TFLCM - Chapter 134

I'm pretty sure Rachel said something when she gave this to me...

I brushed the snow off the ring with my hand.

Why did Rachel give this to me?

Could it be that a vague memory of the past surfaced, just like Noelier's?

It was when I was fiddling with the ring, deep in thought.

“Hitch!”

A bone-chilling wind shook my mind.

I sprang up from my seat, rubbed my arm, and looked around. It was a snowfield all around.

'Come to think of it, where did Aria go?'

We were together even when I entered Noelier's memories before.

Did Aria's magic go wrong?

'If that isn't it, surely she didn't fall somewhere else, right?'

If that was the case, it was a big problem. I had to find her immediately.

I walked forward, dragging my trembling body.

My feet were buried deep in the thick snow.

“Hitch!”

I sneezed repeatedly.

If I had known this would happen, I should have worn thicker clothes!

My whole body shivered. It was when I was moving forward, sniffling.

"...!" 

I sensed someone's presence. I quickly turned around.

I saw someone disappearing behind a large tree.

'Is it a person?'

I cautiously approached the tree where someone had hidden themselves. Thud. My feet were buried in the snow once again.

It was then.

Ice crystals flew in from behind the tree.

"...!" 

I reflexively raised my hand and knocked it away.

Woe!

I waved my hand. Then, the ice crystals flying toward me scattered into the air, like swirling snow.

It was the first time in my life this had ever happened. Was it because of Grandma's amplification magic?

It was when I looked down at my palm with a bewildered expression.

"You..." 

Someone appeared from behind the tree.

He had dark gray hair and golden eyes.

The man looked slightly surprised. It seemed to be because the ice he had created to attack had vanished in an instant.

He narrowed his eyes.

“Are you human?”

"What?"

"Are you even human?"

The voice asking the question was filled with wariness.

"I saw it clearly with my own two eyes. You fell straight from the sky."

"...You said I fell out of the sky? Me?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

The man suddenly got angry.

"I thought you were dead, but then you suddenly sprang up and used strange magic."

The man frowned.

"What is your true identity? I have never seen wolves that use magic in my life."

“Ah. This magic is..."

I was about to speak of the blanking magic inside my body, but I hurriedly closed my mouth.

The blanking magic was unknown to anyone.

Even my dad and I, who possessed magic, realized it belatedly.

If I were to tell that man about the blank slate magic, the 'distortion' that Aria had warned about might be created.

I shook my head with a look of knowing nothing.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, I'm a wolf."

"Lie."

The man cut me off abruptly.

"If there were a wolf that looked like you, the news would already be all over the North..." 

The man paused as he continued speaking.

"...Wait, are you by any chance Lily's family?" 

“Lily?”

"Yeah, I didn't really know at first..." 

He came towards me.

Looking at it up close, they seem quite similar.

I held my breath.

A wolf that looks like me.

'It might be the wolf I saw in Noelier memories.'

It was when I was about to ask the man for information about 'Lily'.

Whick!

The man raised his hand and whistled. The sound of the whistle echoed through the snow-covered winter forest.

Then, another whistling sound was heard from the other side.

The whistling sound, which had been repeated a few more times, stopped abruptly.

The place where the ringing stopped was where we were standing.

'Just like a group hunt.'

I had a bad feeling. I recoiled and stepped back.

“Where are you going?”

Then the man took a step closer to me.

"I'll guide you. The kids coming this way know Lily very well, too."

Watching him sneer, I could feel it.

He harbored tremendous ill feelings toward 'Lily'.

And I am very much like that 'Lily'.

'Enough to think of me as family.'

It was a big problem. I didn't know what would happen if I got caught by this guy.

"Hey, hey. You can't just leave like this."

As I looked around, a quick-witted man grabbed my wrist. My wrist ached from the strong grip.

What a persistent brat. I bit my lip.

Lily was one thing, but escaping safely was the priority.

I rolled my eyes and looked around. I heard a whistle, but no one appeared. It seemed it was taking some time to get here.

'Is it a relief that there is at least one?'

I quietly moved my right foot back. As I tightened my grip on my toes, I twisted the arm that was being held.

"I'm telling you, I'm not a bad person."

Then he naturally leaned his upper body toward me.

Now!

I used the arm the man was holding as momentum to lift my toes. Then, I struck the man's groin with all my might using my knee.

