How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 97

“We haven’t decided yet.”

This question was easier to answer than the last. Les hesitated, then met Tina’s gaze.

“We… only just decided to take a walk together. We don’t have any plans. But… I’ll do everything I can to make sure Aisha never finds being with me an ordeal.”

Les’s voice was calm, and that very calmness made his words sound exceptionally natural and resolute. Holding the flowers, Aisha instinctively looked up at him. Les’s gaze was like the surface of a windless lake, without the slightest sign of wavering.

In truth, Les could not possibly face Tina Killott without nervousness. She was the mother of the woman he loved and an officer of higher rank than he was, with a formidable reputation in every regard. And at present, he had no means of winning her favor.

Ever since he and Aisha began dating, every day had been as blissful as a dream. Each day, he wanted to take her hand and never let go. But… if he wished Aisha to feel the same happiness he did, then he would need her mother’s approval.

Les made up his mind. He straightened his back and met Tina’s eyes without evasion. Tina appeared slightly taken aback by his words.

After a brief pause, Major General Wolf spoke again. “Lieutenant General Killott, have you… ever competed in the World Tournament?”

Tina stared. “Why do you ask?”

“My position makes it inappropriate for me to challenge you directly,” Les said steadily. “So… I would like to try another method.”

He paused for several seconds and pressed his lips together.

“You must understand that I… love Aisha.”

In fact, winning Tina Killott’s recognition was the reason he had entered the World Tournament in the first place. His Majesty Carter III had granted him special permission to compete for that very reason. Now the formal matches had already begun, and Les still did not know whether this method would work. But at present… he could think of no other.

He was not someone skilled at speaking in circles, while Tina had been perfectly direct. Rather than continuing to fight through the tournament in the hope that Tina might suddenly notice his virtues and approve of his relationship with Aisha, he might as well reveal his purpose and attitude from the beginning, demonstrate his resolve, and see whether he had a chance.

Les was deeply anxious because he did not know whether Tina would agree to give him a chance on those terms, but he continued to meet her gaze with determination.

“…I see.” Tina finally understood. She frowned and looked Les over appraisingly. “You’re roughly the same age I was then, I suppose. But…”

Tina thought for a moment before continuing.

“I competed twice, both while studying abroad in Wold. Both times I withdrew after being injured during crucial matches, so my best result was only fourteenth place. If I competed now, I would be confident of winning the championship. But words prove nothing, and you are young. I don’t want to… make Aisha feel that I’m bullying you.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Aisha. Aisha had already been nervous, and when Tina gave her that meaningful look, her cheeks flushed.

In truth, even for Tina Killott, reaching that position before graduation was an earthshaking achievement. It had undoubtedly been the finest result among students of her era. After all, the World Tournament included many warriors and mages of world-class ability. Top-tier mages and warriors like Claudia and Eric might not necessarily appear, but even an ordinary advanced professional warrior was exceptionally difficult to defeat. Moreover, Tina had only withdrawn because of injuries…

Aisha was already greatly astonished. At the same time, of course… she was also somewhat worried about Les.

After looking at her, Tina turned back to Les. “If you can reach the top five, then I’ll consider it as though… we fought a duel and you won.”

Les paused, then nodded to show that he understood.

No one would doubt that Tina Killott might win the championship if she competed now. More accurately, the moment she entered, everyone would assume the championship was certainly hers. Yet she had set the standard for him at the top five. It was an unexpectedly tolerant and reasonable condition. Les knew that this was as far as Tina could yield.

“I… will make it.”

Les gave his word.

“Mm.”

Tina nodded distractedly.

In truth, she knew that Major General Wolf possessed both fine character and ability. She did not dislike him, and after her previous conversation with Aisha, some of her resistance had eased. She merely needed a reason… one that would allow her to reluctantly accept this fellow who was trying to share her daughter.

As for the cultural conflicts between different races and the difficulties of a cross-national relationship… those were for Aisha to judge for herself.

Still burdened with concern for Aisha, Tina gave Les one final complicated look before telling them, “I’m going back. The next match is about to begin.”

“Mm. Goodbye, Mother.”

“…Goodbye, Lieutenant General Killott.”

Tina nodded to both of them, turned, and swiftly departed. Once she was gone, Les and Aisha released breaths of relief almost in unison and relaxed somewhat.

Les felt particularly reassured. Having a concrete goal was much better than the formless pressure he had endured before. And… now he could finally take Aisha away.

At the thought, Les lowered his head to look at her, then paused because Aisha was already looking at him.

“…Thank you,” Aisha said.

“…?”

Les looked confused.

Aisha merely smiled and offered no further explanation.

She was thanking Les for being willing to undertake something so troublesome for her, and she was moved by his tenderness.

However…

Aisha pressed her lips together.

