The Loup-garou"s Past
The rising sun shone down on the Loup-garou. It was a beautiful sight. Mesmerizing.
"Owwoooooo…"
It was a low, thin howl. Though, it took me a moment to realize it. It had sounded more like the sound of a musical instrument. The lowest sound in an orchestra. There was emotion in it.
Without thinking, I took a step forward. I had meant to be cautious, but a sudden desire to make contact caused my foot to move forward.
And that small movement made enough sound that it could hear it.
The Loup-garou looked in my direction.
It shuddered with surprise and then took a step back.
"Wwait. I don"t mean to fight you."
Even I thought that I sounded unconvincing. After all, I was holding a spear in my hand.
"Why are you…"
"You know me…?"
I didn"t know any werewolves… Rachel? No, she was a wolf deity.
"We rode together in the carriage. But more importantly, why are you here?"
"What? No, wait, wait. In the carriage…?"
"On the carriage that brought us here!"
The Loup-garou said in an irritated voice. Suddenly its fangs looked very intimidating.
"…Wait, so are you…that beastkin?"
"Who else would I be? What? You hadn"t noticed it?"
"Of course, I hadn"t!"
Her appearance and even personality seemed different!
Even now, she was scratching the back of her head…? Ears…? In a way that looked nothing like that girl. I saw a rugged warrior. Well, now that I think of it, she had fought with bra.s.s knuckles…
"Oh, so we do know each other…"
"Have you come to kill me?"
"No. I just wanted to see the Loup-garou."
My strength seemed to have left me, and so I sat down under a tree. The Loup-garou walked heavily towards me and sat down to my side.
"…By the way, I didn"t catch your name."
"Ah, I"m Asagi. Just an Adventurer."
"An ordinary Adventurer would not have obliterated those bandits…I"m Lehaty. A wolf beastkin."
It"s hereditary. She added.
"It"s because of my ancestors that I look like this. And it"s because of it that I have to hide in the forest every two months."
"b.u.mmer…"
"That"s an understatement…arghh…it"s d.a.m.ned s.h.i.t is what it is…"
She looked up at the sky and started to curse. Her appearance and words were a far cry from that girl I met in the bathtub.
"Well, at least I was able to take a nice long bath."
"I would say it was way too long…you nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Oh, uh, I kind of overstayed and then someone came in and I had to wait. And then they left and I was about to leave, but you came in…"
She said as she scratched her hairy face. I guess she didn"t want anyone to see the ears…but who would think that a beastkin in hiding would be found in the bathing room of an expensive inn? Well, she probably had her reasons, but the risk seemed very big…
"I can"t return immediately once I become like this. But I love bathing… So why wouldn"t I want to take a long bath while I can?"
"Well, you have a point there."
"Right!? Oh, I"m so relieved. So I wasn"t wrong after all…"
I was a big fan of baths myself.
"Why don"t you just go to a hot spring?"
"A hot spring…I would, but they are too far…"
I tried suggesting, but there were apparently none in the area.
"North of the Alexia mountains, there is a break in the continent where it meets the sea. The island there are volcanic. And there are famous hot springs there."
"Islands beyond those mountains there…"
"You see? It is too far. I cannot go with this body…"
Ahhh… Lehaty sighed with disappointment. She probably dreamed of going to those islands one day. She was cursed with this trait and could not bathe as she wanted.
"By the way, there is something about you that is very wolf-like."
"Hmm? Oh, that… Uh, it"s a secret."
"Huh? What do you mean? Tell me! Tell me now!"
She said as she locked my head under her arm. It was seriously painful.
"Ouch!!!!"
"Oh, sorry."
"You. You… Think about your current situation…"
"Sorry-sorry. So? Why do you remind me of a wolf?"
It was a secret… Well, maybe I"ll just have to tell.
"I"m a thrall of Beowulf."
"Huh? Beowulf? Really…"
"Really-really. By the way, I happen to know a Fenrir."
"You are lying…that"s a legendary monster…"
Her reaction pleased me so much that I told her about Rachel as well. It was pretty sad. Like I was bragging to a friend.
But that made me think about Rachel. Maybe we could use a door to go to the hot spring?
"Lehaty. Would you want to meet this Fenrir?"
"Oh? I can meet it?"
"Yeah. Maybe your wish will come true."
"Really!? You mean I can go to the island?!"
"Probably. But I wouldn"t get my hopes up too high."
"That would be amazing! Thank you, Asagi!"
Lehaty hugged me happily. And while her fur felt quite comfortable at first, I immediately started to feel as if I were going to be crushed to death.
And so I promised Lehaty that I would meet her in the abandoned village the next day. I would have Daniela open the door to Rachel and we could meet her. Well, that was the plan, but who knew if it would go well.
"I hope it does…"
After making this promise, Lehaty told me why she was there.
Lehaty"s home was deep within a forest near Alessa. She had been living there peacefully with her family until the day of her tenth birthday. And that was when her life changed.
As the beastkin population was small, there was a tradition that the entire village celebrates birthdays together. And so Lehaty was surrounded by everyone and had a very happy day.
However, when the celebration ended… Just as a torch was brought to the town village square and to the shrine, she felt a change in her body.
It was like she was burning like the flames in front of her. She was burning just as the shrine was burning.
And when it was completely enveloped in flames, Lehaty howled and turned into a werewolf.
"It was then. People started to treat me with caution."
Lehaty said sadly.
It did not take long for her to be driven out of the village. It was hard for someone who was just over ten years of age to survive in the forest. It was a world where death was ever near.
It was ironic then, that after returning to what her ancestors had been, that Lehaty became far stronger than most monsters. When she was a werewolf, she was strong enough to kill orcs with a single hit.
Lehaty lived alone until one day, she was picked up by a pa.s.sing peddler. She had worn the clothes and hat of a dead Adventurer, which kept her nature hidden. She knew that humans were frightful creatures.
And so Lehaty followed the peddler to a town. As the peddler was well known, she was allowed in without suspicion from the guards. People would talk to her. The workers at the inn were kind.
And then she found the bathhouses. Lehaty usually just wiped herself with a wet rag. But she now knew the joys of soaking in hot water. It was too late now.
And so Lehaty became obsessed with baths. She would gather things in the forest for the peddler to buy and then use that money to go to the inn and just use their baths. This was because she couldn"t afford to stay.
Of course, such a lifestyle would not last for long.
One day, as Lehaty came to the town to sell what she had gathered, a wind blew her hat away. This was right in front of the peddler. She had been exposed.
Lehaty ran away in a panic. However, he did not chase after her, but just stood there.
The next day, Lehaty fearfully returned to the same place. The peddler was standing there as always. When he saw her, he smiled and motioned for her to come.
When she did, he said, "this is for yesterday" and he gave her the money.
Lehaty could not help but cry at his kindness. It had been so long since anyone was so kind to her. It was then that she realized how much a toll living alone after being exiled had taken on her.
"That is when I realized that there were nice humans in the world too."
Lehaty said with a happy smile.
However, tragedy would strike once again.