Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Orphanage Outing
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His golden eyes, shining in the darkness, froze me to the core. My heart felt like it was about to leap right out of my chest.
‘No way... Is he mad that I treated his precious wolf like a dog?’
Looking up at him anxiously, expecting an outburst, Billy’s eyes curved into a gentle smile instead.
“I had no idea Jack liked that sort of thing. Thanks to you, I’ve discovered something nice.”
The words coming from Billy’s mouth were utterly unexpected.
The moment I realized I’d dodged the crisis, my frozen body slumped to the floor like a deflated balloon.
‘Why does he have to talk in such confusing ways!’
I couldn’t help but glare at him. They say birds of a feather flock together—Billy and Nick’s speech patterns did feel a little similar.
After that, Billy kindly escorted me all the way back to my room.
As soon as he said goodnight, closed the door, and left, I flopped onto the plush cushion prepared next to Mimo.
For some reason, I felt utterly drained. The instant I closed my eyes, I fell asleep, only waking when the sun hung high in the midday sky.
“I thought all animals woke up bright and early.”
Ed, who’d come looking for me first thing in the morning only to leave disappointed, spoke with a note of wonder. There seemed to be a subtle edge to his words, so I kept my mouth shut.
Ed had come intending to look after me until I could shift back to human form.
‘Coming here as his guardian, only to end up being babied by Ed...’
Embarrassment washed over me, and I squirmed inwardly, but Ed actually seemed to enjoy taking care of me.
It had been exactly twenty-four hours since I’d turned into a sheep at the Magic Tower. At last, I could finally shift back to human. Transforming immediately, I shed tears of pure relief.
‘I’m never turning into a sheep again!’
And inwardly, I vowed never to transform into one ever again. Going from human life to scurrying around on all fours was way harder than I’d imagined.
Especially spending a full day in this wolf-infested mansion as what was basically prime prey—it sent shivers down my spine just thinking about it.
‘Still, I did gain something from it.’
I thought of Jack, whom I’d been forced to befriend because of yesterday’s quest. Sure, he was the tamest wolf around, but he was still a carnivore—and the fact that he saw me as a playmate rather than food gave me a surge of courage.
Since things had gone this far, I even started greedily wishing I could properly befriend the wolves in the mansion.
I couldn’t spend my days dodging the servants forever. Besides, who knew how long I’d even be staying here? I didn’t want to live like this indefinitely.
Clenching my fist tight, I looked down at Ed standing beside me. He stared back with an expression that said, ‘What’s this beastkin on about now?’
Until now, always mindful of the servants, we’d only ever played in my room or Ed’s. But for the first time, I mustered the courage to explore the mansion properly.
‘Ed, today let’s play whatever you want, all around the mansion!’
But my mouth just moved silently—no sound came out.
Panicking, I clamped it shut. I’d succeeded at the [Bond with Wolves] quest and gotten a 10% reduction in Choice Window appearances as my reward, but bam—right after shifting back, here it was again!
The Choice Windows popped up completely at random, so I had no control over them whatsoever.
‘If only the reward had been an on/off toggle for the Choice Window—how great would that be!’
No matter how much I screamed it inside my head, no new quest appeared. Instead, I read through the one in front of me with resigned eyes.
A sigh of relief escaped as I scanned the options. None of them were harsh enough to really hurt Ed’s feelings.
‘Hmm, 2’s a little rude, 3’s something I hate... so 1 it is.’
I quickly selected option 1. Against my will, my arms crossed, and I started striding toward the door.
‘Wha—what?!’
I was terrified, moving without knowing what outrageous thing I’d do next.
Reaching the door, I kicked it open with full force.
Bang-!
The door flew open with a deafening crash. Servants passing by outside stared at me in shock.
“Today, exceptionally, I’ll play however you want. Go on, tell me what you desire.”
Only after delivering the line in a haughty tone, like I was bestowing some grand favor, did the Choice Window’s control release me.
