Chapter 44 - 41

Restless Night 44: 41.

Restless Night Having just stepped out of the training ground, Fisher saw many demi-humans of various species observing from the roadside.

The clamor from his battle with Lord Raphael was quite loud and had inevitably attracted the attention of the nearby populace.

Upon seeing a well-dressed human gentleman, they seemed to dart away as if avoiding him, all but an Insect Race woman who stood next to the roadside.

Through a window of the house behind her, a small head with compound eyes peered out at Fisher and the others.

It turned out she lived here.

Fisher smiled and addressed the woman,

“Sorry for the disturbance, we’ll be leaving now.”

The Insect Race woman waved her hand dismissively and spoke in halting Nali Language,

“No…

no problem.”

“You can speak Nali Language?”

It seemed the Philone family’s efforts to teach the demi-humans the language had begun to bear fruit, with many who originally did not understand human language now being able to speak a little.

“Yes…

the City Lord ordered…

people to teach us.”

“It seems he is a good man.”

“Yes…

he is, and furthermore, he has adopted dozens of…

children.

He is very kind…

to us.”

Fisher’s eyes lit up briefly, and then he smiled and doffed his hat, holding it in front of him by way of farewell to the Insect Race woman.

Lord Raphael caught up to him, curiously taking in the demi-humans’ living environment.

Within the courtyard were many devices she had never seen in her tribe, like water taps and swings.

“Speaking of which, how is your Nali Language coming along?”

“Not bad…”

Fisher looked back in surprise because Lord Raphael had answered in Nali Language, using several Nali phrases.

In just over ten days, she had already begun to grasp the language.

Although her accent was still odd, she rarely asked for his help, and all he had done was simply mark a few points of caution in the books in Dragon Language.

Seeing Fisher’s expression, Lord Raphael immediately laughed, almost as if she would put her hands on her hips and lift her chin triumphantly.

After waiting a long while without receiving another compliment from Fisher—though his facial expression was still rather sour when he complimented her before—it seemed this time would be no different.

He quickly averted his gaze and appeared to casually praise her,

“Well done, keep it up.”

Detestable human!

While Lord Raphael was silently cursing him as she followed behind, Fisher suddenly came to a halt.

Without a word, he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the shadow of a tree by the roadside.

In the shadow of the moonlight, Lord Raphael’s gaze aligned with Fisher’s as they looked toward a soldier dressed in blue directing other soldiers who were loading something onto a carriage in the distance.

The items were cylindrical metal canisters, not particularly large or seemingly heavy, about a few tens of centimeters in length, and could be carried one in each hand.

They carefully placed these items in the carriage, and then two soldiers sat inside the carriage, while another went ahead to drive.

Lord Raphael’s vision was much better than Fisher’s, and she clearly saw what was happening, but did not understand what the soldiers were doing.

Without an answer, she turned to Fisher, but he showed no reaction and simply leaned against the tree, observing the situation.

After the carriage departed towards the outer city, Fisher led Lord Raphael out from the shadows.

“What are they…

doing?”

“I don’t know,” Fisher watched the carriage move further away, then continued on the path towards the Philone estate, “Let’s go, head back.”

Lord Raphael opened her mouth but then walked side by side with Fisher toward the Philone estate.

“Fisher, I always find something strange about this place.

I don’t quite like it here…”

“Oh?” Lord Raphael was full of surprises tonight, this being one of several of her astonishing comments, “I thought you would like this place… Any particular reason?”

“…I don’t know, I just don’t like it.”

Lord Raphael pondered for a long while.

She had intended to say something to catch Fisher off guard, but while she had the concept in her mind, she could not articulate it.

“It just feels…

off everywhere.”

Fisher glanced at her and then said,

“If you have a thought, keep looking and thinking.

Hold on to it until it’s disproven by facts.”

Fisher, back at the estate, made use of the Philone family’s bath.

There were several bathrooms, so he let Lord Raphael and the others clean up as well.

Lar clung to a toy and stubbornly refused to bathe, claiming she had promised the kids it would just be for a short while and wouldn’t be able to play if she bathed.

It was unclear how Lar, who did not speak the language, managed to borrow it, but in the end, she was subjected to Lord Raphael’s righteous punishment, pouting and being carried into the bathroom in Sister Mier’s arms.

After the bath, it seemed Philone and Nana had also finished their tasks and returned.

Nana was feeding a tiny goblin child milk with a spoon.

“Is it over, Mr.

Fisher?

It seems you’ve won again.

Surviving the attack of a Dragon-man Species proves you must be a Magic Master yourself.

So, have you decided how to further your bond with her?”

Fisher sat down, tapping his fingers on the table,

“I plan to go all the way…”

Surprise showed on Philone’s face behind his mask, and then he laughed,

“Indeed, but I’ve heard that Dragon-men only feel desire for a tail-matching partner; be careful not to hurt yourself…

Rather than that, Mr.

Fisher, I think your previous proposal is feasible.”

