[106]
An arrow appeared on the floor.
– The winning rookie, please follow the marker.
Sure enough, an arrow had formed on the floor.
Following its direction, the floor suddenly rose with a hollow sound.
Chris, who had felt a slight vibration, jumped down nimbly.
– Oh no. Dear rookie, goodness gracious!
The mechanical voice exclaimed with amusement.
– You need to get on the platform to receive your award! This isn’t some kind of trap. Probably…
Along with those ominous final words, Chris could hear the crowd erupting into raucous laughter.
These were voices that had been barely audible during the heat of battle. It seemed they were deliberately broadcasting the audience’s reactions inside the arena through speakers.
Chris shrugged casually as if it were no trouble and leaped onto the platform.
Unexpectedly, cheers erupted.
‘Why on earth?’
Though puzzled, Chris settled into position.
As if on cue, the ceiling opened and a mechanical claw descended.
A tacky crown hung from its end.
– Today’s victor! Rookie Wolf! Everyone, keep your eyes wide open and watch!
The crown, likely designed for humans, kept slipping off the wolf’s head.
Chris let the crown slide until it was about to roll off the platform, then caught it deftly in his mouth.
“Wow! Wolf! Wolf!”
“Wolf!”
Surprisingly, this action triggered another wave of enthusiasm.
‘These people are truly difficult to understand.’
The platform lowered back to the floor.
– The next match…
Chris could hear the machine announcing the schedule overhead.
Meanwhile, Chris headed toward the door he had entered through.
It was a lonely exit compared to the grand introduction.
But Chris rather liked this solitary return, because he knew who was waiting at the end of this path.
Upon entering the contestants’ waiting room, Yuri was leaning against the wall, waiting for Chris.
Wondering why he was standing there uncomfortably, Chris noticed Yuri gesturing toward the opposite wall.
Chris discovered a hologram displayed there.
Numbers were rising on the screen.
– Those who bet on the rookie must have made quite a bit of money!
The same mechanical voice from the arena was broadcasting something.
“They host gambling alongside the matches. They even show odds and average win rates whenever a contestant appears…”
Yuri’s lips twisted into a smile.
He didn’t look pleased.
Chris was confused. Had he made a mistake?
He had won the match by carefully maneuvering without using his abilities.
This should establish him as a noteworthy rookie without drawing excessive attention.
‘I think I handled the mission well.’
“Anyway.”
Yuri slowly straightened up and clicked his tongue.
“You’re filthy.”
Chris kept his mouth shut.
Yuri was quite germophobic.
It was so bad that Chris had only recently discovered that Yuri actually liked animals. He had never once expressed any desire to keep a pet, possibly because of the fur.
‘If it hadn’t been for Yuri—who readily petted me when I was in wolf form when he lost his memory—I would never have known.’
There was no point in protesting since all that would come out would be wolf barks.
Yuri bent down and lifted Chris up.
“Bigger and heavier than when you’re human.”
Yuri muttered to himself. Meanwhile, Chris froze.
He couldn’t comprehend why Yuri would come close to a dirty, furry beast.
But regardless, Yuri carried Chris to the makeshift shower in one corner of the room.
“A bathtub would be better, but let’s make do with this for now.”
He turned on the shower, and water poured down from above.
Chris instinctively backed into a corner, whimpering.
“Is it too cold?”
At Yuri’s question, Chris shook his head.
It was more that he was startled by the sudden downpour.
“Then come here. You need to get clean.”
Rolling up his sleeves, Yuri took the soap and began skillfully scrubbing the wolf’s fur.
Muddy water ran off, and the thoroughly wet fur clung to the beast’s body.
Even after the voluminous fur was reduced in volume from the soaking, the wolf’s body was far from appearing weak or small.
Yuri’s hands moved from his back to his head.
‘Mmm.’
Chris felt his body becoming pleasantly relaxed.
It was quite different from when he was human.
His ears instinctively perked up when Yuri scratched behind them. And what about his tail? He belatedly realized that it was wagging vigorously from side to side, splashing water onto Yuri.
“Whuff.”
Unable to properly bark, he made a muffled sound, and Yuri slightly furrowed his brow.
“Uncomfortable?”
Chris shook his head vigorously.
“Stay still. It’ll be over soon.”
Chris wanted to say that Yuri didn’t need to go through the trouble, that he could wash himself.
