Chapter 13: Getting some work done

It was a nice day out. The sky was cloudy which made the hot summer day feel nicer, the birds were not chirping around which made the surroundings calm and quiet.But most of all, there were no annoying humans around to question Amane and ruin her mood. She could take her time tracking down the dangerous run-away beasts.

Out of the three big ones that had made the initial run, Amane had managed to tame the Griffin. She had checked in with the list and found out the identity of the other two.

One was a phoenix which should not be a problem for her. As long as the phoenix did not have an original owner, it was the easier of the two targets.

The main problem was the Chimera that was listening on Amane's system screen. It was a weird mix between a horse and a snake.

These two races were not compatible and the offspring these species produced did not live long. At most, they had 1 month to live before the incompatibility of the cells caused an internal infection and ended up killing the creature.

Chimera were rare species but they were not stable. The one Amane was tracking down was also 3 weeks old. It only had a few days to live but she was not optimistic.

'It would be kinder if I put the poor soul out of its misery.'

Amane's system was a big help in tracking down these beasts. She had made it to help her track down the most difficult of the beasts back in the day.

Compared to the unknown back then, these common beasts were easy to track and take care of.

Her system had already tracked the Chimera and it was not long before Amane made her way there. But she was not the only one.

'I should have expected to find these people here. Why did I ever think I could have a good day without having any human interaction?'

Of course, it was the Tsurugi guards who had the Chimera surrounded. The poor beast could not even move and was begging to be let out of its misery.

But the foolish guards were still crowding around it, making the beast panic even more.

'Even a human would feel threatened when ganged up on like that, never mind a beast in pain. No wonder so many of the soldiers ended up hospitalized in the past few generations. These people don't think before they act.' Sёarch* The ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Amane knew how to handle the beast. She did not want to cause the beast any more distress but she had no other choice but to sedate it and watch it die.

The beast was not in a good enough condition to wake up again if it went to sleep but Amane still chose to end its life.

She concentrated her powers on a dart and threw it toward the Chimera. It gave a last roar of frustration before calming down.

This was the end of its painful life.

"L-Lady Yoko, did you do that? N-No, I mean, you should not be out here. It is not safe for you to be...My lady, please stop waking toward the beast. It could still wake up and harm you."

The guard sounded panicked but still rooted to his place. Despite his words, the guard did not seem to have a will to help Amane.

'Not that these pitiful people can help me. They are useless against even a dying beast, never mind a fully healthy enemy,' Amane's hand reached out to touch the Chimera.

She was sure that the beast was already dead but she still had to make sure to give it a final blow.

There was nothing more painful than being stuck in the wake of death, waiting for it to come and take you but still being unable to let go of your life.

"M-My Lady, what did you do? H-How did you do that with your…"

"Never mind me. The Chimera is dead so take its body back to the warehouse. We can still use its parts for a lot of potions and get its fur and scales skinned as well. They will sell for a pretty penny in the market."

A normal person would have broken down crying to see death so close but Amane was immune to its effects.

Losing a tamed beast was never pleasant but it did get easier over time. Being in this profession, one had to understand that death was a common occurrence.

The best way to maintain one's sanity was to not get attacked by the beasts.

"What are you all waiting around for? Hurry up and get moving already."

The guards were rooted to the place. Their faces showed fear and repulsion when they looked at the dead Chimera.

'I am sure some of it is aimed at me as well. These gazes feel familiar to me. I am sure the previous Lady Yoko would cry if she saw someone look at her like this.'

"M-My lady, the order to open the warehouse can only be given out by the family head. I am afraid we cannot open it up even on your command."

This again? Did these people never learn their lesson? Or, did they still not see her as the family head?

It had been a few days since Amane had declared her intent but her uncle had not made any move to hand over his position to her. Similarly, Sakura had also kept her head down but not offered to help Amane out.

Amane had let the pair be for now because she had other work to do. She had taken these past few days to look over their financial and business assets. There had been much to be done in regards to that.

The biggest problem with the current Tsurugi household was their inability to handle the beast business. The previous few generations had no idea what they were doing.

"You all are useless. Fine, let me take the beast to the warehouse myself. I want to see who will refuse me then."

Amane held the Chimera before she started to drag its huge body. It was easy enough to direct her core strength to her arms to make this possible.

"M-My lady, there is no need for you to do this yourself."

"They are right, Lady Yoko. Work like this should be left to the servants to handle. What kind of servants disobey the Family head like this."

