Chapter 538

Chapter 538

Lancelot adjusted Lorant's lying position so he could easily cradle his head. Recently, Lorant had developed a habit of asking Lancelot to massage his temples to relieve tension.

For this, the knight had even made a special trip to the church to learn professional relaxation techniques from nuns skilled in such massages.

Though without the nuns' abilities, the massage could only slightly ease surface-level discomfort and couldn’t fully alleviate deeper fatigue—that still required the Healing Chime, certain uniquely gifted luminous-winged butterflies, or sacred peacocks to take effect after sleep. Nevertheless, Lorant deeply appreciated Lancelot’s efforts and made time every day to lie in his lap and enjoy the treatment.

His motives weren’t purely about relieving fatigue; more often, he just wanted to be affectionate.

"Mmm, logically, a gift should only be revealed when the recipient opens it at the right time," Lorant said, opening one eye to look at Lancelot’s upside-down face in his vision. No matter how many times he saw it, he was still mesmerized by that face, more beautiful than any elf’s. "That’s how you preserve the full mystery of a gift, isn’t it?"

"But my birthday is still a month away," Lancelot murmured, lowering his eyes with a pitiful expression, like an abused little wife. "Does the mystery really have to last that long? I’ll be so curious I won’t be able to sleep."

Nearby, Fa Meng rolled her eyes dramatically at Lancelot’s weak act and huffed out a small spark from her nostrils.

So *tea-ish*! (A Chinese internet slang for acting fake-innocent.) Only Lorant couldn’t see through it! Once again, this knight was utterly detestable!

While mentally noting down this new trick she’d learned from the *tea-ish* knight in her mental notebook, Fa Meng silently cursed.

Lorant, of course, remained oblivious to the undercurrents between these two. In truth, both the human and the beast were quite clever—they knew that without the aid and protection of his pets, Lorant was essentially an ordinary person, so when the two of them squabbled behind his back, he was unlikely to notice.

Little Qing and Little Black rarely involved themselves in the childish daily squabbles between these two, but neither would they unnecessarily report such matters to Lorant. Unless specifically asked, these little ones weren’t the type to be gossipy little tattletales.

They had their own basic judgment—as long as Fa Meng and Lancelot wouldn’t betray him or harm his interests, the two pets wouldn’t interfere.

But if either of them showed such tendencies—though, admittedly, the little ones were mainly wary of Lancelot; they trusted Fa Meng, their day-and-night companion—whether they could win or not, Little Black and Little Qing wouldn’t stand by and let anyone or any pet harm Lorant!

In fact, every one of the pets around Lorant shared this mindset.

They relied on him, but more importantly, they protected him, viewing his safety as their raison d'être.

Lorant wasn’t entirely unaware of their actions, nor was he completely in the dark. After all, living together day and night, he knew these little ones well—and coincidentally, they were poor at concealing their feelings. The slightest shift in their thoughts would show, practically written on their foreheads.

But Lorant didn’t mind. As long as he was sure they were on his side and would never betray him, that was enough.

He gave his pets his complete trust. These little creatures were perhaps the only beings in this world he could wholeheartedly rely on without reservation.

As for Fa Meng’s little antics, he always turned a blind eye.

Hearing Lancelot’s plea, Lorant immediately wavered.

He really couldn’t resist when Lancelot occasionally acted vulnerably cute around him. This tall, handsome, and usually unyielding genius knight only ever let down his guard and showed his softest side to Lorant—like a cat rolling over to expose its belly in trust, irresistibly tempting. After all, who could resist petting a fluffy, soft, willingly offered belly?

And Lancelot had clearly discovered this weakness of Lorant’s, so whenever he wanted something, this was how he got it.

The knight saw nothing shameful in it. Using appropriate means within proper bounds to coax some loving gestures from his partner was simply the most natural thing in the world!

After a brief internal struggle, Lorant quickly made up his mind, his brow smoothing. "Don’t worry about that. Though I can’t tell you what the gift is, I *can* tell you that you won’t have to wait until your birthday to find out! In just a week, you’ll know the truth about this little one."

