"Let us all take a short rest. Albe, Cari, can you help me change? Rui and Yue, please help wash the wolves."

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

After confirming that the twins ran energetically into the lake, splashing water everywhere, Qiong Xing turned back toward Albe and the others—

Smack.

The sound was light, and there was not much force behind it, but he was still surprised when Albe slapped his cheek.

"Stop it! Really... doing something like that... I... please, do not ever do something like that again!"

Albe reached out with a tearful expression.

Cari also clung to him silently, hugging him so tightly it almost hurt.

"I am sorry. I am really sorry. I made you worry, did I not?"

"I thought you were going to die! I thought you were dead!"

"Mama, do not die."

Qiong Xing realized that he had worried them far more than he had intended and reflected on his actions.

"I am sorry. I wanted to save that wolf’s child. And to do that, I had to get close."

He had been prepared to be bitten.

He had considered using magic to defend himself, but that might have caused the wolf to retreat immediately, and even if he could heal the pup, there was the risk it would attack again.

There was no point in saving it only to end up killing it.

To show that he was not an enemy, that was the only method Qiong Xing could think of.

"Even so! You did not even know if it would understand you, and you could have been torn apart!"

"That is true. I am really sorry... But I wanted to try. Even if it was just a small chance... That child was trying to protect its parent even while it was falling apart."

Even while staggering, the pup had come forward to protect its injured parent.

And the parent, despite its own injuries, had been desperately trying to fight.

"I am sorry. I am truly sorry. Thank you both for worrying about me. And thank you for getting angry, Albe."

As he said that, Qiong Xing tightly embraced the two who clung to him.

After being clung to and cried over by Albe and Cari for a while, Qiong Xing entered the lake to wash the blood from his body.

As the water cleared the stains away, he spoke. "So you were gray after all."

The two wolves had been covered in mud and blood, but once washed clean, it became clear they were gray wolves.

"Hey... could these be Fenrisúlfr?"

"Fenrisúlfr? Is that their name?"

"No, not a name. It is a classification. A giant wolf, a magical beast."

A magical beast?

"Hm? Are they different from normal wolves?"

"There is no such thing as a wolf this big to begin with. With this size and gray color, it has to be Fenrisúlfr. And it looked like it understood what you were saying too. Fenrisúlfr are famous for both their strength and intelligence."

It seemed they were quite extraordinary creatures.

Even though Qiong Xing had saved them without knowing, the way they looked at him and wagged their large tails made them seem no different from big dogs.

"How cute, how cute."

"...This person is hopeless."

Albe sighed in exasperation as Qiong Xing gently petted the wolves.

After washing all the blood away, they decided to have a meal since everyone was hungry, but Qiong Xing was still unsteady on his feet, so Albe and Cari insisted on handling everything while he rested.

"Rui, Yue, come here."

He pulled the two who ran over into his lap and wrapped them in a bath towel.

"You both did very well. Thank you. It is alright now."

As he gently stroked their backs through the towel—

"Waaah!"

In the next moment, they burst into loud cries.

Albe and the others turned around in surprise, but when Qiong Xing nodded to show it was alright, they returned to what they were doing.

The two of them could be strangely stubborn at times or perhaps patient.

There were moments when they would not cry honestly.

Sometimes they cried easily, yet other times, for some reason, they held it in.

Qiong Xing did not understand the difference, but in those moments, when he gently stroked their backs and told them it was alright, they would suddenly break down as if a thread had snapped.

"That was scary, was it not? I am sorry."

"Mama, no... do not go..."

"Yue... Mama... do not go... together..."

"Yes. I am sorry for making you worry. It is alright now. It does not hurt anymore, so I can hold Rui and Yue tight again."

Compared to Lian, the two of them developed quickly, but inside, they were still children.

No matter how fast they could run or how well they could speak, they still cried when they were scared and clung to him, calling him mama.

"Rui, you did well stopping your brothers, did you not?"

"...sniff... yeah."

"Yue, you helped mama wake up, did you not?"

"...yeah."

"Thank you. You both did your best. I am glad you are here. Thank you for being born as my children. I love you both very much."

"Waaah!"

As he continued to stroke their backs, saying sorry and thank you, they gradually calmed down.

Normally, they would have been the first to cry, but because they held on and did their best, Qiong Xing had been able to save the wolves.

There was no way the two who always worried about him would not cry after something like that.

Even so, they endured it and followed what Qiong Xing said, and he felt nothing but gratitude.

"Thank you for helping me. You two are mama’s treasures." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He was truly glad that these children were safe.

Wanting to save those wolves had been Qiong Xing’s own selfish wish, and it was only natural that Albe and the others who did not want him to get hurt would oppose it.