The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Wait, wait! Miss Mint, what... what do you mean by 'new head of the family'? Can you explain?!"

Although the green-haired fox maid didn't intend to kill him to silence him, it was a good thing for Fish. However, her actions still greatly surprised him—what was this "head of the family"? Why did she suddenly kneel down? What on earth was going on?

"As you can see, Princess Ange swore a blood oath, but failed to fulfill it because of your appearance. In order to salvage her honor, she challenged you to a duel that risked everything, but failed once again—in effect, you have just theoretically won 'everything' for Her Highness."

"Everything?" Fish was stunned. "For example?"

"Her family name, her inheritance rights, titles, ranks, honorifics, coat of arms, and all public and private property that theoretically belongs to her, including existing and future inheritances. Her fiefdoms, her retinue, and of course, herself." The green-haired fox girl who called herself Mint introduced herself in a calm tone, as if she were referring to someone else completely unrelated to herself.

“She seems to be a very important person,” Xiaoxing said, “but we know nothing about it.”

"I can explain everything to you, please believe me," Mint said.

"Hey, hey, hey! No, how could you just tell me all this without my permission?!" Ange, still unable to get up and being fed water by two maids while her head was being held up, cried out in a panic, nearly choking herself. "How could I just tell outsiders about these things?!"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. But now, it seems we can no longer call Mr. Fish an 'outsider'," the green-haired fox woman said righteously. "This is the result of your decision—you swore a blood oath and staked everything on the honor of the nobility. And now, you've lost the gamble."

"I know……"

"Then you wouldn't want to become an oathbreaker, bringing shame upon your family name and coat of arms, would you?"

"Of course... of course not." Although she hesitated for a while, Ange finally made up her mind. "But Mr. Fish is an 'unclean'! If he were just an ordinary commoner, it would be fine! But marrying an 'unclean' is no different from marrying livestock... Ah, sorry, I didn't say anything!" Ange, who had already let slip, quickly tried to cover it up.

"Alright. Mr. Fish, Miss Xiaoxing, I have some things that I need to discuss privately with my master... to reach a consensus," Mint sighed and said to Fish and Xiaoxing, "Could you two please give me a little time?"

"As you wish," Fish quickly replied. Xiao Xing nodded as well.

After receiving permission, Mint pulled a small, retractable antenna-like device with a tripod from the pocket of her loose maid's dress, placed it next to Ange, who was still blushing and panting, and then pressed the red activation button on the device's base. Fish was then surprised to find that their conversation had stopped.

"What's going on?" Xiaoxing asked.

"It's a portable soundproofing system, originally evolved from a small directional sound energy emitter. Its working principle is to destructively interfere with sound waves propagating in a specific direction, that is, to cancel and interfere with sound waves of the corresponding frequency," Huang Yan's remote control terminal flew between the two of them, slowly circling in the air, "It's not anything particularly complicated, but not many have survived to this era."

"So it's just another one of those rich people's toys," Fish concluded.

"Yes, but it's not a big problem," Huang Yan said. "I roughly know what they're talking about."

"ha?"

"Because they trust this little toy so much, they've even forgotten that others can read lips. Please be patient, both of you. I'll send you the interpreted audio now, which is guaranteed to be at least 97% accurate. How about that?"

"Uh, okay." Although he felt a bit immoral about invading someone's privacy, Fish's curiosity and desire to obtain more useful information ultimately prevailed. He nodded, agreeing to Huang Yan's actions. Then, he heard their conversation... albeit read aloud by Huang Yan's artificial voice.

"…Mint, are you crazy?! Even if you're the female officer Father appointed for me, I can't let you decide my life like this!" On the other end of the soundproof system, Ange, who had just recovered, shouted anxiously to the green-haired fox girl, "I still need to find my true love in my grand adventure! How can you just let it all slip away like this…"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but it was actually your decision: if you hadn't been so hasty in making that blood oath, and hadn't been so arrogant in demanding a duel with Mr. Fish, there would still have been room for maneuver. But now, all I can say is that everyone must take responsibility for their own choices."

"But you swore allegiance to me—"

"I first swear allegiance to the Lindenhild family, then to the royal bloodline in the Duchy of Fayun, and lastly to you personally, Your Highness. And you know the maxim, 'Value honor more than life,'" Mint interrupted her master, "or rather, are you prepared to betray honor and tarnish the family name?"

"No...that's not what I meant..."

Although Ange was quietly sobbing with tears streaming down her face throughout the conversation, the person most surprised after hearing these words was actually Fish: in the taverns of Oasis City, rumors related to royalty and nobility were always the most popular. Although most of these "palace secrets" were just ramblings uttered under the influence of alcohol poisoning, some basic common sense was still known to everyone.

For example, over the course of nearly a thousand years of history, the descendants of Alicia, the "Sword Goddess" among the ancient "Three Heroes," gradually evolved into the modern Pan-Pacific Empire's royal family, whose family name is "Lindenhild." Although the rulers of the various states under the empire have changed frequently and not all of them are related to the royal family, the family to which the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Fayun belongs—the Fayun family—does indeed possess royal blood due to numerous intermarriages.

The motto of the Fayun family is "to value honor more than life."

"No way? Really?" Fish muttered to himself. Although he had indeed guessed that the young lady in front of him was most likely a noble of astonishingly high status, judging from their current conversation, Ange was very likely...

"Hey, Mr. Fish. I never thought those legends could actually come true," Xiao Xing whispered in Fish's ear in disbelief, "that insignificant people like us, who are as unknown as sea cockroaches on rocks, can actually encounter stars in the sky."

"Hehehe, so why do people always say 'fantasy originates from reality'?" Fish tried his best to suppress the surprise deep in his heart and forced a calm smile at Xiaoxing.

