The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 557: A Crucial Phone Call

It was already early morning. In the uninhabited wilderness of the Southern Continent, the chirping and flashing sounds of the inherently timid Earthen Goblins reverberated once again. Sparse white clouds floated in the azure sky, through which swept two illusory shadows; it was precisely Fisher and Renee.

The city of the False Dragon Court ahead wasn't considered large, and Fisher also didn't have the necessity to go to a large city to expose his own existence. He merely needed to make a phone call; before being fully prepared it was better to be somewhat careful.

"We have arrived..."

Renee easily and soundlessly brought Fisher into the city. At this time, the residents here hadn't yet fully awakened, but there were already quite a few diligent people walking around outside.

Fisher and she hid in an alleyway. Renee took a glance at the situation outside and said to Fisher,

"This city isn't considered far from the Dragon Court to the south either, it will be convenient for you to return. You are already at the Mythic Rank, this kind of thing should still be achievable, right?"

"Mm."

Fisher patted Eimhart who was hidden in his embrace, using his robe to completely conceal his own appearance.

Ever since the robe covered his face, the contours of his facial features hidden within the shadows began to constantly wriggle, as if turning into a different appearance.

Fisher hadn't completely mastered the knowledge of the Completion Handbook, so his application of it was extremely rusty. Who knows what he would turn into. Although it could be used for security, it was still best not to reveal it directly, lest becoming ugly to a certain degree also turned into being conspicuous on a different level.Renee, however, seemingly didn't care about the changes in his appearance at all. It was unknown how she, from the perspective of a True God, viewed Fisher in her eyes.

She merely abruptly restrained the smile on her face a little, subsequently saying to Fisher,

"Regarding those demons escaping from the abyss... I'll go pay attention to it when I have time later... Although my previous incarnation did indeed commit many mistakes, at least confining the demons into the abyss was absolutely the right thing to do. Their ability to escape is definitively related to that whatever [Baimon] you mentioned; the specific method is still unknown. If there is concrete news I will come back and notify you..."

Fisher nodded. Just as he wanted to say something, Renee solemnly extended her hand and pressed it against his lips.

"..."

His words stagnated, having no choice but to lower his head to look at the Renee before his eyes.

"And then it is... promise me, you absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must not read any Completion Handbook anymore. The World-Ending Prophecy will be resolved by me and the gods, it has nothing to do with you. You can very well... go handle the conflicts between those women first."

It seemed Renee was truly worried that he would encounter danger because of those Completion Handbooks, actually going so far as to even speak words telling him to go resolve matters with other ladies first.

"Promise me."

Seeing Fisher not replying for a long time, Renee pouted and forcefully added a sentence.

"...I promise you I will not read the previous Completion Handbook anymore."

"Swear it."

"...I swear."

Pouting, Renee looked at Fisher. Only after obtaining his affirmative answer did she release him.

She retreated several steps and looked at the gradually brightening sky, finally letting out a long sigh and saying,

"This is good, this way I feel relieved... Then I'm leaving y'know, I'm returning to the Spirit World."

"Wait a moment, don't go yet."

"?"

Renee looked at Fisher in confusion, only to see him extend his hand and say to her,

"Leave a Heart Bird for me, otherwise how will I contact you later?"

"Heart Bird..."

Renee was slightly stunned, then smiled and knocked Fisher's extended palm with her hand. She complained,

"I told you I came in a hurry and didn't bring any Heart Birds. Even if I were to fetch some, I must return to the Spirit World and come back again. This process is very troublesome. After all, you know my movements are very restricted. This time, because I was worried about you, I almost caused a disaster... Next time, I will bring them for you when I come next time."

"...Alright."

"It's fine, I already know you're back, and I also know where you are. I definitely will secretly peek at you when I have free time in the Spirit World, if there is any matter I can also discover it in time... Hmph hmph, if I discover you messing with flowers and grass again..."

Fisher smiled helplessly to express his resolve. Renee also reached out to shake his palm. Afterward, following a deft "Then I'm going," she also turned her head and walked toward the deeper part of the other side of the alleyway. As she walked, her body also seemed as if filled with air, becoming increasingly illusory until she completely disappeared from sight.

The delicate fragrance in the alleyway drifted apart bit by bit, gradually dissipating under the illumination of the morning light.

Fisher cast a glance at the place she left, then immediately also turned his head and walked out of the small alley. Following the signposts on the road, he walked in the direction of a public telephone booth.

This city was very small. Because it was very close to the frontlines of the Red Dragon Court, it could face the risk of war at any time. Naturally, not many people were willing to come here to reside, invest, and build, and thus such infrastructure also appeared exceptionally scarce. Fisher roughly had to walk two blocks before seeing the one of very few telephone booths.

