novelraw Chapter 630: Love
Chapter 630: Love
Generally speaking, a bad man's guarantees and oaths are like dogs barking, no need to understand them and no need to believe them either. But Raphaela actually seemed willing to believe, willing to believe Fisher wouldn't betray her trust once again.
Subsequently, she nodded her head, and also said another sentence,
"Then, I can only accept Jasmine."
Fisher blinked his eyes, yet heard her continue to say,
"... I know you have other females you know, whatever Elizabeth, whatever Renee. No matter how incredibly resourceful they are, how much better than me they are, I don't care and don't want to see them either. I can only accept your and Jasmine's matter. The rest, I will pretend to know nothing at all, pretend they are strangers who will never interact with each other till death. I also hope you don't force me to accept them. I need to give my mother and the Dragon Court an explanation, even if it's just deceiving myself... Can you agree, Fisher?"
This also meant, 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 placed her clothes in Fisher's carriage...
Raphaela couldn't force him to let go, yet also couldn't force herself to accept. It was only regarding Jasmine, this sister who after all had stayed together day and night for so long. Perhaps she had already made a bit of mental preparation when letting Jasmine and Fisher head to the Demon Dynasty together and entrusting her with her final wishes.
Eimhart listened to the point of wishing he could use his head to ram against the carriage cabin. A sense of regret of 'how could you let him off so easily' surged into his heart.
"... Okay, I promise. Those were mistakes I committed, unrelated to you and the child. I also won't let them affect you guys..."
The Fisher holding the reins made a guarantee like this. And after listening to his two earnest guarantees, only then did Raphaela reach out her claws again, gently rubbing his head, puffing her cheeks and saying,"It's just a pity this world cannot completely operate according to what we think... If humans and demi-humans had always been equal, without ranks and disputes, and I happened to be the first female you met, this way perhaps I could openly and aboveboard let you be together with me, and only be together with me."
Eimhart might doubt, with Fisher's nature would he really be like this?
Perhaps he would be, because back then there really was such a person wanting to walk towards such an ending with him. It was merely fate driving them to separate. That female's name was Elizabeth.
Two people with such tacit understanding separating and going their separate ways from then on, one becoming increasingly extreme, one becoming increasingly greedy.
Of course Fisher could argue, "This is of course because of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, don't blame me," but Elizabeth could also say, "This is of course because of my father who caused my eye to go blind, of course because of that terrifying Pandora's Prosthetic Eye, don't blame me."
So, whether blaming themselves or external objects, then just keep blaming like this.
At least Fisher thought like this, and also said it like this,
"Sorry, Raphaela."
Raphaela didn't respond, merely seemingly like Eliog letting out a yawn. But unlike Eliog's carefree and casual appearance of opening a "bloody gaping mouth", Raphaela would cover her mouth to conceal her shyness,
"So sleepy..."
"Sleep for a while. I precisely took into consideration that you might be tired, so I took the carriage."
"You're truly considerate, Fisher."
Raphaela turned sideways and laid on the soft chair inside the cabin, while Fisher let out a bitter smile, subsequently turning his head to continue driving the carriage.
The carriage travelled on the bare rocks for a long time again. Even Eimhart became sleepy, flying down from the carriage roof to lie on Fisher's thigh and rest. Behind them, Raphaela's dream-talk-like mumbling voice transmitted again,
"I seemingly had a dream just now, Fisher."
"What dream?"
Fisher was patient as always, not even distinguishing whether Raphaela was truly awake at this moment, because her voice was truly a bit muffled and unclear,
"I dreamt that, when in Pherone City, I originally should have died. This is my fate, destined since my birth... But... but I met you before that, and then you loved me very much, so... saved me. But what you didn't know was, the fate that originally should have belonged to me to bear, all ran onto your body...
"Then... because of this you were very painful very painful... clearly you should have done nothing, clearly you could have honestly stayed in Naris being a very powerful human, yet because of me you were forced to fight with enemies that didn't belong to you, and endure torture that didn't belong to you...
"I dreamt that, you hurt to the point of calling out to your mom, dreamt of your body being corroded by Black Mud, your very very handsome face and body all became things I couldn't recognize... not even able to open your mouth to call me for help... wuwu..."
Speaking up to here, Raphaela's mumbling voice even carried a bit of crying tone, as if in that dream her powerlessness made her feel sad,
"Seeing you like this I was truly very sad... so, I was thinking would it have been, if I died in Pherone City back then, would it have been a bit better? This way you wouldn't... wouldn't be so uncomfortable and painful... I'm very sorry to you, because I'm like this..."
"Shh, go to sleep, Raphaela."
Yet her words were suddenly interrupted by Fisher speaking. He held the reins, while his other hand reached out and pressed down on the ignorant Eimhart who was getting up on his thigh, continuing to say,
"That was just a dream, actually nothing happened."
"... Really?"
"Really?"
Her tone carried a bit of hope, and Fisher's tone was also very certain,
"Really."
"... That way... that's good..."
Inside the cabin, Raphaela's crying voice didn't transmit again, that voice full of guilt Fisher also didn't want to hear anymore.
Actually Fisher still remembered the pain he endured when fusing the Soul Completion Handbook's Chaos at that time. That bone-piercing feeling that tortured him to the point of even being able to eliminate dignity and consciousness, he wouldn't be able to forget for his entire life.
Objectively speaking, perhaps Fisher walking to this day was truly related to saving World-Enders like Raphaela back then, so Raphaela who knew this point felt she owed Fisher.
Perhaps, this time choosing to accept after knowing Jasmine's matter also had reasons in this aspect?
But Fisher consistently never felt he endured all this because of Raphaela, and also wouldn't demand anything from her because of this. He even still felt that making Raphaela be forced to not haggle over the matter of Jasmine and other females was his own fault, going so far as to feel somewhat blaming himself over temporarily having no way to resolve the method of the stillbirth about to be born in her womb...
Why was this again?
"Clop clop clop..."
Time trickled by again, the crimson sunlight piercing through the horizon also gradually slanting west. The sound of horse hooves beneath them echoed intermittently amidst the Southern Branch Mountain Range. Very quickly, beyond the mountains perfectly flattened by the Mythical Species' great battle ahead, from far away, a sea surface reflecting the sparkling color of the setting sun appeared before Fisher who was driving the carriage.
At the very end of that horizon, a massive steam ship emitting a wisp of crooked black smoke was approaching the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent. Above it hung a sail flag with a symbol of the Naris Bécquer surname. Beneath that symbol, was a line of Naris Language and a line of Northern Border Language, with the same meaning, reading:
"Wutong Merchant Guild"
But Fisher actually didn't notice that massive steam ship about to arrive here. He merely continued driving the carriage carrying his lover inside the cabin heading towards the Dragon Court.
At this moment, besides the horse hooves and the faint breeze there was nothing else keeping him company.
The horse hooves were busy hurrying on the journey and didn't have time to think, but the faint breeze that had always been spectating actually understood the reasons for all this at a glance, wanting to open its mouth to awaken the principles within. Merely besides Demon God Barbatos no one else could understand the sound of the wind...
They were saying: "Love is Always Feeling a Debt."