"...Your Highness, since you are unwilling to tarnish the family's reputation, then 'how to do it' is no longer a problem: you 'have no choice but to do it this way' now," Mint continued to speak for her master as Fish and Xiaoxing whispered to each other. "First of all, it's a matter of honor; secondly, even setting aside honor, this is the most practical approach."

"practical?"

"Don't forget, our current situation is far from optimistic. Your Highness may be the rightful heir to the Duchy of Fayun, but right now, you only have a fast sailing ship and a few ladies-in-waiting like us," Mint said. "Whatever has happened to the Duchy, this force is insufficient to turn the tide."

"I know that. But I can go and find reinforcements... I'm sure it will be helpful to those loyal to me..."

"That's hard to say—in the worst-case scenario, most of the people you'd be looking for would probably be more willing to sell you out to the usurpers," Mint dismissed Ange's idea. "And many more scoundrels—mercenary warbands, adventurers, bandits, and criminal groups not affiliated with any faction—would be bribed by our enemies for potentially large sums of money and then turn against us. The ship that attacked us just now certainly won't be the last one."

"Waaah..."

"So, Mr. Fish can now provide us with protection—I've already observed him, and his intelligent combat armor is extremely rare, top-quality equipment, definitely 'diamond' level. Although there are currently over nine hundred registered armored warriors in the entire Principality of Fayun, I can guarantee that none of them can produce combat armor of this level!"

"Really?" Ange asked.

"Otherwise, how were you shot down? While your own arrogance and lack of vigilance were major factors, it's undeniable that the combat armor possessed its own independent consciousness. Just look at the performance of its remote control terminal," Mint continued. "With such a high level of intelligence, its owner is no ordinary person. Moreover, he had a companion who was also an armored warrior. If they used their abilities properly, these two would be equivalent to a small army!"

"But I can make him my retainer. I can also hire him as a servant..."

"It's impossible, Your Highness. Mr. Fish clearly doesn't want to be your vassal. Moreover, you currently have no control over the vast majority of the Duchy's immense wealth. Besides, we're complete strangers to Mr. Fish, so he has no reason to help us! The best way to gain his trust is to make him the one in control."

"So, I now have to obey an 'unclean'..." Ange's expression was as terrible as if she had to go to a garbage dump to find dinner.

"This is for your family, for the Duchy of Fayun—your own wishes and interests are at most third in comparison," Mint said. "Although Fish alone is not enough to defeat all our enemies, he is indeed the key to turning the tide at this moment. In a sense, being able to grasp such a lifeline at this moment is an immense stroke of luck bestowed upon us by the god of fate."

"I see."

Have you made up your mind?

"For the honor of the duchy and my family... I... I can do... anything."

After the conversation ended, Ange remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke with the resolute tone of someone willingly walking to the guillotine. She then stood up with the help of two other maids and turned off the portable soundproofing system. She then walked over to Fish and Xiaoxing.

After her combat armor, "Golden Soup," transformed back into a magnificent dress, Ange knelt down on one knee before Fish.

“My name is Ange Katrina Tipharisa Lyndenhild-Fayun,” Ange said in a calm yet unsettling tone. “You may continue to call me Ange. I am the Grand Duchy of Fayun, the eldest daughter of Elon II, and the de facto heir to the Duchy.”

"Glug."

After Ange finished her self-introduction, the stadium, which had just been bombarded by the duel between the two and looked like the surface of the moon, fell into a deathly silence. Everyone could clearly hear Fish nervously swallowing.

"Every word I have said is true. I swear on the name of the Lyndon Hilde-Fayen family." Perhaps fearing that Fish would not believe her, Ange quickly added.

"Wait, it's not that I don't believe you." Fish quickly helped Ange up from her kneeling position. "I... I'm just a little surprised that the princess of Fayun is here?"

“Yes, I’ve encountered some terrible things,” Ange nodded. “I’m currently in exile. And my enemies are obviously using all sorts of underground channels to contact any forces that might be at their disposal, trying to hunt me down—that ship just now belonged to one of the warbands they’ve secretly hired.”

"That's terrifying," Xiaoxing said.

"However, thanks to you for saving me," Ange said, "your bravery and courageous act..."

"Uh, we were just after revenge," Fish's conscience compelled him to tell the truth, even though the misunderstanding was more advantageous to them. "Actually... Xiaoxing and I also came to the ruins of Twilight City on the ship 'Waves.' Theoretically speaking, we were companions with the people on the ship."

"Is that so?"

Fish nodded, then spent about fifteen minutes telling Ange about his past with Xiaoxing. The latter's expression gradually became heavy—especially when she heard that all his companions had been used as disposable bait and died in the attack of chimeras; she even showed anger.

"However, you said you have no memory of it, and that you were swept to Oasis City in a strange tsunami," Ange said after listening to Fish's account. "This is very unusual... but I have seen related records in the Duchy's secret archives in the past."

"Did they say anything in there?" Fish asked.

"Yes, according to ancient records, there have occasionally been people of unknown origin who appeared after strange natural disasters. Without exception, they all accomplished extraordinary feats," Ange nodded. "Unlike others, these people, known as the 'Chosen Ones,' are special. But because the records are incomplete, no one knows exactly what this 'specialness' refers to."

"Uh... I see." Seeing that Ange couldn't provide any more valuable information, Fish shrugged in disappointment.

"However, none of that matters anymore. Because, based on the outcome of the duel just now, and the oath I swore before the duel, everything I have has been lost to you in a fair duel," Ange changed to a kneeling position, pressing her forehead against Fish's toes, "Now, I acknowledge your ownership of everything I possess, including myself... and my inheritance rights also belong to you."

"Wait a minute, what does this mean? Does it mean I have to become a Grand Duke?!" Fish was completely stunned.