*Woof

[Hey. Stop fixing her bandage. Let's go.]

Lupa became grumpy as Vincent was fixing Ester's head bandage to cover most of her face.

"Don't worry. You still look cute." Vincent hurried to stop.

Lupa was telepathically nagging in his mind. But he didn't miss the chance to tease and see Ester's cheeks become red.

"Now we look like a group who barely survived the attack of the three gray wolves. Let's go." Vincent grabbed the handlebars of the small cart and started pulling.

Ester remained in a daze for a few seconds.

These words always made her heart jump. Soon she heard Vincent say, "You coming or what? We need a guide after all."

Ester took a calming breath and ran to them.

Hours passed.

Vincent asked for a break since the cart had exhausted him. They stopped and rested for a while next to some trees in the shade.

"Your device has changed the numbers since we left. I think it has added around two more." Ester took out the digital watch and showed it to Vincent.

"So around two hours has passed... Heh. We are halfway." Vincent thought more time had passed.

At least the path kept slowly becoming a decline helping him pull the cart down with ease.

Ester and Lupa stared at the watch attentively.

Every second, a different number appeared. It made the two curious about how it worked.

However, Vincent only knew it needed batteries to operate.

More hours passed while they continued to the village.

Finally, a village became visible. The three seemed to be on a hill as the whole village could be seen down below, surrounded by many hills and mountains.

However, it didn't have the appearance of a wealthy village.

Vincent could see many small wooden makeshift houses. Some even had thatch for a roof.

Spiked wood pillars surrounded the village. It seemed to be around three to five meters tall.

A wooden gate caught his eyes. It looked sturdier than the walls. At least it seemed somewhat safe, but one thing bothered him.

Why was the gate more durable than the walls? Was it to stop people from entering or for wild beasts.

Only at the center of the village were three stone houses. Next to them was a large tower-like building.

It was unmistakably for the noble to reside and work. The guard lord would be found in there with no need to search.

"That is Tival Village. " Ester informed of the village name. Then continued, "To the east is the Aero Forest. As long as you follow the setting sun, you will reach your destination."

Ester didn't include herself in her words. It seemed she still was contemplating on what to decide.

"Tival Village, huh? Lupa, remember to act harmless and attack no one. People will get scared of a wolf." Vincent turned his head facing Ester and, with a sarcastic smirk, continued, "They are even scared of the pretty Ester, haha. How more stupid can they be."

Ester blushed while Lupa frowned.

It seemed Lupa was getting annoyed that her mate barley called her pretty.

But how could he? She teased him too much already on the day he was paralyzed. His innocent heart couldn't bear more stimulation.

[I'm pretty too!]

"Yes, my little wolf. You are pretty too." Vincent patted her head to stop her nagging.

"Now remember the story I mentioned along the way. We are weak and heavily injured. We need to inherit the cabin and later sell the wolves." Vincent wanted to make sure Ester remembered the story while Lupa act injured as if they killed the wolves because of her.

Soon three guards wearing a cheap leather soldier uniform noticed two people and a wolf approaching in the distance.

The gate guards drew their weapons when they saw them covered with blood. Behind the strange bloodstained bandaged people was a cart covered by a few sheets.

This situation seemed strange, which forced them to become alert.

"Halt, who goes there! Is that white wolf dangerous?" The guard in the middle ordered for answers while the other gate guards held the sword even tighter.

"Gray wolves attacked us and somehow survived. My white wolf is harmless. You can approach it. " Vincent lifted a sheet while trembling his arms. He acted as if he could barely lift a simple sheet.

The three guards approached while minding the injured white wolf. Soon their eyes saw the corpses and human bones in the cart.

"Why are there human bones? Who are you? What did you do?" A guard asked immediately while taking a few steps back with his sword raised.

"Hey, leader. It's the freak. Did they kill Trek?" Another guard said while he noticed her small chest and red hair.

"The gray wolves attacked our cabin. Trek was drunk and left the door open. If it weren't for this man and his wolf, then I would have been their dinner like Trek." Ester urgently explained the situation as it was turning sour.

The guards stared and talked with each other for some time. Then one of them approached and asked, "Why do you want to enter?"

"I wish to sell the wolves and inform the Guard Lord about the death of Trek." Ester became afraid of the guards because they acted cautions and aggressive.

[I can't become angry, right?]

"You know what happened. We are injured and tired. Could you let us pass so we can leave and rest early." Vincent tried to stop before this situation escalates for the worse. Lupa was becoming impatient.

"I never saw you. Who are you?" A guard said, turning all attention on Vincent.

