Chapter 119 - The Inverse Order
“Woof…” (Hokuto)
“…What did you pick up?” (Sirius)
Hokuto held a beastkin child who had a tiger’s ears and tail in his mouth and brought her in. Looking at her appearance, she was about eight years old.
It was a cute girl with tied up blond hair that extended to her shoulders. Since there were noticeable leaves and dirt on her fine quality and easy-to-move clothes, she looked like a rascal.
Nevertheless… she seemed matured even though her nape was caught by Hokuto.
It was a funny sight as if a parent cat carried a kitten on the nape and carried it away, but I wouldn’t watch it forever.
“Who are you?” (Sirius)
“…” (??)
The girl just diverted her gaze to the back when I asked that question. It was a feeling of doing something mischievous and desperately trying to dodge questions. This was exactly a behavior common in Reus and Noel.
There seemed to be no danger because she didn’t have anything like weapons, but the fact that Hokuto caught her was probably because of her suspicious movements.
As I was thinking to at least ask her what she had been doing… a sound of a stomach ringing suddenly sounded.
“…Would you like to eat stew?” (Sirius)
“!?” (??)
The ears and the tail stood up like a ‘Ping’ sound, but she shook her head immediately and covered her ears with hands so that she couldn’t hear it.
The appearance that was trying to endure with utmost effort was cute for her age, but it was troubling if she wasn’t going to talk at all.
After looking at the situation, I asked Hokuto to release her for the time being, and rather than running away, the liberated girl displayed her courage by sitting on a nearby chair.
I sat in front of her and tried to ask her again, but suddenly, I felt something wrong with the girl.
“…So what did you come here for?” (Sirius)
“… It’s for Hundred Wolves-sama.” (??)
“Woof?” (Hokuto)
“I came to see Hundred Wolves-sama. So, Onii-san has nothing to do with this.” (??)
“You finally start talking.” (Sirius)
The girl made a distorted mouth, and told that she wouldn’t talk to me.
“It is true that you don’t need to explain, but unfortunately, Hokuto is my partner and my Beast Companion.” (Sirius)
“That’s a lie! Hundred Wolves-sama is an angel of God. It is absolutely impossible for him to be a Beast Companion for a human!” (Sirius)
“Even if you told me that… huh?” (Sirius)
“Woof?” (Hokuto)
“…Eh?” (??)
The girl opened her mouth wide as if she had shocked and she became hardened when looking at me and Hokuto tilted our head while facing each other.
I also felt bad because I was like destroying her dream, but it was already irreparable as I stroked Hokuto’s head since he was being spoiled.
Furthermore, it seemed that she couldn’t understand Hokuto’s words from the reaction of the girl. As expected, people wouldn’t be able to understand it unless they were Wolfkin or Dogkin.
“Well, now that you have seen Hundred Wolves-sama… I mean Hokuto, what are you going to do from now on?” (Sirius)
“…I want to touch Hundred Wolves-sama!” (??)
I wasn’t sure whether the girl stopped thinking about it, but she stretched out to reach Hokuto after remembering the purpose, but Hokuto twisted his body to avoid her.
“…Eh?” (??)
“…Woof.” (Hokuto)
“Ei! Why… don’t avoid it!” (??)
“Don’t you think that he will let a child who doesn’t give her greeting and even tell her name to touch him? As for touching him without permission, that is considered rude no matter who you are.” (Sirius)
“Eh!?” (??)
She was probably convinced since she stopped for a short time, and then, she slowly bowed. Nevertheless, it was a splendid bow from such a rascal.
“Uhmm… Nice to meet you, my name is Mea. Hundred Wolves-sama, will you let me touch you?” (Mea)
“Woof.” (Hokuto)
“Yes, you can.” (Sirius)
While extending his forefoot, Hokuto barked as if she could touch as much as she want, and the girl named Mea touched it with glittering eyes.
“Waahh… It’s fluffy!” (Mea)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“It seems that you still have something to ask since you are still here.” (Sirius)
“Well… will it be alright to hug him?” (Mea)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
From Mea’s appearance who was in high spirits while hugging Hokuto, it seemed that she came only to see him.
