Character Information - Who is who?
Because I have created quite a variety of characters, I will now create little cheat sheets before a chapter for the characters who will appear in the chapter, but not for those who haven't. Please open the spoiler if you need some reminders. (Be careful. It can be a spoiler for the chapter!)
Alexander K. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* The fourth child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)
* Specialization(-s)
* Magic and Alchemy
* Eyecolor
* Golden-Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Snow-white
* Miscellaneous
* Transmigrated from the Earth and the MC
(Close-)Retainers
* Ocilia L. (Disciple)
* Maurice L. (Protector)
* Melina L. (Head-Maid)
* Francesca L. (Maid)
* Cloelle L. (Maid)
* Aurum L. (Head Accountant)
Lorient M. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* The first child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)
* Specialization(-s)
* Martial Arts, Acrobatic, and Hunting
* Eyecolor
* Golden-Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Scarlett Red
* Miscellaneous
* A user of wild demon energy
* Sister of the MC
(Close-)Retainers
* Larry L. (Protector)
* Franko L. (Head Butler)
Narsiz K. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* The second child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)
* Specialization(-s)
* Administration, Economy, etc. (Bureaucracy in general)
* Eyecolor
* Golden-Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Golden-blonde fur and hair color
* Miscellaneous
* Incredibly beautiful and charismatic
* Brother of the MC
(Close-)Retainers
* None mentioned
Sarah M. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* The third child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)
* Specialization(-s)
* Shield Arts
* Eyecolor
* Pink-Colored (Heart-formed pupils)
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Pastel-greenish
* Miscellaneous
* Loves Shopping
* Sister of the MC
(Close-)Retainers
* None mentioned
Janina M. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* The fifth child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)
* Specialization(-s)
* Painting
* Eyecolor
* Green-Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Black
* Miscellaneous
* Loves reading shitty romance novels
* Sister of the MC
(Close-)Retainers
* None mentioned
Kairoso Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* Lord of the Leonandra household
* Specialization(-s)
* Transformations (Monsters and Animals)
* Eyecolor
* Green-Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Black
* Miscellaneous
* Is a Druid
* Father of the MC
(Close-)Retainers
* Sarusos L. (Girl for Everything)
Marisia S. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* Lady of the Leonandra household (Nobility)
* Specialization(-s)
* High energy control and Martial Arts
* Eyecolor
* Golden-Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Crimson-Red
* Miscellaneous
* A user of the wild demon energy
* Mother of the MC
(Close-)Retainers
* Aro L. (Head-Butler)
* Salyna L. (Head-Accountant)
* Cross L. (Commander)
* Noriken L. (Archivar)
Scarlett J. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)
* Known Position
* Former Lady of the Leonandra household
* Specialization(-s)
* Martial Arts, Administration, and Manipulation of Energy
* Eyecolor
* Golden Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Crimson-Red Colored
* Miscellaneous
* A user of the Wild Demon Energy
* Grandmother of the MC
* Incredibly ambitious
* Likes hazelnut cookies
(Close-)Retainers
* None mentioned
Fiorello P. Nine-Fire (Fox-kin)
* Known Position
* Child of the Nine-Fire family
* Specialization(-s)
* Manipulation and Socialization
* Eyecolor
* Green Colored
* Hair (Fur-) Color
* Black Colored
* Miscellaneous
* Incredibly beautiful
* Incredibly sadistic
* In cahoots with Klepto and the Asylum camp in Kratikal
(Close-)Retainers
* Strawberry N. (Personal Maid (?))
...
A carriage arrived at the estate. It was embellished with beautiful red and gold vines, which sparkled as the sun shone on them. It gave an air of elegance and sophistication to what Alexander thought a carriage of aristocrats would look like. An engraved symbol showed a fox with nine tails that held demons who looked like they screamed for help.
It differed significantly from Leonandra's bland carriage design but looked much less robust. It was clearly made for visits and other occasions.
It was pulled by white horses, a relatively rare occurrence since war boars were much cheaper and more powerful. However, they were also much harder to tame, and since the carriage was much lighter than what Alexander knew, those animals were a perfect fit.
Another more bland carriage drove from behind, and a servant, a butterfly-kin, stepped out and strode toward the beautiful carriage, opening it.
Out came an older wolf-kin lady in an exquisite dress. From the puppy's point of view, she looked no older than 40, but he knew that her actual age was between 150 and 200. The aura she emitted told him that she was a pure-blood noble lady as she came out with every step as silent and elegant as it could be possible.
Behind her followed two fox-kin girls and one boy. One girl was young, not even having a legacy, while the other was already in her later teens, Alexander assumed. Both were in equally beautiful dresses, but more designed to represent their age.
