Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 371: Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and The Lion_3

The little lion, finally getting to relieve itself after holding it in for several days, yawned contentedly.

“Kid, haven’t you realized yet?” Winters said as he walked to the washbasin to clean his hands, not even turning his head: “You don’t have the ability to take care of this little guy right now. Leaving it with you will only get it killed sooner or later. It’s a matter of ability, not willingness.”

Although Bell was reluctant to admit it, he couldn’t find the words to argue when he saw the handkerchief soaked with pale yellow liquid on the table.

“And even if you could raise it, you have no clue what to do once it’s grown,” Winters, having washed his hands, sat back down and nodded at the handkerchief on the table: “Wash it and return it to me tomorrow.”

“Then what do you suggest we do…” Bell said, head hung low in dejection.

“The best fate for this behemoth in the future is probably a life in a noble’s cage,” Winters said with a wry smile: “Deliver it to the emperor’s palace, and it will live comfortably from then on. The Vineta Governor’s Office might even be quite happy to buy a lion as a mascot.”

“No way!” Bell stood up fiercely: “That would be an insult to Tengri!”

The little lion got frightened, stumbled off the table, and scurried back into the corner of the room.

Winters, stroking his chin, said in an unhurried tone: “But it can’t go back to the mountain woods either. As the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, I won’t allow any threat to the people of Wolf Town. If you insist on putting it back, then it’s either I who will kill it, or someone from another town. Do you want to see that happen?”

“I will raise it for a lifetime,” Bell muttered.

Winters let out a sardonic laugh: “Setting aside the matter of money. By the time it’s fully grown, the town’s pigs and sheep probably won’t be enough to feed it.”

The young hunter fell silent again.

“I’m quite curious, though. Why are you so determined to protect it?” Winters asked earnestly.

“Because it is a spirit of the wilderness, the favored child and mount of Tengri.” Bell spoke softly: “That’s what my mother said.”

“Your mother is a Herder, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But your father had also killed a giant lion before.”

“The White Lion wanted to kill my dad, and my dad wanted to kill the White Lion; that’s fair,” Bell continued softly: “But Tengri doesn’t allow the senseless killing of cubs. My family already owes the gods the life of a cub. I need to repay my father’s debt; otherwise, he won’t find peace or reincarnation.”

“Great, a believer. Now it’s going to be impossible to reason with you,” Winters thought.

Bell called out softly, and the little lion obediently ran over from the corner, showing no signs of the fright it had just experienced.

It climbed onto Bell’s lap, rubbing its head forcefully against his chin and licking his face.

Seeing the close bond between the man and the lion, Winters didn’t know what to do: “Sending it to be caged, you don’t want that.”@@novelbin@@

The young hunter nodded.

“Sending it back to the mountain might be feasible, but I disagree,” Winters said, in a resigned, fierce, self-defeating tone: “You little rascal, you might as well run off to the circus in the future!”

…

Time returned to the present, and Bell ran up excitedly: “Sir, I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Wilkes!”

“Why are you adding to the chaos? I haven’t yet decided what to do with your new pet!”

“I’ve thought of what to do!” Bell shouted excitedly, eyes filled with joy: “The White Lion is sacred amongst all the four-legged tribes; we can return the White Lion to the Khan!”

Winters gave the young hunter a cuff on the head: “I’m going to war with the ‘Khan’!”

[Note: The four-legged tribes is what the Herders call themselves, meaning horse-riding people.]

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