The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 313: 88 Salary

"I still cannot understand why the Snow Fox-kin proposed a trade with us. They are an extremely isolated demi-human species that hasn't left their tribe in the past few centuries. For them to take the initiative to contact the Turan family now, and even be willing to offer the sigil they consider a treasure as a bargaining chip, is simply unbelievable."

From below the deck of the Narwhal, at the end of the floor where Fisher had dined earlier, came a somewhat indistinct male voice. Listening closely, one could recognize that it seemed to belong to Balzac, Valentina's subordinate.

The second level below the deck, besides containing the dining hall, actually also served as the workspace for Valentina's team. The office was located roughly near the bow of the ship, providing a very spacious area—even larger than Fisher's lecture hall at Saint-Nazareth University.

Inside the room, aside from a large round wooden table, tall bookshelves, and soft sofas, a layer of expensive glass was installed at the very front, giving the space excellent lighting and a superb view.

At this moment, the Narwhal had just sounded its horn, preparing to leave the port of Nebalen to head for Mya. At the same time, that was also the ancestral habitat of the Snow Fox-kin, one of the Snow Mountain Familiars. Just like the Cloud Cat-kin, they had been enfeoffed by the Phoenix King to her youngest child, the Moon Princess, becoming her subjects.

Fisher sat in this spacious office, holding a cup of coffee, looking thoughtfully at Balzac, who was pacing back and forth in front of a giant map of the Northern Border on the wall. Balzac was preparing for the upcoming negotiations with the Snow Fox-kin, but progress was clearly not going smoothly. He had to constantly jot things down and talk to himself to clear his thoughts.

Unlike the obvious functionality of the demi-humans under the jurisdiction of the Frost Prince and the Ice Prince, the northern part of the Northern Border ruled by the Moon Princess had presented a naturally peaceful landscape since ancient times. Legend has it that the Moon Princess granted all living creatures an equal right to survive, using a non-interference approach to allow the various species under her wings to rest and recover as compensation for that earth-shattering war.

Because of this, the Cloud Cat-kin and Snow Fox-kin living there had no special status compared to other species; they instead held more of a mascot-like significance. In modern times, they were known entirely for their fluffy, soft white fur.

For this reason, Fisher had grounds to believe that the deity 'Frost Phoenix' worshipped by modern Northern Border people was actually a combined version of the Phoenix King's and the three Children of the Phoenix's images.

The 'Frost Phoenix' in Northern mythology encouraged commerce, championed the courage and strength of battle, and promoted mutual assistance and coexistence among different species. These corresponded respectively to the most hot-tempered yet powerful Ice Prince, the Frost Prince who was passionate about business and making money, and the kindest and gentlest Moon Princess.Time is the most unreasonable existence. Fisher didn't know how the image of the Phoenix Race was amalgamized into this state by humans or other species over the years.

After listening to Balzac's muttered words of being unable to understand despite much thought, Phyllis, who was also sitting in a chair, yawned, looking rather uninterested. Then, her pancake-like ears twitched as if a sudden flash of inspiration hit her. She clapped her hands and called out to Balzac,

"I know! They must have approached the boss's family because they ran out of money?!"

"..."

Balzac looked at Phyllis with an expression that viewed her as an idiot. Although he had long known the truth that a dog's mouth cannot spit out ivory, every time Phyllis spoke, she managed to lower the baseline of that idiom, leaving him dumbfounded.

He sighed, unable to find the words to answer Phyllis. Fisher, sitting further away, set down his coffee cup, looked at Balzac, and asked,

"Didn't the Turan family tell Lady Valentina the reason why the Snow Fox-kin suddenly agreed to negotiate?"

Balzac looked at Fisher, shook his head, and said,

"Unfortunately, they didn't reveal any details regarding the negotiation. And because of the xenophobia of the Snow Fox-kin, even the Turan family, whose influence pervades every corner of the Northern Border, finds it difficult to learn the specific circumstances."

Since that night in the Moon Rabbit-kin's ancestral shrine, his attitude toward Fisher had quietly changed. While it couldn't be called overly enthusiastic or familiar, it was at least polite. He had already realized that this gentleman from Naris was not only highly accomplished academically, but more crucially, he was very capable in a fight—more than enough to beat up ten of him, so naturally, his attitude had softened significantly.

