Chapter 254

Chapter 254

On usual occasions, during holidays and special occasions, the pet store had a habit of sending gifts to its partners.

So, Paul was not surprised by the gift Lorant was talking about.

However, from what the shop owner just said, it sounded like the gift would be especially helpful for Paul.

"Joe, go bring over the gift I mentioned earlier," Lorant turned to his loyal butler standing behind him.

Joe nodded, bowed, and left the room.

At first, Lorant found it strange to have Joe constantly following him, as if he were a shadow, but over time, he got used to it.

But people quickly adapt to comfort. A well-trained butler like Joe never made his master feel uncomfortable.

When Lorant didn’t need him, Joe would fade into the background, reappearing only when needed.

Paul watched the departing butler with admiration. "I’ve said it before, you should find a suitable butler to manage your household affairs. The work at the pet store is already keeping you busy enough; those miscellaneous tasks should be left to someone else."

Lorant nodded in agreement, being quite satisfied with his butler. "You’re right, Joe is indeed very capable. But if I had gone to the Butler Academy earlier, I might not have found such a suitable butler."

"A suitable butler can bring me assistance, but an unsuitable one would be nothing but trouble."

The two chatted casually for a few moments, and soon, Joe returned to the parlor.

He wasn’t alone. A light-winged butterfly perched on his shoulder, accompanying him into the room.

Although Lorant occasionally allowed these little ones to leave the glass house and roam in the backyard, they had never ventured far from it.

The light-winged butterfly was intelligent enough to understand the command not to run off, but with its fragile body and slow, graceful flight, even in the backyard, Lorant wasn’t entirely at ease about their safety.

So, upon entering the parlor, the little one was quite curious, showing great interest in everything inside.

Its tiny claws twitched on Joe’s shoulder, as if it were about to fly off and explore at any moment.

Lorant extended his finger, and the light-winged butterfly immediately landed on his slender, fair finger.

This was a good habit Lorant had cultivated in these little ones.

Whenever he posed his finger horizontally across his chest, it meant the light-winged butterflies could land on it and enjoy his touch.

If he didn’t assume this posture, it meant they had to stay put and not disturb their master while he was working.

"Is this the new pet from the pet store that’s been causing a stir all over Mauplan?" Seeing the creature, Paul couldn’t resist leaning forward, his eyes wide with excitement as he gazed at the ethereal light-winged butterfly on Lorant’s finger.

The light-winged butterfly was a pure, milky white.

Its beautiful light wings looked like a pair of enormous milky white feathered wings.

At first glance, it seemed like the wings of some bird, with every feather distinctly visible.

However, in reality, those were just patterns unique to the creature’s light wings, and the feather-like appearance was merely an effect of light.

Lorant gently stroked the little one’s wings.

Although the butterfly’s light wings weren’t solid, they seemed to enjoy being touched, even though it felt like Lorant was just stroking the air.

But from the contented look on the butterfly’s face, Lorant knew it truly enjoyed the attention.

It's unclear whether these little ones can actually feel the touch or if it's just a psychological comfort.

"That's right, this child is a Lightwing Butterfly," Lorant nodded. "It's a type of auxiliary beast pet that our beast pet shop has recently developed."

He carefully avoided using terms like "latest," since the "Wingless Flywheel" would be born before long, and Lorant didn't want Paul to think he was deceiving him.

At the same time, Lorant didn't dwell on why an unreleased beast pet was already causing a stir in Mauplan.

When he chose to improve the Lightwing Butterfly course for beast tamers by teaching the best students at the Knight Academy, Lorant had already anticipated this outcome.

So, during class, he didn’t specifically instruct the students not to spread news of this new beast pet.

With so many students, even if he warned them, there would inevitably be one or two who let something slip. Rather than trying to hide it awkwardly, it was better for Lorant to let the students be the first batch of free promoters.

"Mr. Paul is indeed well-informed. Since that's the case, you probably already know something about the Lightwing Butterfly, and I don't need to explain much."

"You're right. This is a Lightwing Butterfly, and this particular one is a gift I've chosen for you," Lorant said with a smile.

He then gently wiggled his finger.

The Lightwing Butterfly was messing around, rubbing its claws on his finger. Feeling the vibration, it immediately clung to Lorant's finger to steady itself. The little one then looked back at Lorant's affirmative gaze, figured out his intention after tilting its head, and flew to Paul's knee.

Sitting on the sofa, Paul was a bit stunned as he looked down at the Lightwing Butterfly in front of him.

When Lorant mentioned he had a gift for him and hinted that it would be good for him, Paul thought Lorant had found some medicine to address his side effects.

He never expected that Lorant's gift would be a Lightwing Butterfly.

"A gift for me?" Paul repeated Lorant's words with some confusion, looking down at the little one on his knee, then back up at Lorant in surprise.

Although this beast pet hadn't officially been released yet, and Paul wasn't entirely clear on its abilities, he couldn't assess its true value.

However, Paul was well aware that regardless of value, Lorant rarely gave his beast pets as gifts.

Even those lower-tier E-grade ones, it was rare to see Lorant give them as gifts.

