When Ariel cast the defensive skill 'Shield', a blue barrier formed around the silver wolf.

The orc's axe struck down on that blue barrier.

With a clang, the orc's axe went flying away.

"chwiig...?"

(T/N: What kind of orc makes a sound like that?)

The orc stepped back, holding his throbbing wrist. His face showed a puzzled expression.

He had swung the axe with full force to sever the silver wolf's neck in one blow, but inexplicably the blue barrier blocked it - an incomprehensible phenomenon.

"chwiig chwiig!"

The other orcs excitedly attacked the silver wolf from the sides.

They furiously swung their axes, trying to break through the blue barrier surrounding the silver wolf.

But the blue barrier remained unscathed.

It was only natural. There was no way the orcs could break through the defensive skill Ariel had cast.

"chwiig, chwiig!"

Frustrated, the orcs stomped their feet, pulled their hair, and vented their anger.

They had hunted down the silver wolf with such difficulty, only for this blue barrier to interfere!

But they couldn't give up now either.

The silver wolf's pups were too small to fill their bellies even if eaten.

At least the mother's large build would allow them to eat their fill.

However, no matter what they tried, the blue barrier didn't budge.

In their vexation, some orcs even headbutted the blue barrier, only to bleed out and die instantly.

Meanwhile, Ariel and Lu watched the situation unfold from atop the tree.

"Sister, are you trying to save that silver wolf?"

Ariel nodded at Lu's question.

She herself didn't know the exact reason. She just felt pity seeing the silver wolf who had lost her pups.

"As expected of our righteous sister!"

From the orcs' perspective, it may not seem righteous at all, but justice is inherently a matter of perspective.

Right now, saving the dying silver wolf who lost her pups was the just thing to do.

Swish.

Ariel leapt down from the tree.

And the moment she landed on the ground, she fired Magic Missiles equal to the number of orcs.

Fwish!

The orcs, howling in frustration, collapsed with holes in their foreheads.

Ariel put all the orc corpses into her Inventory, then approached the silver wolf.

"Grr, grrrr..."

The silver wolf snarled warily, glaring at Ariel.

Though she lacked the strength to stand now, if she could, she seemed ready to pounce on Ariel at any moment.

Still, Ariel had Lu heal the silver wolf.

"Hmm, I'm a bit scared of getting eaten though..."

From Lu's perspective, the silver wolf was a terrifying being. Not just monsters, even beasts sometimes preyed on fairies.

Lu flew as high as he could before sprinkling healing powder.

The silver wolf's body began to sparkle after being exposed to Lu's healing powder.

Soon, the silver wolf regained her energy and stood up.

Without sparing Ariel and Lu a glance, the silver wolf trudged towards the corpses of her deceased pups.

"......"

Ariel and Lu could not fathom the grief of a mother who lost her pups.

At least for now, the silver wolf looked utterly sorrowful, her body trembling as if she was crying.

The silver wolf gathered the scattered corpses of her pups into one place.

They had already departed this world, so Lu's healing powder would be of no use.

"Awoooo!"

The silver wolf howled towards the sky, a heart-wrenching, anguished howl.

Ariel found herself walking over and stroking the silver wolf's chin, having to reach up due to her large stature.

The silver wolf flinched briefly but did not reject Ariel's touch.

Her silver fur looked mystical from afar but felt pleasantly fluffy to the touch.

"Hmm, now that I think about it, this silver wolf resembles you, sister."

Lu spoke as he fluttered around the silver wolf.

"The fur color, the eye color... Hmm, could this be fate?"

At Lu's words, Ariel studied the silver wolf closely once more.

The silver wolf's eyes were blood-red, exactly the same shade as Ariel's own eyes.

*

After stroking the silver wolf's chin for a while, Ariel suddenly sat down and began digging into the ground with her bare hands.

It was to bury the silver wolf's pups. She couldn't just leave their corpses lying around.

Without a shovel, she dug with her bare hands, but Ariel's strength and agility were unlimited.

