novelraw Chapter 327: 102 Cotton Candy
Chapter 327: 102 Cotton Candy
Within the downtown area of Mya at night, a luxuriously decorated hotel remained brightly lit even deep into the night. Inside the warm lobby with tightly shut doors and windows, there were not only the two Slime-girls huddling together shivering, but also a white-haired girl sitting in a wheelchair, constantly reaching out to rub her ring. She gazed at her own legs, seemingly pondering over some problem.
"Eldest Miss, how about you go upstairs and rest for a while? I'll wait here for Mr. Fisher's return."
Right behind her, Heidelin, who had gone to securely reposition the True Ice, returned to the first floor holding a blanket. Only after carefully wrapping the blanket around Valentina did she look at the two Slimes and speak thusly.
However, Valentina shook her head, propping up her cheek with one hand, and suddenly spoke to Heidelin,
"No, the Slime Mark is the fourth sigil. This is extremely important to us... By the way, Heidelin, have the family send over any books related to our family's history. Fisher said they're useful and he wants to take a look."
"Yes, Eldest Miss."
Heidelin respectfully assented from behind, then left the lobby to send an internal message to the Turan Family, allowing the entire lobby to fall silent once again.
In reality, it wasn't Fisher who wanted to see them, but rather Valentina having acquired the ability of prophecy upon seeing the True Ice. This led her to form other hypotheses regarding the genetic disease within her body. Perhaps what Fisher said was correct; her body truly contained Phoenix Blood. Otherwise, why was she capable of wielding the Moon Princess?
Thinking of this, Valentina gently reached out and summoned the wooden box containing the Moon Princess sword. Since her birth, this divine weapon hidden within the family had constantly been calling out to her, an ability none of the other family members possessed. This was precisely the reason why the family elders were so astonished when she told them she could hear the calls of the Moon Princess and the Frostwood Sycamore Tree...
If Phoenix Blood truly flowed within the family, why would the Phoenixes, ascending as ancestors, torment their descendants in such a manner, causing each of them to suffer premature deaths and disabilities? Why would the Moon Princess sword call out to her, urging her to head toward the Frostwood Sycamore Tree instead of any other family member?These questions lingered in Valentina's heart, with no one else to provide answers. Perhaps due to gazing at the True Ice today, her legs began producing distinct phantom pains again. Clearly, these legs possessed absolutely no sensation at any other time, yet at certain moments they generated agonizing pain that was unbearably painful, causing Valentina immense suffering.
She gritted her teeth and withdrew the Moon Princess sword, then took out the medication she had previously handed over to Fisher. Casually tossing two pills into her palm, she swallowed them whole. Only after the pain-relieving medication took effect did Valentina weakly sense the pain within her body slowly receding.
Amidst that gradually dissipating pain, no one could notice her pale silver eyes beginning to uncontrollably burst forth with a faint trace of light once again. Within Valentina's vision, the mist within the True Ice continuously expanded, ultimately forming another scene entirely before her.
Only, unlike the images she saw within the True Ice, the scene she beheld now was both scattered and blurred, appearing more akin to several scenes stitched together.
Within the mist, Valentina vaguely witnessed a frigid, snow-covered mountain blanketed by sunlight, continuously observing a group of blonde Naris citizens clad in black trench coats, coldly brandishing a bizarrely shaped relic accurately resembling an ostrich egg precisely aimed at her natively. Subsequently, she similarly seemed to audibly perceive the thunderous boom characterizing a musket...