While walking, the smile on his face grew increasingly faint, his gaze flashing, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Eimhart hidden in his embrace sensed his silence. This wasn't because he appeared desolate due to Renee's departure. He understood Fisher; normally after separating from a lady he definitively wouldn't be like this... mm, most of the time he would appear a bit more relaxed, while appearing increasingly silent like right now was truly rare.

Because of this, Eimhart couldn't help but open his mouth to ask,

"Are you truly going to listen to Renee, genuinely not going to read the Completion Handbook later?"

"Who told you I'm not reading it?"

"...Didn't you just swear it? The mouths of men, the deceit of ghosts?"

"The 'previous Completion Handbook' I spoke of refers to that handbook of Erwind's I read last night. Reading this handbook requires finding the 'Treasure' first. I am unwilling to imitate Erwind in blaspheming life and I don't have other clues, isn't it true that I can only not read it for now?"

"...Impressive."

Eimhart sported dead fish eyes. Sure enough, he shouldn't have held expectations for Fisher.

He also continued to ask,

"Then what are you thinking about, being so quiet suddenly."

"...Just a little doubt."

"Doubt?"

"Mm, still remember the first time you met Renee in the Northern Border previously?"

"To be honest, I don't remember it too well. She was wholeheartedly focused on you, in her eyes I was just a talking holy artifact, without human rights. Moreover she was also very terrifying, I didn't even dare pay attention to her much... what's wrong?"

"Previously every time Renee appeared, she would be surrounded by a whole bunch of Heart Birds. Although I also knew this was a masqueraded Witch nature of hers, just like how she previously deceived me that she couldn't exchange consciousness with the Heart Birds... but there wasn't a single one this time, I still feel something is a bit off."

"Just a guess?"

"Just a guess."

"Hm, this truly is hard to say. After all Renee's true body is a True God, limited by the gods due to the sins committed by the Mother Goddess. The situation this time was also extremely sudden; she only appeared suddenly because you lost control, what she said is not unreasonable."

"I'm very curious about the 'method to resolve the World-Ending Prophecy' she mentioned. I'm worried she will pay a price for this. Perhaps the disappearance of the Heart Birds is an omen."

"Great, circled back again..."

As they spoke, Fisher and Eimhart had also already arrived in front of the public telephone booth. Because of the scarcity of telephone booths, a line had formed here very early on. There were still several human gentlemen queuing to use the phone in front of Fisher—demi-humans couldn't use this sort of thing, and very few people had the need to use a phone to contact others.

Fisher queued patiently not far from a gentleman. He heard the faint sound of Eimhart in his embrace continue to transmit over,

"Regarding that Heart Bird matter... if you want verification, you only need to see whether the Heart Birds will appear the next time you meet Renee normally. But I feel this won't offset your misgivings either. You might feel again at that time that she brought several Heart Birds to coax you to conceal some price... Do you know what the key is? The key lies in that you cannot sit idly by regarding the hardships these women might encounter. Thus ah, having said so much, it's actually all just laying the groundwork for you to continue reading the Completion Handbook..."

"You are right, so I am now going to call the Lord of Death I met once previously in the Northern Border."

Eimhart blinked, then sighed, saying,

"Everyone has their point, everyone worries about the other party; as long as you yourself have a measure in your heart it's fine. If you truly are the key to resolving that whatever World-Ending Prophecy, perhaps even if Renee lets you flee first it will still catch up to you."

"..."

Fisher didn't reply to him again, merely waiting quietly until all the gentlemen in front finished their calls and it was his turn.

He walked forward, picked up the telephone receiver, paused for a moment, and his fingers instantly turned into countless dense tendrils of flesh embedding into the coin slot of the telephone booth.

"Click!"

Following a gentle shake, the sound of "da da da" also came from within the receiver, signaling for Fisher to input the phone number.

He recalled the phone number reported by the Lord of Death; it seemed to be a Cardu area code.

It was true this guy was a Carduan, but it was very hard for Fisher to imagine that someone seeking death like this would stay in one place all the time. What's more, he was also a member of the Creation Society.

Fisher suddenly felt it was somewhat absurd to use this phone to contact the other party. Could this be something that drunkard did when his mind was unclear after getting drunk?

Holding a half-believing, half-doubting mood, Fisher's fingers slowly returned to their original appearance. He also rotatingly inputted the area code and extension number one by one on the dial.

"Click..."

"Ring ring ring..."

No one was waiting behind him anymore. There weren't even many passing carriages in the morning city, thus the area beside Fisher's ear appeared exceptionally silent at this moment, as if there was only him and the receiver in his hand in the entire city.

During the silent ringing, his thought of suspecting the Lord of Death left a useless number grew increasingly strong.

Fisher tilted his head. No one answered for a long time, and he was even about to hang up the phone. But just as he was about to do so, the sound of connection suddenly came from beside his ear.