The servants, frozen in surprise at my unusually aggressive antics, finally started moving again.
‘...I blew it.’
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead. Nervously eyeing the servants, I glanced back into the room to find Mimo giving me a pitiful look and Ed beaming with excitement.
“Really? Not just the room or the garden corner—anywhere else too?”
He must’ve been fed up with our limited play areas. Feeling a pang of guilt, I nodded, and Ed propped his chin on his hand, pondering seriously.
At that moment, I’d completely forgotten about an important appointment. My mind had been too scattered after spending the whole day as a sheep.
Knock knock.
Turning toward the sound, I saw Billy leaning against the now-wide-open door, arms crossed. Dressed impeccably with his hair neatly styled, he clearly had business outside.
“If you’re going to make it on time, you’d better hurry and get ready.”
“Huh? Get ready for... Oh!”
Billy’s words jogged my memory of today’s big schedule. I dashed to the vanity and yelled at Ed.
“Ed! Sorry, but not today. I totally forgot about my appointment.”
We’d planned to visit the orphanage during lunchtime. But thanks to my sheep transformation, Billy had pushed it back to evening.
I quickly checked my face and hair, then rummaged through the closet for a comfortable, simple dress that’d be easy to move in.
That’s when my eyes met Ed’s—he was standing there frozen in the middle of the room. I already felt bad for canceling right after promising, but his dejected expression tugged at my heartstrings even more.
Tossing the chosen dress onto the bed, I approached Ed and knelt down to meet his gaze at eye level.
Gently gripping his shoulders, I looked him straight in the eyes and said,
“Want to come with me?”
His face lit up instantly.
“I’ll go get ready super quick!”
I watched warmly as Ed bolted out the door like a shot.
That’s when Billy casually strolled to the table in the center of the room and sat down.
Leaning back against the chair, I picked up the dress and ventured carefully,
“Um, I need to change into this dress.”
“Ah.”
Glancing at the dress in my hand, he uttered that single word before rising leisurely and stepping out.
His demeanor was so unflappably calm and poised, I wondered if he’d ever felt flustered even once in his life.
A short while later, Ed and I finished preparing and climbed into the carriage. It headed straight for the orphanage.
The carriage rolled along the familiar path and pulled up in front of the orphanage. Ed peered around eagerly, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
‘Come to think of it, Ed doesn’t really know about that incident.’
I pondered how best to explain to him why these kids were here. Just then, the director came rushing out a bit late, greeting us warmly and ushering us inside.
Billy trailed behind at our pace, walking slowly with the director. The moment we stepped in, the kids from last time swarmed out with a raucous cheer.
“Wow! A herbivore beastkin big sis!”
“There’s a little kid here too?!”
“Hey, who’re you?”
The children crowded around me in an instant, eyeing Ed—who was clutching my hand—with wide-eyed curiosity.
Despite the sudden spotlight, Ed stayed cool and collected, introducing himself calmly.
“I’m Ed Rub.”
Short and to the point. Even so, the kids knew the Rub name well enough to accept it right away.
“You’re a young master?”
“You here to play with us?”
Ed answered their barrage of questions one by one, patiently. He could be a handful with his spoiled moments, but around kids his age, he seemed especially mature.
Then one child noticed our joined hands and asked with an innocent grin,
“But why’re you holding hands with the herbivore big sis?”
“Ah, well...”
I started to answer for him.
“Because she’s my mom.”
The response made me doubt my own ears. And Ed delivered that bombshell as casually as could be.
“What?! No, hold on!”
I frantically tried to deny it, waving my free hand in the air. But it wouldn’t budge.
Glancing sideways, I saw Billy had snatched my hand, a faint smile playing on his lips. All because of that, the children’s shining eyes locked right onto us.
Billy gave a quick, subtle head shake—too brief for the kids to catch—then whispered to me in a voice too soft for them to hear,
“Shall we play along with Ed’s game for now?”