Hero’s Downfall Report

73 – Wolf Cub Tree (Complete)

Cain pulled the handkerchief that Lily had tied over his neck. Then the night wind stopped blowing to her. Her body is tired, her throat is cracking.

But as she was talking about old times, it felt like she had turned back into a boy again. To the day when she wandered through the hunter’s forest with a hatchet.

I guess it’s thanks to him that he continues speaking in a quite lively voice.

“Well. I just wanted to see you. Is he still my friend, or is he really the ‘wolf’ in the story that eats people that I only heard about?

The adults had already gone to the outskirts of the village. They were trying to find a pack of wolves. But now that I think about it, I wonder if they were trying to chase me away.

I brought everything that could make a loud noise. We also banged on pots and pans, and ooh! Right! Some people shouted, and some even blew trumpets.

Because I was in such a situation, I couldn’t just run. It would be a big problem if an adult caught you. So I went back to the edge of the orchard.

I remembered something my father didn’t tell me. There are traces of wolves coming in, but no footprints leaving.

I understand why. The orchard fence was full of leaves and fruit waste that had fallen during the storm. Because I went that way, there were no footprints left. I looked closely at it like my father did and found a mark.

I walked along the trail, holding my beating heart, and surprisingly, it led towards the hunter’s forest.

He was a bold wolf. Walking across the orchard into a forest full of hunters.

There was no one in the Hunter’s Forest. The hunters were one or two people in a group of villagers, acting as guides.

I think that was some sort of blind spot. How dare you come here? Such a blind spot. The wolves took advantage of that point.

I ran for a while thinking I could meet my friend. I stopped running in front of a small stream. After I stopped, I realized that my body was drenched in sweat and that I was quite exhausted.

And I saw that the surroundings had become quite dark. Because a lot of the sun is blocked in the forest.

Even though there were no problems since the road was just a matter of retracing the path, I was scared.

It was my first time going so deeply into the forest alone, and I heard the sound of birds. The sound of the wind. The sound of grasshoppers. I heard something other than the rustling of leaves.

The sound of dry tree branches breaking. A sound like something mumbling, and then something. The sound of jerking. There wasn’t one. There were several.

They were wolves.”

The clouds ate the moon. The grass bugs screeched as if it was a signal. Even the war horses purred.

“I’m not sure how many there were. Several of them were circling around me, appearing and disappearing through gaps in the trees.

But I remember it felt like dusk. Like a low night fog. I think there were definitely more than five. Ten? Fifteen? It’s something we don’t know.

I held the ax tightly. If you’re going to come, come. I made a loud noise as if I wasn’t scared at all. The provocation worked very well. Because the wolves bared their teeth and growled.

I did… The wolves suddenly became quiet. I heard a rustling sound and my friend came over. Gently wagging his tail, sticking out his tongue and panting.

I saw a large wolf behind my friend. It was the wolf with silver fur on his chest. Looking at his size, he was probably the leader.

As the guy gently placed his hind feet and buttocks, the other guys also quietly placed their bellies on the ground.

‘I have to go. People are looking for you. ‘I said I would catch you and kill you.’

I told the cub. The kid licked my leg like he didn’t understand. I slowly set the ax down next to me, so as not to startle the other wolves.

When the ax blade started flashing, only then did the cub growl and step back.

‘Go! ‘You’ll get hurt if you stay here!’

I threw up my hand. Hurry up and go. Stamp your feet and tell me to go quickly. I said I shouldn’t die, but how could a wolf listen to a person?

The cub was restless. How strange it must have been for a person who had been playing friendly up to now suddenly stamping his feet and making a fuss. If you see him laying down the ax quietly, it doesn’t mean he wants to fight, but he doesn’t even play with it….

The big wolf, who had been watching quietly, stood up. Without even looking in my direction, he walked up to the wolf cub and nuzzled his nose. It licked its head and body with its tongue, then turned around and started walking to the other side of the street.

‘Yes! Go!’

The other wolves followed the leader. The cub was restless between its group and me, and eventually let out a long howl at me. And then I followed my group.

The sun was setting when I returned home lonely, holding the axe. The adults haven’t returned yet.

I put the ax back in its place, covered myself with a blanket, and cried. Like an eleven year old.

Well. After that, there were some scary news for a while, but there was no mention of a wolf appearing in the village. Even when I left home and entered the academy.”

Lily wrapped her arms around Cain. She then even gently patted her shoulders and back. She would have hugged Cain so tightly if he hadn’t been hurt.

“I think it would have been great if you were my brother.”

“Really?”

