The Moonlight Wolves' Hidden Legacy
Ian gazed at the still-sleeping Miel. Fragments of yesterday's conversations drifted through his mind like scattered pieces—the long hours they'd spent tumbling across the bed, talking and playing.
Miel came from Ailence, a forest where ancient trees blotted out the sky. Nestled beside Notvand Fief, it was a land of endless primeval woods. Centuries ago it had been known as the Forest of Monsters and left completely isolated, but after the founding of the Sepiana Kingdom it became a beastkin autonomous district and received its present name, meaning "Eternal Alliance."
The child was sharper and had a better memory than he looked. Even while Ian tickled him and teased, he answered questions with surprising clarity. Thanks to that, Ian had managed to piece together the veiled history of the Moonlight Wolf Tribe.
Originally, the Moonlight Wolf Tribe had been created as the noble "Alpha" meant to rule all beastkin on the land. Once they reached adulthood, they no longer needed to eat. Simply absorbing the pure natural mana that filled the world whenever the moon rose—through the gem on their forehead—was enough to grant them a thousand-year lifespan.
At least, that had been true until the evil god Devilaka invaded the Adriant Continent in the year 1200 of the Creation Era.
The continent, once brimming with pure white mana, was corrupted by the evil god's dark mana and twisted at its very core. Though the chief god created labyrinths across the world to seal the monsters and worked to purify the land, the natural mana that had once turned black could never fully regain its original purity.
Even so, things remained bearable until the Magic War. The Moonlight Wolf Tribe began to harbor a faint madness deep within their nature as they absorbed the corrupted mana, but it was only a latent danger that would not surface without extreme crisis or uncontrollable rage. For beings who were originally calm and rational, madness could never become a flaw.
But five centuries ago the Magic War erupted. Zaphar Caligios began indiscriminately spawning bone monsters across the continent and drove dark crystals deep into the earth that endlessly produced them, irreparably damaging the world's natural mana.
From that moment tragedy began. The Moonlight Wolf Tribe's children started falling prey to madness as they grew. The Twilight Wolf Tribe, which had seized real power in the beastkin kingdom of Silvaret, used this as an excuse to ruthlessly drive the Moonlight Wolf Tribe out.
Miel's voice trembled as he reached this part of the story.
"They've been wiping out the Moonlight Wolf Tribe... for hundreds of years. So many of us have gone to the afterlife."
In the end, the Moonlight Wolf Tribe had become a forbidden, cursed name throughout the beastkin kingdom and every beastkin settlement. To Ian it seemed like nothing more than a witch hunt by those in power who feared the potential of the now-vanishingly few Moonlight Wolves.
The reason Miel's family had survived until now was the ancient trees of Ailence Fief. Their trunks twisted and intertwined so densely they formed a natural maze. Ironically, the family's quiet peace hidden among those giant trees was shattered by a single small act of kindness.
Some mischievous beastkin children who had gotten lost stumbled upon their hiding place. Miel's mother could not bring herself to abandon those young lives. Knowing they would surely die wandering the forest, she risked everything to guide them safely to the village entrance.
But during that journey, her dazzling silver hair was exposed for a single moment. When a curious child later mentioned it to the adults, cruel destruction swept over them like a wave.
Eventually Ian surfaced from his long reverie. With a worried expression, he gently stroked Miel's forehead as the child scrunched his brow at the sunlight streaming through the window.
How can I hide the child's identity and raise him safely?
His gaze naturally settled on Miel's brilliant silver hair. That mystical, beautiful color was the most dangerous signal of the child's true nature.
Hmm. I think I saw cheap hair dye on the first floor of the Ancient Tree General Store...
He would have to go back and look more carefully. While he was out, he could also submit the completed request form to the guild. The biggest remaining hurdle was informing Grandma Masa, the innkeeper, about Miel's existence.
It would be best to dye the child's hair first and erase his distinctive features.
Once his plan for the day was roughly set, Ian gently woke the soundly sleeping child.
"Miel, it's morning. Time to get up."
"Ung... Ian hyung."
"Yeah. Before breakfast, there's somewhere we need to stop by. Can you turn into a wolf and stay quiet inside the bag?"
Miel shook off his drowsiness and nodded with a bright smile.
"Ung! I'm really good at staying still!"
"Pfft. All right. Then let's wash up and go."
The two quickly finished their preparations and slipped quietly out of the inn room. Miel had curled up inside the leather bag in the form of a small wolf cub, yet his expression was brighter than ever. For a child who had spent his whole life hidden in the deep, dark forest, even the glimpse of sunlit streets through the gaps in the bag felt exhilarating.