Except for the few given to Blue Star platform members as rewards for upgrading, which weren't for sale and had no special abilities but served only as cute pets.

Aside from those, the only outsider Paul could remember receiving a beast pet as a gift from Lorant was Jane Raymond, the leader of the Thorn Knights.

And at that time, Lorant had made it clear that the gift was to thank the Thorn Knights for their help during the initial stages of the beast pet shop.

The facts later proved that the blood shadow horse Lorant had specially selected was crucial to the Thorn Knights' cavalry.

With that lead horse, managing the Windbreaking Horse herd became much simpler for the Thorn Knights. During training and actual battles, the blood shadow was also excellent at keeping all the Windbreaking Horses in line.

Whether charging or changing formations, with the blood shadow at the front, the entire cavalry operated as one, always bringing out their maximum strength.

This gave the Thorn Knights a huge advantage when compared to other cavalry units.

After the previous hunting ground cavalry competition, many from other knight orders tried to find out from Paul why the Thorn Knights had such powerful cavalry capabilities.

Although they were the first cavalry unit, the time difference wasn't significant, so there shouldn't have been such a large gap.

Paul knew that with similar training, the existence of this lead horse was instrumental.

Even Jaina had been envious of Jane's proud blood shadow, but such lead horses were rare and couldn't be sought out.

Apart from the initial stroke of luck with Little Qing, Blood Shadow, and White Night, no other Windbreaking Horse had been outstanding enough since.

Jaina often visits the beast pet shop during her free time, hoping to find a lead horse among the Windbreaking Horses that is as outstanding as the Blood Shadow horse. She wants to get one for herself.

Jaina is already very fond of her current Windbreaking Horse, pampering it daily.

However, when it comes to leading the cavalry into battle, her current Windbreaking Horse doesn't have the same effect as the Blood Shadow horse.

So Jaina thought that maybe she could find another Windbreaking Horse specifically for battle. Although Windbreaking Horses are not yet widely available and their numbers are still quite rare, having two horses for one person might seem a bit extravagant. But Jaina doesn’t think it’s a big deal for her.

Unfortunately, she has not found a Windbreaking Horse that can compare to the Blood Shadow horse, let alone a naturally born Windbreaking Horse King like Lancelot's Little Qing.

As a result, Jaina had to reluctantly abandon her idea for the time being.

Paul snapped out of his thoughts and returned to the present.

He watched the little creature on his knees, now growing bolder, hopping from his left knee to his right, then back again, clearly enjoying its new surroundings.

The knight couldn't help but gently poke the beautiful large white wings of the Lightwing Butterfly.

To his surprise, Paul only felt empty air and looked at the little creature in astonishment.

The Lightwing Butterfly happily lifted its head. Even though Paul was poking its wings rather than petting them, the butterfly still seemed to enjoy it and happily squinted its eyes, shook its wings, and basked in the moment.

"Why did you give this little one to me?" Paul instinctively asked Lorant, then immediately realized it might seem a bit impolite, so he quickly added, "Of course, I like this child very much. It's really beautiful, and I will take good care of it."

Lorant was secretly pleased to see the little one enjoying itself under Paul's hand. "I’m glad you like it. You’ll see why once you experience its abilities for yourself."

He snapped his fingers at the Lightwing Butterfly, which was now acting like a playful puppy, nuzzling against Paul as if begging for more attention.

The Lightwing Butterfly immediately entered its working state and became serious in an instant.

Its massive, feather-like wings glowed with a brilliant white light, expanding several times in size.

This was the external manifestation of the Lightwing Butterfly's ability when it used its power.

At the same time, Paul felt a warm current flow from the Lightwing Butterfly touching his knee to his body.

In the blink of an eye, the warmth spread throughout his entire body.

This feeling was very familiar to Paul, just like when he was receiving Holy Light spells from those young priests.

The warmth enveloped him, making him feel so relaxed that he almost wanted to lie down and sigh in relief. His old injuries were far more severe than most people imagined, like a constant ache, as if tiny blades were scraping at his insides.

A single Holy Light spell usually provided only temporary relief, keeping Paul comfortable for a day or two.

But this Lightwing Butterfly was continuously releasing the same warmth as the Holy Light spell.

Paul widened his eyes, incredulously looking at Lorant. He had a guess in his mind but couldn't quite believe it. "This is?"

Seeing Paul's reaction, Lorant smiled with satisfaction. "As you've felt, this Lightwing Butterfly's ability is the Holy Light spell. And it doesn't just enhance the intensity of the Holy Light spell when used by someone else; it can continuously release this Holy Light energy on its own."

Such Lightwing Butterflies that can autonomously release spells directly affecting practitioners are rare. Moreover, they seem to have significant limitations on the skills they can use.

Currently, after testing, only five Lightwing Butterflies out of tens of thousands can autonomously release abilities.

Two of them can release low-level Holy Light spells, two can release low-level Levitation spells, and one can release a Levitation spell.

Even among Lightwing Butterflies, these types are quite rare. However, these Lightwing Butterflies are not considered rare or special, so Lorant thought this might just be a normal ability for them.

