Chapter 46: Little Raven: I'll Barely Believe You

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A now-calm Henry pulled out his phone and called Harry first—turned off. Then he called Jane—also off.

They hadn't added June's contact information yet.

After a brief thought, he decisively dialed Don.

"Dad!" The moment the ringtone started, Don picked up, loudly shouting into the phone, "Did you see the photo I sent you? It's fake, right?"

Without giving Henry a chance to speak, Don launched into a torrent of complaints and grumbles.

"Tell me, isn't June being childish? She really thought a photo like this could fool me? I took one look and knew it was fake!" Don's triumphant voice boomed through the call.

Henry felt a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Shut up."

Silence.

"Now, message June and ask if she's free. If she is, Teacher Marie and I want to see her pet beast," Henry continued.

On the other end, Don grew even quieter, to the point where only his breathing was audible.

Henry added, "Be polite when you message June. Otherwise, wait until Marie and I come home to deal with you. Got it?"

"Y-yeah, I got it," Don stammered.

The call ended.

Don stared blankly at the call log on his screen.

'Wait.'

'What just happened?'

Don wasn't the sharpest, but he wasn't stupid either.

Even though his dad hadn't said anything outright, the underlying message in his words…

'This… this photo is real?'

Don was dumbfounded. His brain ground to a halt.

———

"Ahhh-choo—"

Lying on the couch, June let out a long yawn, nestled in the soft embrace of the Fire Fox Queen, holding her phone with a drowsy look.

The day's training had drained her energy completely. The excitement from her fox's evolution had temporarily revitalized her, but now it was fading.

Unable to resist, she'd immediately shown off the magnificent Fire Fox Queen in her social circles.

The Fire Fox Queen's unique beauty had shocked everyone.

Not everyone could immediately recognize the queen as an evolved form of her little fire fox. Most assumed June had contracted a second pet beast.

At first, June enthusiastically replied to messages.

But as the initial rush wore off, exhaustion overtook her.

However, faced with the endless "ding-ding-ding" of new message notifications, June couldn't resist responding. She replied to one, then another, and another…

Until June fell asleep.

Ivy noticed and helplessly smiled before turning her attention to the Fire Fox Queen.

"Littile Fire Fox, I'll leave Xiao Yue to you," she said.

The fox silently nodded, gracefully lifting June into her arms. The girl, too tired to even open her eyes, instinctively buried her face into the queen's warm fur, turned over, and resumed sleeping.

The fox's soft paws landed noiselessly on the floor as she carried June upstairs.

Ivy smiled warmly at the scene of human and fox and began tidying the living room. "June and the Fire Fox Queen are getting so strong... Fairy Butterfly, we need to work harder too."

"Yee~"

The Fairy Butterfly behind her flapped its delicate wings, eagerly responding to Ivy's encouragement.

'Stronger!'

'Alright!'

'I'll do whatever Ivy says!'

Just as Ivy was about to head to bed, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway interrupted her.

"?"

The car's headlights lit up the garden. Ivy hurried outside with her Fairy Butterfly.

"Uncle, Auntie?" Upon seeing Harry and Jane step out of the car, Ivy's eyes widened in surprise. "Why… why are you back at this hour?"

Harry, already aware of Ivy staying in their house, wasn't surprised. He smiled gently. "Ivy, where's June? The photo she sent us tonight…"

Ivy blinked in realization.

"Uncle, Auntie, June was exhausted after a long day. She fell asleep shortly after sending that photo," she explained.

Looking at their faces, Ivy couldn't help but compare them to June earlier when she'd been brimming with excitement over the fox's evolution.

"Well… you must be tired from traveling. Why don't you rest first? You can discuss this with June tomorrow," Ivy suggested with an apologetic smile.

Harry and Jane exchanged glances.

"…."

'Sleep?'

'Now?'

'No, no, no! They were far too energized to sleep.'

If they could wait until tomorrow, they wouldn't have rushed to buy plane tickets and fly home overnight.

They had to clarify the little fire fox's new evolution path. Otherwise, they'd lie awake all night thinking about it.

Torn between academic curiosity and their daughter's sleep, Harry and Jane sighed.

Children are debts. Theirs were no exception.

"Alright. Ivy, you should rest early too," Harry said, gently reassuring Jane. "We'll visit Teacher Henry and Teacher Marie. Don't wait up for us."

Ivy nodded.

———

Elsewhere.

Back at home, Asher opened his talent skill menu.

The Extraordinary Beast Encyclopedia now had a new, glowing icon.

It was the Flame Fox Queen.

Asher clicked on the fiery icon, and fresh details appeared.

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[Pet Beast: Fire Fox Queen]

[Attribute: Fire]

[Species: High-Grade Extraordinary, Low-Tier]

[Max Level: Tier Nine]

[Description: After evolving, the Flame Fox Queen is mischievous, enjoys teasing humans, and shows extraordinary patience towards recognized beastmasters. A walking double standard, her mastery of flames has undergone a qualitative leap...]

[Gift from the Flame Fox Queen: King's Aura (Can be used to teach contracted pet beasts)]

[Flame Fox Queen's Public Recognition: 0]

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Asher was surprised.

He'd been wishing for the Fire Fox Queen's skill, King's Aura. And just like that, she'd gifted it to him.

Asher chuckled. "Mischievous? Still pretty cute."

Though, around June, she did act a tad rebellious.

Just a tad.

June was used to it anyway.

"Come on, Little Raven, it's time to get stronger." Asher held up his small pet, attempting to teach it the newly acquired King's Aura skill.

Due to the skill's unique nature, Asher wasn't sure if Little Raven, lacking the King attribute, could learn it.

[Choose a pet beast to learn this skill.]

[Pet Beast: Little Raven]

The skill disappeared from the menu.

No failure message.

But, just like before, Little Raven didn't seem to feel any different.

Man and bird stared at each other.

Little Raven tilted its head, its beady black eyes glinting. 'Stronger? Doesn't feel like it.'

Asher rubbed the feather on Little Raven's head, speaking earnestly. "Trust me, you're not the same as before. You've become stronger."

Little Raven: ' (￢_￢) Fine, I'll barely believe you.'

Asher: '… Thanks, I guess!'

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