Clyde also nodded from the side, "Yes! What brother-in-law? I never acknowledged that! There is absolutely no relationship between us."
"HAHAHA!"
"Brother-in-law, what are you saying?"
The Shamate man slapped Clyde hard on the back with a palm as big as a cattail fan.
Faster than his slap was Clyde's dodging speed.
Then the Shamate man chased after him.
In front of Asher, a miraculous scene unfolded of him fleeing, him chasing, and him being cornered with no escape.
Asher: "?"
'Isn't the gender and target here a little off?'
Even if such a drama had to be acted out, shouldn't the female lead be the Freya standing beside him?
Freya meeting Asher's gaze: "..."
Freya shook her head desperately, "Don't look at me, it's got nothing to do with me. That's just how they interact."
"Guys!"
Asher nodded, showing a knowing expression.
'Male friendship.'
'No need to explain.'
"But who is that really…", Asher looked at the chase scene unfolding in front of him and asked again out of curiosity.
Seeing that Clyde had successfully diverted all the attention away, Freya finally let out a breath of relief and spoke, "Phew—"
"This person… Professor Asher, you should have heard his name, Prince Sterling."
Asher: "?"
Asher: "???"
"Wait," Asher extended a hand and gestured a pause. This name, he had indeed heard before.
Because among all the Tier 8 Ace Beast Tamers, Prince Sterling's name looked especially pretentious, Asher subconsciously remembered it.
However, Asher never expected that this Prince would turn out to be… such an image.
The image of a Tier 8 Ace Beast Tamer suddenly shattered into pieces in Asher's mind. It no longer existed at all.
"Tsk," Freya understood Asher's thoughts and nodded deeply in agreement.
"But what's the deal between you two?", Asher suddenly asked.
Freya, who was nodding, stiffened.
Seeing this, Asher said, "I was just casually wondering—"
Curiosity struck.
"Actually, most Tier 7 and Tier 8 Beast Tamers also know about this, it's just that I really really extremely cosmically super hate this guy, so I don't bother mentioning it," Freya let out an annoyed tongue-clicking sound and still gave Asher a brief explanation.
"In short, in his own words, it was love at first sight, the kind of 'hi wifey' stuff," Freya's face turned dark as she spoke.
Asher couldn't help but want to laugh.
He could totally imagine that scene.
And for someone like Prince, who's an extreme extrovert, it probably wasn't even a socially fatal moment, he might even have thought it was full of manly charm.
But for Freya, who was the other party involved… hmm, she might be considering emigrating to Mars.
Freya: "..."
Accidentally recalling the scene at the time, her face was still stuck in a painful mask she couldn't take off.
Social death was real death.
"I gave him a good few lessons before he stopped saying that, but as for calling my brother that…", Freya sighed. She didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Truly heartbreaking to witness, tearful to ask about. Painful.
Asher patted Freya's shoulder, "You'll get used to it."
Freya rolled her eyes hugely, "How could anyone ever get used to that?"
On the other side, the chase between the two had finally ended.
The final victor was… Prince.
This didn't surprise Freya at all.
Freya quietly tried to slip away.
But Prince, who had lost interest in Clyde, strode toward Freya.
Freya: "!"
Freya whooshed and hid behind Asher.
Asher, forced to face Prince head-on: "..."
Prince: "Eh?"
Prince blinked, his Shamate mohawk-style hair swaying.
"You are…?", The Shamate man, no, Prince tilted his head as he looked at Asher.
Before Asher could explain, Prince hit his left fist with his right palm and showed a look of sudden realization, "Oh oh oh! I remember!"
"You're that pretty badass little professor, right!"
"Awesome, awesome!"
"To achieve so much at your age, you're definitely going to be a super excellent Pet Professor in the future," Prince loudly praised Asher.
Asher didn't have a bad impression of Prince, mainly because he hadn't been "persecuted" by him, so he could just barely treat this person positively.
"Thanks."
"But compared to being a Pet Professor, I actually still want more to become an outstanding Beast Tamer in the future," Asher said with a smile.
"Eh?", Prince again showed a shocked expression, his slightly narrow eyes wide open, "Really?"
"But you look like…", Prince gestured all around Asher's body.
Under Asher's confused gaze, Prince loudly said, "But you've got those skinny arms and legs, you don't look like a powerful Beast Tamer at all."
"Actually, you're already doing great now."
"Don't overthink it!", Saying that, Prince slapped Asher on the body.
Asher couldn't help the shock in his pupils.
'It hurt so much.'
'Is this kind of strength something a normal person can have?'
"Don't mind that guy's words," Clyde, who had finally escaped Prince's clutches, couldn't help rolling his eyes when he heard Prince's brainless comment and walked over to Asher.
"This guy…", Clyde glanced at Prince and rolled his eyes again.
Don't ask. If you ask, it's just an uncontrollable impulse.
This guy just looks too punchable.
"This guy's made remarks like that more than once. Otherwise, why do you think he's offended every single Beast Tamer in the Alliance?"
"If he didn't have real power, he'd have been ambushed three times a day in a sack."
Asher: "..."
He felt that deeply. If it weren't for being unable to win in a fight, he'd also want to sack this guy.
"Hehehe!", Prince, hearing this, felt not shame but pride, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his muscular arms.
"This is the physique a Beast Tamer should have!", Prince loudly voiced his opinion. [T/N: Personality like Escanor from Seven Deadly Sins]
Clyde unceremoniously gave him the Nth eye roll of the day, "No, that's not the physique a Beast Tamer should have, that's the physique a gorilla should have."
Hearing Clyde's words, Prince wasn't angry. Instead, he nodded and said, "Even if I am a gorilla, I must be the buffest gorilla!"
Clyde gave Asher a look.
