Chapter 658: 104. Nali visits_2
“You’ve noticed, huh? It’s only fitting for a Slime… I once visited the South Continent, where I met a demi-human Slave trader named ‘Colin,’ who had a history with me, so naturally, I also heard of your name. Only later did I learn that Colin was your son and that he had stolen your circus. Interestingly, even after leaving you, the circus still bore the name Kexie Ning Circus, and the Boundary Flute continued to play your name.”
“So it is, that little brat…”
Upon hearing Fisher’s words, the green Slime in front of him opened his mouth slightly, and his third feeler drooped down, appearing somewhat listless, until Fisher began to touch the soft and warm gel-like substance of her tentacles. She then looked at the ceiling with a hint of irony and said,
“I’ve always been the most dim-witted Slime in my tribe, unlike my kin who easily made money, and I never did anything noteworthy. My biggest fault is taking shortcuts and being stingy. Ever since the father of these three children died, I’ve become increasingly negligent toward them… I haggled over every little thing with my own children, wanting to extract endless value from them, so much so that one day, Colin stole all my valuables in the dead of night while I was sound asleep and fled the Northern Realm.”
“But he also didn’t dare to return to the Boundary. If I hadn’t gone back this time, I wouldn’t have known about his filthy business of trafficking demi-humans and that he was caught by some Dragon Queen. Not only is the circus gone, but he probably can’t even save his own life…”
Fisher carefully checked her gelatinous outer skin and discovered that beneath the green, robust gelatinous skin was the real jelly-like feel of the body fluid, cool and miraculous. But as he listened to Kexie Ning’s words, his face remained expressionless, and he only asked her,
“Are you grieving because your son is going to die, or because your circus is completely gone?”
“To be honest? A bit of both… Speaking of which, you’re doing research, so you probably don’t know how Slimes reproduce. Before the birth of the little Slimes, we don’t have any special signs; it’s more like one day you wake up and suddenly find a wriggling mass beside you, as if a piece of flesh has fallen off your body.”
The conversation between Kexie Ning and Fisher was like casual talk. She spoke while still moving her body under Fisher’s direction, but Valentina, who had been listening nearby, furrowed her brows slightly,
“My deceased husband was overjoyed, but I felt nothing. Waking up to find three more mouths to feed, to buy clothing for, to replace fake skins – money flowed away like water, and at night, they’d cry loudly, keeping me awake. It was like having three burdens rushing me to my grave, infuriating me.”
“My initial thought was to raise them without debt until they could stand on their own, then let them leave quickly so I could have some peace. After they were adults, whatever they did had nothing to do with me. If anything happened, they shouldn’t come to me; I had no relationship with them… If that guy hadn’t stolen my things, both of them should have been sent to the Boundary by now with no further ties.”
Valentina’s face turned cold as she heard these words, looked at the two Slimes curled up into balls on the bed, rubbed her temples, and spoke in a cold voice,
“To think there are parents like you; no wonder those two had no courtesy toward you at the time. To the ignorant, it would seem you three were mortal enemies.”
But after listening to Kexie Ning’s words, Fisher suddenly stopped the research in his hands, looked up at her, and said,
“Hmm, but it sounds like you’re not entirely devoid of feelings for your children; otherwise, you wouldn’t have roamed around with your daughter without much money, and it seems they haven’t starved to death, has it? The innate calculative nature of Slimes constantly reminds you that from the moment these three little lives were born, they were bound to be a losing deal, yet blood ties and sentiment subtly deepened the connection between you and your offspring…”
After saying this, he lowered his head and sketched a few strokes of the Slime’s image in his notebook, bringing the gelatinous skin to life with his strokes. Valentina looked down at Fisher’s delicate and intricate brushwork, wondering why a scholar could draw so well, or was it that Mages skilled in engraving magic all had such abilities?
“Kexie Ning, after hearing what you just said, I think I have a good grasp of your thoughts. Let me remind you, don’t try to shuttle to the South Continent in an attempt to save your son, even if it’s just because of a sudden whim or a moment of clarity right now. I remind you, they still remember you as a nominal Mother, not for this…”
Kexie Ning opened her mouth slightly, quite surprised by the depth of the scholar’s thoughts before her, not understanding when her hidden tinge of desire had leaked out, but Fisher continued to say,
“No matter the past, your son has committed an irremediable grave error. Many demi-humans from the South Continent, having lost their homes due to war, lost even the last of their freedom and dignity because of your son. He stripped away their last value, leaving them with a pain a hundred times deeper than your current regret. That Dragon Queen will not spare the evildoer who tormented her kin; your interference won’t change the outcome…”