The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 558: Myriad Flower Court

In that case, Fisher absolutely had to deliberate whether he wanted to continue contacting Elizabeth.

If the current Elizabeth knew he was in the Red Dragon Court—having not seen him for four and a half years, yet upon appearing he didn't go find her but instead ran to a place like the Southern Continent to mess around—and if she further found out he was also involved with the High Priest of the Red Dragon Court's Queen, it would be adding frost to snow, exploding upon exploding.

Even if the reason the two demons lied dormant in the Naris army for a long time without making a move was waiting for an opportunity, a furious Elizabeth could absolutely still have them infiltrate the Red Dragon Court and quietly capture him.

Less trouble is better than more trouble; since this was the case, there was no need to contact her right now.

Using part of the knowledge from the Life Completion Manual to alter his appearance, Fisher hid high up in the sky and rushed toward the direction of the Southern Branch Mountain Range.

Looking down from an extremely high altitude, Fisher could clearly see the general offensive of the northern False Court. No wonder that group of residents in the False Court all went out to spectate the large army; looking from a macroscopic perspective at this moment, the scale of the army this time was truly spectacular.

In the wilderness of the Southern Continent, amidst rolling mountain ranges, within the dense jungle was completely filled with neatly arranged Naris military uniforms and Green Dragon Court military uniforms. The radiance of various firearms and magic shone among them, looking just like the tide slowly surging onto the shore on a quiet beach.

Even just this fully armed allied army composed of various races was enough to make the Red Dragon Court—which currently lacked everything and was contented with sovereignty over a part of the country—suffer quite a lot, let alone the fact that the ones leading this army were two legendary Mythical Species demons.

Their target was Raphaela, or rather, the "key" to initiate the world-ending hidden upon her.

While flying, Fisher also couldn't help but recall the information in Helaire's words that day in his mind.The demons needed that "key" to release their compatriots imprisoned beneath the Abyss, but was there anything special about Raphaela? Could such specialness be perceived? Was it a property, a physical object, or something vague and illusory like destiny?

What if that thing could be stripped from Raphaela? That way, the actual target of the two demons would detach from Raphaela.

Although afterwards, whether handing it over to the demons to release their compatriots or not handing it over and facing them himself would both be very difficult, at least this way it could ensure the safety of Raphaela, Jasmine, and the Red Dragon Court...

Fisher narrowed his eyes. Due to the very slow movement speed of the large army, it was estimated it would still take quite a while before they arrived before the Southern Branch Mountain Range. He had no intention of continuing to observe. He very quickly flapped his wings and flew, crossing them even faster, preemptively entering the Southern Branch Mountain Range, and subsequently crossing the Southern Branch Mountain Range to arrive at the rear of the Red Dragon Court.

The rear was still busy. Even if not every resident of the Red Dragon Court fully understood the specific situation right now, most were only doing what they should be doing. However, the dark clouds of war still loomed over it, revealing a thing or two from this abnormal busyness.

Fisher stealthily landed in a corner of the city. He didn't take off his cloak; he still had to stealthily sneak back into the Prayer and Blessing Tower he resided in later, exposing himself early would only cause trouble.

Fisher very quickly walked out of this narrow alley. Atop a relatively low building on one side, seemingly the top floor, stood the silhouettes of two demi-human females, seemingly residents here.

They were conversing in some sort of demi-humans' own language rather than Dragon Court language, seemingly about their own matters. When Fisher passed by below, from the corner of her eye, one of the demi-human females involuntarily placed her gaze upon him. Only until his back walked out of the alley and went quite far did she recover her senses.

"What's wrong, Doi? Why did you suddenly blank out?"

"No... I just felt the clothes worn by the person who just passed by looked a bit familiar."

"Clothes? What clothes... compared to this, Doi, have you prepared the order for those armors? Give me the broom while youre at it."

"Don't worry, they are already prepared. My husband has already taken the order to the military camp. The following time will surely have us busy... Here, the broom."

"Thanks, Doi... Ah, right, did you hear? Bizarre things happened on the streets near us last night."

"Bizarre things?"

"That's right, they say several households on the next street lost clothes drying on the rooftop in the middle of the night, inexplicably, and furthermore most of the ones lost were women's clothing!"

"Ah my, this is truly... could it be some pervert at night? It must definitely be done by someone coveting that Wolfman Race madam!"