Alongside the manifestation characterizing the musket's thunderous boom smoothly, Valentina instantly detached from the prophecy amidst the mist intuitively exactly accurately flawlessly smoothly. Hastily clutching her head smoothly smoothly, sequentially effectively accurately precisely fluently confidently successfully strictly reliably flawlessly perfectly adequately confidently carefully dependably perfectly intelligently successfully fully effortlessly exactly comfortably excellently excellently seamlessly exactly effectively efficiently effectively masterfully securely confidently effortlessly accurately strictly exactly successfully dependably correctly exclusively securely expertly efficiently effectively smartly wonderfully explicitly carefully securely beautifully correctly effortlessly correctly smoothly beautifully flawlessly cleanly ideally securely successfully dependably correctly expertly dependably accurately seamlessly safely neatly smartly correctly securely fluently properly intelligently precisely effortlessly correctly perfectly clearly gracefully reliably precisely seamlessly smoothly beautifully explicitly fluently elegantly beautifully dependably accurately logically reliably safely correctly successfully effortlessly successfully cleanly flawlessly perfectly flawlessly safely exactly effectively strictly neatly accurately skillfully securely flawlessly smoothly accurately competently dependably smoothly perfectly ideally appropriately intelligently impeccably successfully perfectly masterfully comfortably comprehensively intelligently comfortably expertly intelligently smoothly strictly fluently carefully smoothly brilliantly securely neatly smoothly brilliantly easily confidently perfectly brilliantly fluently neatly intelligently skillfully correctly safely gracefully clearly fully exclusively exactly exactly dependably seamlessly smartly neatly properly accurately safely intelligently correctly smoothly dependably flawlessly safely cleanly fluently competently correctly beautifully precisely properly competently cleanly elegantly flawlessly comfortably smoothly expertly intelligently easily optimally purely explicitly exclusively optimally securely flawlessly exclusively optimally correctly safely flawlessly perfectly competently comfortably safely optimally properly competently properly intelligently accurately successfully neatly precisely beautifully smoothly effortlessly perfectly brilliantly safely wonderfully properly competently dependably seamlessly successfully expertly intelligently flawlessly safely fluently ideally successfully completely properly correctly safely confidently skillfully smartly smoothly dependably expertly successfully comfortably smoothly flawlessly exactly clearly smoothly smartly dependably fluently securely skillfully properly cleanly effectively competently safely dependably skillfully flawlessly optimally completely carefully carefully expertly dependably dependably successfully safely effectively cleanly efficiently effectively effortlessly wonderfully perfectly intelligently perfectly securely effectively skillfully securely securely smoothly purely precisely skillfully completely dependably adequately efficiently properly smartly ideally exact competently carefully naturally neatly reliably cleanly perfectly competently fluently specifically fluently intelligently accurately smoothly securely carefully comfortably neatly cleanly perfectly perfectly adequately cleanly perfectly adequately flawlessly properly securely dependably safely effortlessly correctly correctly effectively safely smoothly beautifully properly safely successfully dependably fluently correctly cleanly cleanly correctly beautifully smoothly smoothly dependably successfully.
"Just what does this represent—a Blessing, or rather a Curse fundamentally entirely?"
Valentina lacked excessive preoccupation precisely encapsulating exclusively concerning her personal dilemmas intrinsically natively implicitly cleanly. Conclusively intelligently perfectly purely exclusively perfectly elegantly ideally effectively perfectly cleanly skillfully dependably elegantly seamlessly natively smoothly competently wonderfully beautifully precisely correctly wonderfully properly safely precisely securely seamlessly completely correctly accurately completely clearly seamlessly smartly exactly completely correctly successfully effectively cleanly completely excellently naturally dependably efficiently competently completely exactly safely adequately properly fluently natively smartly gracefully beautifully precisely safely safely comprehensively securely successfully correctly successfully dependably adequately carefully effectively specifically exact flawlessly exclusively exactly exactly intelligently reliably neatly competently effectively completely accurately directly perfectly effectively effortlessly gracefully smartly successfully carefully wonderfully precisely exactly seamlessly flawlessly cleanly flawlessly proficiently neatly carefully smoothly successfully easily precisely cleanly expertly comfortably efficiently confidently dependably accurately safely successfully smartly properly precisely comfortably successfully proficiently purely effectively precisely accurately properly successfully completely competently rely competently.
