The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

"Whoosh~"

"The annual Magic Association level assessment exam has begun! Today's newspaper has the exam time and locations listed! One copy for just 1 Nali Cent!"

"Woo~"

"A brand new mechanical design module, if you have the ability, it can be used in combination with magic of any rings..."

"Beep~"

"Hurry up! Get in the vehicle, alright?! It's about to depart and you're still dawdling here!"

Passing across the broad ocean, the midday sea breeze—stirred by uneven heating and cooling—made landfall on the West Continent, taking in this bustling land that seemed to be paved with gold.

An ever-expanding city filled with the sounds of machinery operating, rhythmic signal noises, and the chatter of rushing crowds.

Atop the architecture, countless flags bearing the golden "Godlin Crest" were caught by the passing sea breeze, unfurling their displays, blanketing the city's buildings in a continuous sheen of golden radiance.

This was Saint-Nazareth, the pearl of human civilization—perhaps it had been for a very long time.

Many years ago, even travelers toiling in foreign, bitter-cold, and desolate lands would fondly remember this wondrous place. Yet even so, after Empress Elizabeth ascended the throne, the radiance here could no longer be encapsulated merely as a "pearl."

Just like the golden light radiating from those resplendent and dazzling flags, this was the sun—the sun of the West Continent, the sun of the entire world.

The sea breeze continued forward, passing through dense commercial zones and residential areas, moving along Saint-Nazareth's central axis into its heartland until a golden palace came into its line of sight. This was the center of Saint-Nazareth, and the center of power for all of Naris.

"Clack, clack, clack!"

The gates, guarded layer upon layer by armored soldiers, did not deter the humans from all over the world coming here on pilgrimage. They frequently appeared outside the Golden Palace, attempting to gaze across the slight physical distance separating them from the architecture to glean the Empress's thoughts, admiring her virtues and wisdom.

"..."

"Schwari feels that since they also contributed to the allied army in the Southern Continent back then, as it should be, they should also have a share in the development of the New Dragon Court, regardless of how large or small."

Within the Outer Court, in a spacious room, an elderly gentleman in a black formal suit stroked his neatly trimmed white "v-shaped" mustache. His eyes shifted slightly as he looked at his colleagues nearby and the Empress sipping tea from the highest seat.

Having been on the throne for over five years now, the Empress's shrewdness had grown deeper, making even this recently appointed Prime Minister feel immense pressure.

Empress Elizabeth, who had her long golden hair neatly combed into an elegant bun, glanced at the Prime Minister and said indifferently,

"What do you think, Lord Eouni?"

At this moment, they were conducting their daily discussion of affairs. The topic, just as the Prime Minister stated, was related to the division of interests in the Southern Continent.

To understand the stakes involved, one had to understand specifically the previous relationships among Naris, the nations of the West Continent, and the Green Dragon Court.

In the past, the development of the Southern Continent had always been tacitly authorized by the West Continent for the merchants and nobles beneath them to handle. After all, the rulers of these nations had a mountain of unresolved issues in their own backyards; who had the spare time to fuss over the Southern Continent on the distant horizon?

As long as those merchants and nobles handed over enough money, they could obtain the tacit approval from the nations of the West Continent to exploit the Southern Continent. As long as they brought back those valuable resources and Demi-human slaves, who cared what they were doing there? It could even temporarily alleviate their domestic conflicts. Why not do it?

This was also the source of the varied, independent, island-like city-states and city lords in the Southern Continent previously. In essence, it genuinely was a form of colonial plunder.

But on the surface, the governments of the several nations that had signed the [Southern Continent Protection Agreement] did not support this plundering. But anyway, the Southern Continent was just scattered Demi-humans and human natives. Even if something was done, people dying or being made slaves, no one would run to the West Continent to cry foul.

Except no humans expected that an incident actually did happen previously.

The city lords who ran over to develop the continent were chased and beaten all the way back by the native Dragon-kin of the Southern Continent, scurrying back to their hometowns bruised and battered, pissing and shitting themselves. This situation was quite troublesome.

Neither in terms of saving face nor morality could everyone let it go. Only one thing was clear: they still had to get their revenge and reclaim their pride.

But honestly, both Schwari and Kadu appeared somewhat stretched to the limit regarding this matter.