"How about that? Now you won’t have to wait impatiently!" Lorant grinned smugly, raising an eyebrow. "Even if you don’t sleep for a week, it’s no big deal for you, right?"

Lancelot wasn’t sure how many times he’d been surprised today. "It’s really no big deal. In fact, if you’d like, I could go a whole month without sleep—and on top of that, work diligently every night without getting tired at all!" He winked suggestively at Lorant, *waggled eyebrows*.

Lately, busy with pet breeding, Lorant hadn’t "favored" the knight [in the bedroom] in a long time, which was why the man had been pestering him with not-so-subtle advances these past few days.

After receiving a colossal eye-roll, Lancelot continued, "But this little one will be born in just a week? Are you sure?"

"If I'm not sure, then can you be sure?" Lorant glared at Lancelot irritably. Any doubts about his professionalism could easily make Lorant bristle like a cat all over.

"No, no, darling, believe me, I'm not questioning you," Lancelot quickly explained, trying to smooth his ruffled feathers as he gently pressed Lorant back down from trying to sit up. "I'm just surprised that the gestation period for this little one is so short."

"After all, every time you've bred beasts before, it took quite a while."

"Right? This little one's gestation period is incredibly short!" Lorant, who had been struggling against being held down, immediately perked up at Lancelot's words and excitedly rolled over to start on his favorite topic. "So I think it must be something really special. Plus, its breeding path is unique too. If we can find some commonalities in beast breeding from this, there might be even greater discoveries!"

"For example, if I switch out some materials or try different beasts for multiple experiments, maybe I'll get lucky and find a completely new species."

"Or once the Nightmare is born, working backward from the beast itself could yield other breakthroughs."

"I’ve already planned it out—once this little one is born, I’ll first..."

Watching Lorant grow animated and ramble on and on about this topic, completely forgetting their earlier disagreement, Lancelot smiled helplessly yet adoringly.

But it was precisely this kind of pure-hearted nature that allowed him to venture so far down this uncharted path. Outwardly, Lancelot kept up with Lorant’s excited conjectures, but his gaze remained fixed on the young man’s face, etching every vivid expression into his memory.

...

The week passed in a flash.

During this time, the large gray rabbit wasn’t sent back to the basement of the beast shop. Instead, Lorant had a custom beast cage set up in his room, carving out a small corner in the living room for the creature.

The Field Snowhare didn’t display any particularly destructive tendencies here. Since it was busy internally metabolizing the terrifying concoction Lorant had painstakingly concocted with immense energy, its overall energy expenditure was enormous, leaving it in a rather lethargic state. It was only awake for two or three hours a day at most.

Most of the time, it slept quietly, burning through the terrifying amount of energy stored in its body and converting it through its small frame into a batch of monster eggs capable of birthing new life.

Lancelot was incredibly attentive to this Field Snowhare—after all, it was Lorant’s birthday gift to him. Every day, the knight would set aside time to personally feed it, adding the task to his daily planner.

According to Lorant, if bonding with monster eggs from the start could strengthen the connection between a beastmaster and their beast, then interacting even earlier—while the eggs were still inside the live beasts—might yield even more surprises.

Of course, Lorant himself knew this theory wasn’t necessarily foolproof. After all, live beasts could produce multiple monster eggs in one go, and not all of them would belong to the same beastmaster. Most beastmasters wouldn’t even get the chance to interact with the eggs, let alone the live beasts themselves.

Thus, this approach was unprecedented. Though Lorant proposed the idea, it was likely to end in futility.

But Lancelot remained undeterred, unwilling to let go of even the slightest possibility.

After encountering the rebellious offspring Little Qing, Lancelot had come to fully grasp the importance of compatibility between beast and master.

His compatibility with Little Qing was barely adequate. If there had been other options, or if they were just an ordinary beastmaster and beast, the two probably wouldn’t have made do with each other—Blue Star wouldn’t have even matched them together.

But Little Qing’s bloodline was far too unique. At the time, Lorant would never have allowed such a rare SR-grade beast to fall into the hands of outsiders. And compared to himself, who lacked strong means of resistance back then, Lancelot was the best choice.

