Stephanie smiled as she received the wine awkwardly handed over by Simon's mother, inwardly imagining tying up her own leader’s effigy to a cross and flogging it mercilessly.

It was unprecedented for a seventh-level knight and mage, born into nobility, to be this short on money.

Not only did he need to sell off mission slots, but he also specifically traveled here to recruit students personally recommended by their teachers.

Beside Stephanie, the half-elf female rogue, shrouded in a large cloak, stayed silent with a cold expression.

Stephanie guessed that the ever-shy Estelle was probably so overwhelmed by such enthusiasm that even her pointy ears must have turned red.

How adorable.

Next to them, the shield-wielding warrior twin brothers, Lenart and Leon Risto, awkwardly squished themselves into chairs that were far too narrow for their builds.

Only their leader, Lancelot Cavendish, handled everything with the grace and ease of a nobleman, as he had done countless times at aristocratic gatherings.

"Simon does indeed have some talent, but talent isn’t everything. Advancing as a knight requires many resources, and the Knight Academy cannot provide these resources for every student," Lancelot said.

"Yes, yes," Simon’s father nodded.

"Simon has potential, but you must understand that his talent isn’t exactly top-tier. Relying solely on the Academy, he won’t be able to go far. And frankly, the help you can provide him is quite limited."

Simon’s father looked somewhat dejected. Repairing an apprentice knight’s armor was already at the limit of what he could do; if Simon advanced any further, he wouldn’t even be able to help polish his son’s armor.

"You’re right, we’re just ordinary people and can’t offer much help for Simon’s future. The Academy…"

Lancelot gracefully raised his cup, his ice-blue eyes staring into the not-so-clear wine, saying no more. Some things are best left unsaid and allowed to be pondered.

At that moment, Simon entered with Silaim in tow.

"Senior Lancelot, this... this is Silaim, who will be taking on the mission with me," Simon introduced nervously.

Lancelot looked up, his expression indifferent as he cast a fleeting glance over the two tense young knights, spending no additional time on Silaim.

"Since everyone is here, let's get ready to set out. Others are waiting," Lancelot announced.

As soon as he finished speaking, Estelle stood up abruptly and walked out without a word.

Stephanie got up and followed her.

Simon’s parents looked a bit flustered, but neither Lancelot nor anyone else in the team paid them any mind.

After all, Simon was just a young knight with some talent, someone who might grow into something more—if not for their leader’s peculiar idea, none of them, a group of level six and seven professionals, would have bothered coming here.

As for their attitudes, even a level-one professional could ignore ordinary people like one would disregard roadside weeds, let alone them.

Simon and Silaim quickly followed suit and exited.

Trailing behind them, Silaim looked lost and crestfallen; the feeling of being completely ignored was hard to swallow.

"Huh? A handsome young man?" Stephanie, stepping outside, stretched lazily to show off her graceful figure and turned her head to see Laurent by the railing.

"Miss Stephanie? Why are you here?" Laurent looked at her in surprise, his internal alarms ringing louder than a church bell at noon.

Why was she here? Was she investigating him? Was she scouting for an ambush?

Or was there some other reason?

"Are you a student at the Knight Academy too?" Stephanie didn’t answer; instead, she leaned lazily against the railing and asked him.

"N-no, I'm not." Laurent pursed his lips, frantically calculating whether he could hold out until the Knights arrived if she decided to attack.

"Well, that’s too bad." Stephanie nonchalantly smiled, as if she didn’t notice Laurent’s wary stance. "Our adventure team’s captain is here to find someone, so I just tagged along."

"If you were a student at the Academy, we could take you to the Black Forest too~"

"By the way, you're really into exotic beasts, huh?"

Stephanie leaned over the railing, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the stacked cages in the courtyard across the way. She could sense the life force of countless exotic beasts within them.

"Keeping these creatures is dangerous. Exotic beasts are all heartless creatures; it’s best not to keep them, hmm?"

Stephanie idly felt out the life force within the cages as she spoke.

Not bad, plenty of them—most were level-one beasts, and the strongest one reached level two.