Although she was a trespasser, it was pitiful to view her as a bad person since she was still a child.
‘Let’s assume that there is no danger, and let her do what she wants.’
Besides, she might be a girl with a high status because she was able to trespass this kind of place and she was wearing a fine-looking cloth.
When I tried to resume cooking by leaving her to Hokuto, I remembered that her belly was grumbling.
It would be more delicious if I let the stew cooled and warmed it again, but it was already completed as a stew.
“May I call you… Mea-chan? Although you said nothing earlier, I can prepare the stew if you want to eat it.” (Sirius)
“…” (Mea)
Mea was riding Hokuto, but she became silent again because of those words.
Perhaps, she was very cautious to people.
…When I thought about it, I hadn’t eaten lunch because I tasted the stew several times in the middle of cooking.
For that reason, I thought about eating a little, so I prepared the stew and put it on the table…
“…” (Mea)
“…Do you want to eat it?” (Sirius)
“!?” (Mea)
Without she realized it, she came close and sat in front of me. She seemed interested when looking at the stew.
Hmm… was it due to befitting upbringing or was there a reason why she didn’t want to eat it?
When I tried to lift up to the spoon to eat the stew…
“…Hokuto. Please invite ‘that’ graciously.” (Sirius)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
After a while Hokuto left the front door according to my instruction, a violent noise began to resound from the outside.
As Mea was extremely shaken with that noise, Hokuto returned while biting the nape of a female beastkin who had ear like a squirrel.
“This feeling… is that you Grethe?” (Mea)
“…I’m sorry. I got caught…” (Grethe)
The Squirrelkin who was released by Hokuto, was a woman around twenty years old with a sensual body that would tempt males.
She seemed to have sleepy eyes and her spirit couldn’t be noticed, but she lifted her arms as if to say she gave up after having a little fight against Hokuto. In addition… I somehow felt a nostalgic feeling from that woman.
Mea, who noticed that she was being carried, ran to her while screaming her name as she touched her.
“Are you alright? I heard a loud noise…” (Mea)
“I’m fine. Hundred Wolves-sama is very strong. I was completely held down without able to resist.” (Grethe)
“You two seem know each other.” (Sirius)
“…Right. My name is Grethe. I am Mea-sama’s escort.” (Grethe)
Indeed, she had an escort. As I expected, this girl seemed to be a noble with a certain status.
Although she had a slightly peculiar tone, the woman called Grethe gave a proper reply. It seemed that there would be no problem to hold conversations.
By the way, I offered them to have a seat and sat directly in front of them. I asked for an explanation of the situation while changing the tone suited for a noble.
“Anyhow, why Mea-sama and her escort are here?” (Sirius)
“Mea-sama said she wanted to see the Hundred Wolves who has become a rumor since yesterday. Although I said that it was no good, Mea-sama left on her own.” (Grethe)
“I wanted to see him!” (Mea)
“And when I thought that I finally found Mea-sama, I was held down by the Hundred Wolves-sama.” (Grethe)
“How should I say it… well, sorry about that.” (Sirius)
“…It’s alright. To begin with, it is bad for Mea-sama to be missing.” (Grethe)
“That is… uhmm, I’m sorry.” (Mea)
Instead of the relationship between a master and an attendant, these two acted like sisters. There was no doubt that they trusted each other.
For the time being, Mea’s goal to touch Hokuto had been achieve, but not only Grethe’s line of sight directed to the stew placed on the table, a grumbling sound of belly similar to Mea’s resounded.
“…Do you want to eat?” (Sirius)
“Is it alright?” (Grethe)
“If only a little. More importantly, I invited Mea-sama, but she didn’t eat it. Is there something wrong?” (Sirius)
“Mea-sama won’t eat it unless it is poison tasted.” (Grethe)
“…Is that so?” (Sirius)
When I thought about it, it was a simple reason, but she was unusually stubborn.
They probably could have meals if they went back home, but the appearance of enduring the stew reminded me about the siblings in the past. There was no way I could ignore it.