Nowadays, Lancelot seemed utterly devoted to Lorant, to the point where he almost appeared to be kept like a pampered housewife by the Blue Star shop owner. Many newer employees at Blue Star were often surprised by the knight’s down-to-earth and gentle demeanor.

He seemed so different from the overbearing nobles they were used to.

But in truth, Lancelot was deeply arrogant—more so than most nobles.

Not only did he have an enviable pedigree, but his innate talent and achievements had long since eclipsed the need to rely on his noble birth.

As a true golden boy, unless he was facing Lorant, Lancelot unconsciously exuded an air of superiority that made the skin crawl of those who had climbed up from the bottom rungs, enduring discrimination and oppression.

Even now, with his sheathed edges, Lancelot’s pride remained unmistakable.

And as for Little Qing? It was every bit as proud. Of noble lineage, if Blue Star were to choose a master for it other than Lorant, Lancelot would be the only option.

Don't be fooled by Little Qing's usual friendly demeanor with Silem, getting along well and even allowing him to stroke its fur when in a good mood.

When Silem brings his own Bai Ye into Little Qing's territory, the proud Windbreaking Horse doesn’t drive them away. But if Bai Ye came alone, it would likely receive a harsh lesson from Little Qing.

However, if Silem were to become Little Qing's master, this proud creature would absolutely refuse.

Thus, two mismatched partners ended up together by chance. Fortunately, though not perfectly suited, both were strong-willed and patient enough to eventually grow to work well together after a rough adjustment period.

The process of adaptation was far from pleasant—Lancelot still vividly remembers those days of constant clashes between himself and Little Qing.

Yet, he’d sown those bitter seeds himself, and he had no choice but to swallow them.

If anything, it was simply the backlash of his initial neglectful attitude toward beast companions.

Back then, Lorant had repeatedly emphasized the importance of staying by the monster egg's side, but Lancelot hadn't taken it seriously at the time. This cost him the best opportunity to build a natural bond with Little Qing, leaving him no choice but to force compatibility later.

After several humbling experiences involving Fa Meng, Baby, Xiao Lan, and Jiaojiao, Lancelot could no longer afford even a hint of disdain toward beast companions. His perspective on them had been steadily evolving during this time.

Though it was the knight who first introduced beast companions to other professionals—and Lorant could objectively say that without Lancelot's early arrival and his belief in their potential, his own beginnings would have been impossible, leaving everything afterward a complete unknown—Lancelot's attitude toward beast companions had always leaned conservative.

If it weren't for his vested interest in the industry, Lorant sometimes suspected that Lancelot might have been among the first to oppose the widespread adoption of beast companions.

At his core, Lancelot was a staunch believer in "Elitist Professionalism."

Compared to unreliable external aid like beast companions, he had far more faith in the abilities that arose from within himself.

His view of beast companions carried a hint of condescension, typical of a professional's arrogance and dismissiveness.

Lancelot was, by nature, a man of immense pride, bordering on arrogance, and held unshakable confidence in his own abilities.

Lorant knew him well enough to realize that when Lancelot first accepted Little Qing, he probably never really thought it would be much help. Of course, given his strength at the time, he had every reason to be confident.

But...

The mess was his to clean up.

Watching this intensely proud man now desperately trying to avoid another painful adjustment amused Lorant greatly.

"Alright, tomorrow I'll take it downstairs to wait for hatching," Lorant said, arms crossed as he stood behind Lancelot, watching with amusement as the knight meticulously fed the Field Snowhare with food on a stick.

"Should I come along?" Lancelot asked, eyeing the Field Snowhare with concern.

He was deeply invested in this creature about to give birth.

Or rather, he had really come to care about beast companions themselves.

If he could go back in time, he would never have left Little Qing's monster egg unattended, ensuring it would see him first upon hatching—though even that might not have guaranteed Little Qing's attitude toward him would differ from its attitude toward Lorant.

The First Sight Theory was Lorant's idea, but what it couldn't explain was why, for all beast companions, Lorant seemed to hold a unique place. Regardless of whether they had that initial bond, they all treated him with extraordinary favor.

