That Choker Only Suppresses the Heat. It Doesn't Remove It.
That Choker Only Suppresses the Heat. It Doesn't Remove It.
Veronia, now bound by the bright red leash Camilla had fastened around her neck, tugged irritably at the choker.
But no matter how hard she pulled, the choker refused to budge.
It was supposedly enchanted, and this was all the proof she needed.
"The magic in that choker will stop you from going into heat."
They had told her exactly that: this choker would suppress a Wolf Clan member's heat.
She'd been fitted with it as punishment for catching a whiff of doenjang, going into heat, and very nearly throwing herself at Camilla.
Frankly, the punishment had been lenient.
For the crime of burying her face in the chest of a noble—and not just any noble, but Camilla Wagon, hailed as the empire's foremost merchant—and losing herself to heat, this was getting off light.
That didn't stop Veronia from being disappointed in herself.
'Humiliating.'
Her discipline was sorely lacking.
To let a mere scent strip her of all reason and self-control.
"I need more training and discipline!"
Veronia clenched her fist.
Her mind drifted back to what Camilla had told her.
When she'd pestered Camilla to let her learn the hunting method at Lucas's Knight Restaurant, Camilla had made her a single offer.
—Right now, you still have time left on your contract at the Lilyan Arena, which I've invested in. Two years remain. I have no reason to send away someone who's going to make me a great deal of money.
—But if you can prove you're worth more than that, the conversation changes, doesn't it?
—Win the arena. A flawless, undisputed first place.
—And I'm not talking about Lilyan Arena. I mean the heart of the empire—the capital, the Croselia Arena. Take first place there, and I'll release you right away.
First place in the imperial capital.
If she pulled that off, Camilla had promised to send her straight back to the restaurant.
The proposal itself didn't sound hard.
Hadn't she gone undefeated in Lilyan already?
No matter how strong the opponent, no one had ever beaten her.
Understood! I'll do it!
At that, Camilla had smiled.
—Don't compare it to Lilyan. It won't be easy. The real monsters gather in the capital.
Veronia was confident.
But being confident and actually fighting were two different things.
So she'd come out hunting to gauge where she stood right now.
Her target: a Tuu.
Lucas had told her something about hunting Tuu, and for testing her current ability, nothing could be better.
—Simple. Just strike the crown of its head. The easiest way is to clobber it when it charges at you.
Lucas had made it sound like that was all there was to it.
Kill it before the beast gets riled up, he'd said. Before the meat's texture and flavor change.
Was that even possible?
No matter how much she thought about it, Veronia couldn't square it with her common sense.
Until now, the human method of hunting a Tuu was to let the thing work itself into a frenzy while you kept your distance, circling endlessly to wear it out.
The beastkin tribes used a similar approach.
Though those they called warriors would grab the Tuu's horns from the side, stop its charge cold, and beat it to death.
No one—not a single soul—had ever faced a charging Tuu head-on.
You might as well fight an ogre in the arena.
Even she had never seriously considered meeting a charging Tuu straight on.
It was the sheer mass, the speed, the crushing pressure of its power.
How many people could stand firm against the full force of a Tuu's charge and stay in one piece?
Not many.
Only a handful of swordsmen called Masters, or the handful of mages called Wizards, could endure that kind of presence.
At least, that was what she knew.
'Just how strong is he?'
For the first time, she found Lucas's strength impossible to measure.
Smack!
"Get a grip! If I'm going to learn from him, I have to take first place in the Imperial Arena no matter what!"
She'd finish the Tuu hunt before she lost her edge.
If no Tuu showed, then even a wild Pog would do.
Veronia tore through the forest.
***
Thud!
"I'm back!"
I looked at the game Veronia had dropped onto the floor.
"You hunted a wild Pog."
"I did! I meant to hunt a Tuu, but I couldn't find one, so I caught this instead!"
The crown of the wild Pog she'd brought back was caved in.
Looked like she'd used the Tuu-hunting method on the Pog.
"You aimed for the top of its head?"
"I did! It wasn't easy, but I pulled it off! Though I've no idea if I can do the same against a Tuu!"
She wiped her dust-and-scrape-covered face with her sleeve and grinned, bright and unclouded.
'That's not how you hunt a wild Pog.'
Still, the signs were there that she'd tried to finish it in one blow.
Even if the method was roundabout, she'd reached her goal—wasn't that fine?
"A farewell gift for you before I leave!"
"A gift?"
"Yes! You fed me, gave me dessert, and even told me the hunting method!"
"So you're heading back to Lilyan."
"That's right!"
Veronia puffed out her chest and barreled on.
"But I will return soon! I made a promise with Camilla! Once I finish the task she set me, I'm coming straight back here!"
I glanced at Camilla.
"What kind of promise did you make?"
"One that will earn us even more money."
"It's nothing dangerous, right?"
"Of course not. What do you take me for? Anything like that would tarnish our brand."
She finished speaking, let out a sigh, and checked over her attire.
Not a dress, but riding clothes meant for travel on horseback.
She'd ridden here herself, not in a carriage.
Wearing riding gear that hugged her legs, she looked at me and went on.
