16 Mysterious Connection

Even though her probe skill failed on all three spirit beasts, Evelyn instinctively felt an attraction to the pink fox in the center.

She tried to grasp the strange feeling, and after thinking about it for a while, she realized that it was quite similar to what she had felt when she probed her parents with spirit power.

'Does that mean this thing shares ancestry with my body, or some sort of common origin? It's a bit strange for it to share common ancestry with humans, could it be somehow related to the spirit egg I am born from? But… I heard that the spirit eggs were just cores of spirit wells, they're not really living things… what could it be?'

No matter how hard she wracked her brain, Evelyn couldn't figure it out at all.

'No wait… I'm thinking about it all wrong! Since I can't think of any reason for this fox to be related to me, why didn't I think of that first?'

Of course, Evelyn was thinking about the 'Lotus Throne' part in her status. It was the only thing she didn't understand about herself.

'Well, looking at its color, it might just fit…'

So she pointed in the direction of the fox boldly. "Aunty, I want this one!"

Bree looked at her with some worry, because this was the only one of the three that she hoped her niece wouldn't choose.

It was very difficult to judge a spirit beast's abilities without witnessing them in person, and most experts judged their ability's level of threat by the aura of their spirit power. Of these three, the fox looked the most harmless, but possessed the most mysterious aura.

It was impossible for the children to feel it through the isolation of the stasis chamber, but for someone with her level of strength, it was too obvious.

This was also what the old man meant when he said there were only two real choices to pick from. One of these beasts had no worth being a lifelong companion due to its innate threat to children who could bond with it, and it was precisely this fox.

But Bree stubbornly chose to let Evelyn meet all three, despite his warnings. In her heart, she believed that her niece must get to pick the gift she liked the most, and she didn't want to take any choice away at all. In the worst case, she would just stay over a little longer to protect her.

"Are you sure this is the one you want? It's a very important choice. Your spirit beast will probably accompany you throughout your life, so think about it carefully, okay?"

Evelyn nodded and pretended to think hard, inwardly wondering why the two adults were giving her such weird looks.

Of course, both Bree and the old man were thinking the same thing.

'She picked it because it looks cute… It's pink like her hair, and it matches her jewelry theme too. Does she think she's buying a purse?!'

"Aunty! I've thought about it really hard!"

The blonde lady smiled. "Oh?"

"I still want that one!"

As expected, she thought. "Ah…"

The pink haired girl gave her aunt a strange look. "Why… is there something wrong with it?"

Bree had no intention of making things difficult during the bonding process by creating mistrust between the two, however, so she shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I was just worried because it looked a little weaker than the others, but since you like it, it's probably the best one for you."

Evelyn felt a little frustrated. If they wanted to say something, couldn't they just say it? What's with acting all mysterious and making faces while not saying anything?

Anyway, even if the fox looked weaker, why does that matter? When it grows up, don't come crying when it munches on that fat bird like a dumpling and slurps up that little snake like a noodle!

Meanwhile Vivian had already stuck her face into the glass container of the fox, squealing delightedly once she was sure they were taking it home. This was the one she liked the most as well! The bird was also cute. Only the snake was icky.

The other three smiled at her nose looking like a pig's after being stuck flat to the glass.

"I-It's sooo cute! I wanna fluff it up!"

Evelyn was also quite happy, in complete agreement with the little redhead. "That's right, just look at its dark pink tail and legs, and that light pink body. It really is adorable! Ohhh, and just look at those paws pads!"

"Cute!"

Looking at the giggle and gaggle of the little girls over the cute pink fox, Bree put aside her gloomy thoughts with a sigh. She would just have to keep an eye on it in the future.

In the end, the blonde silently handed over a pouch containing little over a hundred strange beads to the old man. Evelyn did not know their value, but felt that they must be quite precious to be able to buy a spirit beast.

The glass box seemed to be quite a curious thing in itself, as it could not only shield Evelyn's probe, it also couldn't be manipulated with spirit power. As for storing it inside 'The Untainted', that was also impossible.

Evelyn was quite curious to see if the same restriction applied to her own inventory, but sadly she couldn't really try it out here and now in front of everyone.

The attendants put the 'box with the fox' in a blue fabric bag and handed it over to Bree. It's a good thing that the fox had quite a small container due to its own tiny size.

Vivian looked the most disappointed as she saw the fox remain in the box. "Awww… why can't we take it out yet?"

Even if it was sleeping, she wanted to hold the little puffball in her hands.

Bree smiled, ruffling the little redhead's hair. "If we wake it up now, it will be very anxious during our trip back. We don't want that, do we?"

Of course, the most important reason was that a bonding ceremony had to be carried out between the fox and Evelyn before it could be trusted to be let out of the box. If it was allowed out of stasis before that, it will just try to escape.

And so, Bree left the 'store' with a huge blue bag in one hand and a pink haired child in the other. Being followed by another pair of red haired children… well, the image was very colorful.

Most people who saw them would think she was a young mother with multiple husbands. After all, not many families could afford multiple spirit eggs. But if Bree felt embarrassed, she did not let it show.

As the group of girls left, the old man sighed with some regret swimming in his muddy eyes.

"Too bad… if her aunt hardened her heart a little, she would not be doomed... Poor child..."

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The notoriety of the exile's market did not come from the illegal activities and unscrupulous transactions inside. After all, every capital city in the old world had a black market, and none of them were lacking when it came to purchasing suspicious goods.

What made the exile's market more dangerous than the others, was that most of the things sold here were highly valuable and sought after. There were many things in the port of Nemer that could not be acquired with just money alone. Status, strength and skills all played a role.

Compared to robbing people going in, it was better to rob people who were leaving. Therefore, it was not difficult to get inside, but leaving safely was another matter.

Moreover, the entry point had very heavy security outside the gates, while the exit point only had security on the inside. If someone was attacked in front of the guards, they would be duty bound to protect them. But once you left, no one would come forward to protect you. What they didn't see, 'didn't happen'.

With her strength, Bree didn't need to fear any greedy thugs eyeing her under normal circumstances. But when accompanied by three children and carrying a spirit beast along, even she could not guarantee protecting all three of them and preventing the spirit beast from being taken away at the same time. Not against the stronger opponents in this place.

Even if she made them pay the price later, it was hardly worth the risk.

Of course, all of this was already clear to her before she came to the port of Nemer. And she already knew how to leave safely.

Although the port of Nemer forbade construction of portals leading into the city, few people knew that inside the commercial center of the city there was an exit only teleportation node that could be used to travel to any of the capital cities in the continent.

Of course, the cost was hundreds of times higher than they should be. But it was not the cost of letting you travel fast, but that of saving your life in a pinch. After all, if someone was scared of leaving the port of Nemer, it was probably because they could smell death approaching.

And so, most of their return journey was over in an instant. As Moreen city was also the capital of the Lavinian empire, Bree only had to fly them over a few kilometers before reaching the Knox mansion.

The door of the mansion was opened by Isabella as soon as they stepped down on the ground. Perhaps she had been looking out of the window and spotted them coming.

"Little puppy is back already?!"

Bree nodded with a smile, letting Evelyn down on the ground. "Mm, I splurged a little and took the emergency portal to the capital on the way back."

Isabella looked relieved. "Oh, thank you, the little piggy was starting to get anxious again, so it's good that you came back earlier."

There was a flame of envy in Bree's eyes, as if she sensed competition. "Little… piggy?!"