How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 114

When Aisha’s lips touched his, Les did not react at first. Something soft and sweet had suddenly drawn close and pressed against him. Aisha held his neck cautiously, still shy. He could no longer see her face, only sense the faint, comforting sweetness of her body and the thick lashes trembling nervously at close range.

The next instant, Les wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed down. Aisha’s cautious, shallow kiss instantly deepened. She made a muffled sound but instinctively tightened her arms around his neck.

The sudden, intense kiss carried a faint possessiveness, frightening yet irresistibly compelling and mysterious. Aisha responded in flustered uncertainty. The grass was soft, but her breathing grew ragged. Les gave her a powerful sense of security, yet what was unknown and unfamiliar still made her uneasy.

“Aisha…”

Suddenly, Les drew back slightly. He continued supporting her shoulders so the stones beneath the grass would not dig into her, but both their breaths were unsteady. Aisha did not understand why he had stopped. The air entering between them felt cold, and she could only look at him through shy, dazed eyes.

Les hesitated. Something still seemed wrong. Aisha’s “yes” had come too suddenly, before he managed to say anything. Though he very much wanted to continue, he composed himself and asked, “Do you… know what I was about to say?”

“Huh?”

Aisha paused, blinked, and unconsciously looked away.

“P-probably?”

“Then… what was it?”

“An… engagement, or something like that?”

“…”

“…”

As silence spread, Aisha’s face began burning again, reddening at remarkable speed. Because Les did not answer immediately, she regretted blurting out her guess so foolishly. If she was wrong, she would die of embarrassment. And then there was the fact that she had agreed without even thinking…

Aisha wanted to dig a hole in the grass and disappear. She dared not look at Les, and every second felt like ten years. Then he kissed her again. He still carried the faint scent of wind, along with the pleasant fragrance of grass and leaves from running through the forest. And… this kiss somehow felt much more assured.

Aisha relaxed as well, nestled softly against him, and gradually loosened her body.

When they separated again, a long time had passed. For some reason, ending their intimacy made Aisha still more embarrassed. They had sat up, but she remained in Les’s arms and could clearly hear his breathing and the low, husky sound in his throat before he spoke. Tugging his clothes, she asked, “Then… after I graduate, shall we get married?”

“…Let’s get officially engaged first.”

Les considered, then lowered his head and kissed her hair.

It was not that he did not want to marry Aisha as quickly as possible. To tell the truth, her decisive answer and that adorable, indescribable mutual understanding had softened his entire heart. His happiness felt unreal, like a dream. But…

“After graduation… would you… come to Beast with me?” Les asked uncertainly.

In truth, Les wanted Aisha to understand him better before making her final decision. Though he often appeared before her in human form now, he remained beastfolk. There would be differences between them, and those differences… might even affect their future children. Naturally, Les feared Aisha might reject his proposal. But he was equally afraid that after accepting, she might regret it.

Showing Aisha the environment in which he had been born and raised, letting her see a true beastfolk kingdom, might allow her to understand him more deeply.

“Mm, of course!” Aisha answered with an immediate smile.

Even if Les had not suggested it, she would certainly have asked to visit. She wanted not only to understand him better, but also his different race. Moreover… she wanted to see with her own eyes the place where the man she loved had lived and grown.

For the moment, the matter was settled. Les took Aisha’s hand and solemnly held it against his chest. They exchanged tender smiles. Then Aisha remembered something. She paused and quickly twisted around to search the bag she carried. Since Les still held her, the movement was awkward. He watched curiously as she rustled through the bag in his arms and produced a notebook.

“There’s something else. I actually have an idea I haven’t told you about…”

Naturally, it was the notebook containing the array from Elizabeth’s wrist. After a period of experimentation and research, her records had grown into a thick stack.

After noticing certain properties of the array, Aisha had begun thinking about modifying it—though she did not know whether she could succeed—and using it to solve the problem of being separated from Les in the future. She had never told him, and bringing it out now inevitably embarrassed her.

Aisha composed herself. “Actually… I want to make this the subject of my graduation thesis.”

Les was indeed startled. This was the first time he had heard of the idea. Aisha was a mage with unusual abilities, so research and use of ordinary magic inevitably required greater effort from her. Her innate magic was healing, and she excelled at healing arts. In healing alone, she already surpassed ordinary graduates and could even reach the level of a typical intermediate mage. Choosing healing for her graduation thesis would unquestionably be far easier.

Seeing his confusion, Aisha pressed her lips together and lowered her head as she explained the model she imagined. She admitted she could not guarantee success; it was only a hypothesis. Eric also seemed very interested in the novel array. If she made it her graduation thesis, she could receive his help. And…

“…I also truly want to study it. If the array could be enlarged and applied more broadly, it would surely have tremendous uses. It might change how people travel and live, and there must be other applications as well…”

Aisha grew excited without realizing it, and her cheeks reddened again from enthusiasm.

“Of course, I also want to help Elizabeth remove hers. If I study this magic, finding a way to release it must be an important part. Um… but no one has ever found a particularly good solution for breaking only one half of a paired-array spell or expanding the use of advanced magic. There hasn’t been much progress for centuries, so…”

At the difficulties, Aisha lowered her eyes in discouragement, but plainly had not given up. She raised her head again. “So I can’t be certain I’ll succeed. I only want to try first. If perhaps I can—”

Les placed a hand on her head and stroked it gently. Aisha paused and stopped speaking.

He did not know what to say. Les had always known Aisha was a beautiful girl, but watching her speak with bright, animated excitement made his heart beat faster. He instinctively wanted to hold her, to cradle this adorable source of light in his palms.

Though he understood little about magic, Les could judge from what they knew that Aisha had chosen a difficult graduation thesis. Of course, she was only a student seeking to graduate from the Tower. Even the demanding, troublesome Eric might not truly require her to invent new magic before permitting her to graduate. But leaving one’s comfort zone was never easy. Moreover… learning that Aisha was also seriously considering their future filled Les with a strange emotion and profound tenderness. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he held her more tightly.

If Aisha succeeded, nothing could be better.

Many feelings could not be expressed in words, especially by Major General Wolf. A dry “good luck” seemed far too stiff. He pondered with pursed lips but still found no suitable sentence. Finally, Les simply gathered Aisha close, leaned against the back of her neck, and kissed her earlobe.

The kiss upon such a sensitive place made Aisha instinctively curl inward, close her eyes, and tremble. She clutched Major General Wolf’s sleeve and looked at him in embarrassment. Though she seemed to understand his feelings and meaning, she still felt a little put out that he had chosen this method. Yet after kissing her, Les regarded her with solemn, innocent expressionlessness in those blue-gray eyes…

Aisha could only turn within his arms, straighten, and kiss his lips in response. When it ended, she leaned back slightly, looked into Les’s eyes, and smiled.

Somehow, she suddenly felt a little like they truly were engaged. Because of that, even graduation seemed somewhat exciting now.

…

That night, Aisha did not rest as usual after Les returned her to the Tower. Too excited to sleep early, she leaned on the balcony for a long time and watched the stars. The ninth floor of the Tower of Magic was nearly the highest point on the Heart of the World. From there, scattered lights below and stars above merged across the dark night until heaven and earth became indistinguishable.

The autumn breeze lifted Aisha’s hair, revealing her still-smiling face. After a while, she returned to her room and sat at the desk.

She did not want to waste so much as a second. A sudden urge filled her to finish something more quickly.

Under the bright moon, she took out her notebook and wand and began turning the pages one by one…