New law of Beast Taming

The worker seemed nervous as he led Amane back to his master. There was a slight shaking in his step that made the hair on Amane's back stand up in fright.

This puppet was scared and that was a big indication of things to come. So, Amane was instantly on alert and she decided not to let her guard down.

"W-We are here. Master is waiting for you behind this door. G-Good luck."

The servant bowed low before taking a few steps back. He seemed to be asking Amane to head inside the tent on her own.

Amane instantly coated her body in her aura in a discrete manner and entered the room.

At first, everything looked normal. There was no need for Amane to feel this nervous. But then, everything changed in a single second and Amane was forced to call forth her weapon and clash with the incoming attack.

The course of the attack was a little off. It would not have killed Amane off but it would have injured her enough to be detained.

'I see. So, this is a test of my abilities. These people want to see if I am a pushover or not. Well then, let's give them what they want.'

Amane's steps picked up speed and grace. She was able to twirl around and get rid of the weapon threatening her in a single strike.

Her opponent had not expected Amane to go on an offense so they were caught off guard. Their grip on the lance lightened and Amane used this opportunity to attack her opponent.

The poor shadow never stood a chance against her. Before anyone knew it, Amane had speared the chest of the shadow in front of her with her chains.

But this shadow puppet was different from the one Amane had met before. This one did not have a solid human shell and it collapsed as soon as it was hit a little harder than necessary.

*calp*

The sound of someone clapping reached Amane's ears and she looked up at the upper levels to see a weirdly dressed guy looking at her with a gleeful expression.

There was grace in his footsteps as he walked down from the stage. But his eyes looked at Amane all the time, daring her to attack him while being on his turf.

"Brave. You fight greatly and defeated my shadow warrior. I am glad to see that my judgment was not clouded."

Amane could tell that this person was not the leader of this auction house.

He might have the charisma and aura of a leader, but something inside Amane told her that this was a puppet as well.

"Are you insulting me by not meeting me head's on? Or, are you afraid of me and that is why you decided to hide behind a faceless mask no one will look for?"

Amane taunted the auction leader. But as she expected, he did not even look annoyed after hearing her words.

If anything, he looked a little smug and let out a shrilled laugh.

"You are a funny one, Yoko Tsurugi. But I do not dislike this attitude of yours. As for your question - no, I am not scared of you."

"My current appearance is as much for your sake as it is for mine. After all, I would have to kill you for real if you saw my real face."

The auction leader seemed to be serious. No matter how lightly he was taking things, there was an undertone of seriousness in his voice.

"I see…in that case, let's skip the formalities and jump to business. We both are busy people who do not want to give away our secrets."

Once more, the shadow in front of Amane smiled. But this time, the smile was more mocking and annoying than before.

"Of course, we can start now. And I already know what I want from you."

The shadow puppet sat down on the chair and gestured for Amane to join him. The body of this puppet looked no different from a human. Amane could not even feel any weird energy from him.

It was almost as if this puppet was a real human being controlled by someone.

'But even if that's the case, this is of no concern of mine. I just need to fulfill the thing I came here to do.'

Amane took the seat in front of the puppet and watched as he placed a phoenix feather in front of her.

"Do you know how rare of a trade you are offering me? I've heard that you can control beasts, is that true?"

"It might be true or it might not be true. Depends on who is asking and for what purpose."

"Hmm, in that case, I have an offer for you. There is a creature I would like your help with in the future. As a payment, I would like to offer you the pearl of desire free of cost as well as another item of your choice."

"If you agree, then please let me know."

It was quite a big deal. Amane did not let the surprise show on her face. But inside, she was considering all the options in her mind.

'Hmm, this guy is serious when he offers me this. I can… consider this as a valid option for now.'

To have any item from an auction house this big was a privilege. This auction house could receive another item like the pearl of desire anytime and that would change things.

"Alright, I agree. Do you want a verbal contract or a written one? I don't want you to go back on your words later."

Amane agreed to the deal for now. No matter how dangerous it looked to her, it was a tempting offer.

And Amane was not a coward who would back down and think more about this offer. She was going to charge head-first and face any danger later.

"Ah, a written contract is how we do all our deals. Here, look over this contract and check if anything is missing."

The contract was not thick and it did not have a lot of terms and conditions. But there was a weird magic binding the contract.

Amane activated her aura a little and watched as the extra, magic-only portion of the contract appeared in front of her eyes.

She raised her eyebrow at the auction master in a questioning manner, asking him to explain himself and what was happening here. But the auction master just continued to smile and tilt his head.

"What is wrong? Are you not going to sign this contract?"

The puppet asked with a false worried voice.

"I would if this contract was not such a sham. You have written too much in the magic part for me to feel comfortable with this. So, I will take some time to tweak the contract."

Amane's fierce gaze challenged the auction leader to do anything foolish or even question her decisions.

The auction leader was taken aback at first. But then he let out a small but delightful laugh at Amane's actions. He seemed to be finding her like a breath of fresh air in his world.

"Y-Yoko Tsurugi, you sure know how to amuse me. In this case, I guess I have no choice but to comply with your decision. Go ahead and modify this contract. I will read it after you sign it."

"I hope you will take my trust into account and not push things too far though. I might seem like a generous man but I am not one in real life."

The auction leader warned Amane and she took his words to heart for now. She was going to tweak the contract just a little bit.

First, she removed all the weird text and things that she did not want to do. And then, she added a little more for herself as a reward. It was nothing fancy, just things about information sharing and that kind.

The auction master quickly went over the whole document without saying much. And then he folded the document and kept it in his pocket.

"This contract should be good enough for now. I have no problem with any of the stuff you are suggesting for me and I don't think you do now either. Then, I look forward to a good time of partnership in the future."

The auction leader held his hand out for Amane to shake. It was a solid clasp between them before Amane let go and stood up.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Ah, before you forget, here is the pearl of desires. Think of it as a small…token of my appreciation for you, my lady. And I hope you have a successful journey ahead. I will see you soon as well."

Amane glared at the man before she left the auction house. With this, she had managed to one of the problems. And now, she needed to face the other bigger problem - the heretics.

Anyone who stepped into their forest was asking to be killed.