The group made steady progress on climbing up the mountain and had already gotten close enough to the summit that they could see it. Aura also caused a massive avalanche, a blizzard, and buried a plain under 50 meters of snow, but little mishaps happen from time to time, so they weren’t too worried about it.

“Your big form is still a sight to behold!” Ari and Fen were having a much more relaxed day. They had put some work into Fen’s biome, but the two were currently taking a break in the already established and nice-looking middle part of it. “It’s very comfortable, too.”

“Nice to hear, I guess?” Fen was lying in the shade of a tree in his normal two-meter-something form while the jaguar had sat down next to him while leaning her back against the wolf’s side. “The mossy ground also is very nice to rest on.”

“That’s true!” Ari patted the ground next to her a few times before looking up. “I still love the lighting! The green shine of the leaves by the light from above and the few rays making it through the foliage makes this place so relaxing~.” She let out a comfortable sigh while saying so as she leaned more against his body.

“Yes.” He agreed. “It makes you sleepy, too.” Fen reacted to her sigh with one of his own.

“Ahaha.”

"It's definitely one of my favorite places already. I’m glad it’s turning out so well.”

“It's really so nice!" Ari felt the same. "Thanks for letting me be a part of it."

“You are very welcome.” He nodded once. “You’ve been a great help, too.”

“How long do you think it takes before we see the growth of the new areas where we used our magic earlier?” She focused her gaze further away from where the two were currently relaxing.

“From what I’ve seen in the other biomes we made so far, I think it will be a few hours before we see first results and some growth.”

"A few hours, huh?” Ari’s expression turned ever so slightly complicated while seemingly getting even more comfortable against Fen's side.

“Shall we take a nap until then?” The wolf took a wild guess for her intentions. “I can guarantee that napping in a place like this will be most amazing.”

"A-Ah…” She started blushing. “L-Let me think about it…”

“Sure~.” He sounded just a little smug. “Don’t expect me to not take this opportunity, though.”

“I would never stand between you and your reason to be in this wonderful place.”

“Thank you very much.” Fen appreciated her empathy.

“Would you mind if I ask a few questions, though?” Ari turned her head to the side to look at his face.

“It very much depends on the question if I answer, but I’ll at least listen.”

“I wouldn’t ask for more.” She smiled at him. “You know, I’ve been wondering ever since you, Aura, and Feyanis showed your big forms to us. The one you're currently in, and I'm liking a lot, thanks to the comfiness. That, and Fen.” Ari paused for a second. “Are you Fenrir?”

“Yes.” He had no issues with simply admitting it.

“Hah.” She went silent for a moment. “Seriously?”

“You’d think I know my full name, right?”

“Fair point.” She couldn’t really say anything there. “You do know just how much of an impact you had on this country, right?”

“Barely any to none?” He lightly tilted his head while looking at the jaguar.

“You’re joking, aren’t you?” She didn’t believe him.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Are you maybe mistaking me for someone else?"

“How many giant wolves going by the name of Fenrir are there?” She just stared at him.

“Mhm.” There was little he could say there.

“From what I’ve heard about your age so far, I doubt it was an ancestor of yours, either.”

“Yes, I am older than this country.”

“See! It has to be you!”

“So, what did I do to be so significant?” He honestly couldn’t think of anything.

“Well, for one, it is said that you’re the one responsible for forming this country.”

“Huh?” Fen only got more confused. “I am fairly certain that the tiger family united the beastfolk and founded the kingdom. I mean, we’re running around with the current princess right now.”

“Yeah, but…” Ari scratched her cheek. “I don’t remember the exact story right now, but the history books said something along the lines of you having met the first king, King Aron.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, I think I did.” The wolf nodded. “I remember being invited to the official forming of the capital a little while later. It was a lovely little village back then.”

“What a thing to hear, calling the capital a nice little village.” The jaguar needed a moment to process that. “That might be it, though. It’s said that you caused them to build the capital, so it’s only natural that you were invited to it.”

“How was I the cause for that?” He still couldn’t follow her.

“How were the exact words again? There was a conversation between you and the future first king of the kingdom…” Ari scratched her cheek. “You make a great leader, and the tigers really are something else when caring for others. Have you ever thought about uniting the beastfolk, Aron? Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? I’m sure you could pull off something as interesting as that.”

“A-Ah.” The wolf froze for a second. “I think… I think I remember now.” He then awkwardly turned his head away from Ari. “I, uhh… I was really bored back then…”

“W-WHAT?!”

“Back then, the beastfolk kept things inside their own factions and rarely interacted with other families. That Aron was different, though, as he had a whole party of many different families around him while they were adventuring the lands.” He sounded a little nostalgic. “I was intrigued by that concept and wanted to see if it could work out.”

"That sounds a lot nicer than what you've said before!"

“Well, I was intrigued because I was bored and wanted to watch something interesting happening.”

“How about you keep that part to yourself from now on?!” Ari looked tired. “Like, keep it a secret to anyone! Especially from Anna and the other tigers!”

"Sure."

“I can’t believe it…” She let out a sigh. “Our kingdom was formed because someone was bored and wanted some entertainment.”

“To be fair,” Fen wasn’t done yet. “Canir’s treated as a god, and he has the same motives. You’ve met him and now know that he’s an overseer mostly for the fact of wanting to be entertained.”

“…” Her eyes went lifeless for a second. “My mind had suppressed that.”

“If it helps, I was serious back then when I called the king a good leader and all that. I wouldn’t have said that purely for the entertainment.”

“That is a little relieving.” Ari was glad that the founding of their country wasn't completely based on a joke. “Our history records say that you constantly helped us out ever since then, though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. "You won countless wars for us and saved us from even more impossible-to-defeat monsters."

“Admittedly, my memory is a little hazy because it’s impossible to remember everything, but I will guarantee you that I never fought alongside the beastfolk in a war.” He shook his head a few times. “That’s not my style.”

“That is what’s recorded in our history, though.” Ari shrugged. "You were the reason many wars against the humans were won with little to no casualties. You showed up, and the human army was gone by the next day."

“Ah.” His voice turned awkward again. “I think I may know what happened there.”

“Oh?”

“The humans just really hate me.” He let out another sigh.

“How does that explain anything?”

“They constantly tried to hunt me down in the past before I made them understand they have no hope of ever beating me.” Fen rolled his eyes. “Whenever they attacked me, I made sure that none of their so-called warriors were left behind in the area. I may have also erased some of their armies in the process. There’s a possibility that at least some of those armies were about to attack the beastfolk. Similarly, with those monsters, I’m just a muscle head that loves to fight. If there’s a strong being, I’ll fight it. Circumstances do not matter.”

“I see.” Ari went silent for a minute. “Again, don’t ever mention that while in the presence of anyone of the beastfolk.”

“Sure.” He wasn’t the type to suddenly tell stories, anyway. “I do quite like the beastfolk, though. Their magic capabilities are rather underwhelming for the most part, but they’re a nice and friendly folk, so it’s great that I was able to help without even noticing.”

“That’s good.”

“Are there any other, uhh… folk tales about me?”

“There are some of you and Aurora together.”

“Oh?” His interest was piqued. “Would you mind telling me?”

"I don't mind, but it's mostly romance stories about how the two of you have been the perfect couple for centuries. Do you really want to hear that?”

“…” He just stared at her for a moment. “Never mind, forget I asked.” Fen definitely did not want to hear it. “Also, don’t ever tell Aura about this.”

“Sure~.”

As Fen absolutely had no intention of continuing that topic, as he and Aura had only officially started dating last year, the duo decided to chat about other things for a bit while enjoying the nice and calming scenery around them.