Chapter 3
I transferred the remaining stew to a small container, and Claude used magic to keep it fresh.
He even did the dishes with streams of water summoned by magic. It was an incredibly fascinating sight.
-Creak.
We rode the cart along a forest path. I deliberately didn't ask where we were going.
Claude spoke as he closed the book he had been reading.
“We should camp here.”
Around sunset, the cart came to a stop. I had done nothing in the meantime.
After eating the stew, I climbed onto the cart and had stayed as quiet as a mouse ever since.
Claude didn't seem like a very talkative person, either.
I answered the voice I'd heard after so long.
“Understood, Master.”
I racked my brains, rolling my eyes around as I wondered what I should do.
Claude climbed down from the driver's seat, and I brought him the bag he was about to take out.
“Ah, thanks. Then stay where you are.”
“Master. Give me something to do, too.”
“Work? I don't plan to have Aris do anything besides fight.”
Why would he leave his slave idle and do all the chores himself?
“I'm Master's slave. I….”
“Hmm, all right. Then could you gather some firewood?”
“Understood.”
I bowed my head and hurried away. Staying still would probably be more comfortable, but I wasn't sure.
His movements caught my attention, and I found myself watching everything he did.
‘I want to do something for him.’ That feeling was the strongest of all.
Sniff, sniff.
I wandered around the forest, sniffing here and there.
Not just any branches would do. Dry branches without moisture burned well.
I searched diligently and gathered good firewood.
I returned with my arms full.
“Master. Here's the firewood.”
“Oh, that's a lot. Bring this much and load it onto the cart.”
“Understood.”
Claude had prepared everything for cooking. I could even see a large piece of meat.
That meat looked delicious enough to tear into as it was.
Claude, who had been watching me, spoke.
“You look happy.”
“Huh? Ah, it's nothing.”
I wiped away my drool.
Holding my tail behind me with both hands, I fled toward the cart.
I shouldn't fixate so much on food.
◇
A tail swaying gently. A face that made it obvious what she wanted and disliked.
And yet she tried to hide it, pretending otherwise.
It would have been nice if she spoke honestly, but women were somewhat difficult for Claude.
Though he had bought her as a slave, his personality made him reluctant to treat her carelessly.
For now, he would be satisfied as long as she was useful in battle.
Thinking that the first thing he needed to do was become friends with her, Claude had bought a book.
It seemed like one of that slick slave trader's sales pitches, but the book itself was quite detailed.
It was about wolf-beasts—their habits and ecology.
“Is it tasty?”
Crackle-crackle-
A campfire made with the firewood Aris had gathered. A large piece of meat was roasting over it.
He tore off a piece and handed it to her.
Engrossed in eating, she only nodded, but the girl's tail was dancing gently.
Her flushed cheeks were impossible to hide.
Claude tore off a piece for himself and read the book.
[Wolf-Beasts—About Wolpi.]
For the Wolpi, strength was the most important measure of a relationship.
Among the males of a pack, the stronger an individual was, the easier it was for him to win favor and the closer he came to becoming a leader.
For females, cultivating their unique scent and fur color came first, but the strength to handle a male was important, too.
Relations between male Wolpi and humans were often quite amicable, but females tended to be reclusive.
When in heat, they searched for strong males for the sake of their future children. And they tried to fight them.
This applied even to other races, so considerable caution was necessary.
Of course, there was no problem as long as she could be subdued. Pregnancy was only possible during heat, after which she became gentle and docile.
It was important to note, however, that the chances of pregnancy between humans and Wolpi were quite low.
If a female Wolpi failed to become pregnant, she was likely to become disappointed in her partner. She might also become even more violent during her next heat, so caution was advised.
Remember: repeatedly subduing her is the only thing you can do for her.
Using aphrodisiacs, anesthetics, or other drugs was also quite effective.
“Hmm, the content is a little….”
Though he had found and read the sections he needed, it increasingly felt like he was reading a romance book about winning over a female Wolpi.
However, the book described such extremely rough methods so explicitly that Claude felt dizzy.
He spoke to the girl holding her bowl of stew.
“Aris.”
“Yes, Master.”
“About what happened early this morning. In that cage….”
The girl set down the bowl she was holding. A girl who loved eating had actually put down her food? For some reason, Claude stopped speaking.