Freya also gave Asher a look.
Asher: 'Got it, this guy isn't just simple-minded.'
'He basically has no mind at all'.
Asher couldn't help but be a little curious, 'How did this guy become a Tier 8 Beast Tamer?'
'And even a Ace Beast Tamer?'
"Talent, probably."
"Gorilla instinct, maybe."
The sibling pair said one after another.
Asher realized that ever since Prince appeared, the tension between Clyde and Freya had lessened. Mainly because the siblings had united against an external force.
This external force was just too overwhelming.
Had to team up to deal with it.
"But…", Asher smiled, coming back to his senses, remembering another very important matter, "Why did you come here now?"
Asher looked at the three of them.
His lab now housed two Tier 8 Ace Beast Tamers and one Tier 7 Beast Tamer.
Asher: 'Isn't this lineup a bit too luxurious?'
"Oh oh oh!", Prince was the first to respond. He pounded his left fist into his right palm and loudly said, "I found a really interesting place to explore!"
"But I might not be enough to go alone."
"Just standing at the entrance gave me a strong sense of danger. So I came to find my brother-in-law and little Freya to invite you both!"
"We can split the loot evenly later."
What?
Keep it secret?
Can't say it in front of outsiders?
Sorry, that kind of thought doesn't even exist in Prince's head.
Fortunately, Sarah reacted quickly and led the others away as soon as Prince opened his mouth.
Though they still heard part of it, the rest of the discussion no longer had anything to do with them.
What news could be inquired about and what couldn't, they more or less knew in their hearts.
"Let's talk somewhere else," Asher also cut off Prince, who still wanted to keep loudly chatting, and said calmly.
"This isn't the place for conversation."
Clyde understood Asher's meaning.
He had originally planned to leave today.
But after looking at Prince… Although he still really wanted to get rid of him, Clyde also knew that Prince wouldn't come bothering them for nothing.
"Let's not rush to leave. Let's talk somewhere else," Clyde said calmly.
But for some reason, there was inexplicable heaviness and pain in his voice.
Asher who noticed: "..."
'Understandable.'
Asher didn't bring them to the semi-open lounge.
Don't ask, if you ask, that lounge's partition was basically non-existent.
Asher turned and led them back to the dorm area. During the day, no one was there.
Unlocking the fingerprint password lock.
The group arrived at Asher's "home."
"This potted plant… looks pretty cute," Freya immediately spotted the potted plant on Asher's windowsill, World Tree Lily.
Compared to Freya's gaze.
Clyde's gaze was a bit sharper, "This should be a plant pet, right?"
"But it looks kind of weak?", Clyde said, not too sure.
He didn't sense a strong aura from World Tree Lily.
Very ordinary. Like one of those low-grade beasts you see everywhere?
"What are you talking about, brother-in-law, it's obviously super strong, okay," At this moment, Prince clenched both fists, stared at the potted plant with shining eyes, and said excitedly.
"Oh oh oh!"
"I'm already pumped up! I can't wait to battle it!", As he spoke, he really looked like he was about to release his pet. Clyde quickly stepped in to stop Prince's actions.
"Calm down, this is someone else's home."
"And you're here to talk business with us, not to look for a fight."
"That potted plant isn't your opponent."
Clyde spoke rapidly, afraid that one second late would cause a catastrophe.
Asher didn't say anything, just looked at Prince with a strange expression.
'Hmm… interesting, quite magical.'
Asher knew World Tree Lily's identity, and also how powerful the complete form of World Tree Lily was.
A Tier 9 beast.
Striving toward mythical beast status.
It had only failed and chosen to start over.
But precisely because of that, the original World Tree was stronger than most Tier 9 beasts, it could be said to have surpassed the limits of transcendents, only one step away from mythical status.
But due to a wrong choice, World Tree could never take that final step.
Is World Tree powerful?
Yes.
Does it have much to do with World Tree Lily?
Yes, but not much.
Prince said he felt a powerful aura from World Tree Lily… Asher wondered, did he really feel it, or was it a case of hidden wisdom, or maybe just something he said randomly?
Asher wasn't sure.
But Prince had already been distracted by Clyde again.
He plopped onto the sofa, felt the softness underneath him, and showed a satisfied expression, "Oh oh oh! So comfy!"
"Let's talk business," Clyde took charge and brought the topic back.
"Yes yes yes! Business!", Prince's attention was pulled back as he quickly addressed everyone.
"I discovered a special folded space in the Red Mill Mountains!"
Clyde: "?"
Clyde looked at Asher.
Asher: "…"
Asher instantly understood what Clyde meant.
That sounds kind of familiar.
Back in the Red Soil Forbidden Zone, he had also encountered a special folded space.
"Are these folded spaces common?", Asher couldn't help but ask.
Prince didn't know that Asher had once encountered a folded space before. Seeing Asher ask, he very enthusiastically and loudly replied: "This!"
"Not too common, I guess!"
"Once every hundred years?"
"About that frequency!"
As he spoke, Prince looked at Asher, very excitedly drawing a big picture for Asher, "Let me tell you! This folded space is really interesting!"
"Maybe, if we're lucky, we might run into a special secret realm!"
"These kinds of secret realms generally have never been opened before, and inside there might be very precious resources hidden! There could even be super powerful beasts!"
"If we could bring one out and form a contract with it...", Prince said as his eyes lit up.
"Your contract slots are full," Clyde shattered Prince's fantasy with a single sentence.
"Moreover, this kind of situation you're talking about, in all the folded spaces discovered on average once every hundred years, only has one actual case."
"A folded space doesn't necessarily mean there's a secret realm, and a secret realm doesn't necessarily mean there are treasures inside."
Dashing hopes was Clyde's destiny.
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