“Shall we go home now?”
A dry hand gently caressed the silver neck. Turning his head, Leon, who had cleared the area with a serious demeanor as if walking on a doormat, smiled.
“Thanks for coming with me. Let’s go back quickly.”
With that, Leon, rising on his knees and picking up the basket, headed towards the cabin, the basket swaying.
The wolf leaped ahead as briskly as before.
Watching the wolf’s dignified back playing the role of a vigilant guard, Leon chuckled, then became somewhat serious.
He had roamed this forest for five years without encountering anything dangerous. Why was the Blackie incident so shocking?
Moreover, the wolf had killed a living creature for the first time. Although it was a critical situation, Leon couldn’t help but worry that it left a scar on the intelligent wolf’s heart.
“It’s not your fault Blackie turned out that way.”
The wolf stopped and looked back. Leon, kneeling beside it, patted its head with his uninjured left hand.
“You made the best choice you could. You saved me. You don’t need to feel guilty just because you killed Blackie.”
The bright-eyed wolf stared at Leon. It could be just a mood, but guilt seemed to be written all over its expressive face. Although Leon knew the wolf couldn’t speak, he held his breath, as if expecting to hear words transmitted through their connection.
Gently, its pink tongue licked Leon’s lips.
“Ugh!”
Seriously, this person is trying to have a serious conversation here!
Whether it was intentional or not, the wolf resumed walking. Perhaps in a good mood, its silver tail wagged proudly from side to side. Leon, who had been rubbing his lips, let out a small laugh. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have suffered major injuries.
“Adorable, isn’t it?”
From now on, if danger approaches, I’ll protect you.
The journey back to the cabin with the wolf seemed both long and short.
“Grandma, I’m back.”
“You’re back?”
“Yeah. There were a lot of thistles today.”
“Nothing happened?”
“No, nothing happened. The wolf protected me.”
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 wolf puffed its chest proudly.
As Leon placed the basket on the table, he headed straight to the bathroom. There had been a growing urgency since he returned earlier. As he tried to close the door, the wolf suddenly pushed its nose against the crack, almost getting its snout stuck. Leon hurriedly opened the door.
“It’s dangerous. Stay back a bit.”
The wolf raised its head on the threshold and flopped over. Startled, Leon blinked his eyes quickly.
“I’m going to use the bathroom, okay?”
Sniff.
“Since there’s nothing dangerous in our bathroom, just go.”
Sniff, sniff.
“Why are you following me to the bathroom?”
The emotional impact he felt in the forest shattered into pieces. Only after Grandma, who had never seen such a scene, grabbed the wolf’s scruff and dragged it out, did Leon finally close the door and attend to his business.
Thud, thud, thud, thud. Sniff. Crash. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Thud, thud, thud.
“…”
Indeed, maybe the feeling of being protected isn’t necessary after all.
***
If the wolf were an ordinary animal, Leon might have given up on the bathroom issue. Perhaps he would have adapted to being monitored for menstrual activity every day.
However, Leon knew very well that this silver wolf was exceptionally intelligent. There were times when he suspected that the wolf attempted precise communication, understanding every word without missing any. Therefore, compromising on the bathroom issue was not an option.
“Sometimes it seems so human?”
Leon, who was savoring a bowl of oatmeal with pickled cabbage, mumbled. As Grandma poured more oatmeal into Leon’s bowl, a clinking sound echoed.
“Oh, Grandma, I’m full.”
“Instead of talking nonsense, eat more. In my eyes, that one isn’t a person but a fox, a fox.”
Grandma glared at the wolf, chewing on the pickled cabbage.
Now, unless Leon kissed the wolf, it wouldn’t eat. Annoyed, Grandma, disapproving of this to no end, even smeared honey on the wolf’s forehead, which strained to resist with strength in its front legs. Nevertheless, the wolf licked Leon’s lips with its tongue, wagging it in delight.
“What a strange habit at the dining table, oh my, it’s so improper.”
“What’s wrong with a little kiss? It’s a small wolf.”
“You idiot, you just said it seemed human a moment ago.”
Speechless, Leon cleared his throat and took another spoonful of oatmeal. Before Grandma could force him to overeat, Leon quickly patted the wolf’s rump, urging it to leave the table.
“Alright, let’s go, out you go.”
Excitedly, the wolf leaped away with a wagging tail. After opening the front door, it darted out like an arrow, then turned around, smiling at Leon. Leon smiled back.
“I’ll be out after using the bathroom.”
Bang! The door closed in front of the wolf’s face. The wolf whimpered, scratching the door as if betrayed, but Leon pretended not to hear. At least human dignity must be preserved!
That day, there was something more important than the bathroom issue.
“Today is already market day.”
No matter how much people who lived in a cabin in the forest relied on nuts and vegetables, they couldn’t survive without going down to the village to buy necessities whenever the market opened.
