"I see…" Ulric muttered after hearing his daughter's report about everything Leone did before returning to their camp.
"Father, I think you should accept Leone's invitation to become his vassal," Yuni said in a serious tone.
The Chieftain of the Alborin sighed before shaking his head. He had reasons for not accepting Leone's offer.
"It's not that simple, Yuni," Ulric replied. "The warriors of our tribe might have a good impression of Leone because he fought alongside us, but that's not the same as accepting him as a leader.
"Also, he's so young. Everyone will feel uneasy. Even if I wanted to, the situation makes it impossible for me to be his vassal right now. He must first prove himself to our people and show that he has what it takes to lead us."
Yuni lowered her head, understanding what her father was saying. However, she also believed that if their tribe remained prideful, they would lose a golden opportunity.
For some reason, she believed that the weak noble who had been exiled from his kingdom could create a miracle.
And if they didn't treat him properly, the relationship between the Alborin Tribe and Leone would be strained.
Seeing his daughter's reaction, Ulric sighed a second time. "Just watch over him for now. If he needs help, give him a helping hand. We must keep a good relationship with Leone. I'm sure our people will soon realize he is no ordinary person."
"Yes, Father," Yuni replied. Although still a bit disappointed about this outcome, hearing her father's view helped her clear her mind. For now, she would just do what she could.
The next day…
When Leone, Daedalus, Yuni, and Arion went to the location where the red squirrel lived, they saw many other squirrels perched on the branches of the nearby trees.
Their curious gazes all landed at Leone with a hint of anticipation.
"I'm back, Mister Squirrel!" Leone declared. "And I brought food!"
As soon as the word "food" was mentioned, the red squirrel emerged from its home from the tree. It didn't hesitate to run toward Leone's location before raising its little hands as if asking it to give it something.
'He must have liked the bread,' Leone mused before taking out a loaf of bread from his storage ring. As soon as the loaf was placed on the ground, the red squirrel tore a chunk of it and started eating.
Emboldened by the act of one of their brethren, the other squirrels also moved to secure their breakfast.
Leone watched them eat happily before asking Daedalus to check the squirrel's favorability rating.
[Favorability: 80%]
"It still needs a little push." Leone pondered with his arms crossed over his chest. 'While giving it more food might raise its favorability, it might not raise it all the way to a hundred percent.'
The young man waited until all the squirrels had eaten to their fill before he knelt down to talk to the red squirrel.
The other squirrels ran away because they still found the human scary. But the red squirrel remained and looked up at the "bread giver" with expectation.
"Little guy, you see, I'm building a kingdom," Leone said. "And if possible, I'd like you to be part of it as my vassal."
Yuni tilted her head, wondering if the young man was fine in the head. Although Leone could talk to animals, telling a squirrel that he would build a kingdom would just confuse the small creature.
But the young lady's way of thinking was different from the young man.
A Kingdom wasn't just a place where you could find a castle, a town, and some people living in it.
In the animal kingdom, each forest, each pond, and each marsh was a kingdom of their own.
To them, the kingdom was merely the place where they lived, and even a squirrel understood what it meant by having its own territory.
"So I plan to make this entire forest, as well as that mountain over there, a part of my kingdom!" Leone pointed at the mountain in the distance. "If you become my vassal, this territory will belong to us."
The squirrel squeaked a few times, asking the young man if it could get bread if it became part of his Kingdom.
"Of course," Leone replied. "While you can't get it daily, I can let you eat other stuff if you want to."
Leone's storage ring contained many food supplies, as well as seeds for planting. Before the trial happened, his family prepared for the worst and gave him many things that would allow him to survive in the Borderlands for a year.
He then took out some grapes from his storage ring and fed it to the squirrel, which didn't hesitate to munch them all happily.
Perhaps it enjoyed what it was eating, its favorability rating rose once more, hitting a hundred percent.
"Well then, are you ready to become my vassal?"
*Squeak!*
After confirming that it wanted to become Leone's vassal in exchange for many delicious foods, the young man heard a voice inside his head once more.
———
[Congratulations on recruiting your Second Vassal!]
[All of your Vassal's Stats will be increased by 10 Points!]
[Since your Vassal still doesn't have a name, please name them!]
———
Leone had already prepared for this moment, and already thought of a name for the red squirrel.
"Blitz," Leone said before lightly patting the red squirrel's head. "Since you run fast, I'll name you Blitz."
As soon as a name was bestowed on the squirrel, a radiant light enveloped its body.
Perhaps he already anticipated that this would happen, Leone was able to close his eyes and avert his gaze on time.
When the light dispersed, the young man looked at the red squirrel, which looked slightly bigger than before.
Daedalus came closer and showed him his new vassal's Status Page.
———
[Blitz]
Race: Squirrel
Grade: Common
Strength: 12
Agility: 40
Dexterity: 29
Vitality: 16
Intelligence: 20
Description: A Squirrel that has undergone the baptism of vassalship. If the right conditions are met, it might undergo an evolution.
Signature Ability: ???
———
Leone smiled faintly after seeing the surprise waiting for him. He didn't expect the little guy to gain the power of evolution. Its signature ability was also unknown, similar to Arion.
"Master, let's go back to the camp and summon Maximus," Daedalus proposed. "He is already well enough to appear, and you can make him your vassal as well."
"Why not do it here instead?" Leone asked.
"Because something good might happen, and I want the Alborin Tribe to see it." Daedalus chuckled evilly. "Just trust me, Master. You won't be disappointed."
"Good." Leone nodded. "I'll trust you."
The grimoire sounded very confident that something good was going to happen. It wanted the Alborin Tribe to see it firsthand, so they would no longer underestimate its master, who was so physically weak that a red squirrel had higher stats than him.