How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 60

Major General Wolf paused for several seconds, apparently searching for the right words. At last, he continued.

“…So I stood there and thought that if you saw me, you could come out and say hello. I have arrived in Micks, Aisha.”

Aisha’s face reddened visibly, bit by bit.

The moment Major General Wolf spoke her name, her heart gave a violent tremor. Her mind exploded with a bang and dissolved into paste.

“M-Major… General Wolf…”

The shock was too great. Aisha had fallen into such complete confusion that she stammered the moment she opened her mouth.

W-what was happening right now? He had picked her up? What? Why? What in the world had happened?

Her arms were still looped around Major General Wolf’s neck. Worse, when she thought back, she was the one who had run over and embraced him. Now she could neither let go nor keep holding on. If she kept her arms where they were, this was plainly far more intimate than their present relationship allowed. But if she let go… she was afraid she might fall, even though the arms holding her felt extremely steady.

Major General Wolf must be wondering why she had done such a thing.

That thought somehow made Aisha’s already scorching face grow hotter still.

She remained rigid in Les’s arms. The awkwardness between them thickened as the romantic tension threatened to spill into the very air.

In truth… Les’s heart was racing too.

There had never been any question that he liked Aisha. When she rushed over and threw her arms around him, it felt as if a soft little flower had tumbled straight into his embrace.

He had already decided to meet her in human form. Perhaps it was also time to lay some groundwork for the day he revealed his identity. His plan had been to approach her as a beast, then transform. But Aisha had immediately embraced his neck, which made changing forms rather inconvenient. His body would grow taller during the transformation, and afraid that the shifting center of gravity might make her fall, Les had simply caught her and lifted her into his arms.

His reason for doing so had been entirely innocent. But now the woman in his embrace was soft in a way no man could be. She carried a faint, fresh sweetness, and her cheeks were scarlet as she looked at him. Under these circumstances…

Every place where their bodies touched seemed to catch fire.

Les’s arms loosened at once. He carefully set Aisha on her feet.

“My apologies…”

After composing himself, he decided he ought to offer some explanation for his behavior.

“…You were so light that I didn’t notice.”

…He didn’t notice?

What had he failed to notice? Her presence, and so accidentally lifted her off the ground? Or that he had been holding her the entire time?

Whichever he meant, Aisha only grew more mortified. She lowered her head and wished she could dig a hole in the lawn and bury herself on the spot.

Come to think of it… why had both their recent meetings begun with her being picked up?

Aisha pressed her lips together and cautiously raised her eyes to steal a look at Les. Major General Wolf wore his usual calm, impassive expression, which made his classically perfect face appear more severe than ever.

For some reason, disappointment stirred faintly within her. She did not see the red tips of his ears beneath his hair.

Silence held between them for more than ten seconds. Aisha gathered her thoughts and finally managed to recover, though embarrassment still colored her voice.

“Um… about that… I’m very sorry. You and Les—I mean, the wolf I keep—look so much alike that I thought you were…”

The longer she spoke, the more ashamed she became. Now she wanted to bury herself more than ever.

Pal had told her long ago that Major General Wolf’s beast form looked almost identical to Les. Major General Wolf had also said that his work might soon bring him to the Kingdom of Micks, while Les was supposed to be in the forest and could hardly have come out. Yet the moment she saw a giant wolf, she had embraced him without a single thought. If only she had paused to think, she might not have humiliated herself like this.

Still…

Mr. Wolf’s wolf form truly was identical to Les.

Aisha cautiously studied Major General Les Wolf’s stern face, though she was not sure what sign she hoped to find. She had lived with Les for a long time and knew him well. Ordinarily, she should never have mistaken another wolf for him. Yet when she rushed over just now, nothing had seemed wrong—not his appearance, height, build, scent, nor the feel of his fur. If Major General Wolf had not transformed into a man before her eyes, she would never have realized he was not Les.

At the thought that, had he waited only a few more seconds to transform, she might have kissed him as she usually did, Aisha’s heart sped up again and her cheeks flamed.

If she had done that, the atmosphere would surely be even more awkward than it was now.

Aisha watched Major General Wolf anxiously and waited for his response.

“…It’s fine.”

He gave her a slight nod, then let his gaze drift away, as if he had no wish to linger on the subject. After a pause, his throat moved, and he looked at her again.

“…Were you in class?”

