"Chirp~"

"Grrr~"

"Rawr~"

"Ca caw~"

All sorts of sounds assaulted Joseph's ears as he strolled around the pet store. He didn't have a particular beast in mind that he would like to own, but he prefers it to be a mammal. Maybe even one that he could ride once it reaches adulthood.

Speaking of age, he wanted to buy a baby or cub as it's easier to tame. Moreover, his mother certainly wouldn't allow him to have something like a fully-fledged adult tiger by his side.

Joseph looked at the cages in front of him and saw a variety of animals ranging from spiders, snakes, and to a wolf. Since he was planning to buy a cub, he's naturally on the baby section. Meaning, the beasts here we're all small and cute. 

He had come up with such an idea, buying a pet, because of a book he read in the library where he spent all his free time. The book was about slavery and slave seals, and he was naturally intrigued by the prospects of having a loyal subordinate. 

It's just that he denied the thought immediately after thinking of it, as his mother would certainly not approve of it. She may not be against slavery, but she certainly wouldn't allow her still young son to have one.

Hence, Joseph decided on a pet instead. It could still act as his subordinate and help him as long as he trains it properly. 

Moreover, beasts could evolve just like how one's body undergo a metamorphosis after each Phase Advancement. Meaning, they could scale in strength along with their owners, providing them even more help.

This then brings us to the present.

It was currently the afternoon of the second day after Gui's funeral and they had just arrived in Emerald Green City. 

Joseph had expressed his intentions of buying a pet to his mother while travelling here, to which she agreed. So, after they ate lunch at a restaurant, Isabella accompanied Joseph into the city's pet store.

Currently, as Joseph was squatting down to look at a wolf cub at the bottom cage, a salesman came over.

"Madam and this young sir, may I interest you in our shop's promotion? How it works is very simple, you pick an egg from this box over here and you get to keep it."

"Here's the thing, if you choose just right, you could even win an egg of a wyvern for as low as 1 silver!"

Isabella's interest was piqued. Although she had the money to buy whatever she wanted, she thought that the game aspect of this promotion would be fun for Joseph.

Though, when she looked at Joseph, the latter simply shook his head. Clearly, he was not interested as he immediately started looking around again.

Seeing this, Isabella politely declined the salesman that then immediately retreated. After all, he's just a salesman, he couldn't afford to offend this lady that clearly looked rich judging from her attire. He had been in the industry long enough to know when to back off.

For Joseph, there was no point in participating in a game of luck. After all, he was not "someone" poor that needed to rely on luck to get a good pet.

Also, if he did participate and got a bad egg, wouldn't it be counterintuitive to his plan of nurturing a strong pet?

Soon, Joseph reached the end of the store. This was where the premium pets were displayed. Although the Capital for Lush Plain Kingdom would have more premium pets that he could choose from, it doesn't mean that Emerald Green City doesn't have them. After all, the latter was a center of trade.

At this time, Joseph noticed a quiet cub on the bottom right of the shelf. So he asked his mother to call for a salesman for assistance.

"Young Sir, this is a Shadow Lion cub. They are found at the depths of the Giant Claw Mountain Range. They are very elusive, hence they are rare. Their potential for evolution is also top tier, making them sought after. Just that this one has a bit of a..."

As its name suggests, the Shadow Lion cub is of dark color. However, that wasn't what attracted Joseph, because there's all sorts of beasts in the store that has unique features. No, what sparked his interest was its eyes. Specifically, the look it was giving him.

It was that of indifference, unlike the other beasts here that either looked at Joseph in fear, anger or the like.

"What seems to be the problem?" 

Isabella noticed the abnormality in the salesman's speech.

"Madam, you see, this one is feisty. It always refuses to sign a pact. The store was even thinking of handing it over to a slave master. It's only because it's an excellent species that the decision was put on hold."

Isabella nodded in understanding. She could see what the salesman meant by feisty. However, since this was the pet that her son wanted, she would give it to him.

"Nevermind that, let's try to make it sign a pact right now. If it goes through, we'll naturally take it. My son wants it!"

"Ye– yes ma'am!"

The salesman was a bit surprised. After all, most customers would've already looked for another beast after hearing the complications. Nonetheless, the salesman proceeded to make the pact.

He politely asked Isabella for a drop of Joseph's blood, to which Isabella complied. She pricked Joseph's pinky and extracted a drop of blood.

She then levitated the blood in front of her using her magic. She knew how a pact works so she didn't bother for the salesman to do it.

Seeing this, the salesman professionally proceeded to the other steps, extracting a drop of blood from the cub and putting it on a petri dish.

Isabella then made the cub's blood float towards her and combine it with Joseph's blood. When the two drops of blood touched, they suddenly began to shine.

"Alright Joseph, do you feel a connection with the cub? You can now try to make a pact with it. If it doesn't want to, tell me, I'll make it for you."

Isabella casually threw out a threat, as if what she said wasn't a threat at all. To this, Joseph inwardly sighed while the salesman shivered as he suddenly felt cold.

Joseph nodded and closed his eyes, trying to feel the connection between him and the cub. Sure enough, it was there. However, the cub was very willful and stubborn.

Alas, it didn't last for long as Joseph's will suddenly overwhelmed the cub's. This was not Joseph's first time dealing with this type of attitude. He did this to the boys back on Earth to when he recruited them to his side.

You shouldn't "just beat them up" like his mother threatened to do, as that would just toughen them up. After all, she couldn't just pulverize the cub to show who's the boss. 

The way you deal with them was by overwhelming them with your aura or prowess, essentially destroying their pride. Only by making them acknowledge you would you be on negotiating terms.

At this time, the two drops of blood combined with each other. It shone even brighter before it gradually evaporated into nothingness. The pact was successful.

Now, Joseph could feel a bond with the cub. 

The salesman was dumbfounded seeing the pact succeeded, not to mention that it had gone so smoothly! His shock then soon turned into joy as they don't have to sell the cub at a bargain to a slave master anymore!!

The salesman then happily processed the payment after giving the cub to Joseph.

Not long after that, the mother and son duo, with the new pet in hand, walked out of the pet store. Isabella was especially satisfied with the purchase as Joseph seemed to be enjoying the cub's company. 

          •×•×•×•

At noon of the next day, Isabella, Joseph and Titus came to the auction house. Titus was the Shadow Lion cub that they bought yesterday. As for why Joseph called him Titus, he saw the name appear in a book. It also sounds nice, which Isabella agrees.

After some training yesterday, Titus was actually quite sweet. He especially liked to rest in Isabella's "soft cushions." Though, his attitude was only like this towards Isabella and Joseph. He couldn't care less about other people. He wouldn't even bat an eye towards the family's servants.

Of course, Joseph's blood connection with Titus helped a lot in taming the latter. 

At this time, just as the three were about to enter the auction house, a handsome and elegant-looking young man suddenly approached them with a beaming smile.