"This Human... speaks so unpleasantly..."
Her quiet muttering was caught by Helldor standing in front of her, his mouth letting out a bit of steam that startled Ilois, who was looking at the door.
"Sss... My apologies, Sister Ilois. Each person Miss Valentina has summoned has their own background, and this Balzac is no exception. I heard his father was the head of the Schwali Academy under the previous emperor, but after the current Empress ascended the throne, she executed his father and banished him and his brothers from Schwali. If they want to return to Schwali, they must present a significant academic discovery..."
"That’s why he is so single-mindedly focused on finding the Frost Snow Phoenix Tree, hoping to achieve a result that would stun the world, like Mr. Fisher... He just wants to go back to Schwali, to return under his family’s na."
Fisher had heard about this before. It was ntioned that the last emperor of Schwali was extrely incompetent, which affected his subordinates and officials who beca re flatterers indulging in pleasures. Their official academic institution, Schwali Academy, wasn’t any better.
The Hahn family, holding the surna "Hahn," had traditionally held the position of the head of the Schwali Academy. Their family had many brilliant scholars in history, but they had been corrupt and unproductive during the ti of the forr emperor. Thus, when the current Empress ascended, she angrily had mbers of the "Hahn" family executed or exiled.
The Empress had told the exiled descendants of the "Hahn" lineage that the glory of the Hahn blood was part of Schwali history, therefore, it would always be preserved for their family until they or their descendants could make a significant scholarly discovery to truly reclaim it.
"The people of the Hahn family..."
"Sss... It’s good that Mr. Fisher understands..."
Helldor nodded, then stood up and looked out into the blowing snow, his tone lifting uncontrollably,
"However, since Valentina has agreed to let accompany the journey, that’s good. We don’t have much ti, we should hurry and prepare to depart. The Moon Rabbit Clan Ancestral Hall is far from the city district and we also have to transport heavy relics, so the journey will be quite rushed..."
Fisher gently set down his knife and fork and nodded in agreent.
...
...
Actually, Fisher barely had anything to pack, as he was originally dressed in a simple shirt when he boarded the ship. The only addition was a garnt for the cold that Heidlin had prepared for him.
However, he didn’t know what kind of animal’s fur his clothing was made of, it felt snug warm, even on the SS Unicorn he felt a bit overheated, which made him get a little closer to the lift.
Before long, those who were heading down to the Moon Rabbit Clan Ancestral Hall had gathered, which essentially just added Fisher and Ilois to the group.
Valentina had already changed into a black rabbit fur coat and sat in her wheelchair, the fur fluttering slightly in the wind causing Ilois to twitch her ears and step closer behind Fisher.
Helldor carried over two small bags of powdered Magic Materials which also contained items like engraving knives. After handing one bag to Fisher, he subconsciously approached Valentina’s wheelchair to help push it, but she coldly wheeled herself into the lift,
"Let’s get ready to depart."
Helldor paused, glancing back at Fisher who was following him, his typically chanical voice now carried a hint of laughter and resignation,
"Sss... She is being temperantal again."
"Pfft..." Hiding behind Fisher, Ilois covered her mouth and laughed. When both Helldor and Fisher looked at her, she made a gesture of praying to the Mother Goddess, barely containing her laughter, she said,
"Ah, may the Mother Goddess bless... I just thought Miss Valentina always seed so mature, suddenly hearing Mr. Helldor’s words made unable to hold back... so I laughed."
"Sss... Valentina has just co of age, it’s quite normal. By the way, this morning I gave Fisher a potion, how are you feeling after drinking it?"
"Oh, it feels... very bitter?"
Emhardt, perched on Fisher’s shoulder, glanced at this not-so-bright Moon Rabbit, feeling relieved that last night this creature had fallen asleep before Fisher needed to apply any dicine, otherwise, with Fisher’s thods, this creature could have turned a pretend pregnancy into a real one...
"Sss... Haha, just keep taking it, you’ll recover soon."
Fisher sighed, following Helldor into the spacious lift. As the steam and chanical sounds creaked around the ship, they slowly descended towards the frost-encrusted land below.
Outside the lift, at a distant location near the ship’s stern, another steam engine was slowly lowering a heavy object on the deck, a spherical, gigantic egg-like strange Creation, densely engraved with symbols that Fisher could not recognize.
Valentina, watching the distant relic, explained to Fisher and Ilois in an even tone.
"The ’Sealing Cage,’ an important relic specially brought from our ho, is crucial to this operation. It can generate a completely enclosed safe space inside, where even magic won’t work, because the World Resonance cannot pry it open."
Fisher vaguely felt that he recognized the symbols on the cage, but the object was too far for even his enhanced vision to see clearly, so he had to let it be, knowing that he’d see it again when they reached the Moon Rabbit Shrine.
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