Chapter 39 Home

The smoke surrounding the two of them did not disperse much, floating gently like a giant ball of cotton candy. Hugh took a deep breath.

This smoke was not choking at all; instead, it carried a hint of pungency and spice.

Hugh caught the charred fragrance of burning pine, the scent of roasted chestnut shells, and a very rich caramel aroma. It was sweet, reminiscent of brewing tea by a warm fireplace in winter.

This must be the fumigant used by the Gravediggers to ward off evil. In the common knowledge Hugh possessed, there were relevant details about it, and it was said that everyone smelled a different scent.

A look of confusion appeared in the young girl's eyes, as if she could not quite understand why Hugh had contacted the pollution without any issues, but she finally let out a sigh of relief.

Then she stopped the rotation in her hands, and the drifting smoke was quickly sucked back into the censer. She nodded to Hugh and put the censer away.

Hugh sensed his extraordinary senses bestowed by the Banshee—there were no abnormalities. He wore a smile.

Good, it seems things are basically done.

Then they could talk business.

"Miss Nora, a friend of mine from an alien race has been affected by the pollution and her injuries cannot heal right now. If possible, I hope you can help treat her," Hugh said, looking at Nora.

Nora remained silent for a long time. Her pretty white pupils trembled slightly, and finally she closed her eyes and nodded.

Hugh found it a bit strange, but didn't think too much of it. He stood up and saluted Nora.

"That's wonderful. Castell will not forget the timely help of the Silent Sanctuary," Hugh said seriously. "This is your home now, too."

He did not ask what compensation Nora required, but he could guess roughly. In fact, he had already understood the current situation of the White Crow Duchy, and his contact with the Silent Sanctuary was a decision made after that.

Saving lives was the priority right now.

Hugh and Nora whispered about the specific details, and Nora hurriedly bid farewell.

Both sides needed to make some preparations.

Hugh called Connor over to make plans in advance.

The treatment definitely could not take place in the manor. Aside from the danger of exposing the secret passage, Hugh needed to consider the possibility of the pollution spreading.

The manor was densely populated with people. If an accident happened, the whole place might be wiped out in one go, and Hugh would probably have to restart his life right then and there.

In the end, Hugh decided to conduct it in a grotto by the coast.

It was not far from the manor, so sending Monica over wouldn't be a big problem, and there was a passage leading directly to the sea inside the grotto. The banshees could hide underwater, and if any accident occurred, they could intervene in time.

Besides, Hugh also invited Sister Chloe of the Candlelight Society to visit the manor as a guest. This served as insurance, in case Nora failed to successfully treat the pollution or something went wrong, at which point he might have to turn to the Candlelight Society for help.

To this end, Hugh specially prepared a carriage.

After making the arrangements, Connor hurriedly left. Hugh gave a few instructions to the maid beside him, walked into the study, locked the door, opened the secret passage, and descended into the depths of the earth.

Following the slippery karst cave all the way down, Hugh had been here many times and was already quite familiar with it. Coupled with the extraordinary senses brought by the symbiosis contract, he could see clearly in the dark, walking through the dark and narrow secret passage as if it were flat ground.

"Lord Lord!"

"It's the Lord, Lord Lord is here!"

...

Seeing him arrive, the banshees gathered near the water's surface one after another.

Hugh looked around and did not see Ash.

"Lord Lord, Ash is too tired and has entered a dormant state." A blonde banshee saw Hugh searching and took the initiative to speak. "You can call me Nini."

"......Alright." Hugh looked at her mature and steady demeanor and nodded somewhat peculiarly.

Why did this name sound like something only a little girl would have?

"Can Monica be moved right now? What is her condition? I've found someone to help treat her, at a place a bit further south."

Hugh's manor was almost on the easternmost side of the island, the dock where fishermen set out for fishing was to the north, and the south was relatively much less populated, making it just right for treatment and less likely to be noticed.

"As for her condition......" Nini's expression was a bit peculiar. "We've made a new discovery."

Hugh raised an eyebrow.

"You know, our flesh magic can forcibly keep the body's state constant, and precisely because of that, we can resist water pressure."

"And we found that flesh magic seems to also be able to block the corrosion of pollution, because......"

"The body will be kept constant at an unpolluted state?" Hugh's eyes lit up. This was good news. No one knew how long this pollution would last or how extensive its impact would be. If the banshees could maintain flesh magic and remain unafraid of pollution, then there was hope for a solution.

Nini continued:

"As for Monica, short-term movement is not a problem. Her current state has stabilized, but we need to continuously replenish the flesh magic, which will take up a huge amount of manpower."

"How much does it take?"

"Almost all of it." Nini sighed. "The consumption of flesh magic is extremely huge. After maintaining our own magic, we don't have much magic power left, and we don't even have enough people to take turns casting it on her."

"In other words, the fault tolerance rate is extremely low. If a pollution outbreak causes some people to be unable to cast flesh magic, Monica might even drop dead on the spot?"

"Yes." Nini nodded solemnly. "If the treatment requires pausing the flesh magic, it must be a quick battle to achieve a quick resolution. If the flesh magic cannot be sustained in a short time, Monica won't be able to hold on. She is too young."

The risk was huge.

Hugh bit his lower lip and asked with some hesitation, "What if I sign a symbiosis contract with her? The pollution shouldn't be transmitted through the contract, right?"

Nini was silent for a moment, then she swung her snake tail and swam to Hugh's front.

"Monica is my best sister, everyone in the clan loves her, I love her as much as I love my eyes, and I am willing to give my life for her," she said slowly. "You could say that in my heart she is even more important than you—I hope you understand, after all, I've spent more time with her."

Hugh nodded. This was human nature.

"However, if saving her would put you at risk...... then I wouldn't do it."

Hugh choked: "Didn't you just say......"

"Lord Lord, you still don't know what you mean to the banshees." Nini looked serious. "Perhaps to you, centuries of enslavement are just a number, a light and breezy sentence, but to us, it is every single minute and second endured through torment."

"That kind of pain makes me cherish the present even more."

As she spoke, she smiled.

"I am more realistic than others. I don't care about any promised land, nor do I believe in illusory prophecies."

"I just want a home."

"A home......" Hugh muttered to himself.

"Yes, my lord." Nini leaned closer, looking at Hugh with earnest expression. "Please don't let us lose our home again."

"For the sake of a home, no sacrifice is too great to be accepted, even if it's me, even if it's her."

Hugh silently looked at the banshees, and then looked at Monica.

"I understand."