<Chapter 26>
Shifters could conceal their animalistic traits to a certain extent once they matured. Their ears or tails rarely popped out unless they experienced a major emotional shock.
"Karis. You crossed the line first, so you're going to take responsibility for me."
"...Jackal."
"Let's live together, you and me."
It was dawn, and the pungent smell of alcohol permeated the dark air. When Jackal whispered, pulling me into his broad, bare chest.
It was the first and last time Karis revealed wolf ears in human form.
But the moment Kitty gave her a surprise kiss, Karis lost her composure.
Even after the kiss, Kitty still had her soft hands clasped together, her adorable lips still puckered out. Karis's heart fluttered.
"Kitty, you are really..."
At her voice, Kitty cautiously opened her eyes. Even though she was the one who kissed her, Kitty seemed a little shy.
'But I think Lady Karis likes it too.'
Kitty's cheeks flushed like ripe peaches. She even seemed a little proud that her expression of affection had worked.
Karis barely suppressed the urge to hug Kitty and stroke her wildly.
"Then do your best in your first lesson, Kitty."
"Hehe, yes!"
Kitty bowed and trotted away.
Jackal, who had been watching the whole situation with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall, asked in a low voice.
"Karis. Are you that happy?"
There was a subtle envy in Jackal's voice. Karis didn't hide her bliss at all.
"You wouldn't understand no matter how much I explained it, not having received a kiss from Kitty."
"..."
Jackal silently followed Kitty.
Theo and Deon, who were about to go out for morning training with Kitty, found Jackal and narrowed their eyes.
"Dad, why do you look so jealous?"
"I'm not."
"But right now..."
While the two sons tilted their heads, Jackal lightly stomped his foot.
Bang!
Magic power erupted, and a huge wolf appeared, filling the hallway. Kitty, who was between the two brothers, exclaimed, "Hic!" in surprise and crumpled to the floor in a heap.
The thick gray fur covering Jackal's entire body was well-maintained and had a wonderful sheen.
Triangular ears and fangs unmistakably revealed him as a wolf, and his golden eyes were still vivid.
'Scary. But...'
Kitty looked at Jackal's broad back. Her feline instinct, which loved high places, desired that spot.
Jackal bent his legs to lower his posture and casually said in an indifferent voice.
"I'll take you to your first lesson."
"Ah!"
Small stars began to twinkle in Kitty's eyes. Theo and Deon finally seemed to understand and chuckled.
"Mother seems to have scored points with Kitty first?"
"No wonder Soft Paws is wearing a cute set of combat clothes."
Theo climbed onto Jackal's back first, and Deon lifted Kitty and placed her on Jackal's back.
The three sat on Jackal's soft and warm back. Kitty couldn't hide her joy, rolling around everywhere.
"It's so soft! Will I be able to have such wonderful fur someday too?"
"Of course, you will. It's almost molting season, right?"
"If you eat well and sleep well, you'll grow wonderful new fur."
"Then it will be really wonderful!"
Jackal walked gently towards the training grounds, listening to Kitty's compliments one by one.
Elliot, who was in the training grounds early in the morning checking the surroundings, let out a hollow laugh as he saw the gray wolf slowly approaching.
'When it was the young masters' first lesson, he said they had to be raised tough and didn't even take them.'
He must be completely smitten, even though it's just temporary adoption. Elliot repeatedly vowed not to lose his heart to the little cat.
Jackal, who had entered the training grounds, lowered his posture and said in a stern voice.
"Go ahead and slide down."
"Kyaa―!"
Kitty shouted with joy and slid down Jackal's side. Theo and Deon involuntarily smiled as they watched Kitty, who was ecstatic with her arms raised high.
Jackal even used his tail to gently pull Kitty up again. Thanks to that, Kitty was able to enjoy the wolf slide for quite a while.
"It's really the best..."
Kitty, who finally stepped onto the training ground, ran quickly towards Jackal's face. Jackal subtly hid his sharp teeth so as not to scare Kitty.
"Thank you for taking me, Lord Jackal. Thanks to you, my heart is racing!"
Kiss—
Kitty kissed Jackal on the cheek. With a huge surge of magic power, Jackal returned to his human form.
"You don't have to thank me for every little thing."
"Ah, Lord Jackal. You forgot to put your ears away."
"..."
Jackal Gridwolf revealing wolf ears in human form. Elliot and the wolves in the training grounds barely swallowed their shock.
'Moreover, it seems he intends to observe the young lady's first lesson to the end.'
Jackal didn't go back and settled down in the training grounds. Elliot instinctively knew that today's lesson would be difficult in many ways.
