Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 353: He Doesn’t Like Humans

"Celibacy, huh? Sounds a bit cruel..." Silvanus muttered.

"Forget it. If it wants to run, let it run." Silvanus flicked Vivian’s ear lightly. "You hear me? If you dare run away, you’ll starve! No one will love you as much as I do!"

Ariana paused for a moment. Silvanus was acting as if the little creature could actually understand what he was saying.

Vivian rubbed its head against Silvanus’s hand, as though expressing genuine affection, then went back to gnawing on the chicken leg.

Ariana said again, "But when mating season comes, they’ll need a partner. Otherwise, they’ll be very uncomfortable."

She glanced at the beautiful fox in Silvanus’s arms. "That fox of yours—just by looking at its species, you can tell it’s rare. It won’t be easy for you to find a mate."

Thinking about it, Ariana wasn’t wrong. How could he possibly find another jumping egg? That egg was something he’d only stumbled upon in the competition zone. Outside of that, well—he’d lived fourteen years and never seen any other egg that could jump around. The only place eggs jumped was into a pot.

"All right then, is it male or female?"

As he spoke, Silvanus set down the chicken bone in his hand, grabbed Vivian by the body with one hand, and lifted its big, fluffy tail with the other.

Vivian: "!!!"

It immediately started squirming, wriggling all over the place. Silvanus had no choice but to let go. "It’s shy."

Ariana: "...It really can understand human speech?"

Silvanus nodded. "The Headmaster said it might be because Vivian’s been affected by magic." He chuckled and joked, "Who knows, maybe one day it’ll even learn to talk."

Ariana frowned slightly. "Sure, there are a lot of intelligent animals out there, but I’ve never seen one quite like this."

"So, is it male or female?" Silvanus asked. He’d taken a peek just now but hadn’t figured out a thing.

Ariana scratched her cheek. "I’m not sure either. It’s hard to tell with this kind of creature..."

Silvanus waved his hand dismissively. "Doesn’t matter. She’ll be my daughter."

Ariana: "..."

Matthew, standing nearby, said quietly, "Silvanus likes cute things. Just let him be."

Ariana blinked in surprise. She turned to look at Silvanus and fluttered her eyes. "Silvanus, am I cute?"

People often called her cute—surely Silvanus could see that too, right?

Ariana wasn’t exactly trying to hide how she felt about him, after all.

Silvanus was strong and kind; Ariana thought that maybe she had a crush on him. So she decided to get a little closer. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at him.

Silvanus glanced at her, nodded perfunctorily, and said, "Yeah, you’re cute too." Then he lowered his head and planted two kisses on top of Vivian’s head.

Ariana: "..." She instinctively turned to Matthew for help.

Matthew watched Ariana fawning over Silvanus, his eyes darkening slightly.

He smiled faintly and said to her, "He’ll only call you cute if you’re a child."

Because to Silvanus, no adult creature was ever "cute." Matthew knew that well.

Ariana looked disheartened after hearing that. She thought to herself, Silvanus is always like this... does he even know what it means to like someone?

Just then, Silvanus stood up to leave.

Seeing that, Matthew hurriedly rose as well—but before he could take a step, someone tugged at his hand. He frowned slightly and turned around to see Ariana, her expression unreadable. "What is it?" he asked.

"I have something to tell you," Ariana said with a mysterious smile. By then, Silvanus had already walked away.

Matthew pressed his lips together, then smiled lightly. "All right, go ahead."

Walking ahead, Silvanus realized he couldn’t hear any footsteps behind him. He turned around in surprise and saw Ariana leaning close to Matthew, the two of them whispering to each other.

Silvanus blinked, then finally turned back and walked on, kissing Vivian’s head. "Looks like he’s finally grown up," he murmured. Maybe, after some time, Matthew would become stronger too—strong enough that he wouldn’t cling to him all day, afraid of being left behind.

Silvanus cradled Vivian in his arms and patted her head. "You should grow up quickly, too."

Just like Matthew, sometimes Silvanus found him strange—perhaps because, in truth, they never really understood each other that well.

Meanwhile, Matthew frowned at Ariana. "What did you just say?"

Ariana blushed slightly. "I was asking... what kind of person Silvanus likes."

Matthew narrowed his eyes at her. "You like Silvanus."

Ariana hadn’t expected him to say it so bluntly. She immediately lunged forward, covering his mouth in panic. "Why would you say that so loudly?!"

Then she instinctively glanced ahead—thankfully, Silvanus was already out of sight.

Matthew lowered his gaze to the hands covering his mouth, then gently pulled them down. His voice softened. "If you like Silvanus, then just tell him directly."

Ariana couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed. "I’m asking you what kind of girl Silvanus likes!"

Matthew shook his head. "I don’t know. Silvanus has never liked anyone... He... he doesn’t like humans."

Ariana’s eyes widened in disbelief, her expression turning strange.

Matthew quickly waved his hands. "It’s not like he likes anything weird either."

Then, almost under his breath, he muttered, "He’s just... not like us."

Ariana had the feeling Matthew wasn’t telling the whole truth, but she simply nodded and said nothing more.

At that moment, Silvanus found his path blocked.

"Well, well, where’d you get that little beast from? That’s hilarious."

Nana stood in front of him, with several of her so-called "friends" gathered behind her.

When she spoke, her friends quickly joined in, laughing and mocking.

Vivian bared its tiny teeth and hissed at them.

"Oh? Small but feisty, huh? Cute. Why don’t you sell it to me?"

Nana looked directly at Silvanus, her amber eyes gleaming with arrogance.

Silvanus shook his head. "No. Move."

Nana frowned. "Are you a block of wood or something? Is that all you know how to say when talking to people?!"

Silvanus rolled his eyes silently. "That’s because we’re not on the same wavelength. Talking too much with someone who isn’t compatible is exhausting—you know that too, right? So, let’s just not talk to each other. Peace and harmony. A better world for everyone."

Nana stared at him, her face twitching with irritation at his maddeningly calm nonsense. Her hands clenched into fists. "You lunatic!"

Silvanus blinked. "...What did I even do to you?"

Nana ignored him and raised her hand sharply. "There’s going to be a selection soon for the top students to join the expedition team to explore the Relics of the Hobbit! Do you dare to join?!"

Silvanus arched an eyebrow, surprised. He hadn’t heard anything about that yet. As expected of the Aurellan family heiress, Nana always knew things before anyone else.

He shook his head. "I’m afraid of dying. Not going."

Nana’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting that answer. The group behind her immediately burst into laughter, the sound making her temples throb.

"Shut up!" she snapped coldly.

The others froze, quickly clamping their mouths shut.

Nana turned back to Silvanus. "How can you say that? If you’re afraid of dying, how will you ever go to war?"

Silvanus said calmly, "That’s what brave, battle-loving people like you are for. I’ll stay home and cheer you on. Good luck."

Nana: "..." Her face twisted between anger and disbelief. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

Tch. Just a kid after all, Silvanus thought to himself, conveniently forgetting that he was one too.

Just as he was about to walk away, a childish voice suddenly called out from behind him—

"Hahaha, who’s got our dear Nana all worked up this time?"