A Friendly Spar

[To improve the results of this grooming session, the system will grant the host knowledge of "fundamentals of bird-type pet beast grooming."]

Ignoring the text that suddenly appeared before him, Xu Ran deftly began preparing for the grooming session.

The Azure Wind Eagle was a wind-type Contract Beast. He had already received "fundamentals of wind-type Contract Beast grooming" when grooming the Wind Lion Dog, so there was no need to receive it again.

Lin Yue sat in a chair, gripping the edges of the seat with both hands a little awkwardly as she watched Xu Ran intently.

She was very curious about a grooming session worth 6,666 yuan. If she could pick up a thing or two, might she be able to groom her own Contract Beast?

Naturally, Xu Ran had no idea what Lin Yue was thinking, and even if he had known, he would not have cared.

If someone could master it just by watching, the system would not need to force-feed him the knowledge.

Beyond temperature, pressure, and technique, grooming Supernatural Creatures also required specific blends of extraordinary resources to achieve the best results.

Otherwise, it would not have been so expensive.

With these things, the tiniest error could make a world of difference. Just watching might teach your eyes what to do.

But your hands? Would they get it?

Once the water reached the target temperature, Xu Ran gently poured it over the Azure Wind Eagle, rubbing as he went to wet both the surface and roots of every down feather.

"Chirp~"

The Azure Wind Eagle narrowed its eyes in pleasure. The warmth flowing over its body made it spread its wings naturally, and when the water reached places that were usually difficult to clean, such as the bases of its wings, it trembled slightly with delight.

[Happiness Points from the Azure Wind Eagle +3]

More than the Blazing Fox gave me?

Xu Ran nodded almost imperceptibly, then poured on a degreasing product and increased the pressure.

The Azure Wind Eagle's eyes widened, and its body began trembling more noticeably.

Getting wet would normally weigh down its light body, but at this moment, it felt lighter than ever before, as though the wind were calling to it.

An uncontrollable sound squeezed from its throat, carrying a slight tremor.

"Chirp~~"

[Happiness Points from the Azure Wind Eagle +7]

[Happiness Points from the Azure Wind Eagle +7]

[From...]

The smile on Xu Ran's face deepened, and his gaze toward the Azure Wind Eagle grew even friendlier.

Sitting nearby, Lin Yue shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Why did my Contract Beast sound so strange?

And why did the owner look so strange when he looked at my Contract Beast?

She shifted uncomfortably again.

Was something wrong with this chair?

"Look, it's not that I won't let you. The owner said doing this too often isn't good for you."

Outside the grooming room, Su Xiaoxiao rubbed her disappointed Blazing Fox, secretly amused. "Don't worry. Once your fur gets dirty again, I'll bring you right back."

"Ying~"

The Blazing Fox lowered its head and accepted the proposal rather glumly.

Having soothed her little highness, Su Xiaoxiao looked around the shop curiously. Soon, something caught her attention, and her gaze settled on Purple Cloud, who was lying on the counter.

This must be the owner's Contract Beast, right?

It made sense for the owner of a Contract Beast boarding shop to be a Beast Tamer himself.

She was a Beast Tamer who cared about her Contract Beast's looks. Otherwise, she would not have chosen a beautiful but aloof Contract Beast like the Blazing Fox.

And Purple Cloud's looks were every bit as striking as those of the Blazing Fox in her arms, whose recent grooming had left it looking its very best.

"Wow! What an adorable kitty!"

Holding the Blazing Fox, Su Xiaoxiao hurried over, her eyes sparkling with delight. "What type of Contract Beast are you?"

"Meow~"

Purple Cloud leaned its head and body back slightly, a little uncomfortable with the enthusiasm of the person before it. Still, remembering that she was its litter-scooper's customer, it did not resist too much.

A pale purple arc of electricity flickered from its body as an answer to Su Xiaoxiao.

"A lightning type! That's an element with burst power every bit as good as fire!" Su Xiaoxiao looked surprised.

"Ying~"

The Blazing Fox narrowed its naturally eyeliner-rimmed eyes slightly, feeling a little jealous of its Beast Tamer's enthusiasm. Hearing that lightning was no worse than fire in terms of burst power only added a trace of displeasure.

"Hm?" Su Xiaoxiao instinctively looked down at the Blazing Fox in her arms, her expression growing puzzled.

What was going on? Why was my Contract Beast suddenly showing such hostility?

Could it be... jealous?!

At the thought, a look of delighted surprise suddenly appeared on Su Xiaoxiao's face.

The Blazing Fox had always been cool and aloof before, barely paying attention even to her, its Beast Tamer. It had never shown jealousy.

Now, it was actually jealous because she was getting close to another Contract Beast. Looked at another way, that clearly meant it cared about her!

Seeing its Beast Tamer still grinning foolishly, the Blazing Fox rolled its eyes prettily. "Ying!"

I want to fight this cat!

"You want to spar with the owner's Contract Beast?" Su Xiaoxiao paused, then turned toward the tightly closed grooming room door. "No, that wouldn't be appropriate."

"What wouldn't be appropriate?" The grooming room door opened just then, and Xu Ran stepped out, catching the latter half of Su Xiaoxiao's remark.

He had not finished the grooming session yet. The Azure Wind Eagle's feathers were soaking in a special detergent and needed a few minutes, so he had come out for a breather.

"My Contract Beast wants to spar with yours," Su Xiaoxiao said, a little embarrassed.

"Spar?" Xu Ran looked at the Blazing Fox, then at Purple Cloud.

When Su Xiaoxiao had come by that morning, they had briefly discussed the Blazing Fox's circumstances. She had not been contracted with it for long, and it had only recently matured.

As it happened, Purple Cloud had only just awakened too. Even if there was a difference in their strength, it should not be too great.

Having only just become a Beast Tamer, Xu Ran was still full of eagerness to command a Supernatural Contract Beast in battle.

Of course, whether they sparred would still depend on Purple Cloud.

After all, injuries were hard to avoid in a spar.

"Purple Cloud, what do you think?"

"Meow~" (Bring it on!)

Purple Cloud gave Xu Ran an affirmative look.

Before today, it had been nothing more than a stray cat on the street, often going hungry and fleeing in panic whenever it encountered a Supernatural Creature.

Now, it had become a Supernatural Creature too. Its unwillingness to admit defeat made it instinctively want to see just how strong it was.

"You could get hurt in a spar, you know?" Xu Ran rubbed Purple Cloud's head and quietly reminded it.

"Meow!" (I'm not afraid!)

Purple Cloud shook its head firmly.

A little injury was nothing. It had been hurt countless times before.

But unlike before, it no longer needed to curl up in a corner and lick its wounds.

Now, it had a Beast Tamer!

"All right." Xu Ran patted Purple Cloud's head twice, then withdrew his hand and straightened up. "We're almost done for the day. You're our last customers."

He looked at Su Xiaoxiao, who was a head shorter than him, and the Blazing Fox in her arms. "Once I finish grooming your classmate's pet beast, let's have a spar."