"But I heard several purple gemstones were left for the households whose clothes were taken away, and some strange symbols were drawn on them... I heard Priest Krim say it seemed to be the symbol of some... West Continent Mother Goddess. I heard they even glow too! Picking them up makes one's mood peaceful, making one want to chant the name of that whatever Mother Goddess. After chanting one will become peaceful, very quickly becoming tired and wanting to sleep, I heard it helps with insomnia..."

"What, are they crazy? Did they tell the officials at the Prayer and Blessing Tower about this matter?"

"Oh dear, what is there to say about this? They are actually just some stones, besides, they did lose their clothes, this can also be considered compensation. You know, clothes are also very precious to us... Ah, I heard those stones are extremely beautiful. Setting aside their Value, even using them to make some accessories would definitively be extremely beautiful."

"Still thinking about these things at a time like this... Speaking of bizarre matters, I just feel the atmosphere in the Dragon Court is becoming increasingly off. The massive noise by the coast previously, did they think we couldn't hear it? Is it because that group of guys in the north are about to attack, so spies infiltrated?"

"Don't talk nonsense, the Southern Branch Mountain Range isn't that easy to cross, just sweep your floor well. Accompany me to take a look this afternoon, alright? I also want to see exactly what those beautiful gemstones look like!"

"..."

Fisher very quickly and smoothly snuck into the Prayer and Blessing Tower. For a Mythical Species like him, stealthily infiltrating such a place wasn't considered too difficult. Moreover, the current resources of the Red Dragon Court were extremely tight. In a society under wartime conditions, all resources had to lean towards the war. Naturally it was impossible to have too much precious magic and guards wasted here.

If even this place could be attacked, then there was a high probability it meant the Red Dragon Court was already finished.

He crossed the area where the officials worked in front and went straight to the Royal Court at the back.

The Royal Court in the morning was even quieter than yesterday. This place didn't look like a place where the Dragon-kin royal family lived; there were no corresponding guards, no attendants here. Many of the rooms had even been directly confiscated for public use to handle affairs.

Even though it was just morning when it became bright, this place nevertheless appeared exceptionally quiet. There were no sounds at all, seemingly all having matters to be busy with.

It seemed Raphaela and Jasmine weren't here either.

Fisher took off the cloak on his head and let Eimhart in his embrace fly out.

He scanned the extremely quiet surroundings in a full circle, turning his head back to say to Fisher,

"Hm, thanks to them all being busy, otherwise if your outing to mess around last night was discovered you wouldn't have any good fruit to eat."

Fisher fanned his own body with his long sleeves. At the same time, his body also wriggled irregularly for a burst, making Eimhart watch with trepidation. He couldn't help but ask,

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"...Eliminating the excess smell on my body. Just using a fan, I don't know how long it'll take, I can only use this method to eliminate the smell on my body."

Eimhart opened his mouth, saying with a dry mouth and tongue,

"After reading those things, your thought circuits are truly becoming increasingly peculiar, to actually be able to think of this kind of method... when even you don't like ladies anymore, then I truly will have to suspect you've been bewitched by that Chaotic Knowledge."

"That day will not come."

It seemed ever since he took a slight breather during the two days after just reuniting with Raphaela, from yesterday up until now, it truly was one wave after another without the previous one settling, making his heart hang high up and unable to calm down. With the Royal Court being so silent at this moment, his mind also relaxed bit by bit.

Stretching, he walked toward his own room, preparing to rest and relax slightly. In his mind, he also began to recall and sort out the information and content obtained yesterday, as well as the plans for the next step.

"You just called St. Nazareth, did Elizabeth not answer?"

"Mm, an Inner Court official answered."

The flat-as-water, mature female voice—that Inner Court Master Chief named "Diane"—echoed in Fisher's mind again.

"Then you aren't planning to contact Elizabeth?"

"Not for the time being."

"But even so, you already called over this morning. Elizabeth will definitely know you called; if she knows news of you, she will definitely come looking for you."

"She has no way to track where the call came from. Moreover, the person who personally answered the phone wasn't her. The rest of the operators and Inner Court officials are newly appointed within the four and a half years, and highly likely have never seen me with their own eyes. The name Fisher Benavides is definitely useful over these years; after all, the matters between her and me back then were known to all in Naris. There certainly are many people speculating using this, Elizabeth should be able to screen them."

Fisher's expression was flat; he understood both Elizabeth and Naris exceptionally well.