And a few more? Hmm? What was that?

As Stephanie probed deeper, she suddenly sensed a peculiar presence.

"What else do you have in your house?" Stephanie narrowed her eyes and suddenly, without warning, reached out toward Laurent.

Laurent, startled, but having been on guard against her actions all along, just managed to dodge.

"What are you doing?! This is Knight Academy territory—what are you trying to do?" Laurent shouted as he backed away.

Hearing Laurent’s shouts, Silaim, who was following behind Stephanie and the others, jumped in shock and rushed over.

"Brother! What’s going on?"

Stolen novel; please report.

Stephanie’s eyes darted around. "Little guy, is this your brother?"

Silaim stepped protectively in front of Laurent. Seeing that the one who seemed to be reaching for his brother was a member of the adventure team from Simon’s house, he panicked.

"What’s going on? Why are you arguing?"

A tall, handsome knight with flowing white hair walked out from behind the house.

The white-haired knight was extraordinarily good-looking, making one wonder if he had elven blood.

Tall and long-legged, though he appeared somewhat slender compared to the two human towers behind him, the strength radiating from his body, even through his clothes, marked him as a high-ranking knight.

Stephanie stepped back and looked at him sideways. "Boss, this is the quest issuer I mentioned earlier. There's something strange in his house. I worry that..."

She didn’t finish, but her teammates understood her implication.

A potential wild mage, a living exotic beast, an abnormal life force.

These clues pieced together almost always pointed to something concocted by those mages: "artificial exotic beasts"—more brutal than exotic beasts, without emotions or even rationality.

Lancelot stepped forward, eyeing the two brothers who resembled squirrels with their fur fluffed up. He silently criticized the cowardice of today’s apprentice knights, while also finding the more attractive younger one amusing in his flustered state.

"I am Lancelot Cavendish, a knight-in-training instructor at the Knight Academy. Pleased to meet you."

He greeted them politely.

"Since our team’s mage sensed an unusual presence in your home, would you permit us to come inside and take a look?"

"If it’s an exotic beast sneaking in, we can help you deal with it."

"An unusual presence? We do have quite a few exotic beasts in our backyard. If you’re talking about the beasts..."

"No, no, it’s not an exotic beast, but something that’s neither human nor beast." Lancelot interrupted Laurent with a smile. "Of course, we don’t have the authority to investigate directly, but if you insist, I won’t mind bringing in the patrol team."

Laurent pursed his lips, already guessing that they had sensed the presence of the Liuli Flame Hound.

He didn’t think of the Liuli Flame Hound as something shameful. Not only was it not shameful, but he even wanted to open a store to sell them.

However, their attitude made Laurent uneasy.

"No need, you can come in. I'll cooperate with you, but please don’t mess up my things."

"Of course."

Lancelot displayed the manners befitting a noble and signaled the two large shield knights behind him to tether their horses.

It was Laurent’s first time so close to the mounts of high-ranking knights; if the timing were right, he would have loved to take a closer look.

Laurent opened the door to let Lancelot in, but the expected scene of the young beasts swarming to welcome him didn’t occur.

Laurent tilted his head and listened for a moment, then reluctantly knocked on his mother's door.

"Laurent, are they here for these little ones?" Ruth, peeking through a crack in the door, eyed the white-haired knight in her living room warily. "I’ve already sent Jesse to find help! The little pups are hidden with me; they won’t be found!"

"Don’t worry, Mom. It’ll be alright," Laurent whispered to reassure her, though he himself had little confidence.

He bent down and picked up one of the curious cubs that had wandered to his mother’s feet.

"Laurent!" Ruth exclaimed, but before she could stop him, he was already carrying the cub towards the white-haired knight.

Lancelot stared in confusion at the creature in Laurent’s arms, whose tail had small flames floating around it.

"This... this is..."

"I suppose this is the unusual presence you sensed," Laurent said, taking a deep breath. "Isn't that right?"

At that moment, Lancelot no longer cared about any "unusual presence."

