The Herb King

135 Olivia

Suddenly, Aethelwolf blasted the cage open with a simple kick, scaring everyone out of their wits. The metal steel bar caused a loud rumbling sound as soon as it hit the floor. Everyone took a few steps back while looking cautiously at the destroyed cage.

“Don’t hurt anyone randomly, okay? Humans are governed by a set of rules so if you end up hurting them, you will be in trouble. There are a few humans out there who are as strong as me and they might kill you if you cause a lot of trouble.” Aethelwolf spoke to the beast in a warning tone. It was still a wild creature in the eyes of other people so he had to make sure that it wouldn’t hurt anyone

The huge bird tilted its head as it looked at Aethelwolf. “I know. I will be careful.” It replied.

“Good! Let’s go. Remember to keep your promise.” Aethelwolf smiled as he signaled for the beast to follow him.

The Mutated Four-Winged Fire Eagle hesitated for a moment, but when it saw Aethelwolf’s genuine smile, the large bird decided to trust the human and took its first step outside the cage. The feeling of freedom made the creature happy and it immediately spread its crimson wings and let out a loud screech that shook the store and the nearby buildings.

Aethelwolf chuckled when he saw this, but he didn’t stop it from celebrating its freedom. He then turned his gaze to the female worker who was absentmindedly looking at him. He noticed trails of wet tears on her cheeks and this made him furrow his eyebrows. He then realized that his actions this time caused a lot of trouble for this poor worker. He sighed and walked towards her. “If you lose your job, I’ll hire you as the head maid of my mansion. My clinic already has sufficient workers so I can’t let you work there. If you don’t mind, you can visit my mansion later if you truly end up being fired. I’m sorry. It must have been hard on you.” He patted her shoulder gently. He felt sorry for her and he vowed that he would be more careful in the future. One simple mistake on his part could potentially ruin the lives of others.

When she heard his words, the female worker’s lifeless eyes regained color. She stared at Aethelwolf with hope as she asked. “I-I w-will work for you. Even if they won’t kick me out, I’ve been planning to leave the store for a long time. I just haven’t found another place to work. I’ve had enough of the manager...” She then sobbed quietly and Aethelwolf could only pat her back. This woman must have been through a lot for her to break down like this. Aethelwolf wasn’t surprised since many commoners suffer from harsh treatment.

Aethelwolf turned his head at Rendell and said. “Take the sack. We will purchase the carriage and leave the store after that.”

.....

Rendell acknowledged his command with a nod of his head. He then grabbed the sack which was filled with gold cards.

“Please tell your boss that Aethelwolf came here to buy the aerial magical beast. Send someone to my mansion after you have calculated the total value of the damage I caused.” Aethelwolf helped the female worker to get up after saying those words to the guards of the store.

The guards stared at each other and nodded their heads in acknowledgment. This man was Aethelwolf! Even their boss, Brian Linaza, has to be careful around him.

“Tell them to open the main gate. I have to take that little guy out.” Aethelwolf said to the female worker.

“Hyacinth. That’s my name.” The female worker muttered before she went to the guards.

Aethelwolf stared at her briefly before he turned his gaze to the Mutated Four-Winged Fire Eagle. “Hey, little sister. Do you have a name?” He asked while speaking in Beast Language.

Strange sounds came out of his mouth. Everyone inside the building stared at him in confusion. Was he speaking to the Fire Eagle?

The Mutated Four-Winged Fire Eagle tilted its large bird head, showing a perplexed look. “Name? What is that?”

“Eh? You don’t have a name? How should I say this? A name is something given to you the moment you are born. We humans give our newborns a name as a symbol of identity and to mark their place in our world. I was given the name Aethelwolf. What do you think? Do you want to have one? I can give you a name.” He smiled at the silent beast.

It muttered with its head down. “Name... Identity...” After a moment of silence, it raised its head and stared at Aethelwolf. “Give me a name.”

Aethelwolf grinned and nodded his head. “From now on, your name will be Olivia...”

The Mutated Four-Winged Fire Eagle felt its heart throbbing unusually the moment it heard its name. “Olivia. I am Olivia...” For some reason, Aethelwolf felt that she was happy.

Creak!

The large gate of the building was opened, showing the clear sky outside.

Aethelwolf’s group followed Hyacinth, while Olivia carefully trailed behind them. She even used her power to make sure that she won’t damage the ground with her incredibly large feet.

“Sir Aethelwolf, is it really fine for that thing to go out freely?” Hyacinth stared nervously at the ferocious-looking Fire Eagle. The chains that bound it was already removed by Aethelwolf so nothing was restricting its movements. It could fly off if it wanted, but strangely enough, the beast didn’t show any signs of escaping. It just followed behind them while looking around curiously.

“Relax. It won’t fly away. Even if it escapes, I’ll still pay for it. Just show us the carriages so that we can leave here. I believe you don’t want to stay in this store anymore.” He chuckled softly.

Hyacinth nodded her head. Since he was confident, she could only follow his words.

Aethelwolf told Olivia to stay still while they were looking for the perfect carriage. They ended up choosing the most expensive one they have which was priced at 50,000 gold coins. It was very cheap compared to the magical beasts he bought.

After paying for everything, Aethelwolf went to look for Olivia and saw the huge Fire Eagle squatting obediently. She didn’t even leave the spot where they left her.

Seeing this, Aethelwolf couldn’t resist laughing at the adorable creature. She looked ferocious, but her personality was truly that of a little girl. “We still can’t fly around since we need to have a flying license. Just walk with us for now.”

“How troublesome...” Olivia grumbled but she still walked towards him like a docile pet.