Meg’s words were all spoken, and she pursed her lips, looking towards Fisher, who was immersed in thought.
Fisher took a moment to think, if what Meg saw was real, then it was indeed very likely to be a creature from the Ocean Subhuman race.
Moreover, he had observed that sea snail earlier, which didn’t seem like an item from shallow or coastal waters; Saint Nali was a coastal city, and having grown up there, Fisher had seen a lot of things fished out of the sea by fishermen, but he had never seen that kind of sea snail.
Then, was there a possibility that it really was an Ocean Subhuman, and moreover, related to this Whale-man girl next to him?
Fisher sneakily observed Moli beside him, seeing her with her mouth slightly open as if still lost in the story described by Meg, probably still picturing what that monster looked like in her mind.
If it were related to Moli, would this be her reaction?
Or was she putting on an act, similar to the one Renie was capable of, not wanting to reveal any connection she might have with the Ocean Subhumans?
Or perhaps, that Ocean Subhuman race member wasn’t related to Moli at all, just another creature from the ocean who ventured out to the land?
Without any concrete answers, Fisher could only momentarily halt his thoughts, nodded, and stood up,
"I understand, I’ll go check out Parker Park afterwards. I have other things to prepare today, so I need to be going, oh..."
Fisher gestured for Moli to pick up the Magic Materials beside her, and then slowly walked to the door, turned back to Meg and said,
"Remember to apologize to your mother, and stop hanging out with those guys outside. Aside from wasting your valuable time and youth, you’ll gain nothing."
Meg opened her mouth, then, bowing her head, agreed.
Fisher pushed the door open, and at the entrance, he saw Gina squatting on the ground tormenting a magic little chick; she turned back to look at Fisher and Moli exiting and spoke,
"Are you guys done asking and leaving now?"
"Yeah, got some interesting news from Meg... I’ve already scolded her, hopefully, she’ll behave better from now on."
"Ha, I’ll thank the Heavens if she doesn’t die out there,"
Gina said with a glance toward the direction of the shop.
Fisher just chuckled without responding, put on his gentleman’s hat, and continued with Moli towards the inside of the Magic Market; he had other items to buy.
"...Professor Fisher, do you think what Miss Meg encountered before was a ghost? I mean... a monster formed by the accumulation of resentful souls in the sea or somewhere else that often goes ashore or to the Sea Floor to snatch living creatures?"
"Where did you hear this from?"
"Milica told me... she said that when she was little, ghosts often entered her room wanting to eat her, but she said ghosts can’t attack someone hiding under covers, that’s how she narrowly escaped."
Hearing Moli’s words, Fisher said with an expression somewhere between laughter and tears,
"She’s tricking you."
"She was never attacked by a ghost when she was little. Plus, her father is one of Nali’s three Archbishops—if any soul had gone there, they probably would have been sent to serve the Mother Goddess by now. She said that just to scare you."
"Scare... scare me? Why?"
Fisher turned his head to look at Moli who was hiding her face behind the bag of Magic Materials, her cheeks a little flushed with only her lively eyes peeking out at Fisher, looking extremely cute, like a fresh apple begging to be tasted.
The reason is that you look adorable when you’re scared.
The correct answer was this, but Fisher didn’t say it, to avoid turning himself into the perverted Nali Gentleman professor who harassed his own student.
He turned his head to look at the shops around them and replied,
"Because you two are close, she shared these interesting stories with you. When you get caught up in the content, she achieves her aim."
Moli seemed to realize something as she lifted her head from behind the bag, then thinking of Milica’s mischievous smile, she felt Professor Fisher was right. Milica just liked to tell these scary stories, leaving her frightened but also eager to hear more.
Thanks to Milica, at first, Moli even thought the land was filled with all sorts of bizarre creatures, having never seen any while in the ocean for so long. Now she understood that the land was just like the Sea Floor, where those terrifying creatures were also invisible!
In the following time, Fisher bought several more items needed to craft High Rank magic.
As he wandered, Fisher remembered the curved swords Elliog carried on his back, and he began to think about purchasing a suitable bladed weapon for himself as well. This was because the combat magic Elliog had given him involved using bladed weapons, and practicing with a real weapon might be more effective.
But after looking around for a while, he hadn’t seen any shop selling bladed weapons; in present-day Saint Nali, it was rare to see traditional Knight Swords for sale. If one wanted one, they had to go to a specialized blacksmith to custom order one, which would be costly and time-consuming.
Having almost completed his purchases and with the afternoon time approaching, Fisher prepared to leave the place with Moli. Just before they were about to leave, he caught sight of something shining on a stall at the roadside—a hunter, covered in dirt and carrying a shotgun, had a sparkling stone on display.