Chapter 88 - - 88: Making Arrangements

Chapter 88: Chapter - 88: Making Arrangements

Once the final lot is sold and the auctioneer announces the conclusion of the Grand Auction, the atmosphere inside the hall gradually begins to loosen as the bidders start leaving their seats.

Elena, Maya, Dalas, and I remain in our private balcony for a little longer, mainly because there is no reason to rush into the crowd while everyone else is trying to leave at the same time.

Eventually, one of the auction staff members arrives at our balcony and politely informs us that our purchased lots are ready for collection.

We follow him through a private corridor rather than returning through the main hall, and after passing through several secured doors, we arrive at the area where the auction house stores the items that have already been sold.

The first thing handed over to us is the Night Condensing Bracelet.

The silver-colored bracelet is placed carefully into a small padded box, and I immediately recognize the two black gems embedded into its surface.

Elena check it briefly before placing it inside her storage device.

After completing the necessary confirmation, the staff member informs us that the Spirit Hawks are being kept in a separate area because they require special handling.

We follow him again.

The further we go, the quieter the auction house becomes, until we eventually reach a large room designed specifically for magical creatures. Several reinforced cages are placed around the area, although most of them are empty at this hour.

The two Spirit Hawks are kept together in a considerably larger enclosure toward the back.

The mother hawk immediately notices us when we approach.

Her sharp eyes turn toward me, and the faint cyan glow surrounding her body becomes slightly more noticeable beneath the room’s lighting.

The younger hawk, meanwhile, simply looks around curiously.

The staff member unlocks the cage only after preparing a small magical formation on the floor.

"This formation will help stabilize the contract process," he explains. "Since both Spirit Hawks are already registered as auctioned creatures, the process itself should be straightforward, but we still recommend having an experienced staff member oversee the initial contract."

I nod.

The Spirit Hawks are spirit beasts rather than ordinary magical beasts, so I have no intention of trying something unfamiliar without proper supervision.

The staff member first explains the process to Elena.

"The younger Spirit Hawk is the easier one to contract. Please place your hand near her forehead and release a small amount of your mana. Do not force your mana into her body. The contract will form naturally if she accepts you."

Elena follows the instructions. She kneels beside the smaller hawk and slowly extends her hand.

The mother hawk watches her closely from behind with her sharp eyes but it seems she understand that doing anything will only bring harm to itself so it just remains there.

Meanwhile the little bird watches Elena’s fingers approaching, tilting its head slightly as though it is trying to understand what she is doing.

Elena stops just before touching her "Can I?"

The hawk obviously does not answer.

The staff member say "She does not understand human speech well enough to respond, but you can proceed."

Elena carefully places her hand against the little hawk’s forehead and a faint cyan glow spreads across the bird’s body.

At the same time, a thin magical pattern appears beneath Elena’s hand before gradually spreading outward.

The process is surprisingly gentle and there is no violent burst of energy or resistance.

The smaller hawk simply remains still, its eyes blinking several times while the contract takes shape.

A few moments later, the glow fades.

The staff member checks the formation and nods "The contract has been established."

Elena’s face immediately brightens, she strokes the little hawk’s head carefully, although the bird seems more confused than pleased by the gesture.

"You are really cute."

The hawk tilts its head again. I cannot tell whether it understands anything she is saying.

Probably not.

The staff member then turns toward me.

"The bigger hawk will be somewhat more difficult."

I nodded and stepped closer to the cage.

The larger Spirit Hawk immediately fixes her eyes on me.

There is a noticeable difference between her and the younger bird. The smaller one is curious but this one is evaluating me.

Her gaze moves from my face to my hand, then briefly toward her child before returning to me.

I slowly extend my hand "I am not going to hurt you."

The hawk continues staring at me.

The staff member gives me a slightly amused look "She may not understand every word, but she appears capable of understanding simple intentions and commands better than most spirit beasts."

*That is useful*

I place my hand against the side of her head. Unlike the younger hawk, she does not immediately accept the contact.

Her body stiffens slightly and I can feel the wind attribute mana moving through her ethereal body, and there is a subtle resistance when my mana comes into contact with hers.

I did not force it. Instead, I allow my mana to remain steady and let the contract formation gradually establish itself.

The hawk watches me the entire time.

The magical formation beneath us begins glowing cyan and for a brief moment, the pressure against my mental strength increases.

It is not enough to cause any real difficulty, but it is considerably stronger than what Elena might have experienced with the younger hawk.

I maintain my focus and the resistance eventually weakens. The contract formation completes as the cyan light fades.

The mother hawk withdraws her head slightly and studies me again. There seems to be recognition in her eyes, not for me but for the spirit contract.

*She knows that the contract now exists.*

I can sense a faint connection between us and the same might apply to her.

The staff member checks the completed formation before nodding " It is contacted successfully."

I looked at the hawk again.

Although the contract prevents her from simply ignoring me completely, I have no intention of assuming that means she suddenly trusts me.

Contracts and trust are two different things.

The staff member begins preparing the documents for transferring ownership, while Elena looks between the two hawks.

