"Grandpa!" Nox jumped up in fright because he hadn't sensed his grandfather approaching. It felt as if he had appeared out of thin air, which baffled Nox since his grandfather was usually very weak and slow. Shouldn't he have sensed him?
'Wait, has he been watching all this time? Did he see everything?' Nox's eyes widened. He hurriedly turned to his grandfather, already fabricating a story in his head, but Nathan beat him to it.
"I already know everything, brat. Do you think your little brain could play tricks on me?" Nathan said with a smirk.
"What are you talking about?" Nox whistled, looking away. Although he appeared calm, he was panicked shitless on the inside. What does this old man mean by "know everything"?
A heavy sigh escaped Nathan's mouth, and a sad look appeared in his eyes. "Tell me," he said, looking his grandson straight in the eyes. "Did you think we, your family, would disown you just because you awakened the Beast Tamer class?"
Nox's heart raced. He had heard from the goddess Terra that only a handful of people knew about the Beast Tamer class. It seemed his grandfather was part of that 'handful.' The five-year-old opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Indeed, he had been scared of his family's reaction.
"I thought so," Nathan shook his head, the disappointment very evident on his face. "Do you even trust us—"
Before he could finish his words, Nox embraced his grandpa: "I trust you, Mom, my stupid sister, Aunt Camila, and Serana with all my heart, but… but I was foolish. I should've told you everything from the start, but I was scared. I really love all of you. I didn't want to ruin it. Please don't be angry at me, Grandpa."
Nathan felt the wetness on his skin and could easily tell it was Nox's tears. Bringing his hands, he began to stroke the boy's head. He could feel the latter's emotions, each of his words coming right from the bottom of his heart.
"I'm not angry at you," Nathan said, still stroking Nox's head. Because the latter had admitted he was wrong, Nathan had forgiven him but warned Nox never to hide anything from them again because they were family.
When Nathan had asked Nox how he knew about the temple, he had told him that he got the message from Terra, the goddess of beast taming, in his dream. There was no need to tell the old man about his past life because that was it… the past.
"So this haughty cat is your first tamed creature?" Nathan stared at the cat with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
[What is this senile mongrel doing here!] Fluffington started to visibly tremble when he saw Nathan's eyes that held a glint of craziness. Fluffington was brave; he hardly feared anyone, but this old man was one of the few he was terrified of.
Nox, watching this unspoken reaction, was at a loss for words. The almighty Fluffington was scared? He wasn't even scared of that demonic dog, yet he was frightened of his near-death grandpa? Because the two souls were now linked, Nox could feel Fluffington's emotions clearly.
"Ahem, do you need help with something?" Nathan suddenly voiced out as he turned to Nox. The latter was about to decline and tell his grandpa to rest and not exert himself, but then a thought struck him.
"Yes, actually, I want to train Fluffington, but…" Nox stated with a smirk on his face.
[This is how we're playing now? Kid, if you dare make me exert myself, I swear to cripple you!]
'Hmph, do you think we're in some sort of bullshit cultivation novel?' Nox sneered with a dismissive attitude. 'I fear no man!'
[Oh, we'll see about that tonight!]
Soon, under his grandpa's guidance, Nox instructed Fluffington to run in circles at top speed. The prideful cat hesitated. He didn't like stress one bit; the only time he liked running was when it was necessary.
But a glare from Nathan threw that begrudgingness out of the window, and the cat was running in no time.
Nox nodded in satisfaction as he watched the cat, even though his eyes could barely keep up with the speed. Watching the cat's speed now, Nox realized that he had not been moving at his full speed the other day, perhaps scared that Nox might fall off.
'Beast Tamers, are they this weird?' Nathan mused when he saw Nox and Fluffington's back-and-forth banter. One was meowing, and the other was just moving his mouth, but no words were coming out. "And I thought I was the insane one."
Bzzzz—!
Just as he was lost in thought, a slight vibration came from his pocket. Dipping his hand in, he produced a communication crystal, a very expensive product of runesmiths that only a limited number of people had in the Vermilion Kingdom and even the entire Far West, allowing people to communicate like a telephone.
Injecting his bluish mana into the communicator, a voice said from the other side.
[Boss, Doombringer has been shot!] A panicked voice called out. The voice belonged to Nathan's personal assistant and caretaker of his wyvern that terrorized the evildoers of the western region of the Vermilion Kingdom.
The wyvern wasn't with him because it was the guardian of the west. From the reports, it seemed it had been shot down by bandits while on duty.
"Cough! Cough!" Nathan's face turned beet red in anger, and he started to cough violently, his entire body trembling. "Those stupid bandits, it seems I've been too lenient on them."
He turned to the two who were arguing among themselves. "Nox, Fluffington, do you guys want to go on a robbery?"