How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 7

The next day marked the official Harvest Festival celebration. The town had already come alive before dawn.

There were many important holidays in the world, but to the people of Philray, none was more representative of their town—or more magnificent—than the Harvest Festival. Market vendors had been busy since the small hours. Women began preparing for the evening dance at first light, while young men rubbed their hands in anticipation of proving themselves in the grove and claiming the ribbons of the girls they admired. A faint smile rested on every face, and the air carried the special excitement of a festival day.

Aisha rose early as well.

Her reason, however, was different from that of most women and young girls in town. She had no one she hoped to dance with and no family at home to care for, so she did not need to dress herself at dawn or hurry to the market for armfuls of vegetables. As expected, her father had been unable to return for the Harvest Festival this year. He had sent only a letter to say that he was safe. Since he had no fixed residence, Aisha could not even write back to ask after him.

In short, she had no need to rise so early.

She had done it for the wolf in the forest.

Aisha did not know whether he still lingered near the outskirts of the grove. She worried that he and the boys entering the woods might hurt one another, so she wanted to warn them. Philray might be small, but it had quite a few young men, and she could not possibly know them all. She decided to do what she could, explaining the situation to as many as possible. That was why she rose before most of them and planned to keep watch at the forest entrance.

But the moment she opened her door, she found a young man lingering anxiously outside, twisting a hat between his hands.

Their eyes met without warning, and both of them jumped.

The young man had plainly not expected Aisha to come out so early. Color rose involuntarily to his face.

“A-Aisha, good morning… You’re awake already?”

“Good morning, Fred.” Aisha blinked, unsure what was happening, and fell back on stiff pleasantries. “Um… has your injury healed?”

“More or less. Your ability works really well…”

The young man was Fred, Mrs. Wesson’s son from next door. Despite living so close, however, they could hardly be called childhood sweethearts. Two years separated them, so they had rarely crossed paths at school and had not interacted much before. Only in the last few months had Fred, for reasons no one could explain, become remarkably accident-prone. He needed Aisha’s treatment at every turn, and that was how they had grown somewhat familiar.

They exchanged several empty remarks at the doorstep. Fred showed no intention of leaving. Aisha, preoccupied with warning the boys bound for the grove, could not help growing anxious.

“Did you need something?” she asked.

“W-well, Aisha…” Fred tightened his grip on the hat. “My mother refuses to tell me what color ribbon she gave you yesterday, so… so… uh, never mind… You look very pretty today, Aisha.”

Aisha: ?

It was a festival, so she had put on clothes reserved for special occasions and tied a ribbon in her hair. She had made a modest effort to dress up. But she did not think that was what Fred truly wanted to say. He looked deeply troubled.

Thoroughly puzzled, Aisha tilted her head. “Thank you. But… was there something else?”

“I…”

Fred’s face turned scarlet. At last, he shut his eyes and blurted out, with all the resolve of a man marching to his death—

“Will you tell me how you marked your ribbon?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Aisha flinched. Her own face slowly began to redden.

This was her first year participating in such Harvest Festival traditions, but even she knew what it meant when a boy asked about her ribbon’s mark. He was interested in her and wanted to invite her to dance that night. If Fred found her ribbon, she would not be permitted to refuse his invitation. Of course, even if he failed to find it, she could still dance with him if she wished.

“I-I didn’t mark it,” Aisha stammered. “And… um… I already have plans with someone tonight.”

With a wolf.

Silently, Aisha seized on that technicality to persuade herself she had not lied.

It was not that she disliked Fred. She was simply… surprised. Until this moment, she had never imagined that he might feel differently about her.

At her tactful rejection, the light in Fred’s eyes dimmed.

“I see… I’m sorry I put you in an awkward position, Aisha.”

“N-no, it’s all right.”

Aisha was deeply embarrassed as well. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. Then she remembered that Fred was probably among those entering the forest later. The atmosphere was already hopelessly uncomfortable, but she forced herself to warn him anyway.

“Oh—Fred, one more thing… Yesterday, I found a badly injured wolf near the edge of the forest. He’s very gentle and won’t attack first, though he looks a little frightening. If you see him, treat him gently and no one should get hurt. Please be careful, and… if you meet anyone else in the woods, could you tell them too?”

Dejected, Fred managed a nod and walked away. It was impossible to know how much he had heard.

