found them ridiculous. The corner of his lips twitched into a smirk, leaving the two Demi-humans across from him utterly confused. They figured he was just joking.
By now, Fischer was nearly certain that the red Dragonkin girl in his team was the one prophesied as the Crimson Dragon Queen. She was different from any other Dragonkin. Fischer couldn’t imagine any other Dragonkin experiencing such an extreme coming-of-age, or growing twin horns.
He still remembered when he went looking for the Undying Witch on the Western Continent, only to find Renée—who, aside from her fast learning of magic, was no different from other Witches. It took Fischer a long time to finally admit he had the wrong person...
But now the question was—if Raphaëlle was the one mentioned in the prophecy, how was he supposed to stop that prophecy from coming true?
He could kill her.
Even now, with her newly awakened form, Fischer still had more than a hundred spells carved into his staff. He could do it...
His grip on the staff tightened. Even his usually calm eyes were covered in a layer of frost.
"Fischer, Fischer!"
He turned toward the beautiful Dragonkin being escorted to the lakeside by her companions. Little Larr came running up to him, trying to hug him, but he stopped her with a finger to her forehead.
"I'm burned. Don’t touch me for now."
"Uhh… then Larr will blow on it! Blowing makes the pain go away! Hoo~ hoo~"
She pouted at first but quickly lit up, placing both hands at her mouth and blowing cool air at him over and over.
It did almost nothing. If anything, it just tickled.
Fischer looked at Larr, then glanced at the Dragonkin behind her—especially Raphaëlle, who once again avoided his gaze.
Maybe… killing her wouldn’t fix anything.
That thought hit him out of nowhere.
The conflict between Demi-humans and humans had reached a breaking point. One day, it would erupt into full-blown war.
What he was doing now—wasn’t it just crushing the hope of Demi-humans before it could rise? Letting humans completely conquer them, turn their lands into property, their lives into stepping stones, their descendants into slaves and beasts forever—until another powerful Demi-human was born to lead them to victory?
But what did he really want to see?
Would it really be good if the humans he represented exterminated the Demi-humans, just like the prophecy said the Crimson Dragon Queen would do?
And if one of the Demi-humans ever got their hands on the Human Supplement Manual, wouldn’t Fischer himself be the demon mentioned in the prophecy?
He looked down at his staff. No magic glowed from it. He didn’t kill Raphaëlle.
He stood there silently for a while, then reached out and patted Larr’s head.
"Alright, Raphaëlle’s come of age now. Time to rest—tomorrow, we move on."
Then he turned to Korriri and the others.
"Thanks for your help. We’ll take our leave in the morning."
"Not at all. This is part of our apology..."
Korriri lowered her head slightly with a smile on her lips.
...
...
Nighttime. On Fischer’s carriage, in the Dragonkin girls’ bedroom.
After living with Fischer for a while, they’d learned how to turn the lights on and off in the room—but only did so right before falling asleep. They also shut their door at night. Fischer always kept his own door closed while sleeping, so he never checked on their room anyway.
"Lady Raphaëlle, let me see your scales, please! Pretty please!"
"You just saw them earlier, didn’t you?"
Raphaëlle sat on the bed, finally giving in to Larr’s pleading. She held out her hand, letting Larr nuzzle her beautiful scales with sparkling eyes.
"Ooohh... Larr wants to grow scales like Lady Raphaëlle’s someday too… Huh?"
Larr suddenly paused, staring at Raphaëlle’s chest.
"Lady Raphaëlle’s... they got bigger."
"Larr!! What are you staring at?!"
"Ow... it hurts, Sis Mir! Lady Raphaëlle hit me..."
Raphaëlle’s face turned red as she smacked Larr on the head. The little one clutched her forehead and ran to Mir, wailing.
Mir chuckled and rubbed her head.
"That’s what you get for being a pest, touching everywhere... That’s normal after coming of age. It’s a sign of maturity. If we were back in the tribe, Raphaëlle could join the Tail Acceptance Banquet. All the eligible boys around her age would show up. With her looks, she’d definitely get a lot of tail reactions..."
At the mention of Tail Acceptance, Raphaëlle visibly shuddered. The blush from Larr’s touch hadn’t faded—in fact, it deepened.
She suddenly remembered her earlier reaction—how she’d responded to that human...
"Hmph, with Raphaëlle’s standards, no one in the tribe would be good enough for her..."
"Totally! Right, Lady Raphaëlle—huh?"
Fassil and Cachil were sitting next to Raphaëlle. They casually reached out to touch her, but the moment their hands met her skin, she jolted like she’d been electrocuted and stared at Fassil, face blazing.
She’d just thought... that it was Fischer walking in...
And touching her scales like he had before...
Wait—why would she think something like that?
Raphaëlle’s tail flicked excitedly, the pink on her cheeks growing darker.
"What’s wrong, Lady Raphaëlle? Why is your face so red?"
Mir reached out in concern, but Raphaëlle quickly dodged and rushed over to turn off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.
"Today... I’m really tired. Let’s just get some sleep."
As soon as the lights went out, she dove under the blanket and curled up, motionless, leaving her companions confused.
"That’s true. Lady Raphaëlle only just came of age today—she must be exhausted..."
Face buried in the bedding, Raphaëlle didn’t move.
That Fischer—he’s so annoying. Always doing weird things.
But he had helped her a lot. And he treated her companions pretty kindly too.
When the time comes, she’ll just beat him down instead of killing him.
Make him hand over the slave crests he stole from her companions.
That’ll be enough...