The golden light of his eyes shining in the darkness made my whole body freeze. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.
‘Is he angry because I treated his precious wolf like a dog?’
Nervously, I looked up at him, but instead of the anger I expected, Billy’s eyes softened into a gentle curve.
“I didn’t know Jack enjoyed that so much. Thanks to you, I’ve learned something useful.”
His words were entirely unexpected.
As the realization that I’d avoided a crisis sank in, my frozen body collapsed like a deflated balloon.
‘Why does he always say things in such a confusing way?!’
I couldn’t help but glare at him. The saying “birds of a feather flock together” came to mind—it seemed Billy’s way of speaking was slightly similar to Nick’s.
Afterward, Billy kindly escorted me back to my room.
After leaving with a “Sleep well,” he closed the door, and I immediately flopped onto the soft cushion prepared next to the bed.
For some reason, I felt utterly drained. The moment I closed my eyes, I fell asleep, only to wake up when the sun was already high in the sky.
“I thought all animals woke up early in the morning,” Ed said curiously after coming to find me and realizing he’d returned empty-handed earlier.
There was a subtle edge to his words, but I decided not to respond. Ed explained that he had come to take care of me until I could transform back into a human.
‘How embarrassing is it that Ed’s here to look after me, even though I’m supposed to be his guardian?’
Mortified, I squirmed, but Ed seemed to enjoy taking care of me.
Today marked exactly 24 hours since I had turned into a sheep at the mage tower, and finally, I was able to revert to my human form. Overwhelmed with emotion, I shed tears of relief.
‘I’ll never transform into a sheep again!’
I vowed to myself never to go back to that form. Living as a quadruped after a lifetime as a human was far harder than I could have imagined.
The thought of spending an entire day as prey in a mansion full of wolves still sent chills down my spine.
‘But at least there was one positive outcome.’
I thought of Jack, whom I had been forced to befriend for the quest. Even though he was considered the gentlest of the wolves, he was still a predator. Knowing that he saw me as a playmate rather than prey gave me a bit of confidence.
With that newfound courage, I even started to feel ambitious about befriending the other wolves in the mansion. After all, I couldn’t keep sneaking around to avoid them forever. And since I had no idea how long I’d be staying here, I didn’t want to continue living like this.
Clenching my fist in determination, I looked down at Ed, who stood beside me. He stared back with an expression that seemed to say, “What’s this sheep-person up to now?”
Up until now, I had always stayed either in my room or Ed’s to avoid the mansion staff, but for the first time, I resolved to explore the mansion.
‘Ed, today, let’s play whatever games you want inside the mansion!’
But when I opened my mouth to speak, no sound came out. Startled, I quickly closed it again.
The reward I had received for completing the <Befriend the Wolf> quest had been a 10% reduction in the appearance of selection windows. Yet, the moment I reverted to human form, another one popped up!
The randomness of the selection windows made it impossible to control when they appeared.
‘How great would it be if I could just turn these on and off as I wanted!’
No matter how much I grumbled internally, no new quest appeared. Instead, I resignedly read through the options displayed in front of me:
- Today, I’ll let you play whatever games you want. Go ahead, tell me what you’d like to do.
- I’m so sick of being cooped up in the room or the garden. Is there anywhere fun to explore in the mansion?
- Where in the mansion has the most wolves? I’m not scared of wolves, so lead the way.
A sigh of relief escaped me. None of the options seemed sharp enough to hurt Ed’s feelings.
‘Let’s see, option two is a bit harsh, and I don’t like option three, so that leaves only one choice.’
I quickly selected the first option. Then, against my will, my arms crossed, and I started striding toward the door.
‘Wait, what’s happening?!’
Even as I moved, I had no idea what I’d do next, which made me incredibly nervous.
When I reached the door, I kicked it open with a loud bang.
The staff passing by outside jumped in surprise and turned to look at me.
“Today, I’ll let you play whatever games you want. Go ahead, tell me what you’d like to do,” I declared in an arrogant tone as if I were granting Ed a great favor. Only then was I released from the control of the selection window.
The startled staff, frozen at the unusual behavior I had just displayed, slowly began to move again.
‘…I’m doomed.’
