08

"Hey! Oh, right, Dad, Mom, let me tell you something incredible."

At the dinner table, four-year-old Axinsha suddenly excitedly slapped the table. Her little bottom bounced up and down on the chair as she eagerly awaited her parents' reaction, hoping they would listen seriously to the incredible thing she was about to tell them.

The house-elf Shog immediately Apparated to Axinsha's side, afraid that the most beloved young lady in the manor might fall off her chair.

Mephisto Manor naturally had more than one house-elf, but Shog was arguably the most capable and loyal of them all. He was responsible for leading the other elves in the manor and effectively served as Mephisto Manor's steward.

"All right, all right, calm down, darling. Have you forgotten the noble etiquette I taught you?"

Fumengde was somewhat displeased by his daughter's fussing, but his wife Aili quickly shot him a glare, leaving him with little choice but to let it go.

When her mother Aili told her to reveal this incredible matter, Axinsha happily said, "One time, I quietly, quietly sneaked into Brother's room. Guess what Brother was doing?"

"Picking his nose!"

"That's disgusting, Aili. I bet he was playing with dolls! Hahaha!"

Upon hearing that it concerned their eldest son, Fumengde and Aili clearly became more engaged. After all, within the family, their eldest son Sherlock had always been much more composed than other children his age.

He was not only a young genius renowned throughout the wizarding world, but also exceptionally mature. Outsiders might think that, no matter how gifted Sherlock of the Mephisto Family was, he was still just a child who needed his parents' love and care.

But in Fumengde and Aili's eyes, things were entirely different. In many ways, Sherlock behaved as though he were an adult.

This had made raising Sherlock incredibly easy for the couple. No wonder the Weasley Family had planned to have so many children—raising children was not that difficult after all.

But after they had their youngest daughter, Axinsha Mephisto, they realized just how remarkable the Weasley Family truly was. They could actually endure having so many children.

It was not that raising children was easy. Sherlock was simply too clever.

Hearing his parents maliciously speculate about him, Sherlock said in dissatisfaction, "That's enough. Let's hear what my sister has to say. I'm curious what secret of mine she discovered, too."

Seeing that everyone was hanging on her every word, Axinsha happily said, "Talking. I saw Brother talking to Camilla, like they were having a normal conversation. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but they were definitely talking."

"What?!"

Fumengde and Aili were startled, speaking in unison.

Camilla was a snake—a young golden python that Lucius had given Sherlock last month, just after it hatched.

But it was a snake. A person communicating with and talking to a snake... wasn't that—

"Oh my!" Shog covered his mouth in shock as well. He had never expected his young master to be a Parselmouth.

Ever since the Voldemort incident, Parseltongue had undeniably been branded as evil in the wizarding world. Anyone who possessed Parseltongue was automatically assumed to be an evil wizard.

"Don't be like that... I didn't expect my sister to discover it either." Sherlock calmly fed Camilla beside him. After a month of growth, Camilla was now as thick as a child's arm. It was said that pythons could grow to adulthood in just one year, but could continue growing slowly for as long as they did not die. Sherlock did not know whether that was true.

Using a small knife, he cut premium Kobe beef from Japan—a top-grade beef from the Muggle world—into small pieces and slowly fed them to Camilla.

He said to Camilla, "Eat slowly. After you finish, you can move around the castle."

Camilla then nodded as though she had truly understood him.

To his parents and the house-elf, everything happening before them was like a thunderclap. What they had just witnessed undoubtedly proved that their son truly was a Parselmouth.

They were not afraid, but they worried that their son's gift would be misunderstood and discriminated against by the outside world.

"I know what you're thinking, but that's actually not it..."

Sherlock explained calmly, "I'm not a Parselmouth. This is merely a passive spell I invented. I call it 'Whispering Word Spirit'!"

"You know about Parseltongue?" Fumengde asked.

"Of course. I love reading, and the manor's library has records about Parseltongue as well."

"Uh!" Fumengde felt a little embarrassed. To be honest, he had never cared about exactly how many books the family possessed. But it was good enough if his son was not a Parselmouth...

"Wait! What did you just say? You invented another spell?"

"Oh my, my child!"

Fumengde and his wife Aili were even more shocked than before.

"Yes. This spell is called 'Whispering Word Spirit.' Its function is obvious: it allows one to communicate with other creatures in the animal kingdom. It doesn't require an incantation either. Once you master it, it is like gaining another innate gift, similar to a wizard's Animagus."

"A spell that doesn't require an incantation?"

"Our child already said it's similar to Animagus. It's a talent that requires long-term training to acquire."

Fumengde was a little baffled, but his wife understood what Sherlock meant.

"It's not that no incantation is needed. Rather, once you have successfully mastered it, you no longer need one. Completing Whispering Word Spirit is rather troublesome. First, it cannot communicate with every animal. It only works with animals closely connected to the caster, such as pets. Second, when establishing the connection, you must repeatedly cast the Whispering Word Spirit incantation on the pet or other animal. The purpose of that incantation is to plant a 'relationship seed' deep within the animal's heart."

Sherlock continued, "The seed draws the pet and its owner closer together and allows them to communicate directly, as though there is no language barrier. Once it succeeds, they can communicate anytime and anywhere without casting the spell again. It's that simple."

His parents stared in shock, their jaws nearly dropping to the floor—an egg could have fit in their mouths...

Simple... Was that simple?! This was practically a divine skill in the wizarding world!

The ability to communicate with animals was an extraordinary talent.

It was similar to Parseltongue, which allowed one to communicate with snakes. According to legend, centaurs and treefolk also possessed the ability to communicate with animals, while merpeople could communicate with aquatic creatures. Some special spiders could learn human language, though spiders also had their own fixed racial language.

Without exception, aside from Parseltongue—which had been proven to be a talent humans could possess—none of the others could be mastered by humans.

"Th-this really is a spell you invented? This spell is simply too incredible, even if it can only communicate with pets!"

Seeing his father's astonished expression, Sherlock explained, "It is difficult as well. You need to continuously practice Whispering Word Spirit with the pet. Actually, as long as an animal is willing to open its heart to you, you can use this spell to communicate with it. In theory, there is no limit to the number."

"Oh my! Shog, bring me my owl."

His mother added from the side, "And my tabby cat."

"Looks like Father and Mother are quite curious about the Whispering Word Spirit spell. Then I'll tell you how to use it."