“He must have seen that.”

“I think so too,” Alwig replied, walking with care so that Agnes, who was lying on his back, wouldn’t be awakened. “That soldier seems like someone devoted to his duty.”

Raoul thought back to the scene outside the cave: the bodies strewing all over the ground, the pools of blood spreading, the smell of iron overwhelming. Just the thought made his stomach churn. “I understand why he said that…”

‘The next time we meet, consider ourselves enemies.’

It had only been a few hours since the mother wolf sacrificed herself to heal Alwig, but for the boy, it felt like days, if not weeks. The scenery never changed, the forest seemingly spanning forever with its dark-green foliage and damp smell, the only variable being how the night grew darker with each passing moment.

“I’m surprised he helped us at all,” Alwig commented, striding with a pace Raoul could keep up with.

“That’s just the kind of person he is,” the boy said. “He may be devoted to his duty, but he is also someone who never forgets a debt.”

However, Raoul still couldn’t understand why the soldier didn’t attack them at sight. His comrades had died due to the wolves, and the boy doubted such a loyal man would watch the killers from afar and not do anything, even if he was somehow indebted to them. Unless…

Raoul shook his head. He had to be thankful that Valent came to help Alwig.

That was when a realization struck him.

“Al!” the boy exclaimed, his memories coming back, though he calmed himself immediately afterward as not to disturb Agnes’s rest. “How did you make that spear out of thin air?”

“Ah, that…” Alwig said, looking up as if pondering. He finally looked down at his friend. “I… don’t really know?”

“What?” Raoul frowned. “Agnes could use that… uh… that magecraft thing as well. I think that’s what it’s called.”

“Ah, yes. Our divine arts are quite similar to magecraft on the surface.”

“Divine arts?”

“Magecraft for our kind,” Alwig said simply, the boy feeling the lack of enthusiasm in the wolf’s voice. Nevertheless, the topic was too interesting for the boy to stop.

“Why didn’t you use divine arts when you were fighting?”

The wolf sighed. “Three reasons,” he stated, pausing for a second before explaining, “First, I am not used to hunting or fighting with divine arts. I just can’t focus on two things at once. Second…” This time, he paused for a long moment. “It is because I am incompetent.”

“Incompetent? How could you be incompetent, Al?”

“I’m not as great as you think, Raoul,” Alwig replied with sadness in his eyes. “In reality, I am mediocre in every aspect; I just have different circumstances from you, which made you feel that I am greater than I actually am. Ineptitude is an understatement when it comes to my divine arts.” The wolf sighed. “And the third reason. Since I just received Mother’s lifeforce, I am not used to the new divine arts in me yet. I cannot control them right now, which also confirms my second point: that I am incompetent, am talentless. I cannot even acquaint myself with the new—“

“Al.” Raoul stopped in his tracks, clenching his fists, his eyes serious.

The wolf also stopped. “R-Raoul?”

“Do not ever say that you are incompetent or mediocre,” the boy said with a hint of anger. “No matter what you think of yourself, you cannot change my opinion of you, and I will tell you what I think, so you better listen carefully.” Raoul breathed deeply. “You were always my goal, Al, someone I aspire to be like. You always give everything your all, except when it comes to me, because you are just that considerate. But when you try your best, you also shine the brightest.

“There is nothing as cool as the moment when you figured out difficult arithmetics after hours of mulling over the question Agnes gave, or when you learn about human knowledge for weeks and finally see it in action in the village when I gave you a tour, or when you wanted to run in circles for no reason other than to see if you are faster than you were before and succeeded.

“Don’t even make me mention your tail. I don’t think you realize, but it waggles. A lot. Especially when you are happy or excited. You often ask why I smile for no reason; well, it is because of you and your treacherous tail. How can I not when I see you accomplish something and show that kind of reaction?

Stolen story; please report.

“My point is, you are wonderful, Al, even if you don’t realize that. Who cares if you can’t wield your new divine arts the moment you receive it? You are much more than that. You are you, and that is all I can ask for.” Raoul took his time breathing, finally calming down, and said, “Please don’t put yourself down. Ever. If not for your sake, then for mine and Agnes’s.”

At that point, Alwig was curling on the ground while using his mother’s body as a shield against Raoul. The wolf trembled and covered his ears with his paws, his eyes unopened. “P-please no more, Raoul,” he pleaded. “I-I might die from embarrassment.”

“No,” the boy said, stepping forward, Alwig cringing. “If you still behave that way, then you won’t hear the end of it, even if we have to stay here all night.”

“Alright, alright!” Alwig yelled, opening his eyes. “I won’t do it anymore, so please never do that again!”

Raoul scoffed. “You better keep your word,” he said, continuing forward and looking back. “Now, let’s get going. We need to find a resting place.”