“I don’t really like to make a child feel hungry. So, both of you can eat it.” (Sirius)
“Alright… I’ll eat.” (Grethe)
Unlike Mea, she began to eat without hesitation.
She was certainly in a state of putting all of her heart, and I was glad that she was engrossed until that much. Anyhow, I was confident about my meal this time.
And then, Grethe finished eating in no time. She closed her eyes and was immersed the aftertaste.
“Uhm…I’m satisfied.” (Grethe)
“Grethe! Why are you eating everything!?” (Mea)
“For caution’s sake, I was poison tasting until the end. Yup, there was no poison.” (Grethe)
“Wuu… It looked tasty… although I had to endure it…” (Mea)
“There is still some more, so don’t fight.” (Sirius)
Mea, who had teary eyes, gave a spoiled-child punch, but it seemed that there was no effect for Grethe who was satisfied with the stew.
First off, as I poured the stew into the empty dish before Mea was really going to cry, she reached out the dish with a smile…
“Hot!?” (Mea)
“Here you go. … and the spoon too.” (Grethe)
Mea put a finger in the stew and it was hot to the point her finger was getting burned.
When I look at the sight of Mea receiving the spoon from Grethe, I noticed the sense of incongruity that could be felt from Mea.
“…The meat is very tender!” (Mea)
“It can be softer, but it seems good enough.” (Sirius)
Well… they were still engrossed with it. So, I would ask them after that.
In the meantime, I prepared the plate that got emptied after they finished the stew.
—
After finishing another helping, Mea was satisfied with her ears moving a little. It seemed like the siblings’ tail as she was a child who expressed her emotion with the ears.
At the same time, maybe due to the ‘success’ of the stew, her heart began open a bit, and she told me to use the usual tone as well.
“It’s delicious!” (Mea)
“Aah, hold on.” (Grethe)
Grethe released [Wind] at Mea who was feeling a bit hotter after eating the stew.
Since the meal and their business were over, they would only need to return home, but since Hokuto touched my shoulder with the forefoot and was appealing, I decided to step in a bit.
“Say, Mea-chan. I have something I’d like to ask… is it alright?” (Sirius)
“Hmm, what is it?” (Mea)
“Could it be that Mea-chan is blind?” (Sirius)
It was a feeling out of place that I felt since I met her.
Starting from the eyeball and pupil movement, putting the finger into the stew, and the movement to take the spoon handed over were all strange.
I thought that it was rude to ask such a thing soon after seeing me, but even though I shouldn’t get involved, I still asked her because I became concerned due to various things.
In the worst case, I was also prepared to be scold, but after thinking for a while, Mea frankly nodded.
“Yes. That’s right.” (Mea)
“…Mea-sama, is it fine to tell that?” (Grethe)
“Onii-san is kind, and it is fine since he is also Hundred Wolves-sama’s partner.” (Mea)
“I’m happy that you trust me. I will ask this next. Can you tell me how much you can’t see?” (Sirius)
“Well, it is almost impossible to see Onii-san from here, I think?” (Mea)
Apparently, she wasn’t completely blind.
However, even at a distance that she could reach with her hands, the eyesight seemed bad enough to distinguish the overall shape and the approximate color.
“So you came here in such a state, is it?” (Sirius)
“It’s alright because my nose and ears are good!” (Mea)
“For me, that’s not alright at all. I am worried so much that made me feel myself in trouble.” (Grethe)
“Thi-this time is fine, isn’t it!? I also met Hundred Wolves-sama. Plus, I get to eat the stew!” (Mea)
“Yes… To be honest, that is good. Occasionally, there are good things like this.” (Grethe)
I took my eyes away from those two who were in agreement. Then, I looked at Hokuto once and we both nodded.
At that time… I heard that Mea who was hugging Hokuto had muttered something.
{Hundred Wolves-sama… please cure my eyes.} (Mea)
Yesterday, I confirmed from the conversation of the beastkin who made a racket because of Hokuto. It seemed that there was a rumor in this town about people’s wish would come true if they touched Hundred Wolves.
It was probably a kind of so-called urban legend.
