Won't a treaty be enough?

"What are you scheming???" 

Shane could vividly recall how the Lesser Starlet Fox had toyed around with him when they had been inside the Starlight-river dimension.

As such, he couldn't help but be suspicious about the small fox's behavior.

However, even after eyeing it for some time, Shane couldn't detect anything off.

At most, its overly intimate attitude towards him was weird and the Old Emperor couldn't help but blurt in an astonished voice.

"Did you, by chance, rescue the Lesser Starlet Fox? If that's the case, does your injury stem from saving it too?" 

Shane was not sure how to respond, but he sensed that providing a half-cooked story would only lead to more doubts and questions. Thus, it was better to give the Old Emperor the complete and unedited version of his story.