Wolves Are Always Farmers' Headaches

A single wolf was already a handful for humans to deal with. When a massive wolf charged with murderous intent, even a grown man would struggle to hold his ground. That's why territories plagued by wolves held periodic hunting tournaments to cull them. The Drbosi Baron had often organized such wolf hunts himself.

The lord enjoyed the thrilling chase, knights and hunters earned glory and coin, and farmers were rid of those damn wolves—it was a win for everyone. But Louis had the ability to drive off wolves without any hunting tournament. In a small, impoverished barony like this, it was a perfectly practical talent.

Not bad, Ian thought, seriously considering hiring Louis.

Of course, wolf-taming wasn't a skill Ian particularly needed. He was a summoner who could project his will onto beasts. Hell, he could even command wolves directly himself. What Ian had in mind was the Talian domain.

Wolf-taming would be put to good use there. It could handle wolves without mobilizing knights or hunters, a huge boon for the peasants.

"Alright, Belenca. Let Louis go."

"...Fine."

Belenca unbound him with a reluctant expression, still wary of the werewolf. But Ian wasn't. His summoner's instincts conveyed Louis's emotions clearly. There'd be no trouble letting him loose. It felt just like with Longtail.

Freed from his bonds, Louis bowed gracefully with refined poise.

"Thank you for trusting me, noble one."

"Louis of Blanche. Since you've sworn to follow heaven's will, I deem you worthy of a proper contract with me. Do you agree?"

"I agree!"

"You opposed me and were taken prisoner, but my mercy spared your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠life. Putting that in monetary terms..."

"One hundred imperial gold coins."

"Thanks, Belenca. He says he owes me one hundred imperial gold coins. Louis of Blanche, pay me that amount, and you're free."

"Merciful one, I thank you for your generosity, but I have no gold."

"Then stand in service for the equivalent value until the debt is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠paid. Do you agree to this contract?"

"I agree!"

Belenca made a show of drawing her sword.

"Should I strike him down?"

"Not a bad idea, but I meant we need a blade for a liege-vassal contract."

Ah. Ian drew Anorilsil and tapped Louis's shoulder with it.

"Louis of Blanche, until your ransom is fully paid, you shall serve as my knight. Should you break this contract, may you suffer eternal torment in hell before the wrath of the almighty heavens."

"I, Louis, swear before the heavens that I shall never betray this sacred bond. Until my debt is cleared, Mage Ian is my liege."

With that, their liege-vassal contract was sealed in the traditional manner of the Heavenly God Church, witnessed by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Belenca of Winz. Louis was now the mage's knight.

"Well, I'll be damned. Never thought I'd live to see a werewolf become a knight."

Belenca grumbled, and Ian shrugged.

"What's wrong with that? He's a Heavenly God Church believer."

"Yeah, but still."

Actually, Belenca was in no position to complain. She'd become Ian's knight to repay her own life-debt.

Ian let out a low whistle. As a magical being, the werewolf was bound to his summoning magic. Now Louis was doubly shackled—by contract and skill.

"...I never dreamed I'd end up formally serving you like this."

Louis gazed at Ian with soulful eyes. He was handsome enough to make furries lose their minds, but Ian felt zero interest. Just a vague Damn, werewolves have style.

"I figured it'd just be a magic contract... but to properly acknowledge my debt like this..."

"???"

Ian puzzled over what that meant. Was writing down the debt in the contract such a big deal? But Ian didn't know.

In this world, even getting a debt formally acknowledged was rare. Debts weren't usually nailed down like "a few gold coins, some silver." Most creditors bled debtors dry until they were "satisfied," and few could protest. After all, debt collectors were always the stronger party.

You needed at least knight-level status to formalize a debt into a contract. Once sealed, not even a king could touch it—doing so invited heavenly punishment or a one-way trip to hell, as contracts were sworn in the name of the almighty heavens.

Thus, the weak desperately wanted their debts contractually defined. It prevented backlash later.

"Ian, you planning to drag this guy along on our travels? Might stir up trouble."

One hundred percent. Even as a Heavenly God Church believer, Louis was a werewolf. Someone could "accidentally" kill him and get away with it.

"Nah, sending him to Lucy."

"To Baroness Talian?"

Ian nodded. Wolf-taming wasn't super useful for his journeys anyway. Better to send Louis to help with Talian's security.

"Louis, I have a mission for you."

"Command me, my liege."

"First, clear out the dire wolves around Drbosi. Then head straight to Talian."

"Talian, my lord?"

"Yes. Tell Baroness Talian that Mage Ian sent you. She's my friend, so serve her with the same loyalty you give me."