The beastkin basically didn’t touched the Hundred Wolves maybe because they were revering it, but there was a scene of an innocent child appeared out of nowhere and touched him, the adults became flustered and stopped the child.
Maybe it was also due to the Hundred Wolves’ mystique, even if they wanted to touch him, the rumor said not to touch him, and it might changed as time went on. Well, rumors were that kind of thing.
The thing that Hokuto appealed earlier was as if he was asking… if I could do something about it. He was unsparing to the enemies and associates like the sibling, but he was pretty gentle to kids.
Well… I wasn’t sure if I could completely cure it, but I probably could manage to some extent.
Since she wasn’t completely blind and she still could see vaguely, there was a way to do it.
“If it’s just Mea-chan’s eye, maybe, you can see well.” (Sirius)
“Really!?” (Mea)
“Mea-sama, it’s not good to expect too much. You too. Don’t say that when you have no grounds.” (Grethe)
“I have seen the illness like this from a princess of a certain country. I think that I will know the cause at least.” (Sirius)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“…Please.” (Mea)
Of course, it was doubtful, but with Hokuto’s bark that supported me, Mea gave a nod.
I had to touch Mea to find the cause, and when I touched her, Grethe started to display disapproval.
“Stop it. That is unacceptable.” (Grethe)
“It’s alright, Grethe. If he intended to do something, he would already do it.” (Mea)
“Even so… If something happened to Mea-sama… I will stop even if I have to stab you…” (Grethe)
Grethe watched every of my movement while unleashing bloodlust. At the same time, I put my hand on Mea’s head and the result of [Scan] was…
“…It looks like something had happened. I will explain beforehand. From now on, your eyes will feel and you will feel some pain, I think.” (Sirius)
“Does it hurt?” (Mea)
“Yes. I will keep it to the minimum as possible, but tell me if you can’t handle it anymore. Well, I’m going to start. Close your eyes until I give you a signal.” (Sirius)
“Understood!” (Mea)
After confirming that her eyes were closed, I flowed mana gradually into her body and made Mea [Boost] activated.
Since I activated [Boost] many times in order to teach it to the disciples, even if they felt hot and pain, there was no after effect like getting sluggish.
“…What is this? Like Onii-san said before, the eyes feel hot, and… it feels a bit tingling.” (Mea)
“I wonder if it’s alright now? Slowly open your eyes and look around.” (Sirius)
“Aah… I can see… I can see!” (Mea)
[Boost] was a magic that strengthened the body. If it was specifically activated on the eyes, it could enhance the eyesight. It made people to see things at a distant without a binocular.
In other words, I strengthened the eyesight and increase its value from negative to its usual value. Although that wouldn’t make her to see things in a distant, it would be visible enough to the extent that interfering with everyday life wouldn’t happen.
“Really? Mea-sama, how many of my fingers are?” (Grethe)
“Three… No, I can see that your fingers have increased to four. Yeay, I’m cured!” (Mea)
“No, you are not. It means that…” (Sirius)
“Not cured… eh!?” (Mea)
When I stopped the mana, of course, the [Boost] was also stopped, and her eyesight returned to the original condition.
I let mana flow into Mea who was confused, and I continued to explain in a state where she could see again.
“You know what is Mana right? Right now I am putting my mana on you to improve your eyes. So, if Mea-chan can handle mana, even if I am not there, you will be able to see just like now.” (Sirius)
“But I have never used magic before, you know? And it’s hard to study magic…” (Mea)
“It is not good to give up because it is difficult. You have to try everything. If not, it’s not good.” (Sirius)
“Yes. Of course, you need to work hard.” (Grethe)
“Grethe also…” (Mea)
To tell the truth, there was a method of doing surgery with [String], but there was higher risk because it would deal with delicate nerves. I wouldn’t able to do such an operation without her parent’s permission.
Therefore, I taught how to make up for it with own effort.
Fortunately, Grethe was also being cooperative. It would be just as good as studying on how to handle mana.
“Grethe… will you teach me?” (Mea)
“It is possible to teach you to a certain extent.” (Grethe)
“Onii-san also… will you teach me?” (Mea)
“… I’m sorry. I think that it is impossible because I am an adventurer.” (Sirius)
“Ah, is that so?” (Mea)
It seemed that she understood that as an adventurer, I wouldn’t stay long in this town.