She bore some responsibility in this matter as well. She could not simply take it for granted that Les would solve everything. Tina’s intense desire to protect her came, in one sense… from Aisha appearing insufficiently mature and incapable of standing on her own. She had to… work harder.

Aisha drew a deep breath.

Les watched her in confusion. “Is something wrong?”

“No.”

Aisha shook her head and smiled at him.

“I just… suddenly really want to kiss you.”

“…!”

“Could you lower your head a little…? Mm!”

They leaned close and exchanged a cautious kiss. Almost no one was outside the Free Arena at this hour; everyone was inside concentrating on the match. Still, they were on a public street, so they did not dare become too intimate or let the kiss linger too long. When it ended, Les and Aisha smiled at each other. Aisha’s smile was radiant, while a faint smile also glimmered in Major General Wolf’s eyes. The atmosphere grew tender without either of them noticing.

Aisha rubbed her burning face to hide the blush that had just appeared, then studied the flowers in her arms as if something had occurred to her. “Come to think of it…”

“What?”

“You can’t eat this kind of lily… can you?”

“…”

…

And so, after Major General Wolf was forced to spend an extra half hour during their date explaining to his girlfriend that all the flowers he had received before truly had been edible, and that he really had not eaten anything strange, life returned to its usual course.

The World Tournament progressed quickly and only accelerated as it went on, producing a large number of victors and corresponding losers at a rate of three matches a day. Pal successfully won the victory flowers from his first round, then gloriously ate them like an unattached warrior. Unfortunately, in the second round he encountered several powerful professional warriors in succession and was eliminated. Of course, merely reaching the formal tournament was already an honor for a student who had not yet graduated, so Pal was not especially discouraged. He happily began gathering information on Les’s opponents and sometimes accompanied Aisha when she watched the matches from the stands. Competitors and medical-team volunteers had access to internal ticket channels and discounts, making tickets much easier for them to obtain than for ordinary spectators.

Les, meanwhile, continued advancing smoothly without a single defeat. Aisha consequently received many victory flowers. And because some people still misunderstood Les’s gesture as a tribute to a healer, she also received a few bouquets by mistake, to her mingled amusement and exasperation. Someone else in a somewhat similar situation was… Elizabeth.

Prince Brandon of the darkfolk was not a true warrior, after all. Several years ago, he appeared to have been admitted to the Advanced Warrior Academy during the examination where he met Elizabeth, but he voluntarily withdrew not long after enrolling. No one knew whether the war or some personal reason had caused it. Luck had probably played some part in his victories thus far. The World Tournament did not eliminate a competitor after a single loss. Instead, competitors were divided into groups and fought round-robin matches, with their final ranking determining who advanced. Brandon had both won and lost. He had even withdrawn from one or two matches because he felt unwell, but overall, he had remained within the qualifying range. And furthermore… he continued giving all his victory flowers to Elizabeth.

As the tournament progressed, more and more people began offering Elizabeth flowers. Many merely believed their first bouquet ought to go to Tina and, after they had already given her one, would offer a later bouquet to Elizabeth out of courtesy. Some darkfolk also felt that presenting Elizabeth with flowers seemed a way of demonstrating support for Prince Brandon and the South Duke, both symbols of the peace faction. As a result, Elizabeth inexplicably received quite a number of bouquets from darkfolk competitors.

Yet although she was receiving more flowers, Brandon remained the first person to have given her any. More importantly, he continued giving his to her… Aisha could sense that her friend Princess Elizabeth was gradually beginning to care about the darkfolk prince she had once disliked and feared. And… her feelings seemed different from what they had been before.

“I still don’t understand why he gives me flowers…”

Elizabeth lowered her head and toyed with the bouquet in her hands, an armful of white roses in brilliant bloom.

“And every time he presents them, he hugs me once afterward, but he has never said a single word.”

Elizabeth looked confused, uneasy, and lost. Aisha patted her shoulder reassuringly, then watched Elizabeth finish adjusting the white roses before lifting a bouquet of red roses with an even more complicated expression.

Because Elizabeth had rarely received gifts while growing up, she carefully preserved every bouquet she received during the World Tournament. She placed them in vases filled with water and did not throw them away until they had completely withered. These two bouquets were still wrapped and were plainly recent gifts. Looking at the equally vivid and beautiful red roses, fresh enough to glisten, Aisha asked, “Did Brandon give you those too?”

“No…”

Elizabeth shook her head.

“Edward did.”

After organizing her thoughts, Elizabeth continued softly. “I don’t know why, but he seems gentler with me lately. When he won last time, the victory flowers arranged for him weren’t red roses. He specifically asked to exchange them before giving them to me. And when he presented the flowers, he invited me to be his partner for the ball. You know, Aisha—the one after the World Tournament…”