After considering for a moment, Chris nudged Yuri with his muzzle.
“You don’t need to thank me.”
‘…That’s not it.’
Yuri was usually perceptive, so it was strange that he couldn’t understand this.
In the end, Chris decided to stay still.
It was better than making things more complicated.
After the final rinse, Yuri opened the shower door and reached for a towel from the shelf right next to it.
“You’re a lot of work.”
It sounded similar to something Chris had heard before.
Feeling awkward, Chris exited the shower stall.
The wolf shook its body to remove the water. It wasn’t a conscious action, but an instinctive one.
The problem was that it caused a disaster.
Yuri, who had been watching from a step back, was completely drenched.
“Yip!”
Chris looked at his face like a puppy who had just made a huge mistake.
The man, who was already half wet, now looked as if he had taken a full dip.
His expressionless face made it difficult to discern whether he was upset.
Yuri slowly brushed his wet hair back.
Chris stopped breathing.
Even though it wasn’t Yuri’s real face, Chris’s heart sank.
The well-shaped forearms visible beneath rolled-up sleeves, the elegant fingers disappearing into hair, and the neck and collarbone revealed through the wet, clinging shirt—it wasn’t hard to recognize Yuri beneath it all.
Chris gritted his teeth.
‘Damn it.’
Being in beast form, it would be difficult to hide his physiological reaction.
He quickly undid his transformation.
Where the four-legged beast had been, a blonde human now stood.
Turning away, Chris wrapped the towel Yuri had hung on the shower door around his waist and spoke.
“I could have done it myself.”
His voice sounded cold without even trying.
But Yuri, facing Chris, could tell he was flustered.
“The carpet might be cheap, but animal footprints would be troublesome.”
Yuri shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Your prize money might get docked too.”
The corner of his mouth turned up slightly.
‘As if we actually need that money.’
It was a joke, if anything. One that only Chris and Yuri would understand.
“I didn’t think you were the type to get close to beasts.”
“Beasts?”
Yuri looked puzzled. Chris felt slightly regretful.
“Well, I never heard you talk about keeping pets. I thought you didn’t like them.”
“Animals… they’re noisy, they shed fur, and they don’t understand what you say.”
Yuri mumbled, counting off on his fingers.
Just as Chris thought that Yuri indeed disliked them, he added:
“But if I had to say, I might actually like them.”
Chris’s eyes widened slightly.
“T-then why…”
“Why don’t I keep one, you mean?”
Yuri’s face suggested he had already anticipated this question.
A look half contemptuous, half exasperated swept over Chris.
“I already am keeping one. One that requires much more attention.”
“…Oh.”
Chris’s pupils trembled as he realized what Yuri was “keeping.”
“Moreover, since it’s a territorial animal, bringing in another would be problematic.”
His additional comment was almost like talking to himself.
Chris lowered his head.
“Then why would you keep something noisy, that sheds fur, doesn’t understand what you say, and requires much more…”
As Chris fumbled for words, he was helplessly drawn to the touch lifting his chin.
When his eyes met those purple ones, he blurted out his question in one breath, like someone who had just run a hundred meters.
“Why would you keep such a high-maintenance beast?”
“Because it’s high-maintenance.”
Chris could bet a million credits that he was making an incredibly foolish face right now.
“What, what does that mean?”
Before releasing Chris’s face, which he had been examining, Yuri whispered:
“I’m a human with a nasty temperament. I’ve found that having something that needs my care from head to toe suits me.”
It was true.
Even when life was harsh and difficult, having something to be responsible for forced him to keep going.
Clinging desperately to what he had in his hands, he had managed to come this far.
“And… you’re quite well-behaved for what you are.”
Biting only when told to bite, barking only when told to bark.
‘Isn’t that rather endearing?’
Chris stared blankly at the smile lingering on Yuri’s lips.
Honestly, this was unfair.
He had inadvertently felt jealous when Yuri said he liked animals despite having no particular connection to them.
But all along, Yuri hadn’t brought home a single pet because he was already keeping Chris?
‘…A territorial animal, huh.’
He couldn’t help but laugh inwardly at that remark.
Talking about Chris as if he were a possession, while allowing Chris to have Yuri, his “territory,” all to himself.
Judging by how his heart swelled at such a small thing, Chris recognized that he was indeed an easy man.
But what did it matter?
After all, Chris had no intention of living outside this territory either.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