Coordinating an army and Navy across continents would consume vast amounts of their own nation's resources and energy. The governments of Schwari and Kadu didn't particularly want to foot the bill. Moreover, from the mouths of those fleeing for their lives, they could learn that the Dragon Queen who had beaten them to an inch of their lives was not to be trifled with. Not only was her own power tremendous, but she had also snatched quite a few of their West Continent things. If they really fought, the Dragon Queen could rely on her homeland's mountains and seas to sustain herself, and they didn't know how long it would take for an end to come into sight.

The matter stalemated like this. To sum it up, the situation in the West Continent at the time was: public sentiment was very outraged; mobilizing troops needed to be done immediately; funds were not in place; and progress was nonexistent.

Just as the two nations were hollering loudly but acting timidly, Empress Elizabeth in Naris, far to the west, suddenly offered them a way out. It turned out a native Dragon-kin of the Southern Continent, sharing the same roots and origination as that supposed Dragon Queen, came over to convey peaceful intentions.

Oh! So the Southern Continent doesn't really want to fight us to the very end either!

Life must go on (we still need to save face), let's turn the page on past events (turn the page on the era of joint development), as long as you don't bully us in the future (as long as you follow Naris from now on), we can cooperate well (just develop the Southern Continent well).

Although Schwari and Kadu still hungered for the Southern Continent's resources, they temporarily couldn't afford this much military expenditure; only Naris could. In that case, following Elizabeth and getting a sip of the soup was good enough.

Moreover, according to their calculations, perhaps they could leverage this troop mobilization in the Southern Continent to drag Naris into a quagmire of infinite investment, curbing Elizabeth's expansion. Why not do it?

Therefore, whether it was Schwari or Kadu, their decisions at the time were to watch a fire from the opposite bank, wanting to see Naris suffer a massive loss. Anybody with a brain knew that the supposed Yser Green Dragon-kin in the Southern Continent was definitely someone Naris had found, a puppet with no real foundations, let alone any military forces.

The main composition of the so-called "Allied Army of Southern Continent Humans and the New Dragon Court" was actually the new army drilled by Naris, supplemented with a bit of allied armies from other nations and Demi-human forces as garnish.

Due to this obvious deployment of troops and the incalculable outcome of the war, even the Parliament and all levels of society within Naris at the time generally held opposing views regarding Elizabeth's decision.

But Elizabeth stubbornly accomplished it. The Naris army performed bravely and skillfully in battles in the Southern Continent, routing the so-called "Dragon Queen" in one fell swoop, beating her back to lie dormant in the southern deep mountains, not daring to come out. All of this was because...

Hearing the Empress's voice from afar, the Prime Minister named "Eouni" stroked his mustache again, then said,

"At the time, Your Majesty employed extraordinary tactics, bribing and amnesty-ing the legendary pirate Blackbeard in the Eastern Ocean, pocketing all the ancient relics and technology of the Stormsea. When deciding to deploy troops, she rejected the dissenting views of the crowd, appointed capable and virtuous personnel, reformed the accumulated ailments in the army, and supervised the battles in real time. Naris soldiers and citizens even mostly dedicated themselves and their wealth to serve the country. All of these things were provided by our Naris. Even if Schwari and Kadu intentionally seek cooperation, they should wait a bit longer, let's leave them hanging for now..."

"I believe the official response should optimally be: 'Naris has reached a consensus with the New Dragon Court and will no longer interfere in Southern Continent affairs. Regarding any cooperative matters, we respectfully request that you discuss them in detail with the New Dragon Court; Naris will absolutely not participate.'"

The group of ministers alongside him were all speechless at this newly appointed Prime Minister.

The previous Prime Minister was from the New Party. Although many things still had to be done, countless things clashed with Empress Elizabeth's decisions. Thus, Her Majesty replaced him with a Gryphon Party Prime Minister, wanting the newly appointed one to be a bit more obedient.

But as the saying goes, extremes breed reversals.

This person was simply overly adept at flattery. In reality, he only needed to say his final sentence; the preceding litany of singing praises to her virtues and accomplishments was all complete nonsense.

And this was already the condensed version after Elizabeth's warnings. One had to know that when he first started, he could spout this kind of "implicit praise" as reasoning for several minutes. What he emphasized was simply praising her.

