RTTFW CH 3.9

‘…Huh.’

Izel was slightly taken aback. It felt different from what he’d seen through the window last night. The face wasn’t particularly old, but the build was easily larger than his own. Izel now understood why, even in his beast form, he’d been so enormous that even Ent would struggle to lift him.

“… Don’t you have any clothes?”

Izel, covered in a brown robe, and Ion, completely naked.

Ion scratched the back of his head, thinking this wasn’t exactly appropriate attire for a conversation. Izel cleared his throat and tossed the robe he’d been wearing over to Ion.

It was better than nothing.

‘His body is covered in wounds.’

The wounds covering his entire body were numerous. Of course, he previously had expensive potions poured over his body, so most wounds had healed without leaving a trace. But the deep scars that even that couldn’t heal gave a rough idea of his life.

‘… He must have been captured as a slave.’

Izel could easily guess why Ion had reacted so sensitively. He wasn’t some foolish Paladin or a naïve young master ignorant of the world; considering Ion’s state alone made it obvious.

“So, what conversation?”
“Ah, right.”

Izel snapped out of his thoughts and nodded at Ion’s words as he roughly adjusted his robe. Right, after all, wasn’t there something more important to Izel? He had personally promised his young master, after all.

“Let’s go back.”
“What?”

Ion frowned at Izel’s blunt words.

“Aren’t you getting hungry? Lord Ent definitely won’t eat until you return. Oh dear, come to think of it, having dinner alone with Paladin would be worse…”
“No, what are you muttering about?”

Suddenly, the unexpected issue of Ent’s meal flashed into Izel’s mind, making him a bit anxious. He could practically see the clueless Paladin serving Ent a lavish dinner, despite Ent’s dislike of it.

As Izel quickly approached Ion’s side, Ion flinched at the sight of Izel appearing in the blink of an eye.

“Anyway. Aren’t you hungry too? Let’s stop this and hurry back.”

Ion swallowed a hollow laugh at his words. The words ‘Would you, after running all this way, turn around and go back just to eat?’ rose to the tip of Ion’s tongue.

“Get away.”

Ion shoved Izel roughly. Izel, pushed aside without resistance, sighed as he looked at Ion, whose eyes were still filled with wariness. If only he’d just follow quietly.

“Say something that makes sense. Why should I go back?”
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
“…”

Ion clamped his mouth shut at Izel’s words. There was no way he could have one. He had nowhere to return to, but at the very least, the place where Ent was wasn’t a place for Ion to return to.

“… I can’t trust you people.”
“In what way?”
“You, for starters. What the hell are you? How did you know I’m a beastman?”

Izel chuckled at that. Ion’s hackles rose further at the sound, crouching low. Seeing his posture, ready to pounce at any moment, Izel raised both hands as if to signal calm.

Izel was not born ordinary and possessed extensive knowledge. Of course, this wasn’t knowledge gained from books, but more fundamental understanding of nature, life, and species.

The initial misunderstanding that he was a dog had stemmed from Ent’s own thoughts. Realizing he was a wolf, not a dog, was easier than anything, and the wound seen on his belly while treating Ion had been decisive.

“I’ve heard that’s a characteristic of the Wolf Clan.”

The Wolf Clan are half-human, half-beast. They are distinctly different from mere beasts like wolves, yet their nature leans closer to wolves than to humans. There was a tradition where, upon the birth of a Wolf Clan member, a scar was carved into their own bloodline as a pledge to never betray the clan, passed down through generations. The proof was the ancient scar on Ion’s belly, carved by a beast’s claws.

“The Wolf Clan’s homeland was originally hidden deep within the forests of the Tetset Mountains, I hear. And I’ve been told that the Tetset Mountains, after an attack by an unknown force and a massive fire years ago, are now completely barren, not a single plant left.”

Generally, even if the Wolf Clan can take human form, they do not mingle among people. Instead, they live in packs with their wolf kin.

