Frozen Wolf, Fire Dragon

Chapter 4

* * *

A sparrow chirped in the distance as Sion slept soundly. I dressed and stepped outside. As usual, there had been heavy snowfall in the forest, and a gush of chilly wind made me shiver.

Would’ve been nice if I’d been born in the west instead. I huffed as I cursed the cold north. My ice magic wasn’t as valuable in the north, where there was ice and snow everywhere, and it’s not like a mongrel like me could simply up and move to a different area, especially with a young child. It was practically impossible for a mongrel without a noble title.

“Gah, it’s freezing,” I muttered to myself.

Although I’d been born and raised in the north, I still always felt cold. Maybe it was because I was neither a total wolf nor a human. While continuing to curse my circumstances, I felt a tug on my clothes. It was Rahel, looking up at me.

I bent down to tighten her cloak around her. Blinking innocently, she began to ask, “Savior—”

“Just call me Miss…” I interrupted, but then hesitated, unsure what to tell her.

“Ok then, Miss Savior, where are we going right now?” There was a look of worry on her face.

I motioned at the basket on my arm. “We’re going to go sell these.”

“But why am I going as well?”

“Well, I thought we should go get your health checked out.”

“Why are you covering your face?”

“Oh, because I get cold easily.”

“Then why is my face covered too?”

“Ah, because you might catch a cold otherwise. Better safe than sorry.”

This felt very much like a conversation between the wolf and the Crimson Cloak in the children’s fairytale. After giving what I hoped were plausible excuses, I stood up. Before leaving the protection of the forest, I made doubly sure her face was well hidden. Perfect. Reassuring myself that our appearances were well protected, I held out my hand to Rahel.

“Now then, take my hand.”

Rahel stared at my outstretched hand for a moment before taking it in hers.

“Let’s go.”

Blushing a bit, she nodded. We left the woods together, her natural heat warming my hand.

* * *

We were headed to the town square. To be more precise, we were headed to a secluded corner near there—a hidden alley that only a few knew about. That was where I usually sold my herbs.

“Vee?”

“Oh, you’re here already?”

“You’re early today!”

“Well, I got some pretty good stuff for today,” I said vaguely.

Familiar faces greeted me as I arrived at my usual spot. I waved and said hello in a fake voice that was a bit deeper than my own. I had no choice but to use it in town since there were so many people who would look down on me for being a woman. After exchanging some greetings, I uncovered my basket. A passerby’s face brightened at the sight of a certain red-tipped herb. It was a fire plant—something that could be used to easily start a fire. It was very hard to find in the cold north, so it could be sold for a very high price. I had actually planned to hide it in the beginning and then auction it off when I had a bunch of regulars gathered around, but since we had one more mouth to feed, I had no time to lose.

Dammit, such a shame, I thought, sucking my teeth a little.

“How much?” he asked.

“Ten gold,” I said firmly.

“What?!”

“You shouldn’t be that surprised, you know what this is. It’s ten gold for one. No discounts, not even if you buy a bunch,” I said in a stern voice.

The man shook his head in disbelief. Even though he was a regular, and also happened to be a doctor, I couldn’t possibly give a bulk discount on a fire plant.

I paused. “Well, you know, there is a trade I’d make to offer a cheaper price...” I said, acting as if I was doing him a favor.

“What is it?” he said, his eyes gleaming with hope.

I motioned to Rahel, who was hiding behind my back, and said, “Examine her.”

“Huh?” He adjusted his glasses and looked behind me inquisitively. Trembling under the stranger’s gaze, Rahel hid further behind me.

“Who is this?”

“My sister.”

“Your sister? Why’d you bring her here?” he said in surprise as he waved to Rahel. It was unnecessary attention that other people might notice, so I quickly shushed him and said, “Whatever, just hurry and check that she’s well. You are a doctor, aren’t you?”

“Hey, what happened to confidentiality for your customers?” he said, looking irritated.

“Just examine her before I tell everyone you’re a swindling doctor.”

He fell completely silent at my words. This skilled but conscienceless doctor sold the medicinal herbs he bought from me to his patients at a much higher price. I’d often been tempted to bypass him and sell my plants to them directly, but it wouldn’t do any good to have more people know about my business. It was better under my circumstances to do business with only a few regulars—that way I could stay discreet. This was the reason why I took the risk of bringing Rahel out of the woods. It would have been too dangerous to go visit a doctor in an established hospital. She had clear, pale skin, silky black hair, and red eyes, not to mention her naturally high body heat. Those were all obvious signs that showed she was clearly not from around here.

