The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 455: A French Person

Hearing Fisher's words, Mikhail frowned and nodded, seemingly understanding Fisher's meaning. Asuka Karasawa, however, looked at Fisher, then at Mikhail. Seeing that neither of them spoke again and both wore thoughtful expressions, she couldn't help but purse her lips. Then, she cautiously reached out, tugged at Fisher's sleeve, and whispered.

"Um, I... I don't understand what this means... Did we cross over to the past?"

Fisher glanced at her, then shook his head and explained.

"No, we are still within Lord Tao's barrier. Lord Tao's barrier can simulate shadows of the past and generate real feedback with those who enter it. Lord Tao hopes to use this to find the traitor who coordinated from the inside. But the phantom of destiny for Jianmu Palace should have been obscured by that Transferred Person previously, so Lord Tao couldn't see anything. However, now, the obscured shadow has revealed its true appearance again, but because it was obscured before, it hasn't generated feedback with us yet."

"Therefore, the Gou Wen who we originally knocked unconscious and threw into the sea to replace within Lord Tao's barrier has now appeared before us again. And the real Gou Wen is still outside, in the phantom of destiny that generated feedback with us. Doing anything here will not affect reality. Crossing over to the past is not a simple matter; it requires other methods. What we can do now is find that traitor coordinating from the inside here, and conveniently, it would be best to figure out where the lost World Tree Teardrop went."

Asuka Karasawa opened her mouth as she listened, then exclaimed in astonishment.

"It... it's actually possible to cross over to the past?!"

Fisher paused for a moment, then answered perfunctorily.

"Hmm... but because this phantom of destiny hasn't interacted with us, we are equivalent to suddenly appearing here. The Elf King is a Nineteenth-Tier existence. Although it seemed Marquis Bai was very careful when entering Jianmu Palace just now, absolutely not daring to probe her surroundings casually—otherwise we would have already been discovered..."

Mikhail also stood up from the bushes, looked around, and asked."This is the place where the Elf King resides; there should be divisions for different functions. But according to the habits of Elves, the further inside, the more important it should be. That Transferred Person is in all probability in the depths of this palace. It's just right; we'll take advantage of Gou Wen going to treat the Elf King to find that Transferred Person."

"Hmm, that's the only way."

Fisher had thought this previously as well. Currently, only the few of them who have absolutely no understanding of Jianmu Palace entered, while Gou Wen didn't. Had he known earlier, he would have forcefully dragged him in to have an extra guide.

It's just that now Fisher didn't dare to bet whether going out of the spatial rift here would lead to the phantom of destiny that had interacted or the one that hadn't. In case it was the one that hadn't interacted, they would probably be immediately discovered by that three-legged golden bird-man who approached them when they entered.

To improve efficiency, Mikhail brought out his old friends, the nanobots, again. This way, they could search any suspicious target within Jianmu Palace to the maximum extent.

While Mikhail was deploying the robots, Asuka Karasawa standing nearby glanced at the quiet, magnificent architecture around them and couldn't help but feel a doubt arise in her heart.

"This place is very large, but there doesn't seem to be anyone here. The Elf King is so noble; does he not need others to serve him? There were clearly many servants on the Guest Wood previously."

"Who knows. It's possible the Elf King doesn't like others serving him..."

Mikhail chimed in, while Fisher beside them looked at this deathly quiet Jianmu Palace, which seemingly had no one else apart from the pair of fox-faced demi-humans leading the way earlier, and suddenly spoke.

"It's also possible he doesn't want others coming in frequently, because of some special purpose."

An illusory interface flickered before Mikhail's eyes. After a good while, he looked in a certain direction and said to Fisher and the others.

"Gou Wen and the others are in that direction, along with those two fox-faced demi-humans. The Elf King should be there too. Just to be safe, I didn't control the robots to go in, but that is merely the front hall of Jianmu Palace, a place very, very far near the front. There's no one in any of the other places, so that Transferred Person should be in the area behind that front hall."

"Hmm, let's go take a look."

Fisher stroked his chin, roughly forming an estimate of the Elf King's condition in his heart. That Elf King's condition shouldn't be very optimistic, at least far worse than other Nineteenth-Tier Mythical Species.

