Episode 38: The First Piece (5)
“No. You…”
…can’t save me.
“Can’t save him.”
Muriel couldn’t respond. Because a giant wolf had appeared in the room. Just as Kaiton reached out towards the floor, a massive wolf with white fur and bluish glow appeared.
“What… is this?!”
The air in the room quickly cooled. With each movement of the wolf, ice particles seemed to shimmer and swirl over its snowy white fur. The wolf seemed to be saying with his whole body that the place he belonged to was a cold snowfield.
“This is my familiar. Since Sharon’s dog doesn’t seem to be able to protect you properly, I’ll give it to you as a gift.”
Contrary to its size, the wolf landed gracefully on the floor and circled around Kaiton, as if responding to his words. Despite its elegant and slow movements, seeing the wolf wrapped its tail around Kaiton’s waist, they seemed pretty close.
“Oh, no. That’s okay.”
What do you mean she had to have a wolf by her side…
It was absolutely out of the question.
Although slightly inthralled by the divine beauty of the silver monster’s appearance, it still wouldn’t work. She didn’t know what Kaiton’s deal was, but she couldn’t go around retrieving his fragments while carrying his minion, or rather, his minion wolf.
“Don’t hesitate. You’ll help the Demon King… they’re absurd words, but it’s praise for standing on his side anyway.”
Praise with such a cold face? What kind of praise is that?
When she Kaiton’s eyes flicker dangerously, she concluded that refusing was the right conclusion.
She was already in a position where she was being moderately punished, so she roughly declined by saying she couldn’t travel with such extravagant protection, but Kaiton seemed unwilling to back down.
He fondly patted the wolf’s head and whispered, “Go on.”
“No, wait a minute…!”
Despite her mournful cry, the wolf faithfully followed Kaiton’s command and jumped up. The white, cold beast leaped straight towards Muriel. His momentum was so overwhelming and fierce that it felt like a blizzard was suddenly blowing.
“Hiak.”
There was no way to avoid its light and agile movements.
Muriel let out a foolish scream and stumbled.
“He’ll be better than Sharan’s drugged dog. Much better than your humble magic.”
“I don’t need it…”
“He understands words well, so it would be best not to say such cruel things.”
Kaiton chuckled teasingly, completely devoid of any sympathy. He said that it would be better not to hurt the creature’s feelings because he sulked for a long time.
It must have been intentional. The advice was too late.
Despite its massive size and elegant appearance, the creature that easily got upset seemed to be already offended.
The white beast angrily poked Muriel’s side with its snout. Seeing that she suddenly felt choked for a second, even though she wasn’t sure, it seemed like there was going to be a huge bruise where it’d poked her.
“Why… why are you doing this… Stop. Go away.”
-Grrrr.
“…It won’t bite, will it? It looks like it’s about to charge…!”
It wasn’t just a feeling; he really seemed like he could swallow her in one bite. With the massive creature immobilizing her limbs, she couldn’t escape. The only fortunate thing was that he didn’t climb on top of her, seemingly aware of his own weight, but he used its sharp claws to hold her clothes in place.
“…Well, I’m sure he understood the command to protect correctly, but he can be mischievous.””
Kaiton said calmly. His attitude was like he wasn’t interested if Muriel’s arm was bitten off. What could have made it so angry anyway? Muriel doubted that summoning the massive wolf in the first place was not intended to torment her.
-Grrrr!
She listened closely to the wolf’s growling, wondering if she could understand his words just like she did with the Murishi, but it was no use.
“Hey… d-don’t do this. You won’t like my taste. There’s only bones.”
Still, she tried to desperately persuade him in case he understood, even when it felt awkward to speak to the white beast.
“Fen only drinks clean morning dew. Or very, very clean water imbued with strong spirit power.”
“Don’t you have any proper advice other than that? How do I calm this thing down?!”
-Grrrr, Grrr!
When she got angry at Kaiton, the loyal beast growled sharply, as if to say it wouldn’t stand idly by if its master was disrespected.
“Uh…”
Alright, let’s just let it bite. Let it bite and then use that as an excuse to say she couldn’t keep such a ferocious beast with her. Muriel tightly closed her eyes and waited for the sensation of sharp teeth digging into her flesh, but surprisingly, the wolf only bit the edge of her chest. The edge of her chest, meaning her breast, caused her body to shake as the ferocious beast shook its head.
Muriel vigorously shook her head, as if telling it that it wasn’t a toy, but her view changed rapidly. She hadn’t felt motion sickness like this even when she was travelling through the portal.
“Uh… Ugh… Please stop!”
Afraid that she was going to vomit at this rate, she tried to push away the animal clinging on to her chest, and the sensation that touched her fingertips was chilling.
