Crack! Bang!
The sound of a club being beaten, akin to the cries of cattle being simmered on a boiling hot day, echoed through the hollow.
Even though it was invisible to the eye, the sheer intensity of the cries was enough to allow one to guess at the horrors taking place.
“Argh, be quiet. Quit whining. If you keep making noise, I’ll really hit you, you know?”
The wolf, cowed by the very real threat, shut its mouth.
In its wet eyes, the surface of the ground, deeply imprinted by the shape of a fist, was reflected.
It was the aftermath of a punch that had barely grazed the spine of the wolf.
Had that level of force truly landed on the body?
There wouldn’t have even been time to scream.
“Now, that’s better. Because the space is enclosed, the sound just echoes around. Let’s behave, alright? Hmm?”
The oppressive fingers that drummed on the wolf’s head caused it to clench its teeth, even restraining its breathing.
Meanwhile, Rena collected her thoughts.
She had caught a bothersome thief sneaking off with supplies without the landlord’s notice.
Even though the thief was a young wolf that could be treated like a puppy, it wasn’t enough to be counted as a mitigating factor in a death sentence.
The wilds are ruthless.
Where are the beasts that sympathize and feed those who are young and weak, giving them special treatment?
Instead, it would be surprising if they didn’t decide to make a snack out of such an insignificant creature.
Of course, Rena wasn’t a beast–she was human.
That being said, she wasn’t foolish enough to empathize with a bothersome thief and take the loss for herself.
Such a soft-hearted attitude wouldn’t last long in the Great Forest.
Still… no matter what, shouldn’t there be something worth protecting?
Rena cast a sidelong glance at the spot where the wolf had stood guard.
There, two enormous wolves were lying down.
Their fur and appearance were identical to the young thief’s parents.
Even amidst the commotion, their facial muscles showed not a single ripple.
Their sunken bellies and dried blood spoke volumes.
They were already on the journey to the afterlife.
Stealing was a grave sin.
Even so, beating up someone in front of their parents’ corpses was a bit too much.
Beyond that, there was an even bigger reason Rena paused in her punishment.
If the theft had been motivated solely by selfish greed, she could have dismissed it as the fault of poor parental guidance and not given it a second thought.
The young wolf had stacked the stolen food in front of its parents’ dead bodies.
Unaware of their death, unwilling to believe it, hoping they would rise and eat, its filial piety was clear.
The motive for the theft was to care for its dead parents!
Rena unconsciously wiped her eyes.
Even as an animal, it made her chest tighten.
“Hmm.”
Still, no matter the resolve, it felt strange to punish for the act of theft in this situation.
Determination is good, but doing otherwise would make me the bad guy, leaving me uneasy.
Rena’s anger that had risen to her very scalp was now replaced with sympathy, pity, and other such emotions.
“Hey, eat this.”
The wolf, instead of eating the meat Rena offered, cautiously observed the situation.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
It’s a truth that doesn’t need to be taught.
More often than not, eating something from someone else results in trouble.
And in the Great Forest, trouble equates to bidding this world farewell.
A human who had chased after the thief all the way here, to a secret space hidden by magic–how was it to know there wasn’t poison in it?
“Ugh, you’re being annoying. Oh! There, is that better? There’s nothing wrong with it, so just eat already. I’m giving it to you because it seems like you’re about to die.”
Rena ripped off a corner of the jerky and threw it on the ground after eating it.
Only then did the wolf stop observing cautiously and began to chew.
Its munching, making a juicy sound, was a testament to how deeply starved it was.
It did look like it was near skin and bones.
So, it had starved itself to feed its parents, huh?
Even for a beast, it was an admirable act of filial piety.
Alright, let’s forgive it.
Rena decided.
It’s only right to suspend punishment for crimes motivated by survival.
And it actually felt refreshing.
“Still more left, so keep eating.”
After tossing the wolf the emergency rations she kept in her pocket, Rena approached the dead wolf couple.
Caught up in the rare feast, this was only temporary, but as soon as the wolf noticed Rena’s movements, it growled menacingly.
“Phew.”
It curled its tail and bowed quickly in response to the firm warning sound.
However, Rena opened the mouths of the dead wolves.
Ugh, the smell of decay.
Rena’s face twisted.
Since they appeared fine at a glance, she had let her guard down.
The insides were completely rotten.
They had been dead for at least a month.
Yet, not a single maggot and the shape was preserved.
It’s a fantasy world, after all.
Accepting this roughly, Rena placed food on the tongues of the dead wolves, similar to giving them money for the afterlife.
She then dug a hole and buried the bodies.
Done with bare hands without tools, but this was nothing to the superhuman Rena.
She gestured toward the small mound she made.
Realizing this, the wolf that had already eaten all the emergency rations went to stand in front of the mound.
Momentarily staring blankly at the mound, the wolf then gave a short howl and looked up at Rena.
