"Achoo—"
A student with no notable identity let out a big sneeze.
Still unaware of what they were about to encounter.
———
On the other side.
Asher sat in the office, holding his phone, and said helplessly, "Tragic, I really feel like I'm just too tragic."
As he spoke.
As if to reinforce the credibility, Asher even nodded.
Charlotte on the other end of the phone: "..."
["Heh,"] Charlotte sneered, ["You think you're tragic?"]
["How come I don't believe a single word of that."]
["All the stuff you've been stirring up at the Advanced Beast Taming Academy, I've heard all about it."]
["Your days seem pretty joyful, huh!"]
As she spoke, Charlotte still couldn't hold back and directly turned her camera.
Letting Asher see the mountain of documents piled up in front of her.
And the n+1 unfinished documents on her computer.
Charlotte showed Asher a smile that could be considered kind, ["Well?"]
["Still think you're tragic?"]
["If you really think that way, it's fine, let's just switch places!"]
She could. She was willing, 'Let me face Asher's so-called tragic life!'
As for Asher?
Heh.
Grab him for overtime. Grab him for paperwork.
Grab him to handle all the internal and external affairs that were driving her crazy.
Asher: "Ahem!"
Asher coughed twice, eyes wandering, firmly refusing to meet Charlotte's gaze.
Sometimes.
Tragedy is just relative.
When you find someone worse off than you, you start to feel like your own problems weren't so unacceptable after all.
Grading documents? Impossible.
Only by muddling along in the Advanced Beast Taming Academy could he barely survive.
"You have your field of expertise, I have mine, I think we're not suitable to mix," Asher said solemnly, righteously.
Charlotte snorted.
Didn't even want to say more. Just wanted to roll her eyes at Asher.
["Anyway, keep an eye on that, and try not to let that student of yours notice anything suspicious."]
["And try your best to get a handle on their weakness."]
Charlotte paused as she spoke, ["By the way, can you confirm the other party's identity now?"]
Asher touched his chin, "I've got some guesses, let's wait till after two more classes."
Hearing that, Charlotte nodded.
["That works too."]
Thinking about how reliable Asher usually was, Charlotte chose to trust him.
At the same time, she couldn't help but vent her frustrations to Asher and Jasmine.
["Who would've thought?"]
["Seriously, who would've thought?"]
["Planting a spy from abroad, they even reached into the students."]
And it was a genius student from the Advanced Beast Taming Academy. Just thinking about the intel she got from Evergreen City recently made Charlotte feel heartbroken.
Unlike that forgotten-name waste… ahem, elderly beast tamer in Evergreen City.
The kids at the Advanced Beast Taming Academy were all geniuses of Soren. The future of the country. The academy itself was a kind of resource, a kind of network, a kind of social capital.
Beast tamers who graduated from the academy, meeting elsewhere, wouldn't that lead to more common topics? More familiarity? It's fine when everyone's on the same side.
But once one or two bad actors sneak in among your own people… a hidden dagger is harder to guard against than an open attack.
That's exactly the problem.
"I'll find this person, don't worry," Facing Charlotte's anxiety, Asher made a promise.
Don't overthink it.
Trust him.
Looking at Asher's calm expression, Charlotte, who had been agitated for days, subconsciously relaxed a bit.
Just how reliable Asher was, Charlotte had a clear sense.
Although he looked young, and in fact was young, Asher never acted like a young man when handling business.
["Hmph, anyway, do your best,"] Charlotte sighed, ["Even if you can't find them, it's not really your responsibility."]
Hearing that, Asher smiled.
Jasmine also smiled.
'What is this?'
'We haven't even done anything yet, already helped me come up with an excuse.'
"I get what you mean," Asher said calmly, "Some things can't be rushed."
"Like that mole."
"Even if they've been planted in the academy, it's not like they can do something earth-shattering in just a few days…", As he spoke, Asher paused.
"Or maybe not?"
Asher rubbed his chin, "Like organizing a beast riot?"
"Or installing explosive weapons in the library, archives, or the cathedral?"
Charlotte: "..."
Jasmine: "..."
["Shut up, will you!"]
["Be a decent human!"]
["Saying things like that as if those things could be smuggled into our country,"] Charlotte gave a massive eye-roll, grumbling.
