Kind Courier

The Scorchupial had to resort to making some gestures to explain it to her.

The money had been entrusted to it by Madam Signora, who lived diagonally across from Mr. Gospodin's shop.

Her contracted Spirit Beast is an Orchidebloom and it couldn't easily come downstairs, and Ash also had left too quickly earlier.

So, with nothing else to do, the Scorchupial had been sent on the errand.

"Scorchupial?"

After finishing its explanation, the Scorchupial tilted its head at Ash, as if asking if she understood.

Its adorable gesture made Ash unable to resist rubbing its fluffy head again.

"Got it, got it… Thank you so much! It was really kind of you to make the trip."

"Scorchupial~ Scorchupial!"

The Scorchupial squinted its eyes, enjoying Ash's touch, and waved its hands dismissively as if to say it was no trouble at all.

Ash gave its cheeks a little pinch before reluctantly letting go.

As much as she wanted to keep cuddling it, she had to get on with her day.

"Alright, I have things to do, so I'll be off now." Ash straightened up and said goodbye. "When you get back, please thank Madam Signora for me. I'll bring you some sweet bananas next time as a treat."

"Scorchupial~ Scorchupial!"

The Scorchupial nodded its head vigorously, promising to deliver her message.

Then it zipped up its backpack, turned around, and scurried toward the stairs with both hands and feet.

Ash stood in place, waving her hand until the little white figure disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Moments like these always made Ash envious of Beast Masters who had contracted Spirit Beasts.

Who wouldn't want a fluffy, intelligent, and cute small companion like that?

But the more Ash learned about this world, the more she realized that her love for Spirit Beasts was almost as much as her love for Pokémon and Digimon from her previous life—would likely remain just a dream.

Over the years, Beast Master has developed into a full-fledged global industry.

From selecting and breeding Spirit Beasts to the Evolution Orb and Elemental Crystal used for their development, every step required an enormous amount of money.

Even the most ordinary Lignum-type Spirit Beast had a price that was mostly started in the tens of thousands.

For Ash, who barely survives by relying entirely on the government's monthly 800 Beastdollar orphan allowance, contracting a Spirit Beast was something unthinkable.

She couldn't even afford to properly feed herself—how could she dream of raising a Spirit Beast?

Sure, the banks can offer loans to people who want to buy Spirit Beasts but lack the funds.

But as an underage girl without a stable job, what kind of bank would risk themselves by lending the money to her?

Not to mention, contracting Spirit Beasts on Gaia wasn't like capturing Pokémon, where you could swap out or upgrade your starter companion whenever you wanted.

In this place, every contracted Spirit Beast was a lifelong commitment, especially the starter one, which directly determined a person's future.