Chapter 48

Lyuu, Rir, and Relaxation

I opened the throne room"s door and entered the area that made up its exterior . There, I found Lyuu poking her head out the cave"s entrance . She was slowly looking from left to right and back again, as if she were surveying her surroundings .

"The heck are you doing all the way out here, Lyuu?"

"Oh, heya Master . I was just hangin" "round "cause I think you said something "bout goin" out with Rir today . "

"Yeah, I"ve pretty much left him to his own devices lately, so I thought it was probably time for me to check up on him . "

Though, that"s more of an excuse than anything . To be honest, I just want to get out of the house . I"ve been doing nothing but practicing earth magic lately, and I"m starting to get sick of it . I need to go beat up some monsters to relieve my stre—Er, I mean "field test a few new spells . "

"That"s kinda why I"ve been standin" here . I thought I mighta been lucky enough to see him if I stuck around, but it doesn"t look like he"s here yet . "

I double checked the map after listening to her and confirmed that there was a marker indicating a friendly unit sitting right outside the cave .

"He"s been here . "

"Huh!?"

"Yeah, he"s just hiding . "

"What!? Why!?"

Lyuu"s face contorted in astonishment .

"Because he thinks you"re creepy . Duh . "

"W-Wow Master, you totally just gave it to me straight! You didn"t even try sugarcoatin" it at all!"

"I mean, think about it . How"d you feel about having someone basically constantly follow you around?"

"I know you think of him like someone you need to wors.h.i.+p, but he doesn"t like it when you treat him like that . I"m pretty sure I"d start running away from you too, if you did the same to me . It"s just… weird . "

"I-I getcha, but I can"t help it . He"s a fenrir, you know, a freakin" fenrir! You know how awesome they are!?"

Lyuu began telling me the legends pa.s.sed down by her people . According to folklore, there once existed a fenrir that fought off an entire army of humans and destroyed the town they were based in . That same beast challenged tens of thousands of monsters . It continued fighting them non-stop over the course of several years before finally emerging victorious . And, many years later, it brought vitality to the field in which it breathed its last breath . Flowers blossomed from its final resting grounds and soon grew into a forest whose lands remained ever fertile . The warwolf tribe had descended from that very same fenrir"s line . And for that reason, Lyuu"s tribe believed it was only natural for them to wors.h.i.+p the species as a whole; she didn"t think of her actions as even the slightest bit creepy or weird . In fact, her eyes almost seemed to burn with pa.s.sion as she spoke .

To be honest, a good chunk of that sounds like bulls.h.i.+t, but I guess it technically is possible . Fenrirs are legendary creatures, and apparently even Lefi found it quite difficult to defeat one, so it"s safe to a.s.sume they"re strong as h.e.l.l . But wait, fenrirs are wolves . Why would their children be beastkin?

I paused for a moment, only to remember that there existed a spell or something that allowed non-humans to take on a human-like form . Case in point: Lefi .

Wait, does that mean it"s possible for Lefi and I to have a ki—

My eyes widened as I realized where my thoughts had taken me .

G.o.d d.a.m.n it brain! What the h.e.l.l are you thinking!?

"Wow Master, your face started gettin" all red and stuff real quick . Did hearin" about the legends really move ya that much?"

"Shut up . That"s not it . I was thinking about something else . Don"t ask . "

I rejected the notion several times over out of sheer panic before redirecting my thoughts towards something else . Hearing about her tribe"s legends allowed me to understand the reason Lyuu revered Rir the way she did . To her, he was like a celebrity . She"d heard a lot about him, so seeing him in real life had caused the fangirl within her to freak the h.e.l.l out . Admittedly, I could see exactly where she was coming from . I likely would"ve had a similar reaction upon meeting any of my favourite voice actors .

"Do you want to join us?"

"Can I really!?"

"Only if you promise to listen to instructions . You"ll probably die if you get lost . "

"Erk… T-That sounds kinda scary, but sure!" I-I promise I"ll listen real good, so please lemme join ya!"

