58. Hunting Day

58. Hunting Day

“Alright, let’s catch something bigger this time.”

Thanks to my heroic sacrifice, Yura and Yuri were able to hunt the rabbit beautifully. Seeing them do so well on their first try, it seems the blood of wolf suins really runs strong.

As I cleared my throat and prepared to move, Yura and Yuri asked me.

“By the way, Seol-ah….” “Are you okay?”

They seemed to be referring to me being kicked by the rabbit and flying high into the sky earlier. I patted my chest to reassure them and declared.

“Of course. It’s just a rabbit; it can’t even hurt me!”

“But you were kicked quite far, considering it was ‘just a rabbit’….”

“Hmph! That couldn’t be helped.”

Not getting hurt and not flying are separate things. No matter how strong I am, my feet aren’t glued to the ground. If I’m kicked upwards, I’m bound to fly.

This is an unavoidable issue due to the laws of physics, but it’s also something that time will solve. When I grow older and become an adult, even if a rabbit kicks me, it won’t be able to send me flying.

… I rubbed my aching side. My face contorted every time I touched it, but I wasn’t hurt or anything.

“I’ve buried the rabbit here, so we’ll come back to find it all at once after the hunt is over. Remember the location!”

“”Yes.””

We can’t carry the hunted rabbit around every time. If we did, the scent would make hunting difficult.

And if we leave the hunted rabbit on the ground, other animals will come and steal our prey. There are many fox-like animals that prey on what others have hunted!

That’s why we bury it in the snow like this. If we put a stick on top, we should be able to find it later.

“Seol-ah seems to be surprisingly good at digging burrows.”

“Right. Ours always collapse, but the ones Seol-ah digs are so deep they don’t collapse!”

On our way to find more prey, Yura and Yuri started talking about me, perhaps bored from wandering the forest.

Talking while hunting is a way to announce your location to everyone, so it should be refrained from, but since we haven’t seen any animals for quite a while, I decided to join in.

“I’m pretty good at digging burrows, ahem.”

“I wish we could dig well too….” “Yeah, yeah, we tried to build a secret base last time but failed.”

“Secret base?”

My ears perked up. My tail wagged. I couldn’t hide my excitement and asked Yura and Yuri.

Yura and Yuri nodded and replied.

“Yeah. We tried to dig a secret base in front of our house…” “It would collapse after digging just a little, and then it would collapse again, and then again, so we eventually gave up.” “But maybe if Seol-ah helps, we might be able to….”

“Huk….”

A secret base.

Secret Base.

For some reason, these simple four syllables had a strangely moving resonance. My eyes sparkled as I said.

“Let’s build it right now!”

“R-right now?” “But our hunt….”

“It’s okay, we can hunt later!”

We’ve already caught one rabbit, so our quota is met. Besides, digging a burrow doesn’t take much time, so there’s plenty of time to build a secret base and then resume hunting.

“Don’t you want to build a secret base, guys!”

“Uh, yes…!”

“Let’s do it!!”

I immediately started working. Planting my hands and feet on the ground, I dug through the snow at a rapid pace. The burrow was created at an incredible speed, and the excavated snow piled up immensely outside.

Yura and Yuri were also impressed by my astonishing speed.

“When you dig a burrow, you have to compact the walls firmly! Otherwise, the snow won’t be able to support the weight and will collapse! If you make a mistake, you could get buried inside, so it’s a big deal, understand?”

“Have you ever been buried under the snow, Seol-ah?”

“When I was five… Ah, no! That never happened!”

I don’t do such foolish things. Waiting in a burrow I dug myself, crying until Sister rescues me, is something a fox would do, not a wolf.

“It’s done…!”

A moment later, our secret base was finally completed.

It was a burrow just big enough for three children to fit inside. In the very center, a special spot was made for a suin with a magnificent tail. A groove in the shape of a tail was dug, so if you lie down looking up, your tail fits perfectly and is stored.

“Come in, guys!”

“”Wow….””

The interior was truly cozy. The bluish color created by the snow crystals dispersing light was a nice touch.

Moreover, thanks to the plump tail supporting my back, the sensation of lying down was the best. Yura and Yuri’s impressions weren’t much different.

“But it feels a bit cramped.”

“It can’t be helped. If we dig wider than this, it becomes unstable.”

“Ugh.”