Up above, Elizabeth, holding her tea, slowly set down her teacup. Then she slowly stood up, revealing her elegant long dress in alternating white and gold.

Seeing Her Majesty rise, the ministers below were preparing to rise in succession. But Elizabeth merely walked over to the maid quietly waiting beside her holding a warm towel, and wiped her hands with it, serving as the conclusion to her lunch.

Then, she waved her hand to gesture for them to sit back down.

"It shall be done as such. Also, when will the matter regarding that female pirate... from the Sardin Woman's Country, be realized? Princess Isabelle is still by her side. Do you wish for my younger sister to be eaten by sharks one day?"

All the ministers remained silent, simultaneously turning their gazes towards Marix, who was in charge of the Occult Bureau.

He expressionlessly looked at his colleagues beside him, then said,

"When the Black Chief was bribed by us the year before last, he originally wanted to bring Princess Isabelle back as proof of his friendly relationship with us... or as a bargaining chip. So, without our permission, he acted prematurely, betraying that pirate from the Sardin Woman's Country by stabbing her in the back. Although that pirate suffered heavy losses and even sustained grievous injuries, she still managed to escape. But the Black Chief stated this was because Princess Isabelle... protected that pirate captain and escaped with her. He didn't dare open fire out of fear of accidentally injuring Princess Isabelle, and that was how Her Royal Highness..."

Marix had tremendous seniority and was perhaps the one among these people who was least afraid of Elizabeth.

The meaning behind his words was already so obvious it didn't need further explanation. Translated, it meant,

"Don't blame us anymore, it's your own sister; she absolutely didn't want to come back!!"

Elizabeth sat back down in her seat, no excess expression on her face, and simply asked,

"Lord Marix, I recall you have a granddaughter who is not yet an adult. I'd like to ask, if your granddaughter were rebellious and ran away from home, as her grandfather, would you bring her back or let her wander outside?"

Marix didn't take the bait, only saying,

"...According to our intelligence, that pirate captain has constantly been drifting on the ocean. The shores she's docked at previously were intercepted by us, causing a certain amount of losses. Right now, she might still be wandering in the Northern Ocean, or she might have already landed in the Northern Border. If she has already landed in the Northern Border, then she will naturally die without a place for burial. The Turan Family will keep an eye on her for us. But it seems... the Turan Family over there also has a bit of trouble to face. They didn't elaborate, but it might be related to the Sema Mountains..."

"I understand. Hand this matter over completely to you to handle. Within three months, I want to see my Isabelle return. Anyone else have anything else they want to tell me?"

"Nothing else, Your Majesty."

Elizabeth nodded, then stood up expressionlessly, leaving the discussion chamber ahead of the others, making her way toward the Inner Court where she habitually resided.

Now within the Inner Court, she was the only Godlin Royal Family member taking residence. She originally had two half-siblings, but Elizabeth had sent them both out of the palace, transferring them elsewhere.

It was unclear whether it was a rejection of any other possibilities of power from others or if Elizabeth's heart had already turned to dead ashes regarding this family's bloodline. In short, she didn't kill them, but she also didn't give them any opportunities.

The inner court of the Golden Palace was just like the outer court: there were many female Inner Court Officials and maids serving her here, yet she still felt it was completely empty, as if she were the only person in the entire Golden Palace. Those ministers, Inner Court Officials, and maids were all merely cold external tools and puppets to her...

Especially in front of her pair of eyes that could see through desires, all relationships to her had been reduced to nothing but cold profits and desires.

Precisely because of this, she grew increasingly reticent.

Even though the Golden Palace raised an increasing variety of precious canine breeds from all over the world that she kept, the place bizarrely became colder and quieter.

She had lived this kind of life for a full five years.

The maids behind followed her from the outer court back to the inner court. Many maids who were cleaning along the way bowed their heads, and the maids following behind seemed stripped of their right to make a sound, soundlessly trailing her with dragged figures until Elizabeth returned to her own bedchamber all alone.

"Go rest. There are other matters tonight."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The maids from behind retreated. Within this massive palace hall, only Elizabeth remained alone. She glanced at the desk piled high with official documents, originally intending to step towards it and handle affairs as she had envisioned.

