How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 17

Because it was the first time Aisha had exhausted her magical power, she slept for two full days before waking.

When she opened her eyes, she seemed to be inside a tent. Judging from the light slipping through the seams, it was morning.

“Aisha!”

A steady voice she knew very well cried her name in surprise. Before Aisha could react, Hock—who had been keeping watch beside the bed—released a long breath and pulled her into his arms.

“Thank goodness… You’re finally awake… I—and your mother—were terribly worried.”

“…Papa? And… Mother?” Aisha stared blankly.

“Yes. You’ve been asleep for two days. Are you hungry? Do you want water?”

Hock tightened his arms around the treasure he had lost and found again, his questions full of worry and urgency.

At his words, Aisha abruptly realized she really was hungry and nodded at once.

Hock released her and rose. He hurried to the entrance and spoke to the guards outside. The two men immediately left in opposite directions. One soon returned carrying food and water. As he handed them to Aisha, he gave her several openly curious looks.

“I’m sorry. There isn’t much good food in an army camp.”

Watching Aisha lower her head and take small bites of black bread, Hock’s heart ached. Regret gnawed at him as well. If he had remained in Philray a few days longer, perhaps he could have protected her.

“It’s all right, Papa.” Aisha smiled. “It tastes quite good.”

Her understanding smile made his heart clench again. He paused and forced down the suffocating weight of guilt—and his fear of certain answers.

“…The darkfolk. Did they hurt you?”

Aisha shook her head quickly. “No. We escaped before they could do anything… Oh, Papa, why are you here? Where is the wolf? Do you know what happened to everyone else?”

Her gentle expression turned anxious.

As strength returned, hazy memories drifted back. The girls had had little time. Darkfolk soldiers might enter at any moment, so there was no chance to devise a careful plan. Once they finished the rope, everyone Aisha freed had simply run, scattering in different directions.

They agreed that anyone who encountered darkfolk soldiers should delay them as long as possible to give the others a chance. If someone escaped the castle, she was to seek help from the Federation army and return for those left behind. Given the state of the front, General Tina Killott’s forces, at least, should not have been far away.

Hock paused at her questions.

He had intended to let Tina explain the first. He did not understand the second and thought he had misheard. Only the third could be answered.

Looking into Aisha’s worried eyes, he said simply, “Everyone was rescued… You did very well, Aisha.”

The praise was utterly sincere. Hock had heard the story from the other girls and was deeply proud of his daughter.

The first few girls to escape seemed unaware of what happened afterward, but nearly every girl rescued later seized the soldiers and cried that someone remained inside the castle. Princess Elizabeth, who was found midway through the operation, had been especially frantic, weeping as she spoke.

From the description, that person could only have been Aisha.

Hock immediately volunteered to lead a small unit into the castle. But by the time they reached the room filled with cages, Aisha was gone.

Hock never wanted to remember how he had felt in that moment.

Fortunately…

Fortunately, Aisha now lay safely before him.

His gaze softened as he quietly watched his daughter hold the bread.

Relieved to learn that everyone was safe, Aisha looked around the tent and craned her neck toward the entrance.

“Papa, where is the wolf?”

“…The wolf?”

“Yes. He was the one who saved me.”

Aisha nodded with certainty. She was still somewhat dazed about her present circumstances. Her final memory ended on the wolf’s back.

Her eyes lowered as she recalled the moment the giant wolf appeared, and warmth flowed through her heart again.

That wolf…

He had come all the way from Philray to save her.

But Hock had no idea what she meant. After a moment’s thought, he answered, “Your mother found you in the forest. No one else was nearby. But she did hear the cry of a beast while commanding from the rear, and that led her to you. We assumed a beastfolk soldier might have rescued you. Yet among the beastfolk troops sent this time… I don’t believe there were any soldiers with wolf forms.”

“What? Oh, no…”

Aisha wanted to explain that the wolf was not beastfolk, but a very large animal she had met in the forest outside Philray. Then the rest of his words struck her, and the explanation stopped in her throat.

Her eyes widened.

“Wait. Mother… My… mama? Mama found me? Mama is here?!”

“Yes.”

Hock nodded. After several seconds, he decided it would be better to give Aisha some warning.

“Aisha, your mother is actually—”

“Aisha is awake?!”

An excited woman’s voice collided with the rest of his sentence.

Aisha looked up by instinct. A woman carrying a spear burst into the tent and turned toward her. Their eyes met without warning.

Both froze.

Aisha had never seen a woman who resembled her so closely, though this woman looked more than twenty years older.

To claim that every feature was identical would have been an exaggeration. They were perhaps only half alike. But their hair and eyes were almost exactly the same colors.

Aisha’s hair was not truly gold, yet unusually pale for flaxen hair. She had never met anyone whose hair matched its precise shade. As for their eyes… the brown-green of both pairs seemed cut from the same piece of turquoise. If Tina’s eyes had not borne the fine marks left by years, each pair might have been the other’s reflection in water.

Once their gazes met, Aisha could not look away. Some inexplicable force held her attention. Her heart pounded.

Besides the spear, the woman wore silver armor. Her pinned hair had come somewhat loose, but her eyes shone with valiant vitality. Though she had entered middle age, she remained vigorous and full of life. She did not look away from Aisha.

She only seemed…

Unable to hide her nervousness.

Aisha blinked.

Silver armor. A spear. A woman.

The combination was unmistakable. Pretending she had not guessed the newcomer’s identity would have been absurd.

But…

Before Aisha could sort through the emotions and thoughts surging up at once, her father took her hand. He looked at the woman who had just entered. A rare smile appeared on his resolute face.

“Aisha, this is your mother. Her name is Tina Killott.”

