Asher: "But in reality, no one has ever contracted a unicorn-type pet beast, right? It's more like a legend."
As he spoke, Asher nodded.
Just from the name and appearance alone, Asher felt that this unicorn seemed more like some kind of mythical creature rather than a beast.
Asking simply, the naming style and overly distinctive appearance.
The books' depiction of unicorns was also just imagined illustrations.
Therefore, Asher became even more certain of his judgment.
"Mm… maybe this really is a unicorn?", Freya said uncertainly, stroking her chin, "After all, through repeated retellings, if the image got a bit beautified during message transmission, it's not impossible, right?"
"Or maybe these are just babies? And when they grow up, they'll look like that?"
Before Asher could say something to shatter Freya's unrealistic fantasy, the white Little Pony on the opposite side flicked its tuft of pink mane and snorted heavily.
["I am a Sea Dragon!"]
["I am not some My Little Pony! Nor am I a unicorn!"]
"I think I heard someone speaking?", Felter looked uncertainly at Asher and Freya.
Asher: "It's not an illusion, it should be… this one…?"
'Little pony.'
Honestly, Asher really had trouble saying the words "Sea Dragon."
Like, the two words in that name, whether "Sea" or "Dragon," no matter how you look at it, just don't line up with this My Little Pony-looking creature.
So why exactly is this thing's species called Sea Dragon?
"Waaah—", Freya was also startled by the talking little horse.
Unlike Asher and the others, who still held a trace of caution, Prince directly ran over to the little horse, circling around it twice.
His eyes were filled with undeniable admiration.
"Wow!", Prince nodded as he looked, "It really looks amazing!"
"It can talk?"
"No, wait, it feels more like the voice is echoing in my head. Is this some sort of special telepathy?"
"I think I've heard that some Tier 9 beasts can do this move, but you totally don't look like a Tier 9 beast."
Prince chattered away, his flashy clothes fluttering along with his movements.
It wasn't Asher's imagination.
He felt that… the creamy-white little horse seemed quite satisfied with Prince's flamboyant outfit.
Next second, Prince toppled over completely.
Like he had stepped on some unknown trap, his entire body was flipped upside down.
Instantly, Freya and Felter shot to their feet with a "swish," their eyes alert as they stared at the little horse in front of them.
Asher reached out to stop the two who were about to attack the little horse, "Wait a minute, it doesn't seem malicious."
Hearing Asher's words, Freya and Felter stopped their movements.
Maybe it was because of how unreliable Prince was, plus past impressions, but Asher had unconsciously become the one the other two in the team looked to for authority and responsibility.
Asher also subconsciously had gotten used to bearing this small burden.
The gifted ability [Responding Power] brought Asher not only the goodwill of beasts but also allowed him to sense a bit of what those pet beasts were thinking.
Like with these two little horses in front of him.
Whether the white one without wings, or the purple one with wings, Asher didn't sense any malice from either of them.
On the contrary, there was a kind of purity Asher couldn't describe.
Asher: "?"
'Maybe they can talk.'
"You grabbed him, what were you planning to do?", Asher calmly communicated with the two little horses.
This time, it wasn't the white little horse who answered, but the purple one who had been quiet up to now, ["What do you mean, what were we planning?"]
["Well, we thought he looked nice. So we wanted to collect him."]
The purple little horse spoke without malice, full of enthusiasm.
Felter rubbed his arm.
His hairs were standing up.
But whether it was because the purple little horse's words were too innocently twisted, or because someone had described Prince as "nice-looking," he couldn't say.
Felter: 'What kind of bizarre aesthetic is this? Just thinking about it makes me wanna puke.'
"When you say collect, what do you mean? Take him away? Or something else?", Asher remained very calm, not at all surprised by the little horse's naive-yet-creepy words.
He even had time to point to the Lightyear Dragon Rider beneath him, "Whatever you plan to do, you might want to consider first, can you even beat this big guy?"
Lightyear Dragon Rider: "Owoo—"
The purple little horse tilted its head. Its gaze met the Lightyear Dragon Rider's and then quickly looked away, unwillingly.
Though…
["But you were the ones who barged into our territory first!"], the purple little horse's eyes darted around as it tried to loop Asher and his group into its logic.
It was the little horses who were in the right.
Asher smiled, he pulled out a tissue from his pocket.
"But I feel like it was you guys who provoked us first," Asher opened the tissue, revealing a thin strand of silvery-white hair.
"Maybe you can explain why you came to disturb me while I was fishing?"
"At that time, we didn't know of your existence, nor did we intentionally bother you, right?", Asher's tone was very certain.
The purple and white little horses fell silent the moment they saw the hair.
The two horses exchanged a look and cautiously released Prince.
Prince looked completely unfazed.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"This kind of experience is really amazing and fun!"
Danger? He still had a pet squad he hadn't even summoned yet.
Skilled and daring. Prince truly didn't worry about his own safety at all.
"…We really should've let you get caught and messed with a bit before saving you," Felter's mouth twitched, speaking through gritted teeth.
"Hehehe," Prince waved his hand confidently, "That's absolutely impossible!"
Asher: "…"
These two brothers were the same, neither could talk about the other.
Don't they realize what situation they're in? Still casually chatting away?
Well, maybe that's a skill too. But no matter how the Sterling brothers bickered, Asher's gaze on the two little horses never wavered.
Under Asher's sharp gaze, the two little horses seemed a little embarrassed.
The white one scraped the ground with its front hoof.
