Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru Chapter 97

   Lying down against the cold hard floor of a damp cave was never going to be comfortable. I could feel the sharp rocks on my cheeks. But I didn't want to get up or even move, really, ever since the horrifying howl of some animal from the outside.

   I couldn't walk a step further. 'I'm so pathetic,' was what I thought. And I meant every word.

   After enjoying our break midway up the mountain, I thought we were aiming for the summit, but it seems that wasn't the plan. Soon, the road veered off downhill, straight into the forest. When the path began to climb again, the sun was already setting. By the time we reached the cave, my whole surroundings had turned completely pitch-black.

"Marie, can I touch your feet for a bit?"

"…!?"

   When I opened my eyes wide, Wolf was kneeling before me.
   He kept insisting on removing my shoes. I nodded without much thought and he cautiously took it off. Wolf wiped my feet with a damp cloth and applied some kind of medicine. I sensed a pleasant feeling and closed my eyes.

"You can sleep like this, if you'd like."

   His gentle, motherly voice invoked the child in me and was sending me to sleep. Still, I shook my head and resisted. I heard a small laugh from the side when I was seen acting my age. 'So stubborn,' he whispered.

"I told you that I would carry you on my back, but you still refused, and you kept telling me that you could still walk, even though you were sore all over."

   I'm sorry. I'm totally reflecting on that. Even if I didn't want to be carried by that bird, I didn't have to refuse Wolf's offer, right?
   Well, perhaps I was just being a little obstinate…
At any rate, it didn't feel right to take advantage of Wolf when I was still trying to avoid answering his 'master' question. I wasn't going to try and depend on him any time soon.

"You really are stubborn… but you also have the guts to go through with your decisions."

   I didn't expect praise coming from the guy who was currently caressing my feet. My widened eyes was met with his usual gentle gaze.
   I felt awkward and changed the topic towards Crowe, asking where he was. It seemed he went out to gather some firewood.

"Alright. That's done. With this, I don't think there'll be too much swelling come tomorrow morning."

*pat pat*

My foot was tapped lightly as he finished his treatment.

   I didn't know what he gave me but it felt a lot better now. So not only was that ointment anti-inflammatory, but it also acted as pain relief as well?

"This is amazing…"

   As I murmured to myself, Wolf raised his face. He had been in the middle of carefully tidying up equipment that was spread out on the floor.

"Are you interested in hiring us now?" Wolf said with a wink, but I could only return a bitter smile. He gave a chuckle after seeing how bad my reaction was.

"Since I'm still holding back some info, it's not really fair to force the choice on you now, is it."

"Information? You mean what Crowe was talking about before?"

   Wolf's reasons to be hired were still unclear. Was it out of his own desire? Or was it decided as the clan's next chief? Crowe had asked those questions.
   Wolf nodded and mulled over an answer for a few seconds.

"If I had to give an answer, it would be neither, I think. The idea about having someone else as the master of my clan is something I wanted as the next chieftain. But I personally put faith in you, Marie, out of my own volition."

"I'm far from qualified for that position."

   That kind of role would require aristocratic status to be able to fund the entire clan. I also haven't forgotten what Wolf said about having good common sense along with wealth. This responsibility wasn't fit for a princess like me.
   And yet, even after learning I was a royal, Wolf didn't back down in the slightest and made an offer. While I was happy that he thought highly of me, I still didn't think I had what it takes to manage a clan.

"…And here's the most important thing." Wolf slowly spelled it out.

   He brought me back to focus on his next words. Gulp.

"My choice hasn't got the full consensus of the clan."

"Eeh?…"

   Wolf seemed embarra.s.sed about what he just said. When asked, 'Isn't this just the worst case scenario?' Wolf simply shrugged, 'Yeah.'
   I hated his nonchalant way of talking. I wasn't one to talk, but Wolf was really pus.h.i.+ng it.

   Would I be acknowledged by the Kua Clan? And would they accept me as their master? It wasn't just those two points that had me worried, though; there was one other major thing. If the Kua Clan truly didn't need a master, should I interfere with them at all?

"That was extremely important information. Please don't keep it to yourself."

"I proposed to tell you many times, but those old geezers wouldn't give permission and dismissed the idea."

"So you just decided to force everyone involved… Look, I may be an outsider, but even I think this whole subject should be planned out more carefully."

"There's no point arguing over this. It's already too late."

   Wolf's gaze drifted off into the distance. I had wanted to retort, but after seeing his face, I was at a loss for words.

"We have great skills and knowledge, but what's the point in keeping all of it to ourselves? I absolutely refuse to stay in these backwater mountains for the rest of my life, content with doing nothing and saving no one. I won't let them drive my life down into ruins like that."

