Hero’s Downfall Report

72 – Wolf Cub Tree (4)

Cain coughed slightly because he talked more than usual. Lily took out her handkerchief from her arms and quickly wrapped it around her neck.

It bothered her that she wasn’t that clean, but she thought it was better than letting her catch a cold. Cain showed her gratitude by giving her a small smile.

“My father used to say that I was better suited as a hunter than an orchardist. He felt quite sad every time he heard it. I thought he was saying that because he couldn’t work as an orchard keeper.

But my father was right. When he realized there were no wolves, the first thing I did was look at the ground. “To look for footprints or blood stains.”

“Eleven-year-old?”

Maria shot back, telling her not to talk nonsense, but Cain nodded her head. Lily agreed, nodding her head as if she knew she would do the same.

“The forest behind the orchard was the lord’s hunting ground. The gamekeepers would come to our orchard to rest, and if there were dangerous animals, they would catch them for us. As a result, there was a lot of listening to it.

There were no blood stains, but footprints were visible. It wasn’t hard to find because it was deep in the mud. It looked like a dog or a wolf or something like that.

But the direction was a bit strange.

If the wolf cub escaped, it should have gone out of the tree. This was backwards. It was coming from outside towards the tree.

It reminded me of the contents of a children’s book. A monster that can swallow even a human child. I was afraid that the little wolf might be eaten soon.

But that didn’t make sense either. Not only was there no trace of blood no matter how many times I looked, but in order to kill and eat the wolf cub, the branches blocking the gap in the tree had to be removed first. But it was exactly what I had built up.”

“It must have been too big a riddle for an 11-year-old to solve. So what did you do?”

“Whatever. I told my father honestly. His expression became extremely grim, and he first asked me if I was hurt. I said there wasn’t any.

When people ask, ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?’, I wondered what I should answer. My father’s next words were unexpected.

‘Let’s go and see together first. And as you go, tell me what happened and everything that comes to mind.’

My father was not a professional hunter either. But people who live in the countryside know how to do all kinds of things. There are as many different things happening in the city as there are, but there are only a few people who can solve them.

He looked at the footprints and said this.

‘Okay. Look. The gap between your feet is very long, right? A wolf cub cannot be this long. ‘This is a bigger wolf track.’

‘Did a bigger wolf open its mouth and eat it?’

‘It might have been so. But according to what you said, it seems like the wolf’s personality wasn’t normal either. Do you think you would have been caught and eaten if you stayed still?’

Honestly, I didn’t think so.

‘No.’

‘Then let’s look here.’

My father found a trace that I had missed. Underneath the tree branches piled up for camouflage, there were wolf cub footprints. I missed it because it was slightly erased.

‘Let’s see. The wolf that came here is big enough to eat a wolf cub. Instead of resisting, the cub even approached on its own feet.

But let’s look here. There are footprints coming in, but there are no footprints going out. Big wolf or cub wolf. ‘Where did it go?’

Whether I was eleven or not, I was inexperienced as both a hunter and a tracker. I could see the traces of coming in, but I couldn’t find any traces of leaving. When I couldn’t answer quickly, my father taught me a trick.

‘Isn’t it difficult? Part of the reason it’s difficult is because you lack experience. No matter how old you are, you don’t know everything.

There is no such person anywhere. Unless it is God in heaven.

But we all have another weapon given to us by God. It’s imagination. Let’s ‘imagine’ the wolf’s position.

Now. Let’s think about it from the perspective of a big wolf. This wolf didn’t even spin around and came straight towards the cub. ‘Why did they do that?’

From Noble mtl dot com

‘… ‘Because we’re family?’

‘Yes. This big wolf must have come to pick up the cub. If it is a dangerous situation and the cub is unable to defend itself, large wolves will bite the child’s neck until it bleeds.

Just like when dad or mom takes their younger siblings to the market, they carry them on their backs. That’s why the wolf cub escaped downstairs without even protesting.

Another one. Let’s say you go to a dangerous place. What would you do if there was a very dark alley and you had to go through it? Should I rush in right away, or should I wait and see?’

‘I think I’ll just watch for a while.’

‘But this wolf came straight at me. Look. Even though we came here from a place where the ground is soft, there are no traces of rolling around. What this means is, it’s not that the big wolf is fearless, it’s that he knows enough to know about this.’

A shiver ran down my spine, and I held on tightly to the hem of my father’s pants. But my father calmly continued his explanation.