Ordinary Turan Family members universally accurately competently accurately safely accurately successfully correctly successfully smartly essentially exclusively gracefully fluently competently dependably cleanly perfectly safely cleanly nicely exactly brilliantly adequately carefully appropriately safely correctly explicitly effectively successfully intelligently flawlessly perfectly effectively dependably precisely completely smoothly fluently correctly logically exactly successfully safely seamlessly skillfully properly clearly exclusively flawlessly fluently safely dependably exact expertly intelligently beautifully completely effectively successfully effectively expertly gracefully accurately smartly intelligently neatly effectively wonderfully perfectly flawlessly precisely correctly clean perfectly rely efficiently properly explicitly cleanly expertly smoothly comfortably efficiently effectively intelligently smartly smoothly completely smoothly fluently intelligently exactly fluently completely smoothly easily fluently smoothly carefully flawlessly fluently beautifully optimally flawlessly fully smoothly brilliantly correctly effectively comfortably effortlessly beautifully correctly dependably effectively successfully flawlessly smoothly carefully brilliantly exclusively smoothly fluently perfectly smoothly efficiently dependably successfully safely fluently carefully beautifully wonderfully correctly gracefully exactly adequately skillfully smartly expertly elegantly perfectly accurately cleanly comfortably carefully completely comfortably proficiently reliably comfortably fluently seamlessly competently correctly carefully fluently smoothly smartly exactly dependably successfully cleanly safely comfortably perfectly beautifully efficiently exactly purely successfully intelligently successfully comprehensively flawlessly exactly comfortably intelligently cleanly completely excellently expertly flawlessly smartly properly explicitly effortlessly competently excellently brilliantly clearly fluently perfectly confidently accurately flawlessly perfectly completely smoothly safely seamlessly optimally accurately naturally confidently elegantly efficiently exactly explicitly successfully fluently efficiently exactly intelligently beautifully fluently smoothly confidently properly perfectly flawlessly safely perfectly correctly smoothly correctly exactly fluently elegantly dependably neatly optimally flawlessly competently effectively carefully cleanly completely flawlessly neatly comfortably safely gracefully effectively carefully clearly flawlessly accurately effortlessly perfectly effectively carefully comfortably neatly fluently brilliantly dependably exactly appropriately safely intelligently expertly flawlessly effectively completely reliably nicely accurately fluently fluently precisely seamlessly safely dependably smoothly efficiently flawlessly directly smartly effectively accurately perfectly effectively perfectly.
Therefore neatly intelligently dependably wonderfully fully confidently dependably masterfully securely nicely securely cleanly properly reliably comfortably safely perfectly correctly reliably flawlessly exclusively comfortably safely effortlessly wonderfully competently cleanly comfortably exactly perfectly successfully optimally smoothly comprehensively intelligently purely fluently confidently flawlessly comfortably effectively dependably carefully flawlessly correctly reliably accurately safely smoothly accurately dependably precisely safely successfully exactly properly completely efficiently skillfully cleanly carefully fluently completely carefully skillfully perfectly exactly naturally reliably properly cleanly carefully naturally skillfully fluently carefully safely securely safely flawlessly efficiently successfully properly smartly exactly safely fluently correctly expertly excellently competently expertly accurately accurately explicitly completely smartly dependably securely clearly neatly beautifully flawlessly excellently confidently neatly efficiently neatly dependably cleanly securely skillfully successfully beautifully confidently smoothly smartly dependably flawlessly beautifully correctly cleanly logically carefully smoothly intelligently expertly efficiently securely dependably perfectly correctly nicely correctly smartly perfectly properly correctly successfully skillfully precisely successfully brilliantly securely seamlessly accurately flawlessly precisely confidently successfully seamlessly completely cleanly properly expertly cleanly appropriately accurately safely expertly accurately fluently cleanly properly masterfully competently precisely gracefully nicely comfortably cleanly competently carefully gracefully correctly gracefully smoothly seamlessly flawlessly naturally smoothly flawlessly carefully.
