He sighed in relief when he heard that the maid hadn't been killed because of him. It caused Lady Vena's eyes to glint. But she didn't say anything about what she considered his excessive attachment to the servants.
Instead, she sat on the rocking chair by his bed and opened her book to read while waiting for him to finish eating.
He asked her as he sat on the soft carpet to eat. "You read that book a lot. What is it about?"
She replied without looking up, "It is a book about the fire-breathing mana technique. You will learn more about mana breathing techniques when you resume school."
He spoke after swallowing his eggs. "Cool. What's it about?"
"Mana breathing techniques are a better alternative to exercise. Exercise tries to increase the capacity of the body and activity of mana in the body. But that's like beating a drum to make the water within it move. Mana breathing is more efficient because it can be likened to stirring the water directly."
"Another example is likening exercise to breaking the walls of a building to increase ventilation in the body and cool your body. But with mana breathing, you get someone to blow a fan on you within the building."
He nodded and said, "So the difference is that exercise affects mana passively while mana breathing affects it actively."
She looked up and said, "Exactly."
She was so impressed with his understanding that she smiled and rubbed his red hair. "My smart little boy. I'm sure you'll achieve great things and reach great places."
He was embarrassed by her praises because he felt that he was cheating with his intelligence. So he tried to avoid her hand by moving his head away.
But she only smiled wider and made sure to ruffle his hair more.
Eventually she stopped and said, "You're right to consider it from the perspective of active and passive. But that is not the whole story. Mana breathing is both passive and active."
Before he could ask her what she meant, she said, "Don't be in a hurry to know. You will find out in the training facility and will also get your mana breathing technique."
He nodded while she continued. "With your intelligence, I can be rest assured to let you begin the next class of training. I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle it."
He puffed out his chest comically and said with pride. "I can handle anything."
She didn't refute his claim. She only smiled and said, "I'm sure you can."
He finished his meal, and she took the tray away. Then he fell asleep soon after.
His evening was exactly the same as yesterday's. But there was another major difference today.
Not only did his mother bring his food to him again, she brought a small creature with her too. The creature was a tiny golden-furred puppy.
She said, "Meet Ruff. He will be your pet from today onwards."
He didn't want a pet, but he didn't mind one either. Besides, he could say no to the cute, fluffy face of the little Ruff.
When he hugged Ruff, and it leaked his face, he couldn't help but laugh, and a warm feeling spread through his chest.
He said, "He is so cute. Thanks, mother."
Lady Vena smiled and said, "I'm glad you like Ruff. But don't be fooled by his looks. He will grow up to become a large, dangerous creature. If taken care of very well, he has the potential to reach rank 2. You might lose control of it, so care has to be taken before then."
She produced a golden metallic collar. It was made of interlocking metal embedded in an elastic material so it could be expanded.
As he looked at it curiously, she said, "Put your blood on this and put it on his neck."
She also produced a pin for him to use.
He took the pin and collar from her. Then he punctured his finger and smeared it on the collar.
This causes some previously hidden runes on the collar to appear. They were white, but they changed to red as his blood spread all over them. Then they disappeared, making the collar look no different than what it was before.
After that, he put it around Ruff's neck. But there was a visible effect apart from the fact that the collar shrank to fit Ruff's neck. The puppy was still as happy and boisterous as before.
He asked her, "That was flashy, but was that all there is to it?"
She replied, "Yes, that's it. With this arrangement, Ruff will never hurt you. He will also be able to understand your instructions better, and he will always be able to find you as long as your location is not complicated."
"OH," he said with excitement and wanted to give it a try. "Let me test it."
He dropped Ruff to the ground and said to him, "Ruff, sit."
The dog tilted his head in confusion and stared at him. It made his mother roll her eyes and say, "You still need to train him. He won't just magically understand what you want right from the start."
He said, "Oh, I see."
But even with this drawback, he was still impressed by what he saw and heard about its functions.
So he said, "This kind of tool and dig can't be cheap."
Lady Vena nodded. "It is not cheap. It is the sort of thing I could never have had as a child. But you need a guardian that will be by your side, always ready to protect you at all times with their life. The answer is either a slave or a pet."
"A slave would have drawn too much attention to you. Besides, they are still not as trustworthy as a pet. So I picked a pet."
He stood up and tried to hug her to thank her for the gift. It wasn't easy for him because he was a grown man hugging a lady younger than his mental age in an attempt to show appreciation. But it was worse than that because she didn't allow it.