Demi-human Girls Completion Manual

Chapter 1457 - 56: Gathering Strength (Part 2)

But Rafael no longer seemed to think of being some nonexistent Lady. Instead, she said,"Just now, you were definitely not researching Magic. Researching Magic wouldn’t involve banging your head on the table and feeling so miserable... What were you really doing just now? Does it have to do with defeating Demons?"

"...No."

Fisher’s hand wrapped around Rafael’s delicate form, slipping through the waterfall-like, smooth, rose-colored hair, letting it flow through his fingertips.

Rafael’s body trembled slightly but did not let the evasive Fisher off the hook,

"...You’re lying."

"What lie am I telling? Haven’t I already told you the method? Those Demons have not escaped the Mother Goddess’s sealing. I just need to enter the Demon Dynasty and reactivate their sealing."

"It’s that simple?"

"It’s that simple."

Fisher smiled, but a flicker of thought passed through his eyes.

He suddenly recalled what he had seen earlier, that his soul had no past and no previous life, completely defying the knowledge of souls provided by Caleb Wuz.

What on earth is going on? Why did his perspective abruptly halt the moment he laid eyes on that strange woman?

This implies that there might be no parents for him in the actual sense; he might have been created by some existence, like the woman he saw.

Or could this be the true reason behind what Gui previously said about him being very "special"?

Then, why was his specialness bestowed upon him? Who exactly is that mysterious woman? Did she create him, and if so, what is her purpose?

Even Fisher himself hadn’t anticipated that knowing he had no past lives would evoke a deep-rooted sense of fear within him.

If he had no past lives and was artificially created, could the people he met and the experiences he went through have been planned? Could he be walking according to someone’s plan and calculations?

He even feared that everything he currently had was false, afraid that all his experiences were artificially arranged. Or, perhaps, any soul yearning for freedom would harbor such fear.

Unfortunately, Fisher was not a Transferee from the Otherworld, and he did not know the story of "Truman’s World," but he could empathize with the protagonist Truman’s mindset.

"Rafael, do you believe in fate?"

In the silence, he gazed at Rafael, who was resting on him, somewhat drowsy. She opened one sleepy eye and, tilting her head slightly, responded,

"Fate... You mean predestined?"

"Something like that, but the fate I speak of might be an existence with consciousness, like the Divine... A long time ago, I read a Nali drama about a skilled puppeteer who created a lifelike puppet with consciousness called ’Duke’. He didn’t tell the puppet it was a puppet, letting it believe it was a living person. So, Duke wandered around Saint Nali, meeting many people, including a peasant girl who did laundry... Duke fell for this laundry girl at first sight."

As Fisher recalled the drama’s story, he caressed Rafael’s shoulder and continued,

"Just like any adventure story, one day, a wealthy, lawless young master fancied the laundry girl, intending to seize her. The girl was unwilling but couldn’t resist the young master, so she had no choice but to cry every day.

"Duke learned of this, discussed it with others he knew, and sought evidence of the young master’s misdeeds to bring him to justice at the Golden Palace’s court and save the laundry girl. In this joyous story, he endured difficult trials and, with the help of many acquaintances, finally gathered the evidence and took the young master to court, ultimately achieving victory...

"Just when the story naturally reached a happy ending, as Duke defeated the villain and prepared to enjoy life’s peak and the drama’s climax, music suddenly resonated around the court; the puppeteer emerged with a song... It turned out everything was part of the puppeteer’s play. The young master, the laundry maid, the friends who helped Duke—all were the puppeteer’s actors. They bowed to the actual audience, leaving Duke standing there, bewildered, as he faced the audience’s mocking glances...

In the Nali Language, the name ’Duke’ sounds the same as ’joke,’ embodying the story’s essence.

Rafael opened her eyes fully, thought for a moment, and said,

"...In our Dragon-man Species, when born, elders follow the soul’s guidance to name each Dragon-man, and the name generally holds special meaning, representing that Dragon-man’s future fate."

"Then what does the name ’Rafael’ mean in fate?"

"...It means ’gentle and virtuous’."

"Really?"

Fisher gave a surprised glance at the yawning Rafael in his arms. Surprised, Rafael paused, then bit his chest lightly, while murmuring,