It was as if, in the minds of beast companions, "Lorant" and "other humans" were completely different beings.

Yet despite the theory’s unproven reliability, Lancelot followed it to the letter, unwilling to risk even the slightest oversight.

Lorant chuckled affectionately and patted Lancelot's head as he crouched, as if petting his own Glassy-Ice-Flame Dog, Maomao.

"No need," Lorant said with a smile, tapping the Field Snowhare's cage. The big gray rodent was currently awake and had started getting agitated upon seeing Lancelot. Now, with Lorant—a weaker "prey"—standing before it, the beast’s predatory instincts kicked in hard.

Looking at the food Lancelot placed in front of it, the Snowhare showed little interest, its round belly bulging as it thrashed about, trying to bite the iron bars of the cage to break free and attack.

Whether it was due to the Snowhare’s impending birth or some other reason, Lorant felt that its aggression had grown stronger day by day, as if the innate savagery of a beast was on full display.

Completely ignoring the creature’s snarling expression, Lorant casually waved his hand. Invisible strands of silk from Fa Meng gently descended from the ceiling, coiling snugly around the cage and lifting it, dangling in midair as it floated down into the basement from the living room.

"The next steps don’t require you. This is my job now. I’ll bring the monster egg out to you later, and then you’ll have to stay by its side at all times to prevent another Little Qing incident, got it?" Lorant naturally understood what Lancelot was thinking. Seeing how seriously the knight treated this Snowhare, even without him saying it, Lorant knew it was because of the impact Little Qing had left on him.

Hearing this, Lancelot nodded silently and teased, "Alright, then I’ll lend you my birthday present for a few days. Make sure to bring it back to me!"

The two had been trading barbs over this "birthday present" for days. Lorant often joked that Lancelot’s unusual attachment to the Snowhare was because it was his gift—treating it as his personal treasure, so precious that no one else could touch it.

Now that Lorant was taking it away, Lancelot turned the tables to rib him back using his own words.

"Don’t worry, Sir Knight, I’ll return your birthday present without a hair out of place." Lorant patted Lancelot’s head again, his hand carding through the knight’s long hair in a way that increasingly resembled how he petted Maomao.

Lancelot finally caught on—this rascal had grown downright cheeky lately, slipping in these small actions while he was busy with the Snowhare. Now, he was openly petting him as if he were Maomao!

"Speaking of which, does this little guy still need some time before giving birth?" Lancelot asked suddenly, lowering his head and letting Lorant continue patting him with evident satisfaction.

"That’s right, it’ll take a while longer before the actual birth," Lorant replied distractedly, not realizing the intent behind the question. "Why do you ask?"

Lancelot grinned, abruptly standing up and tossing Lorant over his shoulder in one swift motion before marching upstairs.

"In that case, we still have time for a proper chat!" Lancelot jostled Lorant slightly, landing a sharp swat to his backside for good measure, holding him firmly in place with a smirk. "I think it’s high time I remind you—I’m no beastling for you to pat."

Lorant yelped in surprise, pounding on Lancelot’s back. "No! Stop—let me down! Ugh—!"

……

By the time Lorant stumbled into the lab, hair mussed and massaging his aching back, it was already evening.

But just as expected, the Snowhare showed no immediate changes, still lost to the world—only its noticeably rounder belly signaled the little creature was about to undergo a crucial birth.

Lorant straightened his messy hair in the mirror Fa Meng considerately materialized for him.

That damn knight—always causing trouble at the worst times!

A complete animal!

Lorant ground his molars, silently vowing to study Lancelot’s genes someday to see if there was some monster blood in him. Otherwise, how could he be so… Hmph!

Shaking off the strange thoughts, Lorant refocused on the Snowhare before him. He reached out to feel its belly, confirming the firm, rounded shape of the monster egg inside, and sighed in relief.

Even with all the magical instruments at his disposal, Lorant preferred reading beasts by hand.

At this stage, there wasn’t much left for him to worry about. He simply insisted on attending to each stage of a new monster’s breeding process personally.

