Chapter 2: Girl, Encounters
“SOOOO you see, Master is normally too busy to ever leave home.”
“Heh. What does he do about food?”
One girl and one wolf were walking together through the forest. To the girl, the terrifying forest didn’t feel so scary anymore when she had a friendly, giant wolf at her side.
“Food like vegetables and meat get delivered once every three days. Miss Charlotte comes from the sky.”
“From the…sky?”
“Guess what? Guess what? I LOVE Miss Charlotte! Sometimes she gives me treats and pets me on the head.”
“Do you like being pet on the head, Wolfie?”
The cheerful wolf had introduced himself as Wolfie, and he’d taken care to explain that it was an important name he’d received from his master.
“Uh-huh! I’ve got this biiiig body, so everyone gets scared and runs away when I’m in town. I can’t get them to come close even when I try… Even though I’ve been practicing how to smile in the mirror too...” Dejected, his bushy tail drooped.
Nichika hesitated for a second before warily placing her hand on his head to awkwardly pet him.
“Mnn! I like you too, Nichika! You aren’t scared of me!”
She laughed aloud as his tail sprung up and swished through the air. To tell the truth, she was still a little afraid…but she would keep that to herself.
But thinking of all the strange things, from the wolf fluent in human language to a deliverywoman who supposedly dropped off packages from the skies like a drone, Nichika found it hard to hide her anxiety over what kind of person Wolfie’s “Master” would turn out to be.
“Oh, Nichika, we’re here! Oiiii, Master! Ruff, Ruff!” he barked.
They had arrived at their destination while she’d been worrying about what was in store for her. Wolfie ran from his spot beside her into a small clearing in the forest. Squinting against the sudden brightness, she followed him.
Someone was standing in the middle of the fresh verdure’s vibrant green. Was it a man? Their tall frame was enshrouded in a long black robe, but at least they appeared to be human from behind.
The person called ‘Master’ heard the wolf prancing toward them and turned around. Black hair and glasses peeked out from under their hood, which was pulled low over their face.
“Huh? How many times do I have to tell you to stop with the RUFF! You aren’t a dog so don’t act like it!” the person shouted, smacking Wolfie over the head in apparent irritation, “and how long does it take for you to pick a single herb—”
“I’m s-sorry!” Wolfie stuttered ducking away.
The displeased male voice sounded much younger than Nichika had expected. When he spotted her come into the clearing, he stopped talking and trying to smack Wolfie with a rolled up paper, holding back the rest of the scolding phrase on the tip of his tongue.
“U-Um, hello?” Nichika said tentatively.
“WHOA!”
What was so terrifying about her that’d make the man fall on the grass?
Startled by his extreme reaction, she asked hesitantly, “Are you…all right?”
She offered a hand to help him up—but he suddenly lunged for her wrist and yanked her toward him, pulling her down instead.
“EEEP!”
In an instant, he’d pinned her against the grass, and his knee was digging into her back, causing her to squeak like a crushed frog. An angry shout rained down on her faster than she could process what was going on.
“Where did you get in from?!” He mercilessly twisted her arm behind her back.
“OW! OW! OW! LET GO!” she screamed. She frantically tried to get him off, but she was so exhausted she couldn’t muster much strength, not to mention that he had an overwhelming advantage as a man. Pushing him off her was beyond her capabilities even as she tried to wiggle away.
Wolfie’s inappropriately chipper voice broke through the dire situation, “Guess what? Nichika is a lost child! I found her wandering the forest so I brought her back. Aren’t I good boy?” Wolfie bounced over to them like he was dancing.
The man heaved a heavy sigh before unleashing a fit of anger like a thunderbolt. “FILTHY MONGREL!”
“WEEH?!” Wolfie whimpered.
“Is your brain smaller than a bird’s?! What were the orders I gave you?! Didn’t I tell you to bite any intruders to death on the spot?! Don’t act like a rescue dog, dammit!”
Wolfie cowered on the ground. Nichika’s neck was twisted and her face was against the ground, but the sight made her shout, “Stop it! Wolfie isn’t at fault!”
“…You even told her your name?” The man glowered down at her with a sour expression. She could feel him rudely looking her over like he was assessing her. He scoffed, “A lost child? Is that your crazy excuse? Quit wasting my time prattling on stupidly with your dumb face and tell me the truth! C’mon, OUT with it!”
That was too much even for the normally polite Nichika. Clenching her teeth, she inhaled sharply.
“…the hell…”
“Huh?”
“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING HAS A DUMB FACE?!”
“WHOA!”
Fueled by her anger, Nichika erupted with an explosive power. Catapulting the man, who had let down his guard, off of her, she seized the opportunity and lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. He was taken completely by surprise and was unable to react to her counterattack before she had reversed their positions entirely. Now pinning his chest with her legs, Nichika reached forward, snatched his collar, and violently shook him.
“Didn’t you learn in elementary school to save a person in trouble?! Some NERVE you have, scolding Wolfie for demonstrating basic kindness by helping someone in need!”
“HUH?! What the heck is ele-elementary school?!”
The man’s hood fell off while she was shaking him by the collar. His piercing ice-blue eyes captured her; her heart skipped a beat.
THUD.
She accidentally released him halfway off the ground, and his head slammed hard into the grass.
“NGH!” he grunted.
Suddenly regaining her calm, Nichika blanched. Why was she straddling the sole person she had met in this godforsaken forest?
She swiftly retreated off the man to where Wolfie was sitting patiently nibbling on a stick he had snatched from somewhere, and whispered in his furry ear, “Hey, are you sure this violent and disturbed man is your ‘Kind Master’? Is he blackmailing you into service? Are you okay?”
“I can hear you, you know.”
Now standing with his cheeks twitching in irritation, the man took three huge strides toward Nichika and grabbed her head with his big hand. Then, bending down till his eyes were level with hers, he snarled with a voice so threatening that it made her toes curl. “All right, why don’t we straighten things out, hm? You said your name was Nichika or something, yeah? You have committed three crimes. First, you broke my barrier and trespassed into this forest. Second, you misled and bewitched my familiar. Now, do you know what the third crime you committed is?”
“U-Umm, I didn’t go home even though it’s dark out? Haha…”
“You’ve INFURIATED me!” he bellowed.