Chapter 198: Fox’s Anomaly
[Bella’s Goodwill +3, Total Goodwill 90]
“Cough, cough…”
Tears welled up in Bella’s eyes. She had just discovered that “devouring” someone was actually quite difficult.
His unexpected strength filled her with worry, wondering if her “appetite” was enough to consume Kailun entirely.
She peeked at him from under her eyelashes. He was a ferocious demon.
She was worried but not afraid. A strange, inexplicable emotion fluttered in her heart.
Perhaps because she had choked, Bella coughed for a while.
“Is that all? It seems Bella’s appetite isn’t enough to satisfy me.”
Kailun chuckled, easing his grip and using one hand to pat Bella’s head. “So next time, before you try to ‘eat’ me, make sure you have a big enough appetite.”
“It doesn’t have to be just me. I can call Fox to join!”
Bella glared at Kailun playfully. This guy was so rough. He only cared about his own pleasure.
Her throat still felt a bit sore. It was thanks to her strong constitution that she hadn’t choked to death.
Bella now realized that it was difficult for her to complete the task of reproduction alone. Calling Fox was a good idea. After all, she was the only one left of her kind.
Strictly speaking, Fox also had the great mission of continuing her lineage, even though she wasn’t aware of it.
Kailun: “That’s a good idea. Next time, bring Fox with you. It doesn’t make a difference to me whether it’s one or two.”
“I’ll definitely bring her next time!” Bella wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “But Fox has been acting strange lately. I smell a strange scent on her. She might not have noticed it herself, but it can’t fool my nose.”
Bella suddenly remembered something. Fox’s behavior hadn’t been unusual these days, but her scent had changed inexplicably.
This change didn’t belong to Fox. It was unfamiliar and dangerous.
“There’s such a thing? Go and get Fox. I’ll take a look myself.” Kailun frowned.
He trusted Bella’s sense of smell. Dragons possessed extraordinary abilities in certain areas.
Thinking of this, Kailun also thought of Carol. He called a maid and asked her to invite Carol to the courtyard.
Although Bella was annoyed by Kailun’s “hit-and-run” tactic, she was also worried about Fox.
“Wait for me here. Fox is probably squandering magic crystals in your warehouse.”
Bella removed Kailun’s right hand from her clothes, patted her skirt, and ran towards the warehouse.
“If I didn’t control two major mines, I might not be able to afford these gold-devouring creatures.”
Kailun couldn’t help but sigh, thinking about everyone’s recent consumption.
He was supporting the eighth-rank Fox, the eighth-rank Bella, and even covering the expenses of Chrissy and Helena.
In addition, Carol was a bottomless pit. Her consumption had become increasingly terrifying.
Besides that, the Xiya Kingdom and its surrounding vassal states also had considerable expenses. There were significant expenditures every day.
If it weren’t for his recent windfall, he might be struggling financially.
Ultimately, it was because the Xiya Kingdom’s foundation was too weak. Running an academy required money, development required money, and promoting the Chamber of Commerce also required money.
In contrast, the Temple of the Celestial God was reaping benefits from the entire world. They weren’t short of money at all. He had to find a way to empty their treasury when he went to the Temple of the Celestial God with the Pope.
He would consider it Chrissy’s living expenses. It was reasonable, just a bit expensive.
“I’m not done sleeping.”
As he was pondering, Kailun heard Carol’s voice. He looked up and saw her rubbing her eyes sleepily.
She was still tired from last night’s “activities.”
Her mind was hazy, her body weak. All she wanted to do was lie in bed and do nothing.
She hadn’t even bothered to read or meditate today. Just lying in bed was blissful~
“Come, sit on my lap. Help me observe the foolish Fox later.” Kailun patted his thigh.
“Familiar scent. Is it Bella’s?” Carol sniffed the air as she approached, detecting a familiar smell.
Kailun pulled her onto his lap. “Why are your noses so sensitive?”
“It’s intuition, not just the scent.”
Carol yawned again and leaned against Kailun’s chest. Her constitution was far inferior to Afra’s, so it took her much longer to recover.
