-Morning. Ragefire's estate.

Nefiru's POV-

Morning advanced in our conversation while standing on top of firewood pile with my hind legs as the front paws are pressed high up in the tall wall to allow my neck over the top and faces the green haired person outside the estate. While shooting glances behind in case the little girl is done with breakfast, I observe a storm approaching from the Northeast behind the volcano as the wind picks up in speed and drops in temperature.

...The wind usually coming from the northeast and across the vast plains would explain the rain accumulation for the lake reservoir, but now that it's winter it changes direction more often.

"Hmm... in a life with everything granted, I would probably consider suffering something minor like having to wake up early after drinking all night while happiness could be not having to wake up early..." The green haired man proposes an example.

He's right! Haha... My regrets from the previous life besides separation from my family are not eating enough pudding and not marrying a woman because commitment terrified me, but the way she left town after saying girls are not supposed to propose, still bothers me even in another world. Bah! I only found crazy girls after her... as if the universe itself was punishing me for denying us happiness and perhaps a family which is another regret on its own... not leaving any children back on Earth. I recall the girl that disappeared wondering if she's in this world too.

"Grr... Damn it, Faust! You made me remember my regrets." I grumbled closing my eyes.

"A girl? It's always a girl isn't it!?" He questions a confirmation looking up at me.

Umm, I'm sure other guys have regrets about guys too... I nodded at the poorly dressed father.

Still, becoming a Father in this World huh? The next mating season will provide that chance, though it's not a bad idea leaving many offsprings before advancing to higher planes and becoming something inorganic or incapable of procreating for unknown reasons. Wonder why when I picture having children in the next mating season, an image of giant lizards running around terrorizing towns appears in my head... perhaps because of my mixed blood. However, an ancient bloodline would have influenced what affinities to awaken or so I heard but I very much like mines. I consider circumstances for having descendants.

"Among other things..." I replied cryptically recalling the reason for our conversation. "Speaking of girls... it sounds like you are about to die and want to leave Shaila to me..." I announced but there was no reaction. "Well, if the deal is the white haired girl then I'll buy her!" I declared nodding.

"Ah? No, no, you can have Shaila for free since she'll be happier with her pet dragon rather than people it seems." Faust dismissed waving a hand. "This time, I'll need you to protect her with your life since there is no room for mistake, and you can afford to die, but at the very least running away with her will suffice." He spoke solemnly and separated from the wall.

A-afford to die... I'm not a side character!! I retorted letting the insult pass.

"It sounds as if you want us to jump into a nest of snakes," I deduced narrowing my eyes at the man below.

"Sighs... Might as well be snakes." The green haired man murmurs. "Anyway, last night Alphonse obtained information from spies inside the Bidlakes that Shaila's mother, Eleonor is coming this way with a high ranked water magician called Rigel after a year without seeing her children. It may appear something natural for a mother to do, except for one little detail..." He points a finger up meeting my gaze. "The number of Magicians and spies from the Silversteins withdrew almost at the same time which indicates a connection that doesn't lead to anything good for my daughter who probably will be taken away, but there is nothing I can do to prevent it." He explains the situation walking in circles down below.

Rigel... that name sounds familiar somehow, but where.... The only thing that comes to mind is the name of a star... past life maybe? I try to recollect the origin of the feeling to no avail.

Let's see... if they are coming then we can do preparations and just get the fuck out with Shaila. No reason to wait for her to be taken away right? I affirm and describe my plan.

"That is not a problem. I'll just eat Shaila in front of them and run away to the forest without telling anyone to make it look more real." I proposed a trick to hide the girl.

It's a quick but effective solution eating her to fool everyone, and the spies won't follow me deep into snake or wolves territories to confirm, then we live there with my siblings until the heat dies down. The lack of oxygen won't be a problem since I'm a lightning and water magician that can do electrolysis on water to make oxygen inside my stomach as long as either of us has magic, and the only problem would be the acid. I confirm the effectiveness of my plan.

"...Can you not think like an animal for a moment?" Faust rebuked glaring up with an ugly face. "Shaila is a human girl with necessities, not a wolf that can eat raw meat like you!" He lectures about the problem with my plan.

Ah...! I open my eyes wide at the realization.

"Yeah, that's messed up. Why is she's not a fluffy white wolf?" I question the fact lamenting.

"You are telling me..." He dodges the inquiry looking down once more.

"Well, I don't know why she's not a wolf either, and this is probably the first time she's a human according to what she told me, but I think there might be a clue if she could remember the last wolf life..." I explain my theory.