Hearing this, Phyllis immediately slumped back in her chair with annoyance, continually glancing at the clock on the wall, seemingly calculating how much time was left until mealtime.

"So since we don't know anything, what are we even discussing here for? Can't we just think about it when the other side makes their demands?"

It was obvious that Phyllis very much disliked tasks that required mental effort, and besides, it had been winter ever since they arrived in the Northern Border. In the Southern Continent, Lion-kin had to sleep during winter, alright?!

Balzac glared at her, disappointed that she hadn't met expectations, and scolded,

"Preparation is necessary! Do you want to repeat Herdor's mistakes?"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the room went quiet for a moment. Phyllis sat up straight and glanced behind her. Only after confirming she didn't see the figure sitting in the wheelchair did she indignantly turn her head back, glaring at Balzac and cursing,

"Of course I don't want to! Then why don't you come up with some useful methods? It's been almost all morning, and all you do is raise problems after problems. The boss hired you to solve problems. What's the use of you just raising problems all the time!"

"Your mother..."

Even Balzac Hahn, coming from a traditional academic family in Schwari, couldn't help but want to swear upon hearing Phyllis's words. If he were a little stronger, he would definitely let this damn illiterate lion know what a beating felt like.

Fisher was aware of the discord between those two in the distance; he had mostly grown accustomed to it during his time on the ship. Right now, he merely picked up the "Comprehensive Compilation of Northern Border History" that was resting on the table beside him. This book recorded a lot of Northern Border history and folklore, which naturally included the unique demi-human species known as the Snow Fox-kin. This allowed the foreign scholar from Naris to properly cram some of the local common knowledge.

The book didn't record the physical appearance of the Snow Fox-kin, but it did note their most distinct trait: a sensitive nose.

This didn't mean their noses were oddly shaped. As a demi-human species beloved by the Moon Princess among the six clans, they certainly weren't ugly. Their noses were mentioned here because legend had it that they could judge a person's emotions and personality based on scent. Any lies, concealment, or malicious intent would have nowhere to hide in front of their keen noses.

During the ancient era when the Phoenix Race ruled the Northern Border, the Snow Fox-kin were natural diplomats and the most majestic judges in court. Whenever the Moon Princess was absent, conflicts in the northern end of the Northern Border were mediated by them. But ever since the Phoenix Race disappeared, naturally no one listened to their admonitions anymore. Consequently, they went into hiding and stopped communicating with other races that were filled with malice.

It was exactly because of the special ability possessed by the Snow Fox-kin that Balzac wanted to make some preparations in advance. Their ability was far too useful at the negotiation table; it could easily strip them of their bargaining chips.

"Mr. Balzac, let's put the matter of the Snow Fox-kin aside for a moment. We already have three sigils in our hands: the Azure Bird, the Moon Rabbit, and the Cloud Cat. Aside from the Snow Fox-kin, whose location we already know for certain, are the remaining two the sigils for the Giant Troll-kin and the Slime-kin?"

Balzac, who had nearly started fighting with Phyllis in the distance, nodded. He glanced at the ice-covered ocean outside the Narwhal. At the far end of the sky, the imposing Sema Mountains hid among the clouds, displaying its mystery and majesty to outsiders.

"Yes, but those two sigils are not easy to obtain. So far, we don't even have a single clue. The Slime-kin are simply too scattered. Unlike the other Familiars, they don't have a fixed settlement. I heard that in recent years, many Slimes have even left the Northern Border to do business elsewhere. I even suspect they might have already sold their sigil. As for the Giant Troll-kin, there's not even a single piece of verifiable information. It seems they've completely become a myth or legend alongside the Phoenix Race. However, some say they are still living somewhere within the Sema Mountains."

Fisher tapped the cover. The book's records regarding the various Familiars all indicated that the six clans were not doing too well up to this point in time. Not only had humans forgotten the contributions they had made following the Phoenix Race, but even the curse of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree itself seemed to be settling scores with them the most. Why was that?