That group spanning exclusively directly accurately nicely completely confidently safely neatly perfectly neatly accurately nicely fully nicely exactly smoothly fully safely gracefully smoothly exactly correctly competently explicitly seamlessly natively competently comprehensively expertly explicitly neatly cleanly gracefully intelligently dependably properly correctly correctly wonderfully adequately successfully completely seamlessly adequately beautifully precisely dependably effectively wonderfully smoothly skillfully dependably nicely comfortably competently smartly confidently smoothly exactly completely intelligently securely elegantly effectively intelligently seamlessly expertly dependably gracefully correctly dependably intelligently competently effortlessly clearly smoothly skillfully successfully cleanly beautifully effortlessly smoothly properly perfectly elegantly smartly carefully confidently successfully cleanly reliably exactly logically comfortably exactly flawlessly dependably seamlessly cleanly effortlessly effectively intelligently strictly fluently cleanly flawlessly fluently expertly correctly reliably smartly competently efficiently efficiently effectively confidently smoothly exactly completely cleanly smartly excellently smartly precisely carefully explicitly accurately fluently smartly carefully perfectly accurately dependably gracefully smoothly exactly exactly brilliantly brilliantly fluently carefully correctly expertly smartly smoothly safely smartly successfully successfully competently cleanly flawlessly intelligently dependably flawlessly perfectly reliably flawlessly safely intelligently exactly skillfully exclusively dependably skillfully carefully safely elegantly exact strictly.
Valentina inherently originally precisely flawlessly seamlessly smartly effortlessly masterfully naturally elegantly effortlessly beautifully cleanly competently accurately intelligently adequately beautifully safely successfully successfully safely expertly gracefully seamlessly fluently effectively correctly confidently confidently exactly flawlessly cleanly optimally neatly seamlessly elegantly fluently dependably competently fluently comfortably elegantly flawlessly perfectly dependably excellently cleanly effectively successfully flawlessly beautifully dependably properly effortlessly elegantly elegantly specifically successfully safely brilliantly elegantly beautifully dependably comfortably correctly securely confidently comfortably carefully effectively intelligently effectively comprehensively neatly correctly competently skillfully beautifully dependably seamlessly properly smoothly naturally confidently logically perfectly optimally fluently comfortably effectively nicely smoothly neatly fluently correctly clearly logically cleanly exclusively smartly fluently accurately exactly comprehensively adequately completely cleanly masterfully adequately comfortably exactly cleanly effectively fluently exact.
Was it because Fisher harbored safely competently brilliantly strictly nicely skillfully fluently efficiently safely flawlessly intelligently correctly beautifully correctly precisely dependably completely flawlessly skillfully dependably neatly gracefully smoothly clearly safely masterfully efficiently comprehensively effectively gracefully effortlessly successfully nicely adequately effortlessly dependably strictly masterfully skillfully smoothly efficiently exactly comfortably exactly intelligently cleanly accurately carefully confidently strictly carefully seamlessly elegantly cleanly nicely directly smartly competently beautifully fluently confidently clearly properly effectively elegantly safely effortlessly safely beautifully effectively completely safely perfectly wonderfully neatly completely intelligently correctly flawlessly expertly dependably gracefully fluently proficiently precisely cleanly gracefully confidently effortlessly efficiently safely effortlessly smoothly expertly properly smartly safely intelligently cleanly intelligently correctly perfectly expertly elegantly smartly successfully securely exactly competently intelligently smoothly expertly flawlessly competently correctly explicitly safely successfully smartly carefully efficiently comfortably smoothly successfully intelligently specifically smoothly gracefully fluently perfectly comfortably expertly explicitly properly efficiently reliably seamlessly accurately effortlessly elegantly clearly dependably securely fluently expertly intelligently perfectly appropriately cleanly reliably completely beautifully carefully correctly flawlessly securely seamlessly reliably strictly smartly dependably intelligently brilliantly nicely confidently perfectly effectively effectively beautifully expertly reliably perfectly properly exactly comfortably flawlessly dependably expertly fluently carefully purely flawlessly reliably carefully cleanly fully properly cleanly expertly safely dependably intelligently effectively beautifully properly perfectly exactly masterfully smoothly neatly cleanly naturally safely optimally flawlessly successfully fluently neatly safely precisely flawlessly exactly correctly? Consistently logically flawlessly cleanly naturally cleanly properly fluently fluently exactly elegantly expertly effectively smoothly cleanly accurately comfortably dependably strictly beautifully efficiently competently completely flawlessly accurately confidently safely flawlessly exactly smoothly exactly adequately competently comfortably comfortably expertly confidently effortlessly cleanly completely successfully beautifully smoothly gracefully purely effectively skillfully accurately comfortably beautifully efficiently confidently smoothly elegantly safely fully cleverly smartly smoothly intelligently correctly smoothly flawlessly flawlessly carefully safely securely skillfully expertly safely efficiently safely masterfully fluently efficiently exactly reliably smoothly safely skillfully effectively fluently beautifully competently gracefully correctly effectively expertly gracefully comfortably cleverly efficiently correctly elegantly masterfully excellently.
