“Another helping hand would be nice. However, Winderton Mountain is so dense and rugged, I don’t know if we can find him.”
The village chief murmured, lowering his voice as if trying to change the atmosphere, and flicked his clothes.
“By the way, what did you buy today?”
Thirty minutes later, Leon returned to the cabin with Grandma, carrying: the needles Grandma needed, broccoli that the wolf would like, a bottle of salt, and a bag filled with a short supply of meat. In his other hand were the eggs Jackie had given him.
Clang! Clang!
The wolf joyfully ran up to Leon. Leon, being careful not to drop the eggs, petted its silver head while the wolf wagged its tail and followed him to the front door.
“What are these eggs for?”
Grandma, standing in front of the kitchen counter, raised her head and asked. Leon placed the eggs on the table.
“Jackie left them with the village chief.”
“Hmph.”
Grandma, as if not forgetting the previous incident, sharply struck the retreating apples with a knife. On one side of the counter, sugar boiled away, perhaps to make jam before it became completely inedible. Grandma tilted the cutting board and poured apple pieces onto the boiling pot.
“I don’t know if I’ll live well with my legs stretched out.”
“He’s missing. That’s why I’m planning to go search for him with Mr. Demis tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know.”
“What? Missing?”
Leon nodded his head as he explained, feeding the wolf the remaining apple pieces on the cutting board. Grandma made a clucking sound with her tongue as he explained the situation. It wasn’t a mocking expression, as Grandma also didn’t find it amusing that someone was missing.
“Gemini must be going through a lot.”
The wolf suddenly stood up on its hind legs and set its front paws on the table. Its moist, black nose drifted towards the eggs. Leon lifted an egg and presented it in front of the wolf.
“Do you want to eat it? Haven’t you ever tried eggs?”
However, the wolf, instead of showing interest in the egg Leon held, sniffed around the remaining eggs on the table. It took Leon a while to realize that the wolf was actually sniffing out the scent of a handkerchief, not the egg.
“That’s… Jackie’s handkerchief.”
Leon put the egg aside and handed the handkerchief to the wolf. The wolf, after sniffing endlessly, limped to the front door and scratched it.
“I’ll go with him.”
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.
“Haven’t you read too many books? You must have picked up such a skill from a fox.”
“You never know.”
The wolf turned away from the path leading to the village and leaped straight into the forest. Leon, holding the handkerchief tightly in his right hand, diligently followed behind the wolf.
“Is this the right path? He went missing on his way to the city. In Winderton Mountain.”
The wolf stopped running and looked back. Its calm and serene gaze felt that it was conveying that this way was the right one. Looking into its bright, sky-blue eyes, the answer naturally came to mind.
“Oh. Of course, this forest is connected to Winderton Mountain, but…”
Heh.
As if saying, ‘Follow if you understand,’ the wolf turned its back again. Its tail stood raised, and its running posture exuded confidence as if it already knew the final destination. Leon, panting, found it best to just follow the wolf.
The forest that embraced the cabin and the Winderton Mountains seamlessly continued without leaving any trace. Tall and pointed trees guarded the boundary of the mountain like vigilant warriors with windows. The wolf, from that point onwards, occasionally paused, sniffing the scent in the air with a sniff-sniff sound.
The path was rarely traveled by people, and spider webs were abundant. Later on, as they advanced, Leon had to flip the spider webs over his head like a veil with each step.
As the air cooled, and the sun gradually tilted westward, Grandma began to worry. It must have been past four o’clock. Leon, thinking so, jumped over a stream, glancing at the golden sunlight filtering through the tree branches.
The wolf, leading the way, suddenly lifted its head. Its ears perked up, and its sharp eyes shone like a lake. Closing its mouth tightly, the wolf, which had been staring into the distance, barked loudly.
“What is it?”
The wolf waited until Leon caught up, then, breaking through fallen leaves, continued forward. How many more thorns and large rocks did they pass by? In the gradually darkening mountain area, a black figure lay haphazardly.
“Sir!”
Leon shook the limp body of Jackie, but there was no response. Seeing the lips dried and pale, it seemed he hadn’t been able to drink water since he went missing. Judging that taking him to the village first was more important, even if he wanted to call Demis, it was impossible to lift a weakened body with just one hand.
“Sir, wake up. Sir!”
As the sun began to set, it became difficult to go to the village and call people. If he had known, he would have called Demis to come along.
Luckily, whether Leon’s thoughts reached the sky or not, Jackie laboriously raised his eyelids.
“Leo… Leon?”
Narrowing his eyes and nodding vigorously, Leon responded firmly to Jackie’s cracked and weak voice.
“Can you walk? Where are you hurt?”
“I’m fin… cough, I’m fine. Just sprained my ankle a bit.”
“What happened? Did you get hurt when your leg broke?”