Aisha sighed and tried to compose herself—with limited success. Once Fred disappeared, she too set off for the grove.

…

By custom, girls were not supposed to enter the forest during the day, leaving the boys time to search for ribbons undisturbed. Aisha remained at the entrance until almost no one else was going in, then returned home.

Between worrying about the gray wolf and receiving Fred’s wholly unexpected near-confession, she was distracted and restless all day. Thoughts chased one another through her mind. From time to time, she remembered Fred’s words and found herself analyzing past signs. She also wanted to see how the giant wolf was doing and whether her treatment had worked. He had been so badly injured. Although he had seemed in decent spirits the day before, she could not stop fearing that his condition might suddenly worsen.

At last, evening came.

The young men returned one by one: some disappointed, some carefully cradling a single ribbon, others triumphantly brandishing whole fistfuls. Aisha finally relaxed a little. Their expressions suggested that nothing unusual had happened.

She approached several at random and asked. Everyone said they had neither seen a wolf nor heard of anyone encountering one. A few boys who knew her well even teased her, asking whether she had confused a dream with reality. No wolf had ever been known to wander the forest outskirts before, much less one of enormous size.

“I understand why you might wish a great beast would appear and lure your father home, Aisha,” said a cheerful young man holding a marked blue ribbon. He patted her shoulder consolingly. “But you’re worrying too much. I’m sure Uncle Byrd will come back with plenty of game before long. All right?”

Aisha did not know whether to laugh or cry. She knew perfectly well that it had not been a dream, but since everyone believed otherwise, she did not correct them. The dance was about to begin, and there should be no one left in the grove now. The danger had passed.

Still… if no one had seen the giant wolf, perhaps he had already returned to the deep forest.

The thought left her faintly disappointed. But she quickly steadied herself. A promise was a promise, whether the other party understood it or not.

So Aisha took up a basket packed with medicines, fresh gauze, and new bandages she had bought at the market that day, and entered the forest anyway.

Night gathered around her. The woods were very dark, and even with a lantern in hand, Aisha felt uneasy. The evening festivities had clearly begun in town. Looking back through the trees, she could see a brilliant glow and hear the faint, merry interweaving of instruments, punctuated now and then by cheers.

To Aisha, however, the brightness and revelry beyond only made the grove seem darker and stiller. She drew the knitted cardigan more tightly around her dress and quickened her pace toward their meeting place by the river.

At last, she arrived.

From a distance, she saw the towering silhouette in the darkness. For some reason, all her fear dissolved. A smile rose to her face before she knew it. She hurried over, set the lantern on the ground, and naturally wrapped her arms around the giant wolf’s furry body.

“I didn’t think you’d really still be here… Good evening.”

The instant she embraced him, Les went rigid. Every muscle in his body tightened by instinct. The girl holding him noticed nothing. She even rubbed her cheek lightly against the soft gray fur at his neck before letting go.

Aisha.

Les could not help repeating the name silently. As he watched the girl’s smiling profile, something strange stirred in his heart…

Something he did not dislike.

Remembering the warm, gentle kiss from the day before, Les became conscious of a faintly intimate atmosphere. It awakened a restlessness deep inside him.

His tail swayed uneasily from side to side.

Aisha had no idea that the gesture—no different in her mind from kissing a pet of her own—had left the giant wolf staring at the moon nearly all night. After hugging him, she took out her instruments and began changing his dressings.

Only a few minutes into the work, she noticed that the wolf seemed distracted. His tail kept moving in an irregular rhythm, as though something troubled him. And…

He kept looking at her.

Aisha met the lupine eyes that gleamed especially bright in the night. She casually tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.

“…Sorry. It’s a little noisy over there, isn’t it? Tonight is the Harvest Festival celebration, and everyone is dancing. It may go on quite late.”

She had plainly mistaken the music from town for the cause of his agitation and offered an explanation.

Les had not noticed the noise at all. He noticed only that Aisha’s eyes were truly beautiful, like jewels laid with care upon a velvet cushion. And that she was standing somewhat too close. In the quiet night, the girl’s light, sweet scent reached his nose, leaving him restless.

Les forced himself to look away and stared at the flowing river until his mind cooled.

Aisha assumed the giant wolf had lowered his guard enough that he no longer needed to watch her. She gave a small laugh and bent over her work again.

