The carriage ride home took about thirty minutes.
As one might expect, the Tamed Beasts weren't allowed into the main house.
'Noooo!!' Nero cried out internally as he was separated from Siora's soft and massive breasts.
'What's up with this idiot?' Dante, the Moonlit Dire Wolf pup, asked herself, tilting her head.
Elaina carried both of them.
"Why are you being so difficult for Master?" Dante growled.
She was being carried in her cage, while Nero was comfortably seated on Elaina's shoulder.
He decided to simply ignore her.
'System?'
[Name: Dante
Title(s): (None)
Species: Moonlit Dire Wolf[A Rank]
Developmental Stage: Pup
Level: 2
Skill(s):
-Sharp Senses[D Rank]
Stats:
-Strength: 3
-Agility: 6
-Perception: 8
-Stealth: 7
-Health: 3
-Endurance: 3
-Mana: 5
]
'Tsk. Dante's Stats are higher than mine...' He shook his head.
Along the way, Nero had learned a bit more about Monster Tamers.
'Apparently, there are two types of Monster Tamers. Alicia wants to be the kind that fights using Tamed Monsters, while Elaina is the type that is employed by others to raise and take care of their Tamed Monsters. Since we're being raised by Alicia's father, a Merchant, it's likely he aims to sell us later on to the Adventurer type of Monster Tamer.'
This wasn't a problem for Nero. The Taming Seal did not work on him after all.
Looking away, the baby Dragon could see just how large the estate is.
'Multiple buildings, and huge fields too. Servants are working overtime, huh?' Nero chuckled internally, noticing the sweat drops on their faces. 'Guess I shouldn't laugh.' He shook his head, moving his gaze towards the tall grass. 'Hm...?' He frowned. 'I'm sure I just saw something moving.'
Nero looked around the area for a bit, and it finally appeared fully into view.
[A Horned Frog has been detected.]
[Rank: G.]
[Potential Obtainable Skill: Gluttonous Tongue.]
'Oho.' Nero wasted no time.
"Hey!" Elaina exclaimed, but the baby Dragon had already leapt off her shoulder.
'I like these!' Nero thought as he opened his wings wide, allowing him to glide a couple of meters away.
He landed on the ground, leapt, and caught the Horned Frog, swallowing it right away.
'Some Pets I love, and others...'
Gulp-
[You have developed the Skill "Gluttonous Tongue".]
'What does it do?' Nero asked as he started walking towards Elaina.
[The Skill "Gluttonous Tongue" allows your tongue to grow longer and to produce enough mucus to force most insects to stick to it.]
'...'
Nero shamefully climbed back up onto Elaina's shoulder.
'I guess I should have asked before...' He sighed internally. 'I might have eaten the frog without hesitation, but insects are a different question. Well, if what they can offer is interesting enough...'
"Did you forget that we get food?" Dante growled. "Why would you eat a random...? You know what, I don't even care."
Nero once again ignored her.
'I guess he's hungry after Alicia took him out.' Elaina thought with a shrug.
It didn't take long for them to reach a small building, part of Alicia's father's estate.
Elaina knocked, and three guards in armor opened the door.
They quickly moved out of the way, allowing her to walk in.
The guards were here to protect the place and make sure that no one stole anything.
"Lady Elaina." They bowed slightly as she walked past them.
"Yes, yes..." She muttered.
The three raised an eyebrow upon noticing the baby Dragon on her shoulder, but they had seen weirder things.
As Elaina walked past them, Nero's eyes opened wide.
During the carriage ride, he had learnt that there were two types of Monster Tamers. He had also learned that Elaina had a special ability.
She had a keen eye for Monsters, and could tell which belonged to rare species, and which didn't.
Alicia's father had employed Elaina on a whim.
However, when she had chosen one egg out of many, most of which turned out to be snakes, lizards, and other reptiles, a baby Dragon had risen from that egg!
All twenty-three eggs had been found in the wild, and there was no way of telling which belonged to what species.
Yet, Elaina had somehow managed to find an incredibly rare species from that batch.
Some time later, many pups were being sold, all with white fur and blue eyes. There were polar wolves, white wolves, polar foxes...
While Dante hadn't proven herself to be special, through the System, Nero knew that she was a Moonlit Dire Wolf, another incredibly rare species.
Alicia's father did not need to know that.
Following Elaina's insane pull, he had given her near limitless funds to search and purchase rare species.
Additionally, he had left an entire building under her supervision.
A building now entirely full of cages, terrariums, and paludariums, all filled with all kinds of rare species and creatures handpicked by Elaina.
'This is...' Nero gulped. 'This is my treasure grove!!!'
All of the caged and enclosed creatures, animals, and Monsters were separated and grouped in different areas.
As such, a specific area held insects. A different area held reptiles, and another held mammals.
With Dante already in her cage, it was much easier to put her back in her place.
As such, Nero got a bit of a tour around the building.
"See ya!" The baby Dragon said cheekily.
This time, it was Dante who ignored him.
Elaina walked with Nero on her shoulder, carrying his empty cage in her hand.
The two passed by a staircase, and Nero stared for a moment.
"You might be spending some time out of your cage, but I'm not taking you to my room." Elaina chuckled.
With how beautiful she was, hearing that was certainly a shame.
Eventually, the two arrived at the reptile section.
Elaina laid down the baby Dragon's cage.
"Nero, please?"
'Hm...'
"Please?"
'Leaving the cage might be troublesome... Do I really have to?'
"Nero?" Elaina tapped the cage a third time.
He stared at her beautiful face for a moment, sighed, then walked into the cage.
Seeing her facial expression light up almost made the iron bars around him worth it. Almost.
Elaina pet his head, closed the cage, and waved as she walked away.
Nero stared at her figure until she disappeared.
Sigh-
'I wonder what her room looks like.' In truth, the baby Dragon wondered about more than her room.
Though there wasn't much he could do about that. He was a baby Dragon, a Monster, and a Pet.
'If I get a humanoid form, will that change the way they see me? Or will I remain a Pet in their mind forever? It has its perks for now... Could lie on Alicia's thighs and rest my head in Siora's tits, but if I'm always seen as a Pet...'
Sigh-
[Status Window:
Name: Nero
Title(s): Evolving Monster[Legendary]
Species: Chaos Dragon[SSS Rank]
Developmental Stage: Wyrmling (Baby Dragon)
Level: 0 (10 Experience Points To Next Level)
Skill(s):
-Gluttonous Tongue[F Rank]
Stats:
-Strength: 2
-Agility: 5
-Perception: 10
-Stealth: 4
-Health: 3
-Endurance: 3
-Mana: 15
]
'I guess that frog didn't give any Experience Points.' Nero shrugged. 'Makes sense, it barely moved.'
The baby Dragon looked around for a bit.
'I can't hear anyone's voice apart from Dante's. Is she the only Monster I can communicate with? I guess they need to be a certain Rank to be able to communicate with us?'
Nero's gaze lay on each and every reptile around him.
Eventually,
[A Perfect Chameleon has been detected.]
[Rank: G+.]
[Potential Obtainable Skill: Perfect Invisibility.]
'Oho...'