'Why is she here again? Is my life not difficult enough as it is? Why does Suzuki want to cause me more trouble?'

Amane did not hold back the irritated grown building up inside her. She wanted Suzuki to see that she was irritated with her appearance.

Suzuki seemed to have taken Amane's refusal a few days ago as a challenge and showed up in front of her the next day.

And the next.

And the next as well.

This was the fifth day Suzuki was here. Did she have this much free time to come and harass Amane in broad daylight like this?

L-Lady Suzuki, good afternoon to you. W-We were not informed of your arrival."

The foolish guard bowed to the lady in the fox mask, his face ashen white at being the target of her words.

The poor man had no idea that he was digging his own grave by attracting Suzuki's attention to himself.

"My, what a rude servant the Tsurugi household has. Not only do they not listen to their 'real' family head, but they also interrupt their guest when they should not."

"B-But Lady Yoko's position has not been finalized yet. We are just trying to follow orders set by our previous generations."

The guard made the mistake of justifying his actions. That was the final nail in the coffin and Amane swore to fire such useless people.

"Why are you here Suzuki? I told you not to come back here. Do you want me to throw you out again?"

Amane decided to deal with the guards later. For now, she needed to make Suzuki go away from her home.

"Awww, but I missed you, Yoko, and I wanted to see you. And I was also curious if you got my invitation or not for my weekend party. I want you there but you did not reply to me so I got worried and-"

"I will throw you out."

"-I won't mind getting thrown out as long as you are the one who does it personally. It's been such a long time since anyone treated me this harshly. No wonder I fell for you."

Amane paused, her eyes dropping down in pain and irritation. The more she heard Suzuki speak, the more she was reminded of the tiny child she had picked up in her last life.

Suzuki had matured physically but her mind still seemed to be stuck in the past.

The girl had always been cunning and opportunistic, but she had supported Amane all the way to the very end. Although it was hard to determine what she was thinking, the youngster did have some feelings of loyalty.

And it worried Amane that she had not become the target of such a person's attention.

"If I agree to come to your stupid party for an hour, will you finally agree to back down? I cannot get any work done with you near me. Isn't that what you wanted from me?"

"Well, I also want your love and affection but I guess I should not be that pushy." Amane glared at the elder and the fox-hybrid finally backed down, "Fine, I will be content with your acceptance today and back down."

Suzuki finally calmed down and Amane took in a deep breath. Her shoulder was finally free from Suzuki's wright.

"Then, I will see you on the weekend. I have some preparations to make for the party so I'll not be here tomorrow. Don't miss me too much."

Amane felt a weight on her shoulder that could have only been Suzuki. The elder was leaning against her shoulder and holding Amane in a light half-hug. It drew a lot of side-eyes from the guards around the pair.

Actually, Amane did not care if Suzuki used her as a personal pillow or chose to lean against her. Even her terrible flirting did not matter to Amane.

But the lack of work it resulted into did matter to Amane. And having Suzuki nearby also terrified the Tsurugi servants that were trying to get close to Amane.

It was all rather counter-productive.

Well, that took care of one problem for her. Now Amane needed to find the phoenix and she was done for the day.

Sakura had let her know that she was done with Amane's request and had the 'perfect' place she asked for. Her words had made Amane curious.

'I guess Sakura must have found a good place if she's so confident in her claim. I will find out soon enough anyway.'

Amane followed her system's beep. She was well aware of the shadows following behind her but she did not care. The guards were all but a formality anyway.

It was not like they would be of any help to her once she had a beast in front of her.

"Won't you come out and let me see you?"

Amane extended her hand, her voice calling out to the phoenix.

Unlike most beasts, phoenixes were loyal creatures. They understood human language and many could even mimic them like a parrot.

If this was a domesticated phoenix, then it would understand Amane and come down to her. That was how phoenixes were by nature.

They were social creatures that did not shy away from humans.

But the phoenix Amane called out did not come to her. The system informed Amane that it was close by.

So she decided to manually hunt for the phoenix.

"My lady, you should not be climbing a tree in your current attire. You can trip and fall…"

"Well, hello there. Awwww, I did not realize I was dealing with a baby phoenix here but this works out. It will be easier to handle for me…"

The chick decided Amane's finger was a treat and bite down hard. Amane felt her finger's skin break and bleed.

'I hate this weak body. I wish I was back in my original one.'