Judging from her current state, she probably wouldn’t be able to participate in tonight’s “battle.”
Carol asked, “What’s wrong with Fox?”
For the past two days, Carol had been immersed in sadness and then immense joy, with no energy to spare for other people’s affairs.
“I don’t know. Let’s wait and see.”
Kailun snapped his fingers and cast a spell to freshen the air.
“Oh~”
Carol obediently nuzzled Kailun’s chin.
If it weren’t for her physical discomfort, she would want to cling to Kailun, doing everything with him.
After about ten minutes, Fox entered the courtyard, following behind Bella. She was holding a parchment scroll, which recorded information about “chaos.”
This parchment scroll was a gift from Winnie to Kailun. After studying it thoroughly, Kailun had placed it in the library for everyone to see.
It was indeed dangerous, but not inherently.
The biggest problem with this parchment scroll was that it was part of a dangerous entity. It was relatively safe before all the scrolls were gathered, but its destructive power was even less than that of eighth-rank magic.
“The foolish fox seems strange.”
Before Fox even approached, Carol looked up at her.
Carol had confirmed that Fox was part of her dreams, but why Kailun had replaced her was still unknown.
She didn’t mind it at all. In fact, she hoped that Kailun could completely replace Fox. That way, she could learn magic from him.
They didn’t need the foolish fox anyway.
“Little vixen.”
Fox muttered under her breath when she heard Carol call her “foolish fox.”
She had almost cried with envy yesterday. She also wanted that kind of treatment.
Kailun had been so intimate with her in the town, but after returning home, he had ignored her, like a heartless playboy.
Carol wasn’t angry when she heard Fox’s complaint. She first looked at Fox with a smug expression, then wrapped her arms around Kailun’s neck and said in a cloying voice, “Honey, she’s being mean to me~”
“Hiss!”
Kailun gasped, his scalp tingling. He flicked Carol’s forehead hard. “That was too much. Don’t do that again. Who did you learn that from? Are you trying to scare me to death?”
Carol had changed. She wasn’t like her usual self at all.
To provoke Fox, she even used the sickening term of endearment “honey.”
Not only Fox glared at Carol with resentment, but even Bella raised her tail in displeasure.
Fox walked up to Kailun. “Good job! This pretentious woman deserves to be beaten to death.”
Bella wagged her tail in agreement. “That’s right, that’s right. Beat her to death.”
Carol secretly stuck her tongue out at them. “Blegh~”
Kailun: “…”
Was this still Carol?
It felt unreal. Was it because he had “awakened” her?
Kailun glanced at Carol’s status. There were no abnormalities, except for her bright red goodwill rating.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but as her goodwill increased, the number seemed to become redder and redder.
Since they were talking about status, Kailun then glanced at Fox’s status.
[Name: Fox]
[Status: Abnormal]
[Cause of Abnormality: ???]
He had discovered something, but he didn’t know the specific reason.
Strangely, he had checked everyone’s status before, but he hadn’t noticed any abnormalities with Fox.
This problem had appeared after just a day or two of not paying attention. It was unexpected.
He looked at Fox carefully, sensing her changes.
She seemed normal, but his intuition told him that something was wrong. It was strange.
“Stop sticking your tongue out. Tell me what abnormality you discovered.”
Kailun pulled Carol’s cheek, urging her to be serious.
“I sense a strange aura on Fox. It’s not hers, but I don’t know whose it is. It’s extremely faint, but it can’t fool me.”
Carol glanced at Fox again, confirming her perception. “That’s right. This aura seems familiar, but I can’t remember. It instinctively makes me want to grab her wings and pull them hard. I don’t think this is an aura that an ordinary ninth-rank mage can possess. Has the foolish fox been in contact with any transcendent entities?”
Carol’s talent allowed her to see through many things. The aura on Fox gave her a sense of familiarity.
“No, what are you talking about? The only ninth-rank mages I’ve been in contact with recently are Kailun, Afra, and my grandma.”
Fox looked at Carol with a strange expression. She couldn’t understand what they were talking about.
When did she start carrying a strange aura?
