How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 89

As the opening day of the World Tournament approached, the Heart of the World became livelier than ever.

The harbor, docks, Free Arena, and major hotels overflowed with warriors and mages registering to compete, along with ordinary spectators drawn by the tournament’s fame. Crowds surpassed even those of the recent admissions season. Humans, beastfolk, and darkfolk from every country on the continent moved through the streets, which were packed shoulder to shoulder and thunderous with noise.

“Les, who exactly are we meeting?”

Near the harbor, Pal followed his cousin and asked in confusion.

“General Salman? Bill? Wait—damn! It isn’t my father, is it?!”

The terrifying possibility filled Pal’s face with horror. He immediately wanted to flee from Les and return to his student dormitory.

Pal considered himself a fine young man who studied diligently every day. But having an officer for a father had left him with childhood shadows from a Spartan education that were not so easily erased. Merely remembering a black panther larger than himself swatting his head made the hair along his back rise.

He began to regret volunteering to accompany Les merely because he wanted to grow closer to his cousin. Les had said only that he needed to meet an “important elder” and never identified the person. The thought now sent chills across Pal’s back.

If it truly were his father, the man should not have traveled to Wold without notifying him. But when Pal remembered that his father treated Les like his own son and Pal like a stray panther someone had picked up, uncertainty returned. He remained intensely wary.

Les offered no further explanation. After thinking, he said, “…William.”

“What?”

“When you meet the person arriving, remember to call him William.”

“Huh?”

Les did not elaborate for the bewildered black panther beside him. He had originally intended to meet His Majesty alone and without attention. He changed his mind only because Pal’s careless personality might produce another incident like the one that occurred when Les first arrived in Wold.

Les had barely managed to deceive Aisha then. If Pal happened to see Carter III on the street and accidentally shouted “Your Majesty” in public, the problem would be far harder to manage.

Even in Beast, relatively few beastfolk had seen the emperor’s true appearance and knew his beast form. Only members of certain noble families and ministers at court possessed that knowledge. Les was therefore not especially worried that His Majesty would be recognized elsewhere in Wold. Even if someone did recognize him, few people had Pal’s uniquely alarming temperament.

When Les showed no intention of answering, Pal swallowed and followed nervously. They moved against the stream of passengers descending from the ships and soon reached the meeting point.

Les paused, transformed into the far more conspicuous giant wolf, and sat at the dock entrance as a marker. He hoped the person they awaited would see him immediately.

A loud whistle sounded from the harbor, announcing another ship’s arrival. Pal raised one hand over his brow and squinted at the emerging crowd.

This vessel appeared to have come from Beast. A great mass of beastfolk poured from the dock. Most had long hair in unusual colors, and many beasts emerged carrying luggage in their mouths.

Suddenly, Les’s motionless ears rose. He stood and looked in one direction.

Pal remained in human form, with hearing and scent less acute than his beast form. Nor did he know the scent of Les’s “important elder.” Still, his cousin’s reaction revealed that the person had arrived. Pal followed the giant wolf’s gaze—and nearly collapsed to his knees.

“It has been a long time, Les.”

The man who appeared before them was a handsome beastfolk with long silver hair. They both knew he had reached middle age, though his appearance made his true age difficult to judge.

Carter III narrowed his mismatched eyes—one gold and one blue—and smiled at them.

Then his gaze moved to Pal in mild surprise.

“Hm? Pal is here too. Come to think of it, your father said you will graduate soon?”

Pal’s tongue trembled in shock. He could not form a complete word.

“Your—Your Ma—”

“Your pronunciation remains worrying. You cannot even say Uncle William’s name properly.”

The cat emperor smiled and gave his shoulder a warning pat. Then he turned toward Les.

“I have missed you, my child. It has been so long. Seeing you in good health puts my mind at ease.”

Carter III studied him from head to toe with emotion.

“I missed you too… sir.”

Les transformed back into a man and bent to embrace him. He almost said “Your Majesty,” but the title circled in his throat and emerged as “sir.”

They had not seen each other for more than a year. As far as Les knew, Carter III had never left Beast during that time, while Les had never returned. Their last meeting had occurred when Les decided to search for Aisha.

Seeing the elder he revered after so long made Les’s throat tighten.

“Come. Let’s go to the lodgings.”

After releasing Les, Carter III naturally patted his back like any affectionate elder.

“The voyage tired me. I would like to rest.”

Les paused, nodded, and lifted the case beside him. Pal stared at the scene in near terror, his mind full of questions about why His Majesty was here and what in the world “William” meant. Only when Les moved did Pal recover enough to rush forward and help with the luggage. He followed with his head full of confusion.

