novelraw Chapter 621: Love
Chapter 621: Love
The next morning, having received the situation report from the rear of the Dragon Court, Raphaela prepared to immediately return to the rear to inspect the situation, especially after hearing that her mother had fainted while covering the children of the Myriad Flower Court.
Fisher also prepared to bring Eimhart with her back to the Dragon Court. During this time, besides thinking about how to contact Xuan Can and Gou Wen to solve the major problem in Raphaela's womb, he had been studying the newly acquired Death Completion Manual.
However, seeing that Raphaela had obviously worked on clearing the battlefield and reorganizing the army until nearly dawn last night, yet was now preparing to set off non-stop without a moment's rest, made Fisher quite concerned.
Mhm, although he also knew that after entering the Mythic Rank, this level of physical exertion was practically nothing, but after all, she was currently pregnant. Fisher, who still held human concepts, subconsciously worried like this, and brought this matter up in the carriage leaving the frontlines, which resulted in Raphaela and Lar, who was driving the carriage, being very puzzled.
"Rest assured, this trivial matter is absolutely nothing aw. Even if it weren't me but an ordinary Dragon-kin, they wouldn't become so fragile because of pregnancy."
"Lady Raphaela is right..." While comforting Fisher, Lar also gave an example to explain to him, "Mill was still running around the Prayer and Blessing Tower every day when she was burdened with a child, and ended up giving birth on the way to the Myriad Flower Court. She just ran into the bushes by herself in passing to give birth to the child, and then continued rushing to the Myriad Flower Court while holding him. When she arrived, she gave Lady Yali'er a fright."
"... By herself?"
Fisher raised an eyebrow, not expecting Dragon-kin to be so fierce and tough. But according to his research on Dragon-kin, no matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem right.
Shouldn't this kind of feeling be something only the Giant Troll-kin would have?
"She's lying to you, Fisher."Raphaela smiled, reached out and gave Lar a rap on the head, making her let out a grunt, and then explained,
"Mill only gave birth when she reached the Myriad Flower Court, and it was my mother who delivered the baby for her. But you really don't need to worry so much about me. We indeed aren't that fragile either, I can take good care of myself."
Fisher glanced at Lar speechlessly, only to see her clutching her head playfully sticking her tongue out at Fisher.
Eimhart stood on Fisher's head, while Jasmine hadn't returned from the seaside yet. When they left earlier, Raphaela had sent her a message using the Dragon Court's messenger magic, telling her about their return from the frontlines.
The journey was slightly bumpy. Lar got off the carriage upon arriving at the frontlines, staying there to continue sorting out the situation on the frontlines. So, of course, the driver's seat was left to Fisher.
When he brought Eimhart to the front of the carriage and grasped the reins, he suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia.
Back when he was on the Southern Continent, he also drove a carriage like this, taking Raphaela across the Southern Continent.
It was a pity that Eimhart didn't have the corresponding realization at a glance like Fisher did. He merely stood on Fisher's head, as if treating him like a horse, shouting "Giddy up, giddy up" in his drake voice, urging him to hurry up and start the carriage. As a result, he was grabbed by Fisher and placed aside.
Just like in the past, the small door connecting the cabin behind cracked open slightly, revealing a pair of emerald-green eyes from within, looking with a smile at Fisher before her,
"Feels somewhat familiar?"
"Ah, indeed so, it's just that you aren't that little dragon from back then anymore either."
"Pa pa..."
This seemed to be the sound of her dragon tail slapping the floor inside the cabin.
"I wasn't a little dragon back then either."
Raphaela defended herself, but looking at Fisher's back, she hesitated for a moment, and still spoke with regret,
"Previously... originally I had always been keeping it, that carriage you gave me. But in the war two and a half years ago, it was destroyed when the Pseudo-Court bombarded the rear with artillery, so..."
Fisher turned back to look at Raphaela hiding inside the cabin, then smiled as he turned his body, poked his head through the small door of the cabin, and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Seeing this, Eimhart silently stared with dead fish eyes and flew to the roof of the carriage, having no eyes to look anymore.
But very soon, wisps of scorching steam seeped out from the cabin once again, roasting him so much that he had no choice but to fly up and yell down,
"You two are so slow and indecisive, are we setting off or not!"
But neither of the two below paid him any heed, just continuing to let the steam swirl bit by bit, angering him so much he wished he could just bash his head against a tree and die.
