Chapter 23: The Baby Finds the Salt Lake

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s salty.”

“What?”

“Salt water—huh?”

In a sudden panic, we turned our eyes toward the lake at the back.

As far as the eye could see, the great underground lake spread endlessly—this was what people called a Salt Lake.

‘Near a Volcano, that can happen,’ said my Memory.

“This Wolf, did it know about that?”

“Maybe.”

Perhaps, having been injured and weakened, it needed salt, and came here. 

Once it reached its goal, its strength gave out, and it could no longer move. 

That might be what happened.

“Well, the wounds seem to have settled down a bit, and its hunger is satisfied. For a while, it shouldn’t have any complaints. Now we can leave the rest up to the ways of nature.”

“Mm.”

After nodding to each other, my brother turned back toward the entrance.

We’d lost one wild rabbit, but it was still early enough that we could catch another.

He hoisted me, swaying a little, and set out walking.

The entrance was closed. 

It was almost hard to believe that such a majestic lake was hidden so nearby.

My brother agreed, saying, “I’ve never heard anyone talk about a lake like this.”

Could it be that no one knows it exists?

If so, maybe it’s because in summer, the thick leaves of the surrounding trees hide it from sight.

Perhaps, too, the hunters know there are a lot of wolves in this area, so they purposely avoid coming near.

Talking about such things, we stepped outside.

The bag with the wild rabbit we’d left was still there.

As he picked it up, my brother glanced around and said, “Oh?”

I felt it, too—a presence nearby.

“What is it?”

“…Ah.”

We turned, and at once saw what it was.

A Wolf with pale fur was ambling toward us from behind.

It limped, keeping its wounded right foreleg slightly raised, moving skillfully on the other three legs.

In the bright outdoors, its fur, though dirty, had a sheen that could be called silver.

Again, it seemed small for a Wolf. 

Maybe it was still a child.

As I observed, the Wolf approached us without a hint of caution, and curled up at my brother’s feet.

It sniffed, pressing its nose against his foot.

“…No way.”

“Nii-chan, did it get attached to you?”

“…Maybe.”

Maybe, after treating its wound and feeding it, it now saw us as comrades.

For a wild beast, isn’t it a bit reckless to trust so easily?

“Maybe this is what it’s after?”

My brother brought the other wild rabbit bag to its nose, but the Wolf only shook its head, showing no interest.

Well, after eating the one earlier, it was probably more than full.

So, it didn’t follow us for the food.

When my brother took a few steps forward, it followed as a matter of course.

“It’s following us.”

“Still… If we take it back to the village, there’ll be trouble.”

Even if they’re not thought to attack humans much, wolves are still feared beasts.

Hunters who enter the woods try to avoid them, and children in the area are told, “Don’t go near the forest,” as a warning.

My brother frowned, thinking hard, then shook his head.

“Well, driving it away by force is more trouble than it’s worth. For now, let’s just see if it keeps following us until we leave the forest.”

“Mm.”

“And if you’re going to walk in the woods, you’d better keep that wound protected, or it’ll get worse.”

With a wry smile, my brother crouched down.

He tore a piece of cloth for wiping hands and wrapped it around the wound on the Wolf’s foreleg.

The Wolf submitted to the treatment with a surprising gentleness.

“And if this one really follows us, there’s something I want to show the adults.”

“What?”

“This wound here—it might be from an arrow.”

“An arrow?”

“If it really was an arrow, that would mean someone attacked it. But lately, I haven’t heard of Dimo or anyone from the village using arrows on Wolves.”

“Nope.”

We come hunting every other day. 

If anything like that happened, my brother would have heard about it.

“There’s suspicion that the Wolf numbers are falling. And if someone other than our village is attacking them—”

“That’s a problem.”

“Yeah.”

It was certainly something we should discuss with the adults.

When my brother started walking, the Wolf followed naturally behind him.

Down the narrow path through the trees, hopping deftly on three legs.

Even when we stopped to hunt another wild rabbit, it just watched quietly from the side.

Clearly, it wasn’t interested in other animals now that it was full.

It kept following us toward the edge of the forest, so we decided to let it.

“We only meant to bring back two wild rabbits, but we ended up with a much bigger catch.”

“And a huge discovery.”

“What’s that?”

“The salt lake.”

“Oh, that?”

“We can make salt.”

“Ah, you’re right!” my brother shouted. 

“That’s incredible! This could change the whole territory’s food supply. And if we do it right, it could become a big source of income.”

“Mm.”

“We should tell Henrik about this.”

Growing excited, my brother quickened his pace.

We left the woods, and when we reached the entrance to the protective fence, Dimo was there.

When he saw my brother’s face, he ran over in a hurry.

“Lord Wolf! I heard you went into the woods alone, I was worried—wait, what’s that!”

His voice turned to a shriek when he saw the Wolf, of course.

“Lord Wolf, careful! It’s small, but that’s a Wolf!”

“Yeah, it is.”

“You say that so casually…”

“We found it in the forest, it was wounded, I put some medicine on it and now it’s attached to me.”

“How can you be so… casual about it…”

“Anyway, Dimo, perfect timing. Take a look at this.”

When someone is flustered, sometimes the best way is to change the topic firmly.

My brother knelt down to the Wolf, undoing the bandage.

The beast, as before, let him do as he pleased.

“Look, doesn’t this look like an arrow wound?”

“An arrow?”

Still wary, Dimo crouched down next to my brother.

He peered closely at the wound.

“No mistake, that’s an arrow wound. The arrowhead pierced right through here.”

“I knew it—have you heard of anyone in the village shooting a Wolf with an arrow?”

“No. Lately, it’s just been you and us going into the woods.”

“Right.”

My brother rewrapped the wound, looking troubled.

Dimo, understanding the meaning, frowned as well.

“For now, I’ll take this one to the manor. Dimo, could you double-check that no one in the village has used arrows recently?”

“Understood.”

With a serious face, Dimo nodded.

Normally, he’d be scolding us for “going into the woods alone” or “letting a dangerous Wolf come near,” but he’d been completely caught up in my brother’s pace.