Beast Tamer: I Can See Evolution Paths

Asher couldn't help but laugh at the sight, "Soft-hearted people are all like this."

While talking, the two of them walked into the room together.

The two sat face to face.

"Go ahead and talk, how did you come up with the idea of trying to stage a bump-and-scam on me?", Asher didn't hold back and went straight to the point.

The boy's temple twitched hard twice, looking like he really wanted to roll his eyes.

But then he remembered Asher was temporarily considered his "boss."

He still wanted to trick that gold coin out of Asher's hands.

So the boy reluctantly gave in.

That eye-roll couldn't be done.

"Did you really think you looked very ordinary?"

"Seriously?"

"Exactly which rich city-state did you stroll out of, you pampered young master who's never suffered in life."

The boy used up just about all the adjectives he knew in one breath.

Asher looked down.

Asher looked up.

Wasn't that normal?

"Clean, smooth hair."

"Fair face without even a blush."

"Slender hands that obviously never formed calluses."

"Clothes that look plain at first glance, but are clearly brand new."

"And your aura, you stand out the moment you're in a crowd."

"And you still think you're very ordinary?"

"Heh!"

"I've really seen what 'ordinary' means now."

The boy crossed his arms, chin slightly raised.

Out of courtesy, and out of respect for money, he didn't say anything too harsh, and even held back his urge to roll his eyes.

But everything else he wanted to say was perfectly conveyed through his gestures.

Asher: "..."

"Ahem!"

Asher clenched a fist, pressed it lightly to his lips, and gave two slightly awkward coughs.

"…Alright, that's my oversight."

Though it couldn't be said Asher completely overlooked things.

There were all sorts of reasons behind it.

For one, coming from the modern world, he truly thought this outfit looked very plain.

On the other hand… deep down, Asher still had some doubts about this world.

Did he really arrive in Soren three thousand years ago?

An era where alchemists had risen, but beast tamers had yet to exist?

To be fair, Asher was a little skeptical and disbelieving.

But…

Humans can't imagine things they've never seen, nor invent detailed settings with no repeated NPCs.

Obviously, even if this wasn't truly three thousand years ago, it wasn't an ordinary environment either.

Asher looked at the boy in front of him and sighed quietly in his heart.

'Sigh… this is truly, a headache!'

It made his brain hurt.

And he wasn't even exaggerating.

Luckily, the boy's appearance made Asher quickly realize the situation might be more complicated and dire than he'd imagined.

Asher swiftly adjusted his off-kilter mindset and began to seriously face what was happening before him.

His fingers tapped the table rhythmically, saying nothing.

Once Asher deliberately struck that posture—

The boy who was previously cocky and felt pretty clever suddenly became a bit guilty.

'Tch! This guy's aura… actually kind of intimidating?'

Asher stayed silent.

The boy didn't dare speak for a moment either.

Just then, the door was knocked.

"Enter," Asher spoke calmly.

The door was pushed open.

It was Old Win who came in.

Old Win carried a tray in his hands.

"This is your wine and food."

Old Win instantly sensed the strange atmosphere in the room, but didn't comment, walking straight up to Asher.

He placed down a glass of wine.

Then set down a plate of round beans and a plate of strange dark strip-like food.

The boy immediately complained, "What? Old Win, why only one cup? Where's mine!"

Old Win didn't hold back, rolling his eyes at him.

"You?"

"A little brat wants to drink in my tavern?"

"Keep dreaming!"

The boy was so mad he stood up.

Old Win said calmly, "Come talk to me again when you're taller than me standing."

"I haven't even chased you for the food you still owe me!"

The boy shut up.

He snorted twice, then couldn't help muttering, "I'll have money to pay you back soon."

Old Win, who was about to leave, slowed his steps when he heard this.

'Have money soon? From where?'

Others might not know this boy's story, but how could Old Win not?

To put it simply: a gambling father, a terminally ill mother, no siblings, and a broken family.

The dad got beaten to death.

But the debts still hadn't been paid off.

Debt collectors would show up from time to time, specifically after this kid for money.

Whether or not paying your father's debt is reasonable, where would this kid even get the money?

He's just a half-grown brat.

No regular meals.

But at least one person eating means the whole family isn't starving.

The kid didn't earn money, just scrounged for food.

When debt collectors came, he was a lone wolf.

Had nothing at all.

Even so, the kid had made it to age seven this year.

But compared to normal seven-year-olds, he was extremely scrawny.

But what could you do? Honestly, the fact that this brat had survived this long was already lucky.

There wasn't much else to complain about.

Thinking of this, Old Win sighed.

He really wasn't some overly kind person.

But… he just couldn't get past that little twinge of conscience.

Occasionally, when he ran into the kid, or when the kid came looking for him, Old Win would just let it slide.

Everyone had it tough.

Thankfully, the kid had some sense.

He never went too far.

The few coins he had, he'd return to Old Win.

Every now and then he'd provide ingredients for Old Win's tavern, barely scraping by.

Honestly—

Old Win had more or less watched this kid grow up.

To be fair, there were a few bits of real feeling involved.

So when he suddenly saw the kid bringing in someone who clearly wasn't from a poor background. Maybe not a noble, but definitely rich, maybe even an alchemy apprentice, Old Win broke out in a cold sweat.

He was silently praying in his heart: 'Please don't let this brat get into trouble.'

But from what the kid just said…

Old Win gave the boy a fierce glare.

'Useless little punk!'

'Don't you know who you can and can't mess with?'