After the ‘Blackie incident,’ the villagers had been avoiding Leon for the entire month.
Leon didn’t expect anyone to apologize for barging in with torches in the middle of the night, but he didn’t anticipate avoiding eye contact either. The uncomfortable atmosphere made him increasingly reluctant to go down to the village on market days.
“If you don’t want to go, then don’t. I’ll go.”
Even with the front door open, Grandma’s words, accompanied by indistinct grumbling, reached Leon’s ears from behind. Leon rubbed his cheek.
“Grandma, your knee isn’t good either. I’ll be back soon.”
“I don’t have spare clothes for today. There’s some food left, so it’s okay.”
“No, I broke all the needles a while ago, it’s inconvenient. I’ll buy some quickly.”
At that moment, the wolf suddenly stood up and placed its front paw on Leon’s chest. Its long tongue licked Leon’s lips as it passed, and he burst into laughter.
“You wait here. People are scared of me.”
The wolf stared at Leon, waiting inquisitively. Unable to resist its persistent gaze, Leon kissed its forehead, nose, and lips in succession.
“Is it good now?”
The front paw pressing on his chest lightened, and the wolf’s silver tail meekly lay on the floor. Ignoring Grandma’s disapproving gaze, Leon gently petted the wolf’s head.
“I’ll be back soon! Grandma, take care of the wolf!”
After deftly evading the wolf, he firmly secured the straw hat hanging at the entrance. Although it wasn’t enjoyable to be subtly avoided by the villagers, he whistled cheerfully as he walked along the forest path under the blazing sun, where shadows danced in a surreptitious waltz.
“Hello, Chief.”
“You came, Leon.”
The chief, whom Leon met at the village entrance, patted Leon’s shoulder. These days, only the chief and Demis chose to speak with Leon.
“How’s your hand that got bitten by Blackie?”
“I’m fine. Mr. Demis gave me some medicine last time.”
“Right, right….”
Leon, looking for a merchant selling needles, paused. The gathered townsfolk whispered among themselves, wearing all sorts of worried expressions. It seemed like it wasn’t just because of Leon. The village atmosphere was noticeably heavier than usual.
“What’s going on?”
As the chief sighed deeply to explain something, the village gate opened, and rescue teams entered from the Mirakiki village entrance. They were all sweaty and covered in mud, exhausted.
Gemini, looking emaciated to the point where her cheeks were sunken, hurriedly ran toward them. The sympathy in the villagers’ eyes as they watched her was evident.
“Did you find him? What about Jackie? Haven’t you found Jackie?”
Demis quietly shook his head. Gemini’s face twisted, and sobs burst from her pale lips. She sat down on the ground, burying her face in her hands, crying like a child.
“Ugh… there’s nothing easy in this world.”
The chief sighed bitterly, glancing at Leon.
“Jackie went to buy chickens in Ruddle a few days ago and hasn’t returned. It seems the bridge connecting the cliffs collapsed, and he fell down… It’s been two days since the accident. Demis led the village men in search, but no success so far.”
While Leon observed, the village women supported Gemini and led her home. She continued sobbing, leaning on their shoulders. She hadn’t eaten or slept for days, and her cheeks were deeply sunken.
Leon’s feelings toward Jackie and Gemini weren’t entirely positive. After the Blackie incident, they didn’t even apologize, let alone speak properly to him. Still, he felt uneasy knowing that Jackie was missing unexpectedly due to an accident.
“Well, Leon. Wait here for a moment. I have something to give you.”
The chief instructed Leon to wait, and he disappeared into the crowd.
The chief, who had briefly disappeared, returned with three eggs wrapped in a handkerchief. The corner of the white handkerchief had ‘Jackie’ written on it. It was probably a handkerchief Gemini had personally embroidered.
“Eggs?”
“Before going to Ruddle, Jackie entrusted these to me. He told me to give them to you and Grandma.”
The eggs were unusually large and had a beautiful color. They were flawless, without any blemishes or freckle-like spots—a premium product that could fetch a high price in the city.
“For me?”
These were likely the best eggs left behind for sale. All the chickens were dead, and he had gone to Ruddle to buy chickens. Why leave something like this?
“Probably because of the Blackie incident. Seems like he cared in his own way.”
Accepting the eggs on impulse, Leon found them warm. As he held the three eggs, suitable for the number of inhabitants in the cabin—Leon, Grandma, and the wolf—he scratched the back of his head.
“When I have time, I’ll go search with Mr. Demis too.”
Monitored for menstrual activity? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Omg when I read that i had to stop and read it carefully again two more times, cuz I was sure that I’d read wrongly 😂
Wonder if Jackie’s disappearance has something to do with Blackie’s abnormal behavior 🤔
I also thought that they were somehow going to blame the wolf for Jackie’s disappearance 😒
Thank you dear translator 💖
hehe~ ur welcomee~💛