Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Tiger Clan’s Little Wildcat
Chapter 7
“……A battle scar, you say?”
“Yup. Bari beat up a whole bunch of Hyenas, and that’s a proud mark of it!”
Sirka was left blinking at the unexpected reason behind the scar.
Bariya’s eyes sparkled so brightly that Sirka and Tairin applauded at the same time.
“Impressive. You really went around beating up Hyenas like that.”
“You’re too amazing, my lady. There’s no cat greater than you.”
“Right. I’m pretty darn great, y’know.”
Bariya planted both hands on her hips and puffed out her chest as far as it would go.
Sirka finally understood how Bariya had managed to avoid getting caught by the Hyenas all this time.
She’d been beating them up so often that her knuckles had gotten scarred.
The child’s temper was truly no ordinary thing.
“Little one, may I pat your head?”
Bariya didn’t much care for the way she’d been addressed, but she nodded anyway.
“I’ll allow it. I washed up nice and clean, so I don’t smell anymore.”
Tairin shot Sirka a deadly glare, as if to ask whether she’d said something like that to the child.
It was a misunderstanding. She hadn’t meant that Bariya actually smelled bad, only that her pheromone scent was distinctive.
Though, with the bath soap so strong right now, it wasn’t noticeable at all.
“Thank you.”
Sirka gently stroked the child’s head.
As if to prove that life hadn’t been easy for her, Bariya’s hair was stiff and coarse.
Just how had Bariya been living all this time?
Even now, she kept her eyes wide open, as if afraid Sirka might do something to her.
Her wariness was even greater than a Tiger Beastkin’s.
‘Yeah, those Hyena brats really ought to all die.’
I don’t know what they did to her, but surely the fault lay entirely with those bastards.
As long as Baiden and Sabrina were alive, every last Hyena was as good as dead. I hoped that would bring the little one some measure of comfort.
After all, those two hated Hyenas more than anyone in the world.
* * *
Bariya returned to the living room with Sirka, where Baiden and Sabrina were waiting.
The moment she opened the door, the sweet, cloying scent hit her and her eyes went wide.
“Hmm. You look a bit better after washing up.”
Sabrina spoke gruffly, but Bariya didn’t even hear it.
The coffee table was crowded with desserts giving off every kind of sugary aroma.
“If you want some, don’t hold back. Come and eat.”
When Sabrina slid a plate of macarons toward her, Bariya dashed over and plopped down in front of the table.
“Now, a young lady who isn’t a little one should sit on the sofa.”
Sirka scooped Bariya up and settled her onto the sofa.
Then, since the girl’s arms were so short, she placed a strawberry macaron right into her hands.
“……!”
The moment Bariya bit into the macaron, a shiver ran through her entire body.
The crazed sweetness coiling around her tongue was a taste she’d never known in her life.
“My tongue, it’s stinging!”
Such a wild flavor could really exist in this world!
It was as if a sacred bell were ringing, ding-dong, inside her head.
“Is it good?”
“Mm-hmm. It’s a crazy-good taste!”
At Bariya’s marvelous way of putting it, the three tigers bit their lips hard to keep from bursting out laughing.
“You can eat as many of the others as you like.”
In no time at all, Bariya had polished off the macaron and took a bite of a vanilla éclair.
This time, it felt like a bolt of lightning striking her brain.
She’d thought meat was the most delicious thing in the world, but here was something exactly as delicious.
Bariya’s expression turned grave.
“All this time I lived without knowing this… Wasted my whole life, I did…”
The ten years she’d lived so far suddenly felt terribly unfair.
“Just eat a lot from now on. Come on, calm down and try the others too.”
Sirka was right.
Since she hadn’t known, all she had to do was eat a lot to make up for it!
Bariya’s eyes lit up as she set about sampling them one by one.
“I can’t eat any more…”
Clutching her bloated stomach and gasping for breath, Sirka let out an exasperated laugh.
“You ate it all.”
“Food has to be eaten while it’s still here.”
Leave it uneaten and it gets cleared away, and once food is gone like that, it never comes back.
It was the rule Bariya had learned in the Hyena Clan.
“…Well, good job.”
Instead of saying they no longer needed to worry about that, the three of them simply nodded.
Words would never sink in as well as experiencing it firsthand would.
Here, no one would snatch Bariya’s food away, and they would wait for her to finish every last bite.
“Then let’s draw up the contract.”
At Sabrina’s words, Bariya’s eyes lit up.
This was no time to lose herself in the taste of sugar.
She went straight to the most important point.
“The contract has to include the signatures of all three Kalif members, including me. And I want a firm guarantee.”
In other words, she wanted a formal contract with the entire Khalif Family.
“If you can’t accept that, then I can’t sign either.”