Dig dig dig dig!

Watching Ariel dig at an invisible speed, the silver wolf and Lu had slightly stunned expressions.

This is.. not even a mole... Lu thought so but didn't say it out loud.

Soon, a large hole was made in the ground.

Ariel gently laid down the dead wolf pups one by one into the hole with her dirt-covered hands. It was an extremely careful manner.

The silver wolf did not stop Ariel from doing this and just watched. It seemed to understand what Ariel was trying to do.

After laying all the silver wolf's pups side by side in the hole, Ariel came back up from the ground.

And she quietly began covering them with soil while looking at the corpses.

Unlike when digging the hole, her movements were slow. As if giving the silver wolf time to bid farewell to her pups.

"Kyuuhnn..."

Watching her pups being buried in the soil, the silver wolf scratched the ground repeatedly with her paws.

The sight made it seem like she was wailing, causing Lu to tear up.

After the hole was completely covered with soil, Ariel flattened the ground and piled some rocks on top of it.

It was a time-consuming task, but at any rate, the grave for the silver wolf's pups was made decently enough.

Ariel dusted off her hands and turned around. This was all she could do.

The silver wolf gazed at Ariel's retreating back for a long time without any lingering feelings.

*

Ariel continued moving through the forest.

It would still take a while to reach the city, so she had to camp out, but it wasn't particularly inconvenient.

For bathing, she could just jump into a lake, and for meals, she ate cream bread from her Inventory.

At night when sleeping, casting a Shield around her area would protect her from monster attacks.

Monsters did approach when they saw Ariel sleeping, but after failing to break through the Shield no matter how much they attacked it, they would get tired and leave.

Sometimes persistent monsters would sit in front of the Shield waiting for Ariel to come out, but they simply perished from Ariel's Magic Missiles when she woke up.

Today too, Ariel woke up refreshed and dispelled the Shield.

Maintaining the Shield through the night was no easy feat for even high-ranking Mages, but it was not difficult at all for Ariel.

She just had to deploy the Shield once, and that was it.

"Oh? What is this, sister?"

When Ariel dropped the Shield, there was a dead rabbit and a dead squirrel in front of her.

They both had their necks bitten, making the situation easy to predict.

"It seems the silver wolf wants to repay the favor."

Lu muttered as he looked at the rabbit and squirrel corpses.

It was clear the silver wolf had brought them.

To repay Ariel's kindness, she was bringing her prey.

Of course, Ariel had no intention of eating rabbits or squirrels. 

If they were cooked for her, that would be fine, but skinning and roasting them over a fire herself was too much trouble.

However, she couldn't ignore the gesture, so Ariel put the rabbit and squirrel corpses into her Inventory.

Ariel's Inventory was already filled with corpses of dead monsters and animals, but the space remained infinitely large. It wasn't a problem.

Ariel took out a cream bread and ate it as she walked on.

"This will probably continue for a few days."

Lu said as he perched on Ariel's shoulder.

"Even now, that silver wolf is following us at a certain distance."

At Lu's words, Ariel gave a small smile.

It was a welcome development that the silver wolf was following them. Perhaps she could even bring it along on her adventure.

The silver wolf's fur was very soft and fluffy to the touch.

Moreover, with the silver wolf's large build, Ariel could even ride on its back.

She hoped it would keep following. Ariel thought so as she moved through the forest.

She had already inwardly named the silver wolf, but didn't approach it rashly. It might get scared or wary and run away.

For several days, the mornings of waking up to find rabbit and squirrel corpses in front of the Shield repeated.

During that time, the silver wolf never showed itself in front of Ariel.

Perhaps it would just repay the favor and leave. Ariel started worrying about that when an incident occurred.

As she was walking through the forest, she heard the silver wolf howling from afar.

"Kyaaang!"

It was the same sound as when fighting the orcs before.

Hearing the sound, Lu said to Ariel,

"Sister, that silver wolf seems to be..."

Before Lu could finish his words,

Swish!

Ariel dashed in the direction of the sound.