Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

’I have never seen someone this interesting.’ The bird lady smiled at the Fox before her.

”What is it?” Moon Aiko tilted her head when she noticed her gaze.

”Nothing.” The bird lady shook her head. She wouldn’t reveal her inner thoughts, lest it would scare this little Fox.

”So about the deal, can we exclude that birdie?” Moon Aiko didn’t want to have the bird mother since her first impression was pretty awful.

”I knew that she might not be the best, but having it rubbed in my face doesn’t feel too good.” The bird lady laughed awkwardly.

”I mean, if you saw claws the moment you rescued someone, you wouldn’t be too thrilled about it either.” Moon Aiko shrugged. ”Moreover, she is acting more hostile the more time I spend here.” That was another issue that she couldn’t get over.

”I suppose her ambition clouded her judgement...” The bird lady shook her head.

”Ambition?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”While I’m an Ancestral Beast and guard of our Crow Clan, now I’m injured and more susceptible to soul techniques. As such there might be Elders who wish to... replace me.” The bird lady chuckled darkly.

”They want to overthrow you?” Moon Aiko didn’t think they would be that stupid.

”Of course not. Well, at least not directly.” The bird lady snorted disdainfully.

”Your daughter, right?” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes, the bird mother seemed to want this position.

”En.” The bird lady clicked her tongue.

”How do you plan to remedy that?” Moon Aiko was curious how to take a precaution against something like this. It would also be useful in the future, so she really wanted to know!

”I plan to come with you.” The bird lady smiled happily.

*Pfffft*

Moon Aiko graced the butler with a tea blasting out of her mouth.

The butler wiped the tea from his face and used [Clean] on his clothes.

”What...?” Moon Aiko didn’t expect something like that and she was both confused and suspicious.

”Don’t look at me like that.” The bird lady pursed her lips. She had a vision while this Fox was trying to cancel her Contract, a vision that would allow her to obtain something much greater than what she had right now.

”This is just a Clan, it only needs one head, but the rest of the people can be brought from outside to act as ’family’ members. This is how most Beasts make Clans, unlike Humans.” The bird lady explained briefly.

”And since my daughter is ambitious, she can have it.” The bird lady smiled, but her words were quite off-putting.

”I’m not sure what to say about this, but I’m not sure if I like this.” Moon Aiko shook her head.

”You can take your time to think about it, I will leave this place either way once everything is settled with my daughter.” The bird lady chuckled.

”Why do you make it sound like you will take everything from her?” Moon Aiko shuddered, parents could be sometimes so cruel.

”Not everything.” The bird lady laughed jokingly. It was obvious she was enjoying her time without that Contract.

”To start with, I won’t be able to take most Treasures or anything, since Elders would go against me, but I can still reward you, so pick something you like. And I also plan to take my personal Treasure and it’s not my fault if this place cools down.” The bird lady was all smiles, but Aiko was taken aback by how ruthless she was.

”...” Moon Aiko wanted to know why she would go through such lengths, but she also felt like it was not her position to ask about that.

”Are you thinking that I’m overdoing it?” The bird lady smirked seeing the Fox wanting to say something.

Moon Aiko hesitated before nodding her head.

”I told her to curb her emotions. She can curse you behind your back, but she needs to be on her best behaviour in front of you. She failed that many times and ignored my warnings too, so I believe this would be a good lesson for her.” The bird lady had no pity for her daughter, since she almost ruined this whole deal with her behaviour.

”But wouldn’t that mean everyone would leave her once this place cools down?” Moon Aiko was confused about what her aim was. ”Wouldn’t that anger everyone and try to kill her?”

”You might be misunderstanding something, but most Beasts abide by the rule of the jungle. If she can’t control herself, then she is better off dead.” The bird lady sighed, shaking her head. ”The reason for that, is because it’s not just her survival that is on the line, but the whole Clan. Once you are in a position of power and as the main head. You have to consider what is the best as a whole instead just for you.”

”You are saying it like sacrifices must be made to reach certain goals...” Moon Aiko didn’t like that so she kept shaking her head. She didn’t mind work as a sacrifice, but to sacrifice emotions and other things... that was difficult, no maybe even impossible.

”I know that Foxes are different. You are the weakest when it comes to Beast Cores and thus it limits the power of everything you own. You have to stick together to display your strength or have someone to support you so that you can manifest your full might. However, most normal Beasts are loners, they will rarely form groups, because that would mean sharing resources with others.” The bird lady explained. ”This is not cruelty, it’s just natural selection and unfortunately my daughter failed.”

”... Fine...” Moon Aiko wouldn’t try to seek justification or reasoning behind this. It was obvious that both of them were from different worlds. Aiko might even be a silly dreamer that would love to have the best possible outcome and she might succeed at times, but she should still be careful about future events. ”But that doesn’t explain why you want to go with me.”