After the kiss, Raphaela retreated a bit with a hazy look in her eyes. First she glanced at Fisher, then stealthily swept a glance at the woods around the carriage, and finally looked at Fisher again...
As her Tail-Compatible Partner, Fisher understood her request almost instantly.
He raised his eyebrow, merely looking down at her lower abdomen, and advised in a low voice,
"Raphaela, you are already pregnant..."
"..."
"This might not be good for the child."
"..."
Raphaela just looked at him, and the tail behind her wagged again, seeming unmoved, still maintaining an eager posture.
Seeing this, Fisher also felt helpless, and had no choice but to use a stalling tactic to plan slowly,
"We'll talk about it when we get back to the Dragon Court, I promise."
"..."
Raphaela pondered for several seconds before finally, albeit reluctantly, nodding. She reached out and pushed Fisher's shoulder, saying embarrassedly,
"Alright, it's a promise."
"Mhm, let's set off."
Fisher turned round not knowing whether to laugh or cry, flicking the reins to set off, heading in the most basic direction towards the Dragon Court. Fisher and Raphaela had clearly just traveled this road once before, but now it was completely unrecognizable, because the battle between Eliog and Barbatos had completely altered the shapes of the land and mountains.
Previously, a "Fafnir Blessing Theory" had even started circulating within Raphaela's army, saying it was a manifestation of the Dragon God. That those fierce winds and powerful forces that pierced through mountains and oceans were summoned by the Dragon God to punish those humans.
Raphaela's memories stopped before entering the Dynasty, and her memories after that were very hazy, only vaguely remembering she really wanted to save Fisher. However, there was only one thing she seemed to remember very clearly...
The wheels spun rapidly, and from the cabin behind, Raphaela's call suddenly drifted over again,
"Fisher..."
"What's wrong?"
"When you were in the Dynasty, did you do anything with Jasmine?"
Fisher's figure slightly stiffened. He turned his head looking into the cabin, and saw Raphaela's emerald eyes blinking and staring at him.
On the roof of the carriage, Eimhart, who was originally bored to death and somewhat sleepy, suddenly became spirited upon hearing Raphaela's words at this moment. He poked his head out, using his single eye to wickedly look at the somewhat stiff-bodied Fisher below, falling just short of laughing out loud,
"... What?"
"What do you mean what?" Raphaela displeasedly reached out to pinch Fisher's waist, tightly twisting his muscle, and said suspiciously, "Ever since we came back, the feeling Jasmine gives me has changed. In the past, my mother noticed I had found my Tail-Compatible Partner at a glance and I still felt it was miraculous, but looking at Jasmine now, it's simply too obvious... Spit it out, did you do bad things with her when you went to the Demon Dynasty?"
"... The situation back then was like this. Because a massive amount of Magic was extracted from me, I appeared somewhat weak, so..."
"Fisher, don't tell me Jasmine forced you!!"
Fisher was interrupted by Raphaela the moment he started speaking, and along with it, his expression became increasingly stiff as the twisting angle of the muscle on his waist grew larger and larger.
He was truly innocent, because back then Jasmine really did force him, it wasn't a lie.
But if he really said that, it would make Fisher seem far too irresponsible, because at least at the time he was enjoying it and didn't resist, which couldn't be considered entirely clean...
Seeing Fisher's tacit admission, Raphaela inside the cabin became even more furious. Puffing up her cheeks, she ruthlessly slapped Fisher's back with her claws, producing loud "bang bang bang" sounds.
"Sorry, Raphaela."
"Sorry my foot..."
Raphaela huffily withdrew her hand. After a moment of silence inside the cabin, she continued speaking,
"As early as when you and she left the Dragon Court I had this premonition. Even if you restrained yourself because of what you promised me, Jasmine wouldn't restrain herself because of me... She had wanted to eat you up a long time ago, she's thought about it for four and a half years. She told me this matter previously, even when I didn't know her teacher was you."
Fisher raised an eyebrow, finally finding an opportunity, and hurriedly spoke up,
"Then you still let her accompany me..."
"... Wasn't it because at the time I thought the Dragon Court and I were truly at the end of our rope."
Raphaela pouted, but recalling the crisis back then, when facing an almost hopeless war, the true thoughts in her heart were indeed like that.