"Oh, and the mage you requested—it'll take about two weeks for them to arrive."
"What about that one?"
I pointed at the mage who was about to leave with her.
I'd been told he was the gate mage who'd come to survey conditions before we installed a teleport gate here.
I'd asked because gate mages usually had a decent grasp of alchemy too.
"Just between you and me, his alchemy is a complete flop."
"Is that so."
Then he's out.
What I needed was a mage capable of alchemy—preferably an outstanding one.
"Then I'll wait."
"It won't take long, so just hold tight."
I nodded.
Smiling, Camilla approached the horse and its handler for a final once-over before leaving.
I turned to Veronia, who was standing beside me staring blankly, and asked:
"By the way, is the smell okay? The doenjang and cheonggukjang smells should be pretty strong."
Veronia had eaten cheonggukjang just before arriving.
The odor should've been clinging heavily to everything, but she seemed completely fine.
She nodded, unfazed.
"It is! I'm fine! I don't know why, but ever since I put on this choker, things have been much better!"
She pointed at the red choker wrapped around her neck and declared it proudly.
I'd heard from Camilla that it was meant to block a Wolf Clan member's heat.
'Looks like it actually works.'
That was a relief.
If I'd known about it sooner, I'd have had her wear the damn thing from the start.
"I will complete my mission and return at once! I'll train until then and come back! When I do, I expect you to teach me the proper hunting method!"
"Alright."
I ruffled Veronia's hair.
"Let's move out."
At Camilla's word, Veronia ran off.
She too climbed onto the horse Camilla had ready for her.
"Travel safely."
"I'll be back soon."
I watched Camilla and Veronia nod and dwindle into the distance for a moment, then turned back into the restaurant to butcher the wild Pog.
"Now, where did I put the Butcher's Sword...."
Time to work.
***
"But it really is strange! How is it that I caught the smell from that restaurant and still stayed composed?"
At Veronia's question, Camilla, riding beside her, laughed.
She was in a good mood today, so she gave an answer she normally wouldn't have.
"I told you. It's a choker that suppresses your heat."
"With this, I could even work at that restaurant."
"I wouldn't recommend it."
"What do you mean?"
"It suppresses the heat. It doesn't eliminate it."
"I don't understand! What does that mean?"
"If, while working at that restaurant, the choker were to come off even by accident, all the desire you've been building up while inhaling that scent would erupt at once."
"......I-is that so."
"It is. So for the time being, it's best to keep your distance from that smell."
Camilla deliberately left out the rest.
Namely, that even if Veronia could completely suppress her heat, no restaurant was going to hire a Wolf Clan member who shed fur everywhere.
'I'd use her as a hunter, though.'
To think she'd crushed a wild Pog's head in a single blow to bring it down.
She was clearly a born fighter.
'If Veronia wins the Imperial Arena under the Golden Wagon name....'
Golden Wagon would be on the lips of every citizen and noble in the empire for quite some time.
At the same time, people would grow curious about the Lilyan Arena where she'd made her name.
More visitors would come to Lilyan to see Veronia.
And those visitors would naturally open their wallets.
Of course, Veronia had declared she'd claim first place in the empire and then return to the restaurant.
'I can always ask Lucas to send her on a business trip to Lilyan.'
The travel expenses could be covered separately for the two of them.
It was a win for Camilla too, since she could use the excuse of delivering Veronia back as a reason to visit the restaurant one more time.
'And while I'm there, I can eat a meal and watch him cook.'
Veronia, utterly oblivious to the fact that Camilla intended to squeeze her dry to the marrow, was blissfully imagining herself learning the hunting method at the restaurant someday.
'Work hard. A bright future awaits us all.'
The corners of Camilla's lips curved upward.
***
Lancelot was on his way back to the viscountcy after a long assignment.
His task: patrolling and managing the territory.
The villages always had incidents that required a knight's help.
Unexplained disappearances among the villagers.
Monsters too much for ordinary soldiers to handle.
Or the occasional violent crime.
Not every problem could be solved by a knight, but Viscount Britten refused to stand by and watch law and order collapse across his lands over such things.
Because of that, Lancelot periodically toured the villages and resolved issues.
For someone of his caliber, the work might have seemed trivial, but Lancelot didn't mind.
He genuinely felt a deep satisfaction in knowing he was doing something that helped this territory.
On top of that, these assignments occasionally led him to discover talented individuals.
Like Heimer, who was now a squire of House Britten.
And like the young man following behind him now.
"Master."
"What is it?"
"Why have you brought me this far? You said you wouldn't bring me to the viscountcy."
Lancelot glanced back at the dark-haired youth trailing him.
Ivan.
The finest talent he'd encountered while subjugating the bandits in the territory.
If he hadn't met Lucas, the Sword of the Lake would undoubtedly have belonged to this young man.
"I did say that. I thought your talent might bring bloodshed to the viscountcy."
"Then why...."
"Because there's someone I want you to see. Or rather, something. Food, I mean."
"......."
Lancelot smiled at his disciple, who stared at him as if he understood nothing.
Anyone would react like that the first time they heard it.