Chapter 123 - 119: Brother-in-law

Chapter 123: Chapter 119: Brother-in-law

About two hours later, Mirana finally returned.

About an eighth of the blank space on the map had been filled in.

"I’ve done all I can."

Putting the telescope away in her backpack, she shook her head resignedly. "This is all I can see from here."

"It’s fine. This is great."

Lu Wei glanced at it and handed the map back to her. "According to our plan, we should be able to map about eighty percent of it by making a full circle like this."

"Um, that Fur Ball..."

Mirana turned to look at the big white ball sprawled on Bai Ya’s backpack, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"Oh, Bai Ya and Furen decided to keep it as a pet."

Lu Wei mumbled offhandedly, "They even gave it a name. It’s... Furen."

"Furen?" Mirana’s eyes widened.

"No, Furen, what was its name again?" Lu Wei asked, turning to Furen in embarrassment.

"Hess!" Furen shouted, fastening his sword belt.

"Oh, right. Hess."

Lu Wei looked away and explained, "It’s from the name of the God of Cuisine."

"I see."

Mirana nodded, glanced at Hess again, and said no more, seemingly unconcerned about the matter.

She was usually like this, actually. When she was with the three of them, she would say as little as possible unless absolutely necessary.

She especially wouldn’t offer any opinions on the Mushroom Squad’s "internal affairs."

She even remained silent while playing cards, like a heartless "Master-level Gwent AI."

’No, maybe she’s not even as good as an AI.’

’At least an AI has sound effects.’

’In any case, judging by the past few days, Mirana clearly didn’t see herself as a member of the Mushroom Squad yet.’

Lu Wei didn’t mind, though.

’After all, according to their agreement, Mirana would only officially join the team after Kairos’s leg healed.’

’Until then, their relationship was purely a partnership.’

’Great. I can’t believe it’s only been a month since I transmigrated, and I’ve already got partners, teammates, and even employees and slaves.’

’Now I have a pet, too.’

’My social circle is becoming more and more vibrant.’

’Hmm, just no family...’

Rubbing his chin, Lu Wei felt no regret or sorrow about it.

According to the typical transmigration plot, he was supposed to have an adorable, sensible, and hardworking little sister.

But it didn’t matter that he didn’t. He wasn’t a "sis-con," after all.

Besides, Bai Ya was in the same boat as him.

He hadn’t asked Mirana, but her situation was probably similar.

As for Furen...

’Hmm?’

’Don’t nobles usually have a lot of kids?’

’So Furen must have siblings.’

’I wonder if he has a little sister.’

’Or a beautiful older sister under twenty-five would work too.’

’If I can’t become his sworn brother, I could always be his brother-in-law.’

Lu Wei thought to himself as he looked at Furen.

...

...

「At ten in the morning」

The sun had grown scorching, and the temperature in the forest began to climb rapidly.

Leaving camp, Lu Wei and the others headed straight for the next high point on the map. They planned to stop by the campfire near the river to see if the ones who’d spent the night there were human Adventurers.

「Meanwhile, in a manor on the outskirts of Kalin Port, thousands of miles away」

An old, butler-like man knocked gently on the study door.

"Master, this is a letter from Mr. Alric."

Walking up to the large oak desk, the old butler set down a wax-sealed envelope.

"Hmm..."

Behind the desk, the man kept his head down, flipping through a stack of papyrus with a slight frown.

"Damn it, another long summer this year. Fur prices in the Royal City have already dropped by twenty percent."

"Kapan’s ship has run aground at Thousand Reefs Island, too."

"Bloody hell, not a single piece of good news..."

The man grumbled, his tone full of dissatisfaction. It was clear he was in a foul mood.

The old butler opposite him, however, wore a smile and offered gentle counsel:

"Fortunately, Captain Kas’s ship is carrying spices, so a few days’ delay is of no consequence."

"While the long summer has made furs difficult to sell, the price of saltpeter has risen quite a bit recently."

"Master, you should take a look at Mr. Alric’s letter first. His servant is still waiting outside for your reply."

"...Alright, alright."

Soothed by the old butler’s words, the man’s brow relaxed slightly. He tore open the envelope and pulled out a snow-white sheet of paper.

He read it over, thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote a short reply. He sealed it in an envelope, stamped the wax with a crest of a two-masted ship and a balance scale, and handed it to the old butler.

"Go on. Give the letter to his servant first, then come back. I need to talk to you about Furen."

"Oh, and have Freya come as well. If I recall, Furen is most afraid of her, isn’t he?"

"Yes, Master."

The old butler took the envelope, nodding with a smile.

"The two things Young Master Furen fears most are Miss Freya and mice."

...

...

"Since Hess is an Elemental Creature, what Element is it, exactly?"

"It should be like the Tree-men, an Earth Element, right?"

「Back in Gelan Forest」

Walking along the bank of the rushing river, Furen poked Hess’s belly with great interest. Even though another half hour had passed, his fascination with the creature hadn’t waned in the slightest.

The four basic Elements of this world are Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.

Beyond these, derivative Elements like "Lightning," "Acid," "Light," and "Darkness" all exist... but they’re really just things Mages figured out on their own.

Air + Fire = Lightning

Water + Earth = Acid

And so on.

Some have even tried to create entirely new Elemental Creatures through "synthesis."

But no one has succeeded so far.

So for now, the only known Elemental Creatures belong to the four types: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.

"Fur Balls don’t have a fixed Elemental type."

Up ahead, Bai Ya glanced back at Hess, who was still resting on her backpack. She spoke softly, as if afraid of waking it.

"It depends on where they live. For example, those in swamps are mostly Water Element, while those in hot regions are mostly Fire Element."

"The ones in forests are usually Earth Element."

’So it’s an Earth Element after all!’

Furen pouted and asked nonchalantly, "You must be tired. Want me to carry it for a while?"

"It’s fine, I’m not tired at all."

"Just let me carry it for a little while..."

"Okay, but be gentle. Don’t wake it up."

"Of course! I’ll be careful!"

Agreeing excitedly, Furen immediately lifted Hess off of Bai Ya’s backpack.

Lu Wei could only watch, dumbfounded.

’Seriously? Do you two have to be like this?’

’Anyone who didn’t know better would think you two were cooing over a baby!’

Staring wide-eyed at Furen and Bai Ya, he realized with a shock that they hadn’t adopted a pet, but a tiny monarch.

’Can it really do whatever it wants just because it’s cute?’

’No wonder the little thing refused to leave...’

Staring at Hess, now perched on Furen’s backpack, Lu Wei cursed inwardly. ’You little freeloader, even scoring a ride.’ He even suspected Bai Ya would end up cuddling it to sleep that night.

Just then, Mirana, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped.

"We’re here."

"The campfire is just ahead."