As the Queen of the Dragon Court, she was going to be buried along with her country and people. But Fisher and Jasmine had nothing to do with it. Rather than having Fisher entangled in it afterwards, it would be better to let him be with Jasmine, whom he was familiar with, and take her mother away.
But now everything was over, and it was also time to settle the conflicts that weren't dealt with previously.
Fisher also realized this point, and thus appeared somewhat nervous.
But the arrival of everything was so gentle, just like the clear weather right now and the breeze brushing against his cheeks as if it was there and not there,
Raphaela looked at Fisher's back before her, reached out and stroked her lower abdomen, then hammered her fist against Fisher's back, and asked softly, uncertainly,
"Fisher, guarantee to me and the baby in my tummy, that you won't have any connection with any new female in the future, can you do that?"
"..."
Fisher was suddenly somewhat silent, but it wasn't because he couldn't do it... to tell the truth, before returning from the past, he had already made up his mind to maintain his integrity and turn over a new leaf.
What truly touched his heart at this moment was Raphaela's tone. It was perhaps an inquiry, or perhaps uncertainty, but it was not an angry questioning or a demand for his guarantee.
In other words, this actually also meant that Fisher had never given her any sense of security in this regard. And she couldn't penalize Fisher because of it. Just like earlier in the Dragon Court when she first learned of the relationship between Jasmine and Fisher, her feeling of being wronged was actually greater than her anger.
Was this a plea?
Fisher wasn't sure, but he merely opened his mouth, turned back to look into Raphaela's eyes, and said earnestly and seriously,
"I guarantee."
Generally speaking, the guarantees and vows of a bad man are like a dog barking, one doesn't need to understand them nor do they need to believe them. But Raphaela seemed willing to believe, willing to believe that Fisher wouldn't betray her trust once again.
Subsequently, she nodded, and said another sentence,
"Then, I can only accept Jasmine."
Fisher blinked, only to hear her continue saying,
"... I know you know other females, whether it's Elizabeth, or Renee, no matter how incredibly capable they are, how much better than me they are, I don't care and I don't want to see them. I can only accept your matter with Jasmine. As for the rest, I will pretend I don't know anything, pretend they are strangers whom I will never have any dealings with till old age. I also hope you won't force me to accept them. I need to give an explanation to my mother and the Dragon Court, even if it's just burying my head in the sand... can you promise this, Fisher?"
This also meant that from now on, to Raphaela, Elizabeth was just Elizabeth, the Empress of Naris, not Fisher's first love; Renee was just Renee, an unknown Witch, not the intimate friend who left clothes in Fisher's carriage...
Raphaela couldn't force him to let go, nor could she force herself to accept it. Only towards Jasmine, this sister whom she had spent day and night with for so long, she had perhaps made a bit of psychological preparation when she let Jasmine enter the Demon Dynasty with Fisher and entrusted her with her posthumous affairs.
Hearing this, Eimhart wished he could headbutt the carriage cabin. A sense of regret in the vein of "how could you let him off so easily" welled up in his heart.
"... Alright, I promise. Those mistakes were made by me, they have nothing to do with you and the child. I also won't let them affect you two..."
Fisher holding the reins made this guarantee. And after listening to his two earnest guarantees, Raphaela finally reached out her claws again, gently stroked his head, and puffed her cheeks saying,
"It's a pity that this world cannot operate entirely as we wish... If humans and demi-humans had always been equal, without Ranks and disputes, and I happen to be the first female you encountered, then perhaps I could openly and aboveboard have you be with me, and only with me."
Eimhart might wonder, given Fisher's character, would it really turn out that way?
Perhaps it would, because back then there really was such a person who was going to walk towards this ending with him, it was just that destiny caused them to separate. The name of that female was Elizabeth.
Such two people with mutual understanding... from then on going separate ways. One became increasingly extreme, while the other became increasingly greedy.
Of course Fisher could argue, "This is of course because of the Demi-Human Companion Completion Handbook, it's not my fault." But Elizabeth could also say, "This is of course because of my father who made me blind, of course because of that terrifying Pandora's Prosthetic Eye, it's not my fault."
Therefore, whether it was blaming them personally or the external factors beside them, then just keep on blaming like this.
At least Fisher thought this way, and said this as well,
"Sorry, Raphaela."
Raphaela didn't respond, she just yawned like Eliog had. But unlike Eliog's carefree and casual manner with her "bloody gaping mouth" wide open, Raphaela would cover her mouth out of modesty,
"So sleepy..."
