EPILOGUE Young boys came to the city of Aquent, often only hanging on by a thread, only for their ignorance to be preyed upon as they were forced to act as the agents of petty villains. The operation to save all these poor kids was a resounding success. Even when some were moved from the places Myuri had discovered, there were only so many spots in the city that could hide them; they could not be hidden from Lutia, who was a wolf who commanded every stray in the city. Then, as the southern eagles reeled in chaos after losing all the underlings who had been working for them, the northern wolves, who had been trying so hard to right their evils, doggedly chased them down. There also came a letter from the Debau Company, stating they would offer monetary support for boys with bright prospects. The city church, which did not particularly stand out amid the chaos, had not been engaging in any shady activities. Canaan spoke to them and arranged for them to provide support when Lutia and her group denounced the southern eagles. This, too, was a great boon. In addition, Canaan and Le Roi struck the professors’ guild, which had been inextricably involved with the southern eagles, and forced great compromises out of them regarding joining fees, rules relating to gift giving in exchange for degree conferment, textbook selection, and so much more. That said, if Jean’s printing technology worked well, then all the scheming around textbooks would quickly lose meaning anyway. No matter what sort of valuable tome might be chosen as a textbook in the future, so long as they could have them imported from the Kingdom of Winfiel at a low price, the predatory sales would cease completely. And so, like the imminent collapse of a dam, all of Aquent’s problems were set on the path to resolution. All of this happened over the course of a few days, after Col spoke with Lutia, and this was what he wrote in his letter to Hyland. There were a few things he did not include in his tale. For example, several days before all of Aquent’s problems washed away in the billowing waves, the night when Col returned to Le Roi and the others from his talk with Lutia was a prime example. Once he returned to the others, he found Myuri waiting alone for him. “Everyone went back to the inn.” She sat atop their things. Her sword was strapped to her hip, her sash with the painted crest of the wolf was tied around her waist, and she wore a grumpy look on her face. The reason she had decided to remain by herself was her way of twisting herself to follow her brother’s command while also keeping as much distance between herself and the rest to avoid awkwardness. “We have reconciled with Miss Lutia.” Myuri used the dark of the night to her advantage and had her ears and tail out, and she looked at him like a guard investigating a thief’s crimes. “…You really smell like her…,” she said. The one reason he did not check how his clothes smelled was because he knew that already. “But on one condition.” Lutia’s words replayed in his mind, and when he recalled what had happened afterward, he found in himself a strange mix of exasperation and relief. “How did you talk her down?” Myuri asked dubiously, her tail twitching nervously. The way she spoke told him that though he was cleaning up after her mess, she had the right to hear what he did as his traveling partner. But Col said nothing. “Come on, Brother!” she urged him, her expression more unease than anger. “Tell me!” When it seemed as though she was about to stand from her spot on their luggage, he finally replied. “I cannot say for the sake of Miss Lutia’s honor. And more importantly—” Col closed the gap between them in a single stride; Myuri flared her nostrils first, and all the hair on her ears and tail stood on end, as though she had been struck by lightning. “—This is your punishment.” “Wh— Hey, th—” “Or…” Col raised his voice, leaning in closer to peer down at her. “Are you doubting our bond?” Lutia understood from smell alone what his relationship with Myuri was, and she had laughed. She had even been able to sniff out exactly how she clung to him in the night, which made Col terribly embarrassed. And when Myuri examined him, it was as though Col had been covered in the glowing spores of a mushroom in the darkest cave; Lutia’s smell told her exactly how she had clung to him. There was one condition to rousing Lutia from her slumber. “Can I…borrow your chest for a second?” she had asked. Though her face was red and her tone was brusque, he immediately understood that this was the secret key she was handing him. And perhaps it was even the one thing she had been unable to say, honestly, to her lord and lady before they departed this world. After she fit snug in his arms, she soon began to sob. That was soon followed by a barrage of bitter resentment at having been left behind. Col had done his absolute best to erase his presence so that she could let it all out, but the one thing he could not erase was the thought that, despite how very similar in size Lutia was to Myuri, she felt so different in his arms. Though it was likely not very long that they stayed this way, Lutia pulled back without any warning, grabbed a piece of scrap paper nearby, then furiously scrubbed at her face and blew her nose. Col did not ask if she was okay now. After taking one final deep breath, she strode past Col with heavy footsteps, peered down the stairs, and yelled to her boys, “We’ll pluck those southern eagles bald!” After a brief moment of tense silence, a loud, enthusiastic roar rose from the northern wolves. “You won’t tell anyone about what just happened, right?” Lutia turned her wolf eyes to the Twilight Cardinal. “So long as you keep the secret I shared with you.” Lutia smiled, and without another word or a look of regret, marched down the stairs. And so, Col quietly left the Green Gourd alone, and came to stand before Myuri, who had used her older brother in her plot despite all the circumstances around them both, but now was completely drenched in the scent of another wolf.
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“I will smell like this for a while,” he said. “We are sleeping separately. I will not hold your hand, and I will not teach you any new words or spelling.” As he listed off her punishments, it almost seemed as though Myuri’s red eyes were going to melt. Col held back a smile as he said, “Your wolf crest is watching you. You are a knight, are you not?” A knight would not cry so easily when they should be concentrating on fixing their mistakes. Myuri bit her lip, puffed out her cheeks, managed to wipe the corners of her eyes, and shot up from her spot on their things. “I am! I’m a knight!” She then fixed him with a reproachful gaze and growled at him. Col smiled to see her usual attitude, then took half her things for her, and they returned to the inn where Le Roi was waiting. On the way back, they heard the commotion that had shattered Aquent’s night as the northern students attempted to save the kids, and at last the guards’ whistles, loud enough to wake the dead, tore through the night sky. May all wake from their nightmares and find peaceful slumber. He then prayed that they would all be greeted with a beautiful sunrise. “Brother…?” Myuri whispered as they approached the inn. “I can hold your hand, right?” It seemed Col would never be the tough leader of any pack. “I prefer that over being bound to you by string.” He held out his hand, and she grabbed it as though sinking her teeth into him. It felt like she would never let go, so that she would remember this warmth always. Col was sure that was how she felt from the way she held his hand while the advent of summer danced on the night air.