The younger fox-kin had a flowery dress, a bow tie around her waist, and doll shoes. The older one had a white dress with high heels. A colorful flower in her hair complemented her overall style.
Both had black hair and fur while their eyes were red, two utterly beautiful girls in Alexander's eyes. However, they both fail if he puts the teenage fox-kin boy on the same stage beside them.
His suit was simple, so much so that it only accentuated his face, which looked like god personally made it out of marmor. He had clear green eyes, black hair, and fur, 'Holy moly. He is on the same level as Narsiz.'
Alexander was fully aware of how beautiful his brother was. While he also had charisma and looked well, compared to Narsiz, he was like a dumpster beside a beautiful flower garden, 'There goes my self-esteem, I guess... actually, if I think like this, what do they think about me?'
He stood at the entrance with all his siblings and parents in the front. Looking at them, they were wearing beautiful dresses. Even Lorient, whom Alexander only saw wearing training clothes. He looked down at himself, 'Well, the four hours of playing dress up make sense now.'
He was never someone who liked to dress well. If he could go somewhere in sweatpants, he would do it.
He looked a little more around and saw how his sisters suddenly became much more seductive, if he could call it that since they started throwing lovely eyes at the fox-kin teenage boy, 'Well, good luck, whoever you are. If you do something wrong, they will probably beat the living shit out of you.'
Narsiz, on the other hand, was sweating a little and was probably overly nervous. Alexander guessed that the lessons with Anastasia and Aro made all the girls look like hungry hyenas to him.
Alexander looked back at the guests, and it seemed he was the only one who didn't care about anything. It went so far that he needed to suppress a yawn, 'So, two weeks at most, and they are gone... urgh.'
Alexander had no time at all. He tried to direct all the repetitive work to others, like the paper production, which was in the hands of his mother, who gave it to Noriken, for whom Alexander wrote a thorough manual. He needed to help here and there initially, but he wasn't needed anymore after some time.
The mana ink was also in Noriken's hands, who got some people who tested all possible combinations to achieve the best result.
Alexander would visit them every few days and look at the mana density to decide which had the highest. This job he gave to Ocilia in the beginning, but she went off with Aurum for something different.
Aurum was at the moment already in Wolfsteeth, meeting up with some former classmates and starting the charities.
Alexander expected not much. Aurum did everything slowly and carefully. So the moment he returned, he would, at most, propped up a couple of orphanages or widow homes.
However, Alexander didn't really care what he did. The moment he gave all authority to Aurum, he lost almost all interest and went to his next project, on which the blacksmiths were working at the moment.
But why did Alexander have no time even though he redirected some of his work to others? He kept giving mana skills to everyone close to him and even started experimenting with how Janina could get it.
It was not even dangerous this time since he merely had the mana move around her while she meditated. He hoped to find a way to give everyone the real deal and, if it was possible, with someone younger.
He also trained a lot, from acrobatics with Lorient to being a punching bag with Sarah. This was why he had barely any time. It was back to his old schedule.
Even with the little time he had, everything went well for him, and everyone he was close to was also happy-go-lucky. Especially Green, who, after seeing the ink, was elated and brought even more spells and theory books with her, besides giving him more gold as an investment.
While he talked privately with her, she mentioned how the Twin-Acorn branch was growing and that the temple in Wolfsteeth would get more personal.
Funny enough, she also thanked Alexander for the advice he gave. He just mentioned that she shouldn't try to promote her temple, close to Kratikal, as safe and wonderful but as a challenge for those who want to promote the Circle of Nature.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
With a lot of fluff and artistic descriptions, some dwellers now saw the region as something that needed the most help, and she got a lot of transfers, too.
Alexander was brought back as he accidentally sensed Sarusos behind him. He was commanded to be their shadow throughout this visit. His mother wasn't too trusting and wanted to ensure her talented boys wouldn't be overwhelmed.
There were multiple reasons for this, and one was that their grandmother wanted to marry them off to some noble households before their mother's genes took over, and they would find themselves in a marriage with commoners.
He heard the story and the fallout from her announcing that she wanted to marry a commoner, so this time, his grandmother probably tried to get them early.
Why not his sister's, though? The most important reason was that their grandmother barely cared about them in her letters. Why? Talent.
Everyone understood that strength was undoubtedly most important in such a world. However, what do you think if the household was full of strong family members who came short on other aspects like politics, economy, etc.? Those traits became more desirable compared to strength.
Thus, she tried marrying off Narsiz and Alexander to some who showed talent in combat-related specialties.