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead. While nervously glancing at the staff, I turned my eyes back into the room. Ed looked delighted, while Mimo gazed at me with an exasperated expression.
“Really? Not just in the room or some corner of the garden?” Ed asked excitedly.
It seemed he was thoroughly tired of spending time with me in such limited spaces. Feeling a bit guilty, I nodded, and Ed propped his chin on his hand, pondering seriously.
It was at that moment that I completely forgot about an important appointment. My day spent as a sheep had been so chaotic that I hadn’t remembered until now.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of a knock, I turned my head to see Billy standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. Judging by his polished attire and neatly styled hair, he seemed to have an external engagement.
“If you want to arrive on time, you’d better hurry and get ready,” he said.
“Huh? What do I need to prepare for… Ah!”
Only then, upon hearing Billy’s words, did I remember today’s important schedule. I hurried over to the vanity while calling out to Ed.
“Ed! I’m sorry, but today won’t work. I completely forgot about my appointment!”
Today was the day we were supposed to visit the children’s shelter for lunch. But because I had transformed into a sheep, Billy had rescheduled it to the evening.
I quickly checked my face and hair and rummaged through the wardrobe for a simple, practical dress. As I did, my eyes met Ed’s, who was standing awkwardly in the room.
I already felt bad enough for canceling on him right after suggesting we play together, but seeing the disappointed look on his face made it even worse.
I threw the dress I picked onto the bed, walked over to Ed, bent down to meet his eye level, and gently placed my hands on his shoulders. Looking him straight in the eyes, I said,
“Want to come with me?”
As soon as he heard my words, Ed’s face lit up in an instant.
“I’ll go get ready right away!”
He dashed out of the room like a bullet, and I couldn’t help but smile fondly as I watched him disappear.
At that moment, Billy strolled into the room and casually sat down at the table in the center.
Seeing him lean back comfortably against the chair, I picked up my dress and cautiously said,
“Uh, I need to change into this.”
“Ah.”
At the sight of the dress in my hands, Billy let out a brief response before leisurely standing up and walking out of the room. His calm, composed demeanor made me wonder if he’d ever been caught off guard in his entire life.
A little while later, Ed and I finished getting ready and climbed into the carriage, which began heading toward the children’s shelter.
***
The carriage traveled down a familiar road and arrived at the shelter. Ed’s eyes sparkled as he curiously looked around.
‘Now that I think about it, Ed probably doesn’t know much about the incident.’
I pondered how I could explain the children’s circumstances to him. Just then, the director, who appeared a bit flustered and out of breath, greeted us warmly and guided us inside.
Billy walked slowly, matching Ed and me, as we followed the director. As soon as we stepped into the shelter, the children I had met last time ran out to greet us, their voices ringing loudly.
“Wow! It’s the herbivore beastkin sister!”
“And there’s a little kid here too?!”
“Hey, who are you?”
The children quickly surrounded me, their curious eyes fixed on Ed, who was holding my hand tightly.
Despite the sudden attention, Ed remained calm and introduced himself.
“I’m Ed Luovre.”
It was a brief and straightforward introduction, but the children immediately accepted it, recognizing the surname “Luovre.”
“A young master?”
“Did you come here to play with us?”
Even with the children bombarding him with endless questions, Ed patiently answered them one by one. While he occasionally acted spoiled around me, he seemed especially mature among kids his own age.
Then, one of the children, noticing Ed and I holding hands, asked innocently,
“But why are you holding hands with the herbivore beastkin sister?”
“Ah, that’s because…”
I was about to answer on Ed’s behalf when he suddenly spoke.
“Because she’s my mom.”
His answer was so shocking that I almost couldn’t believe my ears. Ed, however, remained utterly composed after dropping such a bombshell.
“What?! Wait a second!”
I immediately tried to deny it, waving my free hand in the air. But before I could, my hand was suddenly held in place.
I turned to see Billy gripping my other hand with a faint smile. The children’s bright eyes now sparkled with even greater interest as they fixed their gazes on us.
Billy subtly shook his head, a gesture small enough that the children wouldn’t notice, then leaned in and whispered softly so only I could hear,
“Why don’t we play along with Ed’s tune for now?”
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