"She only believes in her own judgments and will not readily believe the words of others, even if this judgment is wrong. Only if I converse with her personally will she confirm my whereabouts and existence; there is no need to worry I will be exposed."

"How could I be worried you'll be exposed, I'm even wishing you'd be exposed. Tsk tsk, add on an Empress Elizabeth, this situation... I don't dare to imagine."

"I do dare to imagine."

Eimhart glared with dead fish eyes at Fisher who was stretching and completely relaxed. At this moment, he seemed to have turned back into an ordinary human again. It was unknown whether this was a wondrous usage of the knowledge from the Life Completion Manual. Although he temporarily couldn't fully read the knowledge within it, exploring and utilizing what had already been read was necessary.

Fisher and he walked a very long distance again, crossing the quiet corridor to return to the doorway of his own room.

Yawning, he pushed open his room door. In the next moment, it revealed a cold-faced Raphaela sitting on the bed within.

"Aoo, been out all night, it's also time for me to—"

Taking the lead to dive in, Eimhart just wanted to relaxedly let out a yawn, but when seeing Raphaela sitting within it, his expression completely froze. Subsequently, it instantly turned into an awkward smile. He greeted, saying,

"Hi, Raphaela."

"This is none of your business, you go out first."

Raphaela's expression wasn't pleasant to look at. She wore a set of black everyday clothes, carefully scanning Fisher outside the door. With her arms crossed and legs crossed, she was surrounded by a wisp of scorching steam. The tail behind her also unevenly curled up crookedly on the bedsheets, just like a venomous snake.

Eimhart nodded innocently, then turned his head to look at Fisher at the door, casting him an extremely sympathetic glance.

Wordlessly, he seemed to be saying,

"Look out for yourself."

Afterward, he flew out of the room, flying toward another quiet place, not knowing where he went to rest.

Fisher raised an eyebrow, subsequently walking helplessly into the room, incidentally closing the room door behind him.

"Raphaela, when did you return?"

The long ears beside Raphaela's cheeks twitched quite a few times. Her jade-green eyes darted around his body for a good few laps. Not answering Fisher's question, she instead opened her mouth and asked,

"Did you go rest at Jasmine's place last night?"

Fisher shook his head, denying,

"How could I, didn't we agree?"

Mm, he indeed didn't last night, it was yesterday afternoon...

But it was Jasmine who secretly came, it shouldn't have anything to do with him, right?

Hearing Fisher's answer, Raphaela's expression finally eased a bit, but still couldn't be considered at the "genial" level.

With crossed arms, she stood up and walked to the front of Fisher.

Fisher actually thought he passed, just about to prepare to reach out for a hug, but was halted by Raphaela's call,

"You stand there first, don't move!"

"Ha?"

Fisher had no choice but to remain motionless, watching her approach him bit by bit. Extremely vigilantly, like a little kitten, she sniffed the clothing on his body.

"Sniff sniff..."

Frowning, she explored back and forth several times. Subsequently, she raised her eyebrows and lifted her head, that vigilant expression also changing bit by bit into suspicion.

Thank the inspiration given by the Mother Goddess. Even though he didn't see anyone when returning, Fisher still extremely cautiously dispersed the smell on his body. Therefore, Raphaela didn't discover anything because of this.

Fisher looked at her innocently. Raphaela's expression eased a bit further. Sizing up Fisher from top to bottom, she questioned,

"Where did you go last night? Why are the clothes on your body also changed? Not wearing the piece I gave you."

"...I thought you had matters to be busy with, so I temporarily left the Dragon Court and went north for a bit to research the matter regarding those demons yesterday. There was a little incident halfway, resulting in the clothes on my body being destroyed. When I came back I randomly fetched a piece in the Dragon Court to wear... couldn't possibly come back naked right."

Fisher cast a glance at the clothes on his body, incidentally questioning Raphaela,

"When did you return? If you suspected I went to Jasmine's place, wouldn't it have been fine if you just went to her yourself to ask?"

"..."

Raphaela's expression slightly stagnated, her eyes also dodging along with it.

Telling the truth, ever since the previous incident occurred, she hadn't gone to see Jasmine personally again. Even when she returned in the middle of the night yesterday and discovered Fisher wasn't in the room, suspecting he went to Jasmine's room to spend the night, she still didn't go to confront her.

She perhaps didn't want to confront and argue with Jasmine, not wanting to destroy the hard-won relationship between them, but also didn't want to easily surrender her loved one just like this.

