Chapter 89 - - 89: Naming the Hawks

Chapter 89: Chapter - 89: Naming the Hawks

The next day passed without anything particularly unusual happening at the academy and by the time the final class ended, the familiar noises of students leaving classrooms had already begun filling the corridors as everyone started making their way toward the dormitories, training grounds, libraries, or whatever other places they preferred to spend the remainder of the afternoon.

Elena and I, however, had somewhere else to go.

The academy had a designated area for students who owned or contracted magical beasts, and although the facilities were nowhere near large enough to accommodate powerful beasts of considerable size, they were more than sufficient for smaller creatures such as the Spirit Hawks we had purchased at the Royal Auction.

When we arrived, the caretaker recognized us almost immediately and brought out the two cages.

The mother hawk, remained inside the larger cage with the same quiet vigilance she had displayed since the auction, while the smaller one was noticeably more energetic, moving around the smaller enclosure and occasionally fluttering her wings whenever Elena approached.

The moment Elena saw her and her expression brightened.

"There you are." She crouched beside the cage and opened it after the caretaker unlocked the door, allowing the little hawk to step out onto her arm without showing any resistance.

The little Spirit Hawk immediately looked around before settling on Elena’s forearm, her cyan feathers shimmering faintly under the afternoon sunlight that entered through the open windows.

Elena gently stroked the feathers along her back.

"I have been thinking about your names since yesterday."

I glanced at her "You already decided?"

"Yes" She looked rather pleased with herself.

"What have you come up with?"

"For the mother, I thought of Aeris and for the little one, Lumi."

"Aeris and Lumi. Suited them well enough"

Elena smiled.

"So you approve?"

"Yes."

She seemed satisfied with the answer, but then her attention shifted toward the two hawks.

"Aeris, Lumi, do you like your names?"

Lumi tilted her head to one side, then she tilted it to the other. Her expression remained completely blank.

I could practically see the question forming in her tiny head.

*What is this human saying?*

Elena stared at her for several seconds before quietly laughing "I think Lumi does not understand what I am asking."

"Probably."

Aeris, meanwhile, remained completely still.

She watched Elena for several seconds before slowly lowering her head and giving a faint nod.

Elena’s eyes widened "You understood!"

She clapped her hands together happily, apparently treating that tiny movement as a formal approval of the name.

"I am glad you like it."

Aeris simply looked at her.

Given how intelligent the mother hawk is, she might already understand the concept name.

Elena continued playing with Lumi for a while, letting the small hawk move from her arm to her shoulder and then back again, occasionally spreading her wings whenever Elena moved her hand near them.

Aeris remained nearby, watching the interaction without interfering. While I leaned against the wooden railing beside the enclosure, observing them quietly.

The two Spirit Hawks were already adapting surprisingly well.

Aeris still kept her distance from me whenever possible, although the contract itself prevented her from behaving aggressively without reason, while Lumi seemed much more willing to approach Elena.

That difference was understandable.

Lumi had no previous reason to distrust humans, while Aeris had probably spent much of her life relying entirely on herself and protecting her offspring so it would take some time.

Neither Elena nor I had expected immediate trust.

While Elena was gently scratching Lumi beneath the chin, she suddenly looked toward me "By the way, Kai. What did you mean yesterday?"

I frowned slightly "Yesterday?"

"When we were talking about these two. You said something about how Grand Mages would not be particularly interested in them, and you seemed very certain about it."

It took me a second to remember what she was talking about.

"Oh. "That."

"Yes, that." Elena looked genuinely curious "How were you so sure?"

I considered the question.

The simplest way to explain it was to start with something she already knew.

"Do your parents have any Spirit Beasts?"

"No." Her answer came immediately.

Neither Marquise Gael nor Marchioness Adelia owned a Spirit Beast, at least not as far as Elena knew.

"Why do you think they do not?"

Elena opened her mouth.

"Maybe because Spirit Beasts are rare..."

Her voice gradually slowed. She seemed to realize the problem with that explanation halfway through saying it.

Her father was a Marquise, after all.

Her family possessed enough wealth and influence that acquiring rare magical resources was not particularly difficult for them, and if Elena and I had been able to purchase two Spirit Hawks at the Royal Auction, there was no reason to believe her parents would be unable to acquire an ordinary Spirit Beast if they genuinely wanted one.

