episode_0042

A wolf was walking on a snowy plain.

It was a wolf with white fur that rivaled the color of pure white snow.

In fact, there was only one ‘wolf’, and it did not mean that there was no companion. However, the beings following the leading wolf were all horses, which are herbivores, and all of the horses were following far behind the leading wolf, as if they were reluctant to go near the wolf. .

And on the wolf’s back, there was someone sitting without a saddle.

However, he did not look like he would just climb on the back of a wolf without any equipment.

White skin that seems to show that he is of noble lineage, and golden hair that shines brilliantly in the sunlight. A body that is lean yet well-trained is clearly visible even beyond the clothes.

Above all, the clothes she was wearing looked so rare that the poor could not afford them, and even most high-ranking nobles would worry about the price.

A noble man dressed in such clothes was riding on the back of a wolf without a saddle or stirrups, not even with a bit on his head.

“Robo, wait.”

The wolf stopped at the confident and powerful voice.

And the others who had been following the lead wolf at a distance also quickly stopped.

The blonde young man was lost in thought for a moment without even looking at them.

“… … .”

He sat on the wolf, which had stopped for a while, and was quietly lost in thought. Then, he lifted the hand that had been stroking the wolf’s back and brushed away his bangs.

A small scar was visible at the tip of his exposed right eyebrow. However, his appearance was so perfect that some might call the scar a great decoration rather than a scar.

“Robo.”

When he called the name, the wolf raised its head. Seeing its ears perk up, he said with a small smile on his lips.

“Do you remember the smell of your siblings or parents?”

“… … .”

Without saying a word, the wolf turned his head slightly to the side toward the prince.

“I see.”

Although he didn’t say anything else, the prince nodded as if he understood just from the wolf’s actions.

“Then, let’s chase that smell.”

The blonde prince said with a smile on his face.

“I think she’s probably near them.”

The wolf seemed to understand, barked once, and then jumped forward.

The prince leaned down and clung to the wolf’s back as if it was something he was used to. He gently grabbed the wolf’s fur with both hands.

“Prince!”

A little later, a sound was heard from behind, but the prince did not bother to tell the wolf to stop.

It was a freedom I felt for the first time in years.

As he ran like that, he once again felt what Delkisi’s way she had mentioned a long time ago was.

*

Snow and Gray have not had any babies since.

I don’t know the reason. Northern wolves were animals that could often be seen when going north from Del Kish, but the people of Del Kish never bothered to closely examine the ecology of wolves. The meat of carnivores has a strong smell and, above all, is aggressive. This is because it is more severe than a cornered herbivore, and because it is an animal in a ‘hunting position’, its movements are much more diverse.

In any case, it was the people of Delkisi who would win the fight, but they did not feel the need to endure the bleeding and win the fight.

So, I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t giving birth to new cubs. I knew that wolves also go into heat periodically, but since I came relatively south of Delki City, I haven’t seen them, or even the wolves in the pack, come into heat. .

Maybe the climate is affecting them.

It is said that certain animals do not give birth if their surroundings change.

Thanks to this, I felt somewhat fortunate, but I always felt sorry for my wolves.

“Awwww—!”

When I put my hands together and made a loudspeaker-like shape in front of my mouth and shouted, I heard a sound from far away that seemed to respond. That sound was made by Gray.

And not long after, I heard the sound of something large running toward me—

“Oh!”

I just fell backwards.

The snow was thick, so I fell and didn’t make a loud noise or get hurt. A little snow came into the neck of my clothes, but it didn’t feel too unpleasant. Normally, when I was walking around the mountains or forests, I would often lose my footing or hit a snowball thinking it was the ground. If you step on it, your foot will sink. If you worry about snow getting on your clothes, you can’t walk on a snow-covered mountain.

Actually, that feeling was a bit nice. When I was young—well, I’m still old enough to call it ‘childhood’—but anyway—I often ran so hard without knowing my surroundings that I literally rolled on the floor.

However, the reason I wasn’t particularly hurt may be because I’m from Delkisi.

“Haha, wait a minute, Gray, it tickles!”

I immediately pushed Gray away who was running towards me and licking my face, but I had a hard time getting up because I was thrashed around by other wolves that came running right after.

After barely getting up, I fell backwards and unpacked my snow-covered leather bag.

The smell of raw meat came from inside.

I picked up a large piece of raw meat and threw it upwards, and Gray Scissors immediately jumped up and caught the meat.

Next is Snow, then Brown… … After throwing a piece of meat to a total of fourteen wolves one by one, the bag quickly became thin and unsightly.

Chomp, chomp, the sound of meat chewing filled the surroundings.

Actually, there is no need for me to bring them meat like this. Honestly, even if I give them one piece each, it is not enough to fill the stomachs of children this size.

Six cubs were born in Delkisi—one of them followed the prince, so there are now five cubs… … No, over the next five years, a total of fourteen wolves, including the children who had grown up, came down after me.

And of course, the Duke of Grattenmount could not follow him into the middle of the road.

Even in the city of Delki, which is full of tough people, these wolves had to be given special permission to enter the castle. It was natural that ordinary people who had never seen wolves of this size before could not accept them. Moreover, on a highway crowded with buildings, there were wolves over 2 meters high at the shoulder. It was difficult to find a space that could house all fourteen wolves.

As the wolves were large, they also had a lot of exercise, so they needed space to run around.

However, it was difficult to keep them right outside the castle walls. The area around Delkisiya was a forest with dense trees, but Grand Duke Grattenmount is in the middle of a plain. There were many psychological difficulties for the wolves living in the forest, so in the end, I decided to keep the wolf pack here. I released it in a nearby forest.

The hunters of Grattenmount seem to be displeased, but what can they do since the Grand Duchy of Grattenmount has given permission. The wolves have been awkwardly sharing the forest with the Grand Duke’s hunters since then.

It took quite a while to get here, so I had to learn how to ride separately.

Unless the horses were specially bred by the Grand Duke, most horses refused to go near them even if they smelled a wolf. Fortunately, I was able to receive one of them.

I tied the horse to the entrance of the forest, made a bag, and went into the forest. No matter how much training a horse has, it doesn’t mean he won’t be scared of wolves. He’s forced to endure it. Even a moose was scared to the extent that my abilities didn’t work, so why would a horse be so scared? .

But the reason I went through all the trouble and came here was because I didn’t want to break the bond with these kids.

I was afraid that if I neglected them for too long, these children would also forget about me. In order to be recognized as a leader, I had to periodically show evidence of my usefulness as a leader.

I’m not sure if this is enough, though.

Gray, who was chewing the meat with a chewing sound, raised his head.

“Why?Did you eat it all?”

There were still some chunks left, so I asked, but Gray just looked towards the end of the forest with his ears pricked up.

and-

“Huh?”

Immediately, the sound of something running was heard in my ears.

“Grrr… … .”

Gray let out a sound like that from his throat and ran straight towards the source of the sound.

“Ugh!”

And then I heard a man shouting like that.

What came out of the grass was a wolf with fur as white as snow.

Although he looked a little younger, he was almost the same size as Gray.

The snow-white wolf rushed straight towards Gray. The man just hanging on his back didn’t seem to care much.

“Wait a minute! Robo!”

A man whose hair, which was usually neatly organized, was a mess, shouted that.

Although he had grown taller than the last time I saw him, I could immediately remember who he was when I saw him.

“… … Prince?”