Theo and Deon were learning martial arts techniques today, so they were sparring with other wolves far away. I stood alone in front of Sir Elliot.
"You're wearing a wonderful combat uniform. Shall we start the lesson then?"
"Yes, Sir Elliot!"
When I answered in a voice full of spirit, Sir Elliot nodded.
"In the training grounds, you should always answer that vigorously from now on."
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Then, let's start by teaching you what you need for future training. We'll start with the attention stance."
Attention!
I put my feet together and stood straight. Sir Elliot looked a little taken aback.
"Don't tell me you've already learned the attention stance? It's too perfect for a first-timer."
I smiled brightly and answered in a loud voice as I had learned.
"Thank you, Sir Elliot! It's thanks to working since I was young. There was an old man who said he'd rip my neck off if I didn't stand straight."
"...Excuse me?"
Could it be that I was the only one who lived hearing such things?
"W-well, there are one or two such places in every village, right?"
"Ah..."
Sir Elliot's gaze looking down at me changed slightly.
"It would have been better if you had learned from me first, instead of from such bad people, young lady."
"Is my posture still lacking?"
"No, your posture is perfect, but I mean it would have been better if you had learned in a warmer atmosphere."
Sir Elliot was being considerate of me. I smiled brightly and replied.
"I'm so, so happy to be learning from Sir Elliot now!"
"Ah… I think I know what Lord Jackal fell for."
Sir Elliot muttered something incomprehensible and covered his mouth. What does he mean?
With that question in mind, the lesson continued. I learned the basic stances needed for training and how to hold a wooden sword.
Next was a physical fitness test to determine the direction of future training.
"Now, young lady. You need to catch these marbles one at a time, as quickly as possible."
Sir Elliot poured round glass marbles onto a makeshift table. The marbles rolled quickly towards the edge.
"I love catching games!"
I caught all the marbles before they fell off the table. It had been a while since I moved my hands quickly, and my heart was racing.
"Honestly, I'm a little surprised. When I heard your nickname was Soft Paws, I didn't expect you to be able to move so quickly."
"I'm confident when it comes to catching things."
Sir Elliot recorded my marble-catching skills on the documents he was holding and then moved to another spot.
In the training grounds, there were various devices to train and measure the condition of the Gridwolf knights' bodies.
There were also logs of different heights, like stairs, to evaluate jumping ability.
"We're going to check how high you can jump at once. Don't push yourself too hard, just go as high as you can… Huh?"
Whoosh!
I jumped to the highest log at once. It was a little taller than me.
"How without a running start…"
Ah, come to think of it, wolves aren't good at high jumping.
"Um, I just like high places a little bit."
"All baby wolves are like that."
Sir Elliot gave a kind smile and gave a comprehensive evaluation of my body.
"Your muscle strength is very low, but other stats are much better than expected. You should continue to eat a lot of salmon jerky and meat."
"Yes!"
"If you were to handle weapons, a bow or crossbow that can shoot from a distance would be good."
I blinked for a moment. I had naturally thought I would learn swordsmanship because I had seen Theo and Deon training with swords.
'Well, I guess a bow is better than close combat since I'm small.'
But when facing Jerian, who is also a cat, I definitely wanted to fight with a sword.
Jerian always threatened other cats by tossing and catching small daggers.
"D-don't be too disappointed."
"No, I'm not disappointed."
"But young lady, your wolf ears are drooping like winter leaves."
"Ah…"
I hurriedly rubbed my ears and tucked them in. When did they pop out!
I felt bad for acting like a child and complaining to Sir Elliot.
"I'm sorry, Sir Elliot."
"No, it's alright. The young masters also learned archery first while building up their strength. If you think about it, the symbol of the Gridwolf is the bow anyway."
I thought wolves with outstanding strength used swords to use their power most efficiently.
Sir Elliot handed me a wooden bow and said.
"You know that Lady Karis went to a meeting the other day, right?"
"Yes. You said they had a meeting between wolves."
"The place is said to be the central training grounds, and there is a bow that the Goddess used there."
"Really?"
I asked with wide eyes.
"Of course. You've heard the story of the Goddess using a bow, haven't you, young lady?"
"Yes! It's in the lullaby too."
"In the middle of the central training grounds, there is a bow stuck very deep that no one can pull out, and legend says it's because it was used by the Goddess."
It somehow felt like Sir Elliot was telling me a lie to comfort me, but I didn't feel bad.
I hugged the wooden bow that Sir Elliot gave me tightly.
"I'll work hard, Master!"
"Master… That's not a bad title."
At some point, Sir Elliot's wolf ears had perked up.
