Chapter 501 - Taming Opportunities - 2

Fern had fantasized for a long time about having her own establishment, where she could experiment privately without having to adapt to her boss’s creative filters. She and Reed possessed culinary skills that had been appreciated by everyone who had tasted their food.

The ingredients sang under their hands. Spices that others used carelessly became symphonies of flavor when Fern touched them. Reed could turn the simplest vegetables into something that made people close their eyes and sigh with contentment.

Yet despite their talents, despite their new status as doubles with a well-known Tier 3 beast like the Longevity Turtle...

The stigma was difficult to overcome.

They had been seen as citizens of the lowest class for so long that the idea of presenting themselves as inner city entrepreneurs felt unnatural. Almost as if they were pretending to be someone they weren’t.

The weight of decades pressed down on them. Every interaction with customers had been filtered through the lens of their rank, their beasts, their address in the outskirts. Even now, the old reflexes remained.

Fern caught herself automatically stepping aside when ’well-dressed’ people approached. Reed still lowered his eyes when speaking to anyone who looked like they might have authority.

"Old habits," Reed had murmured the day before, after catching himself bowing too deeply to a merchant who was clearly his social inferior now.

But beneath these doubts, both parents felt extraordinarily proud of Ren.

They had been direct witnesses to the rewards the king had bestowed within the castle. The ceremony had been overwhelming in its grandeur, with hundreds of nobles and dignitaries.

The king’s voice had carried across the great hall, each word etching itself into their memories.

But even more impressive had been learning privately, from the king himself, that several of the distributed rewards had been decided by Ren personally.

"For extraordinary service to the realm and wisdom beyond his years..."

Seeing their son standing before him, small but unshaken, had been surreal.

"I still can’t believe the king gave you that authority," Fern murmured, shaking her head in amazement.

The memory was still fresh, still impossible to fully process. Their boy, their little kid who used to struggle to reach the high shelves in their old kitchen, had been trusted with decisions that affected the lives of hundreds of thousands.

"And that you used it so easily," Reed added with evident paternal pride.

Even in private, the king had given additional rewards to Ren in front of his parents. The boy had specifically requested that it be done discretely, not wanting to pressure his parents into immediately integrating into the noble world.

They still remembered with complicated feelings the royal offer.

The King had offered them a place to live near the castle, in reserved properties where the most favored nobles resided.

They had refused.

The nervousness at the prospect of living near high-house nobles with their elaborate customs and social expectations was overwhelming. The thought of navigating dinner conversations about politics they didn’t understand made Fern’s chest tighten with anxiety.

"We’re not ready for that,"

Reed had admitted in that moment, his honesty thanking the king while making their discomfort clear.

His voice had been steady, but Fern had seen his hands trembling slightly. The same hands that could create culinary masterpieces without hesitation shook at the thought of holding a crystal wine glass among true nobility.

But Ren had handled the situation with diplomacy that had surprised everyone.

He had asked the king to give them time to adapt gradually. He had assured that he himself would obtain sufficient resources to eventually bring them to the appropriate level to receive such rewards, so they could feel proud of what they had rather than intimidated by it.

"I want that when we arrive there,"

Ren had explained to the king, his young voice carrying conviction,

"it’s because we’ve grown toward that position, not because we were pushed by chance and luck toward it."

The king had smiled. Not the political smile of a monarch managing subjects, but the genuine appreciation of someone recognizing wisdom.

"Spoken like a true noble,"

Dragarion had said.

"Not by birth, but by character."

Ren’s parents had received this response with extreme pride.

Seeing their son navigate politics with such consideration for their feelings had been both moving and impressive. He had shown maturity that few adults possessed, an understanding of their hearts that went beyond his years.

"That moment," Fern remembered, her voice soft with emotion, "when you told the king..."

"Made us cry," Reed admitted without any shame.

The memory was crystal clear. The way Ren had stood straighter, his voice firm but respectful. The way the king’s expression had shifted from formal courtesy to genuine respect.

But despite the pride and gratitude, they couldn’t help feeling pressured.

The speed of change in their lives was overwhelming.