…

The lodging stood close to the central square, the Free Arena, and Les’s current residence, making it suitable for Carter III’s plans. A suite with two bedrooms was available. Once Fawkes finished managing the aftermath and reached Wold, he could stay there too.

After arriving, Carter III walked through the suite and found the decor acceptable. He sat on the sofa and looked at the black panther and giant wolf before him.

Pal remained in shock. He stared fearfully at the man resting his head on one hand and asked with great care, “Your Majesty… um, why are you…”

“Uncle William or Mr. William,” Carter III corrected with a smile.

The hotel walls were soundproof, so he did not greatly mind Pal’s mistake. Still, he wanted the young man to adjust quickly.

“Do not be so surprised. Is it strange that I might take an interest in the World Tournament? Besides, Les is my child. If he intends to compete, it is only right that I come and watch.”

“What?!”

Pal’s eyes widened. He looked from Les to Carter III, unable to understand what had happened.

“L-Les, you’re competing?!”

Les paused and inclined his head.

“…I only decided recently. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

“Really?!”

Pal instantly lit with joy. He even forgot that Carter III was present and that he needed to watch his manners.

“Yes.”

Les nodded again and explained the situation.

“His Majesty also entered Wold under a concealed identity. Be certain to use the correct form of address in public. His name here is William Nelson… an elder of mine.”

Les paused for several seconds and frowned.

His Majesty appeared to have chosen the name “William” without any special meaning. It was not an uncommon name.

And yet Les always felt that Carter III was unusually fond of it.

Perhaps that was only his imagination.

Les gathered his thoughts and continued, “Of course, he may also be considered your elder. His Majesty intends to remain here until the World Tournament ends, so…”

Because Pal was careless, Les deliberately slowed his speech and carefully listed every precaution. He was not naturally skilled at explaining things and occasionally stopped to choose his words.

Since learning that Les would compete, however, Pal’s face had remained in a state of excitement. Les could not tell how much he absorbed. After listing everything, Les questioned him on several points. Only when Pal answered each one correctly did he relax.

Once Pal knew everything he needed to know, the young black panther left happily. Les and Carter III remained alone in the suite.

Silence settled over the room. Yet because the two had lived like father and son for many years, the atmosphere became peaceful and warm.

Carter III studied Les closely again. His gaze held all the pride of a true father admiring an excellent son who had grown into a man.

“Then how have you been? Apart from the girl’s mother, are things going well between you?”

At the mention of Aisha, Les’s usually stern face softened without his awareness. A faint smile appeared.

“…Very well. She is well, and I… am happy.”

In truth, this period could be called the happiest time of Les’s life.

Before now, his happiest years had been his childhood in the royal palace of Beast. His Majesty treated him with great kindness. Although Carter III had no children of his own, he raised Les as a son.

Les grew up drinking cat’s milk beside three kittens who would one day inherit Beast’s throne—Kallen, Kate, and Katie. They were like his brother and sisters, and he revered His Majesty as a father. Because of Carter III, his childhood contained little of the darkness and grief an orphan might otherwise have suffered.

Even so, Les sometimes felt confusion. He was a wolf. As his body grew, he wondered why he was so much larger than His Majesty, Kate, and Katie. The difference existed not only in beast form. Even as humans, Les towered over the others.

That confusion gave him a sense of not belonging. It taught him that he could never truly be part of the palace’s beautiful, luxurious chambers.

Then His Majesty took him for the first time to his real home, the wolf castle on his fief, and showed him portraits of his parents. Les immediately decided his future. He would become a soldier like them. That was the destiny of a wolf.

He left Beast for Wold Warrior School and entered the army afterward. In those places, he finally encountered others like himself. Most beastfolk at the school and in the army had large animal forms belonging to carnivores in nature—lions, tigers, bears, and wolves like him, though smaller.

His sense of not belonging disappeared, but a new loneliness replaced it.

Until he met Aisha.

It was a strange feeling.

Aisha was not one of his kind and shared no blood with him. She was not even beastfolk. Yet when he smelled her fragrance, felt her warmth, held her in his arms, kissed her, or merely saw her offer a shy or happy smile, the loneliness that had followed him for so long vanished naturally. The part of his heart that had always been waiting filled with astonishing ease.

He knew it was too early to think this way. Saying it aloud would surely embarrass and frighten her. But if possible, he wanted a future with her.

“I see. Then I am glad.”

Carter III smiled with relief at the change in Les’s expression.

