Chapter Ten: The Young Fox as a Caretaker

Vinigo raised his eyes, astonished, for standing before him was not the fierce half-orc or burly swordsman he had imagined.

“Mind-based divine magic? A cleric?” Vinigo murmured in surprise. The voice sounded far from powerful, yet in the realm of mental magic, it wielded a force far beyond Jemore’s reach.

Jemore’s divine magic was too balanced—he’d clearly studied the domains of body, soul, and mind alike—but even so, the voice before him…

It was unmistakably that of a child!

At such an age, a girl so young possessing such divine power!

“Hey, you reckless fellow!” Vinigo complained, “Don’t just throw around offensive spells!”

“Ah, what kind of monster are you? You can speak! How fun. Honey will definitely catch you!” The tiny girl cleric shouted gleefully.

“I’ll scratch your face up, you know.” Vinigo tugged at his feline face, trying to look menacing. Yet no matter how he twisted and contorted, the Meow Meow face remained irresistibly cute.

That’s why the Meow Meow of Team Rocket has been a villain for hundreds of episodes and still enjoys immense popularity… Vinigo’s attempts at intimidation clearly backfired; the girl, named Honey, was now visibly more excited.

Catch you!

Honey pointed her finger, sending another wave of psychic energy toward him. This time, Vinigo didn’t stand still—he leapt aside with impressive speed.

Skill: Electric Shock Wave!

Honey shrieked, her body trembling, frozen in place.

“So easy…” Vinigo was startled; he knew the shockwave’s power was minimal, yet it nearly knocked Honey out cold…

What a frail, defenseless character!

Vinigo stepped forward, gently pinching the girl’s cheek and turning her face.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Honey’s eyes brimmed with tears as she cried out.

“That’s what you get for trying to catch me, for attempting to enslave my mind!” Vinigo teased.

“Let Honey go, Honey won’t do it again!” she pleaded.

“What’s your name?” Vinigo asked, though he already knew.

“Honey Shoinbella, a very powerful cleric!” Honey replied.

“A powerful cleric? Indeed, your mental magic is strong, but as for other skills…” Vinigo chuckled inwardly, then voiced his thoughts, “Who’d let you wander out here alone? I’d wager a band of half-orcs could turn you into lunch.”

“Half-orcs don’t scare Honey; one mass fear spell, and they’ll scatter!” the little cleric declared triumphantly.

“Mass fear…” Vinigo slapped his forehead. “What if you meet a half-orc king or something?”

“Remove hostility, and if that fails, use the enslavement spell,” Honey answered without hesitation.

“Enslavement spell!” Vinigo was genuinely taken aback. He suddenly realized—enslavement spell… Though he disliked this magic, anyone who could master it must possess at least a grandmaster’s level in mental magic.

This girl before him? She couldn’t possibly be older than fifteen, damn it!

“You’re really a severe specialist. I bet you know nothing but mind magic,” Vinigo grumbled. “Where’s your family?”

“Family?” Honey’s mouth opened, her little face crumpling as she burst into tears. “Honey can’t find them.”

“A truly lost child… with such talent…” Vinigo suddenly felt a headache coming on.

“Honey is really strong,” the little cleric answered proudly. Wasn’t she just crying?

“Very strong indeed… hmm, in that case.” Vinigo was moved, and disengaged his transformation system.

“Hey, you’re human! How did you do that? Amazing, amazing!” Honey pressed him for answers.

“My unique ability, shapeshifting,” Vinigo lied shamelessly. “So I’m not some monster.”

“Weirdo,” Honey said, delivering a devastating blow.

“Let me take you home. Which direction is your house?”

“Maybe… possibly… probably…” Honey spun in place, seeming to believe any direction could be right.

“I give up. I’ll take you to Ironfist Castle,” Vinigo laughed wryly.

He wasn’t especially compassionate, but faced with Honey—a creature whose innocent, adorable appearance could melt anyone’s heart—even Vinigo found himself unexpectedly softened.

“Ironfist Castle? But Honey is in Blackshire!” Honey looked up, confused.

“Blackshire? That’s far from here! You didn’t wander all the way from Blackshire, did you?” Vinigo was dumbfounded. Unlike the area around Ironfist Castle, Blackshire’s surroundings were far more dangerous—werewolves, thunder lizards, and other creatures, any of which could easily overpower dozens of Vinigos without breaking a sweat.

