Demi-human Girls Completion Manual-Chapter 41 - 39

41: 39.

Trolley Problem

41: 39.

Trolley Problem

“Mr.

Fisher, do you know that Holy Maiden from the choir?”

“Just a student I taught before.”

“I see…

it’s about time; let’s go in then.”

Seeing that Fisher was unwilling to elaborate, Philone didn’t press further.

He led the way like a perfect gentleman, his hand cane in hand.

The rest of the audience watched from the main hall on the first floor, but Philone, with the privileges of the City Lord, could view the performance from a private box on the second floor.

The citizens below were noisily chatting amongst themselves, a chaotic sight compared to the serene viewing environment of the Royal Nobles, causing the black-robed Priest Kayu on stage to frown.

She rubbed her brow with vexation before instructing the already present girls to get ready.

“Ladies and Gentlemen.”

Upon noticing this, Philone stood and approached the railing of the second floor, addressing the noisy audience below.

As soon as he spoke, the crowd went silent and turned to look up at him.

“It’s the City Lord!”

“Mr.

Philone is up there!”

Philone waved his hand and spoke to the audience below,

“Please keep quiet during the performance, thank you.”

“Of course!”

“No problem!”

Then, after he spoke, the previously boisterous opera hall finally calmed down.

As the noise below had quieted, the door to the private box opened, and an expressionless soldier walked in.

Without speaking, Philone simply raised his hand, signaling him to stand by for the moment, then turned to Fisher and said,

“I apologize, Mr.

Fisher.

He’s here with a report regarding work in the city…

but there’s no rush.

Let’s watch the performance first.”

Fisher glanced at the soldier who had saluted with no expression and then turned to leave through the door.

He silently turned back and gripped his hand cane, where Rafael hadn’t crushed the magic he was given.

On the distant stage, a group of pure girls spread out, beams of light as if from Heaven itself casting upon them.

Despite their slow pace, they gave the impression of a dance to the onlookers, who all held their breath.

Once one of the girls began to sing, their heavenly voices sounded like the ethereal whisper of a god.

They were singing the first chapter of the Church’s Creation Scripture, the Mother Goddess creating humans.

Nali’s sect worshipped the Mother Goddess, who, in their creation myth, lived in the Heaven filled with birdsongs and floral fragrances.

Content and transcendent, she encountered a wounded rabbit in Heaven, who implored the Mother Goddess to save its life, promising in return the first apple of spring.

The Moon and Sun beside the Mother Goddess advised her not to save the rabbit, as doing so would bring disasters to the other beings of the world.

Yet the kind-hearted Mother Goddess saved the rabbit all the same and ate the apple it gave her.

After swallowing the apple, the Mother Goddess became pregnant and, after seven days, gave birth to a male infant named Iya.

Iya was the first human, and just as the Sun and Moon had warned, he brought the concept of Death to the world through his greed, creating the first death.

To punish her child, the Mother Goddess cast Iya down to the human world.

During his long descent, he transformed into a male and a female who then multiplied from one generation to the next, enduring the torments of death and illness.

When the choir sang of the Mother Goddess tearfully pushing Iya from Heaven, the song was mournful and sad, as if it touched humankind’s primal sense of empathy, causing the audience below to shed tears unwittingly.

Philone watched, his gaze lively and his fingers trembling slightly.

A couple of seconds later, he turned to Fisher, but noticed he was expressionlessly staring at the stage, seemingly unmoved.

Philone watched Fisher for a long while, then asked with a smile,

“Mr.

Fisher, do you believe that all humans evolved from Iya?”

“Not at all; the Church’s doctrine is no different from the beliefs of demi-humans, both being means to explain the world…

Ancient Church thinkers believed that humanity is a whole, where each person is but a minute part of this grand body.”

Suddenly, Philone placed one hand on the table separating him from Fisher, an intrusion that caused Fisher to glance at him, only to catch sight of the soldier’s shadow through the slightly ajar door in his peripheral vision.

Philone’s eyes were fixed on Fisher as he began to smile and asked,

“There’s a question that has troubled me for quite some time, and I have been eager to ask you…”

“Go ahead.”

Fisher’s right hand silently tightened around his hand cane, waiting for his question, while the shadow outside the door shifted a few times before slowly disappearing.

“Suppose you’re a railway switch operator, and one day a runaway train appears on the track you’re managing.

On the track ahead of the train, there are five humans; if you do nothing, those five will die.

However, you have a choice to pull the lever and divert the train onto another track where there is only one human…

How would you choose?”

Fisher watched Philone before him and after a moment of silence, leaned back against the cushion and chuckled,

“I won’t do anything.”

The singing outside reached its climax, bathing the viewing room in a light that was akin to Heaven, illuminating Philone’s straight and astonished eyes.

“Haha…

I see.”

It took him a long time to wake up from the silence, and he slowly moved his body to lean back on the cushion, “This is my first time listening to the Holy Maiden Chorus, their singing is beautiful, it always moves me a little…”

“That was indeed a wonderful opera.”

Mr.

Fisher set down his hand cane, his gaze passing by the silent Philone.

Behind them, the room’s door had quietly closed at some point.

…

…

“Today’s opera was wonderful, thank you for the invitation, Mr.

Philone.”

The carriage sped along the road, slowly entering the Inner City.

Along the way, many demi-humans and their children waved at the City Lord’s carriage, causing Mr.

Fisher to glance sideways.

“Not at all, it probably would have lacked flavor if I had watched it alone…”

Philone glanced at the time, the carriage conveniently stopped in front of the City Lord Mansion, where Nana seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

After getting out of the carriage, Nana gave Mr.

Fisher a lengthy stare, then turned her gaze away and spoke to Philone warmly,

“Mr.

Philone, they have been waiting for you for quite some time.”

“Ah…” Philone turned to look at Mr.

Fisher and said, “I apologise, Mr.

Fisher, but I have other guests to entertain and must leave for a while.

As for our earlier matter, I haven’t forgotten—the practice yard is just outside from here, near the city walls.

If you can’t find your way, just ask Feiya to guide you.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Mr.

Philone.”

Mr.

Fisher took off his hat, bid farewell to Philone and walked into the residence.

Philone looked at Nana and, together with her, walked in a different direction.

They walked side by side for a good distance, and after making sure no one was around, Nana, looking somewhat concerned, turned to Philone,

“Mr.

Philone, has something unexpected happened?

Why has he returned?”

“You didn’t touch those Dragon-men, did you?”

“No.”

“That’s good; let’s just wait a little longer.”

“But, in a few more days…”

Nana was quite worried, and she clasped Philone’s palm, only to have it gently covered by his other hand,

“Mr.

Fisher gave me a lot of inspiration yesterday; if realized, we can succeed without the old methods…”

“Now that you have what you wanted, you should quickly deal with him, what are you still hesitating for?”

Steam leaked from under Philone’s mask, and in the silence that followed, he thought of the man’s response at the theatre, then shook his head,

“…No, I haven’t gotten what I want yet.

Don’t worry about him and that red Dragon-man for now, start recalling the others first.”

“…Okay, then I’ll deliver this batch of goods to them.”

“Thank you, Nana.”

Nana pursed her lips, then embraced Philone, whispering in his embrace,

“Don’t say that…

I will help you, no matter your decision, I will always follow you.”

Philone’s steam arm gently caressed Nana’s long hair, bringing her fully into his embrace.

“It won’t be long, I will have the answer soon.”