Chapter 39: The Promise to the Fugitive.
A few days later, Takeshi stepped out from the library he usually visited. The bell rang lightly like a farewell to a dear guest. He tilted his head and used his hand to block the scorching, brilliant sunlight—a giant orb of heat that disliked being stared at for long. He narrowed his eyes and looked up.
Takeshi was slightly surprised that time passed so quickly.
"Read just a little and it's already noon. So fast."
Suddenly, a figure flashed across Takeshi's eyes. A person in a black cloak with the hood pulled tight over the head was walking on the street. They walked very fast, overtaking others; perhaps this person had urgent business.
Takeshi noticed and followed with his eyes, but then he stopped caring and walked toward home.
"There's no shortage of strange people in this world. Probably someone from the Adventurer's Guild. Whatever..."
He strode for a while on the familiar road. Arriving at the old wolf's house, he was surprised to see that person standing opposite the old wolf.
"Huh? It's the black-cloaked guy I met on the street earlier."
Takeshi immediately ran over, gaze curious, and shouted:
"Hey, old wolf..."
Running past this person to reach the old wolf's side, he turned and asked:
"Is this your friend?"
The old wolf's voice was now very serious. His face was no longer indifferent but sank down, as if a major event were about to happen.
He reached out and brushed Takeshi back.
"Go home quickly. This is my business."
"Huh? But..."
The old wolf growled:
"Go back now."
Takeshi started, shocked at being snapped at. He was extremely bewildered and confused, but he still backed away and went behind. He walked with a puzzled face, his neck twisting back, still wanting to eavesdrop.
Going to the back of the house, he was pulled inside by a hand.
"A..."
Kazuka and Airi signaled for silence with a "shh." Takeshi immediately followed suit, his voice low.
"What's going on?"
Kazuka kept his gaze directed outside.
"Not sure, but the old wolf's face is quite serious, so we came out to listen."
The hooded cloak made it impossible for them to see the stranger's face. But the old wolf's face clearly showed gravity. It indicated that this person was certainly not ordinary and had come here with a not-so-good intent.
A deep voice rose, like that of a grown man.
"Your disciples?"
The old wolf did not want to waste time with uninvited guests. He growled, wanting to go straight to the point.
"What did you come here for?"
The man replied indifferently:
"I came to invite you to go. As for where, you know yourself."
The old wolf knitted his eyebrows. The wind brushed past, making the fur on his body fly slanted with the wind. But his mood was not like the wind; it was like a storm.
"Is this country about to have war again?"
"Exactly."
The old wolf was decisive, not wanting to be involved in anything.
"I don't want to go."
The man began to recount the past.
"You should know, a statue of you is even carved in the middle of the kingdom's Great Hall. You should do something worthy of it."
The old wolf showed annoyance at the achievement the man listed.
"Haven't I done enough?"
The man shrugged, as if not caring about the old wolf's words.
"Everyone believes and hopes you will return and command that army."
Old wolf: "This curse means I won't live more than three years. You lot go find someone else."
"We have a way to turn you back into a human. But honestly, a way for you to live longer doesn't exist yet, but within three years there certainly will be."
The old wolf sneered mockingly... mocking this very kingdom and himself, a fool.
"When I was turned into this form, why did no one come to help me? And yet now that there's work, you seek me out?"
The man in black shrugged.
"I can't know what those royals think. I only follow orders to find you and bring you back to the palace. Surely the King misses you very much."
"Besides, I don't need to explain much. You understand it yourself."
His voice dropped low, wanting to emphasize for the old wolf to hear clearly, adding gravity to the issue with just his voice.
"So... what do you choose now?"
The old wolf was silent for a while, then spoke.
"Let me think until the end of today. I still have some disciples to arrange things for. This time tomorrow, return."
The man did not hesitate and nodded.
"Fine. Then see you tomorrow."
He immediately turned and left. The old wolf hurried inside the house.
Kazuka's group was still hiding behind the house.
Airi, with a bit of contemplation, spoke her thoughts, needing someone to confirm them.
"So this country is about to have a war?"
Takeshi: "That's what I heard."
Kazuka: "Seems that old dog wolf has a non-trivial background, huh?"
Airi nodded, her gaze seriously in agreement:
"Of course he does."
After a while of hiding and waiting, Airi felt the house was silent and didn't see the old wolf. She wondered.
"Why is that old wolf taking so long? Is he sleeping in there or thinking about something?"
Kazuka: "Then let's try to crawl in and see what he's doing."
Takeshi hurriedly shook his head, feeling it wasn't reasonable at all:
"I don't think that's good. He'll know."
Just as he finished speaking, Takeshi and Airi saw Kazuka crawling close to the ground, pushing the door very gently to go inside.
Airi and Takeshi were panicked.
Airi: "Kazuka!"
After a moment, Kazuka ran outside and shouted, his voice urgent and bewildered.
"You two, come in quickly. The old wolf is gone!"
Takeshi opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"What? How is he gone? Did he go out the back door?"
Airi, with a thoughtful look.
"Or did he leave already?"
All three entered the old house. Every corner was searched by them, but not a shadow of the old wolf was found. No trace, no sound. The house suddenly became empty, as if the soul here had departed long ago.
Suddenly, Kazuka ran out from the old wolf's room, holding a piece of paper, voice full of interest mixed with a bit of suspicion:
"Hey, you two, there's this."
Airi and Takeshi hurried close. In Kazuka's hand was a sheet of paper. His gaze flashed with curiosity, but he tried to hide the worry behind his familiar smile.