“Aaaah!”

The man pulled away from my side with a groan.

I checked my wrist, which had been grabbed. It was slightly swollen, showing just how tightly it had been held.

"Yes. Do you think you'll be safe after doing this...!"

“What?”

I lightly cut him off and made a gesture of hitting him. The man rolling in the snow flinched.

However, judging by the fact that he was still huffing and puffing and glaring at me, it seemed that I had unfortunately missed a bit.

I wanted to hit him one more time, but it would be a big problem if the man's colleague arrived in the meantime.

I looked around. There was so much snow piled up that it was difficult to gauge my location.

'Let's run away for now.'

I smacked the groaning man on the head and ran as far as my feet could reach.

Footprints were deeply imprinted on the snow.

At this rate, it looks like I've only marked the path I've traveled!

I bit my lip. A whistling sound was heard from afar. It seemed they had discovered a collapsed man.

"...Ah! They didn't go far!" 

A faint shout was heard, carried on the blowing wind.

I was anxious. I clutched the hem of my skirt, soaked with snow, and ran forward again.

It was then.

Kkkkkkkk!

The sound of a beast barking was heard.

A fact I had forgotten suddenly came to mind.

This period was the time when beastmen had just become human.

If they had turned into wolves, it was only a matter of time before I was caught.

It was when I squeezed my eyes shut.

Kkkkkkkk!

The sound of the wolf howling grew louder. The howl was directed exactly where I was.

'No...!'

I was gasping for breath. My footsteps were slowing. It was just when I thought I was going to be caught so futilely like this.

“This way”

Someone pulled me.

He lightly caught me as I staggered and hid behind a tree.

The person who led me was wearing a white cloak.

Golden eyes were revealed from behind the hat.

The person who led me was a man.

'Surely you're not on the same side as those people?'

As I took a surprised breath, the man put his index finger to his lips as if to tell me to be quiet.

"Shhh."

He glanced behind me and spoke in a whisper.

"Be quiet."

He took his index finger from his lips and lightly waved his hand.

Then, a growling sound like a beast howling was heard.

When I turned my head, I saw gray wolves looking at us.

"Eek!" I squirmed in surprise, and the man grabbed me as if to say it was okay.

"Wait. I'm trying to help." 

The man gestured toward the wolves with his chin. At the same time, the gray wolves ran forward as if they had been waiting.

The wolves ran across the snowfield. Then, the path I had walked began to be erased by their footprints.

"Those damn wolf cubs...!"

The men running after them spat out curses.

The wolves on the man's side sniffed as if trying to find me by scent.

However, my scent had long since been washed away by the strong wind.

"Fine. Let's just go. What would guys who live like beasts their whole lives know?"

"Anyway, they're uncivilized bastards." 

Spit. The men spat out defiantly and moved away from the wolves. Their figures completely vanished beyond the snowstorm.

I felt all the strength drain from my body. As I let out a sigh, the silver-haired man who had been hugging me pulled away from my side.

“Are you okay?”

I bowed my head.

"...Yes, thank you very much for your help."

If it weren't for this person's help, I don't know what would have happened to me if I had been captured by those men.

The man who had been following along to greet me, saying it was okay, had a stiff expression on his face.

'Why do you do that?'

Is there something on my face?

It was when I found myself fumbling with his face. The man, whose stern expression had softened, pulled his lips away.

"...How did you end up falling for such vicious people?"

"Ah. Th-uh, achoo!"

My explanation of the situation vanished with a sneeze. It was a good thing I quickly turned my head away; otherwise, I would have almost spat in the man's face.

As the tension eased, the cold I had forgotten rushed in.

The man took off his cloak and gave it to me as I was trembling.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

"I'm fine with it, so please go ahead and wear it."

"I'm really fine, achoo!"

At the sneeze that followed once again, the wolves turned their heads away as if they couldn't stand the sight of it. Thinking it would be better to just put it on in silence, I accepted the cloak with my head bowed low.

"...If you don't mind, how about coming to my place?" 

“Yes? But..."

" Those guys are probably desperately looking for you."

"..."

I quietly rolled my eyes.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no choice.

I glanced at the man.

It was definitely a man I had never seen before.

No, since this was inside Noelier's memory, it was only right that he be a man I had never seen before.

But it wasn't unfamiliar.

"...Then, please.”

I was convinced that it would be okay to follow this man.

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