“Yes. When I was young, I wasn’t very… It wasn’t fun. No. Now that I think about it, it probably shouldn’t be my brother. Since she can’t marry her brother, if it were her cousin….”

With a thud, Maria hit her roof. She was still resting her chin like a lazy cat.

“Hmph. “It’s not as bad as ‘The nun was so bored that she cut off her head.’ But why does she feel like she’s about to say something?”

“What?” Cain looked back at her Mary. “I did everything.”

“You didn’t say anything really important. So. Are you done crying? You must have seen and felt something. Lesson learned. Lesson. “There’s something like that in all old stories.”

“It’s a lesson.” Cain rubbed her fingers between her eyes.

“Well… If I were to really ask the question, everyone has reasons and circumstances.

Whether it’s an animal or a person, if you do something you don’t understand… I knew there must be a basis for it.

I think the second problem is whether or not it is acceptable to other people.”

“I know you’ve been wayward since you were young.”

Maria held her index finger up straight as if she wanted to stab it.

“You’ve been attractive since you were young….”

It was the complete opposite of Lily’s way of arranging Cain’s ears and the sides of her hair.

“Okay. I was wrong again. What. Joy. My score is 60 out of 100. “It’s not to the point where I can’t stand it, but it’s just not my taste.”

“I would like to give you 200 points.” Lily retorted, yawning. “But I think I should give it to you after I get some sleep. Please wake me up at dawn. “I will shift.”

“Sleep well.”

The carriage door opened, and Lily soon fell asleep. After taking over the reins, Cain looked ahead in silence.

“Cain?”

Maria’s voice. She doesn’t look sleepy at all. It looks like he really fell asleep.

“Yes. Why?”

“Did you like it? “That wolf.”

‘Is this what I really wanted to ask?’

Cain did not know. Maria was truly like a wolf. It’s hard to tell what she’s thinking, but it’s clear what she’s after.

From Noble mtl dot com

“I liked it. Just… So much so that I run without hesitation. She couldn’t even look at the family hound for a while. “Because I keep thinking about it.”

Mary laid her body on her side. She asked, looking up at the night sky with her arms resting on pillows.

“To be honest, when I first saw it, I thought there was this guy, you know? Of course, you probably thought of me that way too.”

“I didn’t think so. “Did you?”

“Again. Also.” Maria sat up suddenly, as if she had no choice.

“Normally people don’t do that. They want to be recognized. ‘Did you? What is it?’ Or, ‘Who are you?’ And she refused to protect herself. Like you, she doesn’t say ‘Yeah, did you do that?’ Like it’s someone else’s business. So what I mean is….”

“What do you mean?”

“… Therefore. Ugh. I don’t know.”

Maria lay down. She continued her words as if she was muttering while lying down.

“You talk about everything like it’s someone else’s story. Stories about yourself too. If you look at it up to that point, it might seem like you’re keeping your distance from everything, but that’s not true.

In fact, I am very emotional to the point of recklessness. They just don’t show it, and once they raise the flag, they run away without looking back.

You know that too, so you keep your distance. “Am I wrong?”

“Well. “Is that such an important issue?”

Unexpectedly, Maria burst out laughing.

“Just as it is your nature to deliberately try to keep your distance, it is also my nature to judge and measure each person. “Especially the man with the poor woman hanging next to her.”

“Who are you talking about? Lily?”

“Actually, you like it, right?”

Cain did not answer. Maria’s tone was full of confidence.

“I like him, but that’s why I want to keep my distance from him. No? I’m afraid that if I like it, I won’t care about the back and forth. “It was as if she had taken an ax and followed the wolf without knowing what to do.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Cain examined her steed. Anyway, they are walking well. But at the same time she glanced inside the carriage. Lily appears to be sleeping.

“… But Lily has to stay with the Security Bureau. I am the one to go out. So, any relationship beyond this….”

“No. Don’t be so avoidant. She pretends to care for Lily and tells her not to make excuses. I’m asking about your thoughts and feelings. “I’m not worried about Lily’s future.”

Cain finally let out her heavy sigh.

“I feel like you’re pushing me.”

“Ah. “I’m finally giving you a shot.” Maria seems quite happy.

“Okay. A bull should live like an ox, a lion should live like a lion, and an eagle should live like an eagle. But people’s lives are all the same. If you keep pushing it down like that, one day it will pop. “I’m trying to take the wind out of it in advance.”

“I see you are doing good things, so I guess you are a nun.”

“It means you shouldn’t take your anger out on women. It also means not to make Lily cry later. As I said before, I really like that kid. It’s pretty and good, but… It’s so blind. Sometimes it feels like it’s an obsession.