I felt a bit irresponsible, but this was a problem with the sensory. Actually, since she already experienced it, all she needed to do were putting her efforts and perseverance.
“Keep in mind with the current feeling. If you believe you can do it, you will surely be able to do it.” (Sirius)
“…Yes!” (Mea)
And then, in order to let her remember the feeling of [Boost], I let my mana flow into Mea several times.
—
After Mea and Grethe returned home, I prepared the dinner while explaining the event of today to the disciples when they came back.
Originally, I intended to explain it slowly while eating, but when Emilia returned, she felt the smell of women. It seemed that she noticed the slight smell left by Mea and Grethe. As expected of a wolf…
Since the ladies were making noise asking me whether I brought in prostitutes, I had to explain while preparing the dinner.
“…In that case, when that child remembered roughly the flow of mana, they returned home.” (Sirius)
“Is it so? I am sorry for being so loud.” (Emilia)
“Uuh… I feel so embarrassed. …I’m sorry.” (Reese)
“Hey, I am curious about this. Is it easy to learn [Boost] taught by Sirius? I have a hard time to learn it.” (Fia)
“That’s because Fia knows how to use [Boost] beforehand. Besides, I taught the girl [Boost] that is not on the whole body, but it is only on the eyes. Therefore, it shouldn’t be that difficult.” (Sirius)
Fortunately, the girl didn’t know other [Boost]. After remembering the feeling of the body, a repetitive practice should be enough.
Honestly, I wanted to teach her a bit more in a few days, but far from hoping to see them again, they didn’t tell me their true identities to the end. In other words, they must be hiding their identities.
Since I also taught her on a whim, if there was anything over there, I didn’t need to be actively involved.
The meal preparation was over as I finished explaining, we started to have the dinner.
Since I had time today, I prepared a variety of dishes other than the stew which had to be cooked thoroughly, and this had become like a small party.
“The usual stew is delicious, but the one today is much more special!” (Reus)
“There is even a special dressing. The salad is delicious!” (Emilia)
“Another please.” (Reese)
“I have made plenty today, so please eat as much as you want. Fia… this one too?” (Sirius)
“Hehe, you noticed that, right? Let’s drink together.” (Fia)
While they reached out for the dishes, Fia and I were drinking the wine brought from the wine cellar in basement.
By the way, even though I usually drank alcohol, I didn’t drink with the siblings and Reese.
Although the dishes were more delicious than drinking, Emilia would act rashly when drinking it, so Reus didn’t know the taste of alcohol well.
Reese was a bit special. For some reason, she didn’t get drunk at all even if she drank. For Reese, alcohol was a kind of juice that had a strange taste. So, she focused more on meals since she couldn’t associate with the taste.
Therefore, it was inevitable that it was only me and Fia who drank it.
After eating the dinner, I had a tea while listening to the situation of the disciples went to the guild, but…
“Hmmm… did you hit some adventurers?” (Sirius)
“Same as always.” (Emilia)
I didn’t need to be bias, but Emilia, Reese and Fia were beautiful women. Hence, there was no end of people trying to get close.
It would be nice if people knew that they were my lovers, but they often invite me for a fight. It was a daily occurrence that I unleashed bloodlust or Reus could beat them and made them fainted.
“If it is Fia-san, that’s normal. However, Emilia was often called out in this town.” (Reese)
“Well. I am embarrassed when I hear that. So, I completely refused all of their questions.” (Fia)
“I am happy to be yearned for, but I am not interested with a man other than Sirius-sama.” (Emilia)
“So, they thought of me as Aniki and invited me for a fight. I had to hit to silence them.” (Reus)
“Good job, Reus.” (Sirius)
“I only protect Nee-chans, and I have to protect them when Aniki is not there!” (Reus)
As usual, I listened to the situation of the guild while stroking the siblings’ head. Anyhow, it seemed that there were various requests because this was the only big town.
However, this was the first town, so they had been constantly moving since many people were likely to be attracted to Emilia and Fia.
