She pressed her hand on his head to stop him from hugging her. Then she said, "Don't thank me too much. You already thanked me earlier, and once is enough. Besides, if I want to do something for you, your appreciation is not the reason why I would do it."
Ruff had rushed over to hug too. So Arthur carried him into his embrace as he refuted his mother, "But my appreciation will show that I am grateful for your gift."
"If you want to show that you're grateful, then take care of Ruff. Don't let the money I paid for him go to waste."
He nodded and said, "I promise to take care of him."
Lady smiled and ruffled his head. This time, he didn't avoid her hand.
Then he sat down to eat while she sat in the rocking chair to read.
Ruff knelt in front of him and begged to have a piece of his food. It made him laugh.
Ruff's appearance changed his life. The puppy followed him everywhere and even slept in the same bed with him.
Ruff made his isolation more than bearable. But he was still glad when Lady Vena proclaimed that he was ready to leave his room and return to the training facility a week later.
As usual, Thompson was around to go for training with him. The boy had been coming with Geltra to work ever since he began training. This way, she was able to prepare lunch for him and Arthur together.
The two boys got into the carriage and left for the training facility. Things were silent as usual, except that there was a puppy with them.
Ruff was sitting on Arthur's lap with his tongue sticking out of his mouth. His eyes were glued to the window where the scenery moved by.
Something odd happened after a while of silence. Thompson broke the silence for the first time.
He said to Arthur, "You've grown bigger."
Arthur smiled and replied, "It must be the medicine my mother got for me to heal my sickness."
Thompson nodded in understanding, but he didn't really care about that. He moved to what he truly wanted after breaking the ice with an attempt to show concern.
He asked, "Can I touch the puppy?"
Arthur nodded in reply. So Thompson tried to touch Ruff.
Ruff noticed his actions and began to growl. He displayed his teeth and emanated a low sound from his throat, threatening Thompson not to get closer to him. Arthur had to instruct him to calm down before Thompson could touch him.
Despite Ruff being cute and looking gentle, he was a dangerous animal capable of intense violence in the blink of an eye. Only those who have seen him eat will suspect that he is not as harmless as he looks.
Arthur was also surprised when he first saw the full eating session of Ruff. The little dog had torn into the slab of fresh meat that was given to him as if he was killing the meat again.
Ruff only eats meat, and the meat has to be fresh. He can be forced to eat other things, other meat, and can even eat cooked meat, but he prefers fresh bloody meat the most.
The sight of him eating had made Arthur glad for the presence of the collar. It was only because of the collar that he felt it was safe enough to bring his fleshy hand close to Ruff.
He wasn't surprised by the sight of Ruff growling at Thompson either. He had seen it happen many times with the servants.
Ruff takes his job as a guard seriously. So Arthur had to instruct him to be gentle as Thompson combed through his golden fur with his fingers.
But he didn't need to hold Ruff back after a while because the dog was enjoying his ministrations. Ruff wagged its tail furiously, which made Arthur and Thompson laugh.
Eventually, they had to stop having fun with Ruff when they reached the training facility. They dropped down and walked into the facility to begin their day of training.
As he walked into and through the facility, a lot of people came over to greet him. Their number and enthusiasm were equal to, if not more than, what he encountered on his first day. It is because they were concerned about him.
"Lord Red, I heard that you were sick. Are you fine now?"
""How are you feeling?"
They were very concerned about him and wanted to know if he was feeling well. But then they saw Ruff and shifted their focus to fawning over him.
They wanted to pet him, but Ruff didn't like the attention. He growled and barked at all of them. Arthur didn't tell him to stop, so he became bolder with his barking.
Arthur shook his head and said, "Don't mind him; he doesn't like people so much."
After a while, he was able to complete the exchange of pleasantries and depart from the crowd. Then he made his way to his class.
Since he had reached the fourth transformation, he couldn't train with the boys and girls at the second transformation. This meant that he had to part ways with Thompson.
Thompson went towards the building for his class while he went in the direction of the fields for his class.
The large building at the center of the training facility is used for the first two introductory classes, as offices for the instructors, and for storage of training equipment.
He can't participate in the first two introductory classes anymore because they are for second transformation children starting their training and third transformation children starting to work with mana breathing, not fourth transformation children.
As a fourth transformation child, he should start training with advanced mana techniques. It is unprecedented that a seven-year-old boy will be at the fourth transformation, but rules are rules.
So he went to stand in the formation with other teenagers waiting in the field for their instructor to arrive.