After descending from the Kaine Mountain Range and receiving treatment, I stayed in the infirmary for a few days.
The injuries were significant, so it was partly for recuperation and partly to monitor the condition of the cub.
“What does it eat, though?”
“Do you have milk? Warming it up and giving it should work.”
“Hmm, I’ll bring some and see.”
I’m naturally sturdy, so my recovery wasn’t the main focus; most of my attention was on Whitey.
Born in the wild and without parents, I wasn’t sure how to care for him.
“Oh… it’s eating well!”
“Seems like we can feed it this for now.”
Luckily, the little one seemed to be resilient.
Left alone, it wriggled constantly and drank the milk without much trouble.
“It’s really cute, isn’t it?”
“It is, I’ll admit.”
With its white fur and lively movements, it was indeed adorable—so much so that even the healer couldn’t take her eyes off it while feeding it milk.
But more importantly…
“Did you bring the pouch?”
“Yes, here’s the basket.”
It wasn’t until a few days later that I received the pouch containing the monster materials.
The condition seemed decent overall.
Most of it was bones and teeth anyway, so a few days wouldn’t have spoiled it.
I’d taken care to clean off blood and flesh during extraction.
“I’ll be back shortly, then.”
“…You really need to come right back, okay?”
“Am I a child?”
“That excuse doesn’t work anymore.”
“Haha.”
The healer finally relented, allowing me to leave with the condition that I be cautious.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Take care!”
With the pouch secured at my waist, I left the infirmary and headed straight for the high-end commercial district.
When I arrived at Gareth’s forge, it was bustling as usual, even in the morning.
Well, it’s no wonder. Once you’ve used Gareth’s swords, you understand why people line up for them. A single blade can determine the outcome of a fight.
Watching the crowd for a moment, I gathered my Aura cautiously to avoid straining my still-recovering body.
Thud!
I leapt just high enough to grab the terrace railing and landed lightly before stepping onto the terrace.
“What the—!”
“Hey!”
Ignoring the voices coming from behind, I knocked on the terrace window.
The curtain shifted, and the window opened.
“Welcome.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve brought the materials.”
“I’ll guide you to Master Gareth.”
Following the female guide inside, the sound of metal being struck echoed from within.
Clang! Clang!
Just like last time, Gareth was hard at work hammering away at the steel.
Noticing me, he stopped mid-swing and stood up.
“Ah, you’re here early.”
He looked at me with interest.
“Let’s see, what materials have you brought?”
“I’ve brought quite a lot.”
With that, I handed over the pouch.
“Hoho.”
Gareth opened the pouch and let out a small sound of admiration.
“Did you hunt all this yourself?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Hmm?”
“There was a territorial fight up in the highlands. I just dealt with the winner and extracted what I could from the dead bodies.”
I kept the explanation brief, leaving out the finer details.
It was still accurate enough.
“A territorial fight, you say? Among all these monsters?”
As Gareth inspected the materials, one by one, he saw that they were all from monsters known for maintaining strongholds in the highlands.
His surprise was understandable.
“To be precise, one monstrous beast showed up and killed them all.”
“What kind of monster was it?”
“It was a wolf-type monster, much larger than your average Giant Wolf.”
In my opinion, the alpha wolf seemed to have disrupted the balance.
For reasons unknown, it appeared one day and wiped everything out.
“Heh, and you took down such a beast?”
“It was already injured. Plus, I had the sword I borrowed from you, which made it possible to win.”
“You’ve had a tough time of it.”
Gareth gave me a once-over, noting my condition.
“You really took a beating, didn’t you?”
“…It wasn’t that bad, just a bit of a struggle.”
It had indeed been a tough fight.
Without the buff coat and the sword Gareth lent me, I might not have made it.
Still, I managed to survive and was here now.
“Anyway, you’ve worked hard. You brought more materials than required—what do you plan to do with the excess?”
“Do you also purchase materials here?”
“Of course. We offer fair prices.”
“Then, please go ahead.”
These were items I had no way of processing myself.
Might as well sell them here.
“Wait a moment.”
After calling over a staff member and having a brief discussion, Gareth handed me a pouch filled with silver coins.
“Is this sufficient?”
“Yes, more than enough.”