"Do they have names?"

The staff member looks slightly surprised by the question before shaking his head.

"No. They were brought here no long ago."

Elena looks toward the smaller hawk "Then we need to name them."

I glance at her. She seems to take the responsibility rather seriously.

She studies the larger hawk for a few moments, then the smaller one, apparently trying to find something appropriate.

"What about..." She pauses.

Nothing follows. She tries again, but after another moment she shakes her head "I can’t think of anything good right now."

"Then let’s decide later."

Elena nods "That is probably better. I don’t want to give them some random name just because I could not think of anything."

I agree, given how intelligent that bigger hawk it, the name might be the important step of forming bond with her.

And there is no need to rush.

Once the ownership transfer is completed, I ask the staff about purchasing a cage.

I cannot put living creatures inside my storage device, and carrying two spirit hawks around without any proper enclosure would obviously be inconvenient.

Fortunately, the auction house has several suitable cages available for purchase.

I buy one large enough to comfortably house both birds for the moment.

I also purchase another cage and place it inside my storage device. There is no reason to separate the mother and daughter immediately, especially when neither has developed any real trust toward Elena or me yet.

The only reason they have not attempted to escape is the spirit contract and even that has limitations.

The mother is contracted to me rather than Elena, which means I cannot simply assume she will listen to Elena’s commands.

More importantly, separating the two immediately after forcing them into an unfamiliar environment would probably make the situation worse. So I decide to keep them together for now.

After everything is settled, we leave the auction house.

The two Spirit Hawks are secured inside their new cage, which is carried carefully by the staff until we reach the carriage.

When we reach Elena’s family villa, she prepares to leave while I remain outside with the cage.

I greet Marchioness Adelia who was already there to receive her, and she responds warmly enough before turning her attention toward the cage.

"Are those the Spirit Hawks?"

"Yes." Elena immediately begins explaining everything, including how she obtained the smaller one and how we established the contracts.

Her mother listens with interest, occasionally glancing toward the birds.

The younger hawk seems completely unconcerned about the attention. However the mother hawk continues watching everyone who comes near the cage.

Eventually Elena turns toward me. "I will think about their names."

"I will wait, I am not good with these things anyway."

Then we bid bye and I get back into the carriage.

By the time I reach the academy, it is already getting late.

The academy grounds are considerably quieter than they are during the daytime, with most students already finished with their activities and returning to their dormitories.

I first go to the dormitory in-charge to ask where magical creatures can be kept.

The answer is fairly straightforward because there are several students at the academy who are tamers, so the academy naturally has facilities for students who own magical beasts.

There are restrictions, of course.

The creature cannot exceed certain limits regarding size and level, and the owner is responsible for ensuring that it does not become a threat to other students.

Fortunately, the two Spirit Hawks meet all of the requirements.

The dormitory in-charge then gives me another option "If your roommate agrees, you may keep them inside your room."

I consider it briefly.

Keeping them in the room would be considerably more convenient, especially while I am still learning how to care for them.

The condition is that they must remain inside their cages whenever necessary, and I am responsible for making sure they do not cause trouble.

I thank the dormitory in-charge and immediately go looking for Ian.

It did not take me long before I find Ian because all I had to do is ask another student I saw and he knows where Ian is.

*Just how familiar he is with everyone?*

I put the thought aside and told Ian about the hawks.

He looked at the cage " So you brought them from the auction?"

"Yes." I explain the situation and ask whether he is fine with me keeping them inside our room.

Ian thinks about it for a moment before shrugging "I don’t really mind."

Then he raises one finger "But don’t leave them in the room when you are not there."

"The mother hawk look strong enough that if something goes wrong, it will become problem before anyone can react."

As if she understands what he is saying, the mother hawk suddenly turns her head toward Ian. Her sharp eyes lock onto him through the bars.

Ian flinched seeing it "...Why is she looking at me like that?"

I glance at the hawk, then at Ian "Probably because you are talking about her."

Ian takes half a step away from the cage "I don’t like that answer."

I ignore his complaint and nod "You are right, though. I willl keep that in mind."

The mother hawk eventually turns her attention away from him.

She has been surprisingly calm around me ever since the contract was established, although I suspect there are several reasons for that.

She knows that she is bound by the spirit contract, so attacking me without reason would not be easy.

More importantly, however, she probably understands that her child’s safety is connected to mine now.

That does not mean she trusts me. And it certainly does not guarantee that she will remain calm around everyone else.

That is the part I need to be careful about.

I look at the smaller hawk. She is currently sitting close to her mother, occasionally moving her wings and looking around the room with obvious curiosity.

The difference between the two is almost amusing. The mother watches everything while the daughter simply experiences everything.

I will need to learn how to handle both of them properly.

*I should probably research how people tame birds.*

I have experience with magical beasts only from the perspective of fighting them, studying them, or reading about them.

That is very different from actually raising one and spirit beasts are even more complicated.

But I will think about it from tomorrow, for now let’s get something to eat for these hawks and also for myself.

*I wonder what names will Elena come up with*