It was no different from Earth. Supply and demand were a thing. Now, Narsiz was the hottest commodity. Metaphorically and literally, since his beauty and natural charisma would give him a giant leg up in noble circles, pairing it with his talent and interests, he was a golden goose that couldn't be wasted as a Christmas dish.
However, he couldn't really place himself anywhere. He was rare, but most things he did were secretive, so he expected just some girl with whom he would play tag for a week or two. Even though magic was great, nobody knew outside of his family if he was even talented, so he guessed that they would mostly wait and see before bartering their most gifted children off.
He emerged from his thoughts as some servants approached the former lady and helped her with her luggage.
Naturally, the former lady gave out some commands and came with their group of overly beautiful fox-kin youth to them, "Good to see you, Mari!"
Marisia answered neutrally, not showing any emotion, "Good to see you, Mother."
She turned to Kairoso, who smiled snarkily, "Hey Scarlett, I didn't know wild demons were allowed to walk beside us?"
She smiled the same way at him, "Not like you would know while living in some hole, right?"
It was tense, only broken by Lorient, "Hello, grandmother!"
Luckily, she went through her first mating season without any problem, except for some broken bones, and was calmer than usual before the season.
She told everyone proudly at the dinner a couple of days ago that she got the skill. Funny enough, she ignored the part where she thrashed multiple rooms and fought almost every night with someone while screaming all around the place and frightening every servant. It was an open secret, though, so everybody knew but didn't say anything.
Scarlett greeted all of Alexander's sisters very casually, but when she came to Narsiz, she became suddenly overly happy, "Oh, hello, Narsiz, you became such a beautiful young man!"
Narsiz smiled nervously, "Thanks, grandmother, you look good too."
She then came over to Alexander, who nobly greeted her, "Hello, grandmother."
A giant smile bloomed on her face, "Oh, if it is not the archmage puppy? Can you really do magic? All the rumors were just too interesting!"
Alexander instantly conjured multiple contraptions of fireballs around him, "Of course, grandmother..." and smiled at her while thinking something else, 'This... reminds me so much of the family meet-ups when I had my parents. At that point, I was nothing more than some circus animal to show off.'
At this moment, Scarlett had already forgotten all the others and was much more interested in Alexander, "I see, a great little mage!"
But Alexander pushed Janina forward instead of taking the compliment, "Grandmother, you should probably greet my little sister too."
Alexander could see how she almost frowned but nonetheless did it. After a small talk with everyone, well, mostly Narsiz and Alexander, she introduced the fox-kin youth.
First came the oldest one and greeted with a textbook bow, "Good day, my name is Linuel O. Nine-Fire. I hope for a blooming friendship..."
While doing the bow, Alexander saw how she looked at Narsiz like a hunter towards their prey, analyzing him thoroughly. He could feel it visibly, too, since he shuddered slightly.
Next was the little one who came over and looked at Alexander up and down. He was confused and asked, "Can I help you?"
She nodded and said with all the vigor she had, "Yes! I want you to be my husband!"
It was silent till Alexander broke it accidentally by blurring something unmannered out, "Yeah, all right, kid."
She stomped her feet, "I am not a child!..." She beat her non-existing chest, "...My name is Patricia O. Nine-Fire!"
Alexander wanted to tease her even more, "Good for you, Patri..."
Before he could say it, Sarusos stepped a little closer from behind. His menacing aura was like a knife targeting Patricia, who backed away, "What a cute little girl. I am Sarusos Leonandra, his personal guard for your short visit..." He looked with a menacing smile towards the former lady, "...Scarlett should know me very well."
It was silent, and Alexander could've sworn he could cut the air with a knife. Luckily, the last one came forward to interrupt the intense atmosphere.
It was like someone pushed a button. His grace came in full force as he mainly looked at all of Alexander's sisters as he said his greeting, "My name is Fiorello P. Nine-Fire, and it is my honor to meet such beautiful and refined ladies."
Fiorello looked at Sarah, Lorient, and Janina more intensely with a charming prince smile. Sarah became elated while Lorient looked at him like those professionals Alexander saw once leaving the estate. Janina, on the other hand, blushed.
The whole greeting was weird for Alexander, and he got an insight that let him understand the aristocratic dating scene much better. They couldn't date commoners and had only each other, so such a visit was one of those few chances where they could find a partner for life or a fling.
What Lorient did for the last weeks was an exception and usually only allowed for the first mating season. Afterward, it would not be kindly seen in noble circles to have something with commoners.
This is best seen by Linuel, who stared at Narsiz like, if she could, she would rip his clothes right here, right now, from him.
