Mirakiki Village was truly a remote village. The castle where the lord lived was far away, and the imperial palace where the emperor resided was even farther. Nevertheless, the people of the village formed a small, close-knit, and friendly community, living their ordinary lives.
Once every two weeks, people from the distant city would come to buy and sell goods. For Leon and his Grandma living in the cabin in the woods, that day was crucial.
“Leon, you’re here?”
As they entered the village, the village head patted Leon on the back. The village head, who was as aged as Leon’s Grandma, had also been the one to introduce Leon to the cabin in the woods five years ago.
Leon adjusted the bag slung across his chest. “Yes, but today feels a bit strange.”
It was normal for the village to become noisy when the gates opened. However, today was different from usual. Rough-looking men with leather hats and quivers slung across their backs roamed the village, asking something. Those questioned lowered their heads and avoided the men.
“They’re hunters sent by Lord Winderton.”
“Hunters from the lord…?”
The lord had never shown interest in the poor rural village.
“I heard there are silver wolves in the woods, and they came to catch them. They keep asking if anyone has seen such wolves. The atmosphere is tense, you know.”
A chill ran down Leon’s spine. The animal he had rescued and sent back to the forest wasn’t a wolf but a puppy, albeit with silver fur.
If the hunters misunderstood and thought the puppy was a wolf, would they capture it? Would they shoot it with arrows?
“The lord collects stuffed animals, rare feathers, and such, but this time, it seems he’s interested in wolves. What, wolves in that quiet forest? Isn’t that stupid?”
“Yes, there’s no wolf or anything like that.”
“Let’s ask around.”
Suddenly, one of the hunters stood in front of Leon. Leon tightly grasped the bag strap, looking at the rugged face with a beard.
“People say you live in the woods. Haven’t you seen wolves there?”
“I haven’t. It’s a small forest, and there are no wolves.”
“It’s a forest connected to Mount Winderton Mountain; it’s not that small. What I mean is, haven’t you seen any wolf traces while wandering around? Droppings, footprints, fur, anything.”
“I don’t know where you heard the baseless rumor about wolves living in the forest, but-”
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.
“It’s not a rumor. There are definitely wolves in that forest. Yesterday, the lord brought back a baby silver wolf, still alive.”
The man grinned, revealing broken front teeth and fangs.
“It will soon be stuffed.”
Leon stood frozen. The village head, who was nearby, cleared his throat and joined the conversation.
“They must have caught it somewhere else, right? Isn’t that so?”
“Frustrating people. Well, we’ll have to find it ourselves.”
The man adjusted his leather hat and walked away with long strides. When he brushed past, a smell of leather and the stench of death lingered.
If the puppy he forcefully sent away had indeed been taken by the lord last night.
“Tsk, when will he stop with that disgusting collection?”
“Collection?”
“The lord collects rare animals. He particularly cherishes stuffed red bears and eagles. He even likes the colorful skins of small birds brought from across the sea. But this time, it’s silver wolves.”
The village head shook his head and looked at Winderton Mountain and the small forest.h
“If there really are silver wolves living there, it will be a nuisance… They will probably raise the captured wolf cub for a few days before getting tired and deciding to make it into a stuffed specimen. The cub is precious, you know.”
Leon’s throat tightened. The village head, noticing him staring at the ground without moving, uttered a low sound and peered at him.
“Are you okay?”
“Village head.”
Leon handed the basket he was holding to the village head. Inside were clothes handmade by his Grandma.
“Please take care of this for a while.”
“Huh? That’s not difficult, but why all of a sudden? Weren’t you planning to sell clothes at the market?”
“I remembered something urgent I have to do.”
“Even so, you should talk to your Grandma before… Leon!”
Leon swiftly turned around and sprinted away. Dodging through the bustling crowd of people buying and selling goods, he ran with all his might. He needed to go to a place where there were no people, a quiet place.
He entered the path leading out of the village toward the cabin. Soon, the surroundings became so quiet that the rustling of fallen leaves under his feet was audible.
Leon glanced around and then stretched his right hand forward as if trying to grasp something.
“Adnaid. Help me.”
Suddenly, the air vibrated. If someone had been standing nearby, they might have felt the air trembling like transparent feathers. However, there was no one around, and no one saw the sword appear in the air.
