How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 34

When facing a large, powerful magical beast like the giant-fanged black wolf—one that cast magic through its mouth—the first priority was to seal its jaws.

With its muzzle brutally trapped beneath overwhelming strength, the black wolf struggled with all its might. Yet it could not break free from the man pinning it down.

The silver-gray-haired man seized its muzzle, hauled it into the air, and flung it into the forest in one motion. The giant-fanged black wolf slammed heavily into the trunk of a large tree. Several seconds passed before it staggered back to its feet. Defeat had stripped the creature of its former brutality. Whining, it limped away.

Les was an officer who had surpassed graduation-level standards years ago, and he was in the prime of his physical condition. Dealing with a giant-fanged black wolf was not particularly difficult. It was only that the sight of it lunging at Aisha had made the situation seem too critical. He had inevitably lost some restraint and might have struck a little too hard.

Hopefully, the veterinarians would arrive soon.

As the black wolf disappeared into the forest, Les frowned faintly and turned toward Aisha. Then he met her stunned, openmouthed stare, and his heart tightened.

Only now did he seem to realize that he had rushed here so quickly, he had forgotten to change into beast form. Standing before Aisha as a man, looking directly into her eyes, his body stiffened.

But Aisha had never seen his human form. She should not be able to make the connection.

Les’s throat moved. He opened his mouth and asked somewhat awkwardly, “…Are you hurt?”

“…No! Um! I mean… thank you!”

Aisha had no idea what incoherent nonsense she was saying. Her head seemed to be growing hot, leaving her too dazed to know what to say.

The man before her had a tranquil gaze, his gray-blue eyes like a lake sealed beneath ice. He was tall and handsome as a sculpture and had appeared out of nowhere. Yet he looked profoundly unapproachable. Thoroughly flustered, Aisha blurted, “Um… are you one of the people responsible for examination safety? Was that creature just now—”

“No,” Les answered.

He gazed at Aisha, who stood a short distance away and had to tilt her head slightly to see his face. The realization that this was their first conversation face-to-face tightened his throat. His hands unconsciously curled into fists.

He was nervous, yet unable to suppress a sense of excitement. It burned in his chest, driving him to want more of her voice—more words spoken to him, to the man he was.

But Les had never been talkative. Faced now with a girl who was so special to him, he found it harder than ever to choose the right words. He had no idea how he ought to behave.

After several seconds, he pressed his lips together and swallowed to moisten his dry throat. Only then did he attempt a steady explanation.

“That was an advanced magical beast that crossed over from another zone. It wasn’t part of your examination…”

Les wanted to comfort her the way other gentle men might, but he was unused to doing such things and terribly awkward. After a pause, he added stiffly, “…You don’t need to worry.”

“I-is that so? I understand.”

Aisha, who had assumed she had failed, felt relieved. At the same time, she could not help feeling ill at ease before this towering man.

Somehow… his manner seemed very cold, as though he did not want to speak with her.

Thinking she had probably caused him trouble, Aisha grew both ashamed and embarrassed. Even the ground beneath her feet seemed hot. Still, she tried to continue.

“Th-then what about the examination?”

“It has probably been suspended.”

Les had not heard the plan decided by the school administrators, but as a beastfolk standing within the forest, he could sense the chaos of countless different animals mingling throughout it. He made a general guess at how the situation would be handled.

“…There will be another announcement telling you what to do. Your first priority now is to leave the dangerous area… Come with me.”

Aisha nodded quickly and hurried toward him. But the man frowned at her injured shoulder. Before she could understand what was happening, he removed his coat, tore a strip from the white shirt beneath it, and held it out to her.

Aisha froze.

He looked slightly away and said in a flat tone, “…Bandage it.”

“Oh. Right. Thank you…”

Overwhelmed by the unexpected kindness, Aisha took the cloth in a fluster and blushed faintly at her earlier slowness.

She skillfully treated herself with her healing ability, then used the strip of his shirt as a bandage. The man’s gaze was as cold and piercing as an arrow. More importantly, he was a man. No matter how brave Aisha might be, she did not dare remove her clothing and dress the wound properly beneath his eyes.

She merely took off her cloak and wrapped the bandage carelessly over her clothes. In her haste not to waste time, the result was extremely rough.

Aisha had expected her innate magic to surprise him at least a little. But the man did not so much as twitch an eyebrow. He stood like a stone statue, making the atmosphere even stranger.

In the end, the entire process took Aisha less than two minutes. Once she finished, she looked up and waited for him to lead the way.

Les studied her torn cloak, coat, and all the damaged cloth around her shoulder. After a pause, he draped his own coat over her. Only then, once she was properly covered, did he say, “Let’s go.”

Aisha nodded and hurried after him.

At close range, the pressure created by his height became even more pronounced. Clutching the coat around her shoulders, Aisha drew her neck in and followed carefully, feeling rather ill at ease.

The journey was silent. There were only their alternating footsteps and the occasional crackle of leaves beneath their boots. Aisha unconsciously softened her breathing, afraid of disturbing the man beside her, who seemed to radiate a desire to keep the entire world at a distance.