It was no wonder; he was already nearing the end of his lifespan, and Fisher understood the feeling of being chased by death. That was why he hadn't even discovered the robots Mikhail deployed for surveillance.

Thus, their probability of infiltrating greatly increased.

Fisher made a prompt decision. Said and done, he had Mikhail point out a path leading to the rear hall, and they immediately set off along that path.

In reality, Jianmu Palace was a very massive architectural complex. Just walking from the spatial rift to the boundary between the so-called front and rear halls took them almost half an hour.

And along the way, Fisher discovered many bizarre situations.

Along the way, he saw many side halls and small rooms that seemed to have been vacant for a long time. Inside, there were also many messy, improperly tidied beds and items, looking exactly like places where people once lived.

Fisher felt that in all probability they belonged to the servants who used to live here and serve. The other officials and Elves, in all probability, wouldn't live in such cramped small rooms.

Then, if there used to be people serving in Jianmu Palace, just like those in Guest Wood, where had they all gone now?

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet. Even though the inner side of the space was bright and sunny, and looking up one could see the massive phantom of the World Tree, Asuka Karasawa felt no sense of security at all, only feeling the vicinity was terrifyingly gloomy.

She swallowed her saliva, wanting to follow closer behind Fisher, but unexpectedly bumped headfirst into his broad back, making her cover her forehead and take a step back.

"Teacher Fisher, sorry... Eh?"

She looked up in confusion, only to see a very familiar figure quickly walking past the architectural corridor ahead of Fisher and Mikhail.

That figure had long black hair and usually wore a gentle smile. But at this moment, he appeared somewhat nervous and anxious, constantly looking around. Like Fisher and the others, he was walking toward the direction of the rear hall of Jianmu Palace. In the next second, their lines of sight abruptly collided with the three of Fisher.

It was an Elf-kin they had met before, Tsubaki.

On both sides of the corridor, the bodies of the solitary Tsubaki and the traveling group of three Fisher instantly stiffened. They exchanged a glance with each other and simultaneously froze in place.

Fisher frowned, shielding Asuka Karasawa behind him. Mikhail also vigilantly squeezed his right mechanical arm. But Tsubaki swept a glance over them from top to bottom, and the guard in his eyes gradually dissipated, instead revealing a bit of unclear meaning and anxiety.

"Are you... also the Transferred Persons His Majesty kept by his side?"

His voice was gentle like jade, easily making one feel at ease. But Fisher keenly noticed that he was looking at Asuka Karasawa hiding behind him. However, when Asuka Karasawa poked her head out, he froze slightly and retracted his gaze rather disappointedly.

Also?

Fisher remained silent for a moment, suddenly looked around, and pretending to be vigilant and cautious, opened his mouth to ask.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Don't be afraid, I have no hostility towards you."

Hearing Fisher tacitly acknowledge that they were the Transferred Persons the Elf King kept by his side, Tsubaki immediately waved his hand and explained.

"It's just that while I was waiting to meet His Majesty in the front hall earlier, I saw your companion. She begged me to save her, but when His Majesty arrived, she fled in panic. I don't know why His Majesty is keeping you here, but... perhaps I can help you?"

As expected, the Tsubaki before them had met with that Transferred Person.

If guess correctly...

Tsubaki is that traitor who coordinated from the inside with the Transferred Person.

But Tsubaki's doubt indeed made Fisher somewhat curious. Why did the Elf King keep that Transferred Person by his side? What happened in the completely empty Jianmu Palace? And why were they going to steal the Tear of the World Tree...

Thinking of this, the guarded expression on Fisher's face naturally restrained bit by bit, seemingly having a bit of trust in the Elf before him. Even the usually serious Mikhail beside him was stunned seeing Fisher's performance of coming and going freely.

"So that's how it is... But she is currently in the rear hall where His Majesty resides. You are an Elf; aren't you afraid it's overstepping to secretly enter His Majesty's rear hall like this?"

Tsubaki froze slightly, then smiled bitterly and said.

"I'm afraid in His Majesty's eyes, an Elf like me who neglects offering tribute is already considered overstepping... I just can't understand what significance there is in offering slaves like this. Just for numbers on an account book, is it worth treating vibrant lives as goods, packing them together, and traveling ten thousand miles to send them here?"

