Chapter 29
Kaine Mountains. After coming down and receiving treatment.
The injuries were quite severe, so I stayed in the healing room for a few days to recover and also to check on the wolf cub's condition.
“What does he eat, by the way?”
“Do you have any milk? Warmed up, it should be fine.”
“Hmm, I'll bring some over.”
Honestly, I'm pretty damn tough, so my recovery wasn't the main concern. I was more focused on observing the wolf cub, now called Whitey.
Since he was born in the wild and orphaned, figuring out what to do with him was a worry.
“Oh… he’s eating well?”
“Yeah. Looks like we can feed him this for a while.”
The fortunate thing was that he seemed pretty sturdy too. Left alone, he’d squirm around constantly, and he took to the milk right away.
“He’s really cute, though….”
“He is.”
With his white fur and energetic movements, he *was* cute. That's why the Healer couldn't take her eyes off him while feeding him.
More importantly….
“Did you bring the pouch?”
“Yes, here’s the basket.”
After a few days of recovery, I finally received the pouch containing the monster materials.
Checking their condition, they seemed alright. Mostly bones and teeth anyway.
Didn’t seem like they’d go bad or anything after a few days.
I’d made sure to wipe off the blood and flesh when extracting them.
“I’ll be back soon then.”
“...You really need to come right back. Don't wander off.”
“Come on, I’m not a child.”
“That doesn’t work anymore.”
“Haha.”
Still, it was best to get it over with quickly. After some convincing, the Healer reluctantly allowed me to go out, on the condition I be careful.
“I’ll be back.”
“Be careful!”
So, with the pouch at my hip, I left the healing room for the first time in days.
Then, leaving the Mansion, I headed straight for the upscale commercial district.
Arriving at Gareth’s Forge, I saw it was crowded again, even this early.
Well, now that I'd used one of Gareth's Swords, I understood why people were lining up.
The difference a single Sword could make in a fight was significant.
So.
After observing the crowd for a moment, I gathered my Aura.
My body wasn't in top shape, so I had to be careful not to get hurt.
*Thump!*
I jumped just enough to grab the terrace railing, then pulled myself up.
“Wha, what the…”
“Hey!”
Ignoring the shouts from behind, I knocked on the terrace window. The curtains parted, and the window opened.
“Welcome.”
“Yes, I brought the materials.”
“I’ll take you to Master Gareth.”
Guided by the female attendant, I went inside. The sound of hammering metal filled the air once more.
*Clang-! Clang!*
Gareth looked exactly the same as the last time I was here, hammering away at the metal.
“Ah, you’re early.”
This time, he stopped hammering and stood up when he saw me.
“Let’s see, what materials did you bring?”
“Quite a lot.”
I handed him the pouch.
“Hoo.”
Gareth immediately accepted the pouch, opened it, and let out a small gasp of admiration.
“You hunted all of these?”
“No. I didn’t hunt them all directly.”
“Hmm?”
“There was a territorial dispute in the highlands. I killed the victor and extracted these from the corpses.”
Explaining everything would take too long, so I shortened the story.
It was a pretty simplified version, but not untrue.
“A territorial dispute? All of these monsters?”
Gareth said as he took out the materials one by one and examined them. Each one belonged to a monster that held a strong territory in the highlands.
No wonder he was surprised.
“More accurately, one monster came along and slaughtered them all.”
“What kind of monster?”
“A wolf-type monster, bigger than even a typical Giant Wolf.”
I figured that alpha wolf was what disrupted the balance. For whatever reason, it showed up one day and killed everything.
“Huh, you killed a monster like *that*?”
“It was injured. And I had the Sword you lent me, so I was able to win.”
“Good work.”
Gareth then examined my body closely.
“You got the hell beat out of you.”
“...Not quite. I struggled a bit, though.”
It *had* been a tough opponent. If I hadn't had the Buff Coat and Gareth's Sword, who knows what would've happened.
Well, I won in the end, so here I am.
“Anyway, good work. You brought more materials than I need. What do you plan to do with the rest?”
“Do you buy materials here?”
“Of course. I pay fair market price.”
“Then I’ll sell them to you.”
It was too much of a hassle for me to deal with them myself anyway.
Incidentally, it'd be good if you bought some here at the forge.
“Wait a moment.”
Gareth said that, called an employee over, and spoke with them for a bit.
Then, he handed me a pouch filled with silver coins.
“Will this be enough?”
“Yes, it's plenty.”
