1. Hunt

1. Hunt

I was quite flustered when the thing attached to me disappeared. I also felt lost about how I would live from now on.

I became a woman. I was a man, so how would I date? Get married? Have children?

And those deep, deep worries of mine melted away like snow under the sun, thanks to the devoted care of my mother and father.

Come to think of it, becoming a girl was a blessing.

At least it was 2500 times better than living the pathetic life of a man who died from overwork without ever even having a crush, while being exploited endlessly by a black company that paid peanuts. I could guarantee that living as a girl, born with a cute appearance and loved not only by parents but also by other family members, family friends, and even their friends’ friends’ friends, was much better.

After realizing that fact, my proud former self, who was over twenty years old, regressed to match my physical age without any other option.

Goo goo.

Anyway.

Today was a monumental day, marking my eighth birthday since being reborn as a wolf suin. The soft falling snowflakes might have been the sky’s clouds matching my elevated mood, as if they were about to pierce it.

The moment morning came, I excitedly ran out of the house and plunged my head into the snow, which is what just happened.

The reason for doing something so foolish, I don’t really know myself.

Should I call it instinct? When I heard something rustling under the snow, I couldn’t help but wag my tail and perk up my ears, and then I ended up burying my head in the snow like this.

I suspect it might be the instinct to hunt. After all, I am a wolf, at the very top of the food chain.

“Mmph mph….”

Anyway, the average snowfall in the north, where it snows heavily, far exceeds tens of centimeters. It was enough to swallow my small body, leaving only my backside, as I was still young.

If I were an adult, I could have easily escaped even if my body got stuck in the snow, but I was still a young wolf. The snowfield was slightly stronger than me. Even as I twisted my body and wagged my tail, my body was firmly stuck and showed no signs of coming out.

At that moment, something grabbed my ankle.

And with a pop! sound, my vision changed drastically.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Big Sister!”

My new family in this life, my older sister, pulled me out like I was a radish. Dangling in the air with my ankle held, I looked up at my sister.

Her hair, not as white as mine but still pure white, her majestically raised triangular wolf ears, and her spiky, rough wolf tail. Her gentle face.

My sister’s bright blue eyes turned towards me.

“Father is calling for you.”

“Really?!”

My ears perked up. My tail puffed up.

On the day I turned 8, if my father called for me, there was only one reason.

That is….

——

“Now that the weather has somewhat cleared, we will begin the hunt.”

“”Yes!””

“And… *sigh*, Seol-yeon, you take care of Seol-ah.”

“Yes, Father.”

Under the sky where snowflakes were gently falling, on the fluffy snowfield, wolf suin stood in neat rows.

As I stood at the very back, my eyes shining brightly, my body was suddenly lifted from behind. As I floated in the air, startled, I looked up to see the face of the wolf suin looking down at me.

It was Seol-yeon, my older sister.

“Seol-ah, come with me.”

“Okay!”

My sister spoke in her usual gentle voice. I responded by enthusiastically wagging my fluffy tail.

The weather in the north was capricious. Sometimes the sun shone from the sky, and at other times clouds would gather and snow would fall. Furthermore, it was common for heavy snow to pour down, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

Naturally, we couldn’t go hunting at any time. Therefore, when the time came to hunt, almost all the tribe members would go out and procure food.

But I couldn’t. The reason was that I was too young.

… But if I were someone who gave up that easily, I wouldn’t be a wolf. So, a few years ago, I grabbed my father’s clothes and insisted for days until I got a promise that I would be allowed to participate in the hunt starting from when I turned 8.

That promise could finally be fulfilled now.

“Heh heh….”

“Are you excited?”

“Yes!”

I put my hand into my large, fluffy tail. As I pushed through the pure white fur falling from the sky, my hand felt something solid.

It was my precious treasure, a children’s picture book.

“Look! It says that participating in the hunt here means being recognized as a proper wolf!”

“Is that so? Heh heh.”

It might sound strange, but wolf suin are strong. My sister, who pulled me out of the snow with one hand, was an example of that. The other wolf suin were no different.

I remember how amazing it was when I first saw the tribe members training.

The sight of them swinging swords, shooting arrows, and moving as one in perfect unison to hunt large prey was enough to ignite a burning flame within my heart, a lingering desire from my past life as a man.