“Since Sirius wasn’t with us today, we only did requests that didn’t require us to go outside the town. Incidentally, we were able to grasp the structure of the town as well.” (Fia)
“Sirius-sama, this is the earnings today.” (Emilia)
I received a pouch contained with several silver coins and copper coins from Emilia.
It would be enough to earn this much in a day, but that amount was unreliable if we wanted to continue traveling. There were five of us, but our Engel coefficient was higher than the ordinary adventurer parties.
“Aah, I’ll take care of it. Has everyone taken your own share?” (Sirius)
“Yes, we have already taken one silver coin each. The rest are given to Sirius.” (Fia)
“Got it. As usual, tell me if you need something.” (Sirius)
After taking the money, I took out an oversized cake as a desert after dinner, and cut it.
While the disciples made glittering eyes as they indulged the cake, Emilia who finished eating half of her share was thinking of something with a bit serious expression.
“What is it, Emilia? Should I share mine if you don’t have enough?” (Sirius)
“I want you to share it!” (Reus)
“Me too!” (Reese)
By the time I cut the cake for the hungry siblings and put it on a plate, as if the thoughts were the same, Emilia opened his mouth after turning her eyes on me.
“Sirius-sama. I will ask this for the sake of confirmation. The girl who came here was called Mea, right?” (Emilia)
“Do you have any clue of her?” (Sirius)
“Yes. I’m not sure whether this is the truth or not, but I heard it when I was gathering information in the town. The beastkin ruler who govern this town has two children. The daughter’s name is Mary…” (Emilia)
“…Do you mean that girl is that Mary?” (Sirius)
“The age of the beastkin ruler’s daughter is about eight years old. I heard that she is a Tigerkin girl, so whether that is good enough information…” (Emilia)
It was true that she was escorted and I could feel a bit of elegance from Mea.
But, as a princess of a royal family, it was strange that she only had one escort. I wanted to deny that she had sufficient ability to come out in town especially in that state, but… as Emilia said, the likelihood that it was the same person was high.
Well… even if she was the princess herself, she had promised not to talk about me, so there was nothing bad. It probably wouldn’t become a lese majeste.
As Emilia ate the cake to shake off a bad feeling, it seemed that she was happy from the state where her tail was wagging, and I noticed that she continued to look at me.
“Sirius-sama…” (Emilia)
“What is it?” (Reus)
“Please give me a mouthful.” (Emilia)
Since she was waiting with a mouth like a bird, I feed her the cake with a wry smile.
—
“Sirius-sama, while you’ve been away from early in the morning, I have received something like this earlier.” (Emilia)
Next day… while having breakfast as we got up early in the morning, the manager of [Wolf King] came in with a letter.
It seemed to be a letter from a considerable person from the appearance of the manager’s strainedness and the letter which was luxuriously decorated.
While sensing a bad premonition, I asked the manager who gave the letter…
“It was from one of the aides who serve the beastkin ruler, McDatt-sama.” (Manager)
I felt like holding my head. The content could be something like wanting to meet Hokuto who was a Hundred Wolves.
I read the letter as I had that hope in my heart, but… as I finished reading it, I inadvertently sighed.
“Say Sirius, what was written in it?” (Fia)
“Is Aniki’s splendor reached that far?” (Reus)
“Is there such a thing? Everyone should read it.” (Sirius)
The sender of the letter was McDatt who was also Mary’s teacher, and the girl was the daughter of the beastkin ruler.
In other words, the girl from yesterday was definitely the princess of this country.
Mea promised to treat our meeting as a secret, but she was still a child. If she was questioned, it was inevitable to give the answer…
Nevertheless… I really didn’t want to get involved, but why I kept getting involved with royalties and high ranking people? Seriously, it couldn’t be helped if I let out a sigh or two.
And when I put together the contents of the letter on the table so that everyone could see… it seemed that he invited me to the castle and wanted to thank you since Princess Mary was taken care of.
