73. Going Home

73. Going Home

“Cough, cough.”

My head hurts. My body feels like it’s on fire.

Only faint breaths escape from my mouth and nose. The surrounding air feels too cold.

Air?

What do you mean, air?

I was definitely underwater.

Even with my hazy mind, I try to recall. I was exploring underwater, met a mechanical worm, fought it, felt I lacked power, so I gave up underwater breathing and shot a laser….

After a chest-swelling power struggle, I lost consciousness.

What happened after that?

“Kkang….”

At least my voice seems to be working normally. My tail also seems to be fine. At least it wasn’t burned by the worm’s laser beam.

Are Seol-gu and Uncle okay?

“Kkae-heung… Achoo!”

It’s no use. My mind is foggy. My body feels sluggish. The thought of just falling asleep like this won’t leave my mind.

I’m pretty sure I’ve caught a cold.

“Seol-ah….”

Lying in an unknown place, I struggled for a moment, then something cold and soft brushed past my forehead.

… No, it’s probably because my body is hot that I feel it’s cold.

I already knew what it was. I had seen, heard, and felt it so much over the past 8 years that I couldn’t possibly mistake it.

It was Sister’s touch.

A soft and gentle hand. A hand that gently stroked my ears and tidied my hair, a hand I truly loved.

Just having Sister by my side makes me feel at ease. My tension melts away.

It feels like I’ve returned to a safe secret base. I don’t know if this place is home or somewhere outside, but it was comfortable.

Perhaps because my tension was released, I kept losing consciousness without realizing it. But I frowned and tried my best not to fall asleep.

Because Sister is waiting for me.

I have to wake up. Sister is mature and cool, but she also has many childlike aspects, so if I don’t wake up like this, she might cry her eyes out like a little kid.

To prevent such an embarrassing moment for Sister, who will one day become the tribe leader, I decided to get up in a healthy and strong state.

Okay, one, two….

Then, when I counted to three in my mind, I was going to push myself up and… try to.

-Bang!

“Kkae-aeng….”

Before I could even properly brace myself, I bumped my forehead hard against Sister, who was watching me closely.

I collapsed again, weakly.

——

Huk.

I fainted.

My consciousness, which I had been forcing to stay awake, collapsed the moment I bumped into Sister, and I fell asleep.

How much time has passed? I don’t know.

By the way, my body felt surprisingly fine. No headache, no fever. My tail was fluffy and soft as usual. It was perfect.

Sister must be worried about me. Let’s get up quickly!

-Bang!

“Kkae-ae-aeng.”

“Ugh….”

Good heavens, I bumped foreheads with Sister again.

I cried “Kkang kkang” while holding my forehead, and Sister also groaned while holding her forehead. It hurt so much.

“S-Seol-ah. Are you awake?”

“Yeah….”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sister quickly regained her composure and blew on my bright red forehead. Strangely, it felt a little less painful.

Looking around, I was lying on the bed in my room. The stove was lit warmly, and Seol-gu was sleeping soundly on the giant rubber ball in the corner.

Through the window, I could see the night sky dotted with stars. It was daytime before I lost consciousness, so a significant amount of time must have passed.

“Sister was very worried because Seol-ah didn’t come even after waiting a long time.”

“Sorry….”

“It’s okay. Uncle Polar Bear told me that Seol-ah protected Seol-gu and Uncle with magic. You’re so brave, my Seol-ah.”

Did Uncle explain what happened to Sister? Receiving praise made my pride soar, but there was something to correct in Sister’s words.

“I didn’t just protect them… We fought together with Uncle and Seol-gu and won.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Seol-gu carried me, Uncle hit the worm, and I finally shot a laser beam at the worm. We wouldn’t have won if any one of us was missing.

The three of us combined our strength to defeat that mechanical worm.

… Wait a minute, did we defeat the worm?

I can’t be sure because I have no memory of it.

“What happened to the mechanical worm? And Uncle and Seol-gu?”

“Seol-ah heroically defeated the mechanical worm. Uncle and Seol-gu are safe. Not a single scratch.”

“Hee hee….”

I see. I won.

My strength drained away, and a smile spread across my face. I stretched my arms towards the sky and shouted.

“I won!!”

“Yes, Seol-ah won.”

