Chapter 44: The Sirens' Hideout, I - Manhwa chapter 35

Louis rubbed his chin with a troubled expression.

I tried to prevent Thunder Tiger from joining the Trujan Clan by making this contract, but…

The issue was that it wouldn’t be practical to travel around with such a massive cat. Despite still being a cub, its current size indicated that it would grow even larger over time. Having Thunder Tiger as a companion would inevitably draw unwanted attention.

Traveling with this creature will cause more inconveniences than I can count.

Issues related to food and entering cities were just the beginning. There would be numerous problems arising from having Thunder Tiger along. Additionally, Louis couldn’t predict whether taking Thunder Tiger now might affect its potential evolution into a Wild Thunder Tiger.

Since he’s already bonded with me, there shouldn’t be any risk of him turning against humans…

As Louis pondered this, Jacob caught his eye, looking somewhat wistfully at Thunder Tiger.

Hmm…?

A sudden thought struck Louis, and he spoke solemnly.

“Human.”

“Yes?” Jacob reluctantly tore his gaze away from Thunder Tiger, confusion written on his face as he turned to Louis.

Seeing Jacob’s reaction, Louis continued, “I have a favor to ask you.”

“A favor…sir?”

Jacob’s repeated questioning prompted Louis to clarify further.

“Would you take care of this child for me?”

“This child… You mean Thunder Tiger?!” Jacob appeared taken aback by Louis’s request.

Jacob was taken aback by Louis’s request, and he wasn’t alone.

“No, nooooo! Meow, we’re… Mmph!”

“Nabi is ours… Mmmph!”

Just as the twins were about to lose control, Louis used holy magic to silence them. Pablo, who had been keeping an eye on things from afar, promptly dragged away the struggling children.

Louis subtly gave him a thumbs-up, careful not to let Jacob see. Then, with a serious expression that made it seem like nothing had happened, he continued his plea.

“Yes, this child… Could you take care of Nabi for me?”

“I-I understand… But she already has a contract with a high elf, does she not…?”

“I took this child out of pity, but our journey ahead is treacherous. I’m worried if she can endure it.”

“But…”

Jacob’s eyes showed his inner turmoil. Louis’s heartfelt acting had him completely captivated. He muttered to himself, seemingly lost in thought, “If even the High Elf finds the journey perilous…”

Seeing Jacob’s indecision lingering, Louis decided to push further. “As you can see, she’s a poor innocent creature. I trust that you will take good care of her.”

“Oh…”

“I will come back for this child someday. Until then…can you please take care of him?”

Jacob was deeply moved by Louis’s words. Elves were known for their strong connection to nature and enjoyed the love of all living creatures. They were considered experts in druidic holy magic, which every practitioner aspired to master.

The elf before Jacob, presumably a high elf, expressed his trust in Jacob despite just meeting him and wanted to entrust the contracted spirit animal to him. Jacob felt validated by this gesture and nodded vigorously without further hesitation.

“Yes! If you entrust him to me, I will care for him as if he were my own child!”

“Thank you.” Louis smiled warmly and patted Thunder Tiger on the head.

“You must go with Jacob now.”

Whiiin…

“I know it’s not ideal, but there is no choice. I cannot bring you home just yet.”

Louis looked apologetic. He had barely taken charge of this creature only to hand it off to someone else. It might have seemed heartless, but his priority was getting back to his homeland. To make up for it, Louis gently stroked Thunder Tiger’s mane.

Whoom…

“If you listen well to Jacob, I promise I’ll come back for you someday.”

Thunder Tiger nodded reluctantly at Louis’s words. With Thunder Tiger’s consent, Jacob and Thunder Tiger prepared to depart. Just as they were about to leave, Louis urgently called out to Jacob:

“Feed her a Speed Attribute Stone.”

“A Speed Attribute Stone?”

“Yes. The Nabi… she is destined for greatness someday.”

“Oh!”

Jacob seemed to grasp the significance of Louis’s words, nodding with conviction.

“I understand.”

“The Nabi’s welfare is entrusted to you.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll cherish her like my own child!”

And so, the Nabi embarked on a new journey under the care of the butler chosen by Louis.

That went well.

Originally, it was the Trujan Clan who facilitated Thunder Tiger’s evolution. If Thunder Tiger maintained ties with them, there was a high chance of this happening as per the original storyline. The only difference now was that Louis himself was Thunder Tiger’s master, which essentially meant turning a future threat into an ally.

“That aside… Curse those dragons! No more relying on luck from here on out!”

Having endured much hardship while searching for the dragon he initially set out to find, Louis made a firm resolution.

I won’t waste any more time aimlessly wandering and will head straight west from now on!

With his determination set, Louis began gathering his group.

“Well then, shall we get going?”

“We hate you, Louis…”

“Yes, we do!”

“…”

Seeing their pouting faces, Louis knew they were quite upset with him. He took out some candies from his pocket dimension.

“…Want one?”

“Are you giving us two each?”

“I want three!”