“Huh…”
Muriel’s eyes widened at the unexpected sensation. Curious, I lightly stroked the fur again, and once again, a cold energy touched her hand.
No wonder the shimmering white fur was strangely extraordinary. It was unusual for an ordinary animal’s body temperature to be this cold. Not only the body but even the fur itself felt cool, like the temperature was extremely low. The fur sparkled with an iridescent light, slightly opaque even in the faint moonlight. Could it really be made of ice?
Soft. Soft.
However, the texture was as soft as cotton. It was fluffy and plush, as if she was touching a bundle of feathers. She tried rubbing it with her hands, just in case, but it didn’t melt at all.
The creature suddenly stood still, quietly feeling the touch. When she stopped touching it and stared at its delicate eyelashes, it slowly opened its previously closed eyes.
They were a deep, vibrant blue.
Eyes as deep and blue as the hidden crevasses in the polar regions.
For some reason, she felt a sense of nostalgia towards this creature, as if sympathized with its sadness and longing. Her heart trembled.
“Awuuu.”
The beast let out a mournful cry and gently nuzzled against Muriel’s chest. A cold energy seeped deeply into her. Pat, pat. Muriel embraced the beast’s neck and patted it. She felt like she had to, somehow.
“What’s your name?”
She asked even though she knew he couldn’t understand her words.
…
The beast looked straight at her with a reproachful look for a moment, and returned to Kaiton and lay down. It crossed its legs and even rested its head on them. Seeing that its head was not facing Muriel, it seemed like a sign to not disturb it any further.
Was he sulking again.. But she only asked for his name…?
Tilting her head in confusion, Muriel really could not keep up with the wolf’s allen attitude.
She looked back at Kaiton to ask for help, who hmphed and let out a sigh as if there was nothing he could do. “The creature’s name is Fen,” he said.
“…It’s a cute name.”
Although it didn’t really suit him. But she didn’t say this because she didn’t want Fen, who seemed to understand words well, to get upset again.
“It’s a poor name compared to Fenrir.”
Kaiton replied calmly, as if he wasn’t responsible for the name.
“…Fenrir? Isn’t that the wolf from ancient tales that doesn’t actually exist?”
Muriel asked back, recalling that Kaiton had introduced Fen as a familiar. Familiars referred to spirits contracted with sorcerers. She would understand it if he had a contract with a wolf spirit, but Fenrir? How could he have a contract with a nonexistent creature like Fenrir?
“His appearance and abilities are merely materialized forms of my magic.”
Kaiton nodded as if he understood Muriel’s doubts. So, Fen, although a completely different spirit inside, took on its current form thanks to Kaiton’s magic. It was also said that, unlike other familiars with varying lifespans depending on the spirit, Fen would not die as long as Kaiton had his magic.
“I’ve never heard of sharing power with a familiar… did you develop the magic yourself?”
“If I were to announce it, it would be banned.”
Kaiton casually replied, nodding his head. Muriel didn’t ask why he thought it would be considered forbidden magic. She didn’t think she could handle the answer.
“Considering how much you’ve done… You must treasure him a lot.”
He said it as if it was nothing, but it meant a lot to share magic with someone. It was remarkable not only in the sense of sharing pacio, but also because it was executable. How could magic stay in a spirit in the first place? Using magic required concentration. Did he have the ability to separate his mind and let it work on its own?
After making a strange expression at the mention of treasuring Fen, Kaiton said that Fen was his first familiar and the only familiar he had maintained a contract with all this time.
It seemed like a very precious and affectionate relationship. But Kaiton didn’t until the end that Fen was so precious to him.
“What kind of spirit was he originally?”
“Well… Find out for yourself.”
“Must I keep him by my side?”
Nod.
“By your side.”
Kaiton casually passed Fen off and disappeared. Leaving behind the ominous words “See you soon.” He didn’t even bother to pet the beast once, as if to prove that he didn’t have an affectionate relationship with Fen. Fen also didn’t turn his head to watch his owner leave.
Sigh…
What should she do with him?
A groan escaped her complicated mind.
Should she throw him away? Ask Jaron to leave him at the inn and then disappear? Then he’ll probably go back to Kaiton on his own.
“You…!”
Perks ears.
He laid there on his stomach, pretending not to care, but when he heard her calling, his ears perked up.
“I’ll let you off because you’re good-looking.”
-…
Even though he opened one of his eyes for a single moment, his gaze on Muriel was definitely irreverent.
What was he saying? It was as if it was mocking her.
But it was because of those eyes. To keep Kaiton’s loyal subordinate around her even though he was clearly up to something. She couldn’t bring her to chase him away because of those icy blue eyes that seemed to freeze time itself.
In the end, she couldn’t kick him out.
