Demi-human Girls Completion Manual
Chapter 172 - 73. Anna and Kachina

Chapter 172: 73. Anna and Kachina

On the afternoon when Schwali visited Saint Nali University, in the suburbs facing the sea outside the lush mountains, a spacious Western-style mansion sat facing the ocean, calmly watching the rise and fall of the waves.

At the height of a sunny midday, the mansion, backed by green hills, didn’t let in a single ray of sunlight, as if the whole room lay in shadow.

A carriage slowly stopped in front of the mansion, and then the coach door opened, allowing a lady wearing high heels to step down.

The lady, dressed in conservative traditional Nali attire, had a breathtakingly beautiful facial features that left one breathless. She had a touch of crimson on her lips and carried a small handbag, her expression indifferent.

This was Anna from Pink Hall. She surveyed the shadowy mansion before her, proceeded to press the doorbell, and as if her visit was eagerly anticipated, the cloistered gates slowly opened after the bell, revealing a courtyard gaping like the maw of an abyss.

Anna, holding her handbag, walked unhurriedly into the mansion and made her way to the front of the house where a door was opened by a maid who greeted Anna with a smile and a bow saying,

"Lady Anna, Miss Kachina has already arrived. The master is still swimming, you will need to wait a moment."

"Alright."

Anna nodded and slowly walked into the house.

Inside, where no lights were on, the wooden walls and floors felt pleasantly cool compared to the summer outside.

Anna passed through the anteroom with shelves on either side, displaying numerous black and white photographs in frames; there was a young captain wearing a captain’s hat embracing a beautiful woman, both smiling at the camera in warmth and affection.

Anna, as if having seen these many times before, passed the front hall without any reaction and walked through the living room straight to the door linking the house to the beach, where a beautiful woman in a white robe knelt on the ground, facing the sand.

Hearing footsteps from behind, the beautiful lady turned her head. Upon seeing Anna, she revealed a faintly mocking smile,

"Oh, Miss Anna has finally deigned to visit the master today? I thought you had forgotten about the tasks the master had arranged."

Anna glanced at her calmly, similarly kneeling on the ground facing the beach,

"The affairs of Pink Hall are none of Miss Kachina’s concern. After all, Pink Hall’s affairs are numerous and not as leisurely as those of the Healing Room..."

"Hah, I’m afraid it’s all busywork anyway."

"Talk to me like that when your Healing Room can bring in as much money as Pink Hall. Right now, you’re not qualified."

"You!"

Just as Kachina was about to react angrily, the sound of delayed footsteps came from the distant beach. Kachina and Anna’s faces turned subtly as they hurriedly knelt properly, heads bowed, not daring to look forward.

There, on the sand, a tall and burly old man walked slowly from the direction of the ocean toward the house.

The old man was wrapped in a thick, loose bathrobe that covered his body very thoroughly, only revealing his weathered, wrinkled face.

A few strands of the old man’s white hair had fallen and clumped together slightly from swimming in the sea. His gaze was somewhat cold, and only upon seeing the two quietly kneeling beauties did he show a slight, bone-chilling smile.

"Anna, Kachina... you’ve come."

"Master."

The two women replied in unison, and the tall old man nodded, then approached them.

His towering figure blocked the sun behind him, casting a shadow over the two women. Kachina always felt some fear when she came here, and now, in the presence of the old man, she began to tremble uncontrollably.

Anna, as if accustomed to it, kept her head down, eyes shut, silent.

"Master... this is this month’s earnings from the Healing Room, please review them."

"These are the earnings for Pink Hall, please review them."

The old man extended his hand and took the account sheets they offered, but he did not read them. Instead, he looked off in the direction of the sky as if remembering something and remarked,

"People from Schwali... have already reached Nali, haven’t they?"

Upon hearing this, Kachina hastened to say,

"Yes, they just arrived at Saint Nali University this morning, and they will be holding an academic conference there next Monday..."

Although Pink Hall was in charge of this matter, Kachina was overstepping her bounds by reporting it in place of Anna. However, Anna remained silent throughout, because she knew the consequences of Kachina’s reckless speech.

"What concern is it of yours? This is Anna’s responsibility."

Sure enough, the next second, the old man glanced coldly at Kachina. His words awakened Kachina’s fear, and then her body began to uncontrollably punish herself by banging her face against the ground.

As she struck the ground, the woman screamed out,

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."

With each apology, her self-flagellation subsided, and she painfully covered her face, remaining seated without getting up.