For a moment, we enjoyed the coziness of the secret base. It was cramped, so we had to stick close to each other, but we were all ordinary children. It wasn’t much of a problem.

“And this too… Ta-da! A glow-in-the-dark stone!”

“”Wow…!””

I took out the transparent stone from my tail and made it glow. Yura and Yuri’s eyes sparkled with admiration at the sight of the shimmering stone.

“So this was glowing…!”

“Hoo hoo.”

It’s too early to be amazed by just this. I can only imagine how surprised Yura and Yuri will be when they see me hunt using magic. Just imagining it makes me giggle.

At that moment, Yura and Yuri suddenly started pulling my cheeks from both sides.

“W-why are you suddenly pulling my cheeks!”

“Seeing Seol-ah giggling like that,” “It made me want to tease you.”

“Hmph… I’m leaving!”

“Ah.” “She’s sulking.”

“I’m not sulking!”

I wriggled my body and got out of the burrow. Yura followed me out, and finally, Yuri squeezed out.

The secret base play ends here. I don’t know why I was so obsessed with this, not being a child anymore. I should get back to hunting.

“Hmph.”

“She’s sulking.” “Yeah, she’s sulking.”

“Hmph!”

I crossed my arms and walked forward indifferently. It’s not that I’m sulking or anything childish; I’m just being careful with my words so as not to be discovered if we encounter any animals.

After walking for a while, I heard Yura and Yuri whispering behind me.

“Seol-ah’s tail looks so cool, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah! Seol-ah’s tail is so big, I’m really, really envious.”

“I wish I had a tail like that~”

“I’m so jealous~”

My ears perked up. The corners of my mouth twitched. But I shouldn’t make noise. If I make noise, the prey will run away. I should warn Yura and Yuri….

“Seol-ah is so amazing!”

“She digs burrows well too!”

“Cool!”

… I’ll warn them later, not now. For morale management, it’s necessary to have some time to chatter.

“Seol-ah, are you feeling better now?”

“Yes!”

I’ve never done anything as childish as sulking, but seeing my friends’ sincerity, it seems right to smile at them here. I turned my head and smiled brightly at Yura and Yuri.

“Wait, there’s an animal over there!”

“Ah…!”

A large reindeer passed by right then. The reindeer was running as if it were escaping from something, and I immediately started chasing after it.

“Let’s chase it!”

“”Uh, yeah!””

Compared to a rabbit, the reindeer was very, very large. Even excluding its sharp, large antlers, it was about twice as big, which would be perfect for a second prey.

“Stop right there!”

“Kuuu-ong!”

“Guys! Surround it from both sides!”

The reindeer let out a strange cry, one I had never heard before. In any case, we hurried to chase the reindeer. The reindeer darted through the trees, running at an incredible speed.

But we are wolves. Reindeer are prey for wolves.

“Caught it!”

Guided by our coordinated efforts, the reindeer was gradually cornered and eventually blocked by a high cliff.

With Yura and Yuri blocking from the sides and me blocking the front, and the wall behind us, there was nowhere for the reindeer to escape.

The reindeer cries out, panting. It looks around nervously, but there is no way to escape. This is the end.

“Alright, guys, watch this!”

Having cornered the reindeer, I picked up a stone from my tail. I intended to show my friends some truly amazing magic.

Yura and Yuri would be surprised to see the frozen reindeer. Sister would surely be astonished if she saw a reindeer caught by magic.

I imagine the tribe members praising me as the first magical wolf in the tribe.

Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo.

“Freeze-“

The moment I was about to use magic, a sudden, massive vibration shook the earth.

“Kkang?!”

“”Kyaak…!””

My stance faltered for a moment, and the encirclement broke. The reindeer seized the opportunity and escaped.

“No! Stop it!”

I started running after the reindeer. The distance is not far, so if I run now, I should be able to catch it quickly.

Or so I thought….

-Crack.

“Uh….”

The reindeer that was trying to escape a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a large shadow and blood dripping from the sky.

The white snow was turning red. A low sound echoed.

-Grrr.

I slowly raised my head. I could vaguely guess what was there from the shadow, but I needed confirmation.

“Krr.”

Where the reindeer had been, there was a creature with gray wings, a lizard’s face, a tail, a massive body, and sharp, ferocious teeth….

It was a wyvern.

The wyvern, having swallowed the chunk of meat, roared at us.