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The forest lord’s injury
Teresa and Mia caressed the head of the crying white-haired young girl to calm her down, and when she finally quieted down, we began our questioning about her situation.
“So I assume, you are the child of a creature called White Wolf, but because your mother is injured and unable to hunt, you snuck into this land and borrowed its livestock?”
“That’s right!” the white-haired girl nodded vigorously with a sullen face.
“It’s hard for me to believe. First of all, White Wolf should be the guardian deity of this area. But a thief?” Cliff shrugged his shoulders without even trying to hide his suspicion.
“It’s true! Haku is a prideful member of the White Wolf clan!”
“If that’s the case, then why don’t you show any proof?”
When they saw tears welling Haku’s eyes, Teresa and Mia, who were quite protective of her, gave Cliff a disapproving glare.
“W-What is it? Even you guys shouldn’t be able to believe it, right?”
“Can you take the form of a wolf?”
The white-haired girl nodded at my question and spun around, suddenly turning into a white-coloured wolf pup.
“Wahh….♥️”
“…….”
Just as Teresa let out a high-pitched squeal, Mia hugged the wolf pup with an ecstatic expression.
The boys’ eyes shrunk down at the spectacle, and they stared at the wolf pup.
Even I couldn’t hide my surprise at this mysterious phenomenon, though there was also that Dorahachi’s case.
There were also talking swords, like Mura, so when I thought about it again, I didn’t find it all that surprising.
“Sensei……..”
At Eight’s bewildered gaze, I took a sigh.
I had been adventuring with Stella and Carla for a long time, so I completely understood that once a woman turns like this, there’s no stopping.
Besides, Haku was a kid, which was the more reason to protect her. They wouldn’t even allow a scratch.
“It can’t be helped. Let’s hear the full details from her. You still have the sandwich we brought, right?”
“Yes. It’s our breakfast for tomorrow, though.”
“Then let that girl have it. I will make our share again tomorrow.”
“Yes!!!”
Mia entered the building we borrowed from the ranch owner while hugging Haku.
◇◆◇◆◇◆
Currently, Haku was sitting on Mia’s lap and nibbling on the sandwich in a great mood.
“That means the reason behind your mother’s injury is a monkey-like monster?”
“That’s right. My mother is super strong, but she was unwell these days, unable to move properly, and at that time those guys…..”
Mia hugged Haku tightly as she bit her lower lip in frustration. Perhaps thinking of Haku’s mother, who was suffering from illness, and her own mother, Mia gave me a pleading look.
“Sensei!”
I know, I know.
“Haku, can you swear to never do this thing anymore once your mother’s injury is healed and you return to your life like before?”
“Yes, of course!”
Hmph, children are best when they are honest. While caressing Haku’s head, I looked at the students around.
First of all, if there was a monster in the forest, her mother might be in danger. We needed to protect her immediately.
Exploring the forest at night was dangerous, but it couldn’t be helped right now.
“We’ll go to Haku’s mother and treat her immediately. Do you understand?”
“I don’t mind, but what are you going to do about that monster?”
“Of course, we will destroy it. Although weak, it’s a creature that defeated a forest lord. We don’t know when this place will be attacked.”
“Understood. We will get ready. Let’s leave everything here beside the crucial luggage.”
At Pluto’s instruction, the students began to move around.
I nodded with satisfaction, looking at the ongoing situation.
◇◆◇◆◇◆
Haku continued to advance toward the forest in a good mood while holding Teresa’s right hand and Mia’s left hand.
Compared to the girls that were already in an unusual tension, the boys were blinking their eyes repeatedly as if they were sleepy.
“Haku, how much longer?”
It was one o’clock in the morning. We’d already been walking for almost three hours. More than that would be too much of a burden for the students. Maybe we should find a convenient place to camp.
“We have arrived. There!!”
Cheerfully, she pointed to a small hole in a mountain with her right index finger.
This must be the nest of Haku and the others.
“Just a little more. Let’s go.”
After confirming that the students nodded, Haku led the way into the cave.
The interior of the cave, compared to how it looked from the entrance, was spacious and long.
We walked through a natural passage where the rugged rock surface was exposed, and came to a space of about 20 tatami mats.
In the corner of the room, a pure white wolf was lying down. From the look of it, it was considerably weak.
“Mother!!”
Haku reverted back to her wolf pup appearance and jumped on to her mother.
“These are unusual visitors.”
The white wolf turned its head toward us, as if finding us a hassle. The back half of her body was rotting due to injury. She was coughing once in a while, so there was a high possibility that the injury was infected.
I really couldn’t think that she had an appetite in this situation at all. I wondered if she was forcing herself to eat because she knew after how much hardship Haku had to go through to procure food.
