Chapter 556: 67. Goodbye Valentina
“Soone’s coming, Sister Ilois.”
Fisher heard the sound of a carriage outside the church, and of course, he didn’t think the person was coming to pray at the Mother Goddess Church on the weekend. Since the Cardinal had given him his card, it was possible that the Cardinal had realized he had co ashore and was coming to find him.
He turned his head to look at Ilois next to him and said,
“You stay here, I’ll go and check.”
“Oh… okay…”
Ilois lay on the bed, covering her slightly bulging abdon, half-sat up, and watched with so concern as Fisher walked out of her small cabin.
Fisher nonchalantly gripped the black handle of the Fluid Sword in his hand then walked past the benevolent statue of the Mother Goddess in the center of the church towards the front door. First, there ca a soft neigh of the horses, followed by a series of light footsteps.
“Is anyone there? Hello? I’m opening the door!”
At this mont, Fisher, inside the church, heard this lively voice and his expression imdiately turned strange, for he had heard this voice before, about a month ago, on a small island in the depths of the Southern Ocean. The owner of the voice was a certain greedy Lion-man, and he had even studied her…
Her na was… what was it again?
“Philis, just open the door. They said that there’s only the Moon Rabbit we’re looking for inside this church… Do you really expect anyone else to welco you?”
“Tsk, Balzac, what’s the rush? The boss hasn’t even spoken yet; it’s not your turn to boss around!”
The conversation outside continued to co through, and the next second, the large door before Fisher suddenly opened, bringing the fresh yet extrely cold air into the church’s prayer hall, also revealing a golden-haired Lion-man wrapped in a thick leather coat with ears like muffins.
The blonde-haired woman was turning back to look at her companions, her face showing impatience, which instantly changed when she twisted her head and saw the expressionless Nali man inside the church. She seed so frightened as if the person inside was so terrible demon, stepping back several steps and extending her hand to point at Fisher inside, exclaiming in shock,
“You, you, you, you… how are you here?!”
Her other hand instinctively gripped the handle of the massive Straight Blade on her back; the bright muzzle of the musket tied at her waist could be seen through the gaps of her heavy coat, yet Fisher showed no intention of drawing his sword. He just raised an eyebrow, sizing up the Lion-man before him and the surprised Schwali man dressed in red behind her.
He still recognized who these two people were – one was Philis, a rcenary from the South Continent, and the other was Balzac, a historical researcher from the Northern Realm of Schwali.
And since his subordinates were here, their boss must be here too.
True enough, as his gaze moved further back, past the wary figures of Philis and Balzac, he saw the chanical being, Helldor, slowly placing a wheelchair on the ground next to the unassuming black carriage. Seated in the wheelchair was a young girl.
She had hair whiter than snow, skin as pale as milk dotted with her exceedingly beautiful face. A tiny, slightly crooked hat on her head showcased a blooming five-pointed snowflake of the Turand Family. Only now with her white hair lifted did Fisher suddenly see the small teardrop mole at the corner of her left eye, sothing he hadn’t noticed before.
Yes, the person now beside the carriage was indeed the young girl from the Turand Family he had t before, Valentina Turand.
“Ssss… Miss, it’s the Nali we t before on the island where the Phoenix Scroll was stored in the Southern Ocean, the Fisher Benavides you investigated,” said Helldor.
“I rember him, Helldor.”
Valentina’s expression was calm, her pale hands crossed and gracefully resting on her thighs, while Helldor behind her pushed her to the church’s entrance, right in front of Fisher,
“Long ti no see, Professor Fisher Benavides.”
Fisher was not surprised by Valentina’s address to him. When on the island, he had given his real na, and if Valentina was not foolish, she would certainly investigate the identity of this young mage from Nali, and the very conspicuous bounty offered by Elizabeth ant that his identity would definitely be exposed.
But Fisher had never intended to hide it, especially since he had plans to cooperate with the other party later on. Revealing his identity was more conducive to reaching a cooperative agreent.
For Valentina, Fisher’s previously revealed “going to Frost Snow Phoenix Tree to find his missing girlfriend, Renie” or “studying the long-lost demi-human species of Phoenix” were both too weak reasons. But what if he changed the reason to “needing the Turand Family’s protection to avoid pursuit by the Nali”? Wouldn’t that reason sound much more plausible?
Fisher also greeted her, as a friendly start to the conversation,
“Long ti no see, Miss Valentina.”
Valentina’s cold little face swept a glance at the church behind him, then she began to inquire,
“Perhaps we should be more forthcoming, Mr. Fisher from Nali… for whom are you really working to have actions swifter than ours? Who told you about the information concerning the Moon Rabbit Orphan? Please don’t try to convince that you were innocently blown by the Storm to a rarely tread coast and then just happened to stumble into this church.”