Since I didn’t know the market price anyway, I casually accepted the pouch and fastened it to my waist.
I wasn’t in dire need of money, but having some wouldn’t hurt.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Alright. At this pace, the sword should be ready soon.”
With that, I left the forge.
Afterward, I headed to the Mercenary Guild and instructed the guild staff, who had seen my insignia last time, to notify Jevan of my survival.
“To… Jevan?”
“Yes. Just tell him I’m alive—he’ll understand.”
“Understood.”
Judging by the staff member’s expression, they seemed reliable enough to get the message across.
Still, just to be safe, I slipped them a silver coin as a bribe.
It seemed only fair to offer some compensation for delivering the message.
After finishing up my errands outside, I returned directly to the mansion as I had promised the healer.
However.
“Lowell?”
Upon entering the infirmary, I saw a familiar figure.
“Ah, you’re back.”
It was none other than Lowell, who was in the infirmary.
He was with the healer, checking on Whitey.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m doing better now. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, I had a few matters to attend to over the past few days.”
Since I hadn’t seen him since coming down from the mountains, he must have been away on another assignment while I was unconscious.
“I heard you had quite the tough time.”
“Well, the monster was injured, but it put up a fight.”
“It must’ve been quite strong.”
“Oh, that’s…”
Since Lowell was here, I decided to share the peculiar details I had noticed while fighting the alpha wolf.
“You’re saying it used something similar to Aura?”
“Yes, and it used it with surprising familiarity.”
That raw, strange energy…
While the instinctive nature of the beast made sense, that energy was something I couldn’t quite grasp.
“Hmm, that’s likely Beast Vein.”
“Beast Vein?”
“Yes. It’s similar to Aura but more primal in nature. Typically, it’s used by beastfolk warriors…”
Lowell trailed off as he glanced at Whitey.
“Sometimes, spirit beasts can wield it too.”
“Does that mean Whitey is a spirit beast?”
“There’s a good chance. If it retains its original animal form without other distinctive features.”
“Hmm…”
A spirit beast?
I skeptically picked Whitey up.
The little guy, still unable to fully open his eyes, had a bit of snot running from his tiny nose.
“Do spirit beasts grow slowly?”
“They grow quickly until maturity. In about a year, he’ll probably reach the size of a normal wolf.”
“Wow… That’s hard to believe.”
The thought of him growing that much in just a year was surprising, even considering how animals grow faster than humans.
“By the way, is it really safe to raise him here at the estate?”
While I didn’t mind keeping him, I had one concern.
“Considering that alpha wolf, he might be dangerous.”
After all, a wolf was still a wolf. Even with an imprint, their wild nature could pose risks.
“If he’s a spirit beast, you don’t need to worry. They’re highly intelligent.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Now that I thought about it, that alpha wolf had shown a high level of intelligence too.
If I trained Whitey properly, he should be fine.
“And if you’re still worried, we can bring in an expert wolf trainer from the north.”
“They have wolf trainers in the north?”
“Yes, wolves are popular pets there, so there are many specialists.”
“Huh…”
In the capital, the kingdom’s top nobles treated people like pets, while in the north, wolves were household companions.
This kingdom really had its quirks.
“Anyway, take good care of him. It’s rare to have a spirit beast as a sibling.”
“…He’s definitely not my little brother.”
The healer and Lowell both kept calling him that.
Still, if he was truly a spirit beast… I couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
Maybe, once he was grown, I could even ride him.
“For now, I’ll have the staff build him a proper house.”
In the end, just as Lowell suggested, Whitey got his own house.
But—
“Is this really it?”
“He’s still a pup. You’ll just have to deal with it for now.”
The house was attached directly to mine, and there was even a hole connecting the two.
It was like my house had gained an extra room.
“Won’t the young lady be surprised? She leaves for a short while, and suddenly there are two dogs at the estate.”
Lowell glanced at Whitey, who was wriggling into his new home, and chuckled.
His words reminded me—
“When is the young lady coming back?”
“Likely next weekend.”
Now that he mentioned it, it was about time for the young lady to finish settling into school and visit the mansion again.
Even though she’d only been gone a few weeks, her absence had felt significant.
I couldn’t help but look forward to her return.