Eimhart, perched on his shoulder, generally didn't participate in discussions. He merely yawned and let Fisher read the contents in his hands. Only when Fisher had a doubt and asked him would he flip through the vast reserves in his belly. The time Fisher had copied the knowledge from the Completion Handbook had caused him great misery, seemingly leaving him with some unspeakable internal injury that required a lot of rest, which was why he was particularly quiet today.

Just then, the main doors behind Fisher suddenly opened. He turned his head and saw the white-haired girl sitting in a wheelchair appear at the doorway. She had changed into a black Northern lady's robe. This kind of clothing was characteristically heavy, making Valentina look exceedingly elegant. Even the wheelchair beneath her couldn't conceal this.

She looked like a butterfly unable to flap her wings, statically displaying the beauty upon them.

"Boss."

"Lady Valentina."

Balzac and Phyllis both stood up to greet her. Fisher, however, didn't move his body; he merely offered a polite verbal greeting, which earned him an extra glance from Valentina, though she didn't mind.

"There is no need to worry too much. Since the Snow Fox-kin took the initiative to contact us, it proves they have an urgent matter requiring our help. As the party being beseeched, we naturally hold the initiative. As for the other two clans... even though the Slime-kin are vastly scattered, it seems they have some method to contact one another. When the time comes, as long as we find one Slime, we can simply entice them with a heavy sum of money."

For some unknown reason, even though the target Valentina spoke of 'enticing with a heavy sum of money' was the legendary greedy Slimes, it was the Lion-kin Phyllis beside her who subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva at this very moment.

"We still have two days before we reach Mya. During this time, I'd prefer if you all rested well. We'll officially start working once we arrive in Mya... But before that, I'll distribute the salary for hiring you."

"Yay! Long live the boss!"

Hearing this, Phyllis jumped up in sheer joy. Although Balzac felt exasperated, this time he didn't rub his temples with a headache. It seemed he was also rather looking forward to the upcoming salary distribution.

Valentina smiled slightly. The two maids behind her came in, each holding a tray covered by a red cloth. They respectfully placed the trays in front of Phyllis and Balzac respectively. Balzac gave his thanks, but didn't immediately lift the red cloth to check the contents. Phyllis couldn't care less about such things; she directly yanked the red cloth off, picked up the bundles of Northern banknotes inside, and started rubbing herself against them.

There were many large-scale trades in the Northern Border, so they issued banknotes in large denominations to facilitate their use. A single bill inside was worth twenty thousand Northern silver dollars, so one could only guess how much money was casually arrayed on that tray in those bundles.

The wealth of the Turan family was vividly put on full display at this moment by the slight-figured girl. But Fisher blinked, glanced at the empty space in front of himself, and then darted a look at the smiling Valentina behind him.

Huh?

I said I didn't need it before, so does this mean I really don't get anything?!

Fisher glanced at Valentina. Though he didn't speak, his eyes probably conveyed this meaning. Yet he didn't expect that the previously smiling Valentina would also happen to turn her head and look at him right at this moment, meeting his gaze exactly.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but upon seeing this scene, the smile at the corner of her mouth deepened by an incredibly imperceptible arc. Maintaining her profound calmness, she looked up at the ceiling.

"Sertil has been consistently busy with the machinery up above during this time, so her salary has already been given to her. We will have to rely on her once we enter the Sema Mountains later; otherwise, with my condition, I won't be able to enter... Ah, I nearly forgot, I forgot to distribute Mr. Fisher's. I am truly sorry."

It wasn't until she finished her sentence that Valentina 'suddenly' realized something and, realizing it 'after the fact', shifted her gaze to Fisher sitting in his chair.

"..."

Fisher was speechless and didn't interrupt her rough acting, simply sitting in place watching her perform. However, Lady Valentina was obviously very conservative; this little extra 'trick' was already the limit of her liveliness. She didn't continue teasing Fisher, but just smiled and invited him,

"According to the request you made before, I have already prepared your reward. Do you want to go and have a look with me now?"

Huh?

My previous request?

That night, didn't I only ask... to research demi-humans?

Fisher slowly closed the book in his hand, thinking this.