But her steps halted midway, rooted to the spot.

For some unknown reason, she was exceptionally out of sorts today. She couldn't say she was irritable, just that she felt like doing absolutely nothing.

Perhaps she needed a vacation, but she wasn't an Empress who was tense every hour of every day. She well understood the principle of balancing work and rest. So, amidst high-intensity work, she would also schedule brief periods to rest.

But even so, it seemed no amount was ever enough. It was as if only continuous, unrelenting busyness could fill that hollow expanse that couldn't relax.

After hesitating for a moment, she walked straight to her vanity table. After sitting down quietly, the mirror reflected her expressionless face, no different from five years ago... No, it was an even younger face.

She looked at the majestic reflection of herself in the mirror, making no extraneous movements for a long time. She merely tapped the Prosthetic Eye in her eye socket, waiting for it to emit a crisp response.

"Prosthetic Eye..."

During this period, her strength would increase, and her body showed no intention of weakening.

Ever since ascending the throne, she had remained that youthful, shining as brilliantly as gold. Even her only instance of falling ill was the time Fisher had vanished without a trace after placing a call to her four and a half years ago.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

Her eye returned a meaningless response from within her mind, seemingly asking "what's up?", but Elizabeth didn't follow up with any inquiries.

She merely tapped the bell on her vanity table, seemingly waiting for something.

"Creak..."

A moment later, the doors to the bedchamber abruptly opened, revealing a smiling middle-aged beauty outside the door.

That middle-aged woman had soft facial features. She wore a pale gold slim-fitting long dress distinct from all the other maids, and her long blond hair was tied up into an elegant bun. This was Elizabeth's Inner Court Official Head, Diane, a trusted confidante of Her Majesty Elizabeth.

"Your Majesty, I have arrived. Do you have any instructions?"

"...Diane, help me comb my hair."

"Oh my, this is rare. There shouldn't be any banquets scheduled on tonight's itinerary."

Despite saying so, Diane still walked over. Very familiarly, she reached out her hands and caressed the golden hair ornaments already tied in Elizabeth's hair, removing the complex accessories from her head piece by piece in an orderly manner.

Elizabeth glanced at Diane serving her from behind. Toward her question, her expression showed little change.

"Just suddenly felt like it, that's all."

"Due to certain matters, Your Majesty?"

"Nothing at all."

"So it's like that. It's because of reasons you yourself can't clearly articulate."

"Must there absolutely be a reason?"

"That's a certainty, Your Majesty. Anyone has a reason for doing anything, and you are no exception."

Elizabeth glanced back through the mirror at the gentle Diane again, but didn't refute her rhetoric this time.

Possessing Pandora's Prosthetic Eye, which could see through everyone's desires, she naturally knew that everyone had their own purpose for doing anything; and that, of course, was desire.

Even Diane behind her was the same. She entered the Golden Palace to serve her solely hoping that her inept younger siblings could have a place to settle down. Although Diane had never mentioned it to her, Elizabeth had read her request via the Prosthetic Eye.

However, since she had never voiced it out loud, she probably felt it was inappropriate, so she merely used her salary from the Golden Palace to subsidize her family.

Elizabeth had known early on that many desires hid in the heart, and many lacked the opportunity to turn into action; but conversely, what turned into action was definitely a desire.

"Do you want me to guess Your Majesty's reason?"

"Hah, I didn't expect that aside from working diligently, you also possessed the skill to make such guesses."

"I'm honored by the praise, but in the past, I've never lost when guessing riddles with my younger siblings."

Diane stroked Elizabeth's hair and used the comb to untangle the stray hairs that had just been separated. Elizabeth didn't refuse, only stating indifferently,

"Hah, then take a guess."

"Hmm, I'm guessing... it's because of that Sir Fischer Benavides."

"Slap!!"

The expression on Elizabeth's face faded bit by bit. Then she abruptly reached out and swatted away the hand resting on her hair.

This swat, although not loud, made Diane step back. Looking down, a patch on her palm had already turned bruised.

Looking up again, she saw the Elizabeth in the mirror had turned exceedingly cold. She let out a cold laugh, and without looking back, said,

"What, did you hear the story of my past with Fisher from the streets and think you'd seized an opportunity to speculate? But mentioning it only now, isn't it a bit too late? You've worked here for four full years, don't you know what should be said and what shouldn't?"