He turned to Fiorello. He had a glint in his eyes, which Alexander knew from one of his friends who went after every girl he could find, 'Good luck, buddy. If you break my sisters hearts, I wouldn't even get the chance to beat you up. They would rip you apart themselves.'
The last one was Patricia, who looked at him angrily, but he could've sworn that he saw her propping her chest up, 'This is weird... too weird.'
Then he remembered how Janina was overly interested in romance and all that stuff and understood it was slightly different from modern Earth. So, he already tried to put himself in the right mood so he could play along for the time, 'Well, I also pretended to be my sister's date at a school ball on Earth to make her ex jealous once. So, this is more or less the same, I guess.'
Marisia broke the weird atmosphere with a clap, "All right! Let's not stand here..." She approached the fox-kin youth, "Please make yourself at home since the Nine-Fire household is practically family."
...
In the guest room of the former lady
Scarlett and her servants were unpacking while she walked around the room with a giant smile.
Linuel sat at the desk and asked her in an annoyed tone, leaning on her fist, "This Narsiz is beautiful and all that, but he hasn't even gone through his first mating season. I don't think he is even interested in girls, but looked instead frightened."
Scarlett looked at her and waved her hand in dismissal, "He will in a year or two. If you can build a relationship, he will surely fall in love with you. Don't forget to visit him regularly and be as lovely as possible. I heard that he is a sensitive boy."
Linuel sighed, "Fine..." She looked at Patricia, sitting on the bed and pouting, "... what's wrong with you? Someone got your tail?"
She suddenly turned around, visibly angry, "Alex is dumb! He called me kid! He is a kid!"
Scarlett chuckled, "Hehe, don't worry. Marisia probably told only the most horrible stories about me. If he knows you better, he will like you very much."
Patricia jumped down and showed her fangs at them, "He is cocky! I am from Nine-Fire and a prodigy! How can he be so dumb? I was told he should be a genius and can't even see another genius like me!"
Before Scarlett could try to calm her down, Linuel advised her, "Be careful. He is incredibly dangerous."
Scarlett looked at her and frowned, "Yeah, this Saru is a maniac, but..."
Linuel interrupted her, "Not him, I mean Alexander. My skills were warning me to be careful around him."
Patricia answered, full of pride this time, "I am stronger than he is! These stupid fireballs are nothing but fireflies."
Linuel smirked and shrugged her shoulders, "Suit yourself, but be careful since what he did in an instant was something only advanced mages could do."
Scarlett frowned and looked at Linuel more intensely, "How can he be dangerous? He is not even seven, let alone went through his legacy."
She was oblivious at the greeting since her daughter was staring at her intensely, so she wouldn't try and help the kids out. It was also annoying that Sarusos was there, staring at her with his typical flair of an asylum escapee on a killing spree.
Linuel pointed at her nose, "Smell him. He went through the demonic baptism."
Scarlett was perplexed, "How?! We did it only shortly before the legacy. How could he survive this? Is Mari insane?!"
Linuel shrugged again, "I don't know, but not even that. Did you see the green bracelets around his arms and legs? Also, the collar he was wearing?"
Patricia commented, "He has no fashion sense. They were ugly!"
Scarlett knew what the fox-kin teen wanted to say but had no idea about mana items. Her training methods were ancient but effective, and barely anything magical was involved.
She looked at Linuel questioningly till she answered, "Huh, this is a mana item that increases body weight. I saw them being gifted toward Ms. Anastasia at some ball. It seems she gifted them to the pup."
Scarlett was now fully confused, "What... what can a young one like him do with such a mana item?"
She smirked at her, "He was also wearing an anti-mana collar used for beginning war mages. Since he could cast so fast and without any problems..." She looked at Patricia with an even bigger smirk, "...I would guess he is more than a little talented."
Scarlett was even more confused than before. In the letter from her daughter, she said that her grandson was talented and could do magic. However, like many others on the border, she knew how to kill a magic user but had no idea about the intricacies of magic. So, this information shocked her, 'Why did Mari didn't write me anything more specific... urgh.'
Scarlett knew they didn't have the best relationship, but omitting information was unusual since she praised her daughters. Thus, there should be a reason for this. So, she put her judgment away for later after hearing her daughter out.
Linuel stood up and walked to the door, saying, "Don't ask me. I can tell by your confused expression that you are about to do so. However, I can tell you that he had four times his body weight on him after I saw them. As I said, he is not only a genius..." As she walked beside Patricia, she tried to pat her but got her hand swatted away, "...he is a little monster."
Patricia ran behind Scarlett while Linuel left, "See you later at dinner, Scarlett. I need to look and hope that Fio didn't run around and impregnate the servants."