["Okay, I know you're trying to comfort me."]
["It's just… your way of comforting is a bit too hardcore."]
But either way, Charlotte's mood was indeed less tense and frantic than before.
Time.
They needed time.
So did the other side.
Whatever they wanted to do, it couldn't happen overnight.
Now that they'd spotted the signs early, as long as they stayed vigilant, they'd definitely uncover the problem in advance.
Even though they were keeping an eye on student activity within the academy, it didn't affect Asher's daily life much.
He got up at 7 every morning.
If it was a sunny day, he'd move the little sapling out to get some sun.
If the weather wasn't good, then never mind.
Then it was preparing breakfast for the four pet beasts at home, feeding Angel some digital snacks, and finally his own breakfast.
After finishing all this, if he had an 8 a.m. class, Asher would be heading out to teach his students.
Luckily, he was a teacher.
Being a little late sometimes wasn't a big deal.
Most of the time, Asher would arrive just on time.
If he didn't have class that morning, Asher could relax even more.
After breakfast, he'd take his four pet beasts out for a walk.
The academy was huge, and a lot of areas were very natural. Of course, there were also quite a few semi-wild beasts.
Asher didn't even have to go looking for opponents.
Just bringing his four pretty pets, especially Cat Worm, out was enough, halfway there, beasts would leap out and challenge them on their own.
If it weren't for the wrong setting, Asher would've wanted to wear a red and white tracksuit, a special baseball cap, and hold a red-and-white ball. [T/N: Pokemon reference]
'Wouldn't that feel just like wandering through grass in the wild!'
'Ahem!'
Asher shook his head.
Shook out that unreliable thought.
It was Wednesday today.
No morning class.
Asher ate breakfast in a relaxed, happy mood, brought along Little Raven, Cat Worm, Little White Snake, and Little Jellyfish, and set out grandly.
Walking down the road, Asher was still wondering what kind of beast they'd run into today.
Would it be the super fierce Bloody Koi from the lake, or the bossy Exploding Flame Tiger King from the small woods. Or that almost-spirit-level Charming Fox? But the first beast Asher met today… wasn't any of those.
It was a flirtatious Fire Fox Queen.
The moment he saw the Fire Fox Queen, Asher paused.
'Hm? Fire Fox Queen?'
Not because of anything else.
The evolution path from Little Fire Fox to Fire Fox Queen was one of the earlier ones Asher had researched.
But unlike Fairy Butterfly, because evolving from Honey Bug to Fairy Butterfly only required emotional investment.
That could be developed.
That could be cultivated.
But evolving from Little Fire Fox to Fire Fox Queen required not just time and emotion, but also a huge amount of money.
Huge.
And that's no exaggeration.
So while Asher occasionally saw a few Fairy Butterflies around, he really didn't see many people using Fire Fox Queen.
Oh.
Except for June.
Sometimes when watching club matches, Asher did spot one or two Fire Fox Queens.
But that was different.
Club teams had profit to make and money to spend. Training a Fire Fox Queen was a win-win for them.
The moment he saw this Fire Fox Queen, Asher couldn't help but look her up and down.
"Coo～"
'Foxy, am I pretty or what～'
'Look at me look at me～'
The Fire Fox Queen cooed softly at Asher, not seeming hostile, just apparently drawn to him.
Asher, understanding what she was saying: "..."
'Ahem!'
'So basically…'
'This was awkward, wasn't it? Turns out—'
There's no most awkward, only more awkward in this world.
As the Fire Fox Queen blocked Asher's way, Asher said nothing.
But Little Raven narrowed its big eyes.
Little Raven: (￢_￢)
'Heh!'
'Heh! Heh!'
'Fox?'
'Bird hates foxes the most!'
Asher didn't move as fast as Little Raven.
Little Raven dived down and launched a direct attack at the Fire Fox Queen.
Little Raven: 'Every fox! Every single one! Bird will pluck all your fur!"
'Pluck it all off! Wait?'
'What's this fox doing to Bird's beastmaster?'
'Trying to attract his attention? Outrageous!'
Little Raven decisively attacked the Fire Fox Queen. Opening with a big mouthful of flames.
Asher: "!"