After Kachina had quieted down, Anna slowly began to speak

"Carolina has already arrived at Saint Nali University. She’s on the scene, so we can proceed when ready."

"Um, I’ve always been confident in your work..."

The old man smiled, displaying a mouth nearly devoid of teeth, which exuded a fishy stench that made it seem as terrifying as the Abyss. On his hand, a gold bracelet shimmered through the loose bath towel covering his body. His large hand gripped Anna’s head directly, disheveling the headpiece that resembled that of a proper lady.

Anna showed no emotion, looking up at the old man with a steady gaze as she met his frightening eyes. After a second, the old man began to speak slowly,

"This task needs to be arranged properly. After that, I have another important task for you to undertake... do not mess this one up, or you know the consequences."

He released Anna’s head, tapping on the gold bracelet on his wrist as he said so.

Anna bowed her head, and in an unknown place, bone-chilling hatred began to crystallize in her eyes. However, she hid the emotion so well that no other person present could detect it. Thus, when she spoke the next second, her tone remained even,

"Please instruct me, Master."

"There’s a demi-human who arrived in Saint Nali from the sea, she wrote a letter to the Royal signed ’Son of the Sea’... I want you to bring back the demi-human who wrote the letter, afterward, I will tell you all the information I know. Remember, you must bring her back alive."

The old man laughed greedily, standing up again. Despite the stoop that came with age, his height remained intimidating compared to others. He wrapped his bath towel tighter around him, chuckling as he slowly walked towards the sea,

"Bring the Son of the Sea back..."

As the figure receded into the distance, the hatred within Anna grew more material.

Yet she kept her head down, murmuring softly,

"Yes."

...

...

At the entrance of the Western-style mansion, Anna, clutching her small handbag, walked to the side of the carriage. Behind her, Kachina, wearing a white dress, covered her face and sneered at Anna’s retreating figure, saying,

"The Master ordered me to assist you in capturing the... Son of the Sea. Is there anything you need help with?"

Due to their extremely poor relationship, even though Anna had been with the old man longer than Kachina, Kachina wasn’t the type of lady to respect her seniors. From Anna’s perspective, she was nothing but a foolish and short-sighted Lulu Pig.

Hearing Kachina’s words from behind, Anna turned around with a forced smile and said,

"You’re helping plenty by doing nothing at all."

"You!"

Kachina was infuriated by Anna’s comment. As she watched the reticent Anna, she took sadistic pleasure in imagining the latter’s misery should her mission fail, and then she laughed on her way to her own carriage,

"Heh, just don’t mess things up."

"Thanks for your concern."

Anna angered Kachina one last time before she boarded the carriage. Then her expression gradually darkened, seemingly deep in thought about the recent events, her pale fingertips gripping tightly.

"Drive, back to Pink Hall."

"Yes."

The carriage driver whipped the horses and the carriage moved off, taking Anna away from the Western-style mansion that made her uncomfortable.

Alone in the carriage, she watched quietly as the mansion, covered in shadows, and the sea that lay behind it, both receded into the distance.

She was lost in thought for a long while and then her hateful gaze shifted away from the vanishing Western-style mansion.

"Mother Goddess... protect me..."

Her hands joined in the standard prayer gesture of the Nali Church. Muttering in a low voice, the anxious anger in her heart slowly calmed down.

She had endured for so long, needing to wait just a little longer... just a bit more...

Anna retrieved a small flyer from her bosom, which was filled with dense Nali text. Upon closer inspection, it was a promotional flyer for volunteer teaching at the Church, listing each Church and the responsible teacher for its lessons.

The circled name "Fisher Benavides" stood out conspicuously behind the Full Moon Church on the list of text.

She fixed her gaze quietly on the name for a long time before burning the flyer completely with a match.

Anna knocked on the carriage door, waiting for a second before the driver opened the small window to address her from within,

"Lady Anna, what do you command?"

"Go, tell the people at the Hall to inquire at Snake Head Tavern; have the black market informants look out for information about Ocean Subhumans. Offer a reward of twenty thousand euros for information on an Ocean Subhuman; a hundred thousand euros for information on the Son of the Sea."

"Yes."

After the driver finished speaking, Anna closed the small window in front of her.

She pressed her hands together devoutly once more, making a meticulous prayer gesture and bowing her head as she whispered over and over,

"May the Mother Goddess protect me... May the Mother Goddess protect me..."