She closed her mouth and thought about it for several seconds.

I answered the question for her "What is truly rare is not an ordinary Spirit Beast. It is the Spirit Beast that people like your parents, or my parents, would actually want."

Her expression changed slightly as she understood where I was going "Savage Beast level?"

"Exactly." I nodded "For Grand Mages, ordinary Spirit Beasts are not particularly useful as combat partners. A Spirit Beast can have excellent elemental affinity and unusual abilities, but there is still a considerable difference between one that is merely strong and one that can actually keep pace with someone who has reached the Grand Mage realm."

I looked toward Aeris "That is why the Spirit Hawks were not particularly attractive to most of the stronger bidders."

Elena glanced at the mother hawk.

"But if they can’t easily get a Savage Beast level Spirit Beast, why do not they simply get a normal Spirit Beast and raise it until it reaches that level?"

I shook my head "That’s much easier to say than to accomplish."

"Why?"

"Because Spirit Beasts do not grow in quite the same way as ordinary magical beasts."

I paused, organizing the explanation before continuing.

"Ordinary magical beasts generally have a natural growth path determined by their bloodline and physical structure. A powerful lineage can eventually reach the Savage Beast realm as part of its normal development, assuming it has sufficient resources and does not encounter some major obstacle along the way."

Elena listened carefully.

"Spirit Beasts are different. Their bodies are not constructed in exactly the same way, especially because a significant portion of their existence is tied to elemental energy rather than ordinary physical matter. Reaching the higher realms is not simply a matter of accumulating enough mana. They have to evolve their fundamental structure, and that process is much more difficult."

"So even if you give them enough resources, they might still never reach that level?" She asked.

I nodded "Exactly."

I glanced toward the larger cage "And there is a good example inside the academy."

"Teacher Albert’s hyena Spirit Beast."

I have seen enough of Albert’s spirit-related abilities to know that his Spirit Tamer attribute gave him advantages that ordinary magic users simply could not reproduce.

Even so, his hyena Spirit Beast had apparently remained below the Savage Beast realm despite the enormous amount of time and resources he had likely had access to.

"Though I have heard that he also has a bird-type Spirit Beast," I added. "Apparently that one has already reached the Savage Beast level."

Elena’s eyes widened slightly "He has another one?"

"That is what I have heard."

"I didn’t know that."

She looked at Aeris again "So what about these two?"

I followed her gaze "There is a possibility that they could evolve."

"Really?"

"It is possible." I raised one finger before she could become too optimistic "But the probability is very low, and there is no guarantee that either of them will ever reach the Savage Beast realm."

Elena became thoughtful "Then why did we buy them?"

"Because we are not Grand Mages" I answered the question without hesitation.

"We are still far away from that level, and even if everything goes according to plan, we are going to need many years before we are strong enough for the difference in their strength to become a serious problem."

Elena nodded slowly "So until then..."

"They can grow alongside us."

I looked at the two Spirit Hawks "And even if they never evolve that far, they can still be useful."

Elena smiled "I think that is enough." She returned her attention to Lumi.

The small hawk had apparently become tired of sitting still and was now attempting to nibble gently at one of Elena’s fingers.

Elena laughed and pulled her hand away.

I watched them for a moment. There was another thought in my mind, however.

*If I acquire that thing, then the problem will be solved.*

I did not say it aloud.

The item I had in mind was far too important to casually discuss, especially when I was not even certain whether I would be able to obtain it.

For now, Aeris and Lumi were enough.

They did not need to become Savage Beasts tomorrow since neither Elena nor I can get that kind of strength soon.

Eventually, after spending enough time with the two hawks, Elena and I returned them to the academy’s designated area.

We agreed that they could remain there until the next day, when we would bring them back to our dormitory rooms if everything was properly arranged.

Elena stayed with me until we reached the academy gate. She had to return to her family villa again, while I had another appointment waiting.

"Do not forget to visit them in the morning," Elena reminded me.

"Of course I will remember."

I watched her disappear down the corridor before turning in the opposite direction.

I had another matter to take care of.