***

"Uhyyaaaaaaaaaahhh!?"

"G.o.d d.a.m.n it, Lyuu . Could you shut up already?"

I frowned as Lyuu, who was sitting right behind me, screamed loud enough to make my eardrums burst .

"I-I can"t Master! W-we"re going way too fast!"

She desperately clung onto Rir"s back for dear life . We weren"t going too fast, but she was still sure to go flying off the moment she let go .

"Rir"s been taking it easy and going pretty slowly . He can actually go much faster if he wants," I shrugged . "Stop, Rir . This spot"s good . "

The giant wolf used his whole body to decelerate and came to a complete halt in a matter of moments .

"Nraarghghgh!?"

Lyuu screamed coherently as she flew right off his back and smashed her face into the ground below . The stop had been way too sudden for her . She couldn"t help but get thrown off .

"Stop making weird noises and calm down already . "

"Y-You"re making it sound like I was doin" it "cuz I wanted to!"

She retorted as she slowly got back up . She seemed surprisingly energetic for someone whose face was caked in a layer of mud .

"Ugh… I should"ve known, but Rir"s real fast . "

"A-And why are you doin" the criticizing, Master!? You"re the one that"s acting all weird here! How the h.e.l.l do you expect a gal like me to hang on when we"re goin" that fast!?"

"I mean, we weren"t even going that fast…"

"You"re only sayin" that "cause you"re a weirdo! There ain"t no normal person capable of staying all calm and composed at that kinda speed!"

Wow . Talk about rude . It"s not my fault I like thrill rides . And it"s also definitely not my fault that they"ve been growing on me as of late .

"Oh by the way, you might want to get back here, and quick . You"re pretty much right next to a monster . "

"Huh!? Wait, seriously!? Holy c.r.a.p!"

Lyuu fearfully turned her head around, only to immediately start das.h.i.+ng back towards us the moment she saw the thing that"d been standing a bit of a ways behind her .

"Gelgwa! Gya gya!"

It was a creature whose meat worked quite well in dishes that typically made use of chicken: a rockbird . It noticed us and started squawking vigilantly . Its death metal vocalist-like cries were filled with wariness .

"Ugh, that"s loud as h.e.l.l . Shut up and turn into food already G.o.ddammit . "

I briefly focused my magical energies before rapidly bringing my hands together to cast a spell . I didn"t even bother getting off Rir"s back .

There was a low rumble as the magic activated . The earth right underneath the rockbird"s head shook and swelled, derforming into a pair of iron-like plates with spikes protruding from their insides . The two rose, lining themselves up with the bird"s head before closing in on each other, punching countless holes into the poor animal"s face . Blood sprayed all over as the now headless rockbird lifelessly collapsed .

The spell I"d just cast was one I dubbed "Iron Maiden . " It was a bit slow; keener, faster enemies could dodge it with ease . But it made up for its lack of speed with an incredible amount of power . I had no doubt that it could deal major damage to anything too sluggish to react to it .

"W-wow…" Lyuu"s eyes opened wide . "Ain"t that a shocker . You really did just kill a rockbird in one hit . "

She had a smile on her face, but it seemed kinda cramped; her mouth was twitching in disbelief .

"Yeah, they"re weak . Anyway, let"s go . We need to find ourselves some more prey . "

I urged Lyuu to get back on Rir while putting the rockbird"s corpse in my item box .

"Huh!? W-We’re gonna keep goin"!?"

"Duh . We literally just got started . "

"I-I uhm… really ‘preciate you lettin’ me ride Rir and stuff, but… could ya please go just a little bit slower?"

"No need to be so reserved . I know you love high speed thrills . "

"Grr!"

"See? Even Rir"s telling you to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride . Now get on . "

"W-why does it kinda feel like you guys are up to no good!?"

I grinned as I pulled Lyuu, who was trembling in fear, up onto Rir"s back .

"Alright Rir, go!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaarghhh!!"

And so, Lyuu"s screams continued echoing throughout the Wicked Forest for quite some time .

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