'Don't assume that just because someone looks nice, they actually are.'

'If you piss someone off, you won't even know how you died.'

"This guest…", Old Win looked at Asher, wanting to say something.

He really couldn't just watch this brat walk into death.

The boy looked defiant.

But Asher just smiled. It was a familiar scenario.

Before, it was unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and disbelief that had caused some problems.

But when it came to communication between people, Asher was quite experienced.

He smiled gently at Old Win, his expression calm, "Don't worry, I only want to hear some information I need from this young gentleman."

"There won't be any real danger to him."

"Unless something unexpected happens."

Asher's gaze toward Old Win even held a bit of admiration.

He could clearly tell there was no blood relation between Old Win and the boy.

To care this much, for an ordinary tavern owner, that was no small thing.

Old Win still wanted to say something.

But he looked at Asher, then at the boy.

He knew some things couldn't be changed just by saying a few words.

Everyone had their own decisions and choices.

So Old Win let out a long sigh.

He bowed deeply to Asher.

The boy almost jumped in response.

Asher raised his brow again.

But said nothing. Hmm… that was probably a message to let the boy live if possible?

Asher crossed his hands and sighed inwardly.

He wasn't that cruel, you know. But even if he said so, would they believe him?

Asher's curiosity was once again piqued.

What kind of world was this?

Asher probably already had an answer in his heart.

Old Win finally left.

The boy sat back down angrily.

"Hmph! Old Win's always like that! Always acting like he doesn't trust me!"

"I'm still pretty awesome, okay?", As he talked, the boy casually grabbed some food from the table.

The moment he tasted it, his eyes lit up.

"Mmm!"

"Old Win brought out his best today."

"This is at least two-year-old dried cashew."

Asher looked silently at what the boy was eating.

That blackish thing he hadn't recognized earlier.

Two years old?

Asher, who hadn't wanted to try it in the first place, had no more desire at all.

The boy saw the disgust in Asher's eyes.

He snorted twice.

"You just don't know how to appreciate fine food."

"Cashew needs to be aged and fermented to taste good! The older it is, the better the flavor! Just like wine!"

As he spoke, his eyes lit up again.

"So that means… you don't want the wine either, right?"

The boy rubbed his hands eagerly.

It was clear that if Asher nodded, he'd snatch up that cup in a second.

Asher: "..."

"Eat whatever you like, but no wine."

Asher pinched the stem of the wine glass, giving the boy no chance.

Minors don't drink. Even minors from thousands of years ago are still not allowed.

"Tch!", The boy grunted and didn't argue further, focusing on wolfing down the food in front of him.

He perfectly demonstrated what it meant to be a growing boy who could eat his family into poverty.

"You said, you wanted to know something from me."

"If it's about nobles and important folks, I might not know anything."

While eating, the boy didn't forget their deal.

His black eyes stared at Asher.

"Relax, just things you can answer," Asher tapped the table and smiled.

Really, nothing too hard. Gold coin, silver coin, and possibly copper coin exchange rates?

Boy: "?"

Coming in hot with such a dumb question, the boy blinked and even started to suspect Asher was messing with him.

But seeing how serious Asher looked—

He thought it over.

Then finally said:

"One gold coin theoretically exchanges for one thousand silver coins, but few do it that way. If someone really wants to trade gold for silver, they could probably get at least twelve or thirteen hundred silver per gold."

He nodded as he spoke.

"One silver coin exchanges for five hundred copper coins."

Asher smacked his lips.

'Got it.'

He really had tipped the hotel staff a lot last night.

No wonder this boy had been so excited seeing a gold coin in his hand.

The exchange between silver and copper was relatively normal, but between gold and silver…

Asher tapped the table, "That much?"

He feigned surprise, with a bit of genuine curiosity, just like a sheltered young master who knew nothing of the world.

The boy held back his eye roll.

'Gold coin. This guy can just casually pull out a gold coin.'

'It is normal for him to be naive.'

'Understandable… Understandable my ass!'

"Everyone knows the most important thing in alchemy's equivalent exchange is gold."

"That's why the value of gold coins keeps going up."

"People rarely use gold coins for daily transactions."

Only solid gold counts as a gold coin.

"Gold coins usually circulate only among alchemists."

'Wait?'

The boy gave Asher a strange look.

'Could this guy be… nah.'

He didn't smell like the golden fire scent that all alchemists had.

Or maybe he was a descendant of one?

Asher didn't know it, but in just a few thoughts, the boy had assigned him layer after layer of new identities.

Asher was pondering what the boy had said.

'Alchemist, equivalent exchange, gold?'

'Interesting.'

That was getting a little closer to the alchemy he knew, the kind he remembered.

"Do you know anything about the alchemist's familiar in Tana Town?", Asher asked again.

That question was trickier.

The boy thought a bit, didn't answer right away.

"Mm… I can tell you what I know and what I've heard. You listen and see if anything's useful to you."

Considering Asher's status, the boy figured maybe Asher could analyze something from the info that he himself couldn't see.

Whether it was useful or not, let Asher judge.

Asher nodded, agreeing to the suggestion.

"So, it started about a year ago."

The boy cleared his throat, looking much more serious, "The alchemist of Tana Town moved here ten years ago. They say his familiar used to be an eagle."

"I never saw it myself."

"When I became aware of things, his familiar had already become a millet bird."

Asher didn't say anything.

Whether it was eagle or millet bird, he'd never heard of either.

But that was understandable.

They were birds.

Didn't sound like rare species or anything?

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