The purple one also looked a bit uneasy. It took two steps forward, then seemed to realize something.
It tried to glare at Asher with vigilance.
But for some reason, it just couldn't muster genuine wariness toward him.
Purple little horse: *pouty*
["Guests from afar, greetings to you."]
At that moment.
A silver-white horse that looked just like the legendary unicorn Freya had described earlier… ah, this could no longer be called a "little horse."
A solid 2.8 meters tall.
A strong body and powerful limbs, distinctive silver-white fur, and massive, clearly powerful wings.
One glance, and it looked like a fantasy creature made real.
Freya gazed at the full-sized unicorn before her, unable to hide the admiration in her eyes.
["We mean no harm."]
["If the guests also mean no harm, neither we nor this island will cause any injury to you."]
Freya didn't respond, only raised her brow slightly.
'Hm? That is an interesting way to put it.'
'Forget the unicorn's promise, what did it mean by "this island"?'
'Could it be…?', Many thoughts flashed through Freya's mind.
Freya looked at Asher: 'What do we do? What's next?'
Asher smiled, he took the initiative to jump off the Lightyear Dragon Rider.
'What to do? Just ask, what else can we do?'
'We're already here.'
The toxic jellyfish outside might still be looking for them, what else could they do?
Since it didn't seem malicious, and didn't feel malicious, might as well tentatively believe them.
Seeing this, Freya only hesitated briefly before jumping down with Asher.
Next was Felter.
But the Lightyear Dragon Rider had no intention of landing. It stretched its neck toward Prince.
Prince patted it while asking curiously, "Do you guys have some super powerful big-shot on this island?"
"Otherwise, why is my big dragon so cautious?", As he spoke, Prince nodded, his punk hairstyle wobbling with the motion.
He wasn't wrong.
Cautious, exceptionally cautious. This was a Tier 9 Lightyear Dragon Rider.
The majestic unicorn smiled slightly… basically, from the curve of its lips and its eyes, one could tell it was smiling.
["That's because our island is under a special kind of protection."]
"Okay," Prince was clearly someone with little curiosity, who focused more on the experience than the outcome. He nodded, "You guys aren't just gonna randomly attack me, right?"
"Then I'll go ahead and send the Lightyear Dragon Rider back to the beast-space in my spirit sea."
Prince, all casual like a silly sweetheart, bluntly said what he was going to do.
Felter: "…"
Freya: "…"
The two had expressions like they'd just eaten something weird, but neither said anything to stop him.
Noticing Asher's gaze, Felter explained softly, "My brother's a bit off in the head, but his instincts can be surprisingly accurate sometimes… eh, hard to describe. Let's just say, call it idiot's luck."
Asher: '…Confirmed. That's a real brother.'
If it weren't his actual little brother, no one would dare talk about their own brother like that.
Even though Prince put away the Lightyear Dragon Rider, he wasn't truly a dumb sweetie. He swapped in an Tier 8 Ivy Velvet.
As a plant-shaped beast, the Ivy Velvet was covered in various sizes of white fluff balls, giving it a dandelion vibe, as if it'd scatter with the wind.
The white and purple little horses kept glancing at the fluffy Ivy Velvet.
Asher: "…"
Not sure if it was his imagination, or if this was actually Prince's cleverness, but Asher felt it was intentional.
Felter also released his Golden Armor Rhino.
Freya summoned a Tier 7 Flame Fire Fox.
Noticing Asher's gaze, Freya smiled, "Eh! It's a pity my little fire fox evolved too early. If you had developed the Fox Queen evolution path earlier, Professor Asher, I'd have chosen a different direction for her."
Though she said that, her expression didn't show much regret.
At the very least, a Tier 7 Flame Fire Fox was still very powerful.
It wasn't a lack of strength, just a twist of fate that it hadn't evolved into a better form. Freya had felt some regret about it, but didn't obsess.
A Tier 7 Flame Fire Fox may not match a Tier 7 Fox Queen.
But what about at the Tier 8?
If not, then shoot for the 9.
Even a low Tier 9 beast would still be stronger than most.
Asher gave Freya a thumbs-up.
Not for anything else.
Just for her excellent attitude.
That kind of mindset wasn't something everyone could have.
Everyone else only released one or two pet beasts. Felter didn't send out more not because he didn't want to, but because the situation didn't allow it.
Asher thought for a moment.
Cautiously, he left the little jellyfish in the spiritual beast space and didn't release it. His excuse, instinct.
The rest of the beasts gathered around Asher.
The majestic unicorn's gaze passed from the little crow circling above Asher's head, to the dignified bug on his shoulder, the little white snake coiled at his waist, and the "angel" floating at his side.
Toward Asher's four beasts, the unicorn seemed to show deep respect.
Asher lowered his head and met the unicorn's gaze.
["Guests, please follow me."]
With that, the unicorn gently lifted its legs and led the way in front.
The white little horse and the purple little horse, seeing this, also followed.
The purple little horse would occasionally circle around Prince twice, then look at Asher, and then continue circling around Prince.
"What is this considered?", Felter at the side, seeing this, twitched the corner of his mouth and said with much confusion, "Could this guy really think my brother's outfit looks good?"
"Actually, that possibility isn't out of the question," Asher nodded, "Maybe there really are pet beasts that like this kind of flashy stuff."
Bright colors. To animals, it's like brightly colored fur.
It attracts their attention, doesn't really seem like a strange thing, right?
Freya: "Then what is it looking at you, Professor Asher, for?"
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