"You know... people aren't sure reincarnation even exist, but it was suspected since some individuals dream or remember things they never experienced, especially beyond Rank 7 when the Soul changes significantly, but they were always labeled as crazy people. I think it's regrettable her first life as a human was like this, and I can only imagine what kind of evaluation would a wolf have about her first human life once she remembers her past as you say. Wolves are pack animals that live as a family, and never experience betrayal the way people do, so what would a wolf say about her human family or our society? Maybe it was better for her to evolve as a beast instead..." He voices his concerns about his daughter's future opinion.

Ohh! So buried memories resurface like that huh? It makes sense for the Soul manifestation to strengthen in this dimension, then any memories to come forth once a stronger connection to the vessel has been established. I confirm the effects of the next Soul stage. However, this is a perk of normal souls that won't apply to me who has his memories stripped forcibly. In short, there's nothing else to recall from my past lives which make me a little sad being unable to know more about who I was, but I'm going to hunt myself down in the future without a doubt. I reaffirm the need to find lost pieces of my Soul.

"Well, I'm not sure about her family, but if she remembers mating with other wolves in the past, then she might not look at the event from a year ago so severely anymore. Ah! But she probably cheated on me with other wolves!" I conjecture before realizing the activities she might have in past lives.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Ugh, you are, so weird." Faust facepalms then silence followed until he took the hand off and spoke to the bracelet once more. "Anyway... I'll need you to pretend to be tamed and act very obedient which hardly happens regardless of who you talk to apparently, then accompany Shaila to the Bidlake territory protecting her while Lucious and I will follow behind." He elaborates his plan instructing my role.

"I don't advise using her as bait even if you think everything in your control, and to compare, she'll be safer with the other snakes on the west that just use wind magic and not malice. You may call me weird, but the nobles are worse than monsters sometimes, and there is no way to predict what schemes they have prepared beforehand." I remind him not to underestimate the enemy even if his plan starts to go smoothly. "What about going to the capital where they won't make a move without getting exposed so easily? Or maybe running to the other continent and hide in the country side?" I proposed safer alternatives.

"Won't work..." Faust shakes his head without looking up. "Their ambitions go as far as ignoring the warning from the Royal family to leave our family out of politics indefinitely, so there's no way they'd give up even if you all run to another continent or the capital." He denied waving a hand while I recall beast tribes.

Hmm... Shaila is okay with beast people and living with the kitties on the south might even be peaceful for her. I recall the cat kin tribe that lives in the swamp to the south with their houses built on ancient trees high up above the water which screams tourist destination.

Yeeah... it was quite strange hearing Cats live above water the first time, but if it is the cozy and clean place people claim to be, then as a tree house builder in my past life, I want to visit... Ah! Now that I think about it, the kitty I tried to eat before is from that tribe... She can probably guide me if I buy her, and maybe even crash in her house as a guest, but that slave merchant is no longer in this Kingdom. I lament the faraway location of the little girl.

I want to visit the Fox Tribe where magical beast foxes and fox-people live together, but they are not found of visitors, especially humans who keep stealing their young to enslave. Well, they should be considered a country despite the low population with how many High Ranks they have, but they possess a hierarchy starting from the Divine, his disciples, descendants, and Rankers after that. I recall the power structure of beast tribes.

"What about seeking asylum in a tribe like the Firefoxes to the north or the Cat tribe to the swamp far South?" I proposed avoiding humans altogether.

"You were thinking for a while, and beast tribes are all you came up with? Anyway, even if they do accept a human girl and a dragon, you who can't respect a few rules, living under a hierarchy will be a nightmare as an outsider." Faust denies the possibility to live comfortably in such places.

Er--No... I just took time thinking of tourist destinations... But yes, I can be a Dragon jerk that anyone other than Shaila would find me hard to get along. I admit remembering another position that would give us a lot of privileges with the Royals.

I'm reluctant about joining the Sky Cavalry thingy, but we'll be grounded preparing since we are not fit to participate in the war until I can fly, though Shaila can fight already. The little girl can make a few lasers strong enough to kill people, but that number increases taking my Mana, and she could camouflage my whole body making us invisible in the air to perform sneak attacks. I review the progress of my partner feeling proud.

"However, we will certainly have much better chances anywhere but where the enemy wants to take us!" I refuted his ideas.

"Not exactly." The man in tattered brown attire shakes his head. "You are not in the safe either." He announced with a smirk.

"...Explain, who wants my beautiful hide?" I inquire the haughty noble narrowing my eyes.