Airi asked softly, voice light as wind:
"Is it a letter?"
Takeshi frowned:
"Did he send it to us?"
Kazuka smiled slightly, but this smile did not carry his usual playfulness. It contained a bit of evasion, a bit of choking emotion:
"Whatever, just open it and we'll know."
He opened the letter. Handwriting appeared, ink blurred in a few corners of the paper. The letter began as follows:
"To the brats, it seems I cannot teach you anymore. Actually, I was once the Grand Commander of this kingdom—the leader of the entire military force, below only one person, above ten thousand. But after being cursed into a wolf, the royal family found out. At that time, my reputation rang throughout the four directions, so they hid the truth and spread news that I had died."
"Now, the country is preparing for war, and they want me to return to command the troops once more. But I don't want to. I am tired. So... I am running away. Goodbye, brats."
Reading that, all three stood frozen. No one uttered a word. Not because of surprise, but because their hearts felt as if they had just been squeezed tight.
Kazuka stammered, as if unable to believe it:
"The... the damn old man... really ran away first... so fast?"
Kazuka flipped the letter further, his hands beginning to tremble slightly. The next lines were like a knife cutting straight into their hearts:
"Actually, I won't live much longer anyway. Perhaps when Kazuka is eighteen, I will no longer be in this world. We won't meet again. What saddens me most... is that you brats never once called me 'Teacher' in a normal way."
Airi could no longer hold her emotions. She burst into tears, sobs echoing in the empty house. Takeshi and Kazuka remained silent, tears silently sliding down their cheeks, falling onto the letter in hand.
They continued to read, voices cracking from the lump in their throats:
"I only hope you brats have a truly memorable adventure, becoming stronger after every footstep. I hope that one day, your names will echo across the continent."
"For me, that is enough. I have no regrets. You are the final disciples, and I believe you are old enough to walk on your own. I am at peace now."
"Brat Takeshi is the one I place the most trust in. As for Airi, you are a person with a soft heart, but sometimes too easily hurt. You need to be stronger, not for anyone else, but for yourself."
"As for Kazuka, I have a few words left. When light presses upon darkness, the truth about you will appear. When that day comes, remember not to let yourself go astray. Don't think too much, don't lose yourself. You only need to remember, beside you are always Takeshi and Airi. That is enough. Keep the memory of us like a small lamp in the middle of the night."
"The world out there is very dangerous. Always remember what I once told you: never believe completely in anything. Always keep a bit of doubt for yourself."
"I suggest you go west, across the Kingdom of Sylvaren, you will reach Baosheng, a place I think is very suitable for you."
"No matter where, there will always be bad people and good people, the strong and the weak. The important thing is that you must live on, and live worthily."
"Don't be sad because of me. Truly."
At the end of the letter, in a nearly hidden corner of the paper, was a small line of text, scribbled as if written in a final moment of weakness:
"Goodbye, you idiots."
That evening, all three sat around the fire. No one said a word. The fire burned silently, weak light reflecting on heavy faces. Kazuka still held the letter tightly, his hand clenched as if not wanting to let go.
Takeshi lay on a log, eyes looking up at the dark sky, not a single star left. Airi stroked Raiga, who was sleeping tucked in her lap, her hand trembling slightly.
The fire gradually died. Red embers flickered. The space fell into silence, leaving only the sound of the night wind blowing through the tree branches like someone's distant sigh.
Memories flooded back like a deluge. The training days, Kazuka's arguments with the old man, the times guarding the fire together, the charred pieces of grilled meat. The laughter that burst out when no longer angry.
Takeshi remembered the time he was hit on the head with a stick by the old wolf:
"Idiot! I told you to use only a little energy!"
Airi remembered the old man's serious gaze when he said:
"If you don't drink blood, it's very hard to get strong."
The pain in their hearts was not like ordinary loss. It was the feeling of losing a part of their memory, a father, a teacher, the only person who ever trusted them unconditionally.
Kazuka stood up. His hands trembled, eyes soaked but reflecting another fire. He slowly burned the letter in the dying embers, each line of text charring in the blurred light, carrying away all the emotions not yet spoken in time.
He knew that just sitting here and moping like this was not the way. He stood up, a look of determination burning like a flame. He decided to fulfill the old wolf's wish—that their journey must be truly memorable.
"You guys... let's pack our things."
Both Airi and Takeshi tilted their heads to look at Kazuka. Not because of surprise, but because of his eyes—the eyes of a person who no longer looked back.
"He said not to be sad. Now being sad changes nothing. Get up."
"We must definitely have a wonderful adventure. That old wolf... he really wanted to see that. Though he cannot see it with his own eyes, but... treat this as a promise to him."
The words about wanting to see a memorable adventure ran through Takeshi's head. He tried to close his eyes to restrain himself.
Kazuka continued to speak into the ears of both:
"From the start, we hoped for an adventure, and so did the old wolf. Take that old man as motivation."
Takeshi felt clear, nodded, and stood up with a resolute gaze. He clenched his fist as if grabbing determination from the depths of his heart:
—"Let's move on. Stopped for too long already. Thank you, old wolf."
"Fine."
Airi laid Raiga down beside her. Her gaze was no longer bewildered but full of resolve:
"Fine."
Just one simple statement from Kazuka... but it removed all the burdens in their hearts. From now on, they were no longer disciples. They were successors, children carrying the wishes of an old wolf who chose to live and die in the shadows.
Kazuka stepped forward, taking a deep breath. He turned back to look at his two best friends, his voice echoing in the middle of the night that was gradually fading:
"Our adventure... officially begins."