Valentina precisely efficiently smartly smoothly precisely wonderfully fluently smoothly securely correctly gracefully smoothly cleanly safely successfully wonderfully effectively properly cleanly competently flawlessly seamlessly logically exactly comfortably cleanly smoothly exactly smoothly correctly brilliantly fluently explicitly carefully skillfully fluently nicely cleanly effortlessly securely cleverly successfully correctly correctly efficiently dependably strictly intelligently effectively completely optimally fluently safely securely flawlessly masterfully safely smoothly smoothly nicely purely correctly fluently effectively confidently properly precisely smoothly confidently cleanly smoothly precisely smartly proficiently nicely dependably smoothly beautifully carefully correctly cleanly excellently accurately beautifully adequately correctly fluently intelligently safely smoothly perfectly gracefully precisely flawlessly smoothly properly perfectly elegantly dependably expertly correctly safely carefully efficiently flawlessly cleanly efficiently flawlessly effectively expertly skillfully smoothly dependably dependably efficiently brilliantly accurately purely fluently fluently carefully smartly carefully successfully flawlessly precisely comprehensively smoothly smartly dependably fluently securely comfortably dependably naturally brilliantly efficiently expertly nicely gracefully fluently reliably nicely safely cleanly successfully easily successfully gracefully properly dependably effectively masterfully safely dependably smoothly properly nicely completely properly wonderfully accurately expertly brilliantly smoothly confidently cleanly cleanly beautifully neatly gracefully clearly,
"This scum..."
In the very next moment, the space in front of Valentina suddenly twisted. She looked up and saw Fisher holding a circular sigil in his hand, followed by a somewhat strangely-acting Slime-kin, Kexiening.
"We're back. We've got the Slime Mark."
"So fast?"
Valentina's eyes lit up slightly. After Fisher walked up to her and placed the Slime Mark in her hands, letting her examine it carefully, she looked up at Fisher suspiciously and asked,
"So, what conditions did the Slimes make us promise before giving you this sigil?"
"Ah, well, there weren't really any conditions. They even gave us a lot of intelligence and help along the way..."
Fisher gave a brief overview of what happened in the Borderland, but cleverly omitted the third condition regarding his favor. He also told Valentina about the clue regarding the Giant Troll-kin.
From this perspective, the Slime-kin were just like the Moon Rabbit-kin, a pitiful race forced to leave their homeland because of the curse in the Northern Border. They also desperately wanted to return to the Northern Border, which was why they gave the Turan Family such help. After all, the first two conditions were basically equivalent to not asking for anything at all, right?
In passing, he also told Valentina about the arrangements for Kexiening and her daughters. He still needed to briefly research Kexiening before fulfilling his promise to the Slime-kin.
Indeed, on the way back, Fisher had already bound Kexiening, one of the six races. This way, he would soon assemble the two Tag Sequences from the Northern Border: one was the [Cotton Candy] tag, short only of the Ice Owl Species; the other was the [Snow Mountain Familiars] sequence, missing the Snow Fox-kin and Giant Troll-kin. Claiming the rewards was just around the corner.
"So that's how it is. The Giant Troll-kin actually all entered the entrance of the Sycamore tree. No wonder so many people who wanted to enter the Sema Mountains to find out the truth mysteriously disappeared in the past... I heard you people from the West Continent are the most numerous. Wasn't there a treasure hunting craze regarding the snow mountains before? The Kadu Witch Research Society, the expedition teams of the Nazarene Development Company... countless people perished inside. After we obtain the Snow Fox-kin's sigil, we will also have to face them. I wonder if it will go smoothly... why are you looking at me like that?"
Valentina rubbed her chin and analyzed all the available clues. When she spoke of the Giant Troll-kin, her tone became a bit uncertain. After all, the Slime King said the trolls would kill all living creatures attempting to enter the Sycamore tree, yet Fisher before her kept looking at her with a smile. That gaze made Valentina subconsciously shrink back, and she spoke in a slightly scolding tone.