Fortunately, the labor process didn’t make him wait long.

As night fell, the Snowhare let out a sharp cry and began convulsing in the enclosure.

Fa Meng swiftly immobilized its limbs with silk, preventing it from hurting itself in its frenzy.

Xiao Lan also jumped down. Its small body allowed it to smoothly pass through the iron bars and enter the monster cage. The little one covered its hands with azure energy and gently stroked the incessantly squealing Field Snowhare.

For some reason these past few days, Xiao Lan seemed quite interested in this live beast it had once frightened, always finding time to go into the cage and play with the Field Snowhare.

Or, to put it more bluntly, to play with the Field Snowhare.

After all, the Field Snowhare didn’t have the courage to willingly interact with such a powerful legendary-tier beast pet.

Whenever Xiao Lan entered its cage, the hare would freeze stiff, not daring to move a muscle, like a lifeless stuffed animal, letting Xiao Lan ride on its neck and play some meaningless pretend game.

It docilely played the role of a steed.

Truly pitiable that a beast of its size would one day be used for such a purpose.

This time, Xiao Lan entered the cage to ease the Field Snowhare’s distress.

This small body was carrying far more energy than a beginner-tier beast like it could withstand.

Normally, this manifested as constantly falling into torpor to digest the energy through rest. But at this final stage, such a method was clearly no longer viable—the Field Snowhare had to rely on its own body to endure the last and strongest energy overload.

Xiao Lan’s azure energy gently flowed into the body of its preferred ride, siphoning off a portion of the energy that was so intense it might have damaged the Field Snowhare’s body.

This was something Fa Meng couldn’t do, Bao Bao couldn’t do, and even Lorant couldn’t do.

Only Xiao Lan’s unique Fae Magic could, in an utterly illogical manner, transform the energy into another form.

As it worked, the Field Snowhare’s expression gradually calmed, and it stopped struggling.

A few minutes later, a pitch-black monster egg was delivered.

Lorant hovered nearby anxiously, gazing hungrily for the next monster egg to arrive.

However, after waiting for about 20 minutes, he saw that the Field Snowhare seemed to have shaken off its distress and had even started snoring with its mouth slightly open and closing. Yet, there was still only one monster egg—clearly, the live beast’s birthing process was over.

Lorant blinked and carefully reached out to touch the Field Snowhare’s belly.

Though its belly was still slightly swollen—a temporary postpartum condition after carrying a monster egg—upon closer inspection, he could clearly feel that there was no longer the telltale firmness of a monster egg inside.

In other words, apart from the one egg that had already been delivered, there didn’t seem to be a second monster egg gestating in the Field Snowhare’s belly.

Lorant was well aware that there had only been one monster egg inside the Field Snowhare—countless magical instruments had confirmed this. And given the hare’s size, it naturally couldn’t have carried multiple eggs of that scale.

But just like how that physically improbable liquid earlier couldn’t have been poured into the Field Snowhare’s fragile body, Lorant had assumed that the reproductive process for its monster eggs might also differ from others.

Perhaps it needed to produce one egg first, then use the remaining energy to nurture a second one.

But now, it seemed that assumption was wishful thinking.

Looking at the Field Snowhare’s state, Lorant could only reluctantly accept the truth:

After spending a small fortune, the only result he got was this single monster egg.

And this was the first time, aside from S-rank beasts, that Lorant had encountered a case where only one monster egg was produced from a mating cycle.

He had already thought the cost of breeding Nightmares was the highest among all sub-S-rank beasts, but now it seemed this specimen proved even more precious than anticipated.

After all, if those materials only yielded one monster egg, then unless this egg broke biological norms and hatched multiple beasts, Lorant would have to accept that, in the end, he had only obtained a single beast for such a staggering price.

His gaze was feverish as he stared at the costliest beast egg in history, impatient to see just what kind of surprise the most expensive monster egg would bring him.

Lorant believed the beast wouldn’t disappoint him—but how much of a surprise it would be was beyond his control.

According to the bestiary guide, it would still take several hours for the monster egg to hatch. Lorant even had time to eat breakfast and come back—there was no need to rush.