"Wolf…?"

"The Kua Clan lives deep in the mountains, and the only way we contact the outside world is through selling medicine. There's no place that we frequent, and because of that, we're said to be hard to find. But if you look hard enough, the possibility of finding one of us is not zero."

   That's absolutely right.
   The information that Georg gave me said that they lived deep in the mountains southeast of Flamme. If you kept snooping around the foot of those mountains and nearby villages for long enough, then it's not impossible to come across someone from the Kua Clan.

"Also, not everyone who wants to find us is necessarily a good person. In fact, it's usually the good-for-nothings who kept coming back time and time again."

   Wolf then slid off his s.h.i.+rt, exposing the scars underneath. Thinking about it, for being a pharmacist, Wolf had surprisingly endured many wounds. I then realised where the topic was heading and my face turned blue.

"Some of our medicines are worth more than gold to some buyers. There are many idiots who try to kill or capture us to get their hands on some of our merchandise, thinking it's easy money."

   I finally calmed down and focused on reality once more. Wolf was chuckling at what he said with a lighthearted expression. However, I could tell the depth of the wounds in his heart.

"In the clan, some people have proposed that we shouldn't even step a single foot off the mountain. They say things like 'We should break off all ties to the outside world. As long as we can quietly live off our crops, we don't need money from outsiders.' But y'know, if we become like that, what meaning is there to our existence? The knowledge pa.s.sed down through generations from our ancestors would lose all meaning"

   Wolf's eyes shone with bright determination. So bright that even a wall wouldn't be able to block it.

"Watching so many people needlessly die just to save our own skin…I can't do that anymore."

   Hearing Wolf's real intentions for the first time certainly felt heavy.
   After noticing that I was biting my lips in utter silence, Wolf's eyebrows knitted as he straightened his posture.

   An awkward silence followed soon after until Crowe came back with some firewood.
   It seems that I fell asleep after a light meal. I felt bad leaving the lookout to those two, but thanks to them I've recovered quite nicely.
   Wolf's medicine was very effective, too. My foot pain was completely gone.

   We left via the narrow path. The visibility was pretty bad thanks to the early morning sun.
   I struggled not to lose sight of Wolf who was walking ahead of me.

"We'll be there soon."

   It's been an hour since Wolf said that.
   How much longer is 'soon,' I wonder? Wolf's feet stopped moving just as I spat out a sigh.
Noticing he was staring at something, I came up beside him.

   Rows of houses began to emerge from the mountain fog.

"Wow."

   It was a quiet village that was caught between two mountains.
   A thin path weaved through the houses sitting on the hillside, almost like a river. Next to them were fenced animals and farm crops. Beyond that, vast fields spread as far as the eye could see.

"Is this the Kua Clan village?"

"Yep. This is where I was born."

   'Though there's nothing to see here.' Wolf quickly followed up his words.

"I'll go on ahead. You can stay here for now."

"Eh? Are you going to leave us behind?!"

   I panicked and hurriedly stopped him. No way was I going to stay in some strange place I didn't know. Wolf gently grabbed my shoulders to calm me down.

"I will send a friend over right away. I'm going to go convince my father, so until then I want you to stay hidden at their house."

"I can't tell if I'm hearing a brilliant on-the-spot strategy or some suicidal plan."

"Well, the fact that I get to meet you was something I would've never dreamed of happening."

   While I sighed in disbelief, Wolf on the contrary laughed his heart out without a hint of fatigue.

"Don't worry. I'll come back for you. Wait and see."

"There's no need for that."

   Another voice cut into our conversation.
   When I looked back, a spear tip was thrusted in my face. Crowe, who was supposed to be the rearguard, was nowhere to be seen, and in his place was a complete stranger. I soon realised that the stranger wasn't alone. And before I knew it, Wolf and I were completely surrounded.

"Thanks for the warm welcome." Wolf growled in a low, sarcastic voice, his back against mine.

   These were probably the other clan members, and they clearly weren't on Wolf's side.

   Wait, doesn't this mean we're in quite the pinch?

TN: I've been busy. The next one will probably be faster than this one. Sorry for the longer delay than usual.

Discord:

EN: Wolf's back, and he gifts us with more weird, confusing sentences! I really missed the guy, he's suuuuuuuper fun. Didn't know he had a herbal ma.s.sage spa, though. Also, I love how Crowe was literally gone from the chapter, save from a few mentions. He practically just 'noped' at the very end of this lol

EN 2: Honestly I feel like this situation is just like a high schooler bringing home a bf/gf/so and then making them hide because 'I kind of didn't tell my family about you so-' Also Crowe? Who dat? I ain't seen him.