Yahoo!

I really am a super strong wolf!

As I puffed out my chest with a triumphant expression, Sister chuckled lightly and continued.

“Uncle Polar Bear went home after bringing Seol-ah here, and Seol-gu stayed by Seol-ah’s side after treating her, and just fell asleep a moment ago. He looked very tired.”

“Really…?”

Good heavens, Seol-gu treated me?

Actually, when I saw Seol-gu sleeping soundly on the ball earlier, I felt a little resentful. It seemed like he was sleeping peacefully while I was suffering.

But that wasn’t the case!

Lately, perhaps because I’ve been spending time with wolves, Seol-gu seems to be becoming less fox-like. At this rate, he might not be an honorary wolf yet, but he’s definitely worthy of being recognized as an honorary honorary wolf.

The name Rang Seol-gu means honorary honorary wolf.

And since he has become an honorary honorary wolf here, I think Seol-gu will soon become an honorary wolf.

“….”

… I left a silent thank you for Seol-gu in my heart. It was a bit too embarrassing to say out loud.

Turning my head again, I saw Sister looking at me intently.

Her expression wasn’t the gentle one from before, but a slightly stern one… yes, like when she scolds me.

Huk.

My body stiffened. My tail stood on end.

Wasn’t the atmosphere just warm and friendly? But why is she suddenly going to scold me?

Actually, there were many things I should be scolded for. I went to the lake without telling Sister, got knocked out, and was carried back by Uncle.

Even if I accomplished something great there, Sister’s style is to scold me for what needs scolding. I waited, trembling, for Sister to speak.

“Sister definitely sent you on an errand.”

“….”

“A simple errand to return something to Uncle.”

I’m being scolded, as expected. I quietly listened to Sister.

“But Seol-ah went to do something dangerous without telling Sister. Right?”

“Uh, yeah….”

Sister looked at me. Her eyes were filled with complex emotions. My tail thumped on the floor, expressing my displeasure.

“Sister doesn’t want to say anything about Seol-ah going to do something dangerous. Sister is worried and anxious, but Seol-ah is old enough to think and judge on her own now. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah….”

“But, couldn’t you have at least given Sister a heads-up?”

“Yeah…….”

Sister’s gaze was sharp. My body shrank involuntarily. I felt like I was going to become a tiny arctic hamster.

“If something terrible had happened to Seol-ah there, Sister would have just waited for Seol-ah without knowing anything. Sister would have wondered when Seol-ah would come back, worrying endlessly, and then if too much time passed, she would go out to look for Seol-ah. But how could she find Seol-ah in this vast snowfield? Without knowing where Seol-ah was or what she was doing, she would keep wandering, and if she miraculously found Seol-ah, by then… it would be too late. Right?”

“Yeah….”

Sister hugged me tightly. I felt her warmth in her embrace, unable to do anything.

In Sister’s arms, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay if Seol-ah understands. From now on, tell your family at least before doing anything dangerous, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

Sister kissed my forehead. I rubbed my forehead where Sister’s lips had touched, for no particular reason.

“Sister understands that it was an urgent matter. You said the sea was being ruined.”

“Yeah.”

Am I done being scolded now?

I glanced at Sister and tried to get out of bed. I was hungry.

There might be some Ice fruit left at home, so I think I’ll be fine if I eat that and go back to sleep.

As I licked my lips and started to walk towards the door, my tail was suddenly grabbed.

“Uh, Sister?”

“And one more thing.”

Sister was smiling faintly at me. But her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“Seol-ah, you made a mess in the room before going on the errand, didn’t you?”

“Huk…!!”

I’ve been found out!!

I knew it! There was no reason for Sister not to enter my room!

I tried to move my legs quickly to escape, but I couldn’t because my tail was caught.

Sister picked up my tail, and my body was lifted into the air.

“Kkae-ae-aeng.”

“I was going to spank you four times, but since you had a tough day, I’ll let it slide with one.”

“Kkae-ae-aeng!”

I shook my body to express my refusal. My body swung from side to side at an incredible speed.

But Sister is the future wolf leader. She can cover my shaking with her reflexes.

Then, a cheerful “Slap!” sound echoed.

“Kkang!!”

Along with my scream.