"Click..."

"...Hello."

After a moment of silence, an exceptionally young, flat female voice suddenly sounded from the other end of the phone, making Fisher slightly stunned, temporarily not answering.

"..."

"Hello?"

The female voice over there sounded again, seemingly puzzled as to why the caller wasn't speaking.

Recovering his senses, Fisher opened his mouth in Carduan language and asked,

"I'm looking for Mr. Holland Dionisio, may I ask if he is there? I am his friend, I have a little something to tell him."

"..."

Like a turn-based game, it was the other side's turn to fall silent this time.

After a second, that female voice then said,

"Holland is not here, but if there's any message you can tell me, I can pass it on to him."

"...May I ask who you are to him?"

"Landlady."

So it's the landlady. Did that guy rent a house in Cardu?

"May I ask how to address you?"

"Aris... just call me Miss Aris."

A strange name. It was hard to imagine that such a name would appear in a place like Cardu with a naming custom of brevity and quoting classics.

"Alright, Miss Aris, please tell Mr. Holland Dionisio that a gentleman named 'Fisher' wishes to tell him that there are already clues regarding the thing he wants, and please ask him to make a trip to the Southern Continent, I am waiting for him in the Dragon Court in the southernmost part."

To be honest, telling such a world-shocking matter to an ordinary Carduan landlady, would she think this is some sort of psychiatric communication invitation?

Mm, regardless, the Lord of Death's mental state didn't look too normal either.

"Okay, I will pass it on to him, ensuring he knows... Besides this, are there any other important messages to pass on, Mr. Fisher?"

But unexpectedly, this female landlady surprisingly didn't appear flustered at all. It was unknown whether she was already accustomed to the Lord of Death's mental state.

"...Nothing else."

The female voice over there remained silent for even longer this time. When she spoke again, her tone also carried an imperceptible touch of ethereal disappointment,

"...Okay, then I will hang up the phone."

"Mm, thank you, Miss Aris."

"..."

"Click!"

A crisp sound came from within the phone, and that young girl's voice also came to an abrupt end. Fisher simultaneously moved the receiver a bit further away, looking at the morning street next to him.

"Finished calling, how is it?"

Eimhart in his embrace asked this, but Fisher saw the Green Dragon Court flag and the Naris golden flag hanging on the houses across the street, his heart couldn't help but stir slightly.

His finger tapped the receiver once, subsequently saying,

"Not yet."

"Ah? Oh, who else are you going to call?"

Fisher didn't answer, only inserting his finger into the coin slot again. Subsequently, he began to rotate the number to dial again. He was far too familiar with this number, and didn't know whether there had been any changes after four and a half years...

He was going to call Elizabeth.

Perhaps it appeared somewhat untimely, because if Elizabeth knew he returned but couldn't immediately go find her, then she would inevitably be furious, which would inevitably make Fisher, who was walking on thin ice, even more in danger. The danger level of the ladies was about to continuously rise by quite a few octaves...

From the rational perspective of a scumbag, calling Elizabeth to let her know the news of his return was absolutely inappropriate.

But Fisher was worried about Elizabeth after all.

Now that the Naris army had been infiltrated by two Eighteenth-Tier demons, it was very hard to say whether Elizabeth was aware of and acquiesced to this matter.

According to Helaire's claims, these two demons were summoned out by her, yet they didn't obey her orders. Having been imprisoned for so long, they wanted to seek freedom for their race, and this freedom had formed a connection with Raphaela. They were only waiting for the moment of world-ending to arrive before striking.

What about Elizabeth in the midst of this? Did she also have the thought of relying on demonic power to conquer? Or was she deceived by the demons, completely ignorant?

Fisher wanted to confirm this no matter what, thus he dialed the number of the Golden Palace once again.

"Click click..."

"Hello, Golden Palace Outer Court Affairs Office, very happy to serve you."

"I am Fisher Benavides, I wish to speak with Empress Elizabeth on the phone."

"Understood, your request will be compiled and reported by the Outer Court Affairs Office, and the process will be completed within six to ten working days. Your processing identifier is 90722, at that time you can use the identifier to inquire about the processing result."

"..."

Fisher was somewhat speechless. From this operator's bored, formalistic reply, it was estimated that the other party really treated him like a lunatic.

Expressionlessly clenching the telephone receiver a bit tighter, he said to the other end,

"Immediately report my name as a special incident. Someone will immediately come to handle it after it is reported to the Inner Court. This process will only cost you five minutes. Tell your superior through the Kalisaya Gate of the Golden Palace, then walk to the office exterior to the Inner Court and it'll be considered complete."

"Let alone commendations, at least you won't bear any responsibility. But once you don't report it, when I contact the Golden Palace Inner Court and even the Empress through other means, you will bear unimaginable consequences."