“If there’s a transcendent entity involved, I can think of one possibility.”
Kailun stroked his chin. “Fox, do you remember Kuye Town? It’s connected to two transcendent entities. If Fox has been in contact with a transcendent entity, it must have been in Kuye Town. Besides that eccentric Fate, there’s also the unlucky one lying in the jade coffin.”
[??? heard your insult. Goodwill -1, Total Goodwill -61]
Kailun: “!!!”
His eyes widened as he looked at Fox in disbelief.
It wasn’t because he was startled by the sudden increase in his attribute points. He had remembered something crucial.
[Cause of Abnormality: ???]
Looking back at the cause of the abnormality, it was already clearly indicated. The reason for Fox’s abnormality was the unlucky one in the jade coffin.
Then everything made sense. That entity had left a “backdoor” on Fox, but Bella had discovered the anomaly.
“Why can’t I feel anything?”
Fox felt uncomfortable under Kailun’s gaze. She examined herself but didn’t find anything unusual.
Kailun came back to his senses and waved his hand, making up an excuse. “It’s nothing serious. Don’t overthink it. It might just be some residual influence from Kuye Town. I’ll take you back there in a few days. This time, we’ll go and pay our respects to the unlucky one in the jade coffin. After all, I took apart her jade coffin and turned it into a bed plank. It wouldn’t be right not to offer her something in return. To be honest, the bed plank made from the jade coffin is really good. The feeling of doubled time is amazing.”
[??? vows to be your enemy. Goodwill -4, Total Goodwill -65]
She was getting anxious. That entity was truly anxious.
Having obtained the crucial information, Kailun guessed how that entity had attached itself to Fox. Since it could perceive the outside world through Fox and hear their conversations, it was probably deep within her soul.
Judging from the feedback he received, she had just reached the ninth rank and couldn’t exert much influence.
To be safe, he should take some precautions. So Kailun patted Carol’s butt. “Go to my study and bring me a bottle of Lucky Potion. I need it.”
“Okay~”
Carol obediently responded. She gave Fox a smug smile and then ran towards the small building.
As soon as Carol left, Bella eagerly took her place on Kailun’s lap, leaving Fox standing there awkwardly.
“Fox, have a seat. There’s still room beside me.” Kailun patted his other thigh.
Fox instinctively took a step towards Kailun, but then she retreated. “Forget it. The swing can only handle the weight of two people. If there’s one more, it might break.”
Fox chose to be “reserved” in front of Bella.
She was no longer the naive little fox she used to be… But she was still envious.
Kailun didn’t expose her awkwardness. The special swing could handle not only two people but even five. The only problem was that there wasn’t enough space.
While they waited, Kailun casually chatted with Fox and Bella.
When Carol returned to the courtyard with the clear, water-like Lucky Potion, he immediately asked Fox to drink it. “This is a special Lucky Potion that can increase your mental power for a long time. Consider it a gift from me.”
Seeing Fox gulp nervously, Kailun increased her mental power attribute.
Mental power was closely related to the soul. As long as he increased Fox’s mental power to a certain level, it could prevent all harm.
This method was extremely safe. After all, that entity had only left a weak “backdoor.”
Kailun actually had a way to deal with the entity hiding in her soul, but he kept it around to lure a bigger fish.
For some reason, he always felt that this “???” wasn’t very smart.
[??? is shocked by the rapid increase in Fox’s mental power. Goodwill +2, Total Goodwill -63]
Well, she really wasn’t very smart. Now he even had bait.
He thought for a moment and asked Fox with a smile, “How do you feel? Isn’t it very effective? I have many similar potions. They can not only increase mental power but also agility, strength, and constitution. It’s thanks to these potions that I can continuously produce ninth-rank mages. As long as I have enough ingredients, I can conquer the entire world. But the problem is, I’m missing a special ingredient.”
Fox, still savoring the changes in her mental power, asked subconsciously, “What ingredient?”
Kailun smiled even wider. “An extremely rare herb called the ‘Unlucky Flower.’”
Fox: “Does such a herb even exist?”
Ottovia Nuonuo: “!!!”
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