“Ooh! As expected of Aniki. Let’s get ready at once!” (Reus)
“That’s too bad. Apparently, I am the only one who get the invitation. Moreover, it is from a castle. Therefore, it is obvious that I can’t invite others.” (Sirius)
“But isn’t… a bit too sudden today?” (Fia)
“I also want to see the inside of the castle.” (Reese)
“If it is from the castle, I must arrange your appearance. Sirius-sama, I will do the preparation immediately.” (Emilia)
And then, I wore the mantle embedded with Elysion emblem which was brought by Emilia. As Reus remembered the way of royalties, he waved hand like a flash.
“Hei, Aniki. Even though Aniki is the only one invited, isn’t obvious that Hokuto-san also should be invited together?” (Reus)
“That will be good. If it’s Sirius-sama, you’ll be fine even if something happen, but it feels better if Hokuto-san goes along with you.” (Emilia)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“Hmm, it’s true that they will allow him in, but if those guys are like the gatekeepers of this town, it’s going to be a hassle…” (Sirius)
“Woof…” (Hokuto)
Moreover, according to the manager of the [Wolf King], the information control hadn’t been completed yet. He said that he would like Hokuto to wait for another day before he went out into town.
In addition, it would be a trouble if there was a fight in the castle. Therefore, I would head there alone according to the letter.
“Rather than looking around the town, it is strange to go to the castle first.” (Sirius)
“Please don’t hesitate to call us if there is something. Whether it is a country or a castle, we will break through and find Sirius-sama.” (Emilia)
“If it’s me now, I will be able to slice the castle gate!” (Reus)
…Yeah. If something happened to me, the siblings would definitely charged in.
In order to avoid such a thing, I had to deliberately handle the situation in the castle.
“Well then, I’m going.” (Sirius)
“Please take care.” (Emilia)
“““Take care!””” (Reese/Reus/Fia)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
In this way, I was sent off by Hokuto and the disciples who were waving hands, and I headed for the Arbitray’s castle.
—
— Reus —
After sending Aniki off, we remained inside the [Wolf King] without going to the town.
Since Aniki was resting yesterday, he told us to take a rest today.
“It’s been a long time to relax this much…” (Reese)
“Yes, it is. Would you like to have more tea?” (Emilia)
“Yes, please. But, I want wine instead.” (Fia)
“Please don’t drink in the middle of the day. Sirius-sama had made sweets yesterday, so please endure with it.” (Emilia)
“Well, it can’t be helped then. Yeah, it’s not too sweet, so I can eat as much as I want.” (Fia)
“*Nomnom*… it’s delicious.” (Reese)
Nee-chans were relaxing at the table in the courtyard, but since I didn’t feel good unless I moved my body, I was doing a push up slightly away from them.
However, since it was boring to do a normal pushup, I did it with Hokuto-san’s forefoot pushing my back.
“Fuh… fuh… Hokuto-san, it’s fine to be heavier.” (Reus)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“Guhh!? Wait a sec… that’s impossible!” (Reus)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“Ooh! That’s the guts!” (Reus)
At the moment when I was getting on the mood, Hokuto-san held me down with more strength than expected. Anyhow, Hokuto-san was strict.
And then, the day became noon, and it was time to feel hungry.
When Nee-chan and Reese-ane asked me what I wanted to have for lunch… Since Hokuto-san suddenly stood up and stared at one corner of the courtyard, Nee-chan shouted without a moment delay.
“Enemy attack!? Reus!” (Emilia)
“Ouu!” (Reus)
“Water… please…” (Reese)
“Leave the support to me!” (Fia)
At that time, I was swinging sword, so I was able to take combat posture immediately.
With a bit delayed, Nee-chans were ready for battle, but… fortunately, we didn’t have to fight.
It was because the intruder who came from the courtyard tree made a dignified appearance without holding weapons.
“…Please excuse me.” (??)
The opponent had a slightly rounded tail, and it was a tall adult woman.
She was a big breasted woman who was likely to attract men who drank in a bar, but somehow the eyes looked so sleepy.
I couldn’t feel bloodlust from her, but there was no doubt that she was an intruder. As I carefully looked at the opponent’s movement, Nee-chan who was by my side extended her hand in front of me.
