Blood with the Wolf (3)
Blood with the Wolf (3)
"Little one. What happened?"
"...Pa, shu."
The child mumbled something unintelligible upon seeing me.
Their face was red and smeared with tears and snot.
Though I didn't know the details, they clearly had gone through something terrible.
"Hmm? Why are you crying so sadly?"
I crouched down to meet the child at eye level.
I waited for a response, but only more mumbling came.
With no other choice, I reached out and hugged the child.
"It's okay. Everything's okay now. I'll protect you."
"Uuu..."
The child's small face buried itself into my chest.
We stayed like that for a while, sharing warmth.
Perhaps comforted, the child's trembling shoulders gradually calmed.
Their body was so petite it fit perfectly in my arms.
I patted their back and stroked their soft wheat-colored hair.
They smelled like children do - warm and comforting.
They must have been about 8 or 9 years old.
Though not too far from the village, this wasn't a safe place for a child to be alone.
Especially not during these times when wolf packs were running rampant.
A sudden thought crossed my mind.
Perhaps this child's tears were also related to wolves.
Other than scraped knees, they didn't seem injured though.
"Feeling better now?"
"...Yes."
The child pulled their face from my chest.
My blouse was soaked with their tears and snot.
Compared to the blood I dealt with daily, this was trivial. I wasn't particularly fastidious to begin with.
"Did you meet some wolves?"
"Y-yes! That's why, that's why Partrashu..."
They were about to burst into tears again.
Biting their lip, the child swallowed their tears.
I waited silently for their admirable show of restraint.
"The wolves... they came to eat our sheep. They came for me too. But Partrashu protected me."
"Who's Partrashu?"
"My friend who works with me. He runs really fast, has soft fur..."
A sheepdog then. This child must be a shepherd.
I could roughly imagine what had happened.
The wolf pack had boldly come hunting near the city plains.
At least the child wasn't hurt - that was fortunate.
Thanks to that brave and loyal sheepdog.
"Miss... can you help find Partrashu?"
"...He hasn't returned yet?"
"No. Partrashu is smart so he must have escaped. But he got really hurt protecting me..."
Tears welled up in the child's eyes again.
I cupped their cheeks and met their innocent gaze.
"Don't worry. I'll look for Partrashu."
"...Really? Thank you. Thank you so much."
I hugged the young shepherd once more before standing up.
Though I said I'd look, as an adult I knew - he was surely dead.
No matter how exceptional, a dog is still a dog.
It couldn't stand against a pack of wild, ferocious wolves.
Unless it was one of those exceptionally strong breeds.
No, even then, it couldn't take on an entire pack alone.
I felt bitter but didn't show it.
I'd try my best since I promised.
Whether to accept the weight of death afterward would be this child's burden.
Turning my head, I noticed a man loitering at a distance.
A man awkwardly keeping watch while lingering near me and the shepherd child.
Likely the senior shepherd who taught and cared for this child.
As an adult, he'd know more details about the incident.
I approached him to ask questions.
"Hello. I'm a passing mercenary - what exactly happened here?"
As I spoke, I lifted my robe to reveal the sword at my waist.
The shepherd's eyes darted to my sword before he gulped.
When his answer was slow in coming, just as I was about to ask again—
He suddenly reached out and collapsed into my arms.
"Oh, my lady!"
Thick arms wrapped around my waist as his bearded face buried into my chest.
The sudden contact left me too stunned to react.
"Waaah! The wolves! The wolves got our sheep!"
His face pressed harder against me, rubbing slightly.
His hot breath penetrated through my blouse and undergarments to my skin.
He must have been impressed by how I comforted the child.
But he was hardly of an age to be acting like this.
Even being generous, he couldn't pass for a boy.
A clear adult man with a beard darkening his chin and philtrum.
His grieving also seemed slightly exaggerated.
Was my chest really that appealing even soaked in a child's tears and snot?
I considered pushing him away but reluctantly patted his back instead.
Losing sheep must have been painful for him too.
The scale of grief might differ, but the flock must have been precious to him.
"...How sad for you."
I could offer that much comfort.
The problem was he showed no signs of stopping.
Worse, his hands wandering my waist started drifting downward.
Was he seriously about to grope my ass?
That was enough coddling.
I grabbed the shepherd's shoulders and pushed him away.
At my firm rejection, the arms around my waist loosened.
As he stumbled back, he licked his lips with regret.
"You seem calmer now. Will you tell me what happened?"
"Ahem. Well, you see..."
His story matched the child's.
While peacefully herding sheep as usual, they were suddenly attacked by wolves.
