New law of Beast Taming

"This is the place I called home. Hurry, I can feel the spell gaining power. My parents must be nearby."

Sara looked happy to be back home. Amane followed her and she watched how people looked at them with a serious expression. They seemed to be pointing toward them and gossiping as well.

Some even snickered when they looked at her and Sara. their gestures let Amane know that they had more than a ’few’ things they wanted to say to her.

’These people seem to know something that I do not. Somehow, it is pissing me off.’

Amane wanted to shake one of the on-lookers and ask what they found so funny, but Sara’s excited expression stopped her.

Sara quickly knocked on the door in front of her and her eyes sparkled with excitement. Amane paid attention to Sara as well and the door opened directly in front of Sara.

"Mother, I am back home…"

Sara’s happy expression turned confused before it turned sour. She looked shocked at what she saw in front of her.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Sara looked up at the young woman’s irritated face in front of her. This woman looked nothing like Sara and her essence felt different as well.

As soon as Sara asked that question, Amane watched the woman fly into a rage and tear Sara a new one.

"Who am I? I should be the one asking you who you are and what are you doing here. How dare you come here now? Are you here to collect taxes? We don’t have any money for you all."

The rude lady slammed the door close in Sara’s face. She did not even give Sara a chance to explain what Sara wanted before she forced them out.

The snickering people finally laughed out loud as soon as they saw the display. This was what they had been waiting for all along.

"Hey miss, it will be better for you to give up now. That loony lady in there will not listen to you no matter how much you want her to."

"That’s right. In the past, many people reached out to her to get this house she was allotted for her orphanage but she refused. The orphans she is raising are more important than her life and well-being."

"So stupid, right? That lady could have married well and lived her whole life happily if she sold this house but she refused to do so."

People around them laughed as they mocked the brave lady for her decision. As someone who had raised a lot of orphan kids herself, Amane felt empathic to the lady.

"T-Then what about my parents? What happened to the old couple that lived in that house? Where did they go?"

Sara questioned but everyone looked confused by her words.

"A couple? That building has been emptying for about more than 50 years now. The orphanage only opened about 5 years ago so we don’t know what you are talking about."

Sara broke down. Tears escaped her eyes and she collapsed in the middle of the road. She had no idea what was going on around her anymore.

But unlike Sara, Amane knew exactly what happened and she felt sorry for Sara’s situation.

"Sara, did you ever ask your magic teacher how much time has passed since you were taken in? Did you keep track of it?"

Amane asked the question and Sara looked confused for a minute. She could not comprehend what this question was about.

"I…it was not possible for me to keep track of time myself but I did ask my teacher to keep track for me. She said that it had only been a ’few years’ since I began to live with her."

Sara explained it slowly as she tried to find out what was wrong with her statement.

"Sara, a few years for your teacher can be anywhere between 1 to 100 years. Witches are immortal beings so you cannot trust their concept of time."

Amane explained this to Sara and she watched recognition flash across Sara’s eyes.

The female likely had realized that the passage of time had been too long for it to be only a ’few years.’ But she had been too busy with her struggles to pay it any attention.

"That doesn’t make sense. If it has been so many years, then why am I this young? Shouldn’t I have become an old woman by now?"

Sara asked with a horrified face. She looked up at Amane for answers and Amane did have one for her.

"It’s because of magic. It has kept you relatively young-looking and healthy. Magic can stop a person’s growth and make them more active and oblivious to the world."

"So do not feel bad for your negligence. You were just following your nature."

Amane tried to assure Sara but this made her even more miserable. Her red eyes looked miserable and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying.

"Hey miss, don’t take our words too harshly."

"Yeah, we did not mean to pressure you or make you feel bad."

The people around them had not heard much of what Amane and Sara had talked about so they likely thought that Sara was crying because of them.

It caused them all to panic and they tried to cheer her up. It made Sara feel lonelier and she tried to suppress her cry once more.

In the middle of all this, a loud cry pierced the air and then it was followed by another and then another. People ran away from the source of that cry as fast as they could.

"Oh god, hurry up and run. An infected person managed to escape their slum area and came here. We will all be infected at this rate."

As soon as people heard those words, they began to panic and run around the vicinity. They did not want to get caught and infected by the bloom.

"Oh fuck, this is bad."

"Hurry up and save yourself."

People ran all around, without any solid direction or meaning to their running. Amane watched this happen and she pulled Sara out of the way of the stampeding feet.

"Sara, pull yourself together. You can sink yourself in your pity party later. For now, focus on the situation at hand."

Amane reminded Sara as she pulled her to her feet. Sara blinked a few times to clear the fog that had assaulted her senses and she looked around in shock,

"What the-...why is everyone running…"

Sara had not heard a word of what was being said but it was too late for them to run away now. The infected person who caused all this panic was walking toward them now.

Amane could tell from his state that he was about to enter the bloom state.

"...must…. release…must…grown…"

The infected person repeated these words as he walked faster. It seemed as if he was being controlled by something and that could not be the bud bug.

As menacing as the bud bugs were, they lacked consciousness and power to affect their targets. Some of them could go age without showing themselves and die in their hosts.

As such, it was impossible to take this human to be under the bud bug’s control.

"How annoying. Give me a minute and I will take care of this infected beast for us."

Amane quickly stood in front of Sara and held her hand out. Her aura formed a solid form and Amane fired it off as a bullet.

She had not tried especially hard to kill the infected person but she was still surprised when he managed to block her aura. The hard branch on his back twisted around to protect the host’s body.

Amane’s attack had attracted the infected person’s attention as well since he turned in her direction to look at her.

As soon as the infected person met Amane’s eyes, it seemed like a switch had been triggered inside his head. His face broke into a huge smile and his eyes also curved up in a happy notion.

The infected person mouthed ’found you’ to her before he rushed toward her.

"Sara, out of the way."

Amane saw it the second the bud bug changed directions and went after Sara instead.

Sara had not expected it either so she was not able to protect herself. It was only Amane’s fast actions that saved her life.

"Y-You! What are you…?"

Sara’s question came too late. Amane was already locked in the confrontation with the beast in front of her. Her chains blocked the bud bug’s branches and she snapped them by using force.

Since the plant was not a part of the bud bug’s body but rather an extension, the infected person felt no pain and was ready to take on Amane once more.

"Well, aren’t you a stupid one? Do you think you can win against me?"

Amane asked the bud bug but the host only smiled.

"Our will….is overwhelming…what you…are looking…for…is not…here…"

The infected person repeated the same words the first infected person had said to Amane. She was sure that it was intentional now.

Someone was controlling these bud bugs and they wanted to attract Amane’s attention but she did not know why it would go so far to such a thing.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?"

Amane asked but the infected person only smiled. He opened his mouth but it was already too late.

"Sara, come near me. That person is about to explode."