“You… are you Grethe-san?” (Emilia)
“Yes. I am Grethe. Nice to meet you.” (Grethe)
“Nice to meet you too. Leaving that aside, is there anything we can do for you?” (Emilia)
“I have something that I want to tell you. I don’t have intention to fight, so please put down your weapons.” (Grethe)
Aniki was right. The way she talked was funny.
It seemed that she didn’t want to fight us as stated, so we put down our weapons since Nee-chan withdrew hers.
However, according to Aniki, the other side seemed to be better at erasing presence, so I had to make sure not to be careless.
“So, what do you want to tell us?” (Emilia)
“It is about your master, Sirius.” (Grethe)
“…If it is about Sirius-sama, is he coming back now?” (Emilia)
“Well, I saw him in the castle but he was…” (Grethe)
And then, while we still kept vigilance, shocking words coming out from Grethe’s mouth.
“He was imprisoned in the basement of the castle.” (Grethe)
—
Extra
The ladies after Mea and Grethe returned home…
“…I smell women! There are two of them!” (Emilia)
“That is… Could it be…!?” (Reese)
“I can’t give up. It’s no good if we don’t have the spirit.” (Fia)
“Yeah! We should make him not to look on other women…” (Reese)
“Oh my, Reese. You are usually mature, but you’re very passionate at such a time.” (Fia)
“Auuu…” (Reese)
Anyhow, Sirius-sama… Take care of me tonight.” (Emilia)
“…” (Sirius)
“Aniki… let’s eat a lot today! You need to save energy!” (Reus)
※I leave it to your imagination of what happen next. (Author)
—
Presenting Hokuto
That day, Hokuto-kun was in a good mood.
He got plenty of brushing on the night before and today he was the only one remained with the Master.
“Yes, the seasoning should be like this. Next is to boil it…” (Sirius)
It would be good to play with the Master, but since nobody was here, it was enough just to sit next to him while he was cooking.
In this way, he leisurely spent time with the Master alone. In fact, he was used to spend time with Shishou in the previous life.
As he felt nostalgic of the sight that remind him of the past… he felt a presence approaching from outside of the residence.
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
Hokuto felt a boorish presence approaching the mansion, so he went outside in order not to disturb the Master’s work.
And then, as Hokuto-kun approached slowly while hiding his presence, a small girl went into bushes and hid her figure.
No, it couldn’t be say that she was hiding. It was because she was hiding her head, but not her butt.
While being amazed with terrible appearance of stealth, Hokuto gently tapped the suspicious back with his paw.
“Kya!? Wha!?” (Mea)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
The surprised girl jumped out of the bushes, but Hokuto picked her collar with a quick movement and lifted her.
“By any chance… are you Hundred Wolves-sama!?” (Mea)
“Woof…” (Hokuto)
Although she was a cute girl, there was no doubt that she was an intruder. Therefore, Hokuto caught his neck and brought her to the Master.
—
One thing after another happened next, and it turned out that the girl’s name was Mea-chan. And then, Hokuto and the Master noticed another presence was approaching the inn.
“…Hokuto. Please invite ‘that’ graciously.” (Sirius)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
Unlike the previous one, the presence was thin this time. Unlike an ordinary person, it was an expert way of hiding presence.
However… Hokuto-kun’s sharpness and nose couldn’t be fooled.
Hokuto-kun went around behind the intruder like a gust of wind. He tried to observe from behind whether it was a friend or foe, but…
“Eh!? Enemy!” (Grethe)
While throwing a knife behind without looking back, the intruder jumped high and took a distance.
However, Hokuto-kun started moving as soon as he repelled the knife and he went around behind her at the same time as she landed. It was like an afterimage of a dog.
“–Mugyuuu.” (Grethe)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
Before she turned around, he used his paw to hold her back and stopped her movement.
The intruder was struggling for a while, but she gave up since she was completely restrained.
“I am… not tasty.” (Grethe)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
Hokuto-kun was greatly misunderstood. After that, she didn’t resist being bitten on the nape and Hokuto-kun brought her to the Master.
In this way, Hokuto-kun’s capture play was over.