Leon placed his hand on the wing of the chicken, just by the edge. The chicken, instead of flinching or pecking to avoid his stance, maintained its silence. Its lifeless body was stiff and cold, dried blood seeping out of a deep wound in its neck on the straw.
“Leon.”
Demis whispered in a soft voice.
“Remove your hand and step back. Quickly… take a step back…”
It was already too late. A black shadow crouched in the coop, leaped high, and revealed itself. Leon hastily pulled away, but Blackie firmly held onto his white hand. As screams swept through the crowd, Blackie maniacally charged towards Leon’s chest.
They merged into a single entity, writhing on the dirt floor. Sharp claws dug into Leon’s chest. Blackie opened his mouth, and saliva dripped from his teeth—a repulsive coalescence of mouthly fluids and chicken blood.
“Leon!”
Something silvery struck Blackie like lightning. The two beasts tangled fiercely under the vivid, full moon, contrasting the loud darkness. While the others remained frozen, Blackie’s convulsions gradually ceased. In a strange angle, its limbs shuffled limply to the ground, mouth gaping open and tongue jutting out in some sickly display of ruin.
Even the tense muscles of its forelegs loosened as the wolf sank into Blackie’s neck. Sharp claws scratched the air, eliciting this peculiar crunching sound, and foam bubbled from where it lay.
A creature under the full moon illuminated the darkness. While everyone, including Leon, stood stiff out of fear, Blackie’s convulsions fully ceased. Its legs sprawled in a lifeless exhibit, the once rigid muscles of its forelegs lax, and its black eyes, now glassy, transformed.
Under the blood-stained silver muzzle, Blackie’s pupils dilated with excitement, barely revealing its blue irises. As its breath became shallow, its chest rapidly undulated. The front paw was still pressed against Blackie’s chest.
The wolf slowly raised its head and looked at the people. Those who were frozen stiff flinched and took a step back, but Leon extended his hand forward.
“It’s okay.”
The wolf remained crouching, on the verge of pouncing at any moment. Its fur bristled, and its tail was puffed up. Perhaps it was due to ‘that’, or that maybe its stature had grown broad and threatening, making its body feel larger than usual.
“It’s okay. Come here.”
“Leon. This isn’t right; it already tasted blood.”
Demis urgently whispered, but the wolf moved. Its black, shiny nose lightly grazed Leon’s outstretched right hand, and its soft fur brushed against his palm.
Sniff.
The wolf sniffed Leon’s right hand, which he hadn’t extended, with its nose. Its long, pink tongue cleanly licked the wounds until the sticky, dried blood was gone, revealing deep tooth marks. His motions continued until the viscous blood was thoroughly lapped away, and when the profound imprint of fangs turned stark to the naked eye.
While the scent of Blackie’s blood still lingered in the air, Leon wiped the wolf’s neck with a long exhale.
“Are you worried?”
The wolf, staring at him almost intently, gently pressed its nose against his lips, almost as if comforting him. Leon couldn’t help but smile.
“It doesn’t hurt at all when you lick it.”
As Leon rose slowly, he placed his hand on the wolf’s head and surveyed the people. Everyone stared at Leon and the wolf, minds blank and mouths unable to speak. Jackie was the first to step forward.
“My… My dog did nothing wrong. People barged in, and it hid out of fear and bit Leon because someone had reached out so suddenly.”
“Jackie, that’s enough.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The village chief stepped forward, turning to face him.
“When you called earlier, we all came to this house together. Until then, the coop was fine. But coming back to see it like this means Blackie tore apart the coop and killed the chicken.”
“Well, that might depend on how you look at it…”
“Furthermore, Blackie tried to kill Leon outright. We all saw Blackie aiming for Leon’s neck with its fangs.”
“…”
“If that wolf hadn’t come, Leon could have been severely injured.”
When the mention of the wolf came up, Jackie’s face flushed red again. Clenching his fists, he stormed forward and pointed accusingly towards the wolf.
“But that wolf also went outside, didn’t it? Leon clearly said he didn’t see the wolf going out alone… Yes!”
As if having an epiphany, Jackie jumped.
“Grandma! Grandma was guarding the house. But if that wolf came all the way here without Grandma, it surely means the wolf attacked Grandma and…!”
“Jackie, shut up!”
Everyone turned to look. Grandma hobbled forward, shaking her fist in the air while limping on her sour knee, looking perfectly unharmed.
“I let it out. You lot, with your eyes rolling around, I didn’t know what you guys would do to Leon!”
“Even so, how could you release the wolf…!”
“Releasing it was the right thing to do. I heard you guys didn’t step up even when Leon was about to die!”
Grandma approached Jackie. Then, with clear censure in her eyes, she glared at everyone one by one.
“The hero did something useless. Useless. After providing a rationale, you all gathered, baselessly doubting people without any evidence!”
Even Jackie, the village chief, and Demis fell silent. They avoided each other’s gazes, staring sullenly at the ground. Only the torches continued to crackle.
“But, uh…”
One of the village men, hesitating, pointed at the fallen Blackie.