Even if this little guy had created a bunch of artificial exotic beasts, Lancelot didn’t care—he only wanted to confirm exactly what was in Laurent's arms, and why it hadn’t torn him apart with its claws and flames.

"Did you cultivate this exotic beast?" Lancelot tried hard to steady his trembling voice.

"I call them 'beast pets,'" Laurent said, stroking the young cub’s back to calm it down. Beast pets were extraordinarily perceptive, picking up on Ruth and Laurent's anxiety, as well as Lancelot's imposing aura, which made the cub both fearful and defensive.

"Beast pets? They don’t hurt people?" Lancelot stared greedily at the little creature in Laurent’s arms, who was baring its teeth at him.

"Yes. To be precise, they don’t attack people proactively, but they do retain some aggressiveness," Laurent replied, glancing at Lancelot before making a decision. He lifted the small pup in his arms and offered it to Lancelot. "Would you like to try holding it?"

"I... can I?" Lancelot, for once, looked flustered, unsure what to do.

"Of course, but you might want to be gentle; it's still very young."

Somewhat stiffly, Lancelot took the pup. The small dog whimpered in discontent but didn’t put up much of a fight since Laurent had handed it over.

As he gently stroked the little dog, Lancelot’s eyes flickered with various emotions.

He even briefly entertained the idea of killing Laurent and taking everything he had.

He was confident that he was the first to discover this secret; otherwise, a breakthrough like this would have been publicized everywhere.

If he lifted a finger, everything belonging to this defenseless young man would become his own.

No one would care about the life of an ordinary person. Even in the Knight Academy’s jurisdiction, he was confident that he could cover everything up neatly.

But then Lancelot calmed down.

Killing and looting was certainly an option, but not his first choice—there were better ways to handle this perfectly.

"Do you know what it means to reveal something like this?" he asked Laurent.

Laurent stared back at him. "What does it mean?"

"Exotic beasts have long been considered untamable, uncommunicable entities. The Magic Council has studied them for hundreds of years without much progress."

"To put it plainly, if the creation of your pups was not an accident but a controllable process, this achievement alone would be enough to earn a place on the Pillar of Civilization, to be revered by all intelligent beings."

Laurent felt complicated. He’d never even heard of a “Pillar of Civilization.”

His sole purpose in creating the Liuli Flame Hound was to sell them for 50,000 gold each to improve his family’s standard of living.

He had expected that his beast pets would cause a sensation once they were released. As long as the Liuli Flame Hound was recognized, there would surely be an endless line of buyers.

That was the best future he could envision.

But now it sounded like his actions had somehow been elevated to the level of “civilization.”

"I... I didn’t think that far. It was just a hobby," Laurent hesitated. "When I accidentally bred the Liuli Flame Hound, I just thought of selling them to help with family expenses..."

Lancelot’s long fingers scratched the pup's chin, “In a situation like yours, if the Magic Council finds out, those lunatics will lock you up in a magnificent mage’s tower, keeping you in there forever to research your beast pets.”

“If the Church gets to you first, they'll name you a Blessed One, parading you around alongside their Saints and Saints during festivals to spread their teachings.”

“The Knight Order would seize your brother, forcing you to continuously breed beast pets to supply their needs.”

Laurent’s heart sank the more he heard. He knew there was an element of exaggeration and intimidation in Lancelot's words, but even if only fifty percent of it was true, he couldn’t accept it.

A man of no status but possessing great treasure courts disaster.

Someone like him, an ordinary person with no power, wielding such technology, was no different than a defenseless child flaunting a golden ball in public.

A tempting target.

Lancelot noted Laurent’s expression and secretly smirked.

"But I do have a proposal for you," Lancelot said.

Laurent raised his head. "What is it?"

"First, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Lancelot Cavendish, currently a registered seventh-level knight and fifth-level mage, head of the Cavendish family, and the current Count of Black Gold Purple Cedar."

When Lancelot recited this string of titles, he seemed to radiate with an aura of superiority.

And Laurent was indeed dazzled. Lancelot looked at most twenty years old, and setting aside the noble title, his knight and mage levels alone were impressive.

