Chapter 164: Name for a Fox 2

"...Monk, what happened here?"

Julian turned around and glanced at Monk, who was hiding behind his back in a cold sweat.

The rabbit girl showed only part of her head from behind Julian’s body. Both of her ears drooped, while her hands still clutched Julian’s clothes tightly.

"How would Monk know? When Monk woke up, the big fox was already here!"

Julian’s gaze shifted again and turned toward the bed. There, clearly, was a fox as big as a dog.

A fox with nine tails, sharp eyes sprinkled with stars, and thick fur that was white with a faint touch of pink.

Its nine tails swayed slowly behind its body, making the creature, which had looked so small and harmless before, stand out far more.

"Grrrrrr!! Kill! I’ll kill you, prey!"

The fox growled, making Julian furrow his brow.

"...You want to kill me?"

"Kyaaak! The fox can talk now!?"

Both Julian and Monk could clearly understand what the fox meant from its growling alone.

It happened so suddenly that it startled them both. Even the fox itself seemed to flinch, as if it could understand what Julian and Monk had just said.

Both of its ears twitched slightly, while its gaze moved back and forth between Julian and Monk.

But that lasted only a moment.

"Grr! I’ll kill you both!"

"...."

The fox had indeed grown much stronger. But Julian didn’t take the threat very seriously.

’Impressive.’

Yes, it was impressive to see the fox rise to Rank-E, but if the fox’s goal was to hunt Julian down, then that was clearly impossible.

"Monk, could eating that Fruit have triggered this fox’s growth?"

"U-um... I think so...? But Monk has never seen a fox like this."

"Hmm..." Julian racked his brain.

The fox consumed Mana in order to survive. Could it be that the fox also grew stronger that way?

If so, then that fox clearly had an excellent path of growth.

Consuming Mana not only as fuel for life, but also to increase its power?

"How convenient."

Of course, that was still only Julian’s own speculation. Maybe there was something different that he needed to know, but well, it seemed unnecessary for now.

"Graaah! Don’t let your guard down in front of me!"

Woosh—!

The fox bent all four legs before launching itself off the bed. Its nine tails lifted along with the movement of its body as it lunged straight at Julian.

Seeing the fox charge at him, Julian raised a single finger and created a simple layer of green mirror.

Baam!

The fox’s attack landed right on the mirror layer, leaving not even a crack or any damage.

The surface of the mirror remained intact, while the Little Fox’s body was held completely in place before it.

If anything was notable, it was that the fox itself seemed shocked, leaping back carefully and landing gently on the bed.

"I won’t become your emergency food!"

Its whimper was quite loud, making Julian tilt his head slightly.

"...Emergency food? Who?"

Then Julian blinked.

"Do you think I’m treating you as emergency food or something?"

"Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing!?"

Seeing not a trace of doubt in the fox made Julian laugh a little inside his head.

’Maybe this fox has only just gained the intelligence to speak, but that doesn’t mean it has the intelligence to understand things.’

Lowering his finger, he dispelled the protective mirror layer. Julian looked at the fox with his blank gaze, making its body stiffen.

"I won’t eat you. I don’t like fox meat. It’s tough."

Of course, Julian had never actually eaten fox meat in his life. He only said that to calm the fox down.

But it didn’t seem to be enough.

"Liar! Then you’re planning to make me a slave!? Grrrr!!"

"...A slave?"

That word was even more shocking this time.

Julian had only just heard the word slave from Monk, and hearing it once again here made him feel somewhat uncomfortable with it.

"I have no intention of doing anything that’s on your mind, okay? If you feel uncomfortable, you can just leave. I won’t stop you."

The fox had been on guard before, but after hearing what Julian said, its body softened, its fur lowering slightly as its gaze turned startled.

For a moment, the fox just stared at Julian without moving. Even the growl that had been rumbling in its throat came to a stop.

But only briefly, before everything puffed up again, full of hostility.

"Ssshh! Liar! You’ll definitely chase me down and catch me!"

"I won’t. Why would I even need to?"

The fox was about to say something, but an interruption came all of a sudden.

Knock! Knock!

The sound of knocking rang out, making Julian turn toward the door of the house.

Monk, who had been hiding before, glanced toward the door as well, while the Little Fox remained standing on the bed, on guard.

"Has Garph come back?"

He muttered for a moment, waited a few seconds, then took a step while saying to the fox:

"You can leave whenever you want, I won’t bother you. If it’s too difficult, just come with me. I have no intention of being hostile, and you can also consume my Mana."

Julian quickly turned his gaze toward the door, not even giving the fox time to respond.

Well, it was easy to guess that the fox’s response would be full of defiance. So it was better to let the fox think over Julian’s words than to keep arguing.

’I’ve done my part, the rest is up to the fox.’

Julian reached out, took hold of the doorknob, and pulled it inward.

The door opened, revealing a Dragon humanoid who appeared with the same arrogant and haughty look as always.

"Ohh...! So there really is a lowly human here! Ah, and who are you carrying? Isn’t that the goat girl? Wow, how strange."

Smiling with a smirk on his face, the Dragon looked Julian up and down as he spoke.

"My name is Damien," he said suddenly, pressing a hand to his own chest. "And I am the Dragon who will become the next leader of the Clan!"

He lifted his chin slightly, as if his name and position alone were enough to make anyone show respect.

"Oh, really?" Julian looked around. Several other Dragons seemed to be watching them on purpose, as if this were a show they had been waiting for.

Some of them didn’t even try to hide their curiosity, continuing to watch from a distance while waiting to see how the human would react.

"Hm... So, you weren’t sent by Garph?"

"Of course not."

"Ah, then what business do you have?"

Judging by the Dragon’s reaction, he seemed rather affected by the way Julian spoke without any visible emotion, the way those empty eyes stared back without fear, even showing a higher degree of arrogance.

"I just came to say hello. Why are you being so arrogant, as a human? Be grateful that I came to see you in person."

That Dragon, Damien, was Rank-C, at a level that wouldn’t give Julian any trouble at all.

But as if Julian were no problem whatsoever, Damien had the nerve to come and act arrogant.

It seemed that boldness came from Damien being in his own home, a Dragon habitat that magically gave the Dragon more courage and confidence.

Julian thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Nice to meet you."

Then, Julian glanced around once more as he added.

"Don’t take offense if I’m a little rude. But Garph himself told me not to open the door unless it was from him."

Julian had opened it because he thought it was someone sent by Garph. But since it hadn’t come from Garph at all, Julian had no reason to open the door.

"If you want to say something, tell your elders first."

Without waiting for an answer, Julian began pushing the door back into place.

Julian didn’t hesitate. He closed the door and went back inside, leaving Damien completely speechless.

Click!

The door closed quietly, as if nothing important had just happened.