Chapter 5
The wolf’s curved fangs rushed right in front of Jenuiere’s face.
I tightly shut my eyes.
‘I’m going to die now!’
My heart pounded hard. Forget the meat—this is the end for me.
The crystal engine gave no response. I had used all my strength fighting the magic beast.
Well, of course… I needed to eat to have strength!
But then…
Pant, pant!
‘…Huh?’
Instead of the pain of being bitten, I felt warm, thick fur against my body.
Then something wet and warm brushed across my face.
I slowly opened my eyes.
And then—
What is this?
The wolf was licking my face.
Pant, pant!
When I opened my eyes wide in shock, the wolf stuck out its tongue near my face and wagged its tail like it was happy.
‘…It licked me?’
I froze.
Then I realized something.
Animals were unfamiliar to me.
If it were a magic beast, I wouldn’t be this tense—but strangely, right in front of an animal, my whole body froze like ice.
Meanwhile, the wolf kept whining and licking my face and hands as if it liked me.
After hesitating for a moment, I awkwardly reached out and patted the wolf’s head.
“G-go, good boy.”
…Is this how you do it?
Whine, whine~.
The wolf soon lay on its back, showing its belly.
Only then did I let out the breath I was holding.
“Phew.”
As the fear of death disappeared, the hunger I had forgotten rushed in like a wave.
My eyes turned to the meat sizzling over the campfire. The wolf in front of me also turned its head to follow my gaze.
Then it suddenly stood up and walked toward the fire, blocking my view—as if protecting its meat.
Grrr….
“Hey…”
With a desperate heart, I decided to try negotiating with the wolf.
In a soft, cute voice, I whispered quietly.
“…Give me just one bite.”
The wolf turned its head sharply, as if saying no way.
Grr!
“Then… two bites?”
I gently whispered and carefully reached out my hand. The wolf tapped my hand with its nose.
Snort!
It was firm, like telling me not to come any closer.
“Ah, okay. Fine. How stingy.”
Well… it’s not like animals and humans can understand each other.
I quickly became gloomy.
Then I noticed the dried leaves under me.
A thought came to mind.
‘Should I try eating leaves?’
I reached out toward the leaves.
But suddenly, the wolf bit and took away even the leaves I was about to grab.
Tears almost came out.
‘Wolf… can’t I eat something?’
At that moment—
The wolf came back to me, wagging its tail.
In its mouth was delicious grilled meat wrapped neatly in leaves.
The wolf came next to me and pushed the meat toward me with its nose.
Sniff!
My eyes widened in shock.
“…You’re telling me to take just one bite?”
The wolf shook its head.
Grr, sniff!
“Then two bites?”
Grr, sniff!
“…Don’t tell me, all of it?”
Sniff!
‘Is this real?’
I respectfully received the meat with both hands. It was wrapped in leaves, so it wasn’t hot.
It was amazing.
‘I can communicate with a wolf!’
And since it wrapped the meat so my hands wouldn’t burn, it probably stopped me earlier because the fire was dangerous.
‘You planned this from the start, didn’t you?’
I sincerely thanked the wolf.
“Thank you!”
Bark! Bark!
I took a bite of the grilled meat.
The moment it entered my mouth, my eyes widened.
‘It’s delicious!’
I quickly took another bite.
It was so good. The best thing I had ever eaten in 13 years.
Especially the seasoning on the outside—it was perfect.
“Do wolves usually cook meat this well and season it this nicely?”
I lifted my head to pat the wolf—
And saw a boy sitting beyond the fire.
Our eyes met.
The boy stared at me with wide eyes, looking completely dumbfounded.
“….”
“….”
I wiped the meat grease from my lips with the back of my hand and awkwardly smiled.
After staring at each other for a while, I spoke first.
“Your meat is delicious.”
“….”
“It’s cooked perfectly, and the seasoning is great!”
“….”
“I’ll pat you as thanks.”
But right after saying that, I collapsed to the side.
It wasn’t just that I hadn’t eaten properly—I hadn’t slept either.
Now that I had eaten enough, my body needed sleep.
The boy’s shocked face blurred as he shouted something at me.
Then everything faded away.
* * *
When I woke up again, my body felt much lighter.
‘Ah! I feel alive.’
I could feel a comfortable energy flowing from the crystal engine.
But my forehead felt hot. Something was on it, and it was uncomfortable.
As I reached up to remove it, another hand covered mine.
Suddenly, I remembered the rough hand of the priest with glasses who used to grab my wrist during experiments.
I tightly shut my eyes without realizing.
Then—
A voice I had never heard before spoke near my ear.
“…Are you okay?”
It was a low, careful voice.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Dark blue hair. Gray eyes.
A boy without his shirt was sitting beside me, leaning forward. His upper body was muscular, with sweat on it.
‘Ah… it’s not that priest.’
In a dry voice, I said,
“…Can you help me sit up?”
“….”
The boy hesitated, then carefully supported my back with both hands and helped me sit.
At that moment, something fell from my forehead.
A cloth soaked in warm water.
‘Ah, so this is why my forehead felt hot.’
As I tried to move it aside, the boy picked it up instead and held my hand.
“…You’re very cold.”
“That’s… I’m always like that.”
Because of the crystal engine.
It constantly creates ice energy in my heart, so my body is naturally cold.
Then suddenly, I said—
“But I don’t think you’re in a position to say that, are you?”
I was pointing at his bare upper body.
The boy’s face turned red, and he stood up.
“…There’s a reason for this.”
He stepped back awkwardly. He seemed more shy than he looked.
I slowly looked around the cave.
The wolf that rushed at me earlier was gone.
Where did it go?
“If you mean that wolf, it went hunting.”
The boy noticed my question and added small branches to the fire.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be back soon.”
“Huh? With what?”
“Meat.”
He pointed at the empty stick over the fire.
“You ate really well.”
“….”
That made me remember the taste, and I almost swallowed.
The fire crackled.
The boy casually handed me a leather water pouch.
After drinking a little, I held it with both hands and asked,
“You were badly injured, right?”
“I’m fine.”
He shrugged.
“I heal quickly.”
And indeed, his body looked mostly fine in the firelight.
When he fought the bear magic beast, he had many wounds—but now it felt like an illusion.
Still, some big wounds were still there.
The boy seemed to know that too. He sat across from me and started wrapping bandages around himself.
I looked at him.
“…Do you want me to do it?”
“…Why?”
I thought for a moment, then said,
“You saved me. And gave me food.”
The boy looked confused.
“Not really. You saved me.”
That was true.
If I hadn’t dropped the icicles, his injuries wouldn’t have been this minor.
“By the way… what happened to that bear magic beast? Is it… dead?”
I hadn’t confirmed it.
But after being buried under falling icicles and snow, it probably couldn’t survive.
The boy looked surprised, then laughed.
“Yeah.”
“…I see.”
‘That’s a relief.’
‘Once I recover, I should go down to the village.’
Just then, the boy stood up and walked toward me.
“By the way, who are you?”
He spoke in a low voice.
“And why did you save me?”
Through the orange flames, his gray eyes shined seriously.
I looked back at him and fell into thought.
Because at this moment—
There were things I needed to think about.
(To be continued)
