How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 71

Les recognized an alarm magic array. He had occasionally used them in the army. They were valuable for notifying companions during team operations or covert missions, familiar even to a warrior without magical training. The pattern on Aisha’s hand was perfectly standard.

Her caution when confronting him alone was entirely reasonable, and Les did not resent it. What concerned him was something else.

An alarm magic array linked two people, usually those exceptionally close—family, lovers, or, in the military, comrades trusted with one’s life. The spell on Aisha’s hand was not advanced and could not transmit far. Whoever bore its twin must be nearby, certainly within Micks.

Who was it?

Les’s heart dropped at the sight. A slow flame burned inside him as he wondered who Aisha trusted enough to choose as her contact. His gaze sharpened.

Aisha, meanwhile, found it strange to hear the previously silent wolf speak in Major General Wolf’s voice. She quickly composed herself, pulled up her sleeve, and moved her wrist.

“You mean this?”

“…Yes.” Les nodded tensely.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know what might happen when I went to meet you, and I was nervous. Thorne was worried too, so…”

Halfway through, Aisha belatedly remembered that she was supposed to be observing Les. She did not have to explain anything she preferred to keep private. Her cheeks reddened. She pressed her lips together in annoyance and stopped.

Les: …

He knew her expressions and could see that she was angry, though the reaction had come rather late. More strangely, he found even this Aisha adorable and wanted to embrace her. Given his present position, he could only remain sitting innocently in place.

Still… Thorne.

Les frowned.

The thought of that boy’s closeness with Aisha produced an inexplicable irritation. Thorne was nearer her age, only a little more than a year younger. Though younger, he had studied under Eric Green longer and often helped Aisha with magic. They were both mages with the same professor, shared endless subjects, and understood each other. Thorne was also clean-cut and handsome. His personality might be detached and lazy, but he was certainly livelier than Les.

The comparison made Les still more irritable.

“…I am sorry.”

He watched Aisha’s vexed expression, remained seated with an innocent air, and swayed his tail from side to side.

Forgiveness did not come so easily. Her period of observation had only begun. Aisha lowered her head and pressed her lips together, unsure how to respond.

…

An exceedingly awkward night passed. Aisha still had lessons, so she woke at the usual hour the following morning.

When she opened her eyes…

A giant wolf sat beside the bed, motionless, staring at her.

Aisha: (╯°Д°)╯︵ ┻━┻

In less than a hundredth of a second, she skipped every trace of sleepy confusion and became fully awake. She rolled over and wrapped the blankets more tightly around herself. Remembering that this wolf was Major General Wolf nearly made her die of embarrassment.

Les: …

Her fright left him helpless. He had done nothing differently. Ordinarily, Aisha would have embraced him, nuzzled into his fur, perhaps kissed him a few times if he was fortunate, and only then risen. The difference between a wolf’s treatment and a beastfolk man’s was painfully vast. Les could not help feeling disappointed.

“…You should get up. I have preparations to make as well,” he said after steadying himself. “I will remain within your sight whenever possible.”

Aisha calmed her wildly fluctuating emotions and nodded from within the blankets. Only when the giant wolf rose and walked away did she begin to dress, moving far less naturally than usual.

Observation did not mean they could truly spend every hour together without privacy. Les had diplomatic duties and Aisha had studies. Constant proximity was impossible without revealing that Major General Wolf was “Les.” Their relationship had also become painfully delicate. The arrangement’s actual value as surveillance was limited, and Aisha knew it.

But…

She paused and stared at her faintly flushed reflection. Water still shone on her cheeks from washing her face.

It ought to have some effect, surely?

…

Probably.

Once class began, Aisha had little attention left for that question. She sat with magic textbook, notebook, stationery, and wand before her, Thorne at her side. Eric sat across the room with the senior mages of Micks. An old silver-haired mage with a grizzled beard muttered through a research report.

Aisha tried to concentrate, but the complex magical symbols repeatedly drifted through her mind like scenery, leaving no impression. Once she lost the thread, following the later material became still harder.

Growing agitated, she looked from her book to Eric, then to the speaking mage, and finally out the window.

Les stood on the lawn nearby. When her eyes found him, he looked back innocently and wagged his tail at once.

Aisha: …

She silently turned away. Les’s tail drooped. Unfortunately, he could not see the blush that appeared only after she faced forward.

He had no work that morning and had enthusiastically remained within her line of sight, scattering her attention. Les’s feelings were too obvious. Before she knew he was Major General Wolf, she could manage. Now… they were overwhelming.

Beside her, Thorne’s gaze drifted toward her. Head propped in one hand and quill turning idly in the other, he kept his eyes on the lecturer and whispered, “Hey. Is that Major General Wolf… really all right?”

Aisha needed a moment to realize he was addressing her. She smiled and answered as normally as possible. “Mm… I think he is.”

“…Is he?”

“Yes.”

When Thorne glanced subtly toward her, she smiled again to reassure him. He paused, then faced forward.

Aisha relaxed.

Apart from her, Thorne was the only person who knew the situation. After agreeing upon the new arrangement with Les, she gave Thorne a general account so he would not worry or remain distracted while waiting for the alarm. She had meant to cancel the spell, but Thorne refused. Until Major General Wolf was proved safe, Aisha still needed someone able to help immediately.

“So?” Thorne suddenly asked again. Realizing he was unclear, he added awkwardly in a deliberately casual tone, “You’re observing him, aren’t you? By what standard? What would make you trust him completely? Will you let him live in your room indefinitely?”

“Oh…”

Aisha froze.

It was a difficult question. A period of observation needed a standard, but they could not remain together every moment. She had been considering how to judge him.

“Actually… I want to ask my mother directly,” she said at last.

Thorne’s turning quill stopped.

Aisha pressed her lips together. “I recently received a letter from my parents. They are asking me to come home…”