“Hmm, well I guess I don’t have a choice,” the doctor sighed, then bent down to inspect Rahel. Seeing her flinch, I gave her a smile to show her that he wasn’t a threat.

“Hello, what’s your name?” he asked encouragingly.

Rahel shrank back at his question and clung to my side, so I patted her on the back and said reassuringly, “It’s okay. He’s not weird. Probably.”

“What do you mean probably?” he grumbled at me, and I shrugged in response. I was just speaking the truth.

As if my words had eased her fears, Rahel cautiously stepped forward.

Appearing to be used to reluctant patients, the doctor smiled warmly and quickly began to examine her. I explained some of her history that I thought might be medically relevant, but nothing more. Of course, she kept her mask on, which fully covered her face and eyes.

“Hm...”

The doctor frowned slightly when he finished his examination.

“How is she?” I asked nervously, readjusting my mask unconsciously. He pushed his glasses up a little and tilted his head to look at me.

“You said you don’t know why she fainted or why she lost her memories, right?”

“Correct.”

“Well, then there’s no way to know for sure, but the aftereffects of that trauma seem to be serious.”

“But then...”

“Don’t worry too much, however. In cases like these, their memories often come back after a few days. But the problem is...” His voice trailed off. “She’s extremely young. What kind of accident happened to her for her to lose her memories?

“Look, that’s none of your business,” I said as I tucked Rahel back behind me. I could feel his eyes looking at me with suspicion. As I shook the basket on my arm, I said, “Okay, that’ll be enough. Hurry and take the herbs you want.”

The man looked at me suspiciously, trying to work out what was going on.

“What, now you don’t want any?”

At my urging, the doctor turned toward the basket and picked out the plants he wanted. After buying up all the fire plants I’d brought, he looked back at me as he was leaving.

“Vee.”

“What?”

“I’ve been hearing a weird rumor going around recently,” he said, glancing once more at Rahel, who was hiding behind me again.

“That girl’s body temperature is abnormally high. You know that’s extremely rare here in the north.”

Damn. Does he know?

Adjusting my mask again, I spoke, trying to sound as if nothing was wrong, “I-it’s because she had a burning fever a few days ago. It seems like it hasn’t fully gone down yet.”

“Well, I’m telling you this just so that you’re aware...” he said in a low voice, as if he was telling me a secret.

“I’ve been hearing about a missing child from the south. Apparently it’s the little sister of the southern chief.”

I said nothing.

“You understand what that means, right? With the north and south’s situation as it is...”

“O-of course I understand! Do you think I didn’t know? I’m a proper wolf, right, so of course I know!” I was panicking, and instead of the fake voice I usually used, my real voice accidentally slipped out.

Well, now I sound really suspicious. I felt like I was going to cry. How is it that my plans always get so messed up? I pulled my hat down further on my head and cleared my throat.

“Anyway, I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but just... be careful,” the doctor said as he walked away. I bit my lip, watching him leave.

Ugh! I wanted to scream and shout. Why did I have to save her? I didn’t know how but I needed to send her back. If she stayed with me... Forget the storyline—the dragons were going to kill me!

After screaming internally for a second, I let out a huge sigh. There was nothing I could do at this point.

Let’s just head back as soon as possible.

I sold the rest of the herbs in my basket and was able to make a good amount of money, which was a good end to the day. I turned toward Rahel.

“Huh?”

I blinked in surprise as a faint, warm wave spread through me. It was only for a split second, but I’m sure it was real. But right away, the north’s cold air cut through my body once more.

What was that?

Rahel turned toward me as I tilted my head in confusion.

“Miss Savior?”

In her hand, she had a single fire plant. Apparently she had snuck one out of the basket. When on earth did she take that?

Staring at the fire plant’s bright red leaves, I said, “It’s nothing. I just thought I saw something. Let’s hurry back home. Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Anything’s fine,” Rahel said, smiling brightly.

“Hm, then let’s eat something warm.”

“Warm...” she said, her voice a little subdued now.

“Oh, no? Is there something else you’d like?”

“No, no, I’ll eat anything.” Looking up at me, Rahel smiled brightly once again, and I could see my face reflected in her clear, shiny eyes.

Wow. Maybe it was because she was the female lead, but even as a child, her smile was really lovely.

Yeah, let’s think positively. I might be a wolf, but I did in fact save her. If it wasn’t for me, she’d probably be dead. All things considered, she wouldn’t kill someone that had saved her, right?

I shouldn’t worry. She literally calls me her savior. Even if I were to encounter her brother, things might not end too badly.

I tried to be as optimistic as I could. I nodded my head and grunted to myself, determined to make this work. Seeing this, Rahel copied me, puffing out her cheeks cutely with her own look of determination.