“Since the hero’s story came up… Could Blackie really have been tainted by the black smoke of disaster?”
Leon threw a glance at Blackie, whose tongue was hanging low. He should have carefully examined the very last moment it breathed, but the sudden appearance of his wolf had startled him too much.
He closed his eyes and blinked them open slowly, grabbing Grandma’s elbow.
“Grandma. Staying here won’t reveal anything. Let’s go back now.”
“You should be ashamed, you bunch!”
Grandma gave Jackie a final scolding, then turned around with Leon. The limping wolf followed them.
“Wait a minute, killing Blackie and not getting any compensation…!”
“Jackie, cut it out. Your dog almost killed Leon.”
“That’s why you should keep it tied up. You used to let it roam without a leash before.”
People who had been drawn out of their sleep turned their blameful arrows towards Jackie this time. Grandma didn’t even look at them and marched ahead.
“Let’s go back quickly. Is your hand okay?”
“Uh… well, not too bad.”
To be honest, the back of the hand that had been bitten was already swollen to the point where it was hard to talk about. Grandma, still swaying with slumped shoulders, shook her trembling hand, then let out a sigh.
“If you were bitten on the neck, it could have been much worse. It’s a relief I opened the door for it.”
“But did Grandma really open the door?”
“That’s right, I did.”
“Why? Didn’t you warn me in advance that it could be dangerous?”
Grandma tilted her head and looked up at the sky. Her figure, bathed under the dazzling full moon, seemed older and lonelier than usual.
“Sometimes humans are more dangerous than animals. Beasts may cause physical wounds, but humans can hurt your heart.”
A thoughtful gaze touched Leon’s cheek.
“Are you okay?”
Jackie’s face, which had accused him of repaying kindness with a black heart, came to mind. His fierce expression, blaming him for taking in a boy with nowhere to go and releasing the wolf. Even if he had properly enforced regulations, no one would have believed him.
Leon scratched his head with his uninjured hand.
“People can be scary, too, I guess.”
“Tsk, naive kid.”
The wolf stared intently at Leon with its blue eyes, then nuzzled its head against his thigh. Regardless of what people said, Leon had Grandma and the wolf. That alone made it okay.
Footprints of various shapes and sizes adorned the path leading to the cabin.
***
A peaceful morning dawned. Leon got out of bed and stretched, muscles that had stiffened overnight loosening with a spontaneous yawn.
“Yawn. Did you sleep well?”
He groped the spot where the wolf was with bandaged hands, but all he touched were the sheets.
Listening for a moment, he heard the chopping sounds of vegetables.
“You idiot, why aren’t you eating the wild strawberries? Shouldn’t you eat cabbage?”
Leon slid out of bed and went to the living room. The sight of Gandma chopping vegetables with her back turned, paired with the wolf lying in front of a plate piled high with strawberries, became visible. Drawn by the smell of freshly chopped vegetables, Leon leaned his head toward Grandma.
“Grandma, me too—”
“This one’s all grown up and still.”
“Oh, my hands are injured.”
“Both hurt, huh, you idiot?”
Though she said that, a piece of cabbage found its way into Leon’s mouth. He sat down next to the wolf, crunching on the watery greens.
“Not eating the strawberries?”
The wolf nuzzled against Leon’s right hand with a whine. The ointment’s sticky scent lingered in the bandaged wounds. After inspecting the wounds for a while, the wolf turned its head to the side in apparent disappointment.
“I’m fine now. It really doesn’t hurt.”
Whining.
“You’ll heal quickly, right? So you should eat a lot too. That way, your legs will…”
Even if he eats a lot, the broken leg will not heal. Knowing that, Leon stopped talking.
“Anyway, eat quickly.”
The wolf wagged its tail and trotted to a corner. Once there, it settled down, its body flat on the ground. Leon, who rose slowly, placed his hand on his waist.
“Why is it acting like that? Tired of strawberries?”
“Maybe it’s upset in its own way.”
“I’m the one injured; why would it be upset?”
Grandma, who had finished cutting all the cabbage and was putting down the knife, squinted.
“You idiot, why would I be upset?”
“Why, Grandma, why are you holding a knife with such a scary expression…?”
Leon, coughing lightly, approached the wolf. The tender motion of petting its head felt painstakingly mellow.
“You should eat even when you’re upset. It’s not like I’ll heal quickly just because you’re hungry.”
Regardless of what Leon said to console it, the wolf remained stoic. Refusing to listen, it even buried its nose between its front paws. Leon reluctantly lifted its face, holding it up.
Black and blue eyes met. Leon stared at the wolf, looking like he was dealing with a disobedient child.
Smack.
He pressed his lips against the snout covered in silvery fur.
the start of a bad habit? 😂
I would agree 😂
Thanks so much for the chapter!!
Oops lol
💛😊
I’m starting to really understand the beginning of the first chapter 😂
Wonder if these shameless villagers will find some other excuse to want to kill the poor wolf 😒
Also, I wonder what the wolf’s name will end up being? Will Leon give it one? 👀🤔
Thank you for the update dear translator! 💖
Ur welcomeeee😆💛