Chapter 115

The monsters living in the forest do their best never to appear before humans. Almost nobody enters it anyway, with it being so remote, but occasionally someone wanders in by mistake. For those people, Garo and the other Fen Wolves have apparently been very casually directing them back out. “Arwf, arwf? (They’ve got their own jobs, too, huh?)” And I believe they’ve been doing it since a thousand years ago. Seemingly, it was an order from the very first Fen Wolf King, who I have to say gave some tough commands. And coincidentally, that order was given a thousand years ago, at the same time as when the Demon Lord was around. “Arwf, arwf. (Guess coincidences happen a lot.)” Maybe the Fen Wolves have some kind of connection to the Demon Lord. “Squeak. (They likely do.)” says Len, who had been sleeping for a while, poking her head out of my ruff. “Squeak, squeak. (I’ve been curious about it myself. I, too, was born one thousand years ago.)” Right. Len was holed up in that cave for a millennium. I’m impressed anyone could shut themselves away for such a long time. “Squeak. (Well, it was a little lonely at times. Only mice and bats lived in that cave. I had nobody to talk to.)” This is getting too dark, so let’s stop this discussion. It’s really sad thinking about a dragon only having small animals as friends. “Arf, arf. (Actually, for having shut yourself away ever since birth, you sure do know a lot of things.)” Like about magic. And monsters. Also, I remember when Zenobia and I first went to that cave, you suggested we have some tea. You seemed to know a lot about human culture. “Squeak, squeak. (High-ranking dragon children inherit a degree of knowledge from their parents. I have only faint recollections of Papa and Mama, but they still exist in memories.)” “Arwf. (Huh. I didn’t know you could do that. Dragons are pretty great.)” “Squeak. (They are, aren’t they? You should have more respect for me, love. Take this opportunity to acknowledge me, the ancient blue dragon Lenowyrm, and sing my praises.)” I very much doubt the ancient blue dragon Lenowyrm’s parents would ever believe their daughter had transformed into a mouse and turned into a friendless thousand-year-old spinster who would try and court a dog. “Arwf… (I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Len. It looks like your lineage will end with her…)” “Squeak! (It will not end! I shall have many children!)” “Arf. (There’s only so far you can take this, though. Like, physically.)” “Squeak. (And that is what the transformation technique is for. I swear that I will soon attain a form that is to your liking!)” “Arf, arf. (Yeah, I doubt it. My aesthetic sense is still human, but I have the body of a dog.)” “Squeak! (My beloved, you are too odd! Far too strange! Give up one of those things!)” I refuse. I’m living my best life. “Arwf, arwf? (By the way, why were you holed up in that cave for so long? You didn’t have a promise to uphold like the Fen Wolves do, did you?)” “…Squeak? (…Come to think of it, why was I there for so long?)” “Arwf? (Did you get senile after living for a thousand years, grandma?)” “Squeak! (I am still too young to grow senile!)” Len, huffing angrily, bites into me. “Arwf! (Hey, that hurts! Don’t bite me!)” “Squeak, squeak… (Why did I shut myself in there, anyway? With my wings I could have flown anywhere… I thought… But I felt like if I stayed, I would be able to meet someone… From what time are these memories… My time in the egg…?)” Well, I don’t know. Seems like Len has her own stuff going on, but there’s not much we can do if she can’t remember. With Len, now lost in thought, on my back, I race through the dark forest. Eventually, a large black shadow leaps from between the trees and comes running up alongside me. “Grwl! (Lord Routa! You’ve appeared!)” “Arf, arf. (Yep. Just wondering how everyone was doing.)” I’ve been coming to see the Fen Wolves every once in a while, but not since the young lady came down with her fever. “Grwl, grwl! (Thank you, sir! Everyone will be overjoyed to see your esteemed visage!)” Overly dramatic as usual, but that’s how Garo always is, so there’s no point belaboring it. And I made sure to sneak into the kitchen and pilfer a few souvenirs before coming here. Once Garo and I reach the Fen Wolf settlement, a large group of wolves surrounds us. “““Grwl! Grwl! Grwl! (Our king! Our king! Our august, noble king!)””” I’ve gotten used to all their fanfare, too. While they go about that, I pass the souvenirs out to everyone. As I watch them joyously wag their tails and dig into the sausages, two tiny baby wolves slip through the adults and jump out in front of me. “Woo, woo! (Father!)” “Woo, woo! (Come in, come in!)” The little white and black Fen Wolves scramble around at my feet. “Woof, woof. (Heya, Shiro, Kuro. Have you been listening to what your mother says?)” “Woo, woo! (Every word!)” “Woo, woo! (Shiro and Kuro have been really good!)” “Woof, woof. (Good, good.)” I feel like Shiro and Kuro have grown a bit since I last saw them. I’m bigger now, too, though, so maybe I can’t use that as a comparison. And even now, I’ve transformed myself to be significantly smaller. If I dispelled it, I’d be the size of a mountain again. “If you two have been so good, then why are you still up?” says human-form Garo in a low voice. Now that she knows what I like, she’s been turning human every chance she gets to try and seduce me. And her sexy body, with that black hair and dark skin, is exactly the sort of beauty I’m into, so it’s troubling. ““Woo, woo! (We’re sorry, Mother!)”” Shiro and Kuro put their ears down and tuck their tails between their legs as Garo picks both of them up. “And you didn’t use the proper form of greeting.” Ah, yes. They did get it wrong, didn’t they? They said “father” instead of “king” or “Your Majesty.” I’ll have to make sure I draw the line. Garo really gets it. “It isn’t ‘come in’; it’s ‘welcome home.’” She doesn’t get it. She’s trying to make this settlement into the place I settle down!