62. Henir

62. Henir

The Grand Duke of the North, a wolf beastman.

Shocked by the opponent before me, I froze in place.

“You’re making a huge mistake! If anything happens to me, the Grand Duke will move immediately! You know wolf beastmen never forget grudges! The Grand Duke and we will hunt you to the ends of hell! Hmph!”

“….”

What should I do about this?

The situation seemed incredibly tangled. Like a hopelessly knotted ball of yarn, it was unclear where to even begin unraveling it.

From what I learned from my father, all wolf beastmen lived in the northern part of the empire. Even the few wolf beastmen living abroad were only there for work and were originally from the North.

That means this wolf beastman before me must also be from the North.

Being from the North implies a connection to our territory. Furthermore, given the communal nature of life in the North, all territorial residents knew my father personally, and this beastman was likely no different.

Moreover, judging by their combat skills and constant talk about my father, they seemed to be more than just acquaintances. I pondered how to resolve this situation while holding the beastman by the collar.

Would they let me go and apologize now?

If my father found out that I had nearly harmed one of his subordinates, I would undoubtedly be punished severely. I might even be thrown into a glacial crevasse several kilometers deep.

The experience of clinging to walls and eating only ice for weeks before barely surviving was enough for me. I released the beastman’s collar and prepared the greatest apology posture I knew from my past life.

Taaat!

It looked similar to a handstand but was different-an ultimate apology technique.

The full prostration.

I placed my hands on the ground and inverted my body. A perfect vertical, 90° angle. Even I thought it was flawless.

“……?”

The beastman seemed unable to comprehend the meaning of the pose. They paused as if their brain had frozen, then burst into hearty laughter.

“The Grand Duke of the North must have been a bit scary! Ha! You stupid dog beastman! How dare you mess with us, you deserve it….”

“Skadi! What are you doing destroying the entire Academy while chasing someone!!”

And then, Priscilla, chasing after me from afar. Hearing her words, the beastman stopped dead in their tracks.

“… Ska… di?”

“Skadi? Who is that person in front… Huh, a wolf beastman? Anyway, why are you doing a handstand?”

As Priscilla arrived, I dismantled the pose, composed myself, and removed the balaclava. My face was revealed, with my white hair cascading down.

Seeing this, the wolf beastman’s eyes widened, and they stammered, unable to speak.

Their brown eyes, sparkling in the streetlight, were quite beautiful.

I said to Priscilla.

“I was just apologizing.”

“Apologizing? Did you hurt them?”

“No, not really, but just… in many ways.”

Fortunately, neither of us seemed to have suffered any major injuries. Apart from a few bruises, the only problem was that our clothes were a bit torn from the impact of our attacks.

Priscilla nodded, then shouted loudly.

“Hmm, is that so? No, it’s not ‘is that so’! Skadi, what were you thinking doing something like this?? This isn’t theft, it’s terrorism! You didn’t kill the person who took the elixir, did you?! That would be really bad! If Skadi goes to jail, who will take care of my tail? I still need to meet your sister!”

“They’re not dead.”

“That’s a relief then!”

After a brief conversation with Priscilla, the wolf beastman, who had been frozen until now, turned their head like a rusty machine and stammered at me.

“S-S-Skadi, Young Lady?”

“Ah, were you surprised? Does it hurt a lot?”

The attack I landed on the ground earlier must have been quite forceful, so it must have hurt a lot. I approached the wolf beastman with concern and asked.

“No, Young Lady, why are you here?!”

“Uh… that’s….”

Perhaps it was because the person she had been fighting so fiercely was the daughter of the family she served, the opponent, shocked, couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. I was equally speechless, so we continued in parallel without any progress.

No matter what, we couldn’t stay like this forever. My father always said that as a ruler, I should set an example, so it was only right that I apologize first.

It was the moment I opened my mouth.

“Sorry-“

“I am so sorry!!!! I didn’t even recognize you as the Young Lady and attacked you! Please kill this ungrateful wretch who doesn’t know kindness!!!”

“Wait, put down the sword!”