“Which proposal are you referring to?”

They had discussed numerous topics last night in his lab, where as a part of their academic discussion, Fisher provided some hypotheses.

“You said, since despair can produce the conditions that stir the soul, then such feelings could also be created by stimulating the human brain…”

Fisher fell silent for a moment and did not continue Philone’s line of thought but merely shook his head,

“But it’s too difficult to determine the exact area of the brain that generates the same reaction.

It’s probably best to abandon that idea.”

Philone nodded with a smile, then stood up.

“Yeah…

that should do it for today; I’ve got to go soothe those little guys.

Mr.

Fisher, you should rest early too.

Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

After Philone and Nana left the living room, Fisher was the only one left sitting at the table, deep in thought.

Fisher’s fingers tapped incessantly on the table, thoughts gradually intertwining in his mind.

The noise of Lar making a fuss in the bathroom could still be heard, yet amidst the soft tapping sounds made by Fisher, the atmosphere was as silent as death.

“Tap.”

Fisher’s fingers suddenly halted, and the magic circuits on his hands lit up like tree branches.

“Heh.”

“Lar, stop trying to take other people’s toys!”

Lord Raphael, hands on hips, glared at the little dragon Lar sitting on the ground, pouting.

He grabbed her by the ear with his claw and sternly addressed her, word by word.

“Lar was just borrowing it!

I told them that.”

“Miss Nana told me that you ran off with their toys, and you call that borrowing!”

“Lar said borrow and then ran!”

“Why run if you’ve already borrowed?”

“They didn’t agree to let Lar borrow, so that’s why Lar ran.”

Lord Raphael, speechless, opened his mouth, and then with a harsh twist of her ear, made her scurry behind Sister Mier with a crumpled face.

“Sister Mier, sob…

Lord Raphael hit me!”

“Lar, seriously, stop causing trouble; let’s go to sleep.”

Sister Mier hugged Lar, stroked her head, and laughed helplessly.

Fasher and Kexier, standing nearby, pulled funny faces at the sniffling Lar, making her even less willing to lift her head from Mier’s embrace.

This kid…

Suddenly reminded of Fisher’s words, Lord Raphael hesitated before approaching Lar and spoke to her earnestly,

“Don’t run off; make sure you stay where Sister Mier and the others can see you, understand?”

“Mm…

I understand.”

“Alright, time to go to sleep.”

After instructing Sister Mier and the others to go upstairs to sleep, Raphael followed them.

As she closed their door, and the corridor fell silent, her body grew tense.

Wait, did Fisher say that tonight…

tonight he was going to punish her?

Raphael swished her tail as she walked slowly to her own room.

She grasped the doorknob but hesitated to turn it.

After an unknown amount of time, Fisher, who was reading inside, saw her enter: the red dragon-woman with a blush on her cheeks, glanced aside, sweeping her tail in front of her as she walked slowly into the room.

“I…

I’m ready.”

Not that she had said what she was ready for or anything specific – just ready.

Fisher nodded silently, closing the book in his hand,

“Mhmm, tonight…”

Before he could speak, he felt the bed shake slightly; Raphael was already sitting next to him.

“What are you…

What are we doing tonight?”

Her eyes almost spiraled, her tail wagging behind her, her smile rigid.

Steam hissed from the scales at her side, which softened from armored to supple as Fisher’s gaze drifted over them.

“Been wanting to research this since before, why do your scales change like that?”

Fisher, curious, touched her incompletely transformed scales, not expecting that to make her start like she’d been shocked, causing her remaining scales to flop down and herself to shrink back several centimeters, her blush deepening.

“This…

thi-this is…”

Raphael began to make up any excuse – maybe a cold, just returning from a battle, not feeling well…

but she…

No, wasn’t today supposed to be her punishment?

So, maybe telling a bit of the truth wouldn’t be so bad?

She opened her mouth slightly, took several deep breaths without speaking, and, panicking, looked down to meet Fisher’s serene gaze.

She then saw, in his still, pool-like eyes, ripples start to spread.

For in his eyes, Raphael looked flushed, her blue eyes seemed to fill with water, and her presence was filled with alluring warmth and fragrance.

He suddenly remembered the many reminders he had gotten.

Dragon-men species only desire their tail-matching partners…

I see.

In that electrifying moment, Fisher’s gaze turned serious, and he gently pulled the girl’s face towards him amidst her startled and frantic eyes.

And the next instant, their lips touched.

Raphael’s body shook violently, then softened like water, her tail frantically slapping the soft sheets of the bed.

Scales and tail can’t lie, and neither can a heart touched by frenzy.

They both reiterated her affection for the human, as Raphael had never wanted to admit.

Even though he is a human, I also…

That flame, seemingly suppressed for so long, was fervently burning now, igniting her actions like magma, her mind filled only with his breath, drawing infinitely closer to him.

And so, in the heat of the moment, she forgot – this house had poor soundproofing.