Demi-human Girls Completion Manual
Chapter 460 - 25. Eggs

Chapter 460: 25. Eggs

"Hello, my name is Ossie."

"Nice to meet you... nice to meet you..."

The Iceberg Queen swayed slightly at night, but Fisher, engaged in engraving magic on the cutting board with a kitchen knife, was not alone—after all, a Grey Bird Species girl was repeating conversations with a parrot in the next room.

Previously, Fisher had seen her everyday secluded atop the mast, thinking she preferred solitude over interaction. But it seemed that might not be the case...

As a "Healing" circlet emerged on the cutting board, Fisher sighed gently, relaxed his fingers for a moment, then wiped a bit of magic powder onto the edge of the knife, before continuing to engrave the Main Ring.

"Steel Blade, I just saw that the captain and that man were holding hands. I think it won’t be long before Alagina marries him... But when we were in the Female Country, Alagina and I both were quiet, and now she’s getting married. That’s why I feel a bit envious. I want to try communicating with others, I can’t always rely on you to speak for me. What do you think, Steel Blade?"

"Fool... fool..."

Steel Blade’s response was rather vague, leaving Fisher guessing the general idea, but Ossie could converse fluently with it, probably a natural talent of the Grey Bird Species,

"I know, I’ll try talking to others later, but I still need your help now... Huh, didn’t I say the same thing to you last month?"

"Co-coo... co-coo..."

Second Officer Ossie’s conversation with Steel Blade was stealthily overheard by Fisher, who was still busy in the kitchen engraving magic and initially felt a headache from using the kitchen knife as a tool, but this unexpected eavesdrop eased his head and hand, making the magic engraving swifter and smoother.

Fisher remembered struggling to find a reason to study Ossie before but hearing her monologue-like conversation with Steel Blade gave him a clue.

"Buzzing..."

Fisher continued engraving the magic, and shortly after, the noise from the next room quieted down a bit, perhaps due to exhaustion from practice, only leaving the sound of wind and rain outside the ship.

Just when Fisher thought Ossie might have left, a slight noise suddenly came from the next room,

"Ugh..."

Fisher’s motion of engraving magic emblems with the knife abruptly stopped; he seemed to hear a peculiar sound from Ossie next door, somewhat like an emotional moan but much more restrained.

Moreover, Fisher suddenly had a question.

If Ossie wanted to practice speaking, wouldn’t practicing in her own room be much more secure than in the dining area?

Although there were hardly any people here at night, the area where Alagina stayed had decent soundproofing; unless extremely loud, nothing could be heard.

So, what was Ossie doing here?

With such doubts, Fisher sped up his motion of engraving the magic emblem on the iron sheet, and as time slowly passed, the knife became as agile in his hands as his fingers.

Moreover, the realisation hit him; not very adept at cooking, Fisher suddenly thought, if he assimilated the process of cutting ingredients to engraving magic, could the food turn out less bizarre than before?

"Ugh, so tired... just leave it here, Peo will handle it. No need to come over after winter starts."

"Co-coo... co-coo..."

"Let’s go, Steel Blade."

It was a long while before Ossie and Steel Blade’s conversation resonated again from the next room, Ossie’s voice slightly breathless, unsure what had just happened.

Peo, whom Fisher knew, was the chef of Iceberg Queen; previously, Old Jack was learning Northern Realm dishes from her, and luckily she also showed interest in Nali’s cuisine, making it a reciprocal learning experience.

Following this, the dining room door next door was opened. Fortunately, the Iceberg Queen’s cabin doors were very thick metal doors, preventing water penetration as well as hiding the fact that the kitchen lights were still on. If Ossie discovered that Fisher had listened to her entire conversation, she might retreat into a closed-off state.

As Ossie left the area, the Healing magic Fisher held was almost completed; the final stroke of the ring’s tail was drawn by the knife, lighting up the magic circuit on his body. The Five-Ring Healing Magic, "Instant Healing," was completed.

Although the Five-Ring Magic had deficiencies in activation speed and effects, the actual severity of Isabella’s wounds was fairly minimal, merely appearing exaggerated, making the spell entirely sufficient for her.