The once fearful eyes, moist with desperation, now shone brightly with clear goodwill and trust.
Tongue hanging out, it wagged its tail, looking for all the world like a dog that had found its owner.
—
[Guardian of the Dragon’s Lair]
Every reward comes with its trial.
If you wish to raid the Dragon’s Lair, you must first overcome its guardian.
The choice is yours.
Defeat the guardian, or…
—
“The Guardian of the Dragon’s Lair wishes to serve you as its new master!”
“‘Guardian of the Dragon’s Lair’ completed!”
“Completed the quest in a unique manner for additional rewards…!”
The wolf rolled onto its back.
Its wagging tail stirred up a cloud of dust on the ground.
The status window displayed something Rena could roughly understand.
This was it.
In gaming terms, it was taming.
The wolf’s eyes were sparkling.
Taming wild animals is far more difficult than people imagine.
There’s a reason videos of people who supposedly befriend wild animals go viral on YouTube.
It’s difficult and extraordinary.
Especially in the Great Forest, where every creature not of one’s pack is seen as a foe, the difficulty of taming beasts could make grabbing stars from the sky seem easy.
Rena, who had lived among the beasts of the Great Forest, could vouch for this.
Therefore, the wolf’s voluntary submission was a once-in-a-lifetime piece of good fortune.
“Huh, go away.”
But so what? Why should she care?
She excused the wolf’s crime, but resentment lingered.
A grudge built up, 1 stack.
Even if its growth was stunted from hunger, there’s no such thing as a free lunch without work.
It was clearly incapable of pulling its own weight.
Are they suggesting I feed a parasite now?
Grudge, 2 stacks.
Finally, experts said if you want to keep a pet, you need to be responsible.
You have to clean up after them, play with them when you’ve got the time, and make sure they don’t go hungry by feeding them well.
It’s not exactly the same as raising a human, but it’s close.
Impulsive decisions are nothing but trouble for both parties.
Rena wasn’t mentally prepared.
Reluctance, 1 stack.
Thus, 2 stacks plus 1 stack, totaling 3 stacks—she struck out.
Rena refused to take the wolf in.
“…[Guardian of the Dragon’s Lair] has rejected the declaration of submission!”
“Are you sure you want to reject it?”
Startled by her choice, the system message asked again.
“Uh, no. No changing it. Go back.”
A man doesn’t break his word.
Or a woman, in this case.
Keeng! Neang!
The rejected wolf slumped in despair and began to cry.
*
Unlike the status window that gave up after a single inquiry, the wolf was relentless and stubborn.
This was also a form of survival instinct.
Its parents were dead, and it still needed time to grow.
With a strong human right in front who could protect it, clinging on was a natural instinct.
“Huh? Coming along?”
In reality, it was a rather promising attachment.
If she truly had no intention of taking in a companion at all, she wouldn’t have hesitated before refusing.
Rena was conflicted.
Living among beasts didn’t turn her into one entirely.
Though somewhat assimilated, Rena still had compassion.
Too difficult to take in as a companion, but maybe she could check in and take care occasionally?
That was what she thought.
And in terms of detecting emotions, beasts are more perceptive than humans.
Sensing her internal struggle, the wolf pulled on Rena’s cloak and led her along.
“Is this place really that huge?”
Rena’s voice was tinged with bewilderment.
Upon arrival, she thought they’d reached the end of the cave, but it wasn’t so.
When they ventured deeper, the earth bent downward, upward, and to the side, expanding the size of the cave.
It felt like wandering through an intricate ant nest, except in terms of scale.
What if we get lost?
Naturally, worry arose.
But the wolf moved through the complex passages with the confidence of familiarity.
Let’s just trust it for now.
Even beasts recognize kindness, right?
Besides, separate from my refusal, it did offer a declaration of submission by rolling over.
Not much later, the wolf stopped at a spot.
“Huh? A door?”
A strong sense of out-of-placeness washed over her.
A door? Wasn’t this supposed to be a natural cave?
In front of the wolf and Rena stood a massive door.
Though somewhat aged due to neglect, it was clearly a door.
An unmistakable structure crafted by human hands.
Nevertheless, there were no signs of artificial interference around, creating quite a jarring effect.
How on earth?
“Uh, well, magic, I guess.”
Rena quickly accepted it.
A mage’s workshop? Something like that, right?
In novels, eccentric mages always set up their workshops in remote areas like this.
But that wasn’t really the point.
The wolf, eager to go inside, scratched its claws against the door.
The door was made of metal.
Even the young wolf pushing against it, or a strong man exerting himself, wouldn’t budge it.
Grrrrk!
For Rena, it was just a post-meal snack.
The superhuman strength that could make orcs look down was enough to easily pry open the metal door.
“Wh–!”
And inside the door, the dazzling light filling the room made Rena’s eyes widen.
—