Major General Wolf was clearly not skilled at finding subjects for conversation. Aisha heard in his voice the uncertainty and apprehension peculiar to someone unaccustomed to speaking. His delivery was stiff, as though he were struggling to keep the silence from returning.

That faintly romantic atmosphere rose between them once more.

“Not exactly…?” Aisha smiled shyly and tried to put the incident behind them. In as natural a tone as she could manage, she said, “We only arrived yesterday. Today was our first meeting with the mages here. We haven’t discussed any magic yet. It was just an ordinary introduction.”

“…I only just arrived too,” Les replied awkwardly after a moment’s thought.

“You just reached the royal palace of Micks?”

“…Mm.”

“Then… will you be staying here?”

“Yes. For some time.”

Aisha pressed her lips together. The answer made her inexplicably happy, and the corners of her mouth rose before she could stop them.

“I’m staying here too. My room is on the second floor of the eastern wing, next to my professor’s room and Thorne’s.”

She described the room’s location with a smile, then looked at Les again.

“…What about you?”

“…On the same floor as all of you,” Les said simply.

“If you are willing… you can come and find me.”

“All right! Oh, I mean… if you ever need anything, you can come and find me too.” His agreement sent a little thrill through Aisha. “My professor has begun teaching me basic healing spells. Perhaps I can combine them with my innate magic. And Micks is exceptionally advanced in healing magic, so I may learn something useful here. You are a warrior. If you ever… get hurt, perhaps I could help.”

“…Mm. All right.”

They passed the conversation back and forth. On closer consideration, they were saying nothing of interest. Yet beneath the faint romance between them and that indefinable awareness between a man and a woman, time seemed to fly.

Aisha’s heartbeat slipped out of her control every now and then, and sweat gathered in her clenched palms. She had never found a conversation so nerve-racking in her life, but for some reason, she did not find it unpleasant.

Then Aisha noticed the white-bearded minister through the window in the distance. Manuscript in hand, he had risen from his chair and was pressing his eyes close to the parchment, slowly searching line by line for the place where he had stopped. Everyone else appeared to be returning to their seats.

At that moment, Aisha met Thorne’s gaze. He seemed to have been watching her the whole time. Even from far away, she saw the black-haired boy frown and shape several exaggerated words with his mouth. She could not hear him, but it was not difficult to guess that he was urging her to come back.

“I’m sorry, it looks like the meeting is about to begin again. I have to go,” Aisha said hastily. “Um… see you next time, Major General Wolf!”

“Mm…”

Les paused and nodded, his gaze resting quietly upon her.

“…Until next time.”

“Goodbye!”

Aisha gave him a hurried smile, then turned and ran toward the meeting room. Halfway there, she looked back. Major General Wolf was still watching her from afar without blinking, his calm blue-gray eyes fixed upon her.

Her cheeks warmed beneath that gaze. She waved to him once more, then turned and ran even faster.

Les watched until she slipped back into her seat just before the white-bearded minister began to speak. After a pause, he transformed into a beast again and finally left, reluctant to tear himself away.

…

“…Is that the man whose coat you returned before?”

After Aisha reclaimed her seat, Thorne cast her a seemingly casual glance from beside her.

The elderly minister had been about to resume his speech when she arrived. The moment she sat down, he slowly uttered his first word. Relieved to have made it in time, Aisha turned to Thorne. While the white-bearded man lowered his head, she whispered back with a smile, “Yes. He… happened to come to Micks too.”

“…Did he?”

Thorne faced forward, his tone flat. Only the faintest pause followed her answer.

After a long moment, he asked as though it hardly mattered, “That man’s beast form… looks quite a lot like your wolf, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.”

Aisha smiled helplessly.

“Les’s former owner named him as a joke because he looked exactly like Major General Wolf’s beast form.”

“…A joke?”

“Mm.”

“…Oh.”

Thorne’s brows drew together again. He propped his chin on one hand, apparently lost in thought. A few seconds later, however, his expression returned to normal. He seemed to lose interest in the subject and said nothing more.

Since Thorne was no longer inclined to chat, Aisha turned toward the front as well. The elderly minister resumed dragging through the parchment one soporific line at a time, while she stared into space.

Back in the quiet, tedious meeting room, the shock of seeing a wolf turn into a man and then being abruptly swept into his arms gradually subsided. The restless state Major General Wolf inspired in her also began to ease, and other thoughts crept into Aisha’s mind.

Come to think of it…

Could an ordinary wolf and a beastfolk man’s wolf form truly look so completely alike?

Aisha wondered absently.