Chapter 451: Turning into a Fish

Sander stared blankly at the little fish flopping around inside the water orb.

…Alright, the longer he looked, the cuter it seemed.

Saul walked over as well, lowered his head to look at the unusually lively little fish, and smiled. “She still remembers you. She gets really excited when she sees her big brother.”

Sander’s throat bobbed. Suddenly, he turned and carried the water orb into the bedroom.

Saul heard a series of clattering and banging sounds from within. Then, Sander ran back out—one hand clutching the water orb, the other dragging his massive, heavy suitcase.

The suitcase was nearly flung into the air as he yanked it out, and when it crashed onto the ground, one of the wheels at the bottom snapped off and rolled into some unknown corner.

Sander paid no mind to the damage. He immediately laid the suitcase flat, hands trembling as he opened the lock.

The lid sprang open, revealing a girl with tousled hair lying inside.

Sander lowered the hand holding the water orb, bringing it closer to the girl’s body.

“Come back, Mido.”

But the fish with the human face showed no reaction, continuing to happily swim about in the orb, occasionally poking its little head out.

“Come back, Mido. This is your body,” Sander said, now a little anxious.

“You might be misunderstanding something,” Saul said from the side. “Mido is already dead. A dead person’s soul can’t return to their body. The only reason she’s surviving in this bizarre form now is because of some special power. That power’s supply has been cut off, and the remaining energy will only last her a short while longer.”

Sander looked up in a daze, lips trembling. “But look, Mido’s body is still intact. In the legends, isn’t it said that if you retrieve the soul, it can return to its original body?”

“You said it yourself—it’s a legend,” Agu couldn’t help but chime in. “To ordinary people, the soul of the living and the soul of the dead are two different things. The moment she died, her soul had already become damaged and corrupted. Even if you forced a revival, what comes back might not be the same person. It’s better to cherish the little time you have left.”

Agu looked at the eerily human-faced fish, a trace of melancholy in his eyes.

“Huh?” Saul suddenly noticed something and crouched down, reaching out to touch Mido’s original body. “There’s some kind of magic sustaining her body, keeping it from decaying. But that force is starting to weaken now.”

His gaze shifted to the golden hairpin in Mido’s hair. “Is the energy in this hairpin about to run out?”

As soon as Saul spoke, both Sander and Agu’s eyes shifted to the hairpin on the girl’s head. Then, in a flash, the golden hairpin turned into a streak of light and shot into the forehead of the human-faced fish.

In the next instant, the girl’s body, now devoid of the golden hairpin, turned into a dull pile of bones.

“Mido!!!”

Sander cried out as his sister’s corpse vanished before his eyes.

All these years, her perfectly preserved body had been his emotional anchor. Now, seeing it turn to bone in an instant left him devastated.

But the next second, the little fish in Sander’s hands leapt forcefully, completely escaping from the water orb. It twisted mid-air, then whipped its tail squarely onto the tip of Sander’s nose.

Sander froze. His rising grief got awkwardly stuck halfway.

Saul chuckled. “She’s telling you—she’s here, not there.”

“Then… then…” Sander hesitated for a while, then suddenly slumped his shoulders and let out a small sigh as his expression relaxed. “That’s fine too.”

Then he looked up at Saul with a serious expression. “Should I be buying a fish tank or something? What does Mido eat? Can she have cake or fruit?”

Saul’s face also turned serious.

Originally, Mido’s residual soul attached to the fish didn’t need to eat.

The fish eating wouldn’t provide any energy for Mido in her current spirit form.

She wouldn’t survive long.

Even on the lowest energy consumption, she’d last at most seven or eight days.

But after the golden hairpin merged into the fish’s body, Mido’s unstable soul seemed to stabilize quite a bit.

“The enchantment structure inside this golden hairpin is even more complex than I thought.”

Currently, the magic from the hairpin had already been transferred to the fish. It seemed to be some sort of magical artifact meant to stabilize the soul and body.

The artifact didn’t contain much energy—only enough to lock onto a weak residual soul like Mido’s.

If the soul were any stronger, it might not be able to restrain it.

With the help of the hairpin’s magic, Mido’s soul could potentially be sustained through some simple energy supplements.

But those energy sources all came from wizard materials—which meant they’d be expensive.

And judging by Sander’s clothing and living conditions, he didn’t seem to have much savings.

As Saul remained silent, Sander began to look increasingly nervous.

He seemed to realize the answer already, and his face turned pale again.

He opened his mouth but didn’t dare speak his guess aloud.

Ultimately, Saul decided to let Sander make the call.

After all, the one who wanted to care for Mido… was Sander.

“Mido’s current condition is unusual. Judging by the speed her energy is dissipating, with the golden hairpin, she can last around half a year. After that, she’ll completely fade away.”

Seeing Sander start to sway on his feet, Saul finally continued, “Unless you can regularly provide her with energy supplements. But any such material is expensive. You need to be mentally prepared—otherwise, you might end up losing both her and your money.”

Saul took out pen and paper, wrote down a material name and rough price in mid-air, then folded it in two and pinched it between his thumb and index finger, holding it out to Sander.

Sander looked down at his carefree little sister playing in the narrow water orb, then clenched his teeth and reached out his hand.

Just as he was about to touch the paper, Saul flipped his wrist and pulled it away.

Sander looked at him in confusion.

“The secret you mentioned in your letter—about Bluewater Bay—what is it? I need to see if it’s worth what’s written on this paper.”

A wizard’s knowledge, naturally, was valuable too.

Sander licked his dry lips. “Lately, I’ve been earning money by managing document archives for the governor of Bluewater City. While it’s mostly trivial records, I’d skim through them while sorting…”

“I found a log of people coming and going from the governor’s mansion,” Sander instinctively lowered his voice, “and I noticed that one of the wizard lords had moved into the mansion before Bluewater City relocated. Even after the other wizards gradually left, he stayed behind.”

These clues alone weren’t much, but Saul immediately thought of the broken goblet he had obtained and still hadn’t traced back to its original owner. He quickly asked, “When did Bluewater City relocate?”

“Around twenty years ago.”

“But didn’t you say you arrived by boat just over a decade ago?”

“Yes. At the time, Bluewater City had to relocate farther inland, near a barren region, to protect the townspeople from soul tides. But even after the city moved, the port was still in use for a while. It wasn’t until nearly ten years later, when hardly any ships came in anymore, that it finally fell into disuse.”

“Then did that wizard have any other suspicious behavior?”

“One thing stood out. I checked the governor’s records of temporary travel plans, and I noticed that every time that wizard left Bluewater City, a soul tide would occur not long after. And he always waited until the tide ended before returning.”

(End of Chapter)

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