Chapter 439 - 15. Bribery

"Fisher, the box in her hand contains another weapon of the Phoenix’s Son, ’Moon Princess.’ The moon that was just thrown at you was summoned by ’Moon Princess.’ Be careful, each weapon of the Phoenix’s Son has vastly different effects. Considering how prolific the Phoenix King is, resulting in three children who don’t look alike... If they weren’t triplets, I would suspect they don’t share the same father, tsk tsk."

Hiding in Fisher’s pocket, Emhardt peeked out a bit, revealing one eye to size up the white-haired girl in the wheelchair, then whispered his thoughts to Fisher, careful not to be overheard by others.

After hearing this, Fisher raised an eyebrow. It seemed that the group of feathered people mentioned another person who came ashore with a relic was this girl right in front of him.

He took another look at the black clothing worn by the girl, finally resting his gaze on the small hat she wore on her head.

That dainty hat had a small snowflake-shaped decoration at its center, which seemed like an accessory to her clothing, but Fisher recognized it as actually being a family emblem.

A standard five-pointed snowflake, the symbol of the Turand Family of the Northern Realm—not a family within the borders of Sardinia Female Country, but rather from a place further north and much older, near the edge of the Ice Ocean.

This ancient family had mainly dealt in five types of magical minerals native to the Northern Realm in ancient times. Thousands of years ago, they were among the first to export to Sardinia Female Country and Schwali which connects to the Northern Realm. But in the last hundred years, for unknown reasons, their power had declined and they rarely appeared in public.

Yet today, far from the Northern Realm in the Southern Ocean, Fisher was surprised to see this family’s emblem on a girl...

After Fisher’s provocative statement, Philis, the golden lion-woman standing next to Valentina, bristled, her golden fluffy hair on the back of her head suddenly standing up in rings, making her already tall stature appear even larger.

Fisher had studied Lion-man Species; female Lion-men bristle before a fight, a trait not found in males, symbolizing a stronger offensive desire in females.

But this doesn’t mean male Lion-men are weak; they too are very strong, just not as aggressive. Most of the time, they are quite lazy since, unlike other demi-human races, they don’t need to compete for mates. Instead, they are the ones fought over.

A common phrase among the human natives of the Southern Continent, "an angry mother Lion-man," describes "a woman’s jealousy and possessiveness," clearly indicating this demi-human race’s characteristics.

Seeing her about to make a move, Fisher did not act rashly. In fact, he was also closely observing the situation of the group.

First, the leader was the wheelchair-bound girl with the relic ’Moon Princess.’ She had made a move when Fisher was chasing Philis earlier but appeared to not use her full strength, merely trying to stop Fisher. Besides the Moon Princess relic he saw, she probably had other tricks up her sleeve.

Then there was Philis, who had clashed with him once; despite her bluster, Fisher could tell her strength and speed were inferior to his, placing her among the weakest in the group, along with the red-clothed man who hadn’t made a move yet.

The ones truly worthy of attention were the white-haired girl in the wheelchair and a tall figure behind her made of steam machinery. Fisher, sensitive to magic power, noticed several magic spells of about Six Ring level carved into his arms, posing the greatest threat after the ’Moon Princess.’

On reflection, this group must be quite different from Alagina, who was led here by the Ice Prince. From Philis and the red-clothed man’s conversation, it was apparent they had been searching for this island for a long time—otherwise, a Northern Realm family wouldn’t travel all the way to the Southern Ocean.

In contrast, Alagina had merely stumbled upon this island while at sea, and even knowing the item belonged to the Phoenix Species, she wouldn’t possess a strong desire to seek it out. For her, a pirate drifting overseas, this item was meaningless.

Moreover, having just used the Ice Prince himself, her right arm was severely frostbitten, casting doubt on whether she could summon the Ice Prince’s phantom again. To protect her safety, Ossie and Pahetz naturally wouldn’t chase after her but would face the rampaging guardians first.

But Fisher needed clues about the Phoenix Species. That was the main reason he pursued them first.

Finding a Phoenix Species could help him complete the sequences of ’Royal Choice’ and ’Snow Mountain Clan,’ allowing him to gain the bonus from the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual. Otherwise, continuing to delay could mean he wouldn’t handle Erwin by himself if Erwin came looking.