Everything had happened so fast. One day they were kitchen workers wondering if they could afford the next meal. The next, they were homeowners with beasts that made other tamers nod with respect, with a son whose name was spoken by the king, even if only in private, in the same breath as the kingdom’s heroes.

"It’s a lot," Fern murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

"But it’s good," Reed quickly added, as if afraid the universe might misinterpret their gratitude. "Just... we need time to process everything."

The transformation wasn’t just external. Fern could feel the power flowing through her veins, the way her enhanced vitality made her brighter and sound clearer.

Their bodies had changed. Their circumstances had changed. But their hearts, their fundamental understanding of themselves, needed time to catch up.

Ren nodded understandingly.

"That’s why we start with small steps," he said gently. "Like hiring help for the house, like considering the restaurant."

His voice held the same patience he’d shown when explaining complex beast cultivation techniques to his confused teachers. The same careful consideration he used when helping his friends understand concepts.

"It’s not that we don’t want the help," his mother murmured, playing nervously with the edge of her apron.

The apron was new, made from finer cloth than anything she’d owned before. But her hands still sought it out when she was nervous, the same unconscious gesture she’d had for years.

"It’s that... well, Reed and I have never known what to do when we have people in charge."

His father nodded with that shy smile Ren remembered from when he was smaller, when Reed tried to explain why they couldn’t afford something while saving for his studies.

"Your mother’s right, son. We’ve spent so much time following orders..." Reed scratched his head, messing up his reddish hair that was starting to lose some gray and gain more color thanks to their enhanced vitality. "I’d feel like... like I was impersonating the boss."

The idea of being the ones giving orders felt like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.

Ren observed his parents and sighed while internally processing the absolutely absurd amount of things that had happened in such a short time, none of which he’d ever imagined being part of.

Just a year ago he was the "rotting boy," the failure with the weakest beast, the kid whose gray egg had made other children laugh, and now...

"It’s okay," he sighed, approaching to hug them both. "You can try it gradually. Maybe just someone for the garden at first."

The hug was warm, familiar. Despite everything that had changed, this remained constant. His parents still smelled like cinnamon and fresh bread. His father’s embrace was still careful not to squeeze too hard. His mother still smoothed his hair automatically.

"That sounds more reasonable," Fern admitted, visibly relaxing. "Though I must say I’m curious to see what kind of herbs we could grow here. The soil looks much richer than at the old house."

Her voice carried the first note of genuine excitement since the conversation began. This was familiar territory... growing things, nurturing them, watching them flourish.

"Exactly!" Reed immediately perked up.

"We could have a proper herb garden. Maybe even some of those expensive spices we could never afford before."

"You don’t have a solution," Ren smiled genuinely, watching his parents transform from worried to animated in seconds "But you know... you’re denying work to people who need it..."

♢♢♢♢

After obtaining a positive response about hiring some of the neediest neighbors and about looking at possible locations and permits for the restaurant, Ren finally excused himself and went up to his new room.

It was spacious, with a window facing toward the castle, with a view in the direction of Yino.

But he couldn’t see even the tips of the rival city’s tallest buildings. Where the bridge connecting to Yino used to be, there was now only the enormous new wall that had completely separated both territories.

He let himself fall onto the bed, and his mind immediately began to wander about everything that had happened.

After purifying all the purifiable soldiers, he’d had to help neutralize the remaining corrupt false doubles.

The process had been disturbing in a way he hadn’t anticipated.

The golden spores he still conserved, which his fungus now had to constantly feed because they’d been weakened after losing their core, remained useful under the control of his now more developed beast.

But using them felt different now. Where once they’d been tools of salvation, bright weapons against corruption, now they carried the weight of people they’d destroyed. The memory of corrupt beasts dissolving, of false doubles collapsing as their stolen power abandoned them.

They only needed mana to expand.

Ren shuddered thinking that they could have escaped from his pocket in the second chamber. The disaster it would have been to lose all those valuable crystals to produce an enormous mass of golden moss...

But in the end they’d been useful for damaging the connections of the remaining corrupt doubles who decided to accept their fate rather than attempt suicide against Selphira’s impenetrable guard.