…

Changing the dressings meant removing all the bandages and gauze from the previous day, using her healing power to speed recovery, and wrapping every injury in clean cloth. The process had many tedious steps, but Aisha was skilled, and the work was far easier than it had been the day before. By the time she finished everything, around two hours had passed.

Aisha wiped away her sweat, packed the basket, and stood.

“I’ll go home now. Tomorrow… tomorrow I can come earlier. Let’s meet here at half past three in the afternoon. Good night.”

Les instinctively wanted to nod. Then he remembered that he had to play the part of an ordinary animal, so he only watched her without moving.

After Aisha left, he looked up at the stars and the thoroughly black sky. Following a moment’s hesitation, he slipped after her.

A wolf’s sight was better at night than by day, and his gray fur naturally concealed him in darkness. Les’s steps were light, blending perfectly with the wind. Aisha never discovered him. He followed until she left the forest safely.

Les watched her walk into the light and gradually disappear among the crowds still celebrating. For a moment, he lost himself in thought.

“Les!”

He did not know how much time had passed before Carter III’s voice sounded abruptly in his ear, wrenching him back to himself.

Les paused. “Your Majesty.”

“Good. Hearing your voice puts me at ease,” the Beast Emperor said with relief. “Forgive me. I had no time to contact you during the day. How are your wounds?”

“There is nothing to forgive, Your Majesty. The wounds have been treated.”

Les did not mind that the emperor had failed to contact him earlier. As ruler of the empire, His Majesty’s schedule was extraordinarily demanding; finding time to speak with him every day was difficult enough. Besides, Beast and the Helman Federation were separated by a time difference of roughly four hours. By Les’s calculation, His Majesty had contacted him the instant his day’s engagements ended.

After several seconds, Les continued.

“…The human girl from yesterday… came back later. She treated me. I believe… I will need approximately one month to recover.”

“Oh, is that so…”

Carter III sounded thoughtful.

Les waited for a response. This time, the silence lasted a while.

At length, the feline emperor asked, “I am glad it is nothing serious… What do you plan to do next?”

“I…”

For some reason, Aisha’s face flashed through Les’s mind.

But he quickly regained his composure.

Les admitted that he had begun to feel something unusual for the girl who had gently treated him despite his frightening appearance, then kissed him without knowing his true identity. The feeling was sweet and beautiful, unlike the friendships he had formed in the army or the trust he placed in his comrades. It was like a rainbow-colored bubble floating in the air.

But…

They had known each other for only two days. To Aisha, he was merely an injured wolf. Barring some unexpected turn, she would continue her quiet life in this remote little town, while he had his country. They would merely pass through each other’s lives. The kiss itself had been an accident that meant something only to him.

Les expected it might occupy his thoughts for a time, until the intimacy he had imagined alone finally faded. As for Aisha… she might live her entire life without learning that, at sixteen, she had kissed a beastfolk man the first day she met him.

After a moment’s thought, Les gave his usual calm, concise answer.

“I will remain here until I recover. Then I will cross the border again, return to the southwestern front in Duke, and rejoin Salman and the others.”

“Good. I will tell Salman to meet you when the time comes.”

The feline emperor lifted his chest slightly. He had always admired Les’s composure and decisiveness, among the finest qualities a soldier could possess. The thought that he had personally raised such an exceptional wolf cub filled Carter III with irrepressible pride.

“I will await your return, child.”

…

Elsewhere, Aisha had already reached home. With most of the town still gathered at the square, the neighborhood was eerily quiet.

Stranger still…

The light in her house was on.

The hand holding her lantern trembled. A certain premonition rose in her heart, though her steps remained unsteady. She approached slowly, seized the broom from the yard as a weapon, then thrust open the door—

A travel-worn, middle-aged man stood inside. His black hair, threaded with white, was in disarray, and his beard looked as though it had not been shaved in a long while. A long blade scar crossed his left eye. Combined with his powerful build and grim, weathered face, it gave him a ferocious appearance.

Worst of all, he held a massive blade in one hand and carried a bow and arrows across his back.

Any other girl who opened her door to find such a man inside her home would surely have gone white with terror.

Aisha’s eyes lit up.

Her impossible hope had come true. Overjoyed, she dropped the broom, ran to him, and flung herself into his arms.

“Papa!”