EP.17 Dances with Wolves -6
EP.17 Dances with Wolves -6
A cool piece of ice was placed on my head.
"Hwaaaah~!"
Fighting the Bulgasari had come with a price for overusing my abilities: a crushing headache that felt like my skull was being pressed down.
My overloaded brain was the culprit. I needed to cool it down for a bit.
In that sense, the ice Hati had made was a miracle cure for suppressing the pain.
"Seon-ju, are you alright...?"
"I'm fine. After a little rest, I'll be back to normal."
"But you're in so much pain...?"
"It's not that bad. Just a bit of throbbing, you know?"
"Oooh... But still, if I had stayed behind, then that headache would have...!!"
"I told you not to worry. I wasn't exactly in a life-or-death crisis this time, and I fought fairly safely."
Kor looked down at me with a gaze full of concern, her expression pitiful.
I stroked her head to shake off her worry and anxiety.
I moved my hand gently, putting my heart into it to show her that everything was fine and she didn't need to worry so much.
Kor's face was still gloomy, but her tail was wagging back and forth vigorously.
Her tail must have been expressing her true feelings. I accidentally let out a little chuckle.
"More importantly, did you help your father properly?"
"Ah, about that..."
Kor suddenly turned her head toward Hati and began firing a resentful glare at him.
Hati, sweating nervously, immediately turned his head away to avoid Kor's eyes.
"Regrettably, our help was completely unnecessary..."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes, because by the time we arrived, Father had already cleaned up the situation...!"
"Which means you made a wasted trip."
"Yes, if it weren't for my foolish little brother's overreaction, Seon-ju wouldn't have needed to suffer like this...!!"
Kor glared at Hati even more intensely.
In the end, Hati couldn't take it anymore and bolted somewhere as if fleeing.
The ice wolf had a lot on her plate, in more ways than one.
"But didn't Fenrir enjoy it?"
"Father definitely enjoyed it, of course. But honestly, his reaction was a bit off-putting, and I was so worried about you that I pushed him to come back quickly..."
"I-is that so."
Fenrir, that old man...
I knew he was ridiculously strong, but I kinda wish he'd taken it down a notch.
If he had, there could've been a cool scene where the twins came to rescue their father...
But because he was too strong, that scene vanished, and all that was left was him getting scolded by his daughter.
"Sorry. For making you walk all that way for nothing..."
"I-it's not your fault, Seon-ju...! It was my own rashness for realizing too late that Father didn't need any help...!!"
Fenrir would probably sob his heart out.
Anyway, it seemed best to end this story here before he really showed up.
"Seon-ju...?"
Still pressing the ice to my head, I pushed myself up.
Kor tried to hold me back, saying I should rest more, but it was still too early for that.
With the possibility of more Divine Beast attacks, I couldn't just kick back and relax.
So I tried to move around a little to get myself into a combat-ready stance, but...
Before that, someone shoved my body and sent me tumbling into Kor's arms.
"Rest quietly, human."
"B-but there's no time to rest..."
"It's over."
"Excuse me...?"
"I already killed every last Divine Beast within a 20-kilometer radius."
"Uh..."
"You might not know this, but unless a Divine Beast is my equal, they're all just small fry."
I already knew that, but hearing it straight from his own mouth made it sound damn annoying.
On top of that, Fenrir's smirking grin made me feel like an idiot for being so serious just moments ago.
"In that case, I'm curious about one thing. Why did the Bulgasari come all the way here?"
"Ah~! That thing. I probably chomped on it, but a leftover chunk regenerated and that's why. When I first saw it, it was disgustingly huge, but by the time I ate it, it had gotten disgustingly small."
Indeed, the Bulgasari's regenerative power and vitality were nauseating.
That bastard regenerated every little wound, and even after I'd pierced its forehead and destroyed its brain, it still survived and thrashed around.
If Fenrir hadn't swallowed it, it might still be rampaging right now.
Anyway, the fact that the Bulgasari I fought was in a weakened state...
It means if that thing had been in top form, I wouldn't have even stood a chance.