"I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty..."

Diane forced a bitter smile and tucked her injured, bruised palm into her clothes against her chest. Having worked by Elizabeth's side for so long, she naturally knew quite a few opportunists who had relied on stories of Her Majesty Elizabeth and that long-vanished Fisher to speculate for their own gains...

But Diane knew well that the moment Her Majesty issued the demand to the captain of the Sardin Woman's Country stating, "I only demand the return of Princess Isabelle, in exchange for gold and nobility," she had ceased to seek trouble with any lady who might have had an affair with Fisher.

Perhaps she didn't truly disregard it from the bottom of her heart, but simply because that missing gentleman had once told her he would definitely return.

And this Empress had once again chosen to believe him.

Therefore, over the years, aside from matters concerning Princess Isabelle, she no longer harbored any personal emotions in any actions she took; she merely weighed them against Naris's interests.

"Then you saying these things today, are you seeking death, Diane?"

After delivering the heavy blow to Diane's palm behind her, Elizabeth didn't stop her actions. Facing the mirror, she extended her hand and began combing her own hair, asking so in a cold voice at the same time.

"Of course not, Your Majesty... It's just that earlier, when you commissioned us to inquire about the progress of the Cardinal factory in Dragon Court City in the Southern Continent, General Barbatos stationed there brought back a piece of news. I... I only wanted to confirm it with Your Majesty, but I didn't expect..."

"News?"

Elizabeth's eyes flickered slightly, but her motion of combing her hair paused.

Through the mirror, her golden eyes reflected Diane's figure behind her, and her desires were instantly laid bare.

She... did not have the desire to speculate for profit...

Then, what was that news...

"Your Majesty, the news General Barbatos brought back might be related to that Sir Fischer Benavides."

"Might?"

Elizabeth resumed combing her hair, her eyes returning to the front of the mirror.

"Yes, the General said he found a Naris gentleman skilled in using magic to block attacks intruding our factory producing Cardinals. He isn't familiar with Mr. Fisher's appearance, but only heard the female companion beside the Naris gentleman address him as 'Fisher'. General Barbatos couldn't confirm either, so he had me... report it to you."

Elizabeth continued combing her hair, yet her movements grew slower and slower.

"You mean to say, everything is uncertain, everything is merely his conjecture? I did not personally go to the Southern Continent to confer Barbatos's military rank; I only know he is brave and skilled in battle. How can you guarantee he is not an opportunist?"

"Regrettably, Your Majesty, I also cannot guarantee it. That's why I brought General Barbatos's words word for word, hoping Your Majesty would make the judgment... Of course, I also harbored a little bit of a fluke thought, thinking perhaps Your Majesty's mood could improve because of this?"

Enduring the throbbing pain in her hand, Diane reached out again, taking over the golden hair Elizabeth had yet to finish organizing, and slowly tied it up for her. She also softly added,

"Your Majesty, the intelligence finally stated that the gentleman, bringing an unfamiliar female companion, headed towards the southern part of the Southern Continent."

Behind her, after finishing her report, Diane lowered her head and cautiously stepped back, maintaining her distance and awaiting her orders.

In the mirror, Elizabeth's hair accessories took on a different appearance. She remained as beautiful as ever, the Empress of all Naris rising like the sun.

She was so full of majesty, her hollow golden eyes carrying unquestionable indifference and ruthlessness.

Over the past years, she, holding power, had always been exactly like this. Anyone, even herself, had already grown accustomed to it.

But beneath that vanity mirror, a slightly yellowed photograph still sat within its frame.

In the picture, Elizabeth and Fisher, wearing Royal Academy attire, stood shoulder to shoulder, extremely close together at the entrance of the Royal Academy. At the time, cameras were still a rarity; only a Grand Princess like Elizabeth could procure one to leave such a memento.

In the image, Elizabeth's smile was radiant, her eyes bright, and beneath their elongated scholar robes, a pair of hands were clasped tightly together.

Elizabeth looked at the photograph expressionlessly. Only her hand, which could easily have broken the Inner Court Official's hand just moments before, gripped tighter and tighter.