"Alphonse didn't tell you, but he's been taking care of the people asking about you, and some are Nobles from prominent families that want a Mount for their children to participate in the war or join the Sky Cavalry. Right now the war is not progressing much beyond small skirmishes, but when it's time to deploy the Sky Cavalry for air attacks, the price of flying mounts will soar, and some people will get crazy like the ones who tried to Tame Big Red in the past." He explains Noble's desires to join the Royal Sky Cavalry once they have a dragon while pointing at the volcano to his left.

Yikes! Can't humans settle for horses and swords to play at war? Well, I can't argue with air advantage, but I hope they don't make kamikaze attacks like the ones who attempted to Tame Father... I sympathized with Dragons forced to participate when flying mounts are in demand.

"Is it possible to Tame a high rank?" I inquire for confirmation.

"Yes, it requires a long time, but it is possible to Tame powerful beasts with a High-Rank Darkness user, a lot of expensive drugs and stronger collars. Also, you should watch out for anyone discovering your secret since they wouldn't allow you to die using healers until all information is extracted from you. However, since you are considered our property-- Shaila's property, that is deterring other nobles from fighting over the blue lizard. But we haven't officially registered you at the guild for an identity since it's problematic at this point if spies report your affinities and Rank which will make it a lot worse." He confirmed my fears before comforting with the protection being their pet offers.

That sounds more like brainwashing than Taming since mana waves can't be intense enough with the low ambient density around these parts, but I guess if they lower the brain activity with substances, they could suppress a creature enough to take orders. Well, I'm not worried either way because my natural resistance and affinities can fight off any drug invading my body, and my siblings would be the real concern, but I already warned sister about staying away from humans after showing them an Alphonse. I concluded to have sufficient preparations.

Besides, they won't suppress my mind that easily with the electric current running automatically in my brain which increases the activity, awareness and Magic capabilities within healthy limits. I recall the process that consumes lightning Elementals and magic by itself.

Originally I thought this was an unconscious process, but it seems to be doing that by itself, and it's possible to order it to stop momentarily which only returns the old migraines or boost it temporarily to restore connections in the brain that I'm practicing. However, after asking if lightning is supposed to be doing this without my consent, Alphonse informed they have no idea what it is since creatures with this affinity are hard to find, and there is no record of such Magic phenomena.

Ahh! My brain is being hacked!! ...I'm not ordering elementals to do that even when they are linked to my Magic, and it scared me since I did lose control of lightning once, but they are not frying my brain, or rather I'm more dangerous to myself than them. I thanked the unknown aspect of the affinity

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, I don't want to risk Shaila going anywhere yet when she hasn't perfected the essential techniques for survival, and have absolutely no sense of battle... I affirm the effectiveness of the girl in real combat to be presently insufficient.

"Faust, I'm all for punishing the bastards coveting my companion, but you are asking me who's not even Rank 5 to jump into the volcano with Shaila just so you can enact your revenge-- no, for a chance at it." I shake my head refusing the suicide plan.

"Hmph! Don't be a coward!" Faust snorted glaring up at me. "I built this household with a lot of effort, and everything was going well, but a single incident caused everything to crumble. And what do you mean, punish them? I will find out those behind the destruction of my family, and-- KILL THEM ALL!" He bellowed in extreme anger visible in his eyes after explaining.

Coward? Says the guy obsessed with revenge, but it's not like I can't sympathize. However, our priority right now is dodging any obstacle and survive long enough to Rank up before we can confront the people after Shaila's ass... I want to be strong enough, so they don't have an easy death or a happy new life for that matter, but if it's possible, then I'll travel to the past and punish the idiots before their souls leave this realm haha. I think of ways to deal with enemies.

"Cool story bro, but unless there is no other choice, you are doing those people a favor by killing them since they won't suffer or pay for anything, and just start a new life somewhere. We may be too weak now to touch the high rankers backing those families, but you can rest assured that we'll deliver the appropriate punishments even if we have to travel to the past." I refuted his suicidal plan giving hope with a strange idea.

"...Something like visiting the past is impossible, nothing more than an attractive idea." The man scoffed dismissing the notion. "I waited long enough, and things only got worse, but your arrival changed that stagnation. Believe it or not, you gave us all hope in different ways, and if you are worried about being pathetically weak, then we'll just have to fix that, but I'll need your cooperation with my plan. He declared reaching inside his garments before bringing out a bottle making jingling sounds.

"Is that-- what I think it is?" I asked blinking surprised.