With the twins cheered up by the sweets, Louis confidently announced:

“Let’s move out!”

And so, after a tumultuous day, Louis and his entourage continued westward. As resolved earlier, they headed straight without any detours.

One week, one month, two months… It took them half a year.

Six months later…

“At last… At last!” Pablo’s face lit up as he gazed upon the enormous castle gates before him.

It had taken them six long months to finally arrive at Luft Hagenn after leaving Cash Tower Mountain behind on their arduous journey.

“It was horrible.” Chills ran down Pablo’s spine as memories of their hardships flashed through his mind.

A curt voice interrupted his reminiscing from behind. “What’re you waiting for? Let’s go already!”

Louis, Pablo’s owner, tugged at Pablo’s reins while peeking out from under the tent covering the horse-drawn carriage with a yawn. The moment Pablo saw Louis, all his emotions fizzled away instantly. He let out a resigned sigh.

“We should get going…”

With his shoulders slumped, Pablo drove the horse-drawn carriage toward the gates of Luft Hagenn Castle. The line to enter the city stretched for quite some distance, but finally, it was Louis’s group’s turn.

“Nephews? These kids?”

Pablo calmly answered with the same lie he’d repeated countless times over the past six months: “Yes, they’re my nephews.”

“Uuuuncle!”

“I’m huuungry, Uncle!”

The guard eventually dropped his suspicions due to Louis and the twins’ convincing act.

“Well then… Pass through!”

The horse-drawn carriage carrying Louis and his companions entered the largest port city on the Winter Continent, Luft Hagenn.

“Ohhh?”

“Wowww!”

“Ahhh!”

Louis and the twins craned their necks out from under the canvas cover to take in the sights as they passed through the city.

The sight of them was so adorable that passersby couldn’t help but giggle and watch their progress with amusement. Unbothered by onlookers, Louis and the twins marveled at the grandeur of this metropolis, the first they had seen since arriving on the Winter Continent.

“Louis, there’s so many people!”

“There sure is!”

“Yes…quite a lot.” Having lived in modern times, Louis wasn’t as outwardly impressed as his siblings, but he too was amazed.

It truly feels different.

In the past six months, Louis’s group hadn’t completely avoided cities. They occasionally passed through some well-known ones on the Winter Continent, but none compared to Luft Hagenn when it came to foot traffic.

This place really is huge.

As the hub for all trade goods on the continent, it attracted ships from both the Autumn and Winter Continents nonstop. As such, various humans, sirens, and other races thronged its streets.

Luft Hagenn was the largest port city on the Winter Continent and served as a hub for trade with the Autumn Continent. As such, it bustled with humans of all kinds along with sirens and einas alike.

We’ve finally arrived…

Louis tried to hide his emotions, but he couldn’t help feeling sentimental. Over the past six months, they had traveled nonstop toward the west solely to reach Luft Hagenn, where ships sailed to the Autumn Continent. It felt like a forced march. Louis himself didn’t tire easily as a dragon, but he had two energetic burdens clinging to him. The journey hadn’t been smooth sailing even for him.

Haaah… Have we only covered one-quarter of the journey so far?

They had barely reached the westernmost tip of the Winter Continent and hadn’t even set foot on the Autumn Continent yet, but Louis was already mentally exhausted.

I want to go home…

As he started feeling depressed, Louis quickly snapped out of it.

No, no! They say that getting started is half the battle, right? We’ve already come a quarter of the way, after all, and in less than a year.

Thanks to their relentless pace thus far, they were well ahead of schedule, giving Louis hope.

If we keep this up…we might be able to get home within five years!

Just as Louis was bolstering his resolve, pressure came from both sides.

“Whoooooo!”

“Louis, Louis!”

Louis, sandwiched between the twins, growled at them.

“…It’s great that you’re enjoying yourselves, but can you give me some space?”

“Heh-heh, we love you, Louis.”

“We doooo!”

Crack!

Instead of giving Louis room, they clung to him even tighter, causing him to finally lose his temper.

“There’s plenty of space over there, so why are you both on top of me?!”

“Eeeek! Louis is mad!”

“Louis is mad!”

The sound of a scuffle erupted from inside the carriage.

Having experienced this countless times during the past six months, Pablo simply gazed up at the clear blue sky with a look of resignation as he continued pulling the carriage.

“Hmm… What lovely weather.”

As Pablo announced their arrival, Louis hopped out of the carriage. Behind him followed his twins, clutching their heads and whining loudly. Ignoring them, Louis looked up at the shabby inn called Siren’s Rest.

“Oh? This is it? Your favorite place?”

“Well… Y-yes, but although I’m a regular here…it’s been ten years since my last visit.”

“That’s some regular customer you are.”

“L-Let’s go inside.” With an awkward expression on his face, Pablo opened the door to the inn as if agreeing with Louis’s assessment.

“Waaaah!”

“I’m staaarving!”

The twins rushed past Louis.

“No running! You two!” He quickly chased after them, only to stop abruptly upon entering the inn.