Conditions mattered, but the most crucial thing was notarization. Bariya would not give an inch on this.
Only then would her safety be truly guaranteed.
“We’ll have it notarized by the Aldros Clan, who handle Beastkin law.”
Yet, as if her tension meant nothing, Sabrina answered as though it were perfectly obvious.
There were several places that could notarize documents, but the Aldros Clan, the ibis clan that keeps the laws and records of the Beastkin world, was the most trustworthy of them all.
If it was them, Bariya could certainly trust it.
“Fine.”
“Then that settles the notarization.”
Sabrina pulled out a single sheet of white paper.
“Can you write?”
“Yes.”
“Then write down the terms you want.”
Bariya snatched up a pen at once and began scribbling.
It had been three years since she’d last written anything, and it felt even more awkward than speaking, but she wrote as clearly and neatly as she could.
1. Protect Bariya Bell from all dangers, including the Hyena Clan, until she is old enough to live on her own.
“Does ‘old enough to live on her own’ mean until she comes of age?”
When Sirka asked, Bariya frowned as if to say, what kind of question is that?
“I can live alone once I’m fifteen.”
Fifteen? Is that really an age?
Honestly, a Beastkin as mature and grown-up as Bariya could get by on her own at thirteen.
But since she was being hunted by the Hyenas, it would be better for her to be at least fifteen.
When Bariya tried to add fifteen to “old enough to live on her own,” Sirka stopped her at once.
“No one knows what the future holds. So don’t change it. Leave it as it is.”
“…Mm, fine.”
Bariya didn’t look pleased at all, but she nodded for now.
Sirka, who had naturally been thinking of eighteen, the legal age of adulthood, let out a quiet sigh.
Bariya truly gave no room for complacency.
2. Provide the minimum support, such as lodging and meals, so that Bariya Bell can grow up properly.
2-1. Especially for meals, she must be given fresh meat at least once a week, without fail. If this is broken, the contract is void.
This was the second most important point.
Those foolish tigers still think of her as a cat, and if they’re careless, they might forget to give her any meat at all.
In case she has to run from here too, should something go wrong, she has no intention of revealing that she is a bobcat, so this part must be spelled out explicitly.
To fight the Hyenas properly, she needs to eat well and grow strong, so meat is absolutely essential.
“…At least once a week. Hah, no, fine. I’ll tell the head cook.”
Sirka sighed and covered her face with her hand.
I suppose giving meat once a week is asking too much.
Even the Hyena Clan had said there was no meat to spare for her mother and her, every single time.
‘Even if I feel sorry for her, I can’t let my heart go soft.’
This is one thing I absolutely will not give up!
Pretending not to notice, Bariya continued writing the third condition.
3. When Bariya Bell has to fight Hyena Beastkin, actively assist and fight alongside her.
“Fine, I’ll agree to that.”
The moment a reasonable condition finally appeared, all three of them nodded at once.
Honestly, there was a high chance those three would rush out and beat up Hyena before Bariya could even move.
4. Do not ask anything about Bariya Bell.
Having written the fourth condition, Bariya slowly looked over Baiden, Sabrina, and Sirka.
“Simple questions are fine. I’ll answer what I can. But don’t ask for the details. We’re allies with a common enemy, not friends, okay?”
Her clear brown eyes were so transparent you could see straight through them, yet they revealed nothing at all.
Even though they were face to face, it felt as though a very thick wall stood between them.
How could a ten-year-old hide her true feelings so perfectly?
In some ways she was a child through and through, yet in the places where she should have looked young, she was unsettlingly mature.
“…Very well. Is there anything else you want?”
Bariya picked up the pen one last time.
5. All the conditions above apply only for as long as this contract remains in effect, and this contract will automatically become void on the day Bariya Bell leaves the Khalif Family.
It was a condition meant to cover the possibility of her escaping from this place.
“That’s everything I want.”
It was a perfect contract, packed with her safety and health, her secrecy, and even her revenge.
“I’ll accept all of your conditions. Now let me state ours.”
Sabrina skimmed through the contract Bariya had written as neatly as she could, then spoke.
Bariya tensed up.
If they set unreasonable terms, I’ll refuse; if they won’t listen to reason, I’ll knock them all out and bolt.
“It goes without saying that you’ll eat well and grow strong here, so I won’t write that down as a condition. There’s only one thing you must uphold while you’re in the Kalif Family.”
But contrary to the resolve she had braced herself for, Sabrina wrote only a single line.
6. When Bariya Bell leaves the Kalif Family, she must make sure to tell Baiden Kalif, Sabrina Kalif, and Sirka Kalif, all three of them, before she goes.
It was a condition she had never expected in the slightest.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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