“…”
Emhardt perched on his shoulder struggled to purse his lips without showing strain, not to ntion Fisher himself. How could he explain such a coincidence?
The Moon Rabbit Orphan—was Valentina referring to Ilois?
But in reality, Fisher’s stay inside the Healing Corruption Church was not at all for the so-called Moon Rabbit Seal; he didn’t even know about it. He was simply interested in gathering all six species of the Snow Mountain Clan’s demi-humans and took the opportunity to study the recipient of the first-stage biological research award.
“Though I may seem untrustworthy, up to now, I have not told Miss Valentina a single lie… My ship was struck by a Storm yesterday on the way to the Female Country. Not only did my ship sink, but I also narrowly escaped death; thankfully, a nun from the church saved my life.
“However, I originally ca to the Northern Realm specifically to find Miss Valentina, and the reason I’m still lingering here… Miss Valentina, do you rember I ntioned my interest in demi-humans? This nun here is a demi-human of the Moon Rabbit species I have not encountered before, which sparked my curiosity. That’s all.”
Valentina intertwined her fingers, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing against the ring bearing the Turand Family seal on her ring finger. She evaluated the Fisher in front of her; her pale silver eyes, like the frosty snow of the Northern Country, were filled with distrust towards Fisher.
“Boss, don’t forget, wherever we find a clue, he’s there. He’s clearly harboring ill intentions towards our target. You mustn’t trust this guy… ”
Lion-man Philis, previously used as a bargaining chip in securing a partnership between Valentina and Fisher, harbored an intense bias against Fisher. She crouched down beside Valentina and whispered softly.
She absolutely did not believe that this man was a genuine scholar interested in demi-humans. She felt that Fisher was targeting her, seeking to insult her.
“Mr. Fisher… outside… ah, there are so many people…”
While Valentina was pondering, a sowhat surprised shout ca from within the Healing Corruption Church. Everyone at the door looked towards the inside, but all they saw was a rabbit nun with a pair of slender rabbit ears who was also gently covering her abdon.
Aside from Fisher, the human at the entrance, there was a lion-man wielding a large Straight Blade, a gloomy-looking foreign man in red clothing, and then a peculiar individual whose body was entirely chanical and indecipherable as human. Only after these was a girl sitting in a wheelchair.
The opposing party’s display startled Ilois, the little rabbit, who subconsciously hid behind Fisher. One hand covered her belly, while the other gently tugged on Fisher’s shirt,
“Mr. Fisher, who are they?”
Valentina opened her mouth, her expression hesitant as if she wanted to say sothing, her companions… apart from Helldor whose expressions were indiscernible, seed to share her sentint.
For so reason, upon seeing this sowhat strange scene, Valentina suddenly wanted to believe that this man was truly researching demi-humans.
No, rather, Professor Fisher’s research was… a bit too involved, to the point of involving even children…
Valentina’s peculiar expression was keenly captured by Fisher. Emhardt on his shoulder barely held his tongue, yet his schadenfreude did not prevent him from accentuating the church entrance’s already awkward atmosphere.
With a face full of exasperation, Fisher was clearly aware of the others’ thoughts. He sighed softly, stepped aside to make way, and invitingly said to Valentina,
“Although it may be complicated to explain, it appears that it would be best if I clarified the situation to Miss Valentina… It’s rather cold outside, shall we talk inside the church?”
The true owner of the church, Sister Ilois, belatedly raised her head to look at Fisher in front of her but then felt the impressive presence of the few outside and thought it best to remain silent…
Valentina glanced at the benevolent Mother Goddess Statue situated in the center of the church behind Fisher. She then perford a gesture of a standard Mother Goddess prayer ritual to express respect for the Mother Goddess. Afterwards, while pushing the lever on her wheelchair forward into the church, she said to Helldor behind her,
“Helldor, make sure to notify Heidlin and the others about our situation here with Magic… Let’s go, we’ll go in and have a talk with Mr. Fisher.”
“Szzt… No problem, I’ll send out the ssenger afterwards.”
Philis and Balzac followed Valentina into the Healing Corruption Church past Fisher, but his gaze did not fall on them. Instead, he specifically turned back to look at Helldor preparing to send a ssenger outside the church.
The reason was simple: at that mont, the bright dot on the card given to him by the Cardinal was very close to the bottom of the card, pointing directly to where Helldor was standing…
And this also ant that the person, seemingly composed entirely of machinery, was indeed the Cardinal’s chanical ssenger.
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