A werewolf like Louis could shore up Talian's lacking military strength.

Louis understood and bowed deeply.

"I'll depart at once."

Ian used his summoning skill to transmit his will.

Turning a monster into a knight had its perks. Louis commanded the dire wolves per orders and vanished into the forest.

Mage Lravel was gone. Werewolf Louis was gone. All that remained was Catherine's kidnapped(?) son.

"Let's head back to the castle."

#

"Damn."

Ian sighed shortly. Catherine's son had vanished in the meantime.

Letting him roam free to avoid combat casualties had backfired.

"Ian, found him."

But Belenca, scouting the area, located him quickly. Not even ten minutes after starting to poke around hiding spots.

"P-please, just spare my life..."

He slammed his head to the ground before Ian could even speak. It was ridiculous and a bit pitiful. Not every noble's son was brave. Some were born timid, trembling at trifles. Lucky he was born noble; as a farmer's son, he'd have been trampled his whole life.

"Hey, hey, it's all over. We'll talk details back home."

Ian patted his back and headed to the castle. As expected, Serena the baroness had taken control.

"Look! It's Ian and Kira!"

"Ian must've taken down the mage!"

"Kira helped for sure!"

The castle residents had heard the rough story from Serena. Of course, she'd spilled it urgently to calm things—lest it go south.

But Ian had succeeded and returned triumphantly. As if heaven blessed him, dawn's golden light bathed the walls.

"We're back."

Serena sighed in relief first at seeing Catherine's son, Karton, alive. Even if he'd died, it wouldn't have been a huge issue, but a tender spot remained in her heart. She wasn't so corrupted as to welcome the death of a child she'd treated like family.

"Success?"

Ian answered with a glance. Belenca strode forward proudly, bearing a massive spear.

"Ooh!"

"What in the world?!"

"A monkey? But it's got a sword...!"

What Belenca dragged on the spear was the monkey assassin. With Lravel sold off and Louis recruited, it was the perfect fall guy for the chaos.

Fortunately, the monkey assassin looked plenty monstrous.

"That clumsy imitation of a human!"

"Evil beast for sure!"

Excited priests grabbed stones (of course) and pelted the corpse. Thunk, thunk. Blood and flesh splattered, drawing cheers.

"Yaaah!"

"The evil monster is dead!!!"

Ian watched impassively before sighing. What was this, piñata time? He'd dressed it up to look mage-like, but the priests wrecked it instantly. All that effort wasted.

Still, the situation wrapped up perfectly.

"As you see, that monster was behind the disorder in Drbosi Castle."

"Ooh!"

"Looks like it!"

A tale of a magic-trained monkey commanding beasts to dupe humans hit medieval hearts hard. Timeless good-vs-evil, human-vs-monster stuff—pure crowd-pleaser.

To modern folks drowning in content, it was tired old broth. But to these fantasy medievals without dramas or novels, it was box-office gold, heart-pounding excitement.

And the mage chased the monster all night in a showdown? Fuck, that's intriguing! Crowds swarmed Ian, clamoring.

Part 2! Give us part 2! Tell us what you saw!

Ian clucked his tongue at the priests whining like 'Wahh, baby priest wants part 2~ Give it~'. Sigh. So vulnerable to dopamine. No wonder they buy into 'grumpier mages are stronger' nonsense.

"I'll tell the story later. First, let's see the baron."

"Right! Let's go!"

Ian parted the crowd and headed to the baron's chambers. There lay the baron and Catherine side by side.

Ian channeled strong will in the Maronius Language.

The baron couple simultaneously vomited something up.

"Gah!"

"Wh-what is that...!"

It was a snow-white centipede-like worm, tamed by Mage Lravel—a parasite sucking the host's life force.

Ian grimaced. No wonder they hadn't figured it out. The "mysterious illness" tormenting the baron was just a giant parasite. No arcane magic or germs.

In the modern world, one MRI or X-ray would've revealed it clean. Ian had never seen parasites implanted in humans before. He'd have suspected if he knew, but this time he'd missed it.

Having taken control of the summons from Lravel, Ian expelled the parasites effortlessly.

"These were tormenting the baron."

"Ahh..."

Serena collapsed with a choked sob, tears flooding despite the audience. Maids didn't stop her—they hugged and wept together.

Ian let her cry it out. As he turned to leave, Serena grabbed him.

"...Thank you. How can I ever repay this grace..."

Ian shrugged. He didn't know—or care—about the hellish atmosphere she'd endured since her husband's collapse, ready to spark war.

"No big deal."

But Ian had unraveled many mysteries and secrets, so he wasn't displeased. Unlike the baroness, he felt pretty good.