Chapter 99 - 23.Elizabeth

Chapter 99: 23.ElizabethOn that carriage, in a spot unseen by Fisher, Elizabeth had already gently taken off her hat. Without opening the window, she dipped her fingers into the red tea on the table inside the carriage and began to write gently on the table’s surface,

"Already with other women, and at least one ambiguous relationship..."

She did not possess the terrifying supernatural ability of mind-reading; she simply inferred the answer through observation.

Elizabeth’s stunning profile stared motionless at the tea stain on the table. Then with a wave of her hand, the tea stain ignited into golden flames and soon obliterated every trace.

Yet behind those golden flames, her empty, mild golden eyes were frighteningly cold.

Watching the golden carriage, surrounded by soldiers, move further away, Fisher took a deep breath and then checked the perfume bottle—given to him as a gift—to ensure that nothing unusual was engraved on it before he felt relieved to accept it.

Previously at school, he had known Elizabeth, who was the jewel of the entire college, a lady cloaked in an aura too vast to count. During the quadrennial "Griffin Race," Fisher had come in first, and she had, in front of the entire school, agreed to grant him a single request—any request.

This was widely known throughout the school, and everyone thought Fisher would soon climb the royal ladder, yet he made no demands.

That request, to this day, still held—the promise Elizabeth made was "valid until her death," but a gentleman with a penchant for ladies surprisingly refused this seemingly enticing offer. Fisher had his reasons.

He always felt strange about Elizabeth; being around her was distinctly uncomfortable, which made Fisher subconsciously wary and reluctant to get overly involved with her.

So to this day, what had seemed like a perfect match between the two became a mere legend about "Elizabeth’s All-Powerful Request," still circulating among the former cohorts of the Royal College.

Fisher sighed, tucked the perfume into his chest, picked up his hand cane, and quickly left the Royal College.

This time he didn’t take the tram but walked towards an entirely different area.

Tomorrow was the start of the term at Saint Nali University. He had received his schedule yesterday and had intended to prepare for the classes, but upon reviewing the syllabus, which was utterly simple, he decided no preparation was necessary; he had also previously thought through the matter concerning grades. He would directly attend classes tomorrow.

Before that, he planned to acquire information from the folks at the Witch Research Association to track down the "Undead Witch" they were searching for—it was crucial to find her before the police did; otherwise, getting the information would be troublesome once they were in custody.

Luckily, he had some "old friends" in Saint Nali who might be able to help.

Snake Head Street was a notoriously impoverished area in Saint Nali, formerly close to the downtown factories. After the factories were ordered to shut down, the impoverished people had nowhere else to relocate. To this day, the area remains rife with gangs and criminals—every visit from the Saint Nali police never results in a wasted trip.

Yet, these were only a minority among the residents—most were families of workers from suburban factories or servant families working in the city.

The cost of living was low here, and the living conditions were indescribably poor. Being close to the drainage channels of Saint Nali and situated where multiple rivers converged caused a mix-up of housing and drainage infrastructure. Many homes were below ground level, filled with the smell of drugs and cigarettes.

Fisher covered his mouth and nose with his collar, descended from the entrance of Snake Head Street along with the sound of the roaring Nali River, and went underground. Pushing through the clouds of tobacco and drug smoke, he quickly arrived in front of a dimly lit tavern.

It was only midday, and there were almost no patrons in the tavern, just an old man cleaning. The floor was covered in cigarette butts and a mixture of alcohol and vomit.

While sweeping, he said,

"We’re not serving customers this afternoon."

"Old Jack, I’ve come to find Karma and the others..."

The elderly man paused briefly, placed his broom aside, embraced his hands, and turned to look at Fisher,

"Yeah, only Fisher would come looking for them here in all of Saint Nali... follow me."

The old man’s face was covered with scars, clearly a gang member who had frequented the underworld of Nali in his youth, but he had long since retired; his grudges and disputes dissipated with the death of his old companions.

He had a family like a normal person, a wife and children, but eventually ended up alone like everyone else.

Old Jack’s son was named Jack and had been a fellow student at the Royal College with Fisher, studying demi-humans. To be precise, he was the pioneer in the study of demi-humans. Like the story of a gangster’s son becoming a scholar, his life was filled with ups and downs.

Unfortunately, he did not inherit his father’s robust health. Like his mother, he was frail and contracted a severe illness during a trip to the South Continent. He died shortly after returning.

But he left behind valuable relics for Old Jack...

Fisher followed the lead of Old Jack through a back door of the bar and then through a basement door blocked by an iron plate, until they finally reached the usual place where Old Jack lived, a fairly spacious basement.

"Grandpa!"

"Grandpa!"

"Grandpa, you’re back!"

As soon as Old Jack opened the door, three fluffy little creatures bounced toward him and swiftly tumbled into his arms, scampering all over him while clinging to and chirping at him.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be three little girls in princess dresses of various colors, each with ears and a long, curved tail behind them, much like wild squirrels.

Their bright, large eyes paired with long eyelashes blinked continuously, endlessly nuzzling the stocky old man and chattering away.

"Oh my! Uncle Fisher is here!"

"Fisher!"

"Let me see!"

The three girls didn’t get down from Old Jack’s arms; instead, they poked their heads out from three different spots on him, their cheeks puffed up as they looked toward the gentleman at the back.

"Hello, Karma, Holly, and Dian Dian."

The old man rubbed their faces with a straight face and grudgingly said,

"Alright, they’re here. If you have any questions, ask them quickly, and make sure to give me my fee as well."

"Yeah! Grandpa needs to buy us some nuts!"

Old Jack cursed with a grim face,

"I’m not buying you any nuts!"

At these words, the three little girls all looked pitifully at Old Jack behind them, making him open his mouth and then fall silent, clearly moved by their cuteness.

"Really not buying us any, Grandpa?"

"Really?"

"Really?"

Old Jack opened his mouth, then cursed again,

"Fine! Ask Fisher what he wants, quick!"

"Yay!"

"Grandpa is the best!"

The three girls rushed back into Old Jack’s arms, causing him to wordlessly curl his lips.

Fisher smiled, took off his hat, and sat down in the cozy little room.

These three were a unique demi-human species that Jack had brought back from the South Continent—a Mouse Human Species. Jack had found them as cubs in the wilderness and, fearful they might be eaten, decided to bring them back and care for them, but he passed away not long after his return. Old Jack had tried several times to send them away but couldn’t bear to do it.

On one hand, it was because they were the last demi-humans his son had left behind, and on the other hand, he found them adorable and pitiable. After spending considerable time with them, he couldn’t bring himself to part with them and treated them as his granddaughters.

The abilities of these three Mouse Humans were not to be underestimated—they could communicate with all types of mice. If there was something they wanted to ask, they just had to inquire through their squirrel and mouse friends to find out.

However, most of the mice were too dumb, so they raised some smarter ones to ask the dumb ones and then report back to Karma and the others, allowing them to gather complete intelligence.

"So, here’s the thing; there was a murder on Karen Street late at midnight on the Friday before last, and I want to know where the murderer went."

Fisher looked at the three little girls nestled in Old Jack’s arms and got straight to the point.