I didn’t know the market price anyway, so I just took the pouch and tied it to my waist.
Money isn't urgent, but it doesn't hurt to have some.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Alright, at this pace you'll have your sword soon enough.”
With that, I left the forge.
Afterward, I went to the Mercenary Guild and told the guild employee I’d shown the seal to before that I was alive.
“T-To Jebeon?”
“Yeah. Tell him I'm alive, he'll figure it out.”
“Understood.”
Judging by the employee’s expression, they seemed like they’d relay the message.
Still, just in case, I took out a silver coin and slipped it to them as a bribe.
It’s only right to give some compensation for delivering a message.
After finishing all my errands outside, I returned to the mansion as promised to the Healer.
But then.
"Lowell?"
When I arrived at the treatment room, I saw a familiar back.
"Ah, you're here."
Lowell was in the treatment room.
Not only that, but he was examining Whitey together with the Healer.
“How is your body?”
“I'm feeling a bit better now. It's been a while, by the way.”
“Ah, yes. I had a few things to take care of.”
I hadn’t seen him since returning from the mountains. He must’ve gone on another business trip while I was unconscious.
“I heard you had quite the struggle.”
“The bastard was injured, but he put up a good fight.”
“Sounds like it was a pretty strong monster.”
“Ah, about that…”
Since Lowell was here,
I told him about the strange thing I’d felt while fighting the alpha wolf.
“You said it used something similar to Aura?”
“Yes, and it used it quite skillfully.”
That strange, raw energy.
While its senses were like those of a beast, I couldn’t figure out what that energy was.
“Hmm, that’s probably a Vein (獸脈).”
“A Vein?”
“Yes, it’s similar to Aura, but it's a more natural power. Usually, beast-kin warriors use it, but…”
Lowell said so and looked down at Whitey.
“Sometimes Spiritual Beings use it too.”
“Then Whitey is a Spiritual Being?”
“There's a high probability of that. Especially if it maintains its original animal form without any other characteristics.”
“Hmm…”
This little guy is a Spiritual Being?
I looked at Whitey with a bit of doubt, picking him up.
He still couldn't open his eyes properly, and he even had a little snot running from his nose. He looked utterly goofy.
“Do Spiritual Beings have a slow growth rate?”
“On the contrary, they grow rapidly until maturity. It’ll probably grow to the size of a normal wolf within a year.”
“Wow… I can’t quite believe it.”
He’s saying this little guy will get that big in just a year?
Even considering that animals generally grow faster than humans, that’s surprising.
“But is it really okay to raise him in the mansion?”
Everything’s fine, but… I have one concern.
“Considering that alpha wolf, it seems a bit dangerous.”
He looks like this, but he *is* a wolf, isn't he? I've heard that even with an owner's imprint, wolves retain their wild nature and can be dangerous.
“If he’s a Spiritual Being, there's no need to worry. They have high intelligence.”
“That’s a relief.”
Come to think of it, I remember the alpha wolf also seemed highly intelligent.
Then, I just need to educate him well.
“And, if you're really that worried, we can bring in an excellent wolf Trainer from the north.”
“There are wolf Trainers in the north?”
“Yes, pet wolves are very popular there, so there are many experts.”
"I see...."
In the Capital, the Kingdom's most prominent Noble treats people like dogs, and in the north, every household raises wolves.
This Kingdom is just a little bit crazy.
“Anyway, take good care of him. Having a Spiritual Being as a younger sibling is a rare occurrence.”
“...He’s really not my younger sibling.”
The Healer too, what's with this younger sibling thing?
More than that, a Spiritual Being… I’m a little excited.
I wonder if I can ride him once he grows up a bit?
“First, I’ll have to tell the servants to build him a house.”
Anyway.
Later, just as Lowell suggested, Whitey got his own house…
“Is this really right?”
“He's still young, so you'll have to put in some effort.”
They’d built it right next to my house, even connecting them with a hole.
It’s like my house has an extra room.
“More importantly, the Young Lady will be surprised. The number of dogs you're raising will have doubled while she was away from the mansion.”
Lowell said that while watching Whitey wiggle into his new house.
Hearing that, I suddenly realized something.
“When is the Young Lady coming back?”
“I think she'll be back next weekend.”
Now that I think about it.
It *is* about time for the Young Lady to finish adjusting to school and come home.
Her absence felt significantly large, even though she’d only been gone for a few weeks.
I was genuinely looking forward to her return.