"Anyway, you've got nothing left to do. So rest quietly."
"Got it."
"You fought hard. A nap would be a good way to regain your stamina."
"Yeah..."
What's this? Why is this guy being so nice when he normally doesn't give a single damn about me?
Was it because I kept my promise, like he said? Or because I sent the twins and moved him?
It felt like too much kindness, so it just made me feel strangely awkward.
Though it didn't really seem like I'd earned Fenrir's approval...
"Hey, just in case, I have to ask: is En Varg proceeding as normal today?"
"...Hah~! Busted. Busted!! I could've made it so you couldn't participate!"
Hey! You old bastard!
***
In the afternoon, after taking a short rest, I participated normally in the remaining events of En Varg.
For the Roaring Festival, I used Tia's ability to maximize the air vibrations and let out a roar.
No wolf could beat my roar, which had been powerfully amplified by a Divine Beast's strength.
The only real difficulty was that I, a human, had to deliberately howl like a wolf.
Honestly, mustering the courage to make wolf sounds despite the embarrassment was the hardest part.
Next was the Gluttony Festival. The Gluttony Festival was easier than any of the other contests.
I used the illusion ability to make the other wolves feel full three times faster.
Since it was the kind of cheap trick that would get me cursed at for being unsportsmanlike, I felt bad for the other wolves, but I had no choice.
To pass the trial, I had to win by any means necessary.
For the record, Fenrir barged in midway through again, demanding what kind of Gluttony Festival this was.
But thanks to Kor quickly blocking him, the Gluttony Festival ended smoothly.
As a result, I won the two remaining contests, meaning I had passed Fenrir's trial.
However, Fenrir threw a tantrum like a little kid and flatly refused to accept it, so Kor eventually dragged him away for some corrective instruction. A father being re-educated by his own daughter was a rare sight.
Anyway, now that the Divine Beast invasion, the contests, and the trial had all ended on a fine note, only the final event of En Varg remained: the Dance Festival.
Personally, this was the moment I'd been most curious about.
It wasn't a competition against other wolves, but a time solely for the wolves to dance and have fun among themselves.
Wolves, not humans, dancing—I'd never seen anything like it in my life, so I couldn't help but look forward to it.
"Seon-ju..."
"Ah, Kor! Are you also at the Dance Festival...?"
Happy to hear a familiar voice from behind, I turned my head, only to be met with an unexpected sight.
"U-um, what do you think...? How I look..."
Kor, in her human form rather than a wolf form, was wearing a unique outfit.
It wasn't the casual clothes she often wore, but a traditional indigenous costume.
A one-piece dress made of pure wolf fur.
On the top, a single shoulder strap emphasized Kor's pale white skin and her collarbone.
The skirt was very short, revealing the elegant lines of her legs without hiding them, and the hem was slit open, allowing a glimpse of her firm, plump butt through the gap.
An outfit that was both tasteful and extremely lewd.
Even so, I couldn't help but get excited by the sight of Kor fidgeting awkwardly and looking embarrassed.
"I-it looks amazing on you!"
"Does it...!"
Kor's face flushed bright red with happiness at a single sincere compliment.
It felt like my compass needle was about to point straight north, so I quickly bent my upper body forward.
Kor was so attractive that I wanted to unleash the lust that had welled up inside me, but I had to hold back.
If I took things further with Kor right now, I had no idea what Fenrir would do to me...
"Seon-ju? What's wrong...? Are you feeling sick somewhere?"
"It's nothing! I'll just go to the bathroom for a sec before the Dance Festival starts!"
"C-come back soon...?"
Day after day, my stamina had been forcibly trained by being wrung dry by my companion animals.
But after going a full three days without doing it even once, the backlash had finally arrived.
For this to happen right before the festival's finale—truly, my heart was in turmoil.
Though I desperately wanted some relief...
Regrettably, there wasn't much time, so I'd have to try reciting the Heart Sutra to calm myself down.
***
The festival's finale, the Dance Festival, unfolded beneath the night sky of the wilderness, under the moon and stars.
