How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 98

There was indeed a ball after the World Tournament. Originally, it had been held so that the warriors and mages who had fought one another so fiercely during the competition could eat, drink, shake hands, and make peace without carrying grudges away with them. As history progressed, the ball grew increasingly grand. It became both a customary part of the World Tournament and one of the events that kept competitors motivated and eager. Everyone who reached the formal tournament was invited, as were the tournament’s invited guests, organizers, staff, and the female or male partners accompanying any of them. The number of attendees alone made it clear how enormous the ball would be.

Aisha had nothing to worry about in that regard. As a volunteer with the medical team, she was included among the invitees, and she would certainly attend with Les. Her only concern was whether Tina might start fighting Les at the ball… Of course, her father would probably accompany her mother, which ought to improve the situation considerably. Hock always possessed an unexpected ability to calm Tina when she grew agitated, and he had seemed more accepting regarding Aisha. When he learned that she was dating Major General Wolf, he had merely patted her head.

Elizabeth, however, truly did look troubled. Though Aisha did not like her fiancé Edward, the princess’s expression still puzzled her enough to ask, “…What is it? Do you not like him anymore?”

“No…” Elizabeth shook her head and toyed with the petals of the roses in her hands. “I just… think it feels a little strange.”

“Hm? What feels strange?”

“Well…”

Elizabeth pondered for a while. To be honest, if asked to explain precisely what was strange, she could not seem to do it. It was simply that… being with Edward had somehow felt easier before, when he was not so attentive toward her.

And for some reason, she ought normally to have been relieved and happily accepted an invitation he extended of his own accord. Yet this time, her instinctive response had been reluctance… almost as though… she thought someone more important might still come to invite her…

Elizabeth jolted back to awareness, startled by her own fleeting thought. She hurriedly covered it with a smile for Aisha and shook her head.

“Perhaps I’m simply not used to the way we interact now.” Elizabeth unconsciously touched her weakened wrist. “I’ll probably be fine once I grow accustomed to it…”

Her voice dwindled as she spoke. Only after her pounding heart gradually settled, and she desperately forced herself to forget the thoughts that even she found bizarre, did Elizabeth collect herself and smile at Aisha again.

“By the way, Aisha, more importantly… have you thought about what kind of work you want to do after graduation?”

“Huh?”

The abrupt change of subject caught Aisha unprepared.

“Oh, is it still too early to talk about that?” Seeing Aisha’s surprise, Elizabeth smiled. Her appearance might not have been especially striking, but her smile carried a certain sweetness, and the gloomy air immediately dispersed. “I was only curious… Since you’re particularly gifted at healing magic, do you think you’ll become a healer someday?”

Elizabeth appeared genuinely interested in her future work, so Aisha paused and gave the question serious thought.

Becoming a healer was indeed the most obvious choice for her. As a mage with unusual abilities, her development in general magic was limited, making healing the field best suited to her. When she had first left Philray, that was certainly what she had intended. But as her horizons broadened and she learned more and more, merely calling herself a healer somehow seemed insufficient…

Aisha shook her head. “I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps I will.”

“I see…” Elizabeth made an earnest effort to appear understanding and smiled at her. “Whatever you choose, I’m sure you’ll do it well.”

“Thank you.”

Aisha returned Elizabeth’s kindness with a smile. But when she lowered her head, confusion entered her expression once more.

To tell the truth, she seemed to harbor a faint aversion to the word “graduation.”

It was not only a question of her career. There was also her future with Les…

As her thoughts wandered, bewilderment gradually appeared on Aisha’s face.

…

Whatever the future might hold, the most important matter at present was still the issue between Les and Tina. In the blink of an eye, as the post-tournament ball drew closer day by day, the World Tournament itself quietly neared its conclusion. The farther the tournament progressed, the stronger the remaining competitors became. As the results grew less predictable and the matches more exciting, ticket prices climbed relentlessly.

Prince Edward had been stopped late in the second round. Brandon advanced somewhat farther, but perhaps because of his health, every match seemed increasingly difficult for him. He was finally eliminated at around thirtieth place. Neither could continue giving Elizabeth flowers, and she actually appeared relieved.

Aisha could not relax. Tina’s requirement for Les was a place in the top five. Yet by the time competition for the top ten began, nearly all ten remaining competitors were elite professionals already well known in warrior and mage circles. Predictions became a favorite topic throughout Wold. Analyses of each competitor’s strengths and weaknesses even appeared in all the city’s major newspapers. The tournament had reached a fever pitch.

