The suggestion had merit, but Kanata was too worked up to listen. If there was even the slightest chance that this would lead to the fluff, she wasn’t about to pass it up.
“There’s no way I could sleep now!” Kanata said. “I’m way too interested in this castle! Oh, but Zaggy, you can sleep if you want to. I’ll carry you nice and safe!”
“We should have known better...” said Zag’giel. “You are not the type to listen to others once you have made up your mind. Very well. If you will not hear otherwise, Kanata, then we—”
“I’ll go wherever you say, Lady Kanata!” Fenrir interrupted. “I, your number one servant, will follow you to the ends of the earth, and protect you from any danger!”
“Upstart mutt!” Zag’giel shot back. “A newcomer like you should know his place and not cut ahead of us—we served Kanata first! Kanata! We, too, are prepared to risk our very life at your command!”
“Thank you, Zaggy! Thank you, Fen-fen! I don’t have anything to worry about as long as I’ve got you!”
Kanata meant that the furballs were an invaluable source of psychological healing, but Zag’giel and Fenrir had deluded themselves into thinking she was relying on their strength in battle. They held their heads high from their positions stowed under Kanata’s armpits, cutting a truly comical image. The other inn patrons mercifully said nothing to puncture the pair’s bubble.
“Do you think that girl’s going to check if the story’s true?” the innkeeper asked. She’d looked up from a conversation with some of her regulars when she noticed that Kanata had taken to her feet. “Well... She does have that powerful wolf with her in the stables. I suppose she can probably take care of herself...”
Beast Tamers were known as the weakest Profession, but with such a powerful magic beast following her, this girl must be a different story. The two furballs didn’t seem like they’d be of much use to anyone, but the giant wolf seemed like a dependable companion. It reminded her of the wolf accompanying the bronze statue of the First Saint.
“Y’know, come to think of it,” said one of the patrons, “that girl’s kinda like the First Saint, isn’t she...?”
“Now that you mention it, I can see it,” another agreed. “She looks a bit like the statue too. Hey, missy!” he hollered, getting Kanata’s attention. “Are you the reincarnation of the First Saint or something?”
“No!” Kanata replied. “I’m a Beast Tamer!”
Kanata stayed just long enough to ask the innkeeper for directions to the old castle, and then quickly ran out the door.
“Have a safe trip!” the innkeeper shouted after her. “Make sure to be back by checkout!”
† † †
“Wow, Fen-fen! You’re going fast!”
“Indeed!” Fenrir declared proudly as he dashed along the dark nighttime road, Kanata on his back. “To the eyes of the Spirit Wolf, even the dead of night is as bright as midday!”
He had fused his two bodies back together, becoming his complete self once more. With his muscles, Kanata’s heavy wagon was a light load. Kanata herself riding on his back was scarcely an encumbrance.
“Hmph.” Zag’giel glowered. “If only we could use our magic, we could carry her through the sky, holding Kanata tight in our arms...”
Kanata’s mood soured noticeably whenever Zag’giel returned to his original form, so the King of Demons had resigned himself to remaining in his furball form except for extraordinary circumstances.
“Unfortunately for you, Demon King, right now it is my back that Lady Kanata is riding on! You can stay where you are and keep her head warm! You make a good hot-water bottle, after all!”
“Gh! Kh...” Zag’giel sputtered, unable to do more than grind his teeth at Fenrir’s victorious glee.
Their master Kanata, for her part, was over the moon at the sensation of the two distinct fluffs rubbing against both sides of her body.
“Hee hee hee!” she giggled. “Fluff above and fluff below! This is the best!”
Thanks to their combined warmth, the cold night wind didn’t feel chilly at all.
Of course, the fastest way to move would have been neither Fenrir running along the ground nor Zag’giel flying through the skies—Kanata’s running speed far surpassed them both. But if they did that, Fenrir and Zag’giel wouldn’t have been able to carry on their little competition.
“Ahem!” Zag’giel cleared his throat. “Well, let us put that cur to the side. Kanata, there is something we should discuss.”
“Hm? What is it, Zaggy?” Kanata said, looking at the furball she had been petting.
“We overheard something while the inn patrons were discussing the old castle that struck us as worthy of interest...”
Zag’giel explained that he had heard one of the inn patrons say that another group had departed for the castle that very morning, ahead of Kanata—knights in white armor who told anyone who asked that they had been sent here by the Holy Church. The Holy Church was the religious organization who had captured Fenrir, led by the false Saint Marianne. Marianne had eventually had a change of heart after Kanata saved her from her own Goddess’s attempt to take her life. She’d subsequently changed the Holy Church to the Church of Fluffism, but this was only a recent development. It would take time for word to reach every branch of such an enormous organization. Not only that, but there were sure to be those who resisted such a sudden change of direction, even if it came directly from the top.
Before her conversion, Marianne’s orders from the Goddess had been to sow seeds of evil throughout the land, then send the Church’s own knights to resolve the problems they caused, thereby gathering faith from the masses. Zag’giel wondered if this might also be such a case.