I think we met well. Even though you are reckless and blind, I don’t dislike you either. But I don’t know why you’re holding back your feelings. “What are you so afraid of?”

Suddenly. As if she remembered something she had forgotten, Cain answered without thinking.

“I’m afraid I’ll get eaten.”

The warhorse twitched its ears and purred. Cain comforted him by slightly loosening the reins. Her words made her shake her head a couple of times and then walk calmly again.

“I’m afraid I’ll be eaten by my emotions. And if you like it too much… Something I would definitely regret would happen. What you really want. “The things I really wanted to get, strangely ended up being misaligned or missing.”

“Why do you think it happened because you liked it? “That doesn’t seem right to me.”

She answered indifferently, as if Maria was nothing special. Cain understood that it was Maria’s own consideration. People who wanted to ease the burden on their hearts always said that.

“Then?”

“They say there are so many things in the world that turn out the way you think. How far should I walk from where to, or how many times should I breathe in a second? You know it’s not like this, right? “How many people have everything they wish come true?”

That is correct. Even if it is people who do the work, isn’t it said that it is the sky that makes things happen? But then…

“But…” At least if you look carefully before jumping into something. There will be less heartache. You will have less regrets.

And, I’m not sure. “Maybe it’s because I’m the son of an orchardist, but unless it’s a storm or a pest problem, apple trees give results the way you care for them.”

“That’s because you know how to be loved by an apple tree. I didn’t know how to be loved by a wolf. But I think it would have been enough to have developed that level of friendship with the wolf. Anything more than that is greed.”

“It was greed?”

“You still don’t think you can be friends with a wolf, do you? A wolf is just a wolf. It’s not a dog. “Like that b*tch with the sheath.”

Cain looked back at Mary with her eyes wide open. Maria calmly received Cain’s gaze.

She said, “She asked the knight of the scabbard. ‘What is so unfair to you?’ I bet you were the only one who asked that guy that question, right? Whatever the reason, do you think it will make sense?”

“No. “For whatever reason, I don’t understand why people would be mistreated like that.”

“But he wants to help like he did with the wolf cub. You tried to listen to what he said. I also told him to stop. “The guy even answered.”

“… That guy is human. Maria, I believe that guy is human. A suffering, angry human being. What made him do that, I need to know. That way, a pack of wolves won’t invade the village of good people.”

Maria sat down and closed her legs. The night breeze was quite chilly, so I hugged her body. She may have been discouraged by the questions that came to her mind.

“What if it’s the other way around?”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason a pack of wolves came down to the village of ‘good people’ was because of the war. It seems like the knight of the scabbard is attacking the empire, but what if the empire actually struck the knight first?”

After thinking for a moment, Cain carefully came up with an answer.

“Then we have to break that chain. A chain of hate and hate. I guess I’ll have to see how to cut it off. That’s what I saw and learned at Emmaus.

Hate is passed down from generation to generation. The same goes for hate and prejudice. When you can. When you can. I have to hang up. I believed in wolves. Even the wolves believed in me. But I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t bump into it, if I wasn’t prepared to get my hand bitten, if I didn’t start a fight.”

Instead of answering, Maria sighed deeply.

“I’ll give you 90 points.”

“What do you mean?”

“Story. It’s 90 points out of 100. The reason I didn’t give it full 100 points is because I wasn’t sure. “Do you believe that hatred that has been passed down for generations can be cut off in one fell swoop?”

It was an unknown matter. Cain suddenly wanted to imitate her father.

“No matter how old we are, we don’t know everything, but we still have weapons given to us by God. ‘Imagination.'”

“Because I cheated, I got 80 points. End. “No objections will be accepted.”

The carriage door opened. Maria crawled inside. I thought I heard the sound of her tossing and turning, and then I heard her snoring.

The wind blew with a hum. A small whirlwind blew in the shade of the tree, and the leaves and petals curled up. I saw Beatrice’s shadow standing in the shadows.

If I liked it a little less. If I had done the same to Beatrice as I do to Lily now, would I have been happy? Was she able to complete the job safely? Cain, like a pack of wolves, was caught up in the questions that were biting her tail.

Suddenly, my throat felt cold. It’s because of Lily’s handkerchief around her neck. I was drenched in sweat and even felt a little uncomfortable. If she keeps covering herself, she might catch a cold.

But when she put her hand to untie it, she felt her faint body odor. It was Lily’s. If you like it a little less. If you fall in love with it less. If things continue the way they are now, she’ll be around for a long time, at least until she retires.

Cain decided to try and think that this was the best time. She didn’t even undo her handkerchief. She simply put down her hand, and silently took the reins back.

The night is long, but the road is longer and straighter, so you can rest assured.