Compared with the other competitors, who were already quite famous or had at least participated in the World Tournament before, one of the ten remaining warriors and mages eligible to contend for the championship stood out as especially unusual.

“William Nelson!”

This was not the first time Aisha had heard the name in the medical team’s lounge. In fact, since the tournament entered its final stage, it was probably the name she had heard there most often. The reason was simple…

“William Nelson. Age unknown, but apparently in his thirties. No previous World Tournament record. Beastfolk, from Beast. Beast form unknown. Has fought exclusively in human form and remains undefeated…”

Another girl volunteering with the medical team tirelessly repeated William Nelson’s information once more. Excitement covered her face, and she was plainly about to reach the most important part.

“And not only that—he’s extremely handsome! His features are refined enough to rival an elf’s, but he still has that wild quality beastfolk possess… Actually, I happened to see him somewhere else once. Even his ordinary clothes are incredibly luxurious. A beastfolk classmate told me that someone dressed in that style might be a noble from Beast, though we have no idea what his rank could be. And William has taken away all the victory flowers he’s won. Who knows whom he’s giving them to…”

People always grew excited over gossip, and few things were more entertaining than discussing a mysterious, handsome, and quite possibly very wealthy man. Once the girl began, everyone else crowded around eagerly and happily shared whatever intelligence they had gathered. The lounge soon filled with cheerful conversation.

Aisha did not join the discussion, but she quietly listened to every word and committed it to memory. Because she cared so much about Les’s ranking, she had lately paid close attention to anyone who might become his opponent. She often read the newspapers’ predictions and analyses, hoping to gain some sense of security, but in truth, they did nothing to ease her anxiety.

Worse, the closer Les’s next match came, the more violently her heart fluttered whenever she thought of it.

The tournament had reached its climactic final stage. To preserve both suspense and the competitors’ strength, the schedule had changed from three matches per day to one. The medical team’s work was consequently lighter than ever before, leaving plenty of time for conversation. The girls were chatting enthusiastically when a volunteer who had been shirking her duties suddenly rushed back in excitement.

“He won! William Nelson won!”

The lounge instantly erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Aisha hurriedly clapped along. In truth, they did not care who had won and applauded every victor. Still, because the winner this time was the mysterious William, their applause was particularly fervent.

“In that case, according to the order arranged earlier… next week will be William Nelson against Major General Les Wolf.”

Suddenly, a girl who was relatively close to Aisha hooked an arm through hers and whispered teasingly with a grin.

“Well? Are you going to ask for leave again?”

Though she kept her voice low, everyone else plainly heard. The next instant, every healer and volunteer in the lounge looked at Aisha with suppressed smiles and identical expressions of wicked amusement.

Aisha’s face reddened, and she did not know what to say. After Les gave her his first victory flowers, not every spectator or staff member had understood the situation, but at least everyone on the medical team knew about their relationship. They teased her about it constantly and often gathered to watch when Les brought her later bouquets. Aisha found it both embarrassing and mortifying, and she still had not fully grown accustomed to it.

But… William Nelson?

Worry crept into her expression.

Of course she remembered the beastfolk warrior with long silver hair and mismatched eyes. His appearance was exceptionally distinctive, and his unidentified beast form had inspired all manner of speculation. Moreover, the farther the World Tournament progressed, the stronger every opponent became…

Aisha unconsciously clasped her hands tightly before her chest.

…

At that very moment, the mysterious beastfolk warrior “William Nelson,” fresh from an exhilarating battle, happened to be walking out of the World Tournament arena with a new bouquet of victory flowers. Seeing the three beastfolk who had long been waiting at the entrance—two people and one fox—he smiled and approached them.

Unlike Les and Pal, who habitually used human form in Wold, Fawkes preferred his original beast form wherever he went. Of course, that had something to do with the agility and compact size of his fox body. Carter III casually handed the bouquet to the red fox crouched on the ground, signaling for him to preserve these victory flowers with magic like the others. Only then could they remain at their freshest when carried home and… presented to someone.

Fawkes respectfully accepted the flowers and skillfully laid a magic array over them. Then he held the bouquet between his front paws and stood quietly to one side.

Carter III stepped forward, patted Les on the shoulder, and smiled. “It appears you will be my next opponent… Since you turned twelve, I have had few opportunities to witness your growth with my own eyes. So this time… I look forward to it, my child.”