How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 8

At the sight of the daughter he had not seen in so long rushing into his arms, Hock froze. Then he gently patted her shoulder. Perhaps it was the sight of Aisha, but his fierce face seemed to soften.

“…You should not have entered like that, Aisha. If a malicious bandit had been inside instead of me, you could not have beaten him with that broom.”

“…I’m sorry.” Aisha nestled against her father. “I just had a feeling it was you.”

“Do not rely on feelings alone next time.”

“…All right.”

Hock Byrd patted Aisha’s head. Only then did she reluctantly let him go.

“Papa, will you stay for a little while this time before you leave?”

Hock plainly faltered. Guilt crossed his face.

“I’m sorry… Aisha. I have to leave tomorrow morning.”

Disappointment flickered over her features, but she knew she must not make matters difficult for him. She hurried to brighten and smiled.

“Oh… that’s all right. Mrs. Wesson and everyone in town always take very good care of me. I’m fine on my own… When will you come back next time?”

Hock considered. “Probably not for several months. The situation has changed somewhat. Recently, in the north, the dark—never mind. It is nothing. In any case, I must go north for a while. When I return from this journey, we will finally be able to rest. I promise, Aisha.”

In truth, her father often said such things. He promised to return soon and to stay longer next time, but most of the time, he could not keep those promises. He almost always came home without warning, remained a few days, then left. In the past, he had occasionally stayed for a month or two. Over the last two years, his schedule had grown increasingly urgent, limiting his visits to two or three days—or, as now, a single night.

But looking into her father’s deep, earnest black eyes, Aisha still wanted to believe that this time he truly could do as he promised. She nodded.

There could scarcely be a more understanding daughter in all the world.

Hock’s heart ached at the sight of her obedient manner. He knew he was not a good father, and Aisha’s thoughtfulness made that knowledge more painful. He sighed.

“I’m sorry. I planned to return before the Harvest Festival celebration, but I did not expect to arrive so late.”

As he spoke, Hock crouched and opened the large, shabby cloth bag at his side. From within, he drew an exquisite velvet box wildly out of place among the worn belongings and handed it to Aisha.

“And I’m sorry I missed your birthday again this year… This is a birthday gift from your mother and me. Open it.”

“…Mama?”

Aisha paused at the word. Hesitantly, she opened the small box.

Inside lay a necklace: a bright silver chain bearing a beautiful, sky-blue pendant in the shape of a teardrop. It looked too perfect to be real, like an object from a dream.

“Do you like it?” Her father looked faintly uneasy. “We asked a friend to bring it from Vitas.”

Vitas was the capital of Aisha’s homeland, the Kingdom of Ryan. Ryan was the strongest overall of the four kingdoms in the Helman Federation, making Vitas unquestionably one of the foremost cities in all human territory. Learning that the necklace had come from the capital startled Aisha.

“Wasn’t it terribly expensive?”

“…Don’t worry. It was within our means.”

Hock stroked her head, pained by the undisguised astonishment on her face.

At the same time, he examined Aisha’s shabby clothes. They had probably been bought here in town—perhaps even made by Mrs. Wesson next door. Of course, Aisha’s grandmother might have sewn several pieces for her as well.

“When I return next time… Never mind. We will discuss it then.”

Hock had meant to speak of buying her more things, but considering the current circumstances, he swallowed the words. He was afraid to give Aisha too much hope.

After a brief pause, he changed the subject and regarded her with some emotion.

“…Before I knew it, you had grown into a young woman.”

Aisha blushed. It was one thing when other people said it. Coming from her father, the words somehow made her feel as though she truly had grown a great deal.

“You are about to graduate, aren’t you?” Hock continued. “Have you decided what you want to pursue?”

Aisha had not expected her father to ask about graduation. She clasped her hands behind her back and twisted her fingers unconsciously.

She thought of her healing power. But the examiner had said it was not magic, so finding a teacher would surely be difficult. Perhaps no teacher existed at all. Telling her father what she wanted might only give him one more thing to worry about…

Come to think of it, she had never told him that she possessed the ability to heal.

For one thing, the power had been difficult to notice when it first appeared. Aisha initially thought she was imagining things. It was not until the ability strengthened with age that, at eleven or twelve, she became certain she could heal many things. Before then, she had naturally said nothing.

For another, her father had rarely come home in recent years, and even when he did, his visits were brief. Aisha had grown accustomed to her ability and no longer considered it anything remarkable. Each time her father returned, she became so happy that she forgot to mention it. As for her grandmother… by then, the old woman’s health had already failed. Her memory and strength declined rapidly, and she probably had no energy to tell him.

Should Aisha tell him now?

She stole a glance at her father. The middle-aged man looked utterly exhausted. The dark circles beneath his eyes and his long-unshaven beard suggested that he had sacrificed sleep to return as quickly as possible.

Her hesitation lasted only a few seconds. Aisha quickly made her decision and shook her head, embarrassed.

“Not yet. One of my teachers is willing to recommend me to study poetics at the Heart of the World, but…”

She pressed her lips together, and her voice softened.

“I haven’t decided…”

“Poetics?” Hock looked distinctly surprised. “That may not be a bad choice… Have you filled in your application form?”

Aisha shook her head again. By custom, the forms were completed only after the Harvest Festival.

“Then don’t fill it in yet,” said Hock. “If you have no firm idea of your own, your mother and I will discuss it and choose several good schools and fields of study. We will send you our suggestions by letter.”

At the word *mother*, Aisha’s heart jumped again. Yet her father passed over it just as casually as before. The unanswered question weighed on her, and she shifted anxiously from foot to foot.

Seeing that she did not answer and instead looked agitated, Hock frowned.

“What is it?”

“Papa…” Aisha looked at him tentatively. “Mama’s name…”

“…”

“…You still can’t tell me?”

Disappointment filled her eyes. She had inherited them wholly from her mother, and merely meeting their gaze softened Hock’s heart. But after a moment of silence, he sighed.

“A little longer.” He lifted a hand as if to stroke her hair again, but finally let it fall. “If nothing goes wrong, the matter will be settled before the end of this year. Then I will explain everything properly. I promise.”

Aisha nodded, only half convinced. Some of the warmth of their reunion faded.

“I’m sorry,” Hock Byrd said again.

In the short time since coming home, he had already apologized to his daughter many times. He understood that he returned too seldom and kept too many secrets from her. Aisha had every right to be unhappy.

Resolve entered Hock’s gaze. He crouched until he could look Aisha directly in the eye.

“…Once I finish this business in the north, I will come here to fetch you. Then our family will be together, and we can settle into a stable life. All right?”

…

Her father left early the next morning, before the sky had even begun to brighten. Aisha was disappointed, but she could not stop him.

After so many years, she had gained some sense of what her father’s work involved. If she was right, then what he did was far more important than staying by her side. There must also be some unavoidable reason that she had been left to grow up alone in her hometown rather than with her parents.

Besides, one had to look on the bright side. In all these years, this was the first clear promise her father had made that, if nothing unexpected happened, everything would be resolved before the year ended. Whatever came of it, the promise gave Aisha new hope and allowed her to return to her life as before.

In any case, she could not remain dejected for long. She had far too much to do.

The Harvest Festival ended, and school reopened. As a graduating student, Aisha had many preparations ahead of her.

Graduation examinations, graduation assessments, her diploma, courses on planning for the future… On top of all that, amid her packed days, she ran to the forest every day to treat the giant wolf and change his dressings. Her hours of sleep dwindled sharply.

Busy days always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by.

Then, one day, the atmosphere of quiet, ordinary Philray abruptly changed.

General Tina Killott.

Overnight, the name spread through every street and alley.