Chapter 153: Side Story 9

You couldn’t possibly unravel a thousand years of time in just a few hours.

While nestled in Dephensores’s embrace, Luna spoke of many things, and he quietly listened to every word. At times, Luna also listened to Dephensores’s stories. Seated against the massive wolf by the campfire Tenail had built in front of the mountain lodge, they passed the time in peace.

For immortals who lived beyond time, things like hours, weather, and seasons were of no consequence.

“Nothing seems to have changed,” murmured Dephensores, front paws folded and chin resting between them.

“You mean me?”

“You, Luna. You’re the same. And so is this place.”

Luna let out a small laugh.

“I hoped you wouldn’t feel out of place when you returned. Of course, a lot has changed. Our Tenail’s all grown up, and the other child has left to live a human life.”

“…That child must be doing well.”

“It doesn’t make me sad anymore. Watching the children that child left behind is actually quite fun. I recently met someone named Ysildus.”

“Ah.”

Dephensores knew of Ysildus. How could he forget the boy who was the very image of himself?

“When I saw Carlisle, and when I saw that child… it felt like our son had come back to life. Maybe it’s true what they say about wolves all being the same.”

The bloodline ran deep. The strongest always inherited the position of their forebears.

“Thanks to that, I haven’t felt lonely.”

“…I see.”

Dephensores exhaled warmly. Luna buried herself into his thick fur and smiled drowsily.

“Living quietly like this… like a human… I think I rather like it.”

“Says the one who keeps the stars out 24/7 because she wants to stargaze?”

Tenail piped up between them.

“I think I’ve earned that much. Your father came back after a thousand years! It’s not like it’s causing any harm in the human world, is it?”

Luna’s eyes as she looked at Tenail were warmer than usual. That was probably thanks to Dephensores being by her side.

Dephensores lifted his head and looked at Tenail standing there with his hands on his hips. Despite his scruffy hair and beard, the boy’s face was the spitting image of Dephensores himself.

“Hmph.”

Dephensores narrowed his eyes.

“Luna.”

“Yes?”

“How old did you say that boy is?”

“Exactly the age you were when you left.”

“Then he’s old enough to go on some adventures.”

Tenail instinctively took a step back, alarmed. Adventures? That wasn’t part of the plan. He much preferred living a cozy life with Luna. Staying here forever sounded ideal.

Dephensores let out a low laugh.

The Emperor of Temperchi was dead. It was a deserved death, but even so, Dephensores knew that his passing might stir chaos in the human realm. Having lived for so long, he had seen countless events unfold. He remembered the wars of the past all too well, and he had no desire to live through such turmoil again.

But as the god of this world, Dephensores could never fully distance himself from the chaos.

Still, he treasured the peace they had now. To preserve that, a little help for Temperchi might be necessary. And as luck would have it, he had a fully grown son who could handle the task. A satisfied smile appeared on Dephensores’s face.

“You’re at the right age to see the world, don’t you think? You can’t stay tucked under your mother’s wing forever.”

He spoke like a gentle, doting father.

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

Luna quipped, casually betraying Tenail despite all the care she had poured into raising him. 

Before Tenail could voice his indignation, Luna added, “But before anything else, go clean yourself up. You can’t represent a god and stand before humans looking like that, can you?”

As Dephensores blinked, Tenail vanished from sight, teleported into the mountain lodge. Luna burst into laughter. Tenail, who had lived a reclusive life until now, definitely needed to breathe some outside air.

Dephensores wrapped Luna gently in his massive tail.

“You were right when you said much has changed.”

“…”

“Alexandria has returned.”

“It means an old promise has been fulfilled. Those who were wrongfully sacrificed have come back. It was something that had to happen.”

“Yes.”

Dephensores’s gaze deepened. Alexandria, a name from long ago, one he had misunderstood for far too long. In truth, she had sacrificed everything for him. Now, she was said to be living under the name Alexa, together with Ysildus.

‘Alexandria.’

Even after all she’d suffered, she had kept her promise and come back. For Dephensores and for all of them.

“I should go see Alexandria.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. You could even personally escort Tenail to Thersion. You know, it’s customary for parents to accompany their children when entrusting them to others.”

Dephensores laughed heartily. To Luna’s eyes, Tenail still looked like a tiny baby. They say a child will always be a baby in their parent’s eyes. In this, Dephensores and Luna were quite different.

Tenail was Dephensores’s child. The child of the Wolf God, Dephensores.

He had fathered countless children across the vast oceans, so it wasn’t as though he held a unique fatherly affection for Tenail the way Luna did. All of Dephensores’s emotions were reserved for Luna. And yet, he believed in Tenail.

Not for any special reason. Simply because Tenail was his son, the son of the Wolf God. What Dephensores could do, Tenail could do too. Whatever Dephensores permitted, Tenail was equally entitled to enjoy.

“Tenail will be fine, Luna.”

Dephensores whispered gently.

“He is my agent in the world, a god who wields my power.”

“That’s because you’ve never been separated from him. But he lacks social skills. Power alone isn’t everything.”

“You’re worrying for nothing. Wolves all share the same nature. They’ll bow to Dephensores’s strength.”

Luna shook her head. It was a parallel line that would never meet. But then again, Luna and Dephensores had met at the end of that very line. So maybe Tenail, too, might find good people to walk with.

After all, Alexandria was in the human world now. The warmest and most loving of them all.

* * *

He had thought it would only take a day.

Ysildus was the heir of Thersion, and after being gone for so long, surely he had a mountain of tasks to handle. And yet, now even Terrun and Jeremiah and now Ysildus, too, followed Alexa around like ducklings trailing after their mother.

Even the patients were getting used to it.

“Alexa… ma’am!”

Though admittedly, calling her had become a little more difficult lately.

“What do you need?”

Terrun answered in Alexa’s place.

“A-hem… I’d like a bit more pain medicine…”

“Tch. Can’t even tolerate that much… Wait… ow!”

Terrun was smacked squarely on the back by Alexa and stumbled aside.

“I told you not to say things like that, Terrun!”

“Alexa! He’s totally faking it!”

“That’s not something you can just assume! How would you like it if someone called your pain fake?”

Terrun blinked.

“Would I not like it…?”

“If you don’t step aside now, you won’t like it.”

Terrun sulked and stepped back, defeated. Ysildus and Jeremiah looked at him with disappointment.

Alexa, however, was deadly serious. She acted like she’d been born to be a doctor, filled with a sense of mission. To her, this was sacred ground not to be crossed. Even Ysildus and Jeremiah, who often slacked off, knew helping Alexa with her work was the best way to earn her favor.

“Alexa!”

A loud voice rang out, Frey, now well enough to be discharged, called to her.

Though still limping, he looked far better than he had a few weeks ago, when they’d feared he might never walk again. It was thanks to the healing magic Alexa had been studying.

“Are you being discharged now, Mr. Frey?”

“Yes!”

Alexa beamed brightly.

“Thank you so much, Lady Alexa.”

“No need to thank me. Seeing you healthy enough to leave is more than enough for me.”

Frey had been the very first patient she treated at the clinic. The moment was understandably emotional. Frey hesitated before offering a single wildflower he held in his hand.

“I wasn’t sure how to properly express my gratitude…”

The small flower, offered in that knightly, clumsy way, brought a wide smile to Alexa’s face. She lifted it to her nose.

“This is perfect. It’s beautiful.”

Frey smiled back just as brightly. It was a moment where a new flower bloomed in Alexa’s heart.

‘Being a doctor… this might really be a wonderful job.’

……

T/N: If you love what you are doing, then that is definitely a wonderful job