At the words, Tina flushed. She awkwardly tucked back the hair that had fallen loose and struggled to find an opening line after so many years apart.

Her daughter looked so adorable now that she was awake. Even her dazed expression made Tina want to squeeze her cheeks. Yet while Tina would gladly take on a darkfolk greatswordsman sixty centimeters (about 2 feet) taller than herself, she did not dare step forward and touch her daughter so familiarly.

She had always heard from Hock that their daughter was exceptionally sweet and obedient. Piece by piece, she had assembled an image of Aisha from his descriptions. The girl before her was almost exactly as Tina had imagined. Perhaps that could be called a mother’s instinct.

But now that they truly met, Tina found herself more nervous than she had been before her first battle.

Even to Tina’s eyes, the child resembled her by at least half. There were traces of Hock as well, and parts that belonged only to Aisha. Her blood unquestionably ran in this girl.

Yet Tina had long since grown accustomed to military life and had no idea how to be a mother. In truth, it had always been more important for her to behave as a general than as a mother. Only then could she preserve the army’s stability and her soldiers’ confidence.

Aisha watched the legendary general hesitate, unable to decide what to say. Then she turned toward her father.

The scarred face that everyone in town mocked as weathered and expressionless now held a tenderness toward Tina warm enough to melt spring itself. It made Hock look years younger.

Tina Killott was her mother…

It felt…

Unreal.

Aisha pressed her lips together. After a moment’s hesitation, she looked tentatively at Tina and spoke with care.

“…Mama?”

Tina could no longer contain the emotion rising into her throat. She dropped her weapon, strode forward, dropped to one knee, and pulled her daughter into her arms.

“…I’m sorry. It seems there is a great deal we need to explain.”

Tina’s throat was dry. She rubbed hard at her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Aisha… I haven’t been a good mother. But from now on, I’ll try…”

Aisha nodded. She embraced the woman she had previously known only from major news stories, rubbed her cheek softly against Tina’s shoulder, and closed her eyes.

…

At that moment, Les was alone in the forest. His position on high ground gave him a distant view of the human and beastfolk camps, their small tents faintly visible among the dense trees.

After two days and nights of fighting, the darkfolk castle had fallen. Ordinary beastfolk and human soldiers were carrying out the final mopping-up operations.

Les…

Was resting.

“…I assume you know by now, Les.”

Carter III’s voice appeared in his ear as always, steady and calm.

“That girl is Tina Killott’s daughter.”

“…Yes.”

Les answered softly. His gaze remained fixed upon a particular tent in the human camp. His sense of smell and instinct served in place of sight, letting him perceive her almost as though he still stood beside her.

The Beast Emperor sighed across the magical connection.

“You understand how it sounds for a beastfolk major general to conceal his identity and spend months in hiding beside a senior human officer’s daughter. It does not sound innocent.”

“…I understand, Your Majesty.”

Les answered quietly.

“This is not a problem you can solve by confessing your affection. Tina Killott is a hereditary countess of the Kingdom of Ryan and a lieutenant general commissioned by the Helman Federation. From this day forward, she will be among humanity’s most valued commanders. History will place her in its brightest light, and every major battle she commands will be written into military textbooks.

“The humans will believe you approached her daughter to gather intelligence or pursue some hidden purpose. And for you personally, approaching a senior officer’s daughter is far too dangerous. Our relations with humanity may have improved, but if your identity is exposed, you could still be detained, imprisoned, or held as a spy. I need you to understand, Les. I do not want to see you harmed.”

“…I understand.”

“Do you truly?”

“Yes.” Les’s voice was almost deathly calm. “I will abandon the idea of revealing myself to her. I will not recklessly enter human territory again, Your Majesty. And there is one other matter…”

“I have already ordered every officer and soldier who took part in the attack on Dimska to say nothing of your involvement. No humans appear to have seen you. As for the darkfolk who did… there, we must trust to fortune, but I doubt it will cause trouble. Was that what you meant to ask, my child? It is a pity you will have one fewer medal on your chest than you deserve.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“…Good boy.”

Les heard a long sigh, followed by silence.

He assumed Carter III had ended the connection.

Then His Majesty’s voice sounded again—not in his ear, but behind him.

“I am proud of you, Les.”

Les turned. The white cat approached with elegant steps. A red fox standing some distance away nodded to Les. Les hurried to his feet and inclined his head in greeting, then looked back at the white cat coming to stand before him.

Carter III sat. His fluffy tail swayed lightly.

“I hope you are not tired of seeing me, my child.”

Les was deeply surprised but answered at once. “…Never, Your Majesty.”

“Good. I spent an entire night flying here on an eagle’s back. If you were displeased, I would be extremely angry. Do not imagine that because you are now dozens of times my size, I would hesitate to strike you.”

“…”

Les lowered his head respectfully before the beastfolk emperor.

Carter III studied his still face and sighed again. When he spoke, his tone softened.

“A broken first love hurts… I understand.”

Les did not answer. He stood in silence for perhaps half a minute before speaking awkwardly.

“…I don’t understand it, Your Majesty. I only… feel pain in my chest.”

“It is pain no medicine or physician can treat. What you need is time, child.”

“Will time… help?”

“Perhaps not. But it will teach you to live with the pain.”

Les fell silent again. After standing for a while, he very slowly lowered himself to the ground, rested his head upon the earth…

And closed his eyes.

Carter III sheathed his claws, raised one paw, and gently patted Les’s forehead.

After a long while, the Beast Emperor spoke softly.

“…You have been away long enough. Would you like to return home and rest for a time? Come back to me, my child.”

Carter III waited with great patience.

No one knew how much time had passed before the wolf he had raised finally gave his quiet answer.

“All right,” Les said.