Fisher fell silent for a moment. As if completely familiar with the place, he walked ahead, heading towards the rear hall on his own accord, while casually saying.

"Since that's the case, please come in with us. But regrettably, we also sneaked out today. Usually, we don't have a chance to come out at all, so don't expect us to lead the way for you."

Tsubaki glanced at the cautious Asuka Karasawa hiding behind Fisher, increasingly convinced of their identities.

He took a rather nervous breath, then still followed behind Fisher, who was leading the way, overstepping together with them into the rear hall where the Elf King lived and resided.

Like the front hall, the environment here was still very desolate. Although Elves generally wouldn't trim growing weeds and the like because they revered nature, generally speaking, Elf architecture was a mixture of plants and decorations. The desolation here stemmed from an exceptional quietness and a lifelessness completely devoid of activity.

Looking at the surrounding environment, Tsubaki couldn't help but frown and said.

"Jianmu Palace shouldn't have been like this in the past... The previous times I came to offer tribute, there should have been many servants and attendants here, as well as a music troupe performing songs and dances for everyone."

As they briefly ventured deeper, bizarre papers gradually appeared in Fisher's eyes. They covered the floor like garbage, but were filled with black handwriting. Fisher looked up and saw that the writing on them was bizarre. It was writing he hadn't seen before, yet it was somewhat similar to the writing written by Caleb Woods...

Earl Tsubaki crouched down and picked up a piece of heavily wrinkled white paper. The writing on it left him completely baffled.

"This isn't our language... is this your language?"

Mikhail swept a glance over the text on it. That prosthetic eye containing a microcomputer flickered, and he quickly understood the meaning on it.

There, written in rows of elegant handwriting on the paper,

"Two hearts vie to exhaust their remaining heat, turning into two massive torches; two souls merge into a pair of bright mirrors, their dual light reflecting brilliantly in the mirrors."

Mikhail muttered a sentence.

""The Flowers of Evil", French..."

"French?"

Earl Tsubaki and Fisher's group simultaneously turned their heads to look at him. But Mikhail blankly glanced at Fisher, then said rather unnaturally.

"Hmm, this is writing left by our... companion. It's the language from their home."

"So that's how it is."

Earl Tsubaki deeply agreed and didn't ask further. But Mikhail put down the paper in his hand and picked up another piece of paper, suddenly discovering another noteworthy matter in confusion.

Most of these papers contained various kinds of poetry. Some Mikhail recognized, while others Mikhail couldn't find even after searching his computer, unsure if they were original.

What was noteworthy was that although the handwriting of these poems was the same, they weren't solely in French, but there was also German.

In other words, that Transferred Person knew both French and German?

While walking forward, Mikhail quietly informed Fisher and Asuka Karasawa of this discovery. Asuka Karasawa found it very novel and hurriedly whispered to ask.

"In other words, this Transferred Person could be French, or could be German?"

"No, in all probability, they are a French person. When she writes German, it's not as natural as French. It should be learned later on."

Mikhail analyzed logically, while Fisher silently recorded this matter in his heart.

In this massive rear courtyard, they walked for almost ten minutes without unexpectedly seeing even a single living creature. According to the report from the robot Mikhail sent ahead to scout, this place was surprisingly large, but apart from those papers spread on the floor they saw earlier, they didn't see a single living creature.

In the completely empty Jianmu Palace, there were absolutely no living creatures, only various exquisite decorations and items. The patterns on those items were completely different, but they all possessed the same sigil. Drawn on it was an emblem composed of three differently shaped petals. It wasn't clear if it represented Jianmu Palace or the Elf King.

"Um, do you smell a faint scent of blood?"

Right at this moment, Tsubaki, walking ahead, sniffed and suddenly spoke up like this.

The group of them stopped in front of a building. Unlike the desolate buildings before, only this crimson building had two lanterns hanging in front of it, seemingly indicating to everyone that someone was living here.

And right after Tsubaki spoke like this, Fisher slightly furrowed his brows and looked towards the half-ajar door of the building.

Within, amidst the faint, scattered sparks of light, an extremely thin scent of blood was slowly dissipating.