“Oh… I forgot to tell you before. Things went very well for me too.”

Les stared in confusion.

He did not understand what His Majesty meant and waited for an explanation. None came.

Carter III merely stroked his chin.

“In fact, I considered something on the journey and reached a decision. Since I am here, I may as well enter the World Tournament too.”

Les recoiled. Before he could object, Carter III smiled.

“What? Are you afraid I will lose miserably? My beast form certainly offers little advantage, but do not forget who taught you swordsmanship as a child. Mm… although you no longer use a sword.”

“No…” Les said instinctively.

He had certainly not forgotten that Carter III was an excellent swordsman—exceptional, in fact. The royal family of Beast had mastered the sword for generations. In human form, they could fight the beast forms of enormous animals using swordsmanship alone. Otherwise, His Majesty could never have led armies personally during the war.

Before Les entered Wold Warrior School, Carter III had taught him and the three heirs to use swords. Les later discovered that changing between human and beast form produced greater strength in real combat, while weapons made those transformations inconvenient.

He still wore a sword with his uniform, but it was usually decorative. Most of the time, he relied on hand-to-hand combat.

“There is no need to stop me. Kallen and the others are grown now. I should be allowed to do a few things I desire. Don’t worry. I’ll use an alias and withdraw before going too far.

“If I were injured, merely imagining how the ministers would howl gives me a headache. They have nearly clawed my floors apart with their protests.”

Carter III tapped his knuckles against the table.

“In truth… there is something I want, and I intend to earn it at the World Tournament. It is not difficult to obtain, but it will have meaning only if I win it myself.”

Les stared. “You mean…”

Carter III smiled faintly. “Exactly. It is—”

…

“A victory flower?”

That day, Aisha sat in the stands and repeated the phrase in confusion.

As the temperature rose day by day, spring flowers faded beneath the first rains of summer and fresh green leaves spread across the trees. With early summer’s arrival, the long-awaited World Tournament was about to begin.

Today was the opening ceremony and the first formal appearance of the invited guests, Tina Killott and Princess Elizabeth.

Tina required no introduction. Enough people wanted to see her to form a line from Wold to Vitas and then around the entire continent.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, had been almost unknown. But because the princes and princesses invited to past tournaments were generally outstanding representatives of their kingdoms and future national leaders, the public found this unfamiliar princess “mysterious,” which aroused powerful curiosity.

Almost everyone believed this tournament would become a landmark event. Even if the matches proved dull, the unprecedented presence of two invited guests would place it in history.

Tickets for the opening ceremony had long since reached astronomical prices on the black market. Obtaining one was nearly impossible.

As Tina’s daughter, Aisha could naturally obtain a special ticket and even sit in a reserved place near the front. She had also volunteered for the medical team, just as she had during the Tower of Magic examinations, and could have sat with them.

In the end, however, she chose to sit with Les and Pal.

Even in the Heart of the World, Aisha rarely saw so many people pour into one location. She looked around curiously while chatting with Pal before the opening ceremony.

“Exactly!”

Once Pal began discussing the tournament, his hands moved with such excitement that he could not stop.

“During the formal tournament after the qualifiers, a competitor receives one bouquet for every opponent defeated. Originally, the flowers merely marked the victor, which is why they’re called victory flowers. But at some point, victors with someone they love began giving their flowers to the person they admired or to their lover.

“If they have no one, and the invited guest happens to be of the opposite sex, they give the flowers to that guest. A victory flower symbolizes glory! Plenty of people use them to confess their love, and the success rate is very high.

“No matter what, I want to reach the formal tournament. Once I get a flower—”

Pal grew more excited with every word, his eyes shining as though he already had a lover or someone he admired. Then he suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Come to think of it, didn’t Les enter once before? It was the year he graduated. He didn’t win the whole tournament, but his ranking in the formal matches was astonishing for a student who had not yet graduated. He earned many victory flowers. The invited guest that year was a man, so I heard…”

Aisha froze.

She and Les were lovers now, and each was the other’s first love. They remained clumsy whenever romance was involved. Even so, Aisha discovered that she cared intensely about what Pal might say.

Her heart began pounding. A faint jealousy rose toward the girl who might have received those flowers. She watched Pal nervously and waited for him to continue.

Les recoiled too. The incident had occurred many years ago, and he had no idea how Pal had learned about it.

Remembering what he had done, Les grew embarrassed. He did not want Aisha to know, but it was already too late to stop Pal.

Pal blurted, “He turned all the victory flowers into a salad and ate them…”