However, the massive fire that occurred in the Tetset Mountains, known as the kingdom of the beastmen, caused countless beastmen who had made their home there to lose their dwelling place, and the wolf tribe was among them.

When a clan that lives in packs loses its home, they have no choice but to scatter. Especially since their numbers were likely already depleted by the attacks of certain forces.

Having lost his life as a wolf, Ion chose to live as a human.

“Then you were captured as a slave in this Kingdom of Kerban. I don’t know the exact reason or how it happened.”

Ion had no words for Izel’s explanation. It was all true. From the parts he himself had found suspicious, to the parts he had been absolutely certain were impossible to predict.

“Did you ask what my true identity is?”
“…”
“I am merely a servant of the Harbilta family.”

Ion frowned at the words merely a servant, but paused at the mention of ‘Harbilta’. Even Ion, unaccustomed to human life, recognized the name from somewhere.

He distinctly remembered the slave trader who had captured him saying something like, ‘As long as we don’t get caught by the Harbilta family who serve the royal household.’

Ion didn’t know the specifics of what kind of family this ‘Harbilta’ was. But one thing was certain: that meant Ent wasn’t someone who would harm him.

“… But.”

Ion clenched both fists. So what? So what if that was the case? It didn’t mean he needed to stay by Ent’s side. There was no reason for him to return to their side in the first place.

‘Because I am a stranger.’

He was different from those who had a home to return to, a life ahead of them. The enslaved tribe, having lost their homeland, merely survived day by day. Ion was one of them, and it seemed he would have to live that way forever.

Seeing Ion’s silence, Izel crossed his arms and stared at him quietly. There was nothing complicated to think about.

The image of his young master, who had lost Ion and wore a hollow expression, flashed through Izel’s mind. Tsk. He clicked his tongue softly, and Ion lifted his head to look at him.

“Ion, I’m not curious about you.”
“What?”
“Things like what your real name is. Why you were captured by slave traders. What your purpose is.”

“Nor whether you find me suspicious, or what you’re thinking right now.”
“What does that even…”
“You don’t need to reveal your true identity to Lord Ent. You can act like a wolf, or like a dog. It doesn’t matter.”

Why did Ent drink the poison himself? It was something he could have asked Ent directly, but for some reason, Izel didn’t think asking the current Ent would yield a proper answer.

Ent Harbilta, who drank the poison himself. He changed from that moment on. As if he were a different person, he said things he hadn’t said before and did things he hadn’t done before. Unlike his unstable past, he seemed settled, as if he had finally found his place.

But why?

‘He seems a bit… detached.’

Ent often fell deep into his own thoughts. He would stare at others with eyes that seemed to suggest he wasn’t even present in this space, lost in his own thoughts, questioning things that should be obvious. For some reason, Izel felt he was unstable in a different way than the Ent of before.

“Lord Ent needs you.”
“… Me?”

After meeting Ion, Ent gradually began to stabilize. The frequency of his wandering thoughts decreased, and he focused more on the situation before him. Even when he wore a face troubled by worries he couldn’t share, just seeing Ion would make him smile as if those worries vanished.

“That’s precisely why I followed you here. Lord Ent needs you, and you have nowhere else to go.“
”…“
”My young master needs you. That reason alone should be sufficient for coming all this way to bring you back.“

Izel glanced up at the sky, already darkening as the sun set. Ion’s running speed was faster than expected, causing the delay. Though it had been a joke earlier, if they didn’t turn back soon, Ent would inevitably have to dine alone with Paladin.

“Do as you wish.”

Izel said in a neutral tone. His young master was right, as always. No one could be forcibly bound and kept by his side. It was all a matter of personal choice. His face remained expressionless as usual.

“If you’re leaving, I’ll admit it was my mistake and won’t pursue you further. But if not…”
“…”
“Then we return.”

At those words, Ion slowly lifted his head. His expression remained as unreadable as ever.

Return.

Ion quietly savored the word.