"Sleep for a while, I considered that you might be tired precisely, which is why we took the carriage."
"You're really considerate, Fisher."
Raphaela lay sideways on the soft couch inside the cabin, while Fisher gave a bitter smile, then turned his head back to continue driving the carriage.
The carriage drove over the bare rocks for a long time. Even Eimhart became sleepy, flying down from the roof to rest on Fisher's thigh. Behind them, Raphaela's murmuring voice, much like talking in her sleep, drifted over once again,
"I seemed to have had a dream earlier, Fisher."
"What dream?"
Fisher was as patient as always, completely not trying to discern whether Raphaela was truly awake at this moment, because her voice was genuinely a bit slurred,
"I dreamt that, in Pherone City, I originally should have died. This was my destiny, preordained from the moment I was born... but... but I met you before that, and then you loved me very much, so... you saved me. But what you didn't know was that the destiny I was originally supposed to bear, all ran over onto you..."
"Then... because of this you were in so much, so much pain... you clearly shouldn't have done anything, clearly you could have honestly stayed in Naris and been a very formidable human, but because of me you were forced to fight against enemies who didn't belong to you, and endure torments that didn't belong to you..."
"I dreamt that you were in so much pain you cried out for your mom. Dreamt your body was corroded by the black mud, and your very, very handsome face and body turned into something I couldn't recognize... you couldn't even open your mouth to call to me for help... wu wu..."
Speaking to this point, Raphaela's murmurs even carried a slight hint of crying, seemingly feeling sorrowful because of her helplessness in that dream,
"I felt really sad seeing you like that... so, I was thinking, would things have been... if I had died in Pherone City back then, would it have been better? That way you wouldn't... wouldn't be so uncomfortable and in so much pain... I'm really sorry to you, because I'm like this..."
"Hush, go to sleep, Raphaela."
But her words were abruptly interrupted by Fisher speaking. He held the reins, while his other hand reached out to pin down the groggily rising Eimhart on his thigh, and continued saying,
"That was just a dream, actually nothing happened."
"... Really?"
"Really?"
Her tone carried a bit of hope, and Fisher's tone was also very firm,
"Really."
"... In that case... then that's good..."
Inside the cabin, Raphaela's tearful voice didn't transmit over anymore, nor did Fisher want to hear that guilt-ridden voice ever again.
Actually, Fisher still remembered the pain he endured when fusing with the Chaos of the Soul Completion Handbook back then. That bone-piercing feeling that made him suffer so much it could erase his dignity and consciousness, he would never forget it for his entire life.
Objectively speaking, perhaps Fisher's journey to this point really was related to saving world-enders like Raphaela back then. That was why Raphaela, upon learning this point, felt that she owed Fisher.
Perhaps, her choosing to accept Jasmine's matter this time also had this factor factored in?
But Fisher had never felt he bore all this because of Raphaela, nor would he demand anything from her because of it. He even still felt that forcing Raphaela into not holding Jasmine and the other females' matters against him was his own fault, to the point where he felt somewhat guilty for temporarily not having a method to solve the stillbirth about to be born in her womb...
Why is this?
"Da da da..."
Time ticked away bit by bit, and the crimson sunlight piercing the horizon also gradually slanted westwards. The sound of hooves beneath them echoed intermittently amidst the Southern Branch Mountain Range. Very soon, beyond the mountains shattered and flattened by the battle of Mythical Species ahead, far away, a sea surface reflecting the sparkling colors of the setting sun appeared before Fisher who was driving the carriage.
At the end of that horizon, a massive steam ship emitting a trail of skewed black smoke was approaching the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent. On the sail flag suspended above it was the heraldry of Naris's Pertricre surname. Beneath the heraldry, there was a line in the Nari Language and a line in the Northern Border language, bearing the same meaning, which was:
"Wutong Merchant Guild"
But Fisher didn't notice the massive steam ship that was about to arrive here. He merely continued driving the carriage, conveying his lover in the cabin towards the Dragon Court.
At this moment, apart from the hooves and the breeze, there was nothing else for company.
The sound of hooves was busy traveling, with no time to think. But the breeze that had been spectating all along was obvious at a glance about all these reasons, wanting to speak up to point out the principles within. It's just that besides the Demon God Barbatos, there was no longer anyone who could understand the voice of the wind...
They were saying: "Love is Always Feeling a Debt."