“Sensei……”
With a very pale face, Mia gripped my sleeve. I patted her head a few times to calm her down.
“Look, I’m going to heal you now. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not for your own good. It’s for my beliefs.”
I will not create a world where only children cry. At least not within my sight.
I approached the mother White Wolf and checked her wounds.
It seems like the worst hasn’t happened yet.
It looked like there were no maggots, and I could use recovery magic on it. I raised my hand and activated [High Heal].
“I-Impossible…….”
The mother White Wolf spat out words of astonishment, looking at how quick her wounds had healed.
When I looked at it, she had conjunctivitis, a running nose, fever, and even her paws were hardening. Judging from the symptoms and the situation, it was probably canine distemper. It is a demonic disease that is believed to have driven the Japanese wolves to extinction.
Honestly, the fatality rate is too high and it’s an incurable disease without any effective medicines.
Even if the disease is cured, there is still a 50/50 chance that it will return. Haku was still too young to survive by herself, she still needed her mother. I would definitely heal her.
“Class G, we’re going to modify one part of the mission now.”
“Modify one part?” Pluto repeated in confusion.
“That’s right. The first is to construct a building for the White Wolf mother and daughter. If they stay in a place like this, they’ll never be cured. In addition, take care of this mother wolf!”
“We don’t know how to heal her!” Teresa shouted in uneasiness.
“Don’t worry. I will teach you how to by changing one section of the general education class next week,” I strongly assured her.
“B-But Mia and the others have never done this!”
The other students nodded their heads in agreement with Mia’s hesitant words.
“Are you going to give up because you are unable to do so? If that’s the case, then there’s nothing more for me to teach you.”
It wasn’t a threat but a fact. It was because I didn’t have free time to teach idiots who gave up before they could even try.
“Understand. I will do it!”
The other students silently agreed with Pluto’s slovenly words.
“Then, let’s return to [Accord] immediately. I will come to pick you up early in the morning.”
I forcibly began to teleport them to [Accord].
“Wait a minute. What about Sensei?”
“I will stay here.”
Spy would guard the students today. I couldn’t be careless.
“No matter how selfish y—”
With those words in the end, Pluto and the others disappeared.
Now then, there were a lot of things piling up to do, but the first was to make an item to restore the mother wolf’s physical strength.
There’s no obvious treatment to cure the illness called distemper. While it may be true, it’s not a fatal disease by any means. It’s possible to survive if your immune system wins over the virus. In this regard, if you restore your physical strength efficiently, your own immune system should be able to overcome the virus over time.
When I searched around in [Universal Creation], I stumbled upon the [Healing Bracelet]. It was one of a few I had created while researching magic orcs.
The countdown began, and with a pleasant sound, the [Healing Bracelet] appeared in the [Universal Storage]. This bracelet had a simple and effective feature, which was to heal the lost HP over time.
The rest was—
“Can you change to human appearance?”
“…….”
She nodded silently and the next moment, she transformed into a white-haired beautiful woman. She had long ears and looked just like a fairy. I wondered if she was a kind of spirit or something.
“You’ll have to live with those bracelets for the time being….”
She took the bracelet with trembling hands and asked hesitantly, “This…….is?”
“It’s a bracelet to restore your physical strength. At least it will make a small difference.”
The mother wolf’s eyes widened, and she trembled for a while as she fearfully put on the bracelet.
And then—
“What are you trying to do?!”
I asked angrily to the white-haired woman, who was kneeling in front of me with her hands crossed. I didn’t like that kind of joke in this critical situation.
“This miraculous work, you’re the Holy Spirit King, right?”
The Holy Spirit King? Come to think of it, I guess the king of spirits that the faeries believed in was named like that.
Believing in the highest spirit, did this mean the White Wolf was a kind of spirit? Well, it wasn’t very surprising, given that it could take human form.
Even so, infectious diseases like distemper could also be transmitted to spirits. That was a bit surprising.
“Sorry, but I’m just a simple human. Same as the children from earlier.”
“I see. So you are hiding your true form.”
“No, not at all…”
“At last, our guardian deity has returned to our forest, and we can no longer allow those filthy monkeys to run around as if they own this place!” The mother wolf shouted with her face flushed.
Well, it didn’t matter, but the fairies, this mother wolf, or any other spirit clans, why did they assume so much?
“Anyway, you are a very sick person. Stay calm. If you move, you won’t heal.”
After all, it’s not an item that can forcefully heal physical strength.
“No, but—”
“This is an order.”
I couldn’t allow any reckless acts anymore.
“As you wish!”
Haku leaned over to the mother wolf, who was finally lying quietly on the straw.
I also exhaled heavily and closed my eyelids against the wall.