“You…”

At the sudden sound of his voice, Aisha gave an anxious start and looked up at him with wide, attentive eyes.

Les’s throat bobbed. “…Were you afraid just now?”

“Yes. Very afraid.” Aisha smiled self-consciously. “Um… it was lucky you came…”

“I see.”

The man’s response was cold, and he said nothing more.

Aisha blinked. Mistaking her wording for overly intimate and believing it had displeased him, she lowered her head in disappointment and continued walking.

She had no idea that Les’s heart was swelling with a bittersweet, overflowing happiness—gratitude that he had kept himself physically strong enough to reach her.

Neither of them spoke again.

Aisha had already been close to the endpoint. Once they left the examination area and followed a short forest path, the buildings of the teaching zone came into view.

Les’s steps involuntarily slowed, and he frowned. He had rushed here too quickly to learn where he should take Aisha. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided simply to bring her to the proctors’ auditorium.

But before they had gone more than a few steps…

“Wait! Please stop!”

Aisha and Les turned toward the voice behind them. When Aisha saw a lion running straight at them, she instinctively moved closer to Les. Les remained perfectly upright and made no attempt to evade it.

Before Aisha’s astonished eyes, the lion with a mane of deep brown strode up to them, suddenly rose onto its hind legs, and transformed into an old man with wild hair and a great beard.

It was the first time Aisha had ever watched a beastfolk transform in front of her. She stared in surprise.

Leonard Set, headmaster of Wold Warrior School, had originally entered the forest to deal with the giant-fanged black wolf. Before he could find it, however, the two mages who remained in the auditorium sent word that a young warrior had already defeated it.

Naturally, Leonard was astonished that a student had rescued the endangered candidate before he could. He immediately followed, intending only to discover which graduate had performed so remarkably. He had never expected to find someone who should not have been in Wold at all.

Leonard froze. “You’re—”

“Professor Malken sent me,” Les interrupted before he could say the name. “Once I take this girl somewhere safe, I’ll continue helping restore order in the forest, Headmaster Set.”

“Is that so? Thank you.” Headmaster Set looked relieved. “Did you come back to visit Malken?”

“…Yes.”

“Good.”

The headmaster clapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m glad you came back.”

Les neither dodged nor reacted. He simply stood quietly and allowed the headmaster to keep patting him. Only when Set had sufficiently expressed his delight did Les ask, “This candidate was assigned to Route Six and applied to the Tower of Magic. She passed the first five checkpoints but was badly frightened by the giant-fanged black wolf. I want her to rest. Where should I take her? The auditorium, or…”

Headmaster Set glanced at the girl unconsciously clutching the corner of Les’s shirt while wearing his coat, then at Les’s torn clothing. Aisha’s injured shoulder was hidden beneath the coat, so the lion headmaster naturally attributed Les’s damaged shirt to his struggle with the black wolf and paid it little attention.

“Take her to join Claudia and the others. Claudia should already have collected candidates from several of the other routes with a few mages. She has temporarily placed them in the common room… Hmm. Don’t delay too long. I need to return and help as well.”

“Yes.”

Les inclined his head. Set wasted no more time. With a low growl, he transformed back into a lion and ran into the forest.

“Let’s go.” Les glanced at Aisha and strode away once more.

Aisha hurried to follow.

The common room was only a few steps away. Les brought Aisha to its door, then paused.

“…I’ll leave you here. Go in by yourself. Tell them about your injury. They’ll find better medicine to treat it.”

Reluctant though he was, he could go no farther. There might be more teachers inside who recognized him.

Aisha understood that he still had more important work to do in the forest and nodded rapidly. In truth, she already felt terribly guilty that he had torn his own shirt into a makeshift bandage and escorted her so far.

Still, she bit her lip and summoned her courage.

“Um… thank you so much for saving me. May I ask… well… what is your name?”

“…There’s no need to concern yourself with it.”

“I see…”

Aisha smiled awkwardly. For some reason, her spirits sank.

Even so, she forced herself to look up and smile at him. “Then… goodbye.”

“…Mm.”

Her only answer was a stiff nod. The man seemed to watch her for several seconds longer with those gray-blue eyes, making Aisha’s heart tighten. But just as she began to hope he might change his mind and say something, he merely inclined his head once more, turned, and left without looking back.

He was gone.

Aisha felt inexplicably dejected. She silently watched her rescuer disappear around the corner and stood there for several more seconds before turning to knock on the common-room door.

After a pause, she knocked politely three times.

Silence held for several seconds. Then an elderly voice answered from within.

“Who is it?”

The old woman paused.

“Come in.”

Only then did Aisha push open the door. The moment a narrow gap appeared, she saw several candidates around her own age seated inside. Apart from them, there was an extremely elderly woman dressed as a mage.

From the vague impression left by the briefing session, Aisha recognized her as the owner of the Tower of Magic’s top floor, the Great Claudia. She immediately grew nervous and stumbled through an introduction.

“Um… hello. I’m Aisha Byrd, the candidate who was on Route Six. I just came out of the forest. Someone from the school brought me here…”

Aisha noticed Claudia’s gaze settle upon her. Before she could finish, the old woman’s gaze changed.

“You—”