Then Asher let out a breath of relief.
'Good!'
'Little Raven is rational.'
"Just normal flames. No Essence Fire, let alone Solar True Fire.'
So Asher took a glance, and left it alone.
Fire Fox Queen: "?"
Fire Fox Queen: "!"
"Coo~ Coo~ Coo~"
'Know how to pity the beauty or not! Damn single dog!'
Asher: "..."
'Good lord."
'Since when did beasts learn to talk?'
Asher stayed calm.
Asher smiled.
"Little Raven, remember to show some restraint."
As for the rest, he wasn't getting involved.
Asher declared, he never meddled in pet beast socializing.
Fire Fox Queen: "!"
Fire Fox Queen was shocked.
Fire Fox Queen began self-rescue.
'What?'
'This pet beast sprayed fire at me?'
'Then I'll spray back!'
She was the Fire Fox Queen. Fire-type techniques top-tier. And then… the Fire Fox Queen began her journey from shock to doubting life to doubting herself.
'Why?'
'Why the bird's flame is stronger than mine, the majestic fire-type Fire Fox Queen?'
Fire fox queen didn't believe it → Refused to accept it → Tried to fight back →Got taught a lesson… as a fox.
Realizing she really wasn't a match for Little Raven, the Fire Fox Queen reacted quickly.
She couldn't win this fight.
'Better run!'
The Fire Fox Queen didn't care about Asher anymore.
Turned around and tried to flee. But.
The Fire Fox Queen miserably discovered, this bird wasn't just better with fire.
Even in flying, speed, that innate talent, Little Raven was still one step ahead.
Fire Fox Queen: QAQ *Tears burst out instantly!*
'Wuwuwu! Bullying the fox!'
'Too much bullying!'
'Can't fight!'
'Can't run!'
'Wuwuwu! Beastmaster!'
Asher paused from watching the show, 'Beastmaster?'
Right at that moment, noisy footsteps came from not far away. Two people, one ahead, one behind, appeared before Asher.
"Foxy!"
"Wow! It's Teacher Asher!"
A boy and a girl. One rushed to the Fire Fox Queen, the other looked at Asher in surprise.
"Duncan, Kates," Asher recognized them at a glance.
Both were students from his small class.
Duncan Lawrence was the slightly shy boy from last time.
Kates Grahams was the other girl.
Unlike the cute-looking Eva, Kates was a lively and cheerful girl.
Her smile was like a little sun.
Looking again at Duncan…
Asher thought for a long time, but still couldn't figure out how the two of them got together?
'Is this the legendary case of an extrovert loving their introvert friend?'
'Dragging the introvert out to soak in some sunshine?'
Looking again at Duncan trying to catch up with the Fire Fox Queen, getting chased around by Little Raven, Asher chuckled and shook his head.
"Little Raven, come back."
Little Raven flapped its wings a couple more times, its golden-red eyes glaring fiercely at the Fire Fox Queen, but still flapped back unwillingly to Asher's side.
Asher opened his arms toward Little Raven.
Little Raven landed into Asher's embrace.
Asher stroked its feathers.
"What's going on with you two…", Asher looked toward the crying Duncan hugging the Fire Fox Queen, then at Kates who was cheerfully greeting him.
"I've heard a lot about your super powerful pet beast, Teacher!", Kates's eyes landed on Little Raven first.
Then she answered Asher's question.
"There was no morning class today, so Duncan and I agreed to come out and battle. But unexpectedly…"
'Ahem!'
As she spoke, Kates glanced over at the Fire Fox Queen.
"That's Duncan's pet beast?", Asher looked at the Fire Fox Queen, "Why did it run out?"
'Normally, pet beasts stay close to their tamers.'
'That's basic common sense, right?'
"Ahem, well…", Kates looked a little embarrassed.
She scratched her nose and admitted guiltily, "It might be my fault."
"I didn't expect that Duncan's Fire Fox Queen had that kind of personality."
"She just had to compare her charm with any pretty girl she saw."
Asher: "That doesn't seem too strange?"
"Not that weird."
"The issue is, the Fire Fox Queen is male!", Duncan shouted from his chest.
Asher: "..."
'Ahem!'
'Well, that's a bit…'
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