Free Web NovelChapter 194: Chapter 183: These Are the Terms Alex Negotiated With You?
"WOOF!"
Hearing his name, Cook barked at Vine, looking at the wolf in confusion.
The scent on the medal told him that Kaper and this pack of wolves belonged to the same clan. That meant he should belong to this clan too, and they would accept him.
It wasn’t common for a Mixed Breed to be accepted by a clan, so this was something to be happy about.
He used to have a clan of his own, but he was driven out after coming of age due to his degeneration.
He had wandered for some time before Kaper found him.
Cook’s memories of the past were fuzzy, but the feeling of being ostracized by his clan during his degeneration and then exiled upon adulthood was still branded on his heart.
Whenever he encountered anything related to it, that awful feeling would resurface, making him deeply uncomfortable and instinctively recoil.
’Why would Kaper want me to join another clan?’
’Where did he go? Does he not want me anymore?’
Cook let out a series of low whimpers and pressed closer to Gu Ning, burying his head in her arms like a lost and abandoned child.
Gu Ning rarely saw Cook act this way. Assuming he was sad about his "brother’s" departure, she held his head and stroked it back and forth, silently comforting him.
Seeing the little dog whining with the medal in his mouth, Vine and the other young wolves combined this with his appearance and gradually understood—
He was the real Cook.
A Dog Clan and Dwarf hybrid, plus the secondary mutations that could be caused by rapid degeneration at this time of year—it all perfectly matched the characteristics Kaper had described to them.
Instead, it was the small Mixed Breed beside him, bundled up so tightly that they couldn’t see or smell what race they were, who made them suspicious.
"You’re Cook?"
Vine asked, looking at Cook with a deadpan expression.
At the doorway, Cyril saw the situation in the conference room. He lowered his head in thought for a moment, seemed to grasp the gist of it, and turned to leave.
"AWOO..."
Hearing Vine call his name, Cook poked his head out from Gu Ning’s arms and glared at him, displeased.
’Why does he keep calling my name? I want to stay with Ningning. I’m not joining them.’
Vine averted his gaze with a complicated expression, his eyes landing on Gu Ning. His face darkened. "If he’s Cook, then who are you?"
’Oh, me? Take a guess.’
[Cook’s companion]
Gu Ning wrote on a slip of paper.
Since Vine was Cook’s "brother’s" teammate, she figured it was best to be polite.
From what Vine had said to her earlier, Cook’s "brother" had likely entrusted Cook to them.
Gu Ning was sad that Cook’s "brother" had left, but at the same time, she was happy that a clan was willing to take him in.
This person, Vine, seemed stern and cold, but as a member of the Military Department, the fact that he’d said what he did to her suggested he was still a responsible person who valued loyalty.
"What’s your name?" Vine’s expression grew severe. "Why did you pretend to be Cook? Was it for Kaper’s supplies?"
Gu Ning was at a loss for words.
"Dogs are just stupid," Barto cursed.
Vine shot him a cold glare.
"What did you say?!"
The young wolves turned to the fox, their expressions sour.
Barto rolled his eyes at them and was about to curse them out again when Andrew set his cup down, breaking the tense atmosphere. "That’s enough."
He said, "Vine, go out first. I still have something to say to the little one."
Andrew’s gaze fell on Gu Ning. "Take these two little ones to the reception room. Talk to them properly, and don’t scare them."
Vine paused, then said to Gu Ning and the others, "Follow me."
Gu Ning was surprised to find Andrew wasn’t asking her to stay and talk. She looked at him in astonishment, then her gaze shifted to Barto.
Barto’s paw, which was resting on the back of the chair, tightened and then relaxed. He said to Gu Ning in a gentle tone, "Go on. I’ll come find you in a bit. It’s nothing."
Gu Ning was still worried. Seeing the group of Beastmen surrounding her and Cook, she hesitated for a moment before following Vine out.
「A moment later.」
The conference room door closed, leaving only the fox and the lion in the vast room.
Barto stood on the chair, arms crossed and chin slightly raised as he looked at him, like a hedgehog with its quills raised, ready to strike.
"My apologies." Andrew looked at him from across the long conference table for a while before speaking. "We didn’t have time to prepare a taller chair for you. I thought you would meet us in your human form."
His tone was approachable, lacking the condescension of a superior, but Barto didn’t dare underestimate him in the slightest.
"So this is the deal Alex made with you, right?" Barto said. ’No wonder Alex didn’t show up himself.’
’With those stupid Beastmen, I can run circles around them, trick them for fun. But with this man, none of my tricks will work. I might as well just be direct. He’s already investigated us from top to bottom, even digging up the entire backstory of an insignificant Mixed Breed like Cook. And he even arranged for a wolf pack that knew Kaper to show up right now. This lion has calculated every move for all three of us, down to the last detail.’
"A deal?" Andrew smiled. "Tell me your thoughts on the matter."
Barto snorted. "Alex must have traded his own future for our freedom. With his abilities, if you’re not a fool, you’ll definitely make good use of him."
Andrew said patiently, "Go on."
Barto planted both paws on the table and bared his teeth. "If we wanted to leave, not even you could stop us. You’ve already tested Alex, so you know not to push him too far."
’When we came out, Cyril must have deliberately brought his men to provoke the wolf pack. Since Alex already made a deal with Andrew, it’s not in his nature to stir up more trouble. But this lion right here... he still wanted to test Alex’s limits. Maybe he’s not happy with the deal, or maybe he still has his sights set on Gu Ning, wanting to keep her under his thumb...’
A look of appreciation appeared in Andrew’s eyes. "You’re very clever, but also overly defensive." Andrew added, "I can understand why, though."
Barto: "...What do you understand?"
Andrew didn’t answer his question. Instead, he said, "You’ve taken very good care of her."
Barto’s heart tightened. "What do you mean?"
Andrew said, "That is the very reason I’m keeping you around."
Barto snorted coldly. "Am I supposed to thank you...?"
"Little fox," Andrew’s voice deepened slightly, "not everyone is your enemy. You are well aware of her identity, as well as your own."
Barto’s stiff shoulders relaxed slightly, a flicker of dejection passing through his eyes.
Andrew said, "Few people have your kind of composure. Although you have your selfish motives, what you’ve done is beyond the reach of ordinary people. I believe you can do even better."
Andrew picked up a black box beside him, rose to his feet, walked over to Barto, and placed it in front of him before opening it.
A box full of Blue Gold Inhibitors lay inside, their brilliance nearly dazzling his eyes.
Barto stared at the shimmering light of the Blue Gold, his gaze seemingly lost in it.
CLICK. He reached out and shut the box. "Trying to bribe me with this? I’d rather die..."
Andrew said, "It’s not for you."
Barto: "..."
Andrew held the box out to him. "Our talk is over. Go find the two little ones, and while you’re at it, help me give this box of Inhibitors to Vine. He was so pleased with himself he even forgot what he came to see me for."