"I was traveling to this village with my pet wolf. I slipped on a rock and injured myself." Vincent looked at Ester and continued, "It was night when I saw lights. I saw wolves entering inside and heard a woman's scream. I rushed inside, but Trek was already dragged out by two wolves. We later found him eaten before we got revenge."

Vincent tried to continue with the story Ester invented. It was similar to what he told her to tell, but a bit different.

The three guards nodded at each other. Then one said, "Follow me. I will take you to the Guard Lord."

The guard ordered the gate to open. Soon the wooden gate started to rise.

Four soldiers soon approached them.

After hearing from the gate guards, the four guided Vincent, Ester, and Lupa without the ability to visit somewhere else. It seemed they were still suspicious of them.

As they were guided to the guard lord, Vincent couldn't believe his eyes.

The village was poor with badly constructed buildings.

Many slaves wearing an iron collar on their necks were used to opening and closing the village's gates. The slaves were humans and beastman.

Soon he noticed two things.

The women in this village, be it a slave or a villager, were well endowed. No wonder Ester had an inferiority complex about her chest.

The other thing was the stares. Vincent could see them stare at Ester as if she was something strange.

It was ironic because the person beside her was an otherworldly being; he received less attention than her.

"Uhm... Can I ask why this lady was called a freak, and people are staring at her like she is a monster?" Vincent became annoyed by such a thing. So he asked with the curiosity to hear the answer.

"I heard she could contort her body impossible to a human, and that she came from a different kingdom." One solder scoffed.

"Ye. I heard how she is... or that was forcing Trek to serve her. He could only drink and gamble from the depression she caused him, heh." Another continued with a sigh.

"She's bad luck. You better leave her." The third said with a hint of concern and being sarcastic.

The fourth kept quiet while he walked in front of them, leading the way.

After a while of walking and noticing more brothels than shops, they finally arrived.

In front of them was a massive six-story stone tower. To the side were three large stone houses, and on the other a barracks.

Vincent noticed how there were many soldiers training in both swordsmanship and archery.

Following the instructions, they left the cart near the tower entrance and entered inside.

After climbing two floors, they were met with an extravagant large room.

It wasn't like a standard commanding guard room. Instead, it was more like a noble's room.

The large room was decorated with many gold-framed paintings and gold-framed animal heads.

In the middle was long carpet and on the ceiling an extravagant chandelier.

Strangely, there was even a large bed with a few women who seemed to have a collar on their neck. They appeared to be sleeping in it.

At the end of the room was a large elegant desk and two well-dressed men discussing something with a grin.

"My Lord, I brought them because they need to talk to you." The soldier made a salute and presented Vincent, Ester, and Lupa.

A man wearing clean and elegant bright-colored clothing waved his hand. The soldier saluted once again and left.

'So this is the Guard Lord, huh? No wonder there are a lot of brothels. The one who supervises everything as three in his office bed.'

Vincent couldn't understand why he arrived next to such a despicable village.

However, he had to stay on guard after he noticed the two of them stare at Lupa.

The Guard Lord looked down and observed Lupa. "My my what a lovely white wolf you brought me. But its too injured to fetch a good price."

From his expression alone, anyone could tell he wanted to hang Lupa's head on the wall.

"My Lord, I'm sorry, but I came for a different reason. My pet served me well, so I wish to let it die of old age." Vincent bowed his head and spoke as respectively as possible.

Vincent was starting to get pissed for aiming at his first retainer.

"What arrogance! How dare you speak to the Lord with such disrespect!" The man behind the noble seemed to be his butler and personal guard.

He wore clean black clothes like a butler with a rapier attached to his waist. For some reason, he was pissed by their appearance.

The Guard Lord waved his hand, and the butler stopped.

"Name your price." The Guard Lord didn't seem to back down.

Vincent quickly turned his gaze from left to right. Then he noticed an interesting thing.

All the animal heads on display had their tongue out. This gave him an idea.

Vincent dropped on his knee and placed his hand on Lupa's head. Then he whispered, "Open your mouth and don't move your tongue."

Lupa obeyed and opened her mouth. As her jaws opened, a bandage with blood came to view.

"My Lord, as you can see, my wolf has lost its tongue. Its fur is damaged, and its ears became crooked from the fight against three gray wolves. It's head isn't fit for such a wonderful and exotic display my Lord has." Vincent explained while trying to puff the noble with praise.

"Tsk." The Guard Lord clicked his tongue in anger and stomped his foot like a mad child. Then said, "Just when I found a great piece for my wall, it had to be damaged."

Vincent felt relieved but hid his pleasant emotion with a poker face. It seemed the Guard Lord wasn't interested in Lupa anymore.