Chapter 352: Repay your kindness
Placing both newborns beside their mother, Luke stepped back and allowed the fox to see her children for the first time.
She was still weak. Every breath seemed to drain what little strength remained in her body. Yet the moment her eyes settled on the two tiny bundles, something changed.
The exhaustion did not disappear, but it no longer seemed important.
A tenderness so deep it was almost painful softened her gaze. For a brief moment, the fear, suffering, and desperation that had surrounded her vanished entirely. There was only a mother looking at her children.
Luke watched quietly before asking, "Do you need another potion?"
The fox slowly lifted her head.
"No... I’ll be fine."
Her eyes lingered on the newborns for a few more seconds before she finally looked away.
"Go ahead," she whispered. "You can take my life now."
Luke blinked.
"Huh?"
The fox closed her eyes.
"I tormented you and your people. I hurt your companion." Her voice was weak but it reached him clearly. "And above all..."
Her eyes opened once more and locked onto his.
"You are a hunter."
The words hung heavily between them.
"You should be searching for beings like me."
Luke fell silent.
She wasn’t wrong.
A creature capable of speech. A creature with mental abilities powerful enough to affect entire groups of people. Even without seeing it, he could already imagine the value of the gemstone hidden within her body.
Any hunter would be tempted.
Yet after a long pause, Luke let out a disbelieving breath.
"After making me go through all of that, you want me to kill the mother of these two?"
The fox stared at him.
Luke shook his head.
He wasn’t heartless enough to slaughter a mother moments after she had finally united with her children.
As for everything she had done before, she had already explained it. Her powers had been spiraling out of control while she was carrying the cubs. In her condition, even she had barely been able to hold herself together.
Looking at the two newborns curled against her side, Luke found it impossible to see her as nothing more than a monster to be hunted.
"I... haven’t lived for very long, but I can tell that you have one of the purest hearts I have ever seen."
The words nearly made Luke chuckle.
His heart was pure?
She was probably only saying that because she was grateful to him. If she knew what kind of person he really was, she might reconsider that judgment.
"I, Nalda of the Shadow Bane, swear that I will repay your kindness one day."
The sudden declaration caught Luke off guard.
He raised his brows. "Wait. You have a name too?"
There was something almost like a smile in the fox’s eyes as she looked at him.
"I have lived as many, but I have never forgotten my origin."
Her gaze softened.
"And now, not only are you the only one who has seen me in my true form, but you are also the only one who knows my origin name."
Luke wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that.
After a moment, he simply nodded before asking, "Do you want me to stay with you a little longer?"
She was exhausted, and the newborns were still vulnerable. Leaving them alone so soon after the birth didn’t sit right with him. Perhaps staying until she recovered a little would be the safer choice.
"No. I’ll be fine now."
The fox reassured him, her voice noticeably steadier this time. The trembling had disappeared, and judging by how quickly her strength was returning, her recovery seemed remarkably fast.
Luke didn’t insist. He was worried about his own family as well, and he had already done everything he could for her.
He reached into his belongings and took out two more vials of potion.
"Here. Take these." He held them out before scratching his head awkwardly. "I just hope you’ll be able to uncork them."
The fox giggled softly.
"Don’t worry."
Her gaze shifted toward the two cubs before returning to Luke.
"And thank you... for everything. You saved three lives today."
Luke gave a small nod.
"Yeah. It’s fine."
He took one last look at the two newborns nestled beside their mother.
Then he turned around and left.
The moment Luke disappeared from sight, both newborns twitched and let out soft little cries almost simultaneously.
"Hmm?"
Nalda hummed in surprise, her silvery brows lifting as she noticed something strange.
She slowly lowered herself toward them and gently licked her children, soothing them until their tiny sounds faded.
Once they had settled, her gaze shifted toward the two vials Luke had left behind.
She stared at them for a long moment before murmuring softly.
"Maybe... one day."
.....
After leaving the cave, Luke carried the unconscious Ilya back toward the village.
As he walked, his thoughts inevitably returned to everything that had happened inside.
’This world really is filled with strange and fascinating things, isn’t it?’
[That’s why the system always urges the host to keep exploring. The host has yet to discover even a fraction of this world, along with the countless opportunities waiting out there.]
Luke hummed thoughtfully.
The system was right.
He had spent so much time focusing on his family, his responsibilities, and the immediate dangers around him that he had barely scratched the surface of what the world had to offer.
Perhaps it was time to become a little more adventurous.
Not necessarily by taking his family along. If anything, there were places he would be better off exploring alone.
But before he could do that, two things needed to happen.
First, he had to evolve his Gamma Pod.
Second, and far more importantly, he needed to make sure his family was safe.
Only then could he truly venture beyond the familiar and discover what else this world had been hiding.
"Haah...first I need to answer the waiting father of this girl." He looked down at Ilya who seemed to be having a good dream with that smile extending her lips.
Seeing her smile relaxed his shoulders too as he finally entered the village.
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A/N:- Thanks for reading.