After confirming that the carriage and the servants hadn’t moved from where their masters had left them, Wolf went back towards the folded space. He smiled. As expected, the girls slept inside, while Wayde snored next to the portal which Wolf had placed against a rock, attempting to camouflage it as much as possible.

Well, they hadn’t slept for two days, Wolf thought and sat down to prepare his spells, as well as to let his body recuperate a bit.

Twelve uneventful hours passed, during which Wolf extended the folded space’s duration three times. Meanwhile, he rested, leaving a Detached Eye to observe the carriage. The Alchemists failed to show up, while their three servants cooked, ate, drank and played cards.

During the day, the three men sat around a picnic table, with several dozen silver coins at the center of the table. Wolf watched them bid and play as the winner of the bid sometimes took a couple of coins from the pot and sometimes returned them when they failed to meet their contract.

The youth observed the game with interest for a while, but soon enough got bored and focused on meditation to rest and recover his energy.

Wolf’s friends started waking up after sleeping for fifteen hours straight. As soon as he heard Matilda wake up, Wolf opened his eyes. The next to wake up was Wayde, followed by Anna. Barbara didn’t want to wake up even when Matilda shook her.

“Just a bit longer Nana,” she muttered drowsily, eliciting several loud laughs which promptly woke her up.

Barbara’s face was as red as her messy hair when she realized what happened.

They still don’t have the habit to use Soul Force to wake up as soon as they hear something, Wolf thought, recalling how he started doing that when he was a small child.

While Wolf smiled slightly everyone else had an ugly face. Their legs and buttocks were killing them.

“How are you guys feeling?” Wolf asked with a straight face.

“Better,” Wayde said with a face full of sleep marks.

He fell asleep leaning against the rock at the entrance, so his back felt even stiffer than his legs.

Nobody else deigned to reply. Matilda took out a Least healing potion and drank it, alleviating her cramps.

“I’ll pay for it,” she said seriously, and as her pain receded she smiled.

A moment later Anna followed suit.

“Thanks Matilda,” she said with a smile. “I’ll pay for mine as well.”

Barbara and Wayde didn’t indulge in using two gold coins to heal sore muscles. They didn’t have the money to waste on comfort.

Naturally, they felt horrible, like paupers. Wolf, however, felt even worse. He technically scammed his friends when fighting that Dire Bear.

“I’ll pay for everyone’s,” Wolf suddenly said, wanting to ease his guilty conscience. “Come on, Barbara, Wayde, please have one too.”

The women smiled, but Wayde gave Wolf an odd look for a moment before thanking him and drinking the potion.

Seeing that everyone was fine, and that Barbara was giving him a grateful look, while Anna was shooting him a nasty, frosty gaze, Wolf cleared his throat, deciding to divert everyone’s attention.

“They still haven’t shown up,” he said. “Since it’s already dark, they’ll probably be here tomorrow or maybe even the day after tomorrow. Do we wait for them, or do we rush back home?”

He directed the last question at Barbara. Her birthday was coming up, and that was the main reason everyone was in a rush. However, the birthday girl didn’t get the chance to answer.

“You really want to attack them?” Matilda asked as Barbara tried to figure out what to say.

“I won’t kill them. But they have something I need,” Wolf said then paused for a moment. “How about you head back after sunrise? I’ll catch up.”

Anna protested, but in the end everyone agreed to Wolf’s suggestion and the party left shortly after having breakfast.

With his friends gone, Wolf went back to staking out the carriage. Servants slept in bedrolls near the carriage, while the Land-drakes slept with one eye open, in the distinctive manner of their species.

If not for the drakes, I could hide in the wagon and just wait for those bastards to come back. Wolf seated himself as comfortably as possible.

He could slaughter the drakes and the servants in a blink, but such pointless violence just because their masters were scumbags didn’t sit well with Wolf. As for the servants, Wolf realized he cared about their lives less than the Land-drakes’.

The only thing keeping them safe was Matilda’s serious expression and her speech about not harming the innocent.

With nothing better to do, Wolf set up Alarms and started meditating. Every half an hour he’d wake up, but unfortunately the sun set and Alfred and Tommy failed to show up.

Two hours after midday on the next day, a commotion drew Wolf’s attention.

“Lords, where are your bodyguards?” Wolf heard a servant ask as soon as he stopped carving the ninth column.