Right after Raoul’s speech, they found a giant tree hollow that could fit both Alwig and Agnes inside. The boy gathered leaves to make some cushion for the mother wolf while the young wolf was the one who moved her.

Raoul was not sleepy yet, and neither was Alwig, it seemed. They had no objectives and continued to sit there inside the hollow, listening to the mother wolf’s breathing stabilize in silence.

They didn’t speak for a long time, the two of them staring up at the starry sky and listening to the sound of the wind.

“Hey, Raoul.”

“Hm?”

Neither of them looked back down, eyes fixed on the stars and the countless constellations blessing the land.

“I just want to say thanks,” Alwig said as he curled himself. “Not just for before, but for all you have done.” He closed his eyes and turned away, most definitely from embarrassment. “Mother loves you like she would her kin, and I also see you as a brother, Raoul. Thank you for being here.”

The boy smiled before he turned the other way and said, “I also see you guys as my family. Good night, Al.”

“Yes, good night, Raoul.”

It was faint, but Raoul could hear the sounds of fighting. Blades clashing, arrows whooshing, but most important of all, a wolf growling.

The boy jolted away at the realization, looking around the tree hollow to only see Agnes sleeping, the surroundings still dark, Alwig nowhere to be found. He got to his feet and instantly dashed toward the source of the noise, his sleepiness shedding away.

Raoul forgot all about the fatigue accumulating in his body and willed himself to run until he could see shadows of soldiers battling one wolf in the distance. His first instinct was to jump into the clearing to help his friend, but he composed himself instead and observed, Agnes’s voice sounding in his head.

‘Composure shows that you are in control.’

He hid behind a bush, peeking his head out. Seven soldiers remained in a formation while three of them lay dead around Alwig. Raoul couldn’t see injuries on his friend, but since it was dark, he couldn’t be so sure.

“Fire!” one of them shouted, prompting the two archers to release the arrows.

The wolf easily dodged the projectiles, but the three swordsmen and two spearmen lunged forward with their weapons aimed at him. Raoul observed and noticed that his friend was different from the previous fight with coyotes. Alwig seemed calmer, more level-headed. The wolf always took into account the positions of every soldier while he stayed out of the range of four soldiers and attacked the isolated one.

“D-damn this beast!” said the swordsman receiving Alwig’s claws.

“Help him!” another yelled, rushing forward, though it was already too late.

The wolf bit the swordsman’s neck with just enough force to kill him, not lingering for a second more than he had to, and jumped away from the incoming attacks.

An arrow plunged into Alwig’s foreleg, another one missing entirely. He didn’t make a sound, instead biting off the arrow’s shaft so as not to hinder his own movement.

“Attack!” The four melee combatants jumped all at once, the archers readying their arrows.

Raoul knew exactly what he had to do and picked up a thick branch on the ground. He snuck behind the two archers and smashed the branch into one’s nape. The archer fell to the dirt silently, and before the other one could react from difficulty seeing in the dark, Raoul also rendered him unconscious.

At that time, Alwig felled two more soldiers.

“Archers! What are you doing!” one of the two remaining soldiers shouted, snapping his head back to see Raoul and the two archers on the ground. “W-what? It’s the brat!”

“Shit! Run!” the other one yelled before he darted away.

“D-damn it!”

The soldiers hurried off, vanishing into the night. Alwig seemed to want to chase after them, but Raoul got to him first, only then seeing the cuts and wounds on his friend’s body.

“Al! Are you alright?”

The wolf looked down at himself. “This much is nothing,” he said as green light enveloped his body, the arrowheads pushed out of it while his wounds closed themselves in front of Raoul’s eyes. “That aside, you should rest, Raoul.”

“What? And you shouldn’t?”

“I’m fine. I can fight till morning without breaking a sweat since I have Mother’s lifeforce with me.”

Raoul frowned. “I doubt the lifeforce would help if you receive spears in your guts enough times.”

“Come now.” The wolf smiled his unnatural smile. “You can add a hundred arrows into the mix, and I will still be fine.”

“Al, you really shouldn’t push yourself—“

Suddenly, Alwig shoved Raoul to the side, and a barrage of arrows zipped through the air and landed all over one side of the wolf. He whined.

“Al!”

The wolf jolted his head back instantly, Raoul doing the same to see soldiers and villagers blocking their way out. The wolf quickly emitted green light, and the arrows in his body fell out one by one, his wounds regenerating.

There were audible gasps all around.

“T-that beast can really use magecraft!”

“W-what evil sorcery!”

“This unholy thing must have devoured so many mages to gain this ability!”

All voices died down when Valent stepped out into view, his expression grim. He looked around at his peers. “Enter the formation,” he said simply, making soldiers move quickly and create an encirclement just outside the glade. The villagers stood dumbfounded, their farming tools in their hands.

Sir Valent looked back at Alwig and Raoul with a venomous glare. “We will now exterminate the demon beast.”