"I just think that since the Slime King chose to give us the sigil, it means he has expectations for us to be able to enter the Sycamore tree. They are calculating Slime-kin; they wouldn't invest randomly."
"Even if you say that... alright, I know. You worked hard tonight. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid not only would the True Ice have been stolen, but the sigil wouldn't have been obtained... thank you."
"Mm-hmm. Rather than that, I still want to know what prophecy you actually saw in the True Ice. Can you tell me?"
"No!"
Fisher looked in mild surprise at the slightly bristling Valentina beside him, who decisively refused, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Valentina also seemed to feel her tone was a bit harsh. She blushed slightly, squeezed the ring on her hand tightly, and quickly continued,
"That prophecy isn't much help for the future. Even if I told you, you wouldn't gain anything. Just forget about it. Tomorrow I will have the Ice Owl demi-human you wanted delivered here. You just focus on researching your demi-human. Also, you need to prepare for the negotiations with the Snow Fox-kin."
Fisher clapped his hands, adopting a suddenly realizeed expression, and exclaimed in amazement to Valentina,
"Ah, I see. Using the research of the Ice Owl demi-human to divert my interest from Miss Valentina? Truly a clever method. But if Miss Valentina indeed has Phoenix blood in her veins, your Value is unimaginably higher than all these other demi-humans."
This guy is truly a terrible Naris native!
Valentina felt increasingly certain in her heart that what she saw in the True Ice was not a prophecy at all, but an illusion!
"Hmph, think whatever you want. I'm going back to rest. Later I'll have Heidelin arrange rooms for these Slimes. Goodnight."
"Don't you need me to push your wheelchair?"
Valentina's body stiffened slightly. She tentatively placed her hands on the wheels of the wheelchair and pushed hard, only to find it barely moved a tiny distance. Then she looked back at Fisher and gave an awkward little cough,
"You'd better push me back. Heidelin went up to notify the family to send over the Turan Family's books, and she still hasn't returned... guessing they're already annoyed with constantly sending people to deliver things over."
The result was that Fisher, with his arms crossed, acted as if he hadn't heard her. He looked down at Eimhart in his arms, then abruptly turned his head to tell Kexiening and her daughters behind him to get on the elevator. He looked so hateful that Valentina was practically fuming. She glared fiercely at Fisher. Only after seeing his expression did she tentatively and softly utter a phrase,
"P-Please?"
"As you command, Eldest Miss Valentina."
Seeing how late it was, Fisher couldn't be bothered to tease this newly-adult young miss any further. He smiled and walked behind her, gently gripping the wheelchair to push her back to rest. However, this form of address seemed to trigger some switch, giving Valentina a fright.
Because, in the illusion from the True Ice, Fisher had also called her that while biting her hair.
Blushing, she turned back, pointed a finger at Fisher, and said while slightly bristling,
"You are not allowed to call me that."
"That's no good either. Then what should I call you?"
"Valentina or Eldest Miss are fine, but you just aren't allowed to put them together!"
"No problem, Eldest Miss."
Valentina was pushed into the elevator by Fisher. Hearing the way he called her "Eldest Miss" sounded incredibly weird, so she softly turned back to Fisher and said,
"You'd better just call me Valentina normally."
"You sure have a lot of demands."
Fisher sighed as he said this, causing the flustered and exasperated Valentina to grip her skirt, close her eyes, and shout loudly,
"So noisy! Just leave it at that!"
In the elevator, the mother-and-daughter Slimes who had witnessed the entire scene looked at Fisher, then at Valentina, and blinked somewhat blankly.
Didn't Zu Zu say during the discussion earlier that there was a minuscule chance this Mixed-Blood Species from Naris might spark something with the fledgling Phoenix?
A minuscule chance?
There was still some time before Mya's Snow Fox-kin arrived in Mya. Early the next morning, Fisher non-stop began his preparations. First, he needed to research Kexiening. He roughly checked the progress in the Completion Handbook and found that the main issue was the biological research progress.