A dance banquet held around a single large bonfire in the center.
Every wolf was using their whole body to unleash their excitement in their own way.
Some wolves ran here and there joyfully, others played tail-tag with fellow wolves, and some showcased flashy steps as if truly dancing.
Plenty of it was too ambiguous to call dance, but regardless, everyone was happy and the heat was blazing intensely.
In the middle of that atmosphere, Kor and I were simply holding hands, doing nothing.
"I-I'm sorry... I don't know any human dances..."
"It's fine. Honestly, I don't know much about dancing either."
"R-really...?"
"Yeah, and besides, there's no need to force a human dance here anyway."
"That's true too..."
We moved our bodies slowly. There were no steps. Just holding Kor's hand and moving little by little.
Kor moved her body along with mine.
When I stepped forward with my right foot, she stepped with her left. When I extended my left arm, she extended her right. When I spun around once, she spun with me.
All while gripping my intertwined fingers tightly as if she would never let go.
Gradually, it felt like we were sinking deeper into a space that belonged only to the two of us.
"Whoa!"
"A-are you okay...?"
"Y-yeah!"
Just as I was about to become fully absorbed in the dance with Kor, my feet got tangled by mistake and my center of gravity lurched forward.
Thankfully, Kor caught me in time and I avoided falling flat on my face, but...
'S-shit...!'
Kor's soft thigh pressed against my crotch and stimulated my member.
I'd already been madly trying to distract myself because of Kor's outfit, but now...
Direct contact...!!
The moment I was about to pour every ounce of my strength into stopping it from swelling up again, Kor grabbed my arm and started running somewhere.
"Kor?!"
"The bonfire nearby was too hot, so I wanted to move somewhere else. Is that okay...?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah. That's fine, but..."
It was sudden, but I could accept a reason like that.
But... did Kor normally feel heat?
"It should be fine here..."
After being led around by Kor for about five minutes, we arrived at a small cave inside a canyon.
It was a space some distance away from where the wolves were dancing.
"W-what is this place?"
"This is my personal secret base that I made behind Father's back when I was a child...!"
"Oh? So even you made something like a secret base, Kor."
"As you know, Father is... the way he is, so I made it out of rebelliousness..."
I could understand Kor's feelings in an instant.
Fenrir's personality was far from ordinary, so wanting to escape from him must have been a natural impulse.
If I'd had Fenrir as a father, I probably would've acted out every other day.
Running away would've been the baseline, and I'd have picked fights with him constantly. In contrast, Kor's rebellion had only gone as far as making a secret base.
She was innocent, unlike me.
Kor as a child... just imagining it was cute.
"But what did you want to show me by bringing me all the way here?"
"It's not really that I brought you here to show you something, Seon-ju..."
"Huh? Then why this place...?"
"Well, there's obviously only one reason, isn't there...?"
Kor gently pushed my body down and made me lie flat, then climbed right on top of me.
With that single motion, I realized exactly why she had brought me here.
"D-did I get caught...?"
"Yes...! Even before the Dance Festival started, I noticed you were in a state of pent-up desire, Seon-ju..."
"Ughhh...!!"
I wanted to die.
Thinking that I'd been parading my lust in front of Kor like a dog in heat gave me a serious feeling of self-loathing.
"Why are you tormenting yourself...?"
"Because I ended up harboring sexual desire right before the Dance Festival you'd been looking forward to. I've got no pride as a Companion Keeper."
"Seon-ju, I'm actually happy...! It means you saw me like this and felt that way about me, doesn't it...?"
"Well, that's true."
"Then you don't need to hesitate! Please use my body as much as you want...♡"
"A-are you really okay with that?"
"Yes, please...♡"
With Kor's seduction—guiding my hand to knead her own chest—the last thread of my reason snapped completely.
After that, I did not remember much of what happened. All I could recall was that the two of us danced more passionately than any other wolves and that our Dance Festival lasted until the morning sun rose. Those were the only two things I remembered from that night.