Wolf’s eyes snapped open, and he observed the scene down below.

“Alas,” Tommy said dramatically, his acting absolutely horrid. “They fell to Monster Beasts. Such young people dying, it was a tragic loss.”

The Alchemists’ robes were in tatters, covered in caked blood. Apparently, they’d gone through several battles.

Damn, Wolf inwardly cursed. They don’t have any wounds. And look at him, saying bullshit with eyes gleaming like that.

Tommy poorly feigned a regretful expression, while shaking his head. Alfred, however, had a dark look. Wolf couldn’t tell exactly why, but it almost certainly had something to do with Tommy.

“Pack up. We’re leaving.” Alfred barked the orders. His voice leaked suppressed fury.

He ignored the scurrying servants while walking towards the carriage. Meanwhile, Wolf finished casting Subtle Swiftness.

With a whooshing of wind, he dashed into the middle of the camp. Alfred was just about to enter the carriage. Tommy and the servants followed him with their gazes.

Using this accidental distraction, Wolf appeared next to Tommy, wielding a slender spear.

*Crack!*

Wolf smashed the spear’s shaft onto the Alchemist’s leg, snapping his femur like a twig.

“Aargh,” Tommy howled in pain, jolting Alfred, the servants and the drakes as he fell prone.

The man looked up and saw Wolf’s furious gaze. The killing intent he felt from those eyes made him forget about the pain for a moment.

“You?” Tommy exclaimed in horror.

*Bam!*

Wolf slammed his fist into the chubby face, knocking Tommy out cold.

“Lord,” the driver shouted.

“He killed the Lord,” another servant shouted in panic, seeing blood oozing out of Tommy’s nose.

Wolf snorted as he looked at the servants drawing swords with shaky hands. If he’d wanted to kill Tommy, he wouldn’t have pulled his punch. Besides, a corpse wouldn’t wheeze while struggling for breath.

“Stand down,” Alfred shouted, making the servants freeze, their faces painted with indecision and confusion.

What’s going on? they wondered, but didn’t dare disobey a direct order.

“It’s good that you’re alive. How are the others?” Alfred asked with a sincere smile. He found Tommy’s actions deplorable and was genuinely worried about these students, primarily because of Matilda and Wolf.

“They are exhausted, but otherwise fine,” Wolf said, still wanting to pummel the knocked out Alchemist. “If that wasn’t the case, I would’ve killed him.”

Wolf’s bitter words and the icy gaze made the servants shudder. Even Alfred felt nervous deep inside, but didn’t show a hint of his true feelings. He was afraid he might trigger Wolf, who seemed ready to explode with violence at the drop of the hat.

“That’s good to hear,” Alfred smiled amicably. “I’m truly sorry for what happened. After he threw those things at you, I wanted to react. However, cleansing you would take too long. With that thing chasing, I had to flee. Please forgive me.”

Alfred told the truth, explaining why he didn’t go back. It sounded like an excuse to Wolf, but he didn’t know how he would act if he were in Alfred’s shoes. He certainly wouldn’t risk his life for some random strangers he’d paid to keep him safe.

Wolf nodded, deep in thought.

Then he moved quickly and removed Tommy’s Ring of Holding, scraping the skin of his fat finger during the process.

The youth ignored the four people as he scanned the ring’s content.

An egg appeared in Wolf’s hand, before he stored it into his Ring of Holding.

“I originally planned on slugging you and breaking your nose as well,” Wolf said calmly. “But I don’t believe you deserve such treatment.”

Am I supposed to thank you? Alfred’s face turned awkward.

The youth made an awkward face for an instant, trying to figure out how to say what he had to say. After a moment, Wolf chose to be blunt about it.

“Could you give me your Salamander eggs, please?” he asked.

Alfred hesitated for a moment as he watched Wolf throw Tommy’s Ring of Holding into the grass next to the unconscious man’s hand.

The old man took a deep breath, then sighed. Two eggs appeared next to his legs.

“I really need one, and I would like to keep it,” he said with a pleading look.

Wolf paused for a moment. Even if he wanted to return the eggs to their parents, he was robbing Alfred.

“How much does the egg cost?” the youth asked.

“You can’t buy it,” Alfred responded quickly. “Sometimes they appear at auctions, but they fetch around two hundred platinum coins.”