Moon Aiko was wary, because the bird lady already had a connection with the person with the Contract.

”I... I’m tired of this place.” The bird lady’s lips twitched. ”It’s rare that we can get visitors, due to the central room and while it serves as perfect protection, it has its own issues.”

”To add to that, there is not enough entertainment, I pretty much know the Nightmare Forest on the back of my hand.” The bird lady smiled bittersweetly.

”So you want to come along?” Moon Aiko tilted her head. She wouldn’t reject help from such a powerful Beast, even if they were injured, but...

”How would that even work?” Moon Aiko was doubtful. ”And what if I wanted to Contract you?”

”I feel like you are thinking of a different Contract, in which case I would be interested, but how would it work, hmmmm...” The bird lady thought about it. ”How about I transform into a small crow and follow you on your shoulder?”

”... That’s possible?” Moon Aiko measured her up and down, but she didn’t believe she would be able to shrink her body that much considering how they looked in their Beast Form.

”Don’t underestimate us just because we are not the Deer Clan.” The bird lady chuckled. She had a few tricks up her sleeve, so as long as Moon Aiko would like to entertain her, she would do her best.

”So there is a way to keep your body from inflating like a balloon.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. While she didn’t have a problem with this, due to her race, many Foxes didn’t want to return into their Beast Form, because they were too big and cumbersome, especially Muscle Foxes.

”So, how about it~?” The bird lady hummed.

”I need more time to think about it, so find me later.” Moon Aiko didn’t want to decide on it immediately. This was an important decision that couldn’t be rushed as she was much more powerful than anything that Moon Aiko ever encountered!

”That is fine.” The bird lady was just happy that this Foxy didn’t reject her outright.

”What are the other rewards for this?” Moon Aiko wanted to know her harvest.

”As I said, I will take you to pick a few nice Treasures for yourself and you can see if you like anything. You can also keep fishing for as long as you stay over. I would like to add a few more things, but we would have to do them discreetly because of the Elders as they are a pain in the ass.” The bird lady didn’t have much to offer, so she would just try to stretch it to the best of her abilities.

”How about the salt?” Moon Aiko wanted to take a few and the Muscle Foxes could try their hands on mining crystals.

”I will talk about it with the overseer and you will be able to take your Foxes there tomorrow.” The bird lady pondered. ”If you are interested I can also include spices with Herbs and mask it like that.”

”Spices?” Moon Aiko was not very interested in cooking herself, but there was Mei and others that knew how to cook, so it might’ve been a good idea to take it for them.

”Would that be alright?” Moon Aiko felt like these rewards were small, but that’s because she didn’t get anything tangible yet.

”Spices are cheap for our Crow Clan, so I will just take half of them and give them to you.” The bird lady chuckled sinisterly. The Elders were addicted to the delicious spices, so she would deprive them as much as possible and then force them to fight for the leftovers.

That will allow her to occupy the Elders while she transfers the throne over to her daughter.

”I... have plenty of room.” Moon Aiko smirked.

”I know this might not be much, but please bear with it until the Elders are occupied.” The bird lady sighed softly. She wanted to give her much more, but the Elders...

”It’s fine. It’s not like I will immediately leave as I still have two Beasts left.” Moon Aiko shrugged like she didn’t mind. After all, she already had a lot of metals and she could get even more. Moreover, she would be able to get salt and spices too!

”Right...” The bird lady nodded her head slowly. ”I heard those bastards suddenly decided to take your offer.”

”Right, and I will get Holy Deer and Nightmare Owl...” Moon Aiko paused. ’I should start to think about how to take them with me, since they are powerful and that Owl is wilful...

”I still can’t believe they wanted to leave too.” The bird lady was left speechless when she got the report about how this deal was set up.

”I’m not sure... It felt like they were hitting on me.” Moon Aiko thought about it, but since she didn’t feel anything about them, she was not completely sure.

”That’s... interesting.” The bird lady didn’t believe that those two would come along willingly.

”It is, isn’t it?” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”I think the trigger-point was the stampede?”

”Ah, then everything would make sense. Those rascals were always interested in people that were able to move the continent as they willed.” The bird lady shook her head. They were so outrageous that she didn’t want her daughter to follow them, but alas...

”Anyway... Don’t say anything outrageous, I want to enjoy this tea.” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes on her.

The bird lady chuckled. ”If you would like to, I can give you some tea leaves.”

”I will gracefully take them.” Moon Aiko didn’t hesitate.

’I can’t believe I’m worse than some tea leaves...’ The bird lady sniffled in her mind, but she would still fulfil her promise!