I won't get murdered for a pun, right?

"*Sigh* No it is not that."

[What is it then?]

"Ah, I guess it does not matter, follow me."

He's leaving like that?

[Seriously what's your second nickname?]

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

[Yes!]

"Too bad."

Is that his revenge for me being cheeky? There is no way that would affect me in any …. goddamnit, that's an obvious lie! Of course, I want to know now! What's with all the mystery? He said it was ruthless and cold-hearted. Will it be some awesome edgy hero name or straight up a villainous one?

I was hoping to learn it. Maybe if it's really chuuni I could have teased him about it.

That will teach me to open my mouth. *sigh*

Maybe I should do some research. If it's a nickname I guess little Bai could tell me. Wait, isn't this guy super famous? I bet anyone random could tell me! Haha, so what if he wants to hide it. I will learn of it eventually. It is only a matter of time.

I wonder if there are information agencies in this world. Like is that a thing or are all sects dealing with their own info gathering internally? Downside, it takes a lot of time and effort to train competent spies. Upside, never fear getting fed false information.

I truly wonder. Then again there is magic too. There must be ways to make pacts that guarantee the validity of the transaction.

At some point, we went outside the main building and reached some huge courtyard. His transformation is over too.

[What are we doing here?]

"This here is where the beast pens are. New tamers can pay to try their hands at creatures that are either captured or bred by professionals."

[So people pay to try and tame these? How does it work exactly?]

"Depending on the target the cost varies a lot. There are various fees depending on the taming duration desired. It can go from anywhere between a day, to a week or even a month."

[That's so long! If it takes that much time to get one won't it be super long to become a professional tamer?]

"Yes. It can also take longer than that. Some really gifted individuals would be able to tame any creature here in a matter of minutes, but these geniuses won't bother coming here. This branch is not that big all things considered. If anything they would rather try their chances in the wild with strong ones. A rank 4 beast could easily take more than a year to tame to be honest too."

[A whole year?! Damn after that they must treasure them a lot I bet.]

"Yes and no. For most, beasts are just a tool of power. Nothing more than that. But of course, they'll take care of their best tools. Alright, let's find someone trying it to show you how it goes."

[I don't particularly wish to tame any as I told you.]

"Learning more won't hurt. So shut up and watch!"

[Gotcha.]

Damn is that a domineering CEO attitude?! He has the good looks to go with it too!

If I was a BL novel protagonist, I'd start fearing for my chrysanthemum right about now haha.

So I comply and let him lead me to a smaller courtyard with a few enclosures that are all neatly delimited. In some, there are youngsters trying to tame some exotic-looking beasts.

"Alright, choose one to watch and we will observe silently."

I just need to decide upon a ….

Is that little Bai?! That is little Bai! What is he doing here?!

Wait, he did say he didn't have any pets recently. Makes sense.

I decisively move toward his place.

He seems to be trying to tame some medium-sized ferret. A pink one. How does that even happen?! Like seriously? How does evolution lead to a pink ferret? I'd understand if it was the skin. No, even the fur is pink. This one is coming straight out of an anime I'm telling you!

I bet this one would be the protagonist in a story for sure. Or perhaps some yandere sidekick. Don't ask me why yanderes often have pink hair. It's just like that. It kinda is like asking why the sky is blue. I don't know man it just is.

Now he seems to be carefully feeding it something. It looks to be some kind of brown paste. I'd say either it's a homemade dessert or it's shit. I'm truly hesitant between both options.

[Go little Bai you got this!]

It is a respectable duty to cheer your friends on. Of course, it would be better for him If I wasn't a dude but better than nothing, I guess.

He looks at me startled. Meanwhile, the creature gobbles the brown paste directly, then retreats back directly and falls down on the ground. It seems to be sleeping …and snoring.

"Fuck! No!"

What happened?

"It wasn't supposed to eat it all! I'm fucking screwed!"

Now, little Bai falls to the ground too. He adopts a position I am very familiar with. It is called a fetal position.

One where you curl up on yourself. Then cry apparently.

Was calling out to him a mistake? Perhaps …

[Won't it just make the taming easier if it's sleeping? Can't you just catch it right now and leave?]

"No, it needs to be conscious to agree to a soul link. It won't wake up with the amount of sleep medicine in this"

[Soul link, what's that?]

I can hear someone sighting behind.

"That's why I told you to remain silent. Now he messed up completely because he got distracted."

Little Bai turns around full of expectations!

"You saw it all happen right? Can you help me ask for a time extension?! Or a refund? Anything! I used the last of my savings for this."

"You getting distracted is because of your own incompetence. Now assume your responsibility and better yourself."

Damn, that was so cold!

"Alright follow me we'll go check out someone else."

I follow my teacher closely.

Little Bai is still crying on the ground, however.

Is it alright to leave him like this? He'll be fine, right?