The beastman, holding a shard of a sword that had fallen on the ground, tried to stab themselves in the neck. Startled, I grabbed their arm, and Priscilla, equally surprised, joined in.

“I, who was saved by the Young Lady’s life, dared to attack her without recognizing her!!!! Please let me repay the sin of almost leaving a scar on the Young Lady’s noble body with my humble life!!!”

“Stop it!!”

I forcefully struck the beastman’s head. Thwack, a considerable sound echoed, and I spoke to the opponent, who seemed to have finally regained some composure.

“Calm down. What’s your name?”

“I am Henir!! a member of the Special Operations Unit White Fang!!!!”

Henir! What an interesting name with such unique accents.

I uttered an “Oh,” marveling at the endless learning of the Imperial language.

“… Skadi, are you thinking of something strange?”

“No. Anyway, Henir, calm down and think carefully. This is my fault, not yours. This whole mess happened because I attacked you without knowing you, didn’t it? And I was the one wearing a mask to hide my identity.”

Henir stood up abruptly and shouted. Their posture was incredibly upright, as if filled with military discipline.

“No!! It is my fault for not recognizing the Young Lady!! Servants have a duty to recognize their Young Lady, even if she were covered in coal and attacking!”

“Priscilla, is that really a duty?”

“Would it be?”

Priscilla shook her head. I looked at Henir again and continued.

“Henir, please calm down a bit-“

“Kill me!! -Ouch!”

Whack! The cheerful sound of impact echoed again. Henir, who had been trembling on the ground, surprisingly recovered quickly and stood up. To prevent Henir from saying anything strange, I made a definitive statement.

“Henir, I forgive you. Honestly, I don’t think it’s your fault, but if you really want forgiveness, I’ll forgive you. Alright?”

“But my sin is too deep….”

“Are you going to argue when I’m forgiving you?”

Henir’s eyes widened.

“I’m sorry!!! I shouldn’t have- Ouch!”

Whack! Henir, who had fallen to the ground again and was trembling, was hit again. Priscilla muttered weakly, and I rubbed my slightly throbbing fist and agreed.

“… My ears hurt a little.”

“Mine too.”

——

“So, why were you here?”

“The Grand Duke heard that the elixir was going to be auctioned, so he sent me to the capital to escort it safely!!”

Henir showed me the elixir, which glowed faintly in her arms. It looked as if a beautiful, iridescent crystal had been dissolved inside a bottle.

… I see. I had targeted the wrong person from the start. I never imagined that my competitor would be on the same team.

This could have turned into a serious problem. The elixir could have been broken, or one of us could have been in danger.

I reflected on my impulsive use of force. Most problems I had encountered so far were solved by using a lot of force, so I unconsciously let my fists fly again.

Sigh, I wasn’t this foolish before.

Ignoring Priscilla, who was looking at me with a strange expression, as if she thought I was having odd thoughts, I asked Henir.

“By the way, Henir, you mentioned earlier that you received some… grace from me. What was that about?”

Henir shouted loudly, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“When I was surrounded by monsters as a child!! Your sword aura saved my life!! From that moment on, I admired you, and to be with you, I endured harsh training and was able to join the Special Operations Unit!!! Of course, I haven’t been able to see you even once since that day!!!”

“Hmm.”

I looked at Henir.

Around 160cm, an average height, neat brown bobbed hair, perky ears, and a tail. And a rather meager chest.

I had never seen her before.

“… Sorry, I really don’t remember who you are.”

“I expected as much!! It was a long time ago!! But it’s okay!! Even if you don’t remember me, I will remember you!!!!”

“R-right.”

Even though I was meeting a fellow wolf beastman after a long time, her attention was quite overwhelming.

Anyway, there was a risk of being discovered as the culprit who half-destroyed the Academy if I stayed here any longer, so the three of us decided to head back to the dormitory and talk.

“… I feel like I’ve forgotten something.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wait a moment.”

A voice flashed through my mind.

-Unni!! It’s me! Unni!!!!

No, that’s just my sister’s voice, and a voice from even earlier….

-Claire, you’ll help me, right?

“Ah.”

I left Claire behind.

We hastily changed direction and headed towards where Claire would be.