Relieved to see the magic complete, Fisher cleaned the possibly first-ever kitchen knife used for magic carving, placed it back in the knife holder, and walked out of the kitchen with the engraved metal sheet.

The corridor outside was pitch black, and Fisher might have been the only one left on the entire lower deck, as Ossie had left with her Steel Blade Parrot long ago. In Fisher’s view, only the quiet passageway and the slight rocking of the entire ship remained.

He walked forward with the Magic Steel Plate, and when he was about to pass the restaurant where Ossie had been, his steps suddenly paused, and he curiously looked toward the restaurant room beside him.

After hesitating for a second, he gently reached out and grabbed the iron door handle, pushing it open.

"Creak..."

As the iron door opened and revealed the murky darkness inside, Fisher glanced around and found that the restaurant seemed no different from when he had visited in the afternoon. However, when Fisher turned on the room lights, he suddenly discovered a small basket placed in front of the door where ingredients were stored.

The small basket was entirely made of wood and seemed to contain something heavy, but there was a pink cloth covering it, obstructing Fisher’s view.

Fisher raised an eyebrow and walked closer to the wooden basket, squatting down and gently lifting the covering cloth. Inside, a large smooth egg suddenly came into his view.

The eggshell in the basket was very smooth, and if one looked carefully, one could even see traces of moisture on its surface, preserving the warmth of birth, lying quietly in the wooden basket...

The moment he saw the egg, Fisher realized what Ossie had been doing here.

Fisher felt relieved that Ossie had not noticed him when she left earlier; otherwise, eavesdropping on the conversation and discovering her laying eggs here would have probably embarrassed her enough to jump into the sea.

Most demi-humans are mammals, but a few special kinds, including the Grey Bird Species, are exceptions as far as Fisher was aware.

Both in the Northern Realm and the South Continent, the Grey Bird Species shared this trait; although they breastfeed, their offspring are born in eggs.

At the same time, female Grey Birds regularly produce infertile eggs, especially when they haven’t been in contact with the opposite sex for a long time—this phenomenon intensifies.

Normally, the breeding season for Grey Birds is only twice a year, but from Ossie’s conversation, it seemed her biological clock had been disrupted due to prolonged sea living, speeding up the breeding season from twice a year to once every two to three months. This was the reason she frequently produced infertile eggs.

Although infertile eggs hold no special significance for Grey Birds—they even cook and eat them—looking at the egg moist with water, Fisher’s expression was somewhat strange.

Tomorrow... it’s better not to eat the egg dishes on the ship.

Fisher silently prayed a "Mother Goddess bless" to himself, then placed the cloth back over Ossie’s egg, turned off the restaurant lights, and left the place pretending nothing had happened.

...

...

When Fisher arrived at Isabella’s door with the Healing Magic despite the rain, he inadvertently glanced at Ossie’s room next door, which was still lit. Following the silhouette cast by the light on the small window, Fisher saw the Steel Blade Parrot tilting its head—it seemed to have heard Fisher’s footsteps outside, but it did not speak.

"Knock knock..."

"Isabella."

Fisher diverted his gaze and knocked on Isabella’s door; soon, a somewhat flustered voice answered from inside,

"Oh, Mr. Fischer. Wait, I’ll be right there..."

After she replied, there were a few seconds of waiting before the door opened again, and Fisher was taken aback by the sight of Isabella through the door’s gap.

There was no other reason, but when she appeared, her normally smooth golden hair, now covering her face in bandages and dressed in crew attire, had been cut roughly to shoulder length, with uneven and jagged ends, marring her beautiful hair.

Feeling Fisher’s gaze lingering on her hair, Isabella shyly moved a bit behind the door. Fisher didn’t pursue with his gaze but instead asked,

"Why did you cut your hair?"

"I... long hair isn’t very practical for training, and besides, other female crew members from Female Country all have short hair..."

"Is that so."

Fisher observed the rough ends of her hair and guessed,

"Cut with scissors?"

"Yes, there wasn’t anything else available on the ship, so... Ah, the rain is too heavy, please come inside."

Fisher nodded and entered through Isabella’s half-open door. As the sound of the iron door closing echoed, the silhouette of the parrot on Ossie’s window fluttered a few times, then hopped back into the room.