As the door closed, Scarlett became more confused. She was very family-oriented and wanted only the best, at least so much as no danger would befall them, and thought Marisia was the same but too soft since she stopped many dangerous training methods and the baptism. Yet, it looked like she had become worse, and she didn't know if it was for the better or worse.
'I need to talk with her later... urgently...'
...
Alexanders room
"She looks good, a little aggressive, though."
"Patricia or Linuel?"
"I am talking about the one who analyzed us like we were meat."
Narsiz let himself fall on a couch, "I am already tired, and worse, she has the lineage."
Alexander went to Narsiz and leaned at him, waiting to be patted, "Why is it worse? Was it not something you wanted? She looks only strong and has no interest in administration, so you could do whatever you like."
Narsiz frowned and patted his little brother, "Alex, since she is older and has the lineage, she will probably be looking for someone who will be her husband and, if not lord, an administrator of a bigger city. I am not ready for something like this... it's like... I don't know. I want to do things myself before committing to something like this."
Alexander shrugged, "Suit yourself, not like someone can force you to, and I have your back. Don't forget. I am practically richer than all our estate... in maybe a decade or so... if the economy is not changing too much... I think." He looked at Narsiz, "...don't judge me, as the economy is a fickle beast."
Narsiz chuckled, "Hehe, you are right, thank you, but what about you and Patricia? She seemed very..." He paused and couldn't find a good word to describe her, but Alexander could, "Annoying? Pain in the ass? Arrogant bitch?"
Narsiz laughed, "Haha, come on, she is a puppy... well, you too, but..."
Alexander turned around again, "But what?"
Narsiz answered him honestly, "I never saw you like a smaller brother but as someone my age or older... so I can somehow understand your irritation."
Alexander turned back, a little blushed, "Damn, can you be a bit more discreet? But yes, in my eyes, she is a puppy, and I don't know what I can do with her."
Narsiz shrugged, "Learn more about her? Maybe she will grow into a fine lady?"
Alexander chuckled, "Hehe, do you want me to groom her?"
Narsiz looked confused at him, "Yeah, why not?"
Alexander forgot that grooming someone wasn't seen as something bad in this world, especially when someone older wanted to groom a child to be their future spouse. Yet, his moral compass bashed repeatedly against his head when a thought about grooming her appeared.
Alexander asked, "Hm, let's ignore this and look for the happier things in life. Aight?"
Narsiz asked, confused, "You mean family?"
Alexander smiled at him, "Nah, that they will be gone in a week or two."
Both started to laugh.
...
Leonandra Estate, somewhere in the second biggest mansion
"You look really good, you know?"
"Hm, you are welcome, and your wild side accentuates your unquestionable beauty."
Lorient and Fiorello were flirting in the kitchen. She was surprised as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started hitting on her. She liked it since her mating season stressed her out a lot, and even the professionals who came could barely bring her down.
However, she didn't want to do something against the conduct she roughly studied, yet she slowly felt more aroused around him while she started to like him more and more for no apparent reason. Her mind blanked a little.
She smirked while leaning at him, "I see you are one of those, but don't worry. I don't care even if you shut up and just look nice."
Fiorello raised an eyebrow and smiled at her, "Lorient, how about we look for a nice and silent room first, and then I will show you why the red-light district in our city calls me a tongue artist."
Every word Fiorello said became increasingly seductive even though it didn't sound like it. Lorient didn't want to do anything, but something inside her mind was louder, and the voice said it was fine while pushing her other thoughts away.
As he was about to lean forward, a familiar voice came from the side, "Here you are! What do you think you are doing?"
Lorient suddenly came out of her stupor and was slightly confused. She saw Linuel, who came from the side and thoroughly analyzed the scene before her.
She suddenly remembered all the rumors about Fiorello, who only played with girls. While it would be nice to have a boy toy while the mating season was ongoing, she was looking for someone who was loyal and honest like her father. So she had no interest in him from the beginning, but this situation made her even more confused at why she was doing what she did, 'What the fuck happened?'
Fiorello stopped and smiled at his sister, "Lin, how are you? I am a bit busy, as you can see, so..."
She flash-stepped toward him and took his ear, dragging him immediately out, "Not now! I can't believe you didn't lose your juvenile mind after all the years! Come with me!"
He struggled to resist but, in the end, was forced to follow her, "Ow ow ow! All right, don't drag me, Lin... ow!"
Linuel stopped shortly and turned towards Lorient, "Sorry about that."
Lorient nodded at her, and when they left, she stood for a couple of minutes in the kitchen and suddenly became angry, 'This fucker used skills on me!'
She stormed out to warn her sisters, 'If he does this one more time, I will rip his head off!'