Chapter 197

PHA – Chapter 197 – How to Make Your Sheep Obedient

“The dogkins? You’re going to lay your hands on the dogkins this time?”

Rosa breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Alice wasn’t here for her panties. However, when she heard Alice asking her whether she had any connections with the dogkins, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

“First, it was the dwarves. Afterward, it was the elves. Now, it’s the dogkins?”

Speaking up to this point, Rosa suddenly shuddered as a crazy thought appeared in her mind.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to have me find the dragons next? I really, really do not know any dragons.”

“Aren’t you thinking a little too far ahead? Also, even if I decide to meet with the dragons, I wouldn’t come to you to help me with that,” Alice said, rolling her eyes. She was naturally aware of how unfriendly the dragons were. Even among the people she knew, none had any connections with the dragons. Kristine, a former Hero, might have had contact with the dragons before, but it was unlikely that she shared any close ties with them.

However, Alice didn’t have any reason to meet the dragons right now. Not to mention, the dragons relied on their innate physical qualities and talent for their strength, so hardly any of them had the potential to develop taboos. Because of this, Alice felt that it was unlikely she would have any chances to come into contact with the dragons.

“If it’s the dogkins you are looking to contact, I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any acquaintances among them. I only have a few acquaintances among the beastkins, and they are mostly foxkins and harpies,” Rosa said, unable to recall having any close contacts among the dogkins. There were a few dogkins she had exchanged greetings with before, but that was about all the interactions they shared. Evidently, it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask them for help.

“The foxkins and harpies, huh… I didn’t think you would really have acquaintances among beastkins.”

Alice’s mouth twitched a little when she heard Rosa’s answer. She had only come to seek out Rosa as a last resort. After all, the thief girl had truly given her the impression of being omnipotent. First, it was getting her smuggled to the demon realm. Next, it was helping her get in touch with a group of dwarves. Alice honestly didn’t think that Rosa would have dealings with the beastkins in the past as well.

Unfortunately, Alice had no intentions of contacting the foxkins and harpies for the moment.

Firstly, the foxkins were a race characterized by their charm. This characteristic was so ingrained into their DNA that even their mana carried enchanting properties. Because of this, their totems tended toward hypnotic abilities. However, these hypnotic abilities had limited effects on people with powerful mana.

As for the harpies, they were a race with wings for arms and claws for hands. They possessed the ability to fly, and they had a strong affinity for wind mana. Harpies were also known as birdkins. However, because “birdkin”[1] didn’t sound very good, they used their tribal language to homogenize the name of “birdkin” to “harpy.”

“Why do you want to meet with the dogkins?” Rosa asked somewhat curiously. She was one of the few people who knew about Alice’s identity as the Hero. So, she couldn’t help but wonder why the Hero was going out of her way to get in touch with the dogkins.

“The dogkins’ chief totem has a tracking ability, so I’m thinking of borrowing their totem,” Alice said, not bothering to withhold this information from Rosa. Rosa was one of the few people she knew she could trust. After all, if Rosa were a spy, her identity as the Hero would’ve long since been exposed. Yet, her identity still remained a secret from most people even until now. This meant that Rosa had kept to her promise and did not reveal her identity.

Since that was the case, Alice had no reason to keep this matter a secret from Rosa. Not to mention, by sharing her goals with Rosa, the thief girl might be more motivated to help her.

“The dogkins’ totem? Indeed, their totem does have a tracking ability. However, that tracking ability requires the target’s mana or aura as a primer, so it is quite limited in its capabilities,” Rosa said, nodding in understanding. However, she quickly realized something as she looked at Alice with widened eyes. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re…”

Alice was the Hero. Apart from the Demon King, what else could warrant her to seek out the tracking ability of the dogkins’ chief totem?

“That’s right. I’m trying to track down the Demon King’s location.”

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Although Alice’s true goal was to track down the Demon King’s Power, Alice preferred to keep Luna’s matter a secret as much as possible. She couldn’t let others know that the Demon King’s Power had yet to attach itself to a new Demon King. So, she could only say that she was looking to track down the Demon King using the dogkins’ chief totem.

“That is indeed an important matter…” Rosa nodded and sighed. “But why don’t you reveal your identity to the dogkins? If the dogkins know that you are the Hero, they will be more than willing to help you.’

“Because there’s a risk of exposing myself. The beastkins might have integrated into human society, but it still doesn’t change that they aren’t humans. In addition, unlike the elves, the beastkins have never given birth to a Hero… Moreover, a portion of beastkins still live in the demon realm. Nobody can say for certain that the beastkins of both realms are keeping in touch with each other,” Alice said, shaking her head.

Although Alice was no longer afraid of assassinations with her current strength, having her identity exposed would still bring her a lot of trouble. Particularly, if someone perceptive managed to discover that she was taking on the role of the Hero and the Demon King simultaneously, she would instantly become public enemy number one in both the human realm and the demon realm. Thus, she still needed to keep her identity a secret.

“Indeed. The wolfkins live in the demon realm, and they seem to be relatives of the dogkins,” Rosa said, nodding in understanding. Then, she continued, “But even if you manage to get your hands on the dogkins’ chief totem without exposing your identity, what about the primer? If you’re looking to track down the Demon King, you will need the Demon King’s mana or aura.”

This was also why Heroes of past generations had either never considered or given up on the idea of using the dogkins’ totem to track down the Demon King.

There were only two ways to acquire the Demon King’s mana. The first way was to bring the dogkins’ chief totem to the Demon King and have him personally inject his mana into the totem. The second way was to have the Demon King inject his mana into a magic crystal, then have the magic crystal delivered to the Hero.

For obvious reasons, neither of these two methods was feasible. If the Hero could accomplish either of these two methods, what use would the Hero have for the dogkins’ chief totem?

Aside from these two methods, one other method was theoretically feasible, and that was to use “Mana Detection” at a location the Demon King had fought in and collect the remnant mana in the air. However, the mana collected through Mana Detection would typically have natural mana mixed in. This would mess with the mana sample’s purity and render it useless as a primer.

“I have my ways,” Alice said, giving Rosa a vague answer. She naturally couldn’t say that her maid was a former Demon King.

“I understand.” Rosa nodded. She did not try to pry any further into the matter. Instead, she pulled out her phone and said, “I have a thief friend who is friendly with many beastkins. Everyone in the thieving industry would usually go to her when they needed help with a commission related to beastkins. I’ll try asking her.”

…

TL Notes:

[1]birdkin: Birdkin in Chinese is 鸟人族(Niǎo rénzú). The 鸟人 in 鸟人族 is an internet slang commonly used to criticize someone for being a dick. (An annoying person with personality problems.)

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