The sword was in Leon’s right hand as if it had been there all along. The right hand, which had been slightly shriveled and empty, was now filled with an unadorned and modest handle. The blade, extending straight from the hilt, was as white and clean as the perpetual snow on a mountaintop.
At a glance, it appeared to be an ordinary sword with no noticeable patterns or elaborate decorations. However, it was sharp enough to disperse settling dust, and it exuded a subtle, ethereal energy akin to a faint mist, imbuing it with a mystical aura.
Leon gripped the sturdy handle tightly.
“To Lord Winderton’s castle.”
The sword resounded like an echo. Once again, the vibration of the air was felt. When the brief tremor subsided, Leon’s figure had already disappeared.
***
His feet landed on a soft surface. Looking down, he saw an exquisite carpet with a geometric pattern woven from a mixture of red and gold threads, repeating beautifully and extravagantly.
The carpet covered the entire width of the spacious corridor. On the outer side of the castle, regular windows were punctuated on the right, while on the left, doors formed a line. Leon, who had raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light streaming in through the square windows, took a slow breath.
‘They definitely took the puppy.’
The puppy that whined as if it would never leave and even prepared a bed suddenly disappeared. Why didn’t he find it strange?
Leon loosened his grip on the sword and moved forward. Though he was an intruder who had suddenly teleported, thanks to the carpet muffling his footsteps, he could open the doors one by one without attracting unnecessary attention.
The first door, a reception room.
The second door, a game room.
The third door… Leon frowned.
At first, he thought there were various large and small animals gathered, but it turned out they were all stuffed. Countless glass eyes in the large room stared at Leon simultaneously.
Closing the door behind him, he swallowed a dry gulp. The puppy probably hadn’t been stuffed yet. Knowing that, he still shivered at the thought of discovering a familiar silver tuft among the animals.
“What is this…?”
His steps naturally came to a halt in front of the stuffed family of foxes. An uncommon reddish-brown pattern adorned the male and female foxes, along with their five cubs nestled in the den.
The stuffed cubs, seemingly suckling on their mother, had not even opened their eyes yet. The sight of their helpless pink eyelids and the soles of their feet stuck in his mind.
A white cat. Colorful birds with red and yellow feathers mixed in. A family of crows. A mother monkey holding her baby. Squirrels. Hedgehogs. Nests stolen with the eggs still intact.
Leon stood among the stuffed animals, feeling numb. Disgust welled up instinctively, and his stomach churned. The souls of the animals, slain only to be collected, were bound to empty skins and glass eyes.
“Quite fierce, isn’t it? Lord Winderton will soon pierce holes in its paws.”
Leon quickly hid behind the display shelves. A large display shelf, arranged with bird eggs by type, effectively concealed his body.
“Have you actually seen it? They say it’s incredibly cute.”
“I have, indeed.”
The maid replied with a somewhat defiant tone, then tapped the window frame with a dust cloth.
“The wolf will probably be turned into a stuffed animal soon.”
“Do you think it will come to this room? Then I might be able to see it when I come to clean.”
“This is just a place where various collectibles are gathered. So, he lets us handle the cleaning. No one can enter the room where the stuffed red bear is displayed except for Lord Winderton. Maybe he’ll place it there?”
“I hope he doesn’t kill it. It’s such a small and cute baby wolf!”
“Even if it is, it’s still a wild animal. When it grows up, it might just take a bite out of Lord Winderton.”
“That would be even better!”
The maids burst into suppressed laughter. Leon worried that they might work so diligently that they would come to where he was hiding, but they only casually swept away the visible dust and left.
“…”
He emerged from behind the display shelf after a short wait. He had to find the puppy quickly. If the puppy was really behaving aggressively towards Lord Winderton, there was a chance Lord Winderton might not be able to control his anger and kill it immediately.
The problem was he didn’t know where to go. While pondering, he opened the door slightly, and a voice reached his ears.
“You’re calling me already? Seems like you’re quite rebellious.”
It felt like someone had poured ice over his head. The owner of the voice was the blonde doctor who had examined the puppy.
That filthy mongrel of a man 😡
Ahhh so this is how he finds out. I see.
Also, that teleporting ability of his was quite the shock 👀 I was already thinking that if he had saved the world then he couldn’t be as frail as they’ve been claiming this whole while. Will there be a show of his actual abilities later? 👀👀
Also, thank you for the translation! 💖
you’re welcomeeee😁💛💛