The voice of the operator over there came to an abrupt end. Fisher on the other end of the phone displayed an extraordinary understanding of the Golden Palace and was fully conversant with the processes and rules of handling affairs. She also dared not to slack off at this moment. After pausing for a moment, that formalistic voice finally dissolved, turning into a somewhat hesitant human voice,

"U-Understood, please temporarily do not hang up the phone, I will go report to the Inner Court officer right now."

Fisher didn't reply. Listening to the disappearance of the female voice over there, he also looked toward the adjacent street.

The street at this moment had become exceptionally quiet, or rather, it was deathly silent.

The surroundings were silent and still, but under the illumination of the distant morning sun, quite a few heads jutted out from the windows of the buildings on both sides of the street, looking towards the other side of the street, outside the city. It seemed something was happening over there.

"Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!"

Extremely far away, the continuous bizarre, chaotic sounds of a horn that seemed able to vibrate the mind transmitted over faintly.

That sound contained a bizarre power. Even the morning breeze seemed tainted turbid and heavy by that sound, making one restless and breathless.

"Look quickly, here they come, here they come!"

"It's the allied forces of the Dragon Court and Naris. That special horn sound is Barbatos! It's General Barbatos marching to war!"

"Great! It's been two and a half years, a full two and a half years! The invincible General Barbatos is finally heading south again! Quick, let's go out of the city to look!"

"Wooo! Wooo!"

The surrounding streets abruptly grew restless. Quite a few demi-human species and human gentlemen rushed down, surging out of the city with extreme excitement.

Fisher's brows furrowed increasingly deep. In the faraway sky, the originally clear azure color was also gradually covered by a touch of abnormal red, slowly approaching southwards like dark clouds.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound of war drums resonated. Fisher's breathing also couldn't help but become slightly rapid, as if he also faintly felt the magma pillars seemingly erupting from underground...

No, there wasn't just one.

There were two powerful Mythical Species in that direction.

Barbatos and Agreas had both come; they were both marching toward the southern frontlines!

"Fisher, over there..."

Eimhart opened his mouth wide, his mind restless from being blown by those war drums and horns, as if even he was affected by the power of those Demon Gods.

"I know..."

Fisher nodded with a solemn expression, but didn't expect that beside his ear, a mature, unexpected female voice suddenly echoed,

"Know? Sir, what did you say? What do you know?"

"..."

Fisher was slightly stunned, only then recovering from the stupor of the pressing large army. He had almost forgotten that the phone call he made to the Golden Palace hadn't hung up yet.

But this voice...

Wasn't Elizabeth.

This female voice sounded steadier than Elizabeth's, and older than hers, like a tranquil ocean.

"...You are?"

"Ah, let me introduce myself. I am the Inner Court Master Chief in charge of the general affairs of the Inner Court of the Golden Palace, you can call me Diane."

"Diane?"

"Yes... Sir, the Outer Court operator just reported that a gentleman named 'Fisher Benavides' called. The Empress is currently commanding the war in the Southern Continent in real-time and is not currently in the Golden Palace, therefore I was specially assigned to take full charge of tracking and verifying this matter... Sir, may I ask, are you Fisher Benavides?"

Fisher narrowed his eyes, the expression on his face cold and stern.

That woman's steady voice cut off all the words he was about to say, because of the information unintentionally revealed in the other party's words...

Commanding?

Elizabeth was the commander of the war?

Then she definitively knew how the demons fought...

"...No, I dialed the wrong number, I am truly sorry."

He suddenly slammed the receiver back into its original position. Subsequently, draped in a cloak that concealed his figure tightly, he turned around and left.

The people of the entire city all ran out of the city extremely excitedly to watch the large army personally led by General Barbatos approach the Southern Branch Mountain Range roughly a hundred kilometers south in a three-pronged advance. Thus no one noticed that such a person made two phone calls here at this moment and at this place...

Only, at the same time and same moment, extremely far away, across the continent and ocean in St. Nazareth.

Inside the walls of the Outer Court Affairs of the shining Golden Palace, the room originally used for answering lines appeared exceptionally quiet at this moment.

All the operators quietly and carefully watched as the neatly dressed middle-aged woman slowly put down the receiver in her hand.

That woman named "Diane" smiled and cast a glance at the operator standing respectfully behind her. Getting up, she opened her mouth and said,

"Well done."

"I wouldn't dare..."

That operator immediately lowered her head, seemingly unable to bear such praise.

But Diane didn't pay attention to her actions. She merely walked extremely elegantly to the door of the Outer Court Affairs Office. Without turning her head, her voice transmitted over slowly,

"Stare at this place at all times. Be a bit careful when feeding, don't cause trouble for us."

All the operators lowered their heads, responding respectfully,

"We wouldn't dare..."

"Lord Baimon."