But then again, Fisher only felt their combined pressure after a few probes, which was nowhere near that of a Whale-man who had undergone Plant Meat implantation like Blake, not to mention the eerily cunning Erwin...

Understandable, as that’s how it feels to play in high-stress top-tier games.

"Sss... His physical condition is strong. Philis, if you go, you will die."

As the Lion-man Philis bristled, the steam machine-man Helldor behind the wheelchair sized up Fisher, steaming while saying so.

"Huh?"

Philis glanced at Helldor beside her, then recalled how the man had just pummeled her into a daze. After pondering for a second or two, she silently pursed her lips and took her place back, as the fur on her back slowly settled down.

Instinct told Philis that Helldor was right, so she listened to her heart’s advice and decided to wait and see.

Since her boss wasn’t speaking up, she wouldn’t either. Earning money wasn’t easy, and she wanted to live long enough to enjoy it.

Seeing this, the white-haired girl sitting in the wheelchair sighed gently, and gently raised her hand towards Fisher.

As her fair right hand lifted, Fisher noticed that her delicate fingers were adorned with several rings sparkling with Magic Radiance, each inscribed with a small, beautiful snowflake pattern—likely six to seven rings worth of Magic Power—exuding an air of extravagance.

Valentina gauged Fisher with a glance and extended five fingers, saying very calmly,

"This sir, a pirate from Narli, I can see that your female captain from Sardinia Female Country knows nothing about the origin and use of this scroll. She chases after this item only because her sword guides her, and there’s a high chance she might just sell it as an antique made of Ice..."

"Pirates chase profit, so they easily overlook its other values. To compensate for this value, I will offer you five million Northern Realm silver coins, as long as you give me the box and tell your captain that you didn’t catch up with the man just now, you can easily get this money."

Her fair fingers spun, and a pure black Northern Realm Bank cheque appeared in her hand. Philis, observing nearby, almost bulged her eyes out and even swallowed subconsciously.

It seems that Valentina thought of Fisher as a pirate risking his life on the Iceberg Queen vessel, thus offered such a hefty sum to bribe him.

Five million Northern Realm silver coins and the exchange rate with Narliou would be roughly 1:1.75, meaning these five million silver coins were more valuable than Alagina’s seven million five hundred thousand Narliou...

It was a sum anyone would be tempted by, but unfortunately, Fisher was not a greed-driven pirate, but rather a scholar with a slight interest in the demi-human race, his desire to follow the demi-human surpassing worldly money.

As Fisher remained unmoved, remaining where he was, Valentina’s fingers, pinching the cheque, stiffened slightly. To remain unmoved by such a sum could mean he was an extremely loyal pirate, or it meant that his target was this very scroll, but that female captain apparently didn’t know the use of this scroll...

"Fisher!"

Just as Valentina was lost in thought, Pahetz’s signature sound finally came from the jungle behind Fisher.

Within seconds, Pahetz, carrying a fire gun and covered in feathers, leaped out first, and Ossie also flew out, hovering mid-air, warily observing the people on the distant beach.

Even if Alagina couldn’t use the Ice Prince’s illusion, their own strength was still formidable. Dealing with those mindless beasts wouldn’t take long, especially since Alagina was deeply concerned about Fisher, rushing to his side with sword in her left hand at the fastest speed.

The next second, Alagina, with a pirate’s cutlass in her left hand, walked out of the jungle with a stern face, and after confirming that Fisher was unharmed, she stood by his side.

Seeing this, Valentina glanced one last time at Fisher holding the scroll before looking helplessly towards the stone-faced Alagina, and said,

"I am Valentina Turand from the Northern Realm. I have no intentions of being enemies with you. It’s just that this scroll contains dangerous information, and those cursed people transformed because of it met such a fate. I wanted the scroll retrieved by my subordinate to prevent entanglements with you."

Hearing this, Pahetz’s chubby face whipped around with his lively eyes, then his expression hardened as he accused,

"What secrets? Is it a made-up story by your thieving dad, or has the Turand Family fallen so low that they need to fabricate truths to cover up petty thefts?"

"Sss..."

Because of this remark, a large amount of steam burst from Helldor standing behind Valentina, seeming about ready to act, but the girl in the wheelchair stopped him.

Her complexion wasn’t great, but she still looked towards the golden box in Fisher’s hands and explained,

"That scroll is sealed with secrets about the legendary Frost Snow Phoenix Tree where the Phoenix Species have lived for generations."