Aris placed a hand on her chest and spoke.
“Are you interested in my body?”
Such words came from her lips far more bluntly than he had expected.
Of course, he couldn't say he had no interest whatsoever.
What Claude had intended to talk about was an ‘apology.’
Of course, the book and the slave trader had said that such acts constituted ‘courtship and love for the Wolpi.’
He could understand it intellectually, but as a human being, he still didn't really get it.
Claude spoke.
“No, Aris. I just didn't want you to dwell on it….”
“Yes. I'm not dwelling on it….”
Yet an unexpected answer came back.
The book had clearly recorded information about a female Wolpi's signs of affection.
The nonstop wagging of her tail toward someone she favored, her blush, and her sexual arousal were evidence of it.
Though unintentionally, he had already seen her do it twice.
Her gaze, too, was directed at Claude with startling obviousness.
If this was only Claude's own misunderstanding, he thought, it was a little embarrassing.
“R-Really? That's a relief.”
Claude felt somewhat disappointed and bitter.
“Master. I, Aris, hate being subdued through the cage's chains and drugs in such a cowardly manner.”
“Hmm…?”
But it seemed the conversation wasn't over yet.
Aris spoke with a serious expression.
“You have to defeat me fair and square to have me. I won't accept such cheating!”
She had raised an objection, haughtily pointing to her own chest.
“Though I am a slave, I have pride as a Wolpi. And as a human….”
Ah, so a book was just a book after all.
It had said that the Wolpi didn't care about drugs and simply acknowledged their defeat when they lost.
This, too, had been bothering him, so he felt terribly sorry.
Claude scratched his head and glanced at the book beside him.
Romance really did feel like something learned through experience. Though this wasn't romance….
“If you were offended, you may punish me. I'm sorry.”
The girl rose from where she had been eating and knelt before Claude.
At the sight of that, he stood up as well.
“Punish you? No. Don't do that. Get up.”
“Then acknowledge it. Using only your own strength, you….”
Claude watched the girl, eyes closed, making her demand with noble resolve.
He suddenly slipped his hands beneath both her armpits. Then he lifted her up.
The short girl dangled as he lifted her high into the air.
It was a night when her silver mane shone beneath the dark, star-filled sky.
The wide-eyed girl looked down at him.
“What qualifies as subduing someone? Like this? Does this count as subduing you, too?”
“M-Master?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected movement, Aris flailed in confusion.
They said that Wolpi who had just reached adulthood were sensitive during heat and deeply interested in relations between men and women.
Aris was a female at exactly that age.
Claude thought she was cute after all.
◇
How had it come to this? A slave like me was eating in my master's arms.
I had been allowed to sit on his lap and brazenly lean back against him.
Of course, this was possible only because Claude had asked me to do it.
I told him, just in case.
“This can't really be called subduing me…. I'm only doing this because you asked me to, Master….”
“I know. Don't worry, and eat.”
How could I not worry?
I was interested in Claude and curious about the book he was reading. When I asked him, I learned it was about the Wolpi.
Naturally, he must have absorbed all that information.
The significance of him overpowering me by force. Even the value Wolpi attached to that.
He would naturally think that he had earned the right to possess my body. And technically, he had….
Above all, he was a man. As someone who had once been a man, I knew that.
No matter how decent a man was, if he had the opportunity to embrace a woman, he would definitely try.
Should I accept it obediently, like a slave?
But I wanted to preserve my pride as a human, too. The same was true of my pride as a Wolpi.
I could be attacked at any moment, but perhaps I wanted to buy myself some time?
So I blurted out, ‘Defeat me fair and square.’
“That star there. Do you see it?”
“Ah, y-yes…yes!”
I regretted it now. I shouldn't have said that.
I had finished eating, but I was still held in his arms, forced to stare up at the night sky.
I'm sorry. I don't actually know which star he's pointing at.
I couldn't think of anything. Held in his arms, I was captivated by his scent and could only sniff.
My heart was pounding, and I had no idea what to do.
“Master….”
“Hm? Huh? A-Aris…?”
“M-Maaaster….”
“H-Hey! Are you all right? Why are you suddenly running a fever? Aris! Your nose is bleeding!”
The next morning. I had no memory of that night.