Alfred spoke the truth, shocking Wolf. A Monster Core from a grown Ninth Order Monster Beast cost two to five thousand gold coins.

Wolf scratched his head and grit his teeth.

“How about I buy them from you for forty thousand gold pieces?” he asked, dazing Alfred and the servants.

The servants suddenly thought Wolf was the Duke’s illegitimate heir. That would be the only way to explain his wealth and how friendly Lord Alfred was, despite Wolf knocking out Tommy and breaking his nose.

Alfred, however, knew Wolf was an urchin. To a commoner such a sum was unimaginable wealth. Even high nobles only brought out this kind of money in large business acquisitions.

The old Alchemist hesitated. The offer was fair, but he really needed at least one egg. Hatching and rearing a Pureflame Salamander could provide him with great help in his Alchemy.

“Why do you need these eggs?” Alfred asked as he thought aloud.

A moment later he cursed himself for asking a stupid question, however, Wolf answered.

“I promised the Salamander I’d get its children back home safely,” Wolf said. “He agreed not to pursue us, and trusted me enough to let everyone go.”

“Wait, you’re a Beast Tamer?” Alfred was stunned.

Beast Tamer was a very rare profession in the Empire. Those with talent for it shone during large scale Monster Beast migrations or outbursts in danger zones.

A talented Mage, leader and a Beast Tamer, Alfred’s mind raced, and he instantly knew what to do.

“I’ll give you the eggs, but I don’t want the gold. How about you owe me a favor instead?” Alfred asked.

“Sure, that sounds great.” Wolf smiled at keeping his money, then felt another invisible chain shackle his soul.

The youth didn’t mind. He was happy, thinking how much gold he’s saved. He never considered how valuable his favor would be in mere decades.

“In that case we have a deal,” Alfred smiled, not doubting Wolf’s word even for a moment.

The boy was a Mage. His words were binding. In fact, the binding was stronger the further he progressed in his profession. But even if Wolf was not a Mage, he was a man willing to spend so much money for a promise he’d made with a barely sentient Monster Beast.

Wolf came over to pick up the eggs. He gave the bleeding Tommy one last grim look before heading back into the forest.

“Thank you and goodbye, sir Alfred. I hope you never need my help,” he said with an air of confidence, then dashed back towards Mirkwood’s distant volcano.

***

A day and a half later Wolf jogged out into the clearing in front of the volcano. Not having to match everyone’s pace saved him at least a quarter of the time needed to get here.

At the slope of the volcano stood a large Pureflame Salamander. The Monster Beast noticed the intruding manling. It let out a shrill scream, then dashed towards Wolf, halting a dozen meters away from him.

Unexpectedly, the Salamander growled at him, but didn’t dare draw any closer.

“Easy. I brought back your kids,” Wolf said soothingly, taking out four eggs he recovered from Alfred and Tommy.

As soon as it saw its children, the Salamander roared excitedly. It gingerly approached the eggs, paying close attention to Wolf.

A scream came from the distant grotto. The Salamander Wolf had wounded came out of the volcano.

The youth considered leaving, but after a moment decided to explain what happened to the Salamander he’d made a promise to. He had to wait for a dozen minutes before the Monster Beast arrived.

“Hello—” Wolf started, but the Salamanders ignored him. They checked the state of their offspring, carefully took them into their mouths and then left towards the volcano.

Wolf couldn’t help but feel bitter. Those eggs were worth a lot of money. He went through a hassle to get them, technically engaging in assault and armed robbery before running back like an errand boy just to deliver them.

And in the end, he didn’t even get a snort from the giant lizards?

Wolf turned around with a long face and sauntered back towards the forest. Suddenly, he heard another roar from the volcano.

What? Don’t tell me you’re going to attack me now that your children are safe? Wolf thought, his expression turning ugly. If you do, I’m going to skin you and sell those eggs.

Last time Wolf had qualms about using Call of the Netherworld, and considering the Salamander’s vitality Finger of Death had less than twenty percent chance of succeeding. But now, his friends were far away and Call of the Netherworld would likely kill these dumb beasts.

He was about to prepare for battle, when he realized something and smiled. Even though the Salamander was rushing towards him, he didn’t feel a hint of murderous intent.