Insect Tamer's Ascension

The sound of something clanging against the floor came to everyone's ears. Theo looked at the small square covered in a cloth being dragged on the ground by Isolde, who had a proud expression.

The cage hopped many times due to being dragged, and it made quite an annoying noise.

The Baroness looked at each heir with a smile, including Theo. It had been a while since he had seen her, and it made him happy.

"It's been a while since we had a dinner like this."

After sitting, the Baron spoke almost instantly, grabbing everyone's attention from the square cage on the ground near Isolde, who still stood.

"As you would have noticed, I have been gone from the castle for some time now. There are important things that your mother and I have to attend," the Baron spoke with a serious face.

Lucien frowned. The way the Baron spoke, it almost felt like he was not letting on more than he wanted.

Theo caught on to it, too, but didn't think much of it. His father was a busy man who was always up to something.

"But today, when I got the news about what Isolde was able to procure, me and your mother decided to celebrate it with the family." The Baron smiled and nodded toward Isolde, who excitedly removed the cloth from the square cage.

Theo bobbed his head up to look properly, and seeing a bright yellow light made his eyes widen.

* * * * *

Fire Wisp

Rare

Level 2

Type – Elemental Beast

* * * * *

'What the hell?' Theo thought with widened eyes. There was a flickering flame inside the cage.

"Oh my god! WHAT IS THAT?!" Celeste screamed and got up from her chair.

All the elders went to look at the creature, even Cedric, who had a curious look on his face. TheM|V|LE&MPYRteamworkedhardonthischapter.

Theo quickly ran and stood beside Bram, who was the closest to the cage.

"Everyone, this right here is what is known as a Wisp, it's of the fire element," Isolde spoke with a proud tone.

Nobody's eyes left the creature, slowly hovering all around in the cage.

It was just a small flame with no eyes, mouth, or anything like that. Theo tried looking at it from all sides. Still, he couldn't find anything but a flame.

"Where did you find it, big sister Isolde?" Theo asked before anyone else, yet everyone wanted to know it as badly.

Isolde puffed her chest with pride. "Just a month ago, my merchant license was promoted to a better rank, and with that, the perks became better too. I found this beast in a private auction!" Isolde spoke with prideful excitement while looking at Theo, who nodded with the same energy.

"Tell them the best part, Isolde," the Baron spoke from the chair with a grin.

"What? What's the best part?" Celeste asked while jumping.

"Huhuhuh… Right, there was that too." Isolde giggled weirdly, showing just how excited she was. Theo couldn't help but smile warmly too.

"This elemental beast is not from this world!" Isolde shouted.

It was yet another surprise for Theo, but looking at the older siblings, it was as if they knew already.

'I knew it, our castle's library is the shittiest one. Everything about basic beasts and knighthood but nothing that is actually useful,' Theo inwardly frowned.

The books in the library were really all the basic ones. Theo knew that he would only be able to get the best information after going to the academy.

"Is it from a gate, big sister?" Gideon asked, his eyes stuck on the floating flame.

"You are right, Gideon," the Baroness chimed in.

"This beast is from a gate that connects us to the world where elemental beasts are abundant. These elemental gates are very rare; we only see one in every 5 to 6 gates that come to our world."

"For the Merrick family to own one of these beasts is a good sign of power. Good job, Isolde," the Baroness praised Isolde.

For the first time, Theo felt this weird sensation in his heart. For quite some time, he had been the center of attention. Even now, all the knights and guards had to say was how hardworking Theo was.

Theo knew it was nothing, yet deep down, he felt like getting this kind of praise, too. Only today did he realize what the other heirs had been feeling for some time now.

"It burned some of our funds, but it's good having our first elemental beast," the Baron nodded too.

"Oh? How much are we talking about?" Lucien asked, and it was after that that Isolde finally averted her gaze for the first time.

"It was only 150,000 coins, nothing our family can't handle, isn't that right, dear?" the Baron asked and roared in laughter.

Lucien and Elara's mouths were agape in surprise.

Even Theo couldn't help but look at the creature one more time. 150,000 was a lot more than he ever expected.

His gaze went to Elias, who was dumbfounded. All the training of remaining unfazed had gone to vain. Theo chuckled.

"We burned through some things, but it was definitely worth it," the Baroness spoke, and everyone came back from their thoughts.

"Father, what are we going to do with this beast? Who will you give it to?" Celeste asked after running toward the Baron's chair and standing beside him.

The Baron looked at her and then ruffled her hair in affection. "This is undecided. Although this elemental beast is rare in this world, it still has many things unknown about it."

CLAP

"That's where the opportunity to make some money comes from," the Baroness clapped, her eyes showing more emotions than usual. Theo listened intently.

"As this creature is still a mystery, we can rent it to some prestigious research houses. This way, we will most likely get our investment back within a month and then earn until they have found enough, which will be a long time," the Baroness spoke with her hands clasped.

And that was when Theo shook his head with a smile. His mother was a proper caretaker of the Merrick Barony. Her paperwork, her talent, her business skills—all were on a different level.

"Awww~ Can't I get it for myself? I want it!"