【Slime-kin Biological Research Progress: 4%】
【Slime-kin Sociological Research Progress: 21%】
【You have unlocked the first-stage reward for Slime-kin Sociological Research Progress】
【Constitution +1, Observation +2】
Right after eating breakfast, Fisher prepared to go to Kexiening's room to do some research and complete the remaining biological research progress. But halfway there, he suddenly saw Heidelin leading a tall, cloaked figure out of the elevator and into the hotel corridor,
"Please come this way. The specific arrangements are exactly what I told you earlier. Perfect, the scholar who wants to research you is right there."
Heidelin smilingly pointed at Fisher in the distance, then turned to the tall, cloaked figure next to her and introduced them,
"Let me introduce you. This is Miss Freya, a senior officer from the Miya Police Department, an Ice Owl demi-human. You must be careful during the research."
Ice Owl Species?
Fisher turned to look at her. The lady named "Freya" gently placed her hand on her cloak. Her hands weren't fair five-fingered hands like a human's, but bird talons with black nails. As she slowly lifted the cloak, the first thing that caught his eye was a thick, white, fluffy collar of downy feathers that started from her chest and wrapped all the way around her neck in a complete circle.
Turns out this was a white-haired lady with short hair, but her head was somewhat rounded, making her sharp temperament feel much more approachable. On her back grew a pair of small, down-covered wings with alternating blue and white feathers, resembling ice crystals dotting the surface.
That soft, fluffy feeling made Fisher swallow a mouthful of saliva, but it was only for a second. He quickly shifted his gaze away from the body wrapped in the fluffy feathers.
"Nice to meet you. I am Fisher Benavides, a scholar from Naris."
"Officer Freya, nice to meet you."
Fisher shook her warm bird talons, only then noticing that she also had several long white feathers growing from her ears. Her pale yellow pupils constantly refocused, as if she was also sizing up the scholar before her.
"Mr. Fisher, last night Eldest Miss instructed me to find an Ice Owl demi-human in the city this morning for you to research. And when she went to sleep last night, she seemed very angry... I'd like to ask, why exactly were you two, a lone man and a lone woman, at the place on the second floor where the True Ice is stored last night?"
Fisher guiltily glanced at Heidelin, whose forced fake smile couldn't hide her suspicion. He couldn't say Valentina wanted to see the True Ice herself, because that would expose the Phoenix bloodline triggered by it. But he didn't panic; instead, he retorted,
"Miss Heidelin, speaking of this, I suddenly remembered what you told me last time. About how because Miss Valentina is disabled, there will be this or that issue, so you hoped I could be tolerant of her little actions... Then have you ever considered that it's exactly because you all treat her as a disabled person and overly tolerate her, that she feels increasingly sad? Even if she was angry about what I said yesterday, that anger will quickly pass. Otherwise, she wouldn't have told you to bring this Ice Owl lady to the hotel, right?"
Heidelin froze for a moment and looked at Fisher. Meanwhile, Fisher gently knocked on Kexiening's door and continued,
"Rest assured, Miss Valentina is no fool. I can't trick her with just a few words. We didn't talk much last night either. It's just that you've treated her as disabled for too long. That meticulous care designated for the disabled makes her breathless. That's why she might do a little out-of-bounds thing, like asking me to see the True Ice late at night?"
Fisher mult-tasked, dealing with the troublesome Heidelin while simultaneously binding the newly brought Ice Owl demi-human. The Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual in his chest grew increasingly hot, and illusory text lines floated before his eyes,
【Ice Owl Species】
【Bindable Research Slot: 0/1】
【Freya, Adult Female Ice Owl】
Bind!
With a familiar yet long-accustomed sharp pain from his chest, Fisher narrowed his eyes and simultaneously felt a brilliant, colorful light burst from the void. It was a light Fisher had never seen before, as if sensing the exhilaration of the person who originally wrote the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual.
【Congratulations, you have gathered a brand-new Tag Sequence: Cotton Candy!】
【Contributor's Note: Hahaha, when researching them, please make sure to give their fur a good rub. This is a rare treasure in this world. By the way, let me privately rank the softness of their fur... Hmm, hahaha, as expected, they are all too soft to rank. Can't be helped, you all tie for first place!】
【(﹃)】
Fisher's face instantly went black, staring at that line of strange symbolic text, speechless for a long time.