Shivani answered Arian's question with a dismissive hand gesture. "Oh, we were able to join the academy because we have an egg of a beast."
Arian instinctively leaned forward. Shurely he must have misheard.
His brain needed a few seconds to process the information Shivani had just dropped.
He blinked in confusion as he couldn't make sense of her words. What does she mean, she has an egg of a beast?
Does she understand how hard it is to get one?
This was unbelievable!
To own your very own egg was basically impossible for two reasons:
First of all, mystical beast parents protected their eggs with their lives. For a human to even just lay a finger on an egg was extremely hard, even if it belonged to the beast you were bonded with. When it came to their offspring, mystical creatures trusted no one and saw everything as a threat.
And even if a human managed to retrieve such a feast, it must be a very knowledgeable and outstanding person, not just a common girl from the slums.
So there was only one option, but this one seemed impossible as well: Shivani had to purchase the egg. Needless to say, finding someone who sold a beast egg was very hard, and on the rare occasion you indeed found a merchant- a beast egg was simply priceless.
Even someone like Arian, a royal prince, couldn't easily purchase one. If he judged right, one 'Puny' egg would equal the price of his silver tiara.
How did Shivani and Satori get their eggs?
Something like this should be impossible for commoners, and yet Shivani talked so casually about it.
With every conversation, these two girls appeared more and more suspicious.
By now, Arian had started to question if they even were commoners or just undercover nobles.
But that was a stupid thought. No noble family, even the poorest one or one that had fallen from grace, would send their child to this rundown academy at the end of the world in the middle of a fucking desert.
Arian tisked in bewilderment. "You have your own egg? How did you get your hands on one?"
"I bought mine." Shivani sounded so nonchalant that Arian was flabbergasted.
"You bought your egg?" Arian couldn't hide his astonishment.
How the hell can she afford such a thing?, Arian asked himself.
But again, Shivani only laughed. "Don't be surprised, it is easier than you might think. You know, there are a lot of illegal markets, where gangs deal with weapons, drugs, slaves... they do all kinds of disgusting things, really. We call those black markets. That's also where the academy gets there eggs. Of course, these eggs are either stolen or the people who sell the animals illegally raise them."
After these words, her Expression dimmed. "But since they never went to a beast-taming academy, they lack the knowledge to bond with them. Instead, they just beat them into submission or abuse them. Sometimes they even do some dangerous breeding. Instead of considering their powers, they breed beasts to get a certain look or a specific mutation. Because the crazier the beast looks, the more attention it gets. And if more people are interested in it, it's more likely to sell. And a higher price is guaranteed, too."
By now, her expression was grim, and her voice sounded frosty. "Yeah, that's how the black market works. It's also the reason why there are a lot of races that are not officially registered. Here in the outskirts, because of the illegal and dangerous breeding, they pop up like flies."
She sighed. " That such reckless actions have drastic side effects is a no-brainer. Many beasts don't get very old and have numerous illnesses, or they live a life in pain. Or maybe their powers can never fully develop. It's quite sad, actually." Her voice grew quiet, and for the first time today, Shivani didn't look confident.
"I wish I could help these beasts," she whispered. "Many beasts die shortly after they hatch. There are some students of the higher classes who have ill animals. Most of the time, it's not their fault. It's because the race isn't healthy and most likely shouldn't exist in the first place. But the academy can't afford real beast eggs, so they get most of theirs from the black market. In a way, they save the eggs from further harm, but I don't know."
"They use all their resources to buy them, and yet they end up with handicapped beasts that are harder to deal with than normal beasts from the same rank, since they often require special care," Shivani finished her explanation, before since fell over the room.
Arian needed time to digest this newly gained information. But even now, a lot of things have become much clearer.
Now Arian understood why he hadn't recognised any breeds of the creatures belonging to the teachers.
He understood why no beast tamers who graduated from the Akai-Dezato Academy amounted to anything: Because they often trained with ill beasts, and thus had a natural disadvantage.
Their success rate would drastically increase if the quality of their beasts became better, Arian thought, and realized he had just found another way of helping the academy.
First point, get id of the gangs or at least diminish their influence greatly.
Second point, get rid of the black market and illegal beast breeding.
But just like with the former point, his power wasn't enough to complete the second point.
On top of that, he understood too little about what appeared to him to be a complicated network of organized crime.
Does my family know about these issues?, the prince wondered.
He knew this couldn't be. He had been one of his father's closest advisers for a few years. If his father or anyone around him had known about it, Arian would have found out.
The prince didn't know if he should laugh or cry about the irony.
His father was the most powerful human in the world, bonded to the most powerful beast in the world, and yet so many things happened that his father wasn't aware of and couldn't even control.
If I become emperor, I will do better, Arian swore to himself.
I won't turn a blind eye to these kinds of situations.
Arian knew there were different slums scattered throughout the empire. The region he was currently in was only one of many.
There is so much to do, the prince noted mentally. What a disaster!
For the first time in a long while, he felt uneducated. Shouldn't he be the one who knew everything, who should explain to these commoner girls, how the world worked?
Yet here he was, getting educated by a commoner named Shivani. No matter how Arian thought about it, it was hard to fathom.
How despicable. Arian was so enraged, he struggled to focus on Shivani's next words.
"As for how I got my egg, there was a man who owed a lot of money to a gang. He needed to get the money fast, so he sold everything he had. It was a huge sell, so it garnered a lot of attention. Even people who aren't associated with illegal business became aware of it. I heard of it, too. So I went there. Actually, it was an auction. I bit like everyone else. Originally, I thought I would get nothing, since I am poor and had a small budget. But then there was an egg, and it had damage. Nobody wanted it, since they thought the beast inside would die before it even hatched, so I got it."
She sighed, a complicated emotion on her face. "The academy told me it would likely have serious issues once it hatches. And they aren't sure what type of beast it is, so they've advised me to maybe choose a different one, while they take care of it. Teacher Javis would care for it. He has been looking for a second beast for a long time, but..."
"I don't like teacher Javis. He gives me the ick. I don't want him to get this beast. But I'm also not confident, I can tame it..."
"So what do you think, my prince, do you want it?"
Arian was flabbergasted.
He needed a minute to compose himself.
Inappropriate for a prince, he began to stutter: "You... you offer me a beast, your beast?"
"It isn't my beast, it hasn't even hatched. It's not even sure if it will ever hatch. So no guarantee."
Shivani looked at Arian urgently.
"After I asked you about your beast..."
"My former beast", Arian interrupted harshly. And regretted it immediately, since he had just confirmed, he wasn't bonded to a beast anymore.
Satori spared him a pitiful gaze, and Shivani seemed shocked.
However, the latter recovered quickly and continued.
"Your former beast, then. Ahm... I thought you might want one again? Since it is kind of a necessity for a prince....so... I would gift it to you, Your Highness."
Arian still struggled to comprehend what was happening as Shivani asked him: "Do you want it?"