After all, this is still just a supportive ability. Even the most offensive-like 'Levitation' Lightwing Butterfly can only make objects weighing up to five kilograms float, so its intrinsic value is actually the lowest.

However, if one were to insist on discussing the value of these Lightwing Butterflies, Lorant didn’t think their rarity made them significantly more valuable than other Lightwing Butterflies.

After all, most of these abilities aren’t particularly powerful. Leaving aside the Levitation spell, the Lightwing Butterfly given to Paul could continuously use the Holy Light spell, but its healing ability is roughly equivalent to that of a second-level priest.

While it does provide some healing, it’s not nearly as effective as a priest.

It’d be smarter for injured people to use their Lanstar points for a one-time healing from a Holy Light Peacock rather than buying a Lightwing Butterfly to keep around.

The intensity of the healing would be greater, and it would likely cost less over several decades of treatment than buying a Lightwing Butterfly.

A practitioner needing long-term treatment would benefit most from this Lightwing Butterfly, as it allows continuous access to the Holy Light spell.

However, such practitioners are few and far between, so the market isn’t very large.

Paul, however, happened to be one of those rare practitioners with such a need.

For him, it was more about long-term recuperation rather than immediate treatment.

He didn’t need an overwhelmingly powerful healing ability because, unless he received the Pope’s Grand Prophecy spell, other healing spells, no matter how strong, would hardly make a difference to his old wounds.

But the ideal treatment would be something that could work slowly and steadily on his body.

It would also need to adjust autonomously to his busy work schedule.

This Lightwing Butterfly was the perfect companion for Paul, given his need for ongoing care.

"This little one’s ability is to autonomously release a low-level Holy Light spell," Lorant explained carefully to Paul as he took a piece of leaf paper from Joe, "It can stay by your side and use the Holy Light spell to nurture your body, which should be helpful to you."

For someone as busy as Paul, there were times when he was so occupied that he might not have time to visit the church to find a priest.

While the Thorn Knights had their own healing mages, these valuable resources were usually stationed at the Black Forest outpost or the Lopulo fortress. Even someone of Paul’s rank, as a logistics officer, found it difficult to secure a dedicated healer.

Paul had explicitly refused the proposals of Jaina and Jane, as he didn’t want to waste a valuable healer because of his own needs.

A good healer could mean the difference between life and death for countless people.

However, having such a ‘personal nurse’ would undoubtedly be a great help to Paul.

Paul hesitated, looking down at the small creature perched on his knee, wanting to protest that such a valuable gift was too much for him to accept.

After all, even without Lorant revealing the price of this new type of companion, Paul could already make an assessment based on the abilities that had been circulating.

The price of these companions was certainly above that of the Glassy Ice Flame Dog.

Some of them, with abilities rumored to be miraculous, were even more valuable.

If this Lightwing Butterfly were to be sold on the market, it would undoubtedly fetch an astonishing price.

While ordinary people might not see much value in purchasing a portable healing companion, for small to medium-sized organizations, such a companion could significantly enhance their logistical support.

Anything related to healing abilities was bound to be of great value, and Paul understood this well.

In fact, upon realizing the ability of this Lightwing Butterfly, he had even considered placing it at an outpost to replace a healer.

Healers are always in short supply, and no one ever turns down an extra one.

But seeing the look in Lorant’s eyes, Paul couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

On the one hand, this is Lorant's gesture of goodwill, and on the other hand, this gift was simply too tempting for him to resist.

Lorant looked at Paul's conflicted expression and understood that this gift had definitely tempted him.

Not giving the knight officer time to hesitate, he continued speaking, "Alright, you can take this little one back with you later. It doesn't have a name yet, so think of a nice one for it. Before you leave, Joe will get its cozy sleeping nest and activity stand, and you can take everything with you."

Lorant thought for a moment and added, "However, when the Lightwing Butterfly courses start, you should make time to attend. These little ones are quite fragile and need proper care. Also, this little one is a personal gift to you, so don't just hand it over to the Knight Order!" Seeing Paul's expression, Lorant quickly cut off the thoughts of this ever-dutiful knight who never thought of himself.

Paul chuckled sheepishly, knowing his thoughts had been read like an open book, and then seriously added the class to his schedule.

Soon, this diligent knight officer remembered why he had come.

"Alright, let's talk about these little ones then," Paul said, his fingers unconsciously stroking the little one on his knee.

The Lightwing Butterfly was very lively and also very affectionate.

Whether it was just his imagination or not, Lorant always felt that these little ones, perhaps from spending so much time with the Glassy Ice Flame Dogs, were becoming more and more like them in every aspect except size.

Just like the playful Little Qing and Little Black!

Even though it was the first time meeting Paul, this little one was completely unafraid and played happily with him.

The only thing left was for it to start swinging from Paul's finger like a little acrobat.

"Today, I'm here representing the Thorn Knight Order to discuss how the pet store plans to sell this new batch of creatures," Paul said, sitting up straight, his expression serious as he turned to Lorant. "And, we'd like to explore further collaboration on the Lightwing Butterflies."