Chapter 64: A Scrumptious Lunch

"This is not the most pleasant meal I have ever partaken in, but it is definitely an intriguing one," Kuzunoha said after licking her lips, sitting at the bench in front of a fireplace that was full of seasoned skewed meats.

"... Who invited her?" Verina pointed her thumbs at the animaphage.

"No one invited her."

"How rude," Kuzunoha picked her handkerchief to clean her mouth. "I might not be the most likable person, but I'm certainly the most well-sought one by the intelligent masses."

Well, considering the content of her Biography, she was definitely an important asset in many departments of civilization—if she fixed her arrogance.

And even though we tried our best to ignore her, Kuzunoha always proceeded to barge in and just insert herself into this bastion.

Not to mention, Verina had already unleashed a couple of spells at her—all of them were rendered for naught.

"Say, what exactly is an Animaphage? Now that I'm quite curious," I asked Verina.

"Remember how Kilnalans are the founder of Ohrtending?" Verina reminded. "With the possibility of powers, comes the curiosity to improve and explore upon it.

"Many of such practitioners began to perform hundreds if not thousands of experiments. Some might be even deemed to be too inhumane in current standards. One such experiment is the creation of a weaponized form of an Artificial Calamity Object."

"And looking at your interaction with Kuzunoha, that experiment sounds like a failure."

"The word failure undervalues it, the experiment is too much of a success that ends up being a failure within its implementation." Verina looked so stressed when she was explaining it. "They are a relentless monster, and our kin bear the great sin of dragging their concept into existence."

"Oh, please," Kuzunoha playfully interjected. "If your people didn't want us to exist, maybe they shouldn't have played god in the first place. That's like setting a forest on fire and complaining about the smoke."

"Your existence is the fire to our forest, abomination."

"I prefer 'evolutionary masterpiece', but I suppose that's a matter of perspective. Yours just happens to be tragically narrow~"

"Trust me, I don't want a single thing related to your kin, if not for the fact that you're relentlessly following Narcissus like a creep."

"And yet, here we are, having this lovely conversation. Isn't it strange how things work out? I thrive, you seethe. Balance in all things, I suppose."

The more I let them converse with one another, the closer I felt to the feeling of impending doom.

"Kuzunoha, your sole goal in this bastion is to study me, correct?"

"Right on the mark! That is 10 points for you, my darling~" Kuzunoha immediately backing off from annoying Verina even further, "I happen to enjoy my calming journey back to a certain somewhere, until I glimpsed a smear of your existence in this desolate place.

"Truthful as I can be, I want to immediately snatch you away from here, but something prevented me from purposely laying my hands on you."

Was she talking about how I woke up outside of the bastion with her dead body on the floor?

There are so many things that I want to ask forwardly, but I'm afraid that I must tread this cautiously lest I want to have a problem outside of the next Ordeal.

"So you choose to stick to me like a glue in order to appease this studious nature of yours."

"Another 10 points for you~"

"In that case, do you have the humility to listen to the words I say?"

"I'm currently doing that, am I not?"

"More than a mere conversation, if you will." S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Kuzunoha's smile widened, her crimson eyes gleaming with mischief as she twirled her umbrella, the motion was slow and deliberate.

"Oh, my darling, humility is such a—quaint word, isn't it? But let's not pretend that we're here to play the game of common courtesies." She giggled, her tone dipping into a soft, velvety purr. "Sure, I suppose. Listening to your words won't be detrimental to my state of being. I'm willing to listen to you. That is, if you're willing to entertain me while you're at it."

Right now, I'm protected by my Soulthread Aegis. I was ready to retaliate in case that this animaphage resorted to violence.

I had my Emberfang knife ready, and I also had my Fortcracker deployed beside me.

If this fox happens to think of doing something funny, Verina and I won't hesitate to suppress her into submission with all cost.

"With that pride of yours, lowering yourself to have the same height as me must be really hard to do."

"It is not much of a hassle, as long as I find it worth and entertaining."

"I will try my best to make you indulge me then. But remember, I'm the one who is adhering to allow you within my presence, not the other way around."

These words won't affect her that much, but at least Kuzunoha needed to know that I possessed a hint of disdain for her whole operation, and possibly prevented her from reaching her goal at all cost.

There was still a lot of thing that she deliberately hid in front of us, and she used Verina's hatred and disgust toward her kin to ensure that we avoid elaborating it

This kind of individual would never stop at anything to obtain what she wanted.

However just as I thought that I made myself shallowly conspicuous in front of her, Kuzunoha rolled her eyes as she smiled, as if my words bear the minimum worth to change her mind.

She then snapped her fingers, summoning a cloud of arcane dust out of thin air.

It soon converged into a single comprehensive piece of paper, complete with the content of words that she wanted to propose.

"It seems like you're still underestimating me, but I find it thrilling that you're still babbling to show your disapproving stance, instead of saying it to me directly." She lightly grinned with sinister vice as she waited for the paper to reach my hands. "So, why not just adhere to a contract?

"By signing it, I will stoop myself to your level and will even hear all of your suggestions to heart. I will assist you in whatever your endeavor are, and you can borrow my power to the best of you judgment-making ability~

"In exchange, I can be here as long as I please." She paused for effect, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "If there is any conflict of interest brewing in the future, we can rework our vows and promises to better suit our penance for each other."

"Huh." My eyes scanned over the contract on my hand. The language used to write these letters might be foreign to me, but there was a certain psychic influence that allowed me to decipher all of the content. "Seems like you're really keen on getting your hands on me. Why is that?"

Kuzunoha looked surprised after hearing that. Though, it won't take a second for her former smile to reappear.

"You, my darling, are not like the others—oh no, far from it. That unique soul of yours, that body defying the laws of nature itself… a beautiful contradiction." She tilted her head, a playful lilt entering her voice. "How could I resist the allure of unraveling such a delicious mystery?"