A seventh-level knight or a fifth-level mage in their early twenties was a talent seen only once every decade or so.

Combining both was more than just a simple addition—it was no exaggeration to call him an unparalleled genius.

"My teachers are a seventeenth elder of the School of Evocation and a deputy head of one of the eight knight orders. My mother is a high priestess of the Church."

"I can help you resolve these troubles and take you to register with the Magic Council. Once registered, you won’t have to worry about anyone stealing your research results. The Council’s protection of magical patents is quite reliable."

“What do I have to give up in return?” Laurent felt overwhelmed; Lancelot’s proposal was very tempting. A string of threats followed by enticements made it hard to refuse.

Only now did Laurent realize that he had oversimplified everything before. Without backing, a beast pet shop was just a large piece of meat coveted by all.

Not only these organizations, but any race—elves, orcs, goblins—would come for a bite if they found out.

“I want to be your investor,” Lancelot said with a smile, looking at Laurent as if he were a hen that laid golden eggs.

After the initial shock, a noble who had inherited a vast estate but couldn't afford to maintain it quickly related everything to his own situation.

His financial desperation was so severe that he had to resort to taking students and selling his own skills to survive.

This quest’s rewards could at least allow the Cavendish estate to enjoy a taste of true nobility for a while.

"I want half of all the profits from your beast pets."

"No way! Fifty percent is way too much—I’d rather be taken by the Magic Council!" Laurent reacted as if his tail had been stepped on, practically jumping up.

The pup in Lancelot’s arms, drowsy from being petted, woke up with a start, leaping down and growling at Lancelot protectively.

"Calm down, calm down." Lancelot raised his hands in a placating gesture, then glanced at the room’s door, which had opened a crack. “Shall we go outside to discuss?”

Laurent noticed his mother’s movements as well, took a deep breath, and nodded in agreement.

The sky was beginning to darken as Laurent followed the knight, who was a head taller than him, into the backyard.

"If it were any other noble, they wouldn’t talk to you like I did. They’d simply control your family, imprison you, and force you to churn out beast pets."

Lancelot spoke with deeper meaning.

“If I decided to do the same, do you think you’d have any room to resist?”

Laurent replied calmly, “I’m just an ordinary person; naturally, I’d have no room to resist. Whatever you say would go.”

“Then why do you think you can negotiate with me?”

“Because I have value.” Laurent looked the tall knight straight in the eye, suddenly exuding confidence. “You could, of course, imprison my family. I’d submit and produce Liuli Flame Hounds for you, even hand over my breeding method to ensure their safety.”

“But you would only get Liuli Flame Hounds. Any future beast pets would never exist.”

“I don’t think a seventh-level knight is as short-sighted as that.”

Lancelot turned sharply. “Other beast pets? You’re confident you can breed more?”

“Not create—breed,” Laurent clarified, putting on a mysterious air. “If I can breed Liuli Flame Hounds, I’m confident I can breed more types of beast pets.”

“My vision for a pet store can’t rely on just one type of pet.”

“If I were dealing with those short-sighted nobles, I wouldn’t say this. I’d simply comply with their demands, hand over the Flame Hounds that were accidentally bred, and wait for a chance to escape.”

“But I believe you’re not someone without foresight. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had this lengthy discussion with someone like me.”

“Thank you for your trust. Naturally, I’d pay more for your value,” Lancelot said, trying to contain his excitement. “But first, show me—prove your worth.”

“I’ll give you time—a year. If you can breed another kind of beast pet within that time, I’ll take only forty percent. If you breed three kinds, I’ll only take thirty percent.”

Laurent’s eyes lit up. “And if it’s more?”

Whether it was his eagerness that was too obvious or not, Lancelot sensed a trap. After a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth.

“Five kinds—five useful types of beast pets—and I’ll settle for twenty percent of the profits, plus a shop in Hollando and a shop in Sacron owned by the Magic Council.”

“Deal!” Laurent agreed swiftly. “But how do we determine their usefulness?”

“If they have buyers and a market, they’re useful!”

“Alright!”

“Deal!”