Reincarnated; Nine Tailed Fox With A Temper

CHAPTER 18

"Hey, old man, found another mouth to feed."

The old man looked up from where he sat, and found Alya walking towards him, with a chubby white cat behind her. His brows raised suddenly.

"So now he comes back."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the cat came to a halt, then glared intensely at the old man, who glared back. Alya stared back and forth with confusion.

'Do they know each other?'

"Sylith....."

'Sylith? Must be the cat's name I guess.'

Alya shrugged and went to work making another fire, since the last one was put out. She didn't have time to ask questions on the cat-old man relationship.

Two minutes passed as the glares between the two grew more intense, and Alya was already done with setting two of the fish on the open fire. The red head turned to the two and sighed.

'Better not say anything.'

Finally the glaring between the two stopped as the cat came closer and lied down next to the man. The old man's glare faded but a frown was still on his face, the way he usually was. When Alya noticed it, she finally asked,

"What is he to you?"

"Sylith, known him for almost a century now, my only family."

"What? How old his that thing?"

The old man's frown deepened when Alya spoke. He then placed his hand on the cat lying next to him.

"He's not a thing, he's a dire beast...about two centuries old."

Alya's brows raised in interest. She came closer to the old man then quickly sat down. With her hand resting on her leg and the other on her face, she asked with curiosity, "What's a dire beast?"

"To put it in layman's terms, Dire beasts are larger and more powerful versions of mundane animals. For example, Sylith, this isn't his true form, it's just like a disguise. His true form it larger and more ferocious. Dire beasts are hard, almost impossible to tame, but if one is able to, it could become one's contract beast, both the tamer and beast would be as one."

"Fascinating..."

Alya stared at the cat the old man was petting with interest. Finding such a cute grumpy old feline to be scary. If she was still in her old world she would die of laughter. Alya couldn't resist touching his soft fur.

"Hungry aren't you?"

With that said, she brought the raw fish and placed it in front of Sylith, who started to dig in. Stars were in Alya's eyes as she happily watched the grumpy cat eat.

'Always had a soft spot for animals, too bad I didn't own one in my past life, was too busy fighting for survival. Didn't dare on having another mouth to feed.'

"You..."

Alya turned to the old man, her happy expression changed drastically.

"It's Alya...."

"Did you add the spices?"

"What spices.....oh!"

Alya jerked up and ran to the fish, surprised to see two bottles of spice on the ground next to them, which wasn't there before. She crouched down to collect them.

"Don't forget next time, or else you won't eat for three days straight."

The old man's punishment was like a sting in her ears, she would cry if that happens.

With haste, Alya sprinkled some spice on the fish, then waited again until it was ready to be eaten.

While waiting, she was petting Sylith, surprisingly the cat was already done with his huge fish, and his belly protruded, as if he was pregnant. Sylith could not move an inch, and could only lay on his back and let the redhead pet his tummy.

"I wonder if you were born fat, or caused it yourself."

Whilst teasing the fat cat, the old man was staring at the fish. He didn't drink much tea earlier, so nothing was holding his hunger.

"You....."

"Alya!!" She was getting tired of this.

"The fish....."

"Oh!"

"Next time, I won't warn you about this either."

Alya left the tired cat alone and went to check on the fish. Just like the other day, the fish looked and smelled heavenly, Alya started to drool again.

Alya gave one to the old man, then without hesitation, bit down on her fish. Her tongue was blessed once again with the mix of flavours and juiciness the fish still had. She could eat it forever and never get tired.

She wasn't the only one who thought so, the cat's nose picked up the mouthwatering scent coming from the fish, and his body was brought back to life. He stared at the fish Alya was holding with stars in his eyes.

Alya noticed his sudden behavior and knew what he was thinking, but she couldn't even think about sharing it. Her mouth was stuffed with fish, so she couldn't say anything. She gripped the fish tightly and moved back with caution.

'No way.....you already had yours, don't even think about it, or else.....'

The cat could sense the killer instinct in Alya's eyes, she really was serious. Sylith got the message then turned to the old man, staring at his own fish. Alya was really possessive when it came to food.

Unlike the greedy Alya, the old man willingly gave Sylith some of his. Alya, seeing this felt relieved and continued stuffing her face.

A minute later, she turned to the old man.

"By the way....Old man, what should I be calling you from now on?"

"What you normally call me."

"Other than that."

"I suppose teacher is alright. And what should I call you?"

"...."

"Alya!!" She could burst any second.

"Very well then. Let's continue our training."
With that said, he carried his cane and swiftly stood up, with no trouble. Alya stared the old man, he was indeed confusing.

"What's the point of holding a cane if you don't need it?"

"To beat up students that misbehave."

Suddenly he used his cane to hit Alya's head. Though it wasn't a strong hit, Alya could still feel it. Her forehead creased at the weak impact, then turned to glare at the short old man.

"What's that for?"

"Hurry up, don't waste my time."

Since that time, Alya was only half way through her meal. She didn't want the food to end, such a meal deserved to be savoured. Alya reluctantly turned away, and happily ate her fish. While Sylith was laying on the ground again, too full to move.