“Honey doesn’t know,” Honey replied, looking even more bewildered than Vinigo.

“Excellent—lost traits, extraordinary magic, the body of an ordinary little girl. Truly a rare specimen, and I’ve somehow run into her,” Vinigo muttered.

“What’s ‘lost traits’?” Honey asked curiously.

“It means a creature with absolutely no sense of direction, so lost it gets confused by even the simplest crossroads,” Vinigo explained.

“Sounds amazing. Honey really wants to meet one,” Honey said, full of admiration.

Vinigo spread his hands, speechless. He led the way, guiding Honey toward Ironfist Castle.

Vinigo was silent and reserved, while Honey skipped along behind him, peppering him with questions—mostly about his cute Meow Meow form. Vinigo answered sporadically, yet never lost patience.

Suddenly, a rocket flew in from afar.

Vinigo instinctively leapt aside, pushing Honey out of harm’s way. He quickly tied a red cloth to his head, drew a toy longsword, and murmured softly. In an instant, his body began to change.

Character selection, analysis complete… reconstruction begins. Kress Yalbein, reconstruction complete!

“Wow, you changed again? This blond brother is so handsome!” Honey exclaimed.

“Fear spell,” Vinigo urged.

“Watch Honey!” Honey shouted, waving both hands. Though her strength was slight, her gear was impressive—chainmail, small shield, helmet, steel boots, iron gauntlets, all perfectly matched. Surprisingly, despite the obvious weight of her armor, Honey wore it with ease.

In their line of sight, the Bleating Cultists and Lizard Archer troops retreated in panic. Honey’s mental magic was negligible in raw damage, but perfect for controlling the battlefield.

Vinigo stood before Honey, calmly brandishing his sword.

Yalbein Sword Arts—Demonblade!

The sword flicked, casting a streak of strange light that skimmed along the ground. As it neared the enemy, it lunged like a shark breaking water. Though not terribly powerful, the range and accuracy were decent, and the Bleating Cultists and Lizardfolk were clearly of the low-defense type.

Thus, Vinigo’s sword strike was nearly always fatal.

Honey’s role was simply to throw out a fear spell now and then to sow chaos among the enemy ranks, or pick one or two obviously stronger foes to hit with a berserk spell, causing them to attack the nearest target without any rationality.

Vinigo had no reason to worry about berserk-enhanced enemies attacking him—Lizardfolk and Bleating Cultists prioritized ranged attacks, so the nearest targets of berserk monsters were inevitably other monsters.

“Lizardfolk leader, enslavement spell,” Vinigo reminded her.

Honey tilted her head and pointed. The Lizardfolk leader froze, then flew into a rage and charged.

“Ah, it failed.”

The enslavement spell was potent but prone to failure; when it did, the monster often became enraged, attacking the caster in a berserk state.

“No problem, berserk spell,” Vinigo said.

He raised his sword and advanced.

Kress Yalbein—even at level one, Kress had an overwhelming advantage in melee over the Lizardfolk leader, who was just an archer.

His sword came down in a heavy slash, landing with a thud on the leader’s serpentine bow, sinking deep into the wood. Vinigo pulled hard, but the blade wouldn’t budge. The Lizardfolk bared its teeth, lunging to bite him.

Just then, Vinigo kicked out, striking the Lizardfolk’s chest and sending it reeling. He followed with a quick slash.

No suspense—a single blow cleaved the leader in two. Ignoring his own nausea, Vinigo swung the Demonblade again.

The sword’s light flashed, sending the nearest Bleating Cultist flying. Almost simultaneously, Vinigo sidestepped, shielding Honey from an incoming ice bolt.

“Honey is so touched!” Honey cried, retaliating with another mass fear spell against the cultists.

“Honey, Lizardfolk leader—enslavement spell!” Vinigo called, enduring the pain.

“Right away!” Honey turned to the leader, and this time, her magic successfully ensnared it.

“Turn and shoot the Bleating Cult Elder,” Vinigo ordered.

“Got it!” Honey controlled the Lizardfolk leader, who turned and fired upon the distant cult elder. Meanwhile, Vinigo stepped forward, sword in hand, charging into the ranks of Lizardfolk. The blade flashed like lightning, trailing blood.

A fierce battle, proving his heart with blood!