"Ugh! Those bastards moved so fast we couldn't even react!"
He added that since beasts never came this close to the plains before, they were unprepared.
Amid the wolves slaughtering the flock, the child and shepherd barely escaped.
Only possible because the sheepdog Partrashu bought them time.
"My heart's still pounding. There was one wolf several times bigger than the others. At first I thought it was a bear."
Mentioned again - the enormous wolf.
One was rare enough; two would be impossible.
Surely the same one from yesterday's carriage incident.
"How big was that wolf?"
"It was so chaotic it's hazy... but I think it was taller than me."
So at least 1.7 meters tall at the shoulder.
As he said, that went beyond just a large wolf.
Nothing but a Dire Wolf could explain that size.
The truth behind the rampant wolf packs was becoming clearer.
"Didn't you call for help? Sheep are valuable property."
"It was over in an instant. Calling others would've just gotten innocent villagers hurt. That, and Partrashu was probably..."
The shepherd trailed off. He too seemed to anticipate the sheepdog's fate.
"About an hour ago, you said? Which direction? I need to investigate thoroughly."
"Toward those barley trees over there. Be careful, my lady."
Calling me "my lady" after hugging my waist and rubbing his face on my chest?
Outrageous, but I turned without comment.
Considering their tragedy and his polite tone, I'd let it slide this once.
Following the shepherd's directions, I eventually reached the slaughter site.
Scattered blood and mutilated sheep carcasses.
Flies swarmed over exposed entrails.
Again, no wolves remained.
A quick hit-and-run operation.
I examined the dead sheep closely.
Necks twisted from bites - instant kills.
Though their bodies were torn up, the flesh was largely intact.
Meaning they weren't killed for food.
Having gorged on the carriage attack yesterday, these wolves were already full.
This was purely sadistic hunting for sport.
Looking away from the corpses, I searched for wolf traces.
Bloodstains on weeds led into dense thickets beyond.
I immediately drew my sword.
Some stragglers might still lurk in those woods.
After two days of failure, I'd make up for it with this hunt.
Maintaining vigilance, I followed the trail.
The breeze still carried metallic bloodscent.
Pushing through underbrush, I went deeper.
Then suddenly stopped.
Something lay conspicuously in a dirt clearing.
A dog's head, savagely torn apart.
Black and white fur matted with dried blood.
Both eyes were burst beyond recognition.
A horrific sight.
I could never show the shepherd child Partrashu's final moments.
At most, I'd leave word with the senior shepherd.
Further searching yielded nothing significant.
Just more torn remains of the brave sheepdog.
That day, I found no wolves before sunset.
Had they sensed my presence?
Given their cunning so far, it was possible.
The next day's search proved equally fruitless.
Beyond dispatching one wolf caught in a bear trap, I achieved little.
After days of havoc, were they lying low now?
I couldn't let this stand.
On the third day of pursuit,
My stubborn tracking finally bore fruit.
Red blood on the ground. Torn brown fur and what appeared to be deer droppings.
Even to my untrained eye, the evidence was clear.
A deer died here.
Killed by whom? Wolves, of course.
Unauthorized deer hunting was illegal.
In nearly ten days patrolling these woods, I'd seen no poachers.
The killers could only be wolves.
And the blood trail continued deeper into the forest.
The wolf must have dragged the carcass while moving.
I recalled wolf behavior Daygan had once taught me.
Caching - wolves' survival strategy of storing prey within their territory.
This blood trail surely marked where they'd hauled leftover venison.
Moreover, the blood wasn't fully dry yet.
Following it might lead me to the pack.
Drawing my sword, I immediately pursued the trail.
I'd make up for two days of failure with this hunt.
Maintaining alertness, I continued tracking.
The blood trail ended at a clearing deep in the woods.
An open space with no trees or bushes, just low grass.
Had this place always been here?
As I scanned the clearing for more traces—
"...!"
I felt hostile gazes from the forest shadows.
A spine-chilling sensation of being watched.
Whirling around, I surveyed my surroundings.
A wolf pack.
Gray wolves emerged from the undergrowth.
Front, back, sides - completely surrounded.
No wonder tracking had been so easy.
Why an untrained hunter like me could follow their trail so far.
They'd left marks deliberately.
To lure this troublesome human deep into their territory.
Baiting prey into their domain - what cunning.
Damn it. They were more intelligent than I'd anticipated.
The dozen-plus wolves didn't concern me much.
The problem was him.
The massive wolf observing regally from the pack's rear.
The black horn on its forehead told me instantly.
Dire Wolf.
Alpha of the wolf packs terrorizing this region.
The monster had finally revealed itself before me.