Leon, trying to support him somehow, asked, but even leaning on his shoulder, Jackie couldn’t balance well and kept tilting. Still, the fact that he wasn’t alone seemed to comfort him, and a light returned to his eyes.
“No, it’s not. It was because of a wild boar. I encountered it suddenly, tried to escape, but ended up falling and getting lost…”
The reason for not finding Jackie at the point where the bridge was severed was clearly explained. Hungry mountain boars easily harm people. Even Jackie, who had lived near the mountains for a long time, must have been frightened, exhausted, and in a state of confusion, running away and losing the way.
After that, without enough food and water, he probably lost consciousness, and the injured leg would have been a hindrance.
“It must have been tough.”
“What?”
“Frightening and tough.”
Jackie’s ears reddened as he looked at Leon’s face, who was struggling to support him. Jackie, unnecessarily clearing his throat, scratched the back of his head which was adorned with fallen leaves.
“Leon. It’s about last time. Ah, you know too, right? Did you imagine Blackie would be like that? And probably because he’s a wolf.”
“Yeah, yeah, I understand. Let’s talk about it later after you drink some water.”
His voice was so hoarse that it sounded pitiful.
“And, as you saw, my wolf came with me, so don’t be surprised later… Why is he doing that?”
Jackie also turned his head. The wolf, without moving an inch from where it had discovered Jackie earlier, stood guarding the distant thicket. Meanwhile, the sun had tilted a bit more, and the darkness of the mountain had deepened accordingly.
Seeing the tense neck fur and the puffed-up tail, an ominous premonition crossed Leon’s mind. Wolves never act aggressively without a reason. The bushes rustled. The approaching danger was palpable.
“Le, Leon.”
“Quiet.”
The warning was so low that it was almost inaudible. At that moment, Jackie’s hair stood on end.
Keeeee!
A gray mass rushed towards the wolf like a rolling wheel. The wolf glanced at Leon and Jackie for a moment, then charged straight at the approaching danger.
“No!”
Before Leon’s shout could finish, the two beasts collided. Long tusks appeared between the protruding snout of the wild boar. Leon sat Jackie down and immediately ran towards the wolf.
Sharp tusks pierced the wolf’s skin. The wild boar dragged the wolf into the pitch-dark darkness without avoiding Leon and Jackie. Leon ran at full speed, following the struggling and resisting wolf.
“Adnaid!”
The black sword appeared in the air and charged towards the wild boar.
The sword pierced through the boar’s ear as it passed by a tree. Although more than half of its ear was severed, the boar continued to run without screaming, as if it didn’t feel any pain.
Clang, cling!
Instead, the screams of the wolf, caught mercilessly, grew louder. The sacred sword Adnaid circled above the entangled two beasts, seeking an opportunity, but in Leon’s eyes, it seemed that the wolf might die first at this rate. He had to intervene personally.
“Adnaid!”
The sword flew straight towards Leon’s hand. Just in time, the wild boar stopped within an open space surrounded by towering trees like a shrine. The wolf, with its neck held, shook its head ruthlessly, and black blood sprayed.
Leon took one more step forward and leaped with all his might. The body holding the sword leaped up lighter and faster than usual. Jumping towards the wolf, Leon’s silhouette glowed in the moonlight as the sword aimed downward.
“…!”
The sword penetrated the soft ground by more than half. As the wolf was dragged away by the bleeding boar a few steps away, the boar stared at Leon from a short distance. The black smoke enveloping its entire body writhed ominously.
Black smoke!
Leon’s jaw tightened.
As the boar slowly opened its mouth, the wolf’s head, which had been half-detached, fell to the ground with a thud. It seemed to have fainted from losing too much blood. The wolf’s ears, half-severed, hung loosely, and the giant body rushed towards Leon.
When the hoof hit Leon’s chest, his body instantly flipped backward. Due to the sharp impact on the back of his head, his nose and eyes tingled, and stars flashed before his eyes. The boar, with its mouth wide open, aimed to finish off Leon. Blood and saliva dripped from the sharp tusks.
The moment before the final blow, a large, bright bundle of fur rushed forward.
“No, stay still!”
When the wolf tightened its jaw around the boar’s neck, blood gushed from the wound. However, the wolf, in order to separate the boar from Leon, dug its claws into the ground and resisted.
As the boar’s head shook vigorously, the wolf’s small stature floated up, then fell abruptly. Its azure eyes turned white, and spasms ran through its four legs.
Leon closed his eyes. Ah, he tried to avoid using this power as much as possible.
When he opened his eyes again,
The head of the wild boar flew off.
Noooo they got hurt againnnnn 😭😭😭😭
Leon is already so weak, I’m so worried now that he had to use his power again 🥺
Also, it might just be me, but there were some parts in the chapter where I was very confused. Like when grandma (i think?) suddenly mentioned her legs? And then Leon said Jackie was missing.
Thank you for the translation 😊