"Jio?"

Ju-hyeon tilted his head as he greeted Jio, Sankalut draped around his neck.

"Is something wrong? You said you wanted to rest for a while, so I haven't scheduled anything. Are you getting bored staying in the cabin?"

"The day I grow bored of being in my cabin will never come, not for as long as I live."

"Then what brings you to my house today? You usually send a letter before coming, but there wasn't one this time. Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Have you ever kept a dog?"

"N-no...?"

Why dogs, all of a sudden?

"A dog?"

"A cute little puppy."

"Hold on."

This did not bode well.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I found some cute puppies, and I was wondering what I could do to help them."

"If their parents are around, they'll take care of raising them."

"They said they were hungry."

"This old witch has finally..."

"I'll pretend I misheard that."

"You heard perfectly well."

"I refuse."

"Look, Jio."

Ju-hyeon looked troubled.

"I know it's really strange for me to be saying this to you... but you shouldn't go touching young animals when their parents are right there. Where on earth did you see these puppies?"

"In the ruined Abilas rainforest. My homeland as Arjio, which I've told you about before—the den of horrors also known as the Black Forest. A good opportunity came along, so I paid it a visit."

"You saw puppies there? Are you sure they're puppies? You've told me how dangerous and notorious that place is, and I just can't imagine you're talking about ordinary puppies."

"..."

"Jio?"

The portrait rested a hand on his chin, then declared boldly,

"There's nothing wrong with finding cute things cute, is there?"

"... Well, no, I suppose not?"

"Nor is feeding hungry beasts a crime, is it?"

"... Maybe...?"

"Then I'm innocent."

"I'd appreciate an explanation before you start proclaiming your innocence."

"Oh, honestly."

At last, the portrait's hair turned red.

"I came to share something adorable with you. Must you be so cold? You'll hurt my feelings."

"How do you get better at lying through your teeth every single day?"

The broad swath of black paint across the center of the frame made it impossible to tell where he was looking. But the mere fact that he'd transformed into Arjio, who was well suited to brazenly bulldozing his way through things, showed how unreasonable he was being.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"My dear Ju-hyeon, you needn't worry about a thing."

"Has it occurred to you that I'm asking because I want to worry about it?"

After an uneasy groan and some hesitation, Ju-hyeon asked,

"... You're not doing anything that threatens the safety of the world, are you?"

"Oh, heavens. What a terrifying thing to say!"

"That reaction was so contrived it just made me more anxious. What do you expect me to do?"

"As I said, I only came to share some delightful news."

"That you found puppies?"

"Yes. An adorable family headed by a boy breadwinner who's only just turned seven."

Arjio declared,

"They're my children, too."

"... In the same sense as Honey, or Dana?"

"Dana, if I had to choose, but they called me their father first. Doesn't that make us even closer? History itself proves we're family."

"What sort of scam are you planning to pull on an innocent seven-year-old breadwinner?"

"It'll all nourish flesh and blood."

"Whose flesh and blood?"

Silence fell.

"..."

"..."

Squinting at the portrait, Ju-hyeon asked,

"Does this have anything to do with that damned Demon King project?"

"Perhaps?"

"Go easy."

Despite his words, Ju-hyeon didn't think Jio was a wicked Divinity who would bring pain and wrath down upon the world. He was an evil god in name only, an old witch whose most wicked lifetime achievement was probably 'feeding people until they get indigestion.'

"And if you can introduce me sometime, I'd appreciate it if you'd arrange a meeting."

In the end, Ju-hyeon accepted the situation without a fuss.

"You don't have to if it would be a burden on you or that... boy breadwinner? I just thought getting to know someone you're already so fond of might help me as your manager somehow."

"I'll ask him once we're a little closer."

"All right. Thank you."

His words and actions might be rough and thoughtless, but the winds of change he stirred were not. Even now, weren't rich people and paupers alike doing good deeds in Black Cloak's name?

'It won't turn out badly in the end.'

Ju-hyeon trusted his foolish friend Jio.

"I've been learning to cook lately, so please visit when you have time. Tell me what that seven-year-old breadwinner likes, and I'll make that too. I've felt bad about always being the one you feed."

"A meal prepared by you personally, Ju-hyeon? I'm very much looking forward to it."

Arjio chuckled softly, and his hair soon turned black.

"Then I'll visit again when I have time."

"All right. Take care."

"May you have a peaceful day."

"..."

The portrait vanished.

"... Hmm. Puppies."

What foods could canines eat again?

* * *

"Hello, my friend! I'm here!"

"Oh."

The wolf waiting at their meeting spot approached with a gentle wag.

"Thanks for what you gave us last time. We couldn't give the pups the seasoned ham or jerky, but those chunks of meat you set aside for the little ones were a tremendous help."

"I was wondering what to do with all my surplus meat, so you were a tremendous help to me, too. A cook likes to keep his storeroom neat and tidy at all times, you see."

"You said it was golden-step sheep meat..."

The wolf was amazed.

"Everyone loved it because it wasn't contaminated."

The wolf folk and the other races had survived this long by doing their best to avoid and neutralize poison, but other living things could not escape the 'plague' said to have spread from the Black Forest. Its effects even threatened the food various creatures ate. Even if the wolf folk wanted to hunt animals for food, the Black Forest's beasts were terribly vicious, and their flesh was steeped in poison. Adults who had built up some resistance might endure it, but young pups were another matter entirely.

"Nothing we hunt is safe..."

"Then how do you usually prepare food for the children?"

"The poison is usually most concentrated in the prey's blood, so we chew the meat to squeeze some of it out before passing it on to the pups. It works much better than tools or herbs. We're not as clever as the foxes or crows."

