Chapter 411: 411 - Tamers War - Taming Protocol

Chapter 411: Chapter 411 – Tamers War – Taming Protocol

The tension in the room had diminished considerably, but the air still carried traces of the previous awkwardness. Ren sat on the edge of the bed with his legs dangling like a scolded child, while Luna and Liora remained standing with their arms crossed.

“That’s… actually a very accurate summary,” Ren admitted, looking slightly sheepish for the first time.

“It’s not that simple…” Liora mumbled.

Luna shook her head, “you two… are absolutely hopeless.”

The guard behind Luna was now making sounds that definitely indicated suppressed laughter.

“To summarize,” Luna said, “personal space is important for noble maidens.”

“But it didn’t seem like it!” Ren protested, gesticulating toward Liora with the confusion of someone whose worldview had just been turned upside down. “Not for you or for Larissa! You’ve always been… ‘normal’. How was I supposed to know it’s bad?”

Liora turned red again, averting her gaze toward the window as if the curtains had once again revealed their fascinating properties. She carefully avoided making eye contact with Luna, who was observing the interaction with a look that clearly said ‘this is your fault too’.

Luna turned to look at Ren and was about to reproach him for his insinuation that they weren’t ‘normal’, but she restrained herself. If she wanted to teach him about ‘noble maturity’ and such things, she had to lead by example with her education.

“Ren,” Luna said with a sigh that carried the weight of someone far older than her eleven years, “we’re not children anymore.”

Ren raised an eyebrow mimicking her, genuinely confused by the statement.

“What do you mean? We’re eleven years old. That’s literally being children, isn’t it?”

“Unlike how you were educated,” Luna explained, adopting the patient tone she had perfected during years of protocol tutoring and observing her father closely, “we weren’t initiated into learning at school. We started much earlier, from four or five years old.”

Liora nodded, though still keeping her gaze fixed on the window, continuing to avoid direct eye contact with either of them.

“So we know many things about high society that might not be logical to you,” Luna continued, “but that could affect us. Things like… too much physical contact between boys and girls is frowned upon in certain political contexts important for our future.”

Ren frowned, processing this information with the intensity of someone trying to solve a complex puzzle. Of course his parents had educated him too… Although he paused for a moment, perhaps it wasn’t the same?

His mother had always taught him to consider others’ feelings, to put himself in people’s shoes to understand their perspectives. She had instilled in him a natural empathy that made him genuinely care about others’ comfort. Was he spoiling her teachings?

Ren had a child’s mind, but a quite perceptive one when he paid real attention.

Perhaps he had been so focused on practical utility that he had completely overlooked things like ‘social implications’. The realization was uncomfortable… he prided himself on being considerate, yet he had clearly missed something important.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, addressing both of them with genuine remorse in his voice. “I didn’t ‘put myself in your shoes’. I didn’t realize I might make you feel uncomfortable. I should have asked or explained in detail first.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Luna sighed, though there was a note of amusement creeping into her voice. “In the end, you touched us anyway.”

Then, under her breath but loud enough for Ren to hear, she murmured:

“Besides, you always tend to use phrases that are easy to misinterpret… as if you don’t worry about those things…”

She stopped abruptly, as if she had just realized something significant too.

‘He definitely doesn’t worry about those things,’ she thought, observing Ren’s genuinely perplexed expression. Closely like when she looked at her father, she could notice he was trying hard to understand why it was wrong… to understand them.

It was obvious that social implications and behavioral protocols simply weren’t on his mental radar. And thinking about it, his family probably knew almost nothing about those things. It wasn’t malice or inconsideration…

The realization was both enlightening and slightly endearing. Here was someone who operated purely on logic and good intentions, completely unaware of the complex social dance and occasional backstabbing that dominated noble society.

She pretended to cough to cover her moment of realization.

“Maybe,” she said, adopting a more conciliatory tone, “I haven’t ‘put myself in your shoes’ either. Tell me, would you be willing to make a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“I’ll explain if you ask beforehand about protocols and social expectations, as long as you don’t rush into action before clarifying your intentions. Does that seem fair?”

Ren smiled, though he still looked slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation. The idea of navigating social protocols felt foreign to him, but the logic of mutual understanding appealed to him.

“That seems fine to me.”

Luna nodded with satisfaction and extended her hand with the formality of someone sealing an important business contract.

There was something amusing about her “business-like” way of handling the situation, especially when Ren could see through her facade using his ability to read mana. Beneath all the professional composure, he could detect the same discomfort he felt.

Though he didn’t dislike the Luna who pretended to be an adult. There was something charming about it.

But then the urgency of the real situation came crashing back like a cold wave.

“The war!” he exclaimed suddenly, jumping up from the bed so quickly that both Luna and Liora instinctively took a step back, their minds still slightly on edge from the earlier chase.

“You need to help me send messages!” Ren continued, moving toward where he had left his belongings with renewed purpose. “If there really is a war starting, I can…”

The door opened at that moment, interrupting his explanation. Wei and Yang entered, followed closely by Ren’s parents. But Wei already had in his hand what appeared to be a message, the kind delivered by the fastest messenger beasts.

♢♢♢♢

“Professor Wei,” Ren asked immediately when Wei finished speaking, his voice carrying a note of disappointment that he tried to hide, “so I won’t be able to meet with any of the stronger doubles?”

Wei exchanged a meaningful glance with Yang before responding, the kind of look that passed between colleagues who had to deliver unwelcome news.

“According to the message I received, that’s correct. Unfortunately, Julius, Selphira, Sirius, and Victor have already moved,” he said without preamble. “Military operations are underway on multiple fronts and they need to guide the troops.”

“What will we do now?” asked Ren’s mother, moving protectively closer to her son.

“We can only wait for orders,” Yang responded with his characteristic frankness. “It’s a bit late for anything else… The commanders are already committed.”

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