There was no way I wouldn’t look forward to being recognized as such a wolf suin. Going on a hunt was a wish I had cherished in my heart since I first read this book. Now that it was about to come true, I couldn’t help but wag my tail.

Swish, swish.

“There, there.”

My sister lightly laughed, unfazed by my unintentional tail-wagging, and stroked my ears.

While my sister and I were playing, the tribe members began walking across the snowfield, following our father. My sister, holding me in her arms, followed them at a slight distance.

“I’m going to catch something this big!”

“Heh heh, I’ll look forward to it, Seol-ah.”

As I described a large prey, spreading my hands high in the air and puffing out my tail, my sister gently laughed and stroked my head. I let out a “Kkang!” sound and shook my head to dislodge her hand.

“Don’t pet me, I’m a grown wolf now!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes!”

The days of being treated like a child are over. I am Seol-ah, the youngest daughter of the wolf tribe leader, and a proper wolf. It was an age to be admired and envied, not just found cute.

At that moment, a sound came from ahead.

A high, chilling cry echoed all around-

It was a Wyvern.

“Grrrr….”

In an instant, the wolf suin surrounded the Wyvern. Unfazed by the Wyvern, which was several times larger than their bodies, they all aimed their weapons at it.

“Grrrr….”

The cries of the wolves and the Wyvern clashed. As if sizing each other up, the wolf suin circled the Wyvern, and the Wyvern turned its body this way and that, surveying its surroundings.

A moment of life and death.

The wolves’ howls echoed.

Awooo!!

“Fwooo~”

Starting with my father’s attack, the wolf suin charged at the Wyvern all at once. I also tried to charge while howling, but my sister held me tight and wouldn’t let go. I urgently turned to my sister and shouted.

“Sister? I have to hunt!”

“… The Wyvern can be hunted sufficiently without Seol-ah, so wouldn’t Seol-ah like to hunt something else with me?”

“What else?”

My sister quickly looked around.

As she turned her head back and forth, she looked at a pure white snowfield somewhere in the distance and said.

“How about… that rabbit?”

“What??”

Are they telling me to catch a rabbit now? While everyone else is hunting a giant Wyvern?

As my face contorted with each passing moment, my sister hastily added.

“W-Wyverns don’t have much meat, you know. To use them as food, it’s better to hunt other things like rabbits. Seol-ah is currently on an important mission with me to gather food.”

“An important mission…?”

“Yes, Seol-ah is a wonderful wolf who feeds the tribe!”

“A wonderful wolf…!”

I urged my sister on, my eyes shining brightly.

“Let’s go quickly!”

“Okay.”

Where we headed, filled with anticipation, were several large, round snowballs protruding from the ground.

Upon closer inspection, they were gently rising and falling. They weren’t snowballs, but clumps of pure white fur.

“Rabbits!!”

Be my food obediently!

As I got down from my sister’s embrace and ran towards the rabbits, they were bigger than I expected. Even though I was still young and small, I had a certain size, but these furballs were almost as big as me. They were truly northern rabbits, living in an extreme environment.

But this much is not difficult. I am a wolf, and that is a rabbit. Isn’t it natural for a wolf to hunt a rabbit!

“Huh.”

The rabbit was bigger than I thought.

I tilted my head up and looked at the rabbit, then slowly backed away.

Wolves don’t fight alone. With exceptional intelligence, they formulate strategies and hunt prey together with their pack. Therefore, this retreat was a strategic decision.

Okay, I need to bring my sister….

“Kkang?!”

The rabbit lunged at me with its foot.

——

“… The rabbit was stronger than I thought.”

“….”

Seol-yeon, the wolf suin, spoke to her father while holding her peacefully sleeping younger sister. Her father, who was dismembering the Wyvern’s carcass with his hunting knife, stared intently at Seol-ah’s bumped head and said nothing.

“Are you going to keep hiding it?”

“Hiding what?”

“You know.”

Seol-yeon’s eyes turned to her sister.

Her blunt, cute triangular ears, her fluffy tail that wasn’t spiky and was well-groomed, her incredibly pure white fur color. Even her small build.

“That she’s not a wolf.”

Seol-yeon continued.

“I think it’s best to say it quickly.”

“Someday. Not yet.”

“… I understand.”

Seol-yeon stroked Seol-ah in her arms and headed home first, leaving the tribe members who were continuing their hunt behind.

Seol-ah was sleeping soundly, unaware of anything.