The centaur girl appearing before Fisher was none other than Xiayat from the New Party South Continent Protection Association. Fisher hadn’t expected to see her here, especially since it had already been mentioned that, although Klein Mountain was in the direction of Saint Nali University, the actual distance between them was vastly different.
At this moment, Xiayat was wearing centaur-specific tight hunting attire. These clothes fit perfectly, covering both their human and horse bodies and greatly reducing the drag on centaur demi-humans when running. Moreover, female centaur demi-humans, like Xiayat, often tied their long hair into a knot that wouldn’t easily come undone.
Such a centaur deviated a bit from the usual serene gentility of a lady, but it added a wildness reminiscent of the vast, boundless prairies of the South Continent—one more type of beauty.
"Fisher! What are you doing here, and who is this... huh, this demi-human looks familiar. Isn’t this the same girl who came into the office last time?"
Skipping over Moli’s current changes, Xiayat examined the timid Moli before her and suddenly spoke up, as if something had come to her mind, asking Fisher.
Moli was startled by this remark. Knowing that many humans were after her, she quickly covered her small face, shaking her head frantically as she protested,
"No, no, I’m not the female student you saw in the office before..."
This slip of the tongue made Xiayat laugh while Fisher walked over to Moli and gently patted her head. At the same time, she squeaked and quickly hid behind Fisher, keeping Xiayat from seeing her face.
Fisher explained his and Moli’s situation to Xiayat, also curious about what had brought Xiayat to this place,
"I’ve resigned from Saint Nali University, and she’s being hunted by Nali Official because of her demi-human identity... What about you? How did you end up traveling all the way to Klein Mountain from so far away?"
"Oh, looks like we’re both in a pretty bad spot..."
Xiayat looked at Fisher with sympathy, then set aside the curved bow she had been carrying over her shoulder. The quiver on her back swayed, filled with arrows of various lengths, and she had two hunting knives at her waist.
She stepped forward with her hooves to the dead boar, pulled out the arrow with a deft motion, and looked up at Fisher, saying,
"I happened to catch some prey. How about we share it for dinner tonight? I can’t finish it all by myself, and it’s too far to take back..."
Fisher nodded and walked over to help drag the boar toward his campsite—not far from here. In no time, they had arrived.
Once they arrived, Xiayat used her hand to shield her eyes, surveyed the neatly organized campsite, and complimented Fisher on his ability to tidy up,
"Wow, you’re pretty handy, aren’t you? Usually, I just throw together a few branches in the wilderness to get through the night."
Fisher dropped the boar on the ground and finally had the chance to ask what she was doing here,
"So, what brings you here?"
"What else? Just like you, I’m unemployed."
Talking about this made Xiayat’s face turn bitter. While speaking, she pulled out a small pouch from her waist, which contained not only knives for cutting meat but also several small bottles, which Xiayat claimed were filled with salt and spices from the South Continent.
Moli squatted nearby, watching Xiayat skillfully bleed and skin the dead boar. She couldn’t easily do such things, even hesitating for a long time before hunting. She was better off in the sea trenches, waiting for people above to drop fish for her to eat.
However, her mother had said that whale-men were top predators in the ocean’s food chain; she just needed to train to become a qualified whale-man.
Thus, Moli forced herself to sit by Xiayat and observe the bloodletting and meat preparation to strengthen her courage, though she wasn’t sure if it was doing any good.
"Unemployed? You got unemployed, too? Weren’t you called back to the South Continent by the New Party..."
"Mm, to be precise, it’s not quite unemployment. It seems the New Party recently ran into some trouble, and many people are scrutinizing them. Although it appears they haven’t found anything, everyone’s busy rushing about—who would remember there’s a cute centaur girl waiting in a house next to Saint Nali University for them to bring food?"
My goodness, it turns out that with the New Party preoccupied with the Royal Family’s scrutiny, they had completely forgotten about their centaur demi-human dwelling here.
Without food deliveries, the vegetables Xiayat grew in her yard were not enough, so she had to revert to the traditional South Continent ways and go hunting for food.
"What about you two? Why did you run off to this broken mountain? And you are... wait, what kind of demi-human are you?"
"I am... a whale-man!"
"Ah, a whale-man, no wonder you look a bit like the whales I’ve seen in the Nali Museum. You’re from the sea; this is my first time seeing one..."
Xiayat said this as she glanced at Moli’s beautiful whale tail and ears. In fact, there were aquatic demi-humans in the South Continent, but they lived in freshwater and couldn’t survive in the sea.