Ian could clearly sense the child's excited heart through the bag as he walked. Even while moving briskly, he frequently patted the leather bag to reassure him.
He crossed the main road—where carriages passed only occasionally—with his usual calm expression. The urge to break into a run was strong, but he suppressed it, worried Miel might get motion sickness inside the diagonally slung bag.
Their destination was the Ancient Tree General Store, a three-story building that towered like a city landmark. Leaving the imposing stone structure behind, Ian wove quickly through the crowded stalls on the first floor until he found the hair-dye corner.
The dyeing method here required no tedious application like on Earth. It came in the form of a magic potion: simply drinking it allowed the embedded magic to spread through the bloodstream and change the color of one's fur. A single dose lasted at least three months.
This part is unbelievably convenient. Back in Korea I'd have had to drag the child to a salon every time the roots grew out.
Among the many potions on display, Ian found one in a dark reddish-brown glass bottle whose effect lasted a full year. The color was an ordinary black-brown, but a bold red warning at the end of the description read: "As the drug reaction is strong, the hair may become coarse."
For Ian, however, there was no better choice. Miel's hair was far too soft and radiant. Simply changing the color would not hide that mystical otherness. To dull the dazzling silver luster and make him look like any ordinary child, this potent potion was the best option—even if it roughened the texture.
He paid the not-insignificant sum of fifteen gold and left the store. More than the money, the weight of the concealment contained in that single bottle pressed heavily on his shoulders.
With each step the diagonally slung bag swayed rhythmically. As though the motion were some kind of cradle game, a faint "kyang kyang" laugh tickled out from inside.
It lasted only a moment, yet Ian's heart lurched. Worried a passerby might have heard, he forced a stern expression and scanned his surroundings.
Swallowing his rising tension, he quickened his pace toward the high-end teahouse with private rooms he had visited before with Zenon and Lucael.
The teahouse named "Veil of Silence" remained as silent as ever, still cloaked in countless secrets.
As soon as Ian entered a small private room after walking the long corridor, he ordered an egg-cheese sandwich and a drink from the maid who guided him. She bowed gracefully and left without a sound.
The moment the door closed, a silver wolf cub cautiously lifted its head from the bag.
"Kiiing... kaeng..."
"Yeah, Miel. Just wait a moment. I'll take you out now."
When Ian lifted the whining cub and placed him on the table covered with a luxurious cloth, the child returned to his beastkin form with a small "poof." Ian gently stroked the blue gem on the child's forehead with his thumb.
Whether or not he noticed the affectionate touch, Miel looked around the luxurious room he was seeing for the first time, eyes sparkling like jewels at the colorful light filtering through the dark stained glass.
Each small gesture revealed how narrow and closed-off the child's world had been, and it tugged at Ian's heart.
"Miel, the gem on your forehead is also a major characteristic of the Moonlight Wolf Tribe, right?"
"...Ung! That's right!"
The child, who had been distracted by the window, nodded a beat late.
"Can you hide it so no one can see it?"
"Uum... Miel has to grow much, much, much bigger first!"
"I see."
Ian mentally added "forehead band" to the list of clothes he would buy for the child later.
After a small deep breath, he took out the hair-dye potion with still-tense hands. When he opened the lid, a thick herbal scent filled the room. Ian handed the bottle to the child and spoke carefully.
"It might taste bad, but you have to endure it and drink it all. It's medicine that will change the color of your hair. That way bad people won't be able to find you. Understand?"
Only then did Miel seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation. He nodded with a determined expression, gripped the bottle tightly with both hands, and drank it down in one go.
The moment the child tilted his head back and swallowed, a strange wave of mana rippled across his brilliant silver hair. The color that had seemed almost transparent with light gradually darkened from the tips until it turned a deep black-brown in an instant. Even the fur on his cute wolf ears changed completely.
Perhaps due to the potion's side effects the texture had become a little coarse, but it had not erased Miel's unique loveliness. Frowning deeply, Miel held out the empty bottle.
"Uuu... It's bitter. How is it? Did I change?"
"Yeah! You changed. You're so cute, our Miel."
Ian nodded vigorously and gently stroked the child's hair. Having lost its mystical silver color, Miel now looked like any ordinary, adorable beastkin child one might see anywhere.
He let the child's bangs fall over his forehead to hide the gem, then stroked the crown of his head once more. Only then did the tension gripping his heart finally ease a little.