Therefore, such a method of not meeting and not communicating personally right now just happened to run its course.

Cold war.

It should be described with such a term to be correct.

Fisher saw the hidden meaning beneath her reaction. He wanted to say something to ease the relationship between them, but before he could open his mouth, Raphaela recovered from that dodging emotion.

She turned her head to look at Fisher, reaching out to peel back his robe. Sure enough, there wasn't a single piece of clothing beneath that robe.

She wasn't shy either; having already done it so many times and understanding each other's body shapes intimately, she definitively wouldn't be as coquettish and shy as Renee.

As if an old married couple, she cast a glance outside the door, subsequently saying to Fisher,

"Honestly, what exactly happened to you last night, how did you also lose your other clothes?"

"I broke them myself... you know, to me, the material of the clothes is a bit... fragile."

"Mm, I'm just thinking about where to get clothes for you, especially underwear your size..."

"..."

Fisher silenced himself innocently, while Raphaela seemed to have thought of something, saying,

"Ah, I'll bring it over for you later. I still have to find you a fitting set of formal clothes too; dressing like this is unacceptable..."

Just as she finished speaking she was about to prepare to take action and go out. The Fisher behind her grabbed her arm, questioning,

"Wait, formal clothes? Is there some arrangement requiring me today?"

Raphaela turned her head back, the expression on her face bringing a bit of rosiness. Pouting, she said,

"You forgot, I want to take you to the Myriad Flower Court. There are many matters to be busy with later; before formally starting, this morning is precisely a suitable time."

"Myriad Flower Court?"

Fisher paused for a second, then very quickly recalled this concept Raphaela had only just mentioned yesterday.

He suddenly knew where they were going next.

Just as Kexir and Faxir had previously explained to Fisher, the Myriad Flower Court was actually an extremely important place to the Dragon-kin.

This concept originated from the ancient Dragon Court. At that time, the method for a male Dragon-kin to court a mate was to seek out a flower recognized by intuition. Aside from beauty, the remaining characteristics were all designated by the courting Dragon-kin.

After successful bonding, this flower symbolizing courtship would also appear at their wedding ceremony. Accompanied by fine wine, singing, and dancing, it symbolized the union of lives and the recognition of souls.

Generally speaking, a Dragon-kin wedding also required the ceremony witnessing of the marriage. The witnesses were generally the elders of both parties and highly respected individuals within the Dragon Court.

Therefore, females of the royal family within the Dragon Court naturally would also undertake a relatively large number of marriage witnessing ceremonies; this was a mutual honor. To those whose marriage was witnessed, the glory of the Dragon Court would bless their souls and marriage; for the witnessing royal family, this represented the continuation and future of the race...

Over time, because the courtship ceremonies were held time and time again, the flowers dropped at the wedding venues also increased. The "Myriad Flower Court" was thus named because of this, endowed with special meaning, and continued to be used until today.

Aside from weddings, the Myriad Flower Court was also endowed with other related duties over the long course of historical change.

The naming of descendants, clan records, the regulation of etiquette, historical records, the education of youths...

All such extremely important responsibilities to the Dragon-kin originated from here. Naturally, the selection of the Dragon-kin responsible for managing this extremely important place was also extremely rigorous.

Because it was closely related to the concept of reproduction, the persons in charge were generally females; they were perhaps the partners, sisters, or elders of the Dragon Court's leaders...

At this moment, the person responsible for managing the Red Dragon Court's Myriad Flower Court was none other than the biological mother of the Dragon Queen, Yali'er.

The location of the Myriad Flower Court was at the edge of the Dragon Court, within an extremely quiet dense forest.

Looking from afar, an extremely archaic, pale-colored oval building appeared in Fisher's eyes under the illumination of the morning sunlight.

Only he and Raphaela came here, no one else accompanying them.

He changed into a suit of formal attire, though it was of a West Continent style. It was unknown where she confiscated it from.

Raphaela made him wear his own West Continent Naris attire rather than Dragon Court or Southern Continent attire... she always disliked putting on disguises regarding these aspects.

Unlike the Prayer and Blessing Tower, this place was ironically equipped with relatively strict guards; all were trained Dragon-kin.

"We have arrived, Fisher..."

Leading the way in front, Raphaela also saw that distant building. She finally halted her steps slightly, turning her head back to look at Fisher,

"My mother is right inside."