‘While you were playing with the wolf cub, the big wolf would have been watching you. If you had harmed that bastard, I wouldn’t have left you alone. But since you and the little wolf became friends, I left it alone. ‘How do I know all this?’

‘… ‘Did you know?’

Only then did my father scold me severely.

‘This orchard is my land. Does it make sense for the landowner not to know about his land? You don’t know, but your dad was right behind you. With a bow borrowed from hunters.

A large wolf with silver fur on its chest was quietly watching you and me from beyond the range of the arrow.

I think it’s admirable that you’re trying to do something on your own. But doing something where you ‘might get hurt’ is dangerous.

Dangerous work requires the help of others. Then you should have told me. ‘What would you do if you even scratched the back of your hand?’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘No one should work alone. Do you understand? Even more so if it involves someone getting hurt or if life or death is at stake. So tell me. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? ‘Don’t even think about covering up.’

Well. I couldn’t avoid it. I couldn’t get around it. I confessed honestly. “I tried to hit the wolf cub with an ax, but it missed and hit the ground. The wolf tried to bite it so viciously that it was as if it had been stolen.”

Mary tapped the roof of her carriage with her finger.

“I guess she got a hard spanking on her ass?”

Cain shook her head.

“No. “She would have been better off getting beaten.”

“Huh? Did you hit her in the head?”

“It’s not like that. It would have been better if I ended up getting hit. My father took me to the hunters’ cabin. He told me to tell the hunters what I did in order.

At first, the hunters and ladies looked at me as if I was very surprised. Actually, I was a little flattered. It may have been because of a child’s unique sense of empathy and the belief that I could work like an adult.

So, I told a lot of stories. The face becomes increasingly serious. Even though I thought something wasn’t right, I ended up finishing the story.

The hunters ran out of the cabin. When the wolf appeared, the bell that was supposed to be rung was rung to gather people. The village chief, the monks, father and mother… Everything was serious.

‘Why? ‘What’s going on?’

I was scared. For what reason? I wondered if losing the ax was such a big mistake. My father called me with the Bald Friar, the man who taught me how to read.

‘Listen carefully. What happens from now on is not your fault. But it is the result of what you did.’

The monk pursed his lips tightly. You must have been worried about how to tell this to your child. But my father kept poking me with his elbow.

‘Wolves are similar to people. They live in families, work cooperatively together, and share what they hunt together. For a very long time, humans and wolves have lived in competition with each other.

But the people won. The wolf retreated into the forest and mountains. In most cases, it doesn’t come down to people. Wolves also have ancestors, and there are teachings passed down from generation to generation.

Fearing humans is one of them.

But… Now that rule is being broken. The fear of starvation has become greater than the fear passed down from generation to generation. That’s why wolves do really scary and fearful things.

It’s a human attack. There you… I even became friends with the wolf cub.’

‘That… Was it that wrong?’

‘Being able to become a friend means that you are no longer a person to be afraid of. And there is no wolf in the world that can be tamed. Such a wolf is just a devil wearing a wolf skin, and is not a wolf.

That wolf cub. And the wolf’s parents came down close to the human village, and when they saw you, they must have lost a lot of the vague fear they had about humans.

If you stop being afraid. After that… ‘They see you as prey.’

I knew it before I even understood it. That I put my village in danger. My body was shaking and I started crying. Just like kids do.

My father and the monk hugged me tightly. The reason I remember the conversation between my father and the monk was because I thought it was very strange even while I was crying.

‘This kid thinks differently, and he thinks in grandiose ways too. Are you planning on keeping them tied up in the village?’

‘As parents feel, it is good if the eldest son helps with household chores. But… He’s a bit of a waste, though. If only he were the son of an aristocrat… ‘

‘I heard that the emperor established an academy. As long as you take the test and pass, you can attend school without having to worry about tuition. If you are an imperial citizen, even commoners can take the test.’

‘The emperor?’

‘Did the nobles object a little? It wasn’t enough for Him to break the nobles’ arrogance. I want to show the kind of authority that I can make commoners as big as you if I put my mind to it. If it were this girl, the diocese could write a letter of recommendation.’

‘Let’s kill the wolf first.’

I said no, but I couldn’t help it. I just had to go home. The village was already like a battlefield. Cries were heard everywhere to find the wolf pack before it came.

There was only one thing I could do.”

Maria snapped her fingers.

“You went out secretly, right?”

Cain and Lily looked up at Maria. Lily looked very embarrassed and looked at Maria and Cain in turn.

“Did you go out again?”

“I told you. It’s strange and it’s crazy. I thought so.”

Maria chuckled and suppressed her laughter.