"Haha," Mark chuckled, "I'm honored to see that my reputation has reached your ears." Mark said with a smile. Petting the head of the golden hawk, which was now seated in his lap.
William leaned forward onto his table, "I have a request for you, Mark." William started, his tone changing to a serious one.
Mark understood and put on a serious expression, ready to listen to what the duke had to tell him.
"My daughter had recently Awakened an affinity for Beast Taming magic. The crystal showed that it was weak, but I'm sure you've heard of the rumors that had been circulating around lately.
She had managed to tame an D-Rank Beast, and while I'm not so sure of how she managed to do it, I'm certain that she had somehow managed to increase it's power by several times." The duke said, pausing for a few seconds for Mark to take everything in.
"Her Beast Taming magic isn't ordinary, it highly surpasses it. While we don't know anything about Beast Taming, since our family consists of mages, you do. And I want you to mentor her and study her abilities, and report back to me."
William said as he opened his drawer and took out a few small bags, filled to the brim with gold coins. "This is just the base amount I'm willing to pay for you to accept, after you're done with your job, I'll pay you alot more."
Mark's eyes glinted as he saw the amount of gold coins in the bags, he do quite alot with that money alone, and when he heard the duke would be paying alot more for when he was done, he was instantly sold.
"Alright, I accept." Mark said as he rose from the couch and grabbed the bags, stuffing them all into his pockets.
"Excellent, well then, let's start right away, shall we?" The duke said as he rose from his chair and walked towards the door, pushing it open and walking through the halls.
Alfred followed close behind the duke and signalled for Mark to follow them, using his head. Mark quickly understood and caught up to them, following them as the duke led him to Liora's room.
------
Liora stood by her window, looking outside with a rather bored expression. A tired sigh escaped her lips as she couldn't much, she couldn't even sleep and wait for night time anymore, as she killed all the slimes on her favorite hunting ground.
A knock on her door jolted her awake as she quickly walked over to open it, there she saw the faces of her father, Alfred, and a strange, yet intriguing man at her door.
"Liora," William started, "I have found you a mentor to help train your beast taming abilities." William said as he looked over at Mark, and Mark stepped forward to introduce himself:
"Greetings, young mistress." Mark said with a bow, "I am Mark Veils. Also known as the Master Of The Crimson Bonds."
Liora's eyes widened slightly as she suddenly recognized the man infront of her, he was a renowned Beast Tamer of the Bolorious guild, an A-Rank adventurer she had read about a few months ago.
Liora shot a glance at her father, he narrowed his eyes a little and Liora already knew that she couldn't refuse him, atleast not right now. She returned her gaze to Mark and nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"Alright, I accept. I am now in your care." Liora said respectfully, and William smiled in satisfaction.
"I'll be taking my leave now." William said as he walked back to his office, with Alfred following closely behind him.
Once they were gone, the room became a bit silent with neither party saying anything. Sensing the awkward tension in the air, Mark spoke up:
"Liora, right? The one who tried to escape from the mansion, correct?" Mark asked, trying his best not to sound rude.
'Did my reputation fall that low? Is this what the people know me by now?' Liora thought inwardly with a sigh.
"Yes, that is me." Liora replied firmly, her eyes showing intrigue at the bird perched on his shoulder.
"Is that your pet?" Liora asked curiously.
Mark looked at the hawk on his shoulder, before turning back to her and nodding. "Yes this is my pet hawk, Talon. He's from the golden hawk species, I found him on one of my adventures." Mark explained.
"That's very interesting," Liora mused, silently appraising the bird in her mind.
[Name: (Elite)Golden Hawk-Talon Lv75]
[Strength: 8000] [Defense: 5000]
[Agility: 10000] [Intelligence: 7000]
[Skills]
[Quick Flight] [Bird's Roar] [Talon Sharpening] [Eagle Eyes]
'Holy smokes! This bird is strong as hell! For a guy to be able to tame this thing, must mean that he is very powerful.' Liora thought, a bit terrified of the power Mark might possess.
"So, tell me Mark. Is the only beast you have? Or are there others?" Liora asked, her interest in him increasing.
Mark's eyes blinked for a moment, before answering: "No, there are many other beasts I have. They aren't just with me at the moment, most of them are resting after a dungeon expedition." Mark explained.
"You also have Beast Taming magic, correct? I heard you tamed a beast earlier to escape the Royal Capital." Mark asked.
"Yes, I do. But my beast got killed shortly after, so I don't have one currently." Liora replied, her expression turning a bit sad after thinking about Saber.
'This could be an excellent opportunity to see her beast taming abilities first hand.' Mark thought inwardly.
"Do you want to get a new one?" Mark asked, "I can take you to the guild and help you register as an adventurer. I know a ton of great places for newcomers to practice their beast taming abilities, or we can enter a dungeon and you might find what you like in there." Mark said.
The thought of obtaining a new beast didn't really sit well with Liora, she was still very attached to Saber and it would probably take her a while for her to get over it. But the mention of dungeons also added another opportunity, to help her get much stronger.
'If i go with him and register, not only will i be able to escape Lance for now, but I also will be able to hunt alot more higher-levelled monsters, and grow a lot stronger.' Liora thought with a grin before looking up to him.
"Yes," Liora affirmed and Mark grinned in satisfaction.
"Excellent."