"And there's even a second floor now."
Opening the door, the Fox Father proudly led everyone inside for a tour.
His two children couldn't contain their excitement and dashed inside, chirping and cheering with joy over their rebuilt home.
Even the Fox Mother, as she examined the refreshed house, couldn't help the gleam of delight in her eyes.
It was clear the whole fox family was more than pleased with their new home.
"Truly impressive craftsmanship!"
Luke sincerely praised: "Even if it were a human master carpenter, they couldn't possibly build something like this in just two days."
"Haha, you flatter me..."
Hearing himself compared to a human master carpenter, the Fox Father grinned from ear to ear.
Then he waved his hand in false modesty, but his eyes curved into an even narrower smile.
It was obvious that after rebuilding his new home, his mood had greatly improved.
"But after all, I'm still just a magical beast..."
At that, the Fox Father suddenly paused, and a rare look of hesitation appeared on his face.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his expression, Luke casually asked: "Is there some problem?"
"Nothing…"
The Fox Father shook his head. "I was just thinking about how to repay you."
"Repay me?"
Luke laughed. "You don't have to bring that up with me. If you can safely send me to the official exam venue next, that's the best repayment you could give."
"That's not the same!"
The Fox Father insisted, "That's my job, I have to do that anyway. But rebuilding the house was a personal matter. If I don't repay you for that..."
He said firmly, "I would feel guilty in my heart."
With that, it seemed he had made up his mind.
He stepped outside, ran beneath the giant pine tree, and began digging forcefully.
Soon, he unearthed something and returned to Luke's side while holding it in his arms.
"A metal box?"
Luke immediately noticed the dirt-covered metal box in the Fox Father's hands.
At a glance, it looked quite old, clearly from a long time ago.
"In truth, our clan wasn't originally a race of magical beasts."
Before Luke could ask, the Fox Father spoke first, and his words made Luke freeze for a moment.
"According to the legend passed from our ancestors, we were once humans, ordinary, completely normal humans."
His tone grew low and somber.
"But one day, many, many years ago… my ancestors went adventuring and wandered into a dark forest. There, he found a lake and bent down to drink from it and rest."
"But then, from within the lake, he heard a strange melody, as if someone were playing a harp."
"At that moment, my ancestor was entranced by a melody. Even when he sensed something was wrong, once the music entered his ears, he could no longer control himself."
"He said he didn't even know if he heard the whole song. Because soon after, his consciousness began to fade in and out, until finally the music disappeared from his mind and when he awoke again..."
The Fox Father's voice turned bitter.
"When he awoke and looked into the water once more..."
"He had already become what we are now."
He gave a self-deprecating smile.
"This kind of beastly form… no, he had truly become a magical beast."
"Fortunately, our intelligence, thoughts, and even our vocal cords remained the same as humans; we managed to preserve them completely."
"Ever since my ancestors turned into what we are now, we have been constantly searching for a way to change back."
"Especially that strange melody, it's definitely the culprit that made us become like this."
"From my ancestors to my father's generation, they all persisted in seeking the truth behind that melody."
"And when it came to my father's time, they finally gained some results."
"But it was precisely because of that discovery that our family finally let go..."
"Because that melody..."
The Fox Father stared at Luke, who had been silently listening to his story.
"It's the Dark Sonata, isn't it?"
Luke spat out the correct answer: "And it's the harp part, right?"
"That's right!"
The Fox Father nodded fiercely, his eyes slightly reddened.
"That so-called legendary piece said to be composed by Satan himself!"
The Dark Sonata is a legendary musical score on this continent.
Composed by Satan, it contains four solo pieces: piano, violin, flute, and harp.
Anyone who plays or listens to it faces deadly calamities.
The flute movement of the score once caused an irreversible transformation to Melody.
Her companion, who performed it while drunk, died on the spot.
In Melody's own words: "I listened to the flute. That day, my friends were drunk and played it. I only heard one movement, and I became like this, and the friend who played it died."
"I don't want anyone else to end up like me, so I must find the score and destroy it."
Even someone like Melody had her body twisted by the Dark Sonata.
Let alone the ancestors of the fox family.
After hearing the harp movement, they were transformed from humans into magical beasts.
That was an even more thorough change than Melody's.
Although they could still take human form, think, and speak with intelligence, their essence had changed; they had turned from humans into beasts.
The Dark Sonata, born from the hands of Satan, naturally possessed unimaginable power.
This also explained why the fox family had intelligence far beyond ordinary beasts.
But after so many years, they had already grown used to their beastly identity, or rather, they had subconsciously accepted themselves as magical beasts.
"What else could we do?"
The Fox Father sighed deeply.
"After learning it was the Dark Sonata, we gave up on becoming human again."
"After all, we can still transform into human form, so there's nothing wrong with that."
"Considering it's the Dark Sonata, the fact that my ancestors survived after hearing it was already a miracle."
"If we were really asked to find a cure with it..."
He shook his head. "I'm quite content with my life now. I've no intention of seeking death."
Clearly, the Fox Father had made peace with it.
After learning about the Dark Sonata, he was no longer obsessed with regaining his human identity.
Instead, he settled down with his family and found a stable job with the Hunter Association.
These days, he lives comfortably, drinking tea, reading the paper, and enjoying life.
"So, we no longer have that desire."
As he spoke, the Fox Father handed Luke an old iron box.