"That must have been exhausting."

"Our wolf folk couldn't have survived this long if we hadn't done at least that much. It's now the seventh year since Mother, our chief, returned to nature, so I have no choice but to work even harder."

"A boy breadwinner indeed..."

"I told you not to call me that...! Wolf folk are considered adults at two. We might live longer than ordinary wolves, but we grow up far faster than humans! I'm not a child!"

"Leading your race at such a tender age, and so mature about it, too."

GRRR... WOOF! WOOF WOOF!!

Only when the wolf actually started barking did Arjio stop teasing him.

"My apologies. Your reactions make it hard to resist teasing you."

"I can't tell whether you're nice or nasty..."

"If I had to choose, I'd say nasty."

He was an evil god, after all.

"May I visit your village again today?"

"... You've already seen it once, so you know the wolves won't exactly welcome you."

"I'm well aware. I understand."

"Yes, please do. They're just startled to have a creature in human form approach them in times like these. They've grown up hearing so many bad stories about humans..."

"I fully acknowledge how pathetic humans are."

"Well, if you're willing to go that far."

"Besides, didn't the children adore me? I promised the little ones I'd come see them again after my last visit. Please don't make me a heartless, despicable man."

"Look, I already said yes. Don't make this awkward."

The wolf turned his enormous body toward the 'village.'

They lived inside a vast burrow they had dug to protect themselves from potential dangers. To survive with their pups in a forest where everything was steeped in poison, they had no choice but to create an open space containing as little as possible.

"Digging that burrow must have been terribly hard. It's impressive."

"Well... we certainly aren't as gifted at digging as the fox folk. And we're incomparably bigger than they are, so it must have taken considerable effort. We have our ancestors to thank."

"Come to think of it, how do the crow folk build their homes? They can't burrow underground, can they?"

"As far as I know, they settle as high up in the trees as possible. They weave together branches with as much poison removed as they can manage... Hmm. They don't all live together like us or the foxes, so I suppose that makes some things easier."

"They don't stay together?"

"Isn't that true of most birds? From what I know, even the fox folk haven't been living together for very long."

Even with intelligence equal or superior to humans', it seemed their basic animal habits and temperaments remained. Still, he hadn't expected them to live apart even in circumstances like these.

'I'd think staying together would be safer, but scattering certainly lowers the risk of being wiped out all at once. Either way has its advantages and disadvantages.'

Before long, their light conversation brought them to the wolves' burrow.

"Ahem."

The wolf cleared his throat, stretched his neck out at the entrance, and howled.

AWOOOOOOOO!!!

AWOOOO...!

AWOOOOOO!!

It was a signal announcing the arrival of 'family.'

'And announcing my presence at the same time, I imagine.'

Wolves possessed remarkable senses. Since they already knew one another's identities, going to such lengths to communicate was clearly a way of reassuring their family: 'It's all right. It's safe. I vouch for him.'

'Besides, there must be beasts that really do try to approach them disguised as family...'

Fox folk had sometimes approached pretending to be members of the wolf folk as though it were a prank, or stolen their food. There were also beasts in the Black Forest capable of mimicking another being's appearance and voice.

'No harm in being thorough, then.'

It was a harsh world, after all.

"Now, let's go in."

"Thank you."

As he followed the chief into the enormous cavern, the wolves' gazes settled on him, just as expected.

"..."

GRRR...

WHINE...

Some were wary; others were terrified.

'If there's one thing they have in common...'

Every last wolf was afraid of Arjio.

"..."

With a smile, he took the hem of his black cloak and gave it a light flourish. He was offering the day's bribe, prepared in advance, to show that he meant them no harm.

A vast mound of meat quickly appeared.

WOOF! WOOF WOOF!

WHIIIINE... HUFF!

WHINE! WOOF!

The wolf pups were the first to welcome it.

"Children, wait..."

"I told you not to go running up like that!"

The pups, who had not yet even learned language, didn't know why their parents and relatives were afraid of Arjio. He was an animal of a shape they had never seen before, but these children had never seen fox folk or crow folk either. Differences in appearance could not make them recoil from him.

WHIIIINE...

"Goodness, how can you be so adorable?"

Jio was moved by the innocent, adorable sight of the wolf pups coming up to greet him with wagging tails. It felt as though his heart, battered by terrifyingly obsessive mermaids and the cold-heartedness of modern society, was healing.

As the wolves faltered at the sight, the chief spoke.

"He's my guest. I guarantee he's safe to be around. Don't make him uncomfortable."

At their leader's firm voice, the mothers and fathers holding their pups by the scruffs of their necks began setting them down one by one. Wholesome, poison-free meat was so hard to come by in this world that they, too, wanted to avoid offending the 'guest' if possible.

"..."

WHINE...

A friend of the chief emerged from among the hesitant wolves.

"Welcome, guest. I apologize if we've offended you."

"Hmm, not at all. I thought I'd been given quite a warm welcome."

"I'm glad to hear you say that."

Still quite robust at thirty-five, the wolf also appeared to be an elder who supported her young friend, the chief. She bowed her head politely, then approached with a toothy grin and asked in a friendly tone,

"Could you tell us your name today?"

"I thought I already had?"

The portrait smiled.

"Call me Jio."

Here, 'Jio' was the word for 'beast.'

Arka let out a small, troubled sigh. It sounded faintly reproachful, too. That was only natural